You Don't Need a Priest Anymore - March 8, 2026

In our I'm in a mentorship group on a Friday mornings with a

group of men and over the past couple of sessions we've been in

a book that has sparked some conversation.

And we've been talking a lot about the type of conversations.

That that we have with our wives and and beginning.

To kind of think through how when we're not careful.

A. Huge percentage, maybe almost

all of the conversations that we're having with our wives are

logistical do. You know what I mean by that?

Like who's got the kids? What's for lunch?

What's the calendar? Look like, did we forget soccer?

Who? It's just, it's just, it's just

stuff that we got to do and more stuff and more stuff.

And the next thing you know? That that relationship has kind

of. Devolved.

And you're not having. Deep and meaningful.

Conversations with them Hardly at all.

Anymore and feel disconnected to someone that you're sitting

right next to. And so we've been asking that

question. How often?

Are your. Conversations deep and

meaningful. You know right now.

We. There's studies that say that we

as a culture are losing our ability to have.

Deep and meaningful conversations with one another.

Face to face, which is actually impacting our entire society's

ability to build. Deep, intimate human

relationships. We're actually losing one of the

most. Important parts of being a human

connecting at a deep level and this is.

Not the first time. That.

Something like this has happened if you turn to the the very

beginning of the Bible, the very first story, humanity, the first

humans, Adam and Eve, they got to.

Walk and talk with Jesus in the garden and have these.

Face to face. Conversations until they

rebelled and in disobeying God they.

Fractured that relationship. And it.

Created a rift, it created a barrier between a sinful,

rebellious people and a holy perfect God and all of the Old

Testament. There are 39 books in the Old

Testament and all of the Old Testament, you see, God has to

rebuild kind of a A. Formal legal framework.

As sort of an imperfect way to give a, a messy, sinful humanity

a partial access to God. And then so you hear about all

these kind of strange things. If you're new to the Bible,

they're very strange. You hear about a thing called a

temple, and you hear about this thing called sacrifices, and you

hear all Levitical priests. What are all these things?

They're. Mechanisms by which God was

having to restore relationship imperfectly, waiting for a

perfect restoration. So here's what we're going to

do. We're going to jump in our text

today and what Jesus is going to remind you in week 6 of this.

Jesus is sitting at a dinner table.

It's the Last Supper. He's sitting with his 12 closest

disciples, and he's preparing them for the fact that in just a

few hours, he's going to go to the.

Garden of Gethsemane. He's going to be arrested, he's

going to be tried, he's going to be beaten and then he's going to

be. Crucified.

He's. Leaving them and so he wants to

to finish preparing. Them for the.

Fact that he's going to be gone and what we're going to look at

today in this text I want you to see.

I want you to. I really want you to take away

this concept. That's this that's nested in

this this section of Scripture and it is this.

God is calling us to draw near and be known, to draw near and

be known. Let's start reading John chapter

John 16 · chapter mention

16. We're going to.

Read verse 16. We're going to skip down to

22/23/24. Here we go.

This is Jesus speaking to his. Disciples at the Last Supper, a

little while. And you will see me no longer.

And again a little while and you.

Will see me so he's he's going to go to the cross and then he's

going to come back. And they kind of argue we don't

know what this means, you know, and you get down to 22 after

they argue about it for. A little while and he says

you're going to be sad, and then he says so.

You also will have sorrow now. But I will see you again.

That's verse 22 and your. Hearts will rejoice and no one

will take your joy from you, because in that day he's talking

about, once he resurrects, in that day, you will ask.

Nothing of me. Truly, truly, I say to you,

whatever you ask of the Father. In my name he will give to you

until. Now you have asked.

Nothing in my name. Ask and you will.

Receive that your joy. May be full.

Now I want to submit to you that what just what he just said in

verses 23 and 24 is actually one of the most.

Profound moments in. All of the Bible because what

Jesus has actually just said to them.

Which I think they missed at them at that time.

What he actually just told them is that all of the ways that God

has. Interacted with humanity for.

