Sermon series: FROM BONDAGE TO FREEDOM

Subject: THE PRIESTHOOD OF BELIEVERS

Exodus 27:21—28:3
"In the tabernacle of meeting, outside the veil which is before the Testimony, Aaron and his sons shall tend it from evening until morning before the Lord. It shall be a statute forever to their generations on behalf of the children of Israel.
Now take Aaron your brother, and his sons with him, from among the children of Israel, that he may minister to Me as priest, Aaron and Aaron's sons: Nadab, Abihu, Eleazar, and Ithamar.
And you shall make holy garments for Aaron your brother, for glory and for beauty.
So you shall speak to all who are gifted artisans, whom I have filled with the spirit of wisdom, that they may make Aaron's garments, to consecrate him, that he may minister to Me as priest."

Hebrews 5:1-9
"For every high priest taken from among men is appointed for men in things pertaining to God, that he may offer both gifts and sacrifices for sins.
He can have compassion on those who are ignorant and going astray, since he himself is also subject to weakness.
Because of this he is required as for the people, so also for himself, to offer sacrifices .for sins.
And no man takes this honor to himself, but he who is called by God, just as Aaron was. So also Christ did not glorify Himself to become High Priest, but it was He who said to Him:
You are My Son, today I have begotten You. As He also says in another place: "You are a Priest forever according to the order of Melchizedek"; who in the days of His flesh, when He had offered up prayers and supplications, with vehement cries and tears to Him who was able to save Him from death, and was heard because of His godly fear, though He was a Son, yet He learned obedience by the things He suffered."

Hebrews 2:14—3:6
"Inasmuch then as the children have partaken of flesh and blood, He Himself likewise shared in the same, that through death He might destroy him who had the power of death, that is, the devil, and release those who through fear of death were all their lifetime subject to bondage.

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For indeed He does not give aid to angels, but He does give aid to the seed of Abraham.
Therefore in all things He had to be made like His brethren, that He might be a merciful and faithful High Priest in things pertaining to God, to make propitiation for the sins of the people."

Hebrews 4:14-16
"Seeing then that we have a great High Priest who has passed through the heavens, Jesus the Son of God, let us hold fast our confession.
For we do not have a High Priest who cannot sympathize with our weaknesses, but was in all points tempted as we are, yet without sin.
Let us therefore come boldly to the throne of grace, that we may obtain mercy and find grace to help in time of need."

Hebrews 6:19-20
"This hope we have as an anchor of the soul, both sure and steadfast, and which enters the Presence behind the veil, where the forerunner has entered for us, even Jesus, having become High Priest forever according to the order of Melchizedek."

Hebrews 7:20-28
"And inasmuch as He was not made priest without an oath (for they have become priests without an oath, but He with an oath by Him who said to Him:
"The Lord has sworn and will not relent, You are a priest forever according to the order of Melchizedek") by so much more Jesus has become a surety of a better covenant.
Also there were many priests, because they were prevented by death from continuing. But He, because He continues forever, has an unchangeable priesthood.
Therefore He is also able to save to the uttermost those who come to God through Him, since He always lives to make intercession for them.
For such a High Priest was fitting for us, who is holy, harmless, undefiled, separate from sinners, and has become higher than the heavens: who does not need daily, as those high priests, to offer up sacrifices, first for His own sins and then for the people's, for this He did once for all when He offered up Himself.
For the law appoints as high priests men who have weakness, but the word of the oath, which came after the law, appoints the Son who has been perfected forever."

Revelation 1:5-6
"Grace to you and peace from Him who is and who was and who is to come, and from the

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seven Spirits who are before His throne, and from Jesus Christ, the faithful witness, the firstborn from the dead, and the ruler over the kings of the earth. To Him who loved us and washed us from our sins in His own blood, and has made us kings and priests to His God and Father, to Him be glory and dominion forever and ever. Amen."

