I want to start this sermon off with a question. I have done this with many of the others in the past. If I were to ask you to define what a priest is, what would you say?
Some would describe priests as:
- black robes with a white collar
- images from the Catholic or Anglican traditions
- a confessional
- movie depictions like that in the Exorcist
But, how does the Bible describe a priest? Well, it depends on where you look.
Let’s start in the Old Testament. The first time God formally appoints priests is with Aaron (the brother of Moses) and his sons.
“Then bring near to you your brother Aaron and his sons with him, from among the Israelites, to serve me as priests—Aaron and Aaron’s sons: Nadab and Abihu, Eleazar and Ithamar. You shall make sacred vestments for the glorious adornment of your brother Aaron.”
-Exodus 28:1-2
This established the Levitical priesthood whose duties included:
- offering animal sacrifices in the tabernacle and eventually the Temple
- tending to the place of worship
- teaching God’s Law (Torah)
- declaring people clean or unclean
- blessing people
OK, if that is how the Old Testament described the priests, then what about the New Testament? Well, what does the New Testament have that the Old one didn’t? Jesus!
In the New Testament, priesthood gets reframed in light of Christ. Jesus is acting as the High Priest. In the Old Testament, only one person could enter the Holy of Holies. God would physically touch down there.
Anyone else who tried to enter this sacred area would die. The High Priest would offer a special sacrifice once a year on the Day of Atonement. This was for all the people’s sins. Well, Jesus became both the final High Priest to mediate for us, now we have a direct line to God. But he also became that sacrifice, final, for all time. The spotless lamb.
But what about the rest of the priests? Where does that leave them? The veil was torn at the time of the crucifixion. Then, the Holy Spirit came down and entered into Jesus’ followers at Pentecost. As a result, WE became the Temple! WE house God’s Spirit. WE are the new wine skins for His new wine! WE are a ROYAL PRIESTHOOD!
Come to him, a living stone, though rejected by mortals yet chosen and precious in God’s sight, and like living stones let yourselves be built into a spiritual house, to be a holy priesthood, to offer spiritual sacrifices acceptable to God through Jesus Christ. For it stands in scripture:
“See, I am laying in Zion a stone,
a cornerstone chosen and precious,
and whoever believes in him will not be put to shame.”This honor, then, is for you who believe, but for those who do not believe,
“The stone that the builders rejected
has become the very head of the corner,”and
“A stone that makes them stumble
and a rock that makes them fall.”They stumble because they disobey the word, as they were destined to do.
But you are a chosen people, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, God’s own people, in order that you may proclaim the excellence of him who called you out of darkness into his marvelous light.
Once you were not a people,
but now you are God’s people;
once you had not received mercy,
but now you have received mercy.-1 Peter 2:4-10
WE ARE CHOSEN! We offer spiritual sacrifices like fasting, prayer, and obedience. We intercede by praying for each other, covering one another in our needs, and fighting for one another. We are to proclaim the Gospel. We are to be set apart!
When others see us, they shouldn’t have to be told we follow Christ. We are to be a light. We should reflect Jesus in our outpouring, our humility. We are chosen! We are ROYAL! We are SET APART for such a times as this (Esther 4:14)!
Family, do not miss this: in Christ, you are not ordinary. You are not overlooked. You are not just trying to survive this life until heaven. You are priests of the Most High God. You carry His Spirit within you. When you walk into your job, your school, your home, you carry the presence of the Living God. The veil is gone. The barrier is gone. The same Spirit that raised Jesus from the dead is alive in you.
So let me ask you again, what is a priest? A priest is someone who bridges heaven and earth. Someone who carries light into darkness. Someone who stands in the gap for the hurting, the broken, the lost. That is who you are. That is who God says you are. A chosen people. A royal priesthood. A holy nation.
Church, the world does not need another program or another performance or another plastic version of faith. The world needs priests who are set ablaze with the fire of God. Priests who fast and pray, who intercede, who proclaim the marvelous light of Jesus Christ in both word and action. Priests who do not shrink back but step forward, clothed not in robes and collars but in humility and power.
This is your calling. This is your identity. This is your time. You are chosen. You are royal. You are set apart. So rise up, Church, and live like the priests of God that you are, because the world is waiting for the light you carry.
And as priests, let your worship pour out with the fruit of the Spirit—love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, and self-control. Church, step into worship not as spectators, but as priests bringing your sacrifice before the living God.
Amen!
Further Study
Pastor Alex