Thousands of years up until that point.

Is about to completely change. Like everything about how they.

They interacted is about to change and.

And and I think. It would have been easy for them

to miss in this moment, at this dinner.

He's saying lots. Of profound things and they

don't really understand. Him and I think they missed it

in this moment. But but, but, he says whatever

you ask. In my father's name.

He will give you now. Now why would that change

everything? Well, I think what what you and

I maybe would struggle to understand is that the way that

they interacted with God was very different than how we

interact with God. And we don't live in that.

And so I wanted to, I want to kind of walk through that a

little bit, see if you were living in that moment.

They had been born into this idea that God was far away

because God was holy and perfect and people are mired.

In sin and a. Holy God can't be around a

sinful people if sinful people want to live, and So what God

had. Done and established.

That they were born. Into in that time.

Was he had established A dwelling place where he would be

and it was called. The temple.

And his presence stayed. In this thing called the ark of

the. Covenant.

It was in the middle. Of the Temple in a place called

the Holy of Holies. And that.

Place was separated from everything else with a four inch

thick. Curtain from the.

Ceiling to the floor, separate, and one day per year one man,

the high priest, if he did everything right, was allowed to

go in past that. Curtain and be in the presence.

Of God on behalf. Of the.

People now if you're listening to this and maybe you're.

Maybe you're new to Christianity.

Maybe you came today and you would.

Actually, not even label yourself a Christian.

You you would say. I'm a skeptic.

Or I maybe I'm. Spiritual, but I'm not.

Christian and you're listening. To some of this, first of all,

I'm. Glad you're here today.

Welcome. But secondly.

Give me a few minutes to explain.

What what they had to go through.

And then you'll understand. Why it was so?

Revolutionary what? Jesus was about to.

Do and say OK because to be. Even in the presence of God or

near the presence of God, you would have had to travel.

To Jerusalem. Physically to the temple and I

don't know if you know this or not, but they did not have Uber.

It was a long. Trip for many people.

See if you needed something from God, if you had a major.

Anyone ever had a major request of God?

I'm tired. Like you had a, you had a.

You had a sick child, someone on their.

Deathbed, you're a. Farmer and your your.

Crops weren't even. Producing you were.

Going to start, you had a, you had a major request.

You would have to take your petition physically to God.

So you would have to go on what was called a pilgrimage to

Jerusalem. And most of that was by foot in

sandals, unless you were wealthy enough to have a donkey.

And then when you would get to the temple, what you need to

know about the temple is it wasn't equal access.

You couldn't just walk in and talk to.

God. It was completely divided.

There were these spaces in the temple.

These kind of concentric. Circles called courts.

And they were. All divided.

There were barriers there, and they were divided by.

Gender and ethnicity and purity status and and each of these

sections. Was more restrictive than the

last. Let me show you a picture of the

temple. If you were, If you were a.

Gentile meaning a non. Jewish person, You couldn't even

go past those walls. It was called the Court of

Gentiles. You were on the very outside,

and it was as close as you could get to the presence of God, and

you had to stand on the. Outside, and that was.

As far as you could go and if you were lucky enough to be born

as a Jewish. Woman you could go into.

That very next court, it's called the Court of Women's,

where? The Treasury was, but that was.

As far as you were allowed to go and listen you on the walls, how

restrictive it was on the walls in three different languages.

It said enter on penalty of death.

Serious. It's like my wife's closet.

This. Is going to get me for that

later. And if you, if you were a Jewish

man, you could go one step further.

It was called the court of Israel.

But even here you couldn't go to the presence of the fact.

You couldn't even go to the altar.

Only Levitical priests who had been born into a certain tribe

and set apart since birth could go to the altar, and they

couldn't go to the Holy of Holies into the presence of God

except for one. Of them once a year.

Barriers, limitations, and and even even the even the.

Even the high priest, once per year, would have to go through

all this ritual ceremony to purify himself.

And if he did anything wrong, went.

In with the wrong. Heart did the wrong things and

went into the. Presence of God.

