Dana M. Harris
The Function of Biblical Priests
The essential concerns of a biblical priest involved maintaining holiness and mediating between God and humans. Priests facilitated Israel’s service to and worship of the Lord in the context of its covenantal relationship with God.
The Levitical Priesthood
After God’s paradigmatic work of deliverance, the exodus, God led his people to Sinai and identified them as a kingdom of priests and a holy nation (Exod 19:4–6). That the entire nation was understood in priestly terms indicates that Israel was called to mediate God’s holiness to the surrounding nations. This priestly designation was an integral part of the covenant that bound Israel to the Lord and facilitated access to his presence (Exod 20–24). Aaron and his sons were further set apart as priests for the nation (Exod 28–29; Lev 8). Later, when Aaron led the people in idolatrous worship, the Levites alone joined Moses in avenging the Lord’s honor (Exod 32:25–29). God then commanded Moses to set the Levites apart to assist Aaron and his sons in their priestly duties (Num 3:5–9; 8:5–26). Thus, there arose two priestly offices: priests and Levites.
Although both priests and Levites were part of the tribe of Levi, priests had to descend directly from Aaron (Num 3:10), whereas Levites did not. Furthermore, the high priest had to descend from Aaron’s son Eleazar (Num 20:25–28). Priests had to be ceremonially pure (Lev 21:1–4, 7–8) and free from defect (Lev 21:16–23; cf. Lev 10:6; 21:5–6). This purity reflected God’s own holiness and kept the tabernacle from defilement. The high priest alone offered the sin offering on the Day of Atonement (Lev 16) and entered the Most Holy Place. The greater degree of holiness associated with the high priest was indicated by his elaborate garments (Exod 28) and special anointing (Exod 29:7–9).
Levites belonged to the Lord in a unique way (Num 3:5–13, 44–45), being set apart to transport the tabernacle (Num 1:47–53), including the ark of the covenant—the locus of God’s holy presence. Several functions of the Levites physically portrayed important spiritual truths. First, following the plague on the Egyptian firstborn males, God set apart every Israelite firstborn male for himself; however, when the Lord set the Levites apart from the rest of Israel, they functioned as a substitute for the firstborn males of other tribes (Num 3:11–13), thereby visually depicting how one person could act representatively, or as a substitute, for another.
Second, during the wilderness wandering, Moses, Aaron, and their descendants camped at the eastern entrance of the tabernacle (Num 3:38), while the Levites’ camps surrounded the tabernacle on the west, south, and north (Num 3:23, 29, 35). Thus, the Levites provided a physical buffer between holy (God’s presence in the tabernacle) and profane or unclean (Num 1:53; cf. Lev 10:8–11), thereby indicating the increasing degrees of holiness as one approached God’s presence (see “Holiness”; see also Introduction to Leviticus: Major Theological Themes [Holiness and Purity]).
Finally, although the Levites received specially designated cities (Num 35:1–8; Josh 21:1–42), they did not receive land allotments as did the other tribes. Instead, the Lord himself was their inheritance (Num 18:20–24; Deut 18:1–2), thereby signifying that the true inheritance was not ultimately the land itself, but the Giver of the land.
The Monarchical and Exilic Periods
When David made Solomon king, he assigned the Levites to supervise the temple’s construction (1 Chr 23:1–4) and designated both priests and Levites as temple officials, judges, gatekeepers, or musicians (1 Chr 23:1—26:28; cf. 1 Chr 6:31–47). Because the priest Zadok remained faithful to David, unlike Abiathar (1 Kgs 1:1–8), the Zadokites are singled out in Ezekiel’s vision of the restored temple (Ezek 44:15–16).
The prophets show that the divine judgment leading to exile was partially due to priestly corruption and defilement (Jer 2:5–8; 5:31; Lam 4:13; Ezek 22:26; Hos 4:6–9; Zeph 3:4; Mal 3:1–4). Indeed Josiah’s reform included removing pagan priests from Judah (2 Kgs 23:1–20) and reaffirming the Levitical priesthood (2 Chr 35:10–14). When the temple was rebuilt after the exile, priests and Levites offered the Passover lamb (Ezra 6:19–21), taught the Law (Neh 8:7–8), and assisted in the covenant renewal (Neh 9:38).
The Priesthood and Jesus
During Jesus’ time, priests (such as Zechariah, Luke 1:5–23) continued their temple duties. Yet Jesus’ clearing of the temple (John 2:13–17; cf. Matt 21:12–13; Mark 11:15–17) demonstrated God’s judgment on the temple, which had become corrupt and abusive. The high priest was often politically appointed and cooperated with Rome, although, as the ruler of the Sanhedrin (the Jewish council), he wielded significant power. Priestly opposition to Jesus (especially by the high priest) arose partly from the faulty conviction that the temple and priesthood were permanent, rather than provisional until the ultimate fulfillment of their purposes in the Lord’s Anointed. Jesus made this clear in his interactions with the “chief priests” (priests of high rank), teachers of the law, and elders (Matt 16:21; 21:23–27; Mark 8:31; 11:27–33; Luke 9:22; 20:1–8; John 11:45–57), and in a parable directed against them (Matt 21:33–46; Luke 20:9–19). This opposition culminated in Jesus’ trial before the Sanhedrin, the high priest Caiaphas (Matthew 26:57–68; Mark 14:53–65), and Caiaphas’s father-in-law Annas (John 18:12–24). This opposition extended to the early church (Acts 4:1–22; 5:17–42; 6:8—7:58), even though a number of priests did come to faith (Acts 6:7).
