In the first century, regardless of one's religion or location, the priest was a constant presence within one's daily life. In the Roman world every temple had priests or priestesses. These were the men and women who received sacrificial offerings, performed the necessary sacrificial rites and were the intermediaries between humans and the gods. Within Judaism priests carried out two very important functions. The first, like their Roman counterparts, was to perform the rites and rituals of sacrifice. The second function was to bless the people. Throughout the year there were rituals of worship centered on the Temple during which the priests would bless the people in order to insure their health and prosperity.
So, you may ask, what does this have to do with Jesus? If all we had were the Gospels there would be no connection between Jesus and the office of priest, other than Jesus occasional conversation with them or stories Jesus tells about them. While Jesus clearly takes on the role of prophet and offers himself as the messianic King (we will look at this next week), nowhere does Jesus perform any priestly functions. He does not institute a new priestly order. He does not build a new temple. He does not create a new religion with new rites and rituals. So, again, what does the office of priest have to do with Jesus?
The answer lies in the book of Hebrews. Within the book of Hebrews Jesus is declared to be a "high priest forever after the order of Melchizedek." (Hebrews 6:20). Then for the next couple of chapters the author of Hebrews unpacks that image and explains the importance of Jesus' priestly role. Before we look at Hebrews however let's take a short detour to find out about this Melchizedek person. Melchizedek is only mentioned twice in the Old Testament. He surfaces in Genesis 14:18 where he is described as the king of Salem and priest of the God Most High. In that capacity he blesses Abraham and receives a tithe in return. Melchizedek appears again in Psalm 110:4 in which the king (about whom the Psalm is written) will take on priestly duties of blessing the people and destroying God's enemies. Finally in the Qumran texts (texts written around the first century but not included in the Bible) Melchizedek is associated with the angel who will release God's people and defeat God's enemies.
The writer of Hebrews takes this limited information about Melchizedek and creates an entirely new form of priesthood with which Jesus will be associated. According to Hebrews Melchizedek has no father or mother and so is an eternal priest (7:3). He is greater than Abraham because Abraham gave Melchizedek a tithe (7:4). Melchizedek's priesthood is a replacement for the priesthood of Aaron because the Aaronic priesthood was not perfect (7:11) and this new priesthood brings a new set of laws (7:12). Where all of this is leading is to the claim that because Jesus is a priest after the order of Melchizedek (eternal and perfect) then there is a better covenant; a covenant through which Jesus is able for all time "to save those who draw near to God through him, since he always lives to make intercession for them" (7:25). As this kind of high priest Jesus does not have to daily sacrifice for the people but has offered himself, once and for all, as the sacrifice for humanity (7:27). Finally Jesus ministers in the true tent in heaven, of which the earthly tent (Temple) was merely a shadow (8:2-6).
While the arguments laid out by the writer of Hebrews might appear to be somewhat antiquated and confusing they are never the less important. They are important because they remind us that in Jesus' actions sin was defeated once and for all (9:26); that this new covenant has the power to change our hearts and make us new people (8:10); and that through Christ eternal life is made possible (9:15). In other words, with Jesus as priest we know that we have one who makes forgiveness and new life a daily reality thus allowing us to take hold of the hope that God offers to each of us.
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