He would die. Why all this separation?

To communicate. To all of the people.

That God is holy and we are not, and there is a gap between US

and. God and it required.

Special mediation so. If you had a request of God and

you want to be close to the presence of God, you had to

travel all the way to the temple.

And not just travel to the temple, you had to bring him a

gift. It's called a free will

offering. You couldn't simply go to the

temple and the priest empty handed.

With your request. You had to bring an offering

for. Significant.

Petitions A free will offering called.

Anetiva was brought voluntarily to demonstrate sincerity,

gratitude, reverence, and so you.

Need to bring an animal without defect or blemish.

The best of the best, in fact, the cost was.

Part of it. It needed to be worth something,

and so so. If you're on your pilgrimage,

you've carted that all the way in this multi day trip, all the

way to Jerusalem carrying this this.

Perfect animal and then you're standing in.

Line waiting with your. Sacrifice and your petition and

the. Priests are doing all.

Kinds of offerings all day long. Offerings of worship.

Daily burnt offerings and then. Even if you could get all the

way here with your with your perfect gift and your long trip,

you you actually couldn't take. It to God.

You had to hand it off to a priest.

And stand on the outside and watch someone that was set apart

from birth had to go and take that offering to God for you.

Now imagine that you have this this multi day journey just.

To talk to God. And you had to bring a gift.

And then even when you. Get there.

You have to. Hand your prayer request off to

a stranger. You don't get to ask.

God, someone else has to do it. That's the system the disciples

were living under at this moment when they're sitting around the

dinner table and Jesus says this, this is what they've been

born into and all they've ever known.

And so Jesus says. Everything is about to change

whatever you ask the. Father in my name my Father will

give you. And they didn't understand what

was about to happen because of what?

Jesus. Was about to do the presence of

God was no. Longer going to be in a temple.

Jesus had already been foreshadowing.

That this was coming in. John chapter 4 he.

John 4 · chapter mention

Meets a Samaritan woman at the well.

And he? Tells her that they're kind of

arguing and and and and and, he says.

Listen, the hour's coming when you're not going to go to

Jerusalem to worship. The Father is looking for

worshippers who will. Worship in spirit and in truth,

because the very Holy Spirit will live inside of us.

Later, in a book called First Corinthians, a different

disciple of Jesus, the Apostle Paul, will explain it this way

in verse. 19 of. Chapter 6 he says or do you not

know that your body is a temple of the Holy Spirit within you,

whom you have from God you? Are not your own for you were

bought with a price. So glorify God in your body.

You don't go to the temple. You are the temple and you don't

bring a sacrifice anymore, a free will offering.

Jesus says whatever you ask. In my name.

In my name. Now listen, this has been

misinterpreted. At times people think like if I

just say Jesus name, it's like a magic formula.

It's like magic words. It's like a Harry Potter spell

or Hogwarts, right? Wingardium Leviosa, There's

nothing. Magical about it.

There's something covenantal about it.

When Jesus says in my name, he's saying you are referring to the

covenant, the promise that I am fulfilling with my.

Very life and death. So when we pray in Jesus.

Name. We're referencing his work and

and and. Not only is it.

Was it hard for them to understand in that moment?

They would continue to struggle with it.

The book of Hebrews is written. To a group of.

Jewish Christians that are. Struggling understanding that

the old system of. Priesthood had.

Changed. Listen to Hebrews chapter 10 as

Hebrews 10 · chapter mention

the author. Tries to explain to these people

how everything has changed. About the system he says this.

And by that will we have been sanctified.

Through the offering of the body of Jesus Christ.

Once for all, and then he refers to the old system.

And every priest stands daily at his service.

He's talking about the old temple where they had all the

sacrifices, offering repeatedly the same sacrifices which can

never. Take away sins.

But when Christ had offered for. All time a single sacrifice for

sins, he sat down at the right hand of God, waiting from that

time until his enemies should be made a footstool for his feet.

For by a single. Offering.

He has perfected for all time. Those who are being sanctified.