Although Jesus did not perform priestly duties (Matt 8:1–4; Mark 1:40–44; Luke 5:12–14; 17:11–14; cf. Heb 7:13), he revealed a priestly self-understanding when he declared the standard of true cleanness (Matt 15:1–11; Mark 7:1–23; cf. Lev 10:10–11; Acts 10:9–16, 28), interpreted the law (Matt 5:17–48; Luke 24:27), and revealed the true intent of the Sabbath (Matt 12:1–13; Mark 2:23—3:6; Luke 6:1–11; 13:10–17; cf. John 5:16–18). Thus, in Jesus, God’s purposes for the priesthood are fulfilled. Furthermore, Jesus understood that the sacrifice he offered for sin was his own (sinless) life (Mark 10:45; Luke 22:19–20; cf. John 1:29).
Hebrews uniquely presents Jesus as the true high priest. Detailed comparisons between Jesus and the Levitical priesthood show the anticipatory nature and inherent limitations of the Levitical order, including repeated sacrifices (Heb 10:3), the high priest’s own sin (Heb 7:27), and the high priest’s eventual death (Heb 7:23). Unlike Levitical high priests, Jesus is appointed as Son (Heb 5:5) by divine oath (Heb 7:20–22). Moreover, Jesus is a priest of an entirely different kind: “in the order of Melchizedek” (Heb 5:6, 10; 6:20; 7:11, 17). The author of Hebrews draws several important conclusions from the account of Melchizedek, a priest of God most high, in Gen 14:17–20. In the ancient world, genealogy was usually an essential basis for selecting priests (although in some places high priests or priestesses were chosen by lot). Thus, an individual with no recorded genealogy who performed a priestly role by blessing Abraham is quite remarkable. Moreover, by giving Melchizedek a tithe, Abraham acknowledged Melchizedek as a legitimate priest. But Melchizedek was also a king. Although these offices were distinct throughout Israel’s history, Ps 110 designates one who is both king and eternal priest in the order of Melchizedek. For this reason, the author of Hebrews understood Melchizedek as pointing typologically to Christ (Heb 7), the perfect priest and king, although this OT figure himself was neither angelic nor messianic.
The presence of another priesthood confirmed the provisional nature of the Levitical one (Heb 7:11–19). Because Jesus’ priesthood rests upon the “power of an indestructible life” (Heb 7:16), it is eternal. As the eternal, perfect high priest, Jesus always intercedes for believers (Heb 7:24–25; cf. Heb 9:24; Rom 8:34; 1 John 2:1) in the true, heavenly sanctuary. As the priest and mediator of the new, eternal covenant, sins are remembered no more and God’s laws are written on believers’ hearts and minds (Heb 8:1–13; 9:15; 13:20).
Moreover, Jesus’ perfect sacrifice (Heb 5:8–9; 10:1–18) perfectly atones (Heb 2:17) because he is the sinless Son of God (Heb 7:26), who is also fully human (Heb 2:11–18). His fully efficacious sacrifice (Heb 9:26, 28; 10:12; 1 John 2:2) accomplished what animal sacrifices could not, namely, a cleansed conscience and access to God’s presence (Heb 9:14; cf. Eph 2:18; Jude 24–25). Unlike Levitical high priests, Jesus had no need to sacrifice for his own sins (Heb 7:27) or to enter the sanctuary repeatedly (Heb 9:25–26). Instead, he entered the heavenly Most Holy Place once for all by means of his own blood (Heb 9:12). Having completed his work of purification, he sits exalted at the right hand of God (Heb 1:3) as the great high priest over God’s house (Heb 10:21).
Believers as Priests
God’s intention for humanity is perfect fellowship with him in his holy realm. He entrusted the privilege of tending and extending his realm throughout the earth to Adam and Eve—a privilege that Gen 1–2 depicts in both royal and priestly terms. Their rebellion necessitated expulsion from God’s holy realm, which also resulted in a loss of their holy, priestly status. God’s redemptive plan, however, is outlined in the Abrahamic promises (Gen 12:1–3) and is further articulated at Sinai with Israel as “a kingdom of priests and a holy nation” (Exod 19:6). Thus, his plan has always involved a restoration of the holy status originally intended for humanity.
In the NT, titles applied to Israel at Sinai are applied to believers (1 Pet 2:9–10; Rev 1:6; 5:10), both Jews and Gentiles. Moreover, just as Israel was set apart and spared by the blood of the Passover lamb in Egypt (Exod 12:21–23), so also believers are made holy by the shed blood of the Lamb (cf. 1 Pet 1:18–19). The apostle Peter describes a new temple built upon Jesus Christ, the cornerstone, with believers as “living stones” who offer spiritual sacrifices (1 Pet 2:4–5)—their very lives (Rom 12:1–2) and thanksgiving (Heb 13:15–16). As priests, believers declare God’s praises to the world, fulfilling what Isaiah foresaw (Isa 66:19–21; cf. Isa 61:6; Rom 15:16). Priestly service ultimately involves worshiping the living God now (Heb 9:14) and forever before his throne (Rev 7:9–17; 20:6).