In recent weeks, we have been following the children of Israel as they make their way from Egypt, the land of bondage, to Canaan, the land of promise and freedom. In their journeyings, Moses is called by God to come up to the mountain where He will be given the instructions for governing this newly released nation. Included in the instructions were the ten commandments, and the blueprint for constructing a sanctuary for the dwelling place of God. It was called the Tabernacle. Specific rituals, offerings, and worship procedures were also outlined to Moses.
In our study today, we are considering the important role of the priests and the High Priest in carrying out God's plan for the spiritual leadership in the Tabernacle.
Our opening verses from Exodus 27-28 have informed us that Aaron and his sons, Nadab, Abihu, Eleazar and Ithamar, were given the sacred assignment of the priesthood. Aaron served as the High Priest.
God's words to Moses were: "Take thou unto thee Aaron thy brother...from among the children of Israel, that he may minister unto Me in the priest's office...And thou shalt make holy garments for Aaron thy brother for glory and for beauty."
The writer to the Hebrews reminds us that "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...And no man taketh this honor unto himself, but he that is called of God, as was Aaron" (Hebrews 5:1,4).
This appointment, or ordination, of Aaron involved two initial and important acts: His purification and His sanctification.
"And Aaron...thou shalt bring unto the door of the tabernacle of the congregation, and shalt wash...with water" (Exodus 29:4). Having been taken from among the children of Israel, it now had to be demonstrated publicly that he was morally suitable and acceptable to serve as God's high priest. He was washed publicly to demonstrate His suitability and acceptability before God.
For his sanctification, Aaron was anointed

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with oil. "Then shalt thou take the anointing oil, and pour it upon his head, and anoint him. Then you shall bring his sons and put tunics on them. And you shall gird them with sashes, Aaron and his sons, and put the hats on them. The priesthood shall be theirs for a perpetual statute. So you shall consecrate Aaron and his sons."
Their consecration was to a very sacred task. So sacred that if they failed in any way to follow the precise pattern for their service in their duties and their sacrifices, it resulted in immediate death!
Leviticus 10 tells a very sad story.
"Then Nadab and Abihu, the sons of Aaron, each took his censer and put fire in it, put incense on it, and offered profane fire before the Lord, which He had not commanded them.
So fire went out from the Lord and devoured them, and they died before the Lord.
And Moses said to Aaron, "This is what the Lord spoke, saying: ‘By those who come near Me I must be regarded as holy; and before all the people I must be glorified.’
So Aaron held his peace." (Leviticus 10:1-3).
Let us read the rest of this passage from the Amplified Text. (Leviticus 10:4-7 Amplified)
"Moses called Mishael and Elzaphan, son of Uzziel uncle of Aaron, and said to them, "Come near, carry your brethren from before the sanctuary out of the camp."
So they drew near and carried them in their undertunics [stripped of their priestly vestments] out of the camp, as Moses had said. And Moses said to Aaron and Eleazar and Ithamar, his sons [the father and brothers of the two priests whom God had slain for offering false fire], Do not uncover your heads or let your hair go loose or tear your clothes, lest you die also and lest God’s wrath should come upon all the congregation: but let your brethren bewail the burning which the Lord has kindled.
And you shall not go out from the door of the Tent of Meeting, lest you die, for the Lord’s anointing oil is upon you. And they did according to Moses’ word" (Leviticus 10:4-7)
This passage belongs with all the other divine instructions which were given to Israel with the express purpose of keeping Israel a people "holy to the Lord." We have seen that the priests had to be consecrated (i.e. "made holy") before they could function in the presence of the holy God; in the same way, too, all the furnishings connected with the worship of Israel had to be rendered holy. And, of course, so did the people. But now the two young men mentioned here think they know better than God about such things. We