So why would you bring a bull or a goat or a?

Lamb, when the perfect Son of God has paid it all so you don't

have to physically go anywhere and you don't have to.

Bring anything with. You and then lastly you don't

need a. Priest, you are a.

Priest. That's what the Bible.

Says when Christ saves you and he.

Puts his holy. Spirit inside of you.

You. Are now chosen and set apart.

The apostle Peter will tell the church this later in first Peter

two. He says it this way.

But you say me are a chosen race, a royal priesthood, a holy

nation, a people for his own possession, that you may

proclaim the excellencies of him who?

Called you out of. Darkness and into his marvelous

light. You don't need a tribe of

priests. You are a priest.

You don't need to be born into a specific ethnicity.

You. Are a holy nation.

You have greater access to God. Right now than any high.

Priest in history ever had You don't have to wait once a year

to go be in the presence of God. You can go whenever you want.

And the priest, he had the tiptoe in, He had to do all the

stuff and all the purification rights and hope he got it all

right and go in like, man, I hope I don't die.

You don't have. To do that now, the Bible says

you're a son. And daughter of the King.

You get to go into the throne room like it's Dad.

That's what Hebrews 416 says. Let us then, with confidence,

draw near. To the throne of.

Grace that. We may receive mercy.

And find grace to help in time of need.

That word? Confidence.

That's the word. Parisia and Parisia.

Literally. Means the way a.

Son or a daughter would go to their dad.

You all ever met Dave Camelli son Kevin?

Confidence, that's how we're. Supposed to go to God.

Boldness. Because he loves us in my early

Christian life, I think. For most of it.

I lived like God was far off, like I'll go see him on Sunday.

He must live at the church. I'll go see him.

He must live with the pastor. How silly of me, just just

missing, missing it, missing all that Jesus had done so.

That I had access. To God in just a few hours from

this dinner, as Jesus is telling the disciples this as he's

foreshadowing what's about to come, he's going to make that

sacrifice. In Matthew 27, as Jesus is on

the cross, it says this. Now from the 6th hour there was

darkness all over the land until the 9th hour, and about the 9th

hour Jesus cried. Out with a loud.

Voice saying Eli, Eli Lemma Subhakhtani, that is my God, my

God, why have you forsaken me? And Jesus cried out again with a

loud voice, and yielded up his Spirit, and behold.

Here it is, the curtain. Of the temple, 4 inches thick,

torn in. Two from top to.

Bottom The separation between US and God and the Earth.

Shook. And the rocks were split, and

the tombs were opened, and many bodies of the Saints who had

fallen asleep were raised and coming.

Out of the tombs after his resurrection, they went into the

Holy city and appeared to many. And when the centurion?

And those. Who are with him, keeping watch

over Jesus? Saw the earthquake.

And what took place, they were filled with awe and said truly,

this is the Son of God. Jesus is not far off anymore.

He is near, and Jesus is not asking you to bring things.

He gives to us. And Jesus is not blocked by

intermediaries. He's face to face.

You don't need a temple because you are the temple.

You don't need an offering because Jesus was the ultimate

offering. And you don't need a priest

because you are the royal priesthood, a son or daughter of

the King. All of the limits are gone.

He is calling you to draw near and be known, and he finishes

with even more good news that they don't understand.

He says ask and you will receive that.

Why would you do this that? Your joy may be full.

I'm going to remove all of the obstacles and all the

limitations that separated us from God.

That's Jesus. Blood shed on the cross does

this. So that we can have genuine

intimacy with God, we can experience joy.

To. Know and be known.

Sin broke this in the garden. Jesus restores this the moment

sin entered. The first action.

From face to face with Jesus to. Hiding so that.

He can't see me. It is both.

I believe the greatest, deepest. Human desire and our greatest

fear. To be fully known and loved is

our greatest need, or to be fully known and rejected is our

greatest fear. When I was, I think I was. 16

I'm getting old so now I can't remember the exact time but.

When I was 16, I went on my first kind.

