6th Wednesday in Lent

March 20, 2013

Christ, the Priest

Luke 22:42

Grace, Mercy and Peace are yours from God our Father and our Lord Jesus Christ!

    Luke 23:44-45

    It was now about the sixth hour, and there was darkness over the whole land until the ninth hour, [45] while the sun's light failed. And the curtain of the temple was torn in two.

    Tonight we take up the last in our list of titles of Jesus. He is Christ, the Priest.

In the first chapter of Luke we get a good description of what priests in Bible times did.

⁵ In the days of Herod, king of Judea, there was a priest named Zechariah,^[a] of the division of Abijah. And he had a wife from the daughters of Aaron, and her name was Elizabeth. ⁶ And they were both righteous before God, walkingblamelessly in all the commandments and statutes of the Lord. ⁷ But they had no child, because Elizabeth was barren, and both were advanced in years.

⁸ Now while he was serving as priest before God when his division was on duty, ⁹ according to the custom of the priesthood, he was chosen by lot to enter the temple of the Lord and burn incense. ¹⁰ And the whole multitude of the people were praying outside at the hour of incense. ¹¹ And there appeared to him an angel of the Lord standing on the right side of the altar of incense. ¹² And Zechariah was troubled when he saw him, and fear fell upon him. ¹³ But the angel said to him, “Do not be afraid, Zechariah, for your prayer has been heard, and your wife Elizabeth will bear you a son, and you shall call his name John.

¹ And the people were waiting for Zechariah, and they were wondering at his delay in the temple.

You can see the differences between our worship and the worship of the Jews under the Old Covenant. Note especially how the people were waiting outside the temple -- out of eyesight and earshot of what was going on inside. Only the priest could enter into the holy place. The people could never go into or see behind the thick, heavy veil that covered this place.

People had to live vicariously through the priest.  We can relate to that a little. That’s why reality shows are so big on TV. You don’t have to be the life of every party, you can live vicariously through watching the Kardashians or Honey Boo Boo. You don’t have to be the greatest cook. You can live vicariously through the cooking shows. We don’t have to be the top athletes, because we can live vicariously through our picks on the NCAA brackets.

Well that’s what the people of old had to do for their religion – live vicariously. The priest served to make the people’s prayers, to sacrifice for their sins, to go where no one else could go – behind the curtain into the holy places.

We don’t use this word “priest” very much in our tradition. There are some Lutherans, like in Russia, who call their ministers “priests.” Many other Christians do, as you know.  We don’t and I believe the biggest reason is that we reserve that title for Jesus.

Buddhism, native American religions, African religions, the religions of the ancient Greeks and Romans all had or have priests It was common to have this notion that people needed someone special who had an “in” with the gods, who was holier than usual, who either had some special skills or special knowledge or a special soul that allowed him or her to go farther spiritually than most. The rest of the people rely on the priest to go to God for them. It seems like there is a universal understanding that we human beings need some special permission, some holy help to enter into the holy place of God.

There are these short few words in the Bible that make a big point the curtain of the temple was torn in two.

This curtain in the temple in Jerusalem was 5 stories high. It was said to be as thick as a fist. It blocked off the holiest part of the temple. At the death of Jesus it was torn in two from top to bottom. It opened the way to the holy place of God.

Jesus is Christ, the Messiah, the Anointed one, anointed to be our Priest. For the thief on the cross next to Him, Jesus was Christ, the Priest, opening the way to paradise, giving access that would otherwise be impossible for any mortal man, let alone a criminal.

Hebrews 10:19-22     Therefore, brothers, since we have confidence to enter the holy places by the blood of Jesus, [20] by the new and living way that he opened for us through the curtain, that is, through his flesh, [21] and since we have a great priest over the house of God, [22] let us draw near with a true heart in full assurance of faith, with our hearts sprinkled clean from an evil conscience and our bodies washed with pure water.

By baptism, you have been sprinkled clean and purified and holy so that you can now go into the holy place, the presence of God Almighty.

Jesus is Christ, our Priest. He shows that on the cross where He becomes the last and perfect sacrifice for our sins. He opens for heaven to us. He is the Way. He prays for us even as He invites us and teaches us to use our privilege and access to pray.

 Use this title of Jesus in the days ahead as you pray. Say, “Dear Lord Jesus, my priest Thank you for opening the way for me into the presence of all that is holy." Amen.