Matthew 21:23-27
“Jesus entered the temple courts, and, while He was teaching, the chief priests and the elders of the people came to Him. ‘By what authority are you doing these things?’ they asked. ‘And who gave You this authority?’
“Jesus replied, ‘I will also ask you one question. If you answer Me, I will tell you by what authority I am doing these things. John’s baptism - where did it come from? Was it from heaven, or of human origin?’
“They discussed it among themselves and said, ‘If we say, “From heaven,” He will ask, “Then why didn’t you believe him?” But if we say, “Of human origin” - we are afraid of the people, for they all hold that John was a prophet.’
“So they answered Jesus, ‘We don’t know.’ Then Jesus said, ‘Neither will I tell you by what authority I am doing these things.’“
As we approach the season where we celebrate the death and resurrection of Jesus the Messiah we will be doing much reading from the Gospels.
Let’s look again at verse Matthew 21:23a
“Jesus entered the temple courts, and, while He was teaching, the chief priests and the elders of the people came to Him.”
These two groups the “chief priests” and “the elders” are mentioned at least 23 times in the Gospel accounts and the book of Acts.
We kind of just skim over them as the “Jewish leaders” but it’s important for one very big reason that we will hopefully get to very soon.
First we’ve got the Levites. Priests from the time of Moses were to come from the line of Levi. The Levitical Priests however were not the ones who offered sacrifices or incense before the altar. Some of their jobs were to transport the Tabernacle before the Temple was built whenever the nation moved from one location to another. They also performed daily routines around the Tabernacle and then the Temple. And, they led worship!
The Aaronites or those who were descended from Aaron were the priests who were allowed to offer sacrifices and incense to the Lord.
The High Priest would be selected from the Aaronites. At the time of Moses the high priest would be assigned the title and duties for their entire life. Some of the more famous ones were Aaron himself, Eli, Uzzi and Hilkiah.
At the time of Christ this had actually been changed to a mostly political appointment. The High Priest would be appointed by the Roman governor and would serve in that position for a year.
This group of Aaronites were considered to be the Chief Priests at the time of Christ.
So, who were the “elders”?
The elders mostly consisted of the Pharisees, Sadducees, Scribes and Rabbis.
The Pharisees and Sadducees were groups who were polarized by differing beliefs.
Scribes were people who copied the Hebrew Scriptures by hand from one scroll to another. Because of this they new the Scriptures very well and were often considered to be religious lawyers. Another reason why they were considered to be religious lawyers is because they had invented many “laws” to supplement the Laws of Moses and were familiar with them as well.
Scribes could be Pharisees but many were not.
Some new translations render scribes as “teachers of the law”
Rabbi’s seemed to be less political than the Pharisees and Sadducees.
They were also teachers not just of the law but of the prophets as well.
Elders would likely include the Levitical priests as well when they are all lumped together.
Why is this important? Well, it’s always good to know something about the groups you read about in the Bible unless they are followers of false gods and then caution must be used.
In an even more interesting point, priests are never mentioned in connection with the makeup of the church. Not once are there any references to priests in the hierarchy or function of the church.
Ephesians 4:11-15
“So Christ Himself gave the apostles, the prophets, the evangelists, the pastors and teachers, to equip His people for works of service, so that the body of Christ may be built up …
“Until we all reach unity in the faith and in the knowledge of the Son of God and become mature, attaining to the whole measure of the fullness of Christ.
“Then we will no longer be infants, tossed back and forth by the waves, and blown here and there by every wind of teaching and by the cunning and craftiness of people in their deceitful scheming.
“Instead, speaking the truth in love, we will grow to become in every respect the mature body of Him who is the head, that is, Christ.”
If Christ Himself gave to the church apostles, prophets, evangelists and pastors and teachers, why didn’t He give us priests?
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Priests offered sacrifices
Hebrews 10:11 speaks of the duties of priests before Christ
“Day after day every priest stands and performs his religious duties; again and again he offers the same sacrifices, which can never take away sins.”
Hebrews 10:10, 12-13 speaks of the one Priest Who is in the church
“We have been made holy through the sacrifice of the body of Jesus Christ once for all.
“But when this Priest (Jesus) had offered for all time one sacrifice for sins, He sat down at the right hand of God, and since that time He waits for His enemies to be made His footstool.
“For by one sacrifice He has made perfect forever those who are being made holy.”
By the offering of Jesus the High Priest who offered Jesus the Perfect Sacrifice on the cross of Calvary the duty of offering sacrifices was no longer necessary.
So the priesthood of the Old Testament law was replaced by the One Perfect Priest and Sacrifice, Jesus the Son of God
If Christ Himself gave to the church apostles, prophets, evangelists and pastors and teachers, why didn’t He give us priests?
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Priests were intermediaries or mediators
Look at these diagrams of the Tabernacle and the Temple
In the Holy Place only the Priests in the line of Aaron could enter
In the Most Holy Place or the Holy of Holies only the High Priest could enter once a year after extensive physical and spiritual preparation.
If a person who was not a Chief Priest even tried to enter the Holy Place they would be dragged out of the temple and put to death let alone if they attempted to enter the Most Holy Place.
It was the duty of the Priests to enter into the presence of God on behalf of the worshipers and the nation of Israel.
No one else could do so.
Then the Great High Priest, Jesus, came along and what happened when He sacrificed Himself on the cross for our sins?
Matthew 27:50-52a, 54 says,
“And when Jesus had cried out again in a loud voice, He gave up His spirit.
At that moment the curtain of the temple was torn in two from top to bottom. The earth shook, the rocks split and the tombs broke open.
“The bodies of many holy people who had died were raised to life. They came out of the tombs after Jesus’ resurrection and went into the holy city and appeared to many people.