Of formal date A. Girl at work asked me out.

And I was going to go. Pick her up and take her to the.

Movies and so I. I put on my nicest clothes,

which we were very poor so they were not actually very nice, but

I was trying. And.

I was. As a kid, I was.

By 16 I was very self-conscious of being poor.

I was at the age. Where you know that it's

different and. We had one family car.

Anyone. Ever.

Grew up in a family that only had one car.

OK, we. Have one family car and.

I don't want to. Brag, but it.

Was a 1989 Toyota minivan. I know.

You're getting a little jealous. Calm down ladies.

And we bought it used. And then we had driven cross

country to Georgia. It was the commuter, all the all

the soccer and football and sports and maybe we had to run.

This thing in the ground, this is the.

One car we had, so you know, I did my best to, to, to clean it

and, and stuff and I, I drove to her house and I parked at the

curb and I went to her door. And I met her.

Dad and we walked across the yard and I unlocked the door.

Yes, we had a key. That's before the anyways, and I

opened the door and as. She stepped to get.

In she. Looked at at legitimately a a a

cloth. Seat that was threadbare and I.

Mean. Probably had pizza stains and

and no matter how much she cleaned it was was was going to

it was showing its age and she paused and her face changed and

she looked at me and went is it clean?

I was so embarrassed. The date did not go well and we

didn't never talk again. It was.

About a year later, might have been a little less and.

I had a crush. On the.

Hottest girl in school. A lot of us did and.

I had. I was.

Lucky enough that she was in my math class.

And so I finagled my way. Into a math.

Study session for the math final at a friend's house.

That she was. Going to be at men take note

you're just getting where you fit in OK and she needed a ride

home and so I. Offered her a ride home.

And she said. Yes, and I was ecstatic until I

was halfway across the yard. Walking toward the same bin and

I realized I've. I've seen this movie before and

I was like, Oh no, and it's too late.

She's right behind me. And I opened the door, and I and

I. I was already.

I was already ashamed and ready. I'm trying to come up with I've

I've got to have some excuse and I turned to say something and

she walked right by me and she jumped in the.

Car. And she smiled.

At me and she said this is so cool, she had grown up poor too

and when I closed. The door.

I said to myself I'm going to marry this girl.

I'm 17 and an idiot, OK? But Friday we celebrated our

22nd anniversary. You see, our greatest need in

this world is for someone to look at us deeply.

To see all the things we wish we were.

To see all the things we want to be, but also to see all of the

ugly things, all of the hidden things, all of the threadbare

pizza stain things of our soul. And when they see it, to turn to

us and smile and say, that's so cool, I love you anyway.

To be known and loved. This is the greatest human need.

God has always known everything about you.

But when Jesus removed the barriers so that we can draw

near to God face to face, we can see.

We can know that He sees everything and loves us anyway.

And that's what it means to have a joy that can be full.

That's what it means to be known and loved by the Father.

So don't waste it. Don't waste this.

Don't live like the barriers still exist.

That means that I I take my anxiety and I don't hide it as

if God doesn't. Know about it I.

Go to God and I give. It to him, and I say in.

Jesus. Name I need help with this.

I, I take my pride that that kills my relationships and I

don't pretend I don't have it. I I I go to God in desperation

and I say in. Jesus name I need.

Victory over this. It means I.

Could take my hopelessness in those dark nights when it feels

like life is so overwhelming and hopeless.

That the, that the, the the. Waves are coming over the boat.

And I can look at him in the face and in Jesus name I can ask

him to do the things I can't do. That's joy.

And because of Jesus, we can do this without the.

Need to travel to a temple or a church or or give God some gift?

You don't need a priest or a preacher.

Monday morning when you get up. He's.

Just as close as he was today in the.

Middle of the night when you wake up with.

Terror, he is waiting for you to draw near.

Hopefully you have a handout. Take your hand.

Out, out. There's a little section in the

back. Just take it out.

This is class participation time.

Come on. And I want you to write down.

It's for you. It's not for anybody else.

