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Daniel English
December 10, 2025
Sermon - Advent 2 Midweek
Leviticus‬ ‭16‬:‭1‬-‭5‬, ‭30‬-‭34; ‭‭Hebrews‬ ‭4‬:‭14‬-‭16‬; Psalm 