The Weakness of a Human Priest

Holier Than Who?

There is an unfortunate reality, that people who are outside of the church view Christians, religious leaders specifically, with an eye of suspicion. What they are apprehensive of is an heir of superiority, a holier-than-thou attitude employed by many in the faith.

7 Signs the Pharisee’s Are Running Your Church

Cary Nieuwhof wrote an article 7 Signs the Pharisee’s Are Running Your Church. I am not going to read the entire article, but I would like to paraphrase his points:

Your Leaders Like to Show Off

Cary summarizes the point in this way:

When you’re focused on how you’re doing more than you’re focused on how the people you’re serving are doing, you’ve kind of lost the game.

It is a dangerous thing for a church when the mechanics of churchiness are how we measure success. Now, I will admit this much; when things go off of the rails because of technical issues, or I don’t feel that my point connects I tend to be inwardly critical. And there are times when thing go exceptionally well and for the day at least I am content.

But, if it becomes the focus. If the ‘stage show’ is how we measure the success of our church then we have lost the narrative. Our focus should be measured on the fruit of evangelism, spiritual health, and personal growth.

Everyone Thinks that they are a little better than everyone else.

Carey says:

One of the big differences between the Pharisees and the ‘sinners’ Jesus hung out with, is how they felt about themselves.

We have seen the symptoms of this this in churches, haven’t we? A Critical Spirit in the church, Constantly pointing out the failings of other churches, and Gossip.

There is this love of money thing going on

I don’t see this much in smaller churches, because there just isn’t much money to love, but for a church to get to the point where it is more concerned with how the money can benefit the ministers than the ministry, then there is a problem.

There is too little compassion

Carey is pretty strait forward here. He says

If you lack compassion … repent

He is nuanced in this statement, sometimes leaders have to balance their compassion. They have to sometimes make decisions that aren’t based on emotion, even when making those decisions are difficult. But if a pastor lacks compassion then what inevitably happens is that the church will lack compassion and that is a shame because it is God’s compassion on us that gives the church it’s purpose. People pick up on a lack of compassion and as Carey Nieuwhof says:

people outside the church aren’t much attracted to compassionless, self-righteous leaders.

Leaders expect others to do what they don’t do

It is unhealthy in a church when the leaders expect the people to engage in work that they themselves wouldn’t do. Now, I think it needs to be understood that sometimes the church leaders may not be physically able or knowledgable enough for a task. And sometimes other ministry items makes it so that there just isn’t time for the leaders to participate in every ministry.

But, where it is particularly dangerous is in a situation where the leadership of a church, or the more established members of a church expect others to live be a different code of conduct than what they themselves engage in.

No one is closer to God

Carey says we might be a church run by Pharisee’s if we believe that nobody is closer to God than we are.

This is a bad look all the way down. Church leaders can believe that nobody in the congregation is closer to God than they are. The congregation can begin to believe that there is nobody else in the congregation who is as holy as they are. And the church as a whole can believe that there are no other churches who are as holy as they are. Or worse still, will deny that other churches even qualify as churches, not on the basis of the gospel or Christian orthodoxy, but because of matters of practice.

Hopefully we believe that the doctrines that define our church as being Baptist are the true and correct doctrines, if that is not true, why would we continue to hold to those doctrines? But, if we are going to be so narrow in our beliefs that we won’t acknowledge other, non-heretical, Christians our brothers and sisters in Christ then we should take Baptist off of our church name, and replace it with the word Pharisee.

The Leaders are Jealous

Finally, in Carey’s article he mentions leaders who are jealous. Pharisee’s were jealous of Sadducees, Sadducees were jealous of Pharisee’s and they were both jealous enough of Jesus to conspire to kill him.

Jealousy as a motivation in church is ugly. We can be jealous of ministry opportunities people get, we can be jealous of success that other churches have, and sometimes people will bash other churches simply because of their success. I have heard people say that the only reason other churches are having more success is that they are compromising.

Is that true? In some cases it very well might be. But, when we make those kinds of comments out of jealousy over those churches success, it’s not a good look.

In the Text

In our text this morning we are going to look to some degree an aspect of what a model church leader should be. It is a role that existed for the Jewish people since Aaron, and had been a picture of the coming Messiah. It is the role of the High Priest.

Hebrews touches on the subject of priesthood often. We are in the second in a series of 6 messages that started in Hebrews 4 and will continue through Hebrews 5 on this very subject, that of the High Priest and Christ’s role as our High Priest.

But today we will look at the model role of the human High Priest himself. As we pick up in Hebrews 5 verse 1-3

Hebrews 5:1–3 KJV 1900

1 For every high priest taken from among men is ordained for men in things pertaining to God, that he may offer both gifts and sacrifices for sins: 2 Who can have compassion on the ignorant, and on them that are out of the way; for that he himself also is compassed with infirmity. 3 And by reason hereof he ought, as for the people, so also for himself, to offer for sins.

Our message today is entitled The Weakness of Human Priest

Let’s Pray

Warranted

I think we have to conclude that the criticisms that the world has for Christianity and the earthly leaders of Christian Churches are often valid.

Understand that it is the reality that just in being Christian and having any standards for your conduct at all, by that you are going to draw scrutiny. For some unbelievers, you can tell them that your standard of conduct is something that you keep for yourself only to honor God and that you do not expect it of those who don’t hold to the faith. You can tell them that you have no interest in being their judge and that they are accountable to God only, not to you…but simply by the fact that you hold to Christian morality they will conclude that you are self-righteous and arrogant. You can’t control that, but don’t let them be right.

