Priest

Well, good morning, everyone. It's lovely to have you with us. Let me encourage you to grab a Bible and come with me to Leviticus chapters 8 to 10.

Leviticus 8 · chapter mention

That's where we're going to be this morning as we're back in this series, taking a kind of overview approach to this book.

And while you're turning there, let me just kind of remind you that we are a church that loves its 316s.

Okay, we love John 316.

For God to love the world, that he gave his one and only son, that all who believe in him will not perish but have eternal life.

It's a very heartbeat of who we are as the Lord's people.

We love that 316 and we love another one.

Okay, we love 2 Timothy 316.

All scripture is God breathed, even the bits that we find difficult to understand.

And that's the kind of conviction that's been driving this series, that all of scripture, all of the Bible is breathed out by God.

So just like it's good to go to the gym and work in maybe parts of your body that you wouldn't actually go towards,

because if you work out the same parts, it's going to be a kind of very lopsided body that you have.

Just like you would do that, so it's good to go towards the parts of our Bible that we wouldn't naturally go towards.

And it's great to hear, last week as we started this series, how people have been both encouraged and stretched as we've dived into this book of Leviticus.

So we're at chapters 8 to 10 today.

Wonderful chapters.

I really hope that, again, this encourages us and stretches us.

But to get us going today, I wonder if you've ever seen a sign like this.

Okay?

No entry.

You'd usually see it hanging in the entrance of a place where you are not allowed to go into.

So let me just give you a wee example of this.

I remember when I was at school, one of the most exciting things that ever happened in our little area where we lived just north of Glasgow

was that Rangers Football Club decided to build their training ground not too far from where we lived, right?

This was a dream for a football-crazy teenager.

And what we used to do during the summer holidays is some mates and I used to go down to the training ground

and we'd spend the afternoons there peering through the fence,

looking at some of the best players in Europe at the time do their thing, right?

So they're doing their set plays, they're honing their skills, they're tuning their technique.

And then once they'd finished training, we used to sprint round to the entrance and we used to watch them drive out in their fancy cars.

And they always used to come out of these big electric gates.

And we used to stand there and watch this, right?

The gates swing open.

Out drives an expensive car, right?

We might get a wave.

Car speeds off and then the electric gates slam shut.

And as they'd slam shut, you'd be presented with this sign on the outside that just said no entry,

underneath no unauthorised personnel.

And then you'd see the guy who was the bouncer on the door, the security guy,

looking at you as if to say,

not in a month of Sundays are you getting inside.

So we were standing outside this training ground, looking in,

realising that we would never have the credentials to ever get inside.

No entry.

Right?

You ever had an experience like that?

Friends, as we tap into the Bible story today,

this is kind of, at this point in the story, this is humanity's predicament.

Okay, and it has been ever since Genesis 3.

God creates the world and he creates human beings.

And here we have Adam and Eve and their creator God in the garden,

and all is well.

There is glorious harmony between creator and creature.

But because Adam and Eve sinned,

because they ate from the fruit,

from the forbidden tree,

sin entered the human heart

and they are thrown out of the garden of Eden.

And God has to do that.

He has to do that.

That is who he is.

Remember what we saw last week?

Sin and a holy God cannot coexist.

They are thrown out of the garden,

but it is bigger than that.

Okay, they are thrown out of the presence of God.

And God places at the entrance to the garden,

cherubim, right, angels,

and a flaming sword to guard it.

So at this point in the story,

Genesis 3,

the entrance to Eden,

hangs a sign that says,

no entry.

And that is where the story should have ended.

But because the God of the Bible is gracious and good,

he outlines his plan

to make a way for humanity

to re-enter and enjoy his presence.

Okay, what's fascinating,

the second half of the book of Exodus,

as you read about the construction

and the instructions

of the tabernacle,

this portable temple

that Israel carry with them

as they journey to the promised land

and is in the middle of them

as they stop and camp,

is that deliberately carved into its design

are echoes of Eden.

Okay, so there's light imagery there.

