A Priest You Can Touch
Introduction: The Great Offense of Mediation
Our modern world is allergic to priests. We are allergic to the very idea of them. The democratic, egalitarian, and radically individualistic spirit of our age insists on a direct line to whomever or whatever we deem ultimate. We want no intermediaries, no representatives, no appointed mediators. We want to represent ourselves. We want to be our own priests. The very notion that we might need someone to stand between us and God is taken as an insult to our autonomy, an offense to our dignity.
But this sentiment, which feels so natural to us, is in fact a profound spiritual blindness. It is the pride of the garden, the hiss of the serpent, whispering that we can be as gods, defining our own reality and managing our own relationship with the divine. It is a refusal to acknowledge the infinite chasm that our sin has carved between a holy God and unholy man. We think we can just stroll into the throne room of the universe in our dirty boots, as though we were coming home from the garden, instead of being exiles from it.
The entire Old Testament sacrificial system, with its intricate laws and its designated priesthood, was designed by God to be a massive, Technicolor object lesson. The lesson was this: you cannot approach Me on your own terms. Sin is a real barrier, a lethal contamination, and it requires a real, appointed solution. The priesthood was not a barrier to keep men from God; it was the bridge that enabled sinful men to approach God at all without being consumed. In this passage, the author of Hebrews lays out the foundational job description for that priest. He explains what a priest is, what qualifies him, and where his authority comes from. And in doing so, he is not just giving us a history lesson about the Levites. He is showing us the shape of the lock so that we can recognize the only key that fits it, the Lord Jesus Christ.
The Text
For every high priest taken from among men is appointed on behalf of men in things pertaining to God, in order to offer both gifts and sacrifices for sins, being able to deal gently with the ignorant and misguided, since he himself also is beset with weakness; and because of it, he is obligated, just as for the people, to also offer sacrifices for sins in the same way for himself. And no one takes this honor to himself, but receives it when he is called by God, even as Aaron was.
(Hebrews 5:1-4 LSB)
The Priest's Work: Representation (v. 1)
The first verse defines the fundamental role of the priest. It answers the question, what does a priest do?
"For every high priest taken from among men is appointed on behalf of men in things pertaining to God, in order to offer both gifts and sacrifices for sins..." (Hebrews 5:1)
Notice the three key movements here. First, he is "taken from among men." A priest cannot be an angel or some other alien being. He must be one of us. He has to share our nature, our humanity. This is the principle of solidarity. He represents men because he is a man. This is a foundational plank for the incarnation. The one who would represent us had to become one of us.
Second, he is appointed "on behalf of men in things pertaining to God." He is a representative. He faces two directions. He stands before God, but he does not do so for himself alone. He carries his people with him. He is their agent, their federal head in the sanctuary. This is why the high priest wore the names of the twelve tribes on the stones of his breastplate. When he went into the Holy of Holies, he was not going in as a private individual. He was bringing the entire covenant community in with him, right over his heart.
Third, his central task is specified: "to offer both gifts and sacrifices for sins." This is the heart of the matter. The relationship between God and man has been ruptured by sin, and the currency of reconciliation is sacrifice. "Gifts" may refer to thank offerings or tribute offerings, but the main point is driven home with "sacrifices for sins." The central business of the priesthood is dealing with guilt. It is a bloody business. It involves the death of a substitute. This is a direct affront to every modern therapeutic religion that wants to treat sin as a simple misstep, a bit of poor judgment, or an unfortunate mistake. The Bible says that sin is a capital offense, and the penalty is death. The priest is the one who officiates at the execution of the substitute.
The Priest's Temperament: Sympathy (v. 2-3)
Next, the author describes the necessary character of the priest. It is not raw power or moral perfection, but rather a shared frailty.
