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     God used several metaphors to describe the Christian, especially his relationship with God and with other Christians (belong to Christ), collectively called the church (called out from a life of sin and the sinful world).  Last week we considered a misunderstood word in Christendom – saint.  Saint is actually every Christian, meaning a person who has separated himself from sin and the world’s ways of sin.  Another grossly misunderstood word is priest.

     Indeed, a priest was a special class of people in the Old Testament.  Actually priests were people with a special role.  The first priest of God in the Bible is Melchizedek who appears momentarily in the life of Abraham (Genesis 14:18-20).  The pagans also had priests (e.g., 1 Samuel 5:5; 6:2; 2 Kings 11:18).  What made priests unique?  What did priests do?

     In the original biblical language, the word priest comes from an ancient root word meaning “to stand.”  The Bible and other ancient texts show the priests’ place was to stand before their deity.  The Old Testament reveals the priests standing before God as His representative, accepting the sacrifices from worshipers and officiating in the offering of them to God.  One of the priests was designated the high priest who was the only person authorized to enter the inner sanctum (God’s dwelling among men) of the temple to offer the atonement sacrifice for the entire nation.  Only he could do so, only after he had offered a sacrifice for his own sins then he, and only he, could do so one special day annually – the Day of Atonement (Leviticus 16).  The New Testament reveals a priesthood which is entirely different in Christianity.

     Since the high priest was the only person who could stand before God to offer a sacrifice for the sins of the nation, Jesus became the high priest who offered Himself on the cross as the sacrifice for the sins of all of mankind, then offered His blood before God as atonement for our sins (Hebrews 9:11-15, 24, 25).  In so doing, He set aside the Old Testament, all of it, including a separate priesthood and established the New Testament (Hebrews 8:7-13; 9:15; 10:9,10).  (Note the Old Testament was between God and ancient Israel and no one else [neither nation or individual].  The New Testament is between God and whoever will come to Him on the terms He has set forth in the New Testament.)  Is there a priesthood in Christianity?  Yes!

     Who are the priests in Christianity?  Jesus is the High Priest, sitting next to the Father in heaven (Hebrews 10:12).  And priests?  Each Christian is a priest, standing before God, offering himself to God.  The apostle Peter wrote regarding Christians, “you also, as living stones, are being built up a spiritual house, a holy priesthood, to offer up spiritual sacrifices acceptable to God through Jesus Christ...But you are a chosen generation, a royal priesthood....” (1 Peter 2:5, 9).  Thus, every Christian is a priest

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