There's tree of life imagery.

There's gold and precious stone imagery.

And particularly in the Holy of Holies,

the most sacred bit where God dwells,

there's two cherubim on the top of the ark.

See what's going on?

Echoes of Eden.

And while that is terrific news on one level,

there still remains a sin problem.

And because of that,

the no entry sign to God's presence

still well and truly hangs.

No entry.

No unauthorized personnel.

So the people need somebody

who's qualified and set apart

and chosen

to come and take them into God's presence.

That's what chapters 8 to 10 are all about.

Okay, step forward.

The priests.

The priests.

They are,

if you want to think of it like this,

they are the go-betweens.

The mediators.

The go-betweens.

Yeah.

I heard somebody recount recently

how apparently at the height of the troubles

in Northern Ireland back in the day,

so tense was it

in the lead up to the Good Friday agreement

that Jerry Adams and David Trimble,

who were kind of the figureheads

of both sides of this,

they wouldn't even be in the same room together.

Okay, and so there they were,

the government headquarters

on different floors.

And Senator George Mitchell,

who was the kind of peace negotiator

between the two,

what he was doing

was running up and down the stairs

between the two parties,

passing on messages,

trying to broker a deal.

And he was doing this so often

that people joked

that he was the fittest man

in Northern Ireland at the time

because he was the runner.

He was the go-between.

Maybe that's a helpful way

to get your head around

the role of the priests here.

Right?

They are the go-betweens

between the people and God.

Okay?

In the time that we have,

we could do so much here.

I just want us to do two things.

Okay?

I want us to see two things

about the priests

from chapters 8 to 10.

Two things.

Okay?

Here's the first thing,

that a priest

can't just be anybody.

Right?

It can't just be anyone.

God must choose

the priest.

Right?

And who does God pick?

Come with me to chapter 8

and verse 1.

Who does God pick?

He picks Aaron.

Now right there,

that is not an insignificant detail.

We should be hugely encouraged

that that is the case

because in the context,

remember last week,

Aaron, Aaron,

has had an absolute shocker.

He's had a howler.

He's had a shocker.

Moses, his brother,

is up the mountain.

Meanwhile, Aaron is at the bottom

doing nothing

as the people are building

the golden calf.

Right?

And he comes down.

What does he do?

This calf just kind of

jumped out of the fire.

That's his excuse.

Just horrendous leadership.

Yet like Peter in the Gospels,

the grace and the plans

of this God

are bigger than our failures.

They are more glorious

than our mess.

This God specializes

in creating trophies

of his grace

and using them in his plans.

Okay?

Maybe some of us need

to bathe ourselves

in the truth of that today.

Okay, do you remember?

I forgot it.

Maybe some of us

need to bathe ourselves

in the truth of that today.

God picks Aaron and his sons

for this special role.

And you see how we get

a description of what he's to wear

from verse 7.

Chapter 8,

sash and a robe around him.

He's got a breast piece.

He's got a turban on his head.

You get more instructions on this.

The middle chapters of Exodus.

This is kingly language.

This is what he's to wear.

This is what the priests

are to wear.

And I take it all of this

is to help Israel visibly see

that Aaron and his sons

are being set apart

for this role.

That you would see them

as you walked about

in everyday life.

There's the priests.

That's what they do.

You recognize them.

And verse 14,

sacrifices made

for Aaron's sins

so that they can be atoned for.

Right?

So this guy might be set apart.

These guys might be set apart.

But they're still human.

Still sinful.

And they need to be made fit

for coming near God's presence.

Okay?

It's common, isn't it,

when you go around

to people's houses

for them to expect

for you to take off your shoes.

Think about it like this.

Okay?

It's what you do.

People don't want you

traipsing mud

all the way into the house,

especially if you've got

nice cream carpets, right?

That's a disaster.

And I was always saying

that's the reason

why people have welcome mats,

not just welcome signs,

but at the entrance

to their homes.

Really, the welcome mats

should just say,

don't bring your dirt in here.

