Jesus the Priest

"Q. 25. How doth Christ execute the office of a priest? A. Christ executeth the office of a priest, in his once offering up of himself a sacrifice to satisfy divine justice, and reconcile us to God; and in making continual intercession for us." (Westminster Shorter Catechism)

Jesus became our redeemer to deliver us from our estate of sin and misery. As our redeemer he executes the offices of a prophet, of a priest, and of a king. 

Why do we need a priest? 

Because apart from him we are alienated from God, guilty and defiled, condemned by divine justice, unable to dwell with a holy God.

Who were some of the priests in the Old Testament? 

Aaron, Eleazar, Phinehas, Zadok, Joshua (the high priest after the exile), and Ezra. Some of the priests were also prophets (Ezekiel) and one was also a king (Melchizedek).

What did they do?

They received God’s word from the prophets and taught it, maintained the worship and vindicated the holiness of God, offered the various sacrifices and gifts of the people to God, and interceded for the people (Deut. 33:8-11, Lev. 10:10-11, Mal. 1-2, Heb. 5:1-4).

Where was it prophesied that the Christ would be a priest? 

Isaiah 53 and Psalm 110. "The LORD has sworn and will not change his mind, 'You are a priest forever after the order of Melchizedek'" (Psalm 110:4).

What is significant about Jesus being a priest of the order of Melchizedek? 

As Hebrews 7 explains, Melchizedek was the priest-king of Salem who received a tithe from Abraham and was a type of Christ. Being of the order of Melchizedek, Jesus is superior to the Levitical priesthood and is a priest-king of peace and righteousness, without beginning or end. It also defeats the objection to the priesthood of Jesus on the grounds that he was of the tribe of Judah rather than Levi - the Christ who was prophesied to be king was also appointed by God’s oath as a priest of the order of Melchizedek.

How was Jesus greater than the Levitical priests? 

In contrast to the Levitical priests, who were “many in number because they were prevented by death from continuing in office, [Jesus] holds his priesthood permanently, because he continues forever” (Heb. 7:23-24). Jesus is God and man, and he was raised from the dead, to never die again, being made a “priest forever” by God’s oath. He also personally sinless and undefiled, without need to offer sacrifice for his own sins (Heb. 7:26-27).

Was it requisite that our priest be man? 

Yes, priests were chosen from among men to act on behalf of men in relation to God (Heb. 5:1-2). Jesus is a merciful high priest, able to sympathize with our weakness, having been tempted as we are, yet without sin (Heb. 2:17, 4:15).

What is the sacrifice that Jesus offered for sins? 

The sacrifice that he offered was himself. He partook of our flesh and blood to die for us, bearing our sins in his own body on the tree. Jesus secured an eternal redemption by his once-for-all offering of himself as a sacrifice without blemish to God (Heb. 9:12, 14). “But as it is, he has appeared once for all at the end of the ages to put away sin by the sacrifice of himself” (Hebrews 9:26).

How is this sacrifice superior to the sacrifices that were offered by the Levitical priests? 

The animal sacrifices of the old covenant were shadows of what was to come. They pointed to Christ, directing the old covenant saints to believe in the Christ to come for their salvation. The fact that these sacrifices had to be continually offered showed their insufficiency of themselves to take away sins. It is impossible for the blood of bulls and goats to take away sins (Heb. 10:1-4). The sacrifice of Christ did take away sins, once for all (Heb. 9:13–14). And rather than purifying the earthly holy place, which was a copy of the heavenly, Christ entered into the heavenly holy places by means of his own blood, appearing before God for us (Heb. 9:11-12).

What did Jesus do by his sacrifice of himself?

By his death, Jesus satisfied divine justice and reconciled us to God. His sacrifice of himself was a “propitiation” for our sins (Rom. 3:25, Heb. 2:17, 1 John 2:2, 4:10), which is to say that by atoning for our sins it appeased the just wrath of God and incurred God's favor. It is the grounds for our forgiveness, the debt of sin having been paid by Christ. By it, we are reconciled with God - peace has been made by the blood of the cross (Col. 1:20).

This is not to say that Jesus and the Father were at cross-purposes. The Father had sent the Son because of his love for us, so that God and sinners would be reconciled. As John Murray has said, “The doctrine of the propitiation is precisely this: that God loved the objects of His wrath so much that He gave His own Son to the end that He by His blood should make provision for the removal of this wrath.” (John Murray, The Atonement. Philadelphia, PA: Presbyterian and Reformed, 1962, p. 15)

How does Jesus continue to execute the office of a priest for us? 

He continues to make intercession for those who draw near to God through him (Heb. 7:25, Is. 53:12). As the Westminster Larger Catechism says, "Christ maketh intercession, by his appearing in our nature continually before the Father in heaven, in the merit of his obedience and sacrifice on earth, declaring his will to have it applied to all believers; answering all accusations against them, and procuring for them quiet of conscience, notwithstanding daily failings, access with boldness to the throne of grace, and acceptance of their persons and services" (Q&A 55).