“When the centurion and those with him who were guarding Jesus saw the earthquake and all that had happened, they were terrified, and exclaimed, ‘Surely He was the Son of God!’”
(Regarding the “bodies of many holy people who had died were raised to life”, this is one of those verses that we accept but do not try to create a doctrine from it.)
The point to this is that the Holy of Holies was the dwelling place of God on earth and only a High Priest could enter.
When the veil of the separating the Holy Place from the Most Holy place was torn in two from top the bottom it signified at least three things.
1) We could now enter into the presence of God
2) God was leaving His dwelling place on earth to come out and dwell among all of us
3) We no longer needed the mediation of a priest between us and God.
One of our memory Scriptures says:
1 Timothy 2:5-6
“For there is one God and one mediator between God and mankind, the man Christ Jesus, who gave Himself as a ransom for all people - this has now been witnessed to at the proper time.”
1 John 2:1
“My dear children, I write this to you so that you will not sin. But if anybody does sin, we have an advocate with the Father - Jesus Christ, the Righteous One.”
Hebrews 10:19-22a
“Therefore, brothers, since we have confidence to enter the Most Holy Place by the blood of Jesus, by a new and living way opened for us through the curtain, that is, His body,
“And since we have a Great Priest over the house of God, let us draw near to God with a sincere heart and with the full assurance that faith brings ….”
We no longer need a priest or anyone else as a mediator for Jesus is our Mediator and our Advocate and we can enter into His presence with confidence because of the Blood of Jesus.
Illustration:
For many of you I do not know what your political beliefs are but just think back over your life of a president who you have greatly respected and admired and now imagine that this person was in the white house and you wanted to go see him. How would that work out if you waltzed up to the front gate and said that you were going in to be with the President. You certainly would not get past the gate much less into the white house or the oval office. The guards at the gate would be acting like priests in the Old Testament. You would not have the authority to go in and speak with the president. Only the assigned people could do so. Only Priests could go into the presence of God before the crucifixion.
Illustration:
Now, what if you were in a prison, serving a life sentence and you came down with a disease and in order to be cured from that disease you needed the blood from a specific person. And the blood of that person was so rare that only one person in the world had that specific blood and that person was the President. And you made a plea to the president and he came to the prison and donated his blood so you could live and he pardoned you from your crime and gave you the authority to enter into his presence at any time.
That’s how we are cured from the disease of sin by the blood of Jesus. Pardoned from the death penalty of our crimes against Him and invited to enter into His presence where we could and should live our lives in gratitude for His great forgiveness.
No longer guards at the gate to keep us out. No longer the need for a priest to intercede for us. No office of the priest needed in the church.
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If Christ Himself gave to the church apostles, prophets, evangelists and pastors and teachers, why didn’t He give us priests?
Priests were select from a chosen group, from a specific biological group from one branch of a family tree.
Jesus, however, is a priest like the Old Testament priest Melchizedek.
Hebrews 7:1-3 says
“This Melchizedek was king of Salem and priest of God Most High. He met Abraham returning from the defeat of the kings and blessed him, and Abraham gave Him a tenth of everything.
“First, the name Melchizedek means ‘king of righteousness’; then also, ‘king of Salem’ means ‘king of peace.’ Without father or mother, without genealogy, without beginning of days or end of life, resembling the Son of God, He remains a priest forever.”
Hebrews 7:17 says about Jesus
“For it is declared: ‘You are a priest forever, in the order of Melchizedek.’”
Was Melchizedek a pre-incarnate visitation of Jesus? We don’t know for sure.
This is what we do know.
Melchizedek met Abraham centuries before Levi was even born
Melchizedek was the one and only priest of the Most High God alive at that time
Jesus did not include priests in the church because the Levitical priesthood was past
Jesus, like Melchizedek, is the only Priest in the church
Melchizedek and Jesus are like book ends on either end of the Levitical priesthood.
Jesus remains a High Priest forever!
Now, here’s the thing, there is only one priest or High Priest in the hierarchy of the church here on earth since the time of Christ but there are, or, should be, millions if not billions of priests who make up the church. What????
The Bible refers to this group as the Priesthood of Believers
What? All believers are to be priests? Doing what? What does that mean?
1 Peter 2:4-5
“As you come to Him, the living Stone … you also, like living stones, are being built into a spiritual house to be a holy priesthood, offering spiritual sacrifices acceptable to God through Jesus Christ.”
What are we to do as individuals in the priesthood of believers?
Offer spiritual sacrifices!
Romans 12:1 says
“Therefore, I urge you, brothers, in view of God’s mercy, to offer your bodies as a living sacrifice, holy and pleasing to God - this is your true and proper worship.”
The sacrifice I am to offer is my life. I am to be a living sacrifice to God, setting aside my wants and desires and striving to please Him in all I say and do.
The sacrifice you are to offer is your life. You are to be a living sacrifice to God, setting aside your wants and your desires and striving to please Him in all you say and do.
What are we to do as individuals in the priesthood of believers beside offering spiritual sacrifices?
1 Peter 2:9
“You are a chosen people, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, God’s special possession, that you may declare the praises of Him who called you out of darkness into His wonderful light.”
We are to declare the praises of Him who called you out of darkness into His wonderful light!
Am I fulfilling this role? Am I living this out? Are you fulfilling this role? Are you living this out?
Do you know that Jesus sacrifice on the cross was for you?
Do you recognize Jesus as the Great High Priest who is mediating, interceding and advocating on your behalf?
Does your life reflect that you are a member in the priesthood of believers?
Is your life a living sacrifice for God, setting aside your desires for His?
Does your life proclaim the praises of Him who called you out of darkness into His wonderful light?
Invitation
Prayer