People don't want you

traipsing mud, dirt

into their homes.

Well, how much more

is that the case

as we consider the place

where God lives?

If you're going to be

near God's presence,

if you're going to come close,

you must be spotlessly

clean of sin.

That's the instruction

to the priests here.

As a friend of mine

pointed out,

and I think this is

really helpful imagery,

if it's not dealt with,

it's like running into a fire

covered in paraffin.

That's the effect of sin

in a holy God.

You cannot just wander in.

You cannot just

waltz your way in.

Sin needs to be atoned for.

And after the consecration service

in front of all Israel,

we get this at verse 30.

Okay, so he,

that's Moses,

consecrated Aaron

and his garments

and his sons

and their garments.

So in other words,

we're good to rock and roll

at this stage.

Good to rock and roll.

Okay, a priest

can't just be anybody.

And secondly,

a priest

can't just do anything.

Okay,

God gives them

two jobs to do.

There's two sides

of the priest coin,

if you want to think

about it like this.

On the one side,

the priest

represents

the people to God.

So we get this

in chapter 9.

You'll see it begins

verse 1

on the eighth day.

So we're at the start

of a new week.

And as if they say,

here is the first shot

at this new setup.

Verse 3,

the people are invited

to bring their sacrifices

to the entrance.

And the priest

will play their part

in sprinkling the blood

of the sacrifices

so that atonement

for the people's sin

can be made.

So do you see it?

See, the priest

represents the people

to God.

And the other side

of the coin,

the priest represents

God to the people.

See the promise

of verse 6.

Because of the

atoning sacrifice,

because atonement

has been made,

God's glory

will appear

to the people.

So God is going

to come and dwell

with his people.

This is a huge moment.

A huge moment.

And verse 8,

Aaron goes for it.

Has a shot.

Okay, look at verse 22

and 23 of chapter 9.

This is key.

This is key.

We're going to read

this together.

Verse 22

and 23 of chapter 9.

Then Aaron lifted

his hands

toward the people

and blessed them

and having sacrificed

the sin offering,

the burnt offering

and the fellowship offering,

he stepped down.

Question,

is this going to work?

Is it going to work?

Has this worked?

Verse 23,

Moses and Aaron

then went into

the tent of meeting.

And when they came out,

they blessed the people

and the glory of the Lord

appeared to all the people.

Do you see it?

It worked.

It's working.

Because of the priest's work,

God is present

with his people.

They represent

God to the people.

Kind of another aspect

to that,

if you want,

verse 11 of chapter 10.

Apologies,

we're jumping about a bit,

but I think this is

worth seeing.

Verse 11 of chapter 10,

they teach the people

God's word as well.

It's another part

of the representation role.

They help the people

understand who this God is,

what he's like,

what he's done.

He's got a teaching role as well.

So see the two sides

of the priest's coin.

A priest can't just do

anything.

They represent the people

to God

and they represent God

to the people.

And God has given them

a precise job description

and an exact way

to carry it out.

And I think that's how

we're to understand

the events of chapter 10.

Whenever God has given them

a precise job to do,

a precise way to do it,

chapter 10,

because these two priests,

Nadab and Abihu,

they just blatantly ignore

what God has said

about the job.

Verse 1,

chapter 10,

tells us that

they offered

unauthorized fire.

And we're not given

too much more

about what else they did,

but the very fact

that the word

unauthorized is used

is showing us

that they're doing things

in a casual

and a complacent way.

Isn't it wonderful

that God is dwelling with us?

Let's go in

and have a bit of fun.

Okay?

Remember what we said.

It's complacent,

casual.

It's like the paraffin

of their sins

still on them

and they walk

into God's fire,

holy presence.

Okay?

It's almost as if

at this key moment

in salvation history,

God reminds the entire nation

that yes,

he might be near,

but he's still holy.

He's still holy.

Okay?

Verse 1 of chapter 16,

this is what they've done.

They've just ran

into his presence.

And you don't do that.

You've got to do it

exactly how God said.

