Jesus Our Priest and Sacrifice The first time a priest is mentioned in the Bible is when Abram (before his name was changed to Abraham) defeated an alliance of regional kings. There had been 4 kings fighting with an alliance of 5 kings. During the battle, Abram s nephew, Lot was captured. Abram went and liberated his nephew and defeated this alliance of kings. We read in the 14 th chapter of Genesis beginning in verse 17 and we find a priest of the Most High God. Then after his return from the defeat of Chedorlaomer and the kings who were with him, the king of Sodom went out to meet him at the valley of Shaveh (that is, the King s Valley). And Melchizedek king of Salem brought out bread and wine; now he was a priest of God Most High. He blessed him and said, Blessed be Abram of God Most High, Possessor (Or creator) of heaven and earth; And blessed be God Most High, Who has delivered your enemies into your hand. He gave him a tenth of all. (Genesis 14:17-20 NASB) This king of Salem-Melchizedek is mentioned only three times in the Bible. The second time is in a messianic prophecy found in Psalm 110:4, where Jesus (the Messiah) is to be a priest in the same way as Melchizedek. The LORD has sworn and will not change His mind, You are a priest forever According to the order of Melchizedek. (Psalm 110:4 NASB) 1
In this verse, we see the mention of an everlasting priesthood. We will see the third time a little later in our message. The office of priest and their functions are spelled out in the Law of Moses. We read in Exodus the 28 th chapter that Aaron and his sons were to be consecrated to the office of priest. Then bring near to yourself Aaron your brother, and his sons with him, from among the sons of Israel, to minister as priest to Me Aaron, Nadab and Abihu, Eleazar and Ithamar, Aaron s sons. (Exodus 28:1 NASB) This is the beginning of the Levitical priesthood. Aaron was the brother of Moses. He was also the grandson of the third son of Jacob and Leah. This son-levi is the head of the tribe of Levi and his lineage, through Aaron, is the one chosen for the priesthood to the nation of Israel. This priesthood remained in effect until the time of Jesus. What happened? Why did it change? Did it change (or is this introduced by humans)? To help us understand the basis for a priest that is not from the family of Aaron, we will read a few scriptures from the Hebrew Bible (or Old Testament). The first scripture we will consider is found in Isaiah the 53 rd chapter. I would encourage you to read this entire chapter. In the interest of time, we will focus on a few verses. Rest assured that these verses are representative of the theme of this chapter. We will start by reading the first five verses. Who has believed our message? And to whom has the arm of the LORD been revealed? For He grew up before Him like a tender shoot, 2
And like a root out of parched ground; He has no stately form or majesty That we should look upon Him, Nor appearance that we should be attracted to (Lit. desire) Him. He was despised and forsaken of men, A man of sorrows (or pains) and acquainted with grief (or sickness); And like one from whom men hide their face He was despised, and we did not esteem Him. Surely our griefs (or sickness) He Himself bore, And our sorrows (or pains) He carried; Yet we ourselves esteemed Him stricken, Smitten (Or Struck down) of God, and afflicted. But He was pierced through (or wounded) for our transgressions, He was crushed for our iniquities; The chastening for our well-being (or peace) fell upon Him, And by His scourging we are healed. (Isaiah 53:1-5 NASB) It is very clear that this passage is talking about Jesus. In these few verses, we find that Jesus was not an attractive. He certainly was not a blue-eyed, blond man that would stand out in the crowd. He was pierced through (or wounded) for our transgressions, He was crushed for our iniquities. It is easy to make the connection that Jesus is paying for our sins through His suffering. In verse 11, we again see the payment process. God sees the suffering and death of Jesus and marks the debt satisfied. As a result of the anguish of His soul, He (God) will see it and be satisfied; By His knowledge the Righteous One, 3
My Servant, will justify the many, As He will bear their iniquities. (Isaiah 53:11 NASB) In the next verse, we see another side of the sacrifice. We see the duties of a priest by the intercessions by Jesus on their behalf. Therefore, I will allot Him a portion with the great, And He will divide the booty with the strong; Because He poured out Himself (Lit. His soul) to death, And was numbered with the transgressors; Yet He Himself bore the sin of many, And interceded for the transgressors. (Isaiah 53:12 NASB) The idea that Jesus is a priest may not cause a problem for some, however, others will argue that Jesus was from the tribe of Judah and not Levi therefore, he could not be a priest. This becomes a technicality. God established a priesthood for Israel that would pass through the family of Levi. This Levitical priesthood was based on lineage. Not all people who were priest were godly people. If we read in 2 Samuel the second chapter, we find that the sons of Eli (and they were priest) were doing wicked things. Eli even rebuked them for their sins. Lineage may provide a pool of candidates for the office but the family tree does not provide people without human flaws. The Levitical priest were established to serve the nation of Israel in their service to God. They are not assigned duties to intercede for any other people. The reference to Jesus performing priestly duties requires a change in the established priestly order. The writer of Hebrews set out to give a detailed account of how Jesus becomes a priest and how Jesus is better qualified to execute those duties. 4