I just want you to write down those constant struggles.

Jesus actually already knows what they are, by the way.

He's waiting for you to bring them to him.

Stop waiting for a new church service or or some prayer night

or some religious. Moment in Jesus name.

Walk straight into the throne room of the Father.

With boldness and give them to him and make it a daily habit.

If practically you're going, I don't know.

What that looks like. Let me give.

You an example not even from from.

From anything religious. Let me give you an example of

phone calls that I've had multiple of these, but here's 1.

Specifically, a couple years ago I had AI.

Owned a business and I called a. A guy who's a.

Vendor of ours, his name was Nabi.

And I called Nabi actually, because I needed a favor and I'm

talking to him and he's talking to me really quietly on the

phone. And I'm finally, I was like,

dude, why are you whispering weird?

And he's like, oh, I'm in the hospital waiting room.

My wife just got. Wheeled in for surgery.

I was like, what? I was like, dude.

Let's pray. Let's pray for her.

He wasn't a believer, but he's like, oh.

OK, see Don't ask. Permission.

Just pray for people. And I was like.

Hey, wait, let me just pray for you.

And he's like. Oh yeah, and I.

Let me just tell you I I said something like this and I only

know this. Because he told me later, I said

something like this. I'd forgotten.

Said something like this, Father we lift all.

Of this before you we ask that you guide the surgeon's hands,

We ask that you give them wisdom and clarity, We ask that your.

Spirit fills the room. We ask that you heal in ways

that are so supernatural that no one even understands them.

We ask that you. Heal her completely and I ask

you, give Nabi peace as he waits in this room for his wife.

And we ask you to do all of these things because you love us

and you told us to come ask in Jesus name, Amen. 30 seconds.

You know I did that like. This is like four or five years

ago. Nabi still calls me and talks to

me about that prayer. Take it to God, draw near and be

known. You know what's funny is I was

thinking back. Because I don't exactly.

Remember the date? I'm like, I don't even remember.

Like if I was a pastor. At the moment that.

I prayed that prayer. But I was a royal priest, and

you are too. He's waiting for you to draw

near and be known if you're here today.

Or or you're. Watching online and you've never

given your life to Jesus. You can draw near today, right

now. Jesus came for you.

He died for you, and he rose again so that you could be known

by the Father, and I want to give you that chance right now.

We all please bow your heads to. Close your eyes as we finish

this service. If you don't know.

Jesus as your Lord. If you've never given your life.

To Him I beg you to come to the Father and taste and see that He

is good. So I'm going to lead you in a

prayer of surrender and if you're.

Ready to follow Christ as King I.

Simply want you to repeat this after me quietly.

Jesus, I know I am lost and I can't save myself.

I want you to save me. I want to be known, so I

surrender everything to you. Be my Lord.

Please Jesus, if you prayed to surrender your life to Jesus for

the first time right now, would you be brave and raise your hand

for me to see? Thank you.

Put your hands down in Jesus name, Amen.

Real quickly as we close. Jesus loves you way more than

you can imagine. And if you just gave your life

to Christ. Welcome to the family.

Just a moment. We're going to stand and when we

do there are tables in the back that say I raised my hand above

them. If you have made a commitment to

follow Christ now or or recently and you haven't told anyone

about it yet, we want you to just.

Go back there, tell someone about it.

We have a gift for you. We want to celebrate with you.

We want to talk about what it looks like.

To follow. Christ, we stand.

We're going to do something different today.

Normally we close with a song and our prayer team comes up

here, but I. Want to do something?

Just a little different. Here's what I want you to do

today. Want to put this into practice

so as Katie. Sings a song.

I want you to turn to someone next to you, and I want you to

ask them for one thing you can pray about and.

Right here while she. Sings, I want you to pray for

them now. Introverts be brave.

You may not know the person next to you, but as a royal priest

you have access to God, and I want you to use it right now.

She's going to sing. You're going to turn and you're

going to pray. We'll love you, Church.

You move as the Lord leads you.