Jesus is Better | Week 8

By Darren Nguyen

Hebrews 4:14-5:10

Participating in Jesus’ Royal Priesthood

The text this week introduces a core theme in the book of Hebrews– Jesus’ priesthood. Modern readers of Hebrews often struggle to understand the depth of the text because of their lack of familiarity with the role of high priest and the significance of Jesus fulfilling that role. This article seeks to bring clarity to the role of priest, how Jesus perfectly fulfills that role, and how Christians can participate as part of a royal priesthood.

The Role of Priest

God created the world as his dwelling place, and the Garden of Eden was the place where heaven and earth met. God built the land with a similar structure to the temple. The dry land contained Eden, which contained the Garden of Eden, which contained the Tree of Life. Following the same concentric structure, the land of Israel contained the courtyard of the temple, which contained the Holy Place, which contained the Holy of Holies. With this juxtaposition, one can see that God created humanity to function as priests, working and taking care of his cosmic temple. Genesis 2:15 says, “The Lord God took the man and put him in the garden of Eden to work it and keep it.” The Hebrew word shamar used in Genesis 2:15, translated to work or keep, is only used elsewhere in Scripture in reference to the duties of the Levitical priesthood.

Adam and Eve forfeited this calling because they were dissatisfied with their role as merely images of God and sought to become like God. Due to their sin, God banished them from the sacred space and removed them from their position as priests. However, the biblical narrative continues with God restoring his people to the royal priesthood. The final detail of the cherubim and the flame of the whirling sword in Genesis 3:24 point forward to the future construction of the tabernacle and the temple because these same images guard those sacred spaces.

So what exactly is a priest? Priests act as mediators between heaven and earth, representing God to his people and vice versa. They work and keep the place where heaven and earth meet which in the Old Testament was the Garden of Eden, the tabernacle, or the temple. In these sacred places, priests embody God’s divine presence. Exodus 25-31 brings more detail to the office of priest as God establishes the priesthood through Aaron and his sons. The priest maintained the lamps, wore special clothing to image God and man to one another, made daily sacrifices (not just for sin), and maintained the sacred space. Through these acts, the priests worshiped, represented God to the people and the people to God, interceded for God’s people, and brought God’s blessing to His people. Most importantly, the high priest entered the Holy of Holies once a year to make atonement for the sins of the entire nation of Israel.

Jesus the Royal Priest

Aaron and his sons failed to perfectly fulfill the role of priest, and the lineage of the priesthood proved to be unfaithful as well, including Eli and his sons in 1 Samuel 2. This failed priesthood pointed forward to a need for a perfect and faithful priest as God prophesied in 1 Samuel 2:35, “I will raise up for myself a faithful priest, who will do according to what is in my heart and mind. I will firmly establish his priestly house, and they will minister before my anointed one always.” Although this prophecy finds partial fulfillment through the priest Zadok, Jesus brings the greatest fulfillment of this prophecy by perfectly fulfilling the role of priest.

Jesus’ ministry contains an important subplot of him perfectly fulfilling the role of high priest. Jesus was anointed as priest at his baptism during which the Father used Old Testament allusions to identify who Jesus was. He says, “You are my beloved (Genesis 22:2) Son (Psalm 2:7), in you I am well pleased (Isaiah 42:1).” By understanding the context for all of these allusions, the reader can identify Jesus as the royal priest from the line of David and the suffering servant in Isaiah 42. In addition to this, in the transfiguration accounts, the authors use imagery that call back to the role of high priest such as the radiant white garments and the three tabernacles. Jesus also identifies himself as the king-priest subject in Psalm 110 in Mark 12:35-37. The subplot of Jesus perfectly fulfilling the role of high priest heads towards its climax after the transfiguration when he is brought before the high priest of his time, Caiaphas, in Mark 14. Before this high priest, he identifies himself as the Son of Man coming with the clouds of heaven (Daniel 7) and sitting at the right hand of power (Psalm 110). By saying this, Jesus claims that he is a greater high priest than Caiaphas, for he has the authority to enter the heavenly temple rather than merely the earthly temple. Finally, through Jesus’ death and resurrection, he fully took on the role of high priest for all of God’s people, and he continues to perform the duties of that role to this day.

So how does Jesus perform the duties of a priest in his life, death, and resurrection? First, in his life, death, and resurrection, Jesus forgave sins. While priests were able to temporarily atone for sins through performing sacrifices on behalf of God’s people, Jesus forgave sins by his own divine authority as Messiah. Through his death in his human nature, Jesus forgave sins for all believers for all eternity as the perfect sacrifice himself. By his resurrection, he has truly defeated sin once and for all, and believers receive freedom from working for our salvation and the oppression of sin. In addition to this, Jesus is the perfect representative between God and man because of his human and divine natures. Jesus does not need to embody the divine presence of God because he is the divine presence of God, and likewise, he is the perfect representative of humanity to God because he fully took on our human nature and still holds it to this very day. Through this perfect representation, he lives to intercede for believers (Hebrews 7:25), for he loves us and sympathizes with our weakness because he has been tempted in every way we are, yet without sin (Hebrews 4:15).

Finally, when Jesus died, the veil to the Holy of Holies was torn, signifying that access to God’s divine presence was no longer limited to the temple and the priesthood. Through Jesus’ death and resurrection, he has perfectly and eternally mediated for God’s people so that they may always have access to God. Instead of trekking to the temple in Jerusalem where a priest could function as the intermediary for the divine presence, believers can have direct access to God, boldly coming before the throne of God in all things that we may find grace and mercy. Functionally, the office of human priesthood through the sacrificial system is no longer needed because it has been perfectly fulfilled in Christ, the greatest representative to both God and man in his divinity and humanity.

The Royal Priesthood

Today, believers are invited to participate in a holy and royal priesthood (1 Peter 2:5;9). This calling is similar to Israel’s calling in Exodus 19:6, “And you shall be to me a kingdom of priests and a holy nation.” Here are four ways that believers can participate in Christ’s royal priesthood.

Worship: Priests worshipped through song and sacrifice. Believers can lead others to worship God everyday in the same way that priests led others to worship God on holy days or during festivals in song and praise. In addition, believers can offer spiritual sacrifices as a fragrant offering to God (Hebrews 13:15-16; Philippians 4:8) such as doing good and sharing with others.
Represent: Priests represented God to humanity and humanity to God. Believers represent God to non-believers and other believers every day by bearing the name of Christ. We have a great calling to participate in Christ’s holiness, love, mercy, justice, patience, and all of his perfect attributes because it is through our participation and sanctification that others can see the goodness of God. Likewise, believers can also represent humanity to God by interceding on the behalf of others. For example, we can intercede for our brothers and sisters in Christ, non-believers we are in relationship with, or even people groups (especially unreached people groups).
Take Care of the Temple: Priests worked and kept the tabernacle and the temple. God now dwells among his people, the church. By actively making spiritual sacrifices and caring for the church, believers can participate in the royal priesthood every day. The Holy Spirit has given believers spiritual gifts for the purpose of building up the church (working and keeping the temple).
Bless: Priests brought blessings to God’s people. By participating in Christ’s perfect attributes, believers can serve as vehicles of blessing to each other and the world. Although God can bless others without our help, he invites us to participate in the process for our own sake and for his glory.

One day, the kingdom of priests will reign with God for ever and ever as God gathers his people to work and keep the new creation together without curse or sin. As believers, we can find assurance in this promise because Christ has fully atoned for our sin as the perfect high priest once and for all. We will see the Lamb in the future city face to face, serving him in worship and joy for eternity.