"...being able to deal gently with the ignorant and misguided, since he himself also is beset with weakness; and because of it, he is obligated, just as for the people, to also offer sacrifices for sins in the same way for himself." (Hebrews 5:2-3 LSB)
The qualification for this office is not that the priest is a superman. It is precisely the opposite. He is qualified to be gentle with sinners because he is one. He is "beset with weakness." That phrase is wonderfully potent. He is surrounded by it, entangled in it. He knows the drag of the flesh, the pull of temptation, the fog of ignorance. He knows what it is to be misguided. And because he knows his own weakness from the inside, he can deal gently, moderately, with others who stumble.
This is a divinely installed safeguard against priestly arrogance and tyranny. A priest who understands his own desperate need for grace is not going to be a harsh and condemning taskmaster to the flock. He will not be shocked and appalled by the sins of his people, because he knows the rock from which he himself was hewn. He knows he is a sinner with a ministry, not a sinless man with a ministry.
And this is made explicit in verse 3. His weakness is not just a psychological asset for empathy; it is a theological reality that puts him on the same level as his people. He too needs an atonement. Before he can offer sacrifices for the people, he must first offer a sacrifice for his own sins. On the Day of Atonement, the high priest had to sacrifice a bull for himself and his family before he could offer the goat for the nation. This was a powerful annual reminder: you are not the solution. You are part of the problem. You are simply a pointer, a type, a placeholder for the one who is to come, the one who would need no sacrifice for Himself.
The Priest's Authority: Vocation (v. 4)
Finally, the author addresses the source of a priest's authority. Where does he get the right to perform this sacred work?
"And no one takes this honor to himself, but receives it when he is called by God, even as Aaron was." (Hebrews 5:4 LSB)
The priesthood is not a career. It is not a job you apply for. It is not an honor you can achieve through personal ambition or bootstrap initiative. This honor is not taken; it is received. The authority comes from a divine summons, a direct call from God. To attempt to seize this office is the height of presumption. We see this in the Old Testament with men like Korah, who thought they were just as holy as Aaron and could perform the priestly duties. God's judgment was swift and devastating. The ground opened up and swallowed them whole. God takes the sanctity of His appointments very seriously.
The archetypal example is Aaron. How did Aaron become the high priest? He did not win an election. He did not submit a resume. God simply told Moses, "consecrate your brother Aaron." His call was sovereign, external, and objective. Later, when it was challenged, God had the leaders of each tribe bring a staff, and only Aaron's staff budded, flowered, and produced almonds overnight. The call was not based on intrinsic merit, but on God's sovereign choice.
This is a necessary word for the church in every age. Ministry is a calling, not a profession. Men who thrust themselves into the pulpit out of personal ambition are thieves and robbers. They are taking an honor that was not given to them. True authority in the church flows from God's call, recognized and affirmed by the church. It is a delegated authority, and the man who holds it must do so with the constant awareness that it is not his own.
Our Great High Priest
Now, having laid out these qualifications, the author of Hebrews has painted a very specific picture. He has shown us what is required of a true priest. He must be a man, he must represent us, he must offer a sacrifice for sin, he must be sympathetic to our weakness, and he must be divinely called.
The Aaronic priest fulfilled these requirements in a shadowy, temporary, and imperfect way. He was a man, yes, but a sinful one. He offered sacrifices, but they were the blood of bulls and goats, which could never truly take away sin. He was beset with weakness, which gave him sympathy, but it also meant he had to atone for his own sin. He was called by God, but his ministry was temporary and would end at his death.
Every element of this job description was designed by God to make us ask, "Is this the best we can do?" The entire system was designed to create a holy dissatisfaction. It was designed to make us long for a better priest.
And that is precisely where the author takes us next. Jesus Christ is the perfect fulfillment of every one of these qualifications. He was "taken from among men" in the incarnation, becoming flesh and blood. He was appointed "on behalf of men," as our great representative. He offered the one, perfect "sacrifice for sins," which was Himself. He is able to "deal gently" because He was tempted in all points as we are, yet without sin, and so He is beset with our weakness without being corrupted by it. And He did not take the honor to Himself, but was called by God, who said, "You are My Son, today I have begotten You," and "You are a priest forever according to the order of Melchizedek."
The Aaronic priesthood was the question. Jesus Christ is the resounding, final, and glorious answer.