Tag Archives: Priesthood

Chapter-a-Day

Chapter-a-Day Hebrews 7

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First page of the Gospel of Mark, by Sargis Pi...
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Jesus became a priest, not by meeting the physical requirement of belonging to the tribe of Levi, but by the power of a life that cannot be destroyed. And the psalmist pointed this out when he prophesied, “You are a priest forever in the order of Melchizedek.” Hebrews 7:16-17

Some sections of God’s Message are difficult to understand outside of the context of the time and situation in which they were written. Because Jesus was Jewish, and his initial followers were Jewish, the early followers of Jesus were simply one of many sects of Judaism that have existed through the centuries. As Jesus’ followers began sharing that Jesus was, indeed, the Messiah that had been prophesied, they encountered a myriad of questions about their claim as it related to Jewish law and tradition. The book of Hebrews was, in fact, a letter written to address some of these questions.

For example, a priest is one who stands in the gap between man and God and who represents man before God. In Jewish tradition only the high priest can enter the holy place of God and he can only do so once a year to make atonement for the sins of all the people. Jesus’ followers has been explaining that Jesus, God’s Son, was the Great High Priest who came from Heaven to Earth to make atonement once for all with His sacrificial death and resurrection.

“Point-of-order!” their good Jewish brethren responded. Jesus could not be a High Priest because Jesus was from the tribe of Judah and the law of Moses states quite specifically that only members of the tribe of Levi can be priests.

In today’s chapter, the author of Hebrews addresses this question and refers them back to a verse in the Psalms in which the messiah is described as “a priest forever in the order of Melchizedek.” Melchizedek was a mysterious figure who enters the Biblical narrative during the time of Abraham, 500 years before Moses and the Jewish law. Melchizedek was recognized as High Priest by Abraham before there was a Jewish law or a Jewish tradition because Abraham was the father of the Jews. The author of Hebrews explains that Jesus was not a High Priest as defined by the constrictions of Jewish law of Moses. Rather, Jesus fulfilled the prophesy in Psalms and was a High Priest in the tradition of Melchizedek. Melchizedek presupposes and represents a higher, more ancient order of priesthood.

Today, I’m reminded that what I believe is a story that has been planned and revealed in chapters that span thousands and thousands and thousands of years. The story began long before my lifetime and will carry on long after this Earthly sojourn of mine is completed. While I believe that the great story is already written, today I continue to live out my own chapter of that same story in my life, my words, my actions, and my relationships.

Chapter-a-Day

Chapter-a-Day Numbers 8

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God spoke to Moses: “Take the Levites from the midst of the People of Israel and purify them for doing God’s work.” Numbers 8:5 (MSG)

For me, one of the fascinating things about walking through these ancient texts is perceiving the ways that our culture and thinking are still rooted in the systems and concepts which were established thousands of years ago.

In today’s chapter, the tribe of Levi was singled out among all of the tribes of Israel for carrying out the work of the temple. In other words, “God’s work” was reserved for a special few. In any human system, I have to believe this is going to set into motion certain patterns of thought, creating classes within the culture. The special few who are given the religious tasks are going to think themselves special, even to the point of being better than the others. They will have a hard time not feeling that they are closer to God than those who don’t get this special task. Those who are not part of these special few begin to feel the opposite. They feel left out and dishonored. “God’s work” is not for them, so they dismiss the things of God as something above them. Jealousy, envy and hatred can even set in against those who seem to be “special.”

After Jesus death and resurrection, there was a major shift in God’s prescribed system. God’s Holy Spirit was poured out and into every person who believes and follows. No longer for a certain people or a select few, the Holy Spirit made no distinction. God gave the word picture of one body in which every believer is made a vital part, gifted in some way to help provide for it’s health and functions. Jesus presented a radical new paradigm.

We human beings are silly creatures, however. Once we get used to a system of behavior, we are loathe to go to the work of changing them. Within a short period of time, the followers of Jesus had organized into a system that looked much like what we read about in Numbers. There were special people set apart as priests and leaders to do the religious works of this organization now known as “the church.” Once again this human organizational system created a group of spiritual “haves” and “have nots.” 1500 years later a man named Martin Luther made a 95 item “point-of-order” to correct the mistake, arguing that what God’s Message presented was not a special “priesthood” for the select few but a “priesthood of all believers.” The reformers organized to try to get back to the prescribed organization of Jesus and his followers.

We human beings are silly creatures, however. Once we get used to a system of behavior, we are loathe to go to the work of changing them. For over forty years I’ve attended and been involved in a number of church organizations of all shapes, sizes and names. I’ve even led a few. We still like to treat our pastors and priests as “special” people who are spiritually above us. The common person in the pew still tends to think of “God’s work” as something relegated to the chosen few; it is something from which they are at best exempted, at worst unfit to carry out.

[sigh]

Today, I am reminded at how easily my human condition, culture, and systems can skew my thoughts and behaviors from those which God intended. Lord, have mercy on me.