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note that in chapter 8, the holy fire was kept going continually on the altar and that it and it alone was to be used for the sacrificial processes that maintained Israel’s fellowship with God. For it had come down from God and had not been kindled by the hand of man (9:24). The HOLY FIRE alone was used "taken from off the altar." Then again, no unsanctified person had the right to march into the sanctuary without going through the necessary ritual process before handling the holy things that marked the presence of the holy God.
What these two men--sons of Aaron!--did was this. On a pan filled with hot ashes from an unconsecrated fire taken from somewhere else outside the "holy" precincts, they laid incense which was to go up into God’s nostrils as an acted prayer. This action of theirs was, of course, no mere peccadillo. It was a flagrant piece of disobedience and disloyalty to God! What these men were saying, "Our fire is as good as yours. We don’t need yours!" This is an acted parable of the way that secular man thinks about his relationship to God at all times! Their inexcusable folly was in trying to please the Lord THEIR way instead of HIS way! Every believer does well to recognize the importance of being entirely surrendered to God’s will; nothing more; nothing less; nothing else; at any cost!
Concerning the garments of the ancient priest, seven special articles of clothing and ornaments composed the official apparel of the high priest: the robe, the embroidered coat, the ephod, the belt of the ephod, the breastplate, the mitre, and the diadem.
They were all prescribed for the high priest "for glory and for beauty."
Just a word of clarification...There is a difference between a prophet and a priest. A prophet tells out God to man. A priest tells out man to God. A prophet acts for God before men. A priest acts for men before God. The Apostle gives us the definition of a priest: (1) He is taken from among men. (2) He is ordained for men. (3) He is ordained, set apart, for men, in the things of God. (4) He is to offer gifts and sacrifices for men. (5) He is full of compassion for the ignorant and those who have fallen by the way (Hebrews 5:12).
Almost immediately when we talk about Aaron and the ancient priesthood of the Tabernacle, we are brought face to face with the truth of the New Testament that Jesus Christ is our Great High Priest.
The comparisons between Aaron and Christ are filled with great spiritual significance and truth.

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Aaron is a type of Christ by contrast.
Aaron was of the tribe of Levi...Christ was of the tribe of Judah. The Lord Jesus could not exercise the dignity of the office of a high priest during His earthly life, because He was the son of David, of the tribe of Judah. Only the sons of Aaron, of the tribe of Levi, were set apart for this ministry. "For He of whom these things are spoken belongs to another tribe, from which no man has officiated at the altar. For it is evident that our Lord arose from Judah, of which tribe Moses spoke nothing concerning priesthood" (Hebrews 7:13-14).
Aaron was a priest after the order of a mortal man, but Christ was a priest after the order of Melchizedek, the deathless, immortal man. "For this Melchizedek, king of Salem, priest of the Most High God, who met Abraham returning from the slaughter of the kings and blessed him, to whom also Abraham gave a tenth part of all, first being translated "king of righteousness," and then also king of Salem, meaning "king of peace," without father, without mother, without genealogy, having neither beginning of days nor end of life, but made like the Son of God, remains a priest continually." (Hebrews 7:1-4).
Aaron's ministry was carried out in all weakness in the tabernacle that stood in the wilderness of Sinai. The Lord Jesus Christ exercises His ministry as high priest in the glory of heaven in the true sanctuary, and this ministry is unchangeable and eternal. "For Christ has not entered the holy places made with hands, which are copies of the true, but into heaven itself, now to appear in the presence of God for us; not that He should offer Himself often, as the high priest enters the Most Holy Place every year with blood of another—He then would have had to suffer often since the foundation of the world; but now, once at the end of the ages, He has appeared to put away sin by the sacrifice of Himself. (Hebrews 9:24-26)
This ministry of the Lord Jesus Christ is of immeasurable importance for the pardoned and elect children of God. Ten times the Epistle to the Hebrews speaks to believers concerning their High Priest, who now appears before the face of God to represent them. He is there by virtue of His blood that was shed on the cross. The blood of Jesus alone is the wonderful and blessed foundation of our relationship with the God of glory!
Aaron ceased to be a priest when he died. Christ became a priest only after He died; He became a priest by and through resurrection; as it is written; "Christ glorified