Right?

Priests can't be sloppy.

You know,

I've started reading

the Narnia books

with Chloe,

our oldest daughter.

So,

we haven't got to

number two

in the series yet,

but I'm looking forward

to meeting Aslan with her.

Okay?

What is it?

The conversation,

the famous conversation

between Lucy

and Mr. Beaver

about Aslan.

Safe,

said Mr. Beaver.

Who said anything

about safe?

Of course he isn't safe,

but he is good.

He is the king,

I tell you.

Here is the

go-between.

Here is the role

of the priest,

the go-between.

But as celebratory

as this scene might be,

and we've got to understand

that this is a huge moment here.

This is a huge moment.

There are still

two problems.

Right?

The priests,

they've sinned themselves.

That's still a huge problem.

And number two,

the priests will die.

It's a huge problem.

Well, remember,

we saw last week,

we think back to last week,

we thought about our toy shop.

Remember the toy shop?

Getting kids ready

for the real thing.

Okay?

Well, these exact two problems

the writer to the Hebrews

picks up on.

But he does

more than that,

the writer.

The writer shows us

that Jesus

is our great high priest.

Okay?

He is the one

who not only addresses

those two problems,

but he is the one

who this whole

office of priest

was pointing to.

And this is what it says

in Hebrews 7.

We'll put these words

on the screen

and we'll read this together

and see how Jesus

is the answer

to these two problems.

Okay, now there have been

many of those priests

since death prevented them

from continuing in office.

Do you see the problem?

But because Jesus

lives forever,

he has a permanent priesthood.

Therefore,

he is able to save

completely

those who come to God

through him

because he always lives

to intercede for them.

Such a high priest

truly meets our need.

One who is holy,

blameless, pure,

set apart from sinners,

exalted above the heavens.

Unlike the other

high priests,

he does not need

to offer sacrifices

day after day.

First for his own sins

and then for the sins

of the people.

He sacrificed

for their sins

once for all

when he offered himself.

Do you see it?

He is the answer

to these two problems.

Jesus Christ.

You know,

here's another way

of thinking about it.

Okay,

Hugh Grant,

the actor.

Hugh Grant,

you got him in your head.

My flatmate at uni

always used to make

a joke about Hugh Grant.

that he's in many,

many films,

but in each film

he plays the same role.

Think about that.

Maybe that's harsh,

I don't know.

Every single film

he plays

the kind of proper Englishman.

That's all he's got,

right?

And he's very good at it,

but that's what he does.

All the films,

but he plays one role.

The more you get

into Leviticus,

you see that Jesus

is the opposite

of Hugh Grant.

Right?

If Leviticus was a film,

one film,

Jesus is playing

the many roles.

Okay,

do you see how Jesus

isn't just everything

that the sacrifice

pointed to?

That's fulfilled in him.

Jesus is everything

that the priest

was pointing to as well.

Okay,

he is our great

go-between.

He is the only

go-between

between God and man.

And let me just say,

this is where we

respectfully

and lovingly disagree

with our Catholic friends.

Because no saint

can play this role.

No person

wearing a robe

or a dog collar

can play this role.

And in our own circles,

right,

friends,

a worship leader

can play this role.

No pastor,

no elder

can play this role.

Jesus is the only

go-between

between God and man.

Jesus is the only one

who can lead us

into God's presence.

And to claim

that anyone else

can do that,

to use that language,

is to rob him

of glory.

He is the great

and only

go-between.

And one of the priests,

things that they wear,

is the names

of the twelve tribes

of Israel

on them.

Representing

the people

to God.

Well,

as it were,

Jesus bears

our names

in him

as he stands

having defeated

death

at God's

right hand

in heaven.

And what is he

doing there?

He is

interceding

for us.

Friends,

we fail,

he's praying.

We fall,

he's praying.

We mess up,

he's praying.

That's who he is.

That's where he is.

And I hope

that encourages you

this morning,

whatever's going on

in your life.

That that is what

Jesus ever lives

to do.