Some use the faith to fulfill a need for power, some to get rich, some to make themselves feel important or better than others.

I don’t believe that these, with false motives, are even close to being the majority of Christians but they tend to be the nosiest and they tend to be those who attract attention to themselves.

Men are Men

Taken from Men

Look with me again at Hebrews 5:1

Hebrews 5:1 KJV 1900

1 For every high priest taken from among men is ordained for men in things pertaining to God, that he may offer both gifts and sacrifices for sins:

High priests are taken from who? from men! Because the priests are taken from men, we find all of the downsides of humanity inherent in the priests that we read about in the Bible.

In 1 Samuel we read of the High Priest Eli. God chastens Eli saying in 1 Samuel 2:29

1 Samuel 2:29 KJV 1900

29 Wherefore kick ye at my sacrifice and at mine offering, which I have commanded in my habitation; and honourest thy sons above me, to make yourselves fat with the chiefest of all the offerings of Israel my people?

Anyone who is taken out of the stock of humanity is going to have the pull of sin upon their flesh. Being a priest or being a pastor or having whatever responsibility you can think of put upon their shoulders doesn’t erase the fact that they are human.

Some humans, like Eli are going to fail in greater ways. Caiaphas did a pretty lousy job as High Priest. Speaking of Caiaphas: The only reason Caiaphas had the job is because Rome removed his father-in-law Annas because Annas was enforcing capitol punishment outside of what Roman law allowed for. So his son-in-law got the job, but really Annas remained in charge.

How does this contrast with the standard we are reminded of in Hebrews? In Hebrews we read this of the office of the High Priest

Hebrews 5:2 KJV 1900

2 Who can have compassion on the ignorant, and on them that are out of the way; for that he himself also is compassed with infirmity.

The expectation is that since the Priest is himself a sinner he will have compassion on those brought before him, who are also sinners.

And we aren’t talking about a single sin here. Do you see the word compassed? That gives us the impression of being surrounded by sin. In the Greek it’s περίκειμαι (perikeimai) and it means to be in a state involving many aspects. So not only has the high priest experienced sin, he has experienced it on many fronts.

So verse 3 makes the point

Hebrews 5:3 KJV 1900

3 And by reason hereof he ought, as for the people, so also for himself, to offer for sins.

Leviticus 9:7 prescribes this

Leviticus 9:7 KJV 1900

7 And Moses said unto Aaron, Go unto the altar, and offer thy sin offering, and thy burnt offering, and make an atonement for thyself, and for the people: and offer the offering of the people, and make an atonement for them; as the Lord commanded.

The Priest is chosen out of men as mankind's representative before God. But before he can act on behalf of men he must first act on behalf of himself.

Our Priesthood

You might be getting ahead of me. The theological implications of this passage are many and you probably are thinking of some of those implications right now.

But let me pump the breaks on you for just a minute. The book of Hebrews is going to spend a lot of time talking about Christ’s priesthood and His priesthoods superiority over the priesthood of man. We are going to get to all of that.

What I want you to consider today, is your priesthood.

1 Peter 2:4-5 tells us

1 Peter 2:4–5 KJV 1900

4 To whom coming, as unto a living stone, disallowed indeed of men, but chosen of God, and precious, 5 Ye also, as lively stones, are built up a spiritual house, an holy priesthood, to offer up spiritual sacrifices, acceptable to God by Jesus Christ.

We are holy priesthood with Christ being our highpriest. He is the one who brokers, if you will, the restoration of man kinds relationship with God, but in having that relationship, we are, in fact a priesthood. We are free to communicate with God directly in prayer and we can offer up spiritual sacrafices.

But, let us not forget what Hebrews tells us about the High Priest.

Hebrews 5:2 KJV 1900

2 Who can have compassion on the ignorant, and on them that are out of the way; for that he himself also is compassed with infirmity.

If this is true for the High Priest, how much more is it true for the under priests? How much more is it true for the priesthood of the believer.

This morning you know that Christ has been compassionate on you and he had been patient with you in more ways that you would care to recall. So when we you are confronted with the shortcoming of others, let us respond with the grace expected of a priest of God.

Our High Priest

I would be remiss if I didn’t conclude with this final point. We talk more about this in the verses to come, but we serve a High Priest that is without sin.

Even still, as we discussed last week. He was tempted, he walked as man and he understands our struggles.

For you and I if we are Christians, we are of a priesthood, we need to be compassionate towards others who sin. But remember our high priest is compassionate towards us as well. If you humble yourself and you repent, God will restore your relationship with Him. He’s not going to wright you off. That is the kind of thing that men with hardened hearts do.

If you aren’t a Christian this morning. One of the high priest duties is to make sacrifice for sin. And when Jesus died on the cross, that is exactly what he was doing, he was making sacrifice for your sin. That sin that he died for on the cross has your name on it, it has my name on it. And if you will repent of your sins and put your faith and trust in Jesus’s sacrifice on the cross then he will grant you forgiveness for all of your sins, no matter how great, and reconcile you with God the Father.

If you this morning would like to know more about this, we are going to close in prayer in just a few minutes, and I would love to talk to you more about my savior, just grab me as soon as we close. If you are watching from home, you can reach out by private message and we can talk about your salvation today.

Let’s Pray