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not Himself to be made a high priest; but He that said unto Him, Thou art My Son, today have I begotten Thee."
The Apostle is quoting from the Second Psalm and applies it to the resurrection of Christ. He says: "God hath raised up Jesus again; as it is also written in the second psalm, Thou art My Son, this day have I begotten Thee" (Acts 13:33).
If our Lord was made a high priest the day He was begotten, and He was begotten the day He rose from the dead, begotten by and through resurrection, then He became a high priest the day of His resurrection! This fact is typified by the action of Aaron on the day of atonement. Not till after the death of the victim did he leave the place of death, take the blood in the basin, put aside the Veil and go into the Holy Place to act as priest there.
It is a complete picture of our Lord Jesus Christ after He had offered Himself as a sacrifice leaving the place of death, rising from the dead, and entering Heaven as a priest in resurrection.
"Furthermore, every [human] priest stands [at his altar of service] ministering daily offering the same sacrifices over and over again, which never are able to strip [from every side of us] the sins [that envelope us] and take them away—whereas this One [Christ], after He had offered a single sacrifice for our sins [that shall avail] for all time, sat down at the right hand of God" (Hebrews 10:11-12).
"Inasmuch then as we have a great High Priest Who has already ascended and passed through the heavens, Jesus the Son of God, let us hold fast our confession [of faith in Him]. For we do not have a High Priest Who is unable to understand and sympathize and have a shared feeling with our weaknesses and infirmities and liability to the assaults of temptation, but One Who has been tempted in every respect as we are, yet without sinning.
Let us then fearlessly and confidently and boldly draw near to the throne of grace (the throne of God's unmerited favor to us sinners), that we may receive mercy [for our failures] and find grace to help in good time for every need [appropriate help and well-timed help, coming just when we need it]." (Hebrews 4:14-16—Amplified Text)
In closing, let us consider yet another aspect of this priesthood concept which we have been studying. In Exodus 19:5-6, we read: "Now therefore, if you will obey My voice in truth and keep My covenant, then you shall be My own peculiar possession and treasure from among and above all peoples;

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for all the earth is Mine.
And you shall be to Me a kingdom of priests, a holy nation [consecrated, set apart to the worship of God]. These are the words you shall speak to the Israelites." Peter, speaking of the Body of Christ, the Church, writes:
"But you are a chosen race, a royal priesthood, a dedicated nation, [God's] own purchased, special people, that you may set forth the wonderful deeds and display the virtues and perfections of Him Who called you out of darkness into His marvelous light. Once you were not a people [at all], but now you are God's people; once you were unpitied, but now you are pitied and have received mercy." (1 Peter 2:9-10)
CHRISTIANS ARE A HOLY PRIESTHOOD!!
There are two great characteristics of the priest. (1) He is the man who himself has access to God and whose task it is to bring others to Him. In the Old Testament, this access was the privilege of the professional priests, and in particular of the High Priest who alone could enter into the Holy of Holies.
Through Jesus Christ, the new and living way, access to God becomes the privilege of every Christian! The Latin word for priest is pontifex, which means BRIDGE-BUILDER; the priest is the man who builds a bridge for others to come to God; and the Christian has the duty and the privilege of bringing others to that Savior whom he himself has found and loves.
(2) The priest is the man who brings his offerings to God. The Christian also must continuously bring his offerings to God. Under the old dispensation the offerings brought were animal sacrifices; but the sacrifices of the Christian are SPIRITUAL sacrifices. He makes his work an offering to God. Everything is done for God; and so even the meanest task is clad with glory; The Christian makes his worship an offering to God; and so the worship of God's House becomes, not a burden, but a joy. The Christian makes himself an offering to God. "I appeal to you therefore, brethren, and beg of you in view of [all] the mercies of God, to make a decisive dedication of your bodies [presenting all your members and faculties] as a living sacrifice, holy (devoted, consecrated) and well pleasing to God, which is your reasonable (rational, intelligent) service and spiritual worship." (Romans 12:1)
"Blessed and holy are those who have part in the first resurrection. The second death has no power over them, but they will be priests of God and of Christ, and will reign with Him for a thousand years." (Revelation 20:6)