He's not sitting

in heaven

having accomplished

his work,

twiddling his thumbs.

He's praying

for us.

We have a priest

who's doing that

and we have a priest

who sympathizes

with us

in our weakness.

We have a priest

who knows who you are.

We have a priest,

you have a priest

who knows what

you're going through.

You have a priest

who knows your needs

and you have a priest

who loves you

like you wouldn't

believe was ever

possible.

And you have a priest

who has made it

his life mission

to pray for you

in the best place

possible

at the right hand

of the Father

as the Lion of Judah

and as the Lamb

who was slain.

That's your priest.

And that's what

the New Testament

is telling us.

It's been all about him.

It's been all about

that priest.

And in a very

spiritual sense

but in nonetheless

a very real sense,

friends,

because we are

caught up in him,

because we are in him,

we are in the very

presence of God

because of Jesus.

He is our great

go-between.

You know,

in the words of

Robert Murray McShane,

famous Scottish minister

from years ago,

if I could hear Christ

praying for me

in the next room,

I would not fear

a million enemies.

Yet distance

makes no difference

because he is

praying

for me.

You know,

let me just finish

by taking you

back to the

Rangers training

ground.

Okay,

remember those

big gates that

said no entry?

Well,

something happened

when I was a teenager.

My phone went

one evening.

Okay,

and it was my mate

and he was texting

me.

Okay,

and because he was

texting me,

I knew it was

something special

because back then

you paid 10 pence

for a text,

you could only have

160 characters

and you'd only send

it,

being Scottish,

if it was

something special.

Okay,

so he sent me a text

and it said,

well,

it turned out

the club had

invited all the

people who were

living in the

surrounding area

to come and see

inside the

training ground.

Right,

and my friend

was near enough

just in the

catchment area

that he got an

invite.

And so his text

simply said,

I got an invite.

And then it said,

and I get to

bring a friend.

Okay,

and if he had a

sense of humour

he would have

said to me,

can you go and

ask your brother

if he's free?

But he didn't do

that.

He said,

would you like

to come?

Would you like

to come?

So there we are,

we rock up the

next Friday evening,

jeans and a t-shirt

and to our

amazement,

the guy in the

door opens the

gates and the

gates open for us.

For us.

Schoolkids,

jeans and a t-shirt.

The gates open for us

and we're in,

right?

Honestly,

it felt like Charlie

from Charlie and the

Chocolate Factory.

This is my golden

ticket.

This is never going

to happen again.

I think in the

end we were so

excited they

actually had to

kick us out.

But here's what I

was so aware of

that whole evening.

I was in,

not because of

who I was.

Right?

Jeans and a t-shirt.

Not in because of

who I was.

I was in because of

who he was.

Because of who he

was.

Friends,

how much more

reason do we

have to celebrate

the news and

take full advantage

of the truth

that Jesus,

our great high

priest,

brings us into

the presence of

God because of

our faith in him.

And maybe some of

you need to do

that this morning.

You need to repent

and trust in him.

He brings us into

the presence of

God and,

and he brings us

in as a son and

a daughter of the

living God and we

can address him

and know him

as father.

friends,

let us then

approach God's

throne of grace

with confidence

so that we may

receive mercy

and find grace

to help us

in our time of

need.

Let's pray

together.

Heavenly Father,

we've got no

words to say

other than

thank you

thank you for

sending your son.

Thank you for

making a way for

us through the

gospel,

through the atoning

work of Jesus,

through his blood

of being brought

into your presence.

Let me just praise

you for the love

which you have

lavished upon us.

And so,

Father,

I pray for anyone

watching this here

today who is

struggling.

I pray that you

would help by

your indwelling

spirit,

help lift their

eyes to their

great high priest

Jesus Christ who

is praying for

them.

Thank you,

Lord,

for your just

great love for

us.

And help us,

Lord,

just to take

full advantage

and to know

you as

father.

In Jesus' name

we pray.

Amen.

Amen.

Amen.

Amen.

Amen.

Amen.