Hebrews is one of those books that most Christians avoid. There are certain passages that we read. However, we may not spend any time digging deeply into this book. One reason is that it is technical. It contrasts the Jewish laws and customs against the backdrop of Jesus. It is a book that was written primarily for a Jewish reader so they can better understand how Jesus fits within the Jewish history and narrative. As we continue to unfold the idea of Jesus as priest and sacrifice, we will look in Hebrews the 5 th chapter. Please realize that this is only a brief picture and to more fully understand, we need to read the book in its entirety. We will turn to the 5 th chapter and read a few selected verses. If you desire more information, please read chapters 5 though 13 to see the writer s examination of the priesthood, sacrifices, and the covenant. The first thing that is pointed out is that the Levitical priest were men. There are advantages and disadvantages. For every high priest taken from among men is appointed on behalf of men in things pertaining to God, in order to offer both gifts and sacrifices for sins; he can (Lit. being able to) deal gently with the ignorant and misguided, since he himself also is beset with weakness (or subject to weakness); and because of it he is obligated to offer sacrifices for sins, as for the people, so also for himself. (Hebrews 5:1-3 NASB) Obviously, humans understand other humans. Therefore, we will tend to be more sympathetic to the sins of others. We are more understanding to those who are not knowledgeable in godly matters. Yet, because we are human, we are sinful and therefore, must make sacrifices for ourselves first before we can offer sacrifices for others. 5
After making this point, the writer of Hebrews quotes the passage from Psalm 110 that we read earlier this morning and builds his case to present Jesus as our priest. And no one takes the honor to himself, but receives it when he is called by God, even as Aaron was. So also, Christ did not glorify Himself so as to become a high priest, but He who said to Him, YOU ARE MY SON, TODAY I HAVE BEGOTTEN YOU ; just as He says also in another passage, YOU ARE A PRIEST FOREVER ACCORDING TO THE ORDER OF MELCHIZEDEK. In the days of His flesh (i.e. during Christ earthly life), He offered up (Lit. who having offered up) both prayers and supplications with loud crying and tears to the One able to save Him from (or out of) death, and He was heard because of His piety. Although He was a Son, He learned obedience from the things which He suffered. And having been made perfect, He became to all those who obey Him the source of eternal salvation, being designated by God as a high priest according to the order of Melchizedek. (Hebrews 5:4-10 NASB) The case for another priesthood becomes important when we step back and realize that the sacrifice that Jesus made for us includes all people. It is not limited to those of the family and nation that issued from Jacob. In his letter to the Ephesians, Paul speaks of the unification that was accomplished through Jesus. Let s read in the 2 nd chapter of Ephesians looking at verses 12 through 18. 6
Remember that you were at that time separate from Christ, excluded (Or alienated) from the commonwealth of Israel, and strangers to the covenants of promise, having no hope and without God in the world. But now in Christ Jesus you who formerly were far off have been brought (Lit. made) nearby (Or in) the blood of Christ. For He Himself is our peace, who made both groups into one and broke down the barrier (Lit. dividing wall) of the dividing wall, by abolishing in His flesh the enmity, which is the Law of commandments contained in ordinances, so that in Himself He might make the two into one new man, thus establishing peace, and might reconcile them both in one body to God through the cross, by (Or in Himself) it having put to death the enmity. AND HE CAME AND PREACHED PEACE TO YOU WHO WERE FAR AWAY, AND PEACE TO THOSE WHO WERE NEAR; for through Him we both have our access in one Spirit to the Father. (Ephesians 2:12-18 NASB) When we see that Jesus came to reconcile all humankind, we now see that the same priesthood that served one group will not automatically serve the universal fellowship. We return to the book of Hebrews to see our concluding text supporting Jesus as our priest. Let s look in the 7 th chapter of Hebrews beginning in verse 23. The former priests, on the one hand, existed in greater numbers because they were prevented by death from continuing, but Jesus, on the other hand, because He continues forever, holds His priesthood permanently. Therefore, He is able also to save forever (Or completely) those who draw near to God through Him, since He always lives to make intercession for them. 7
For it was fitting for us to have such a high priest, holy, innocent, undefiled, separated from sinners and exalted above the heavens; who does not need daily, like those high priests, to offer up sacrifices, first for His own sins and then for the sins of the people, because this He did once for all when He offered up Himself. For the Law appoints men as high priests who are weak, but the word of the oath, which came after the Law, appoints a Son, made perfect forever. (Hebrews 7:23-28 NASB) This lesson has been more instructive than inspirational. Hopefully, it has not been too technical or even boring. The purpose for today s lesson is to demonstrate that Jesus is uniquely qualified to be our priest because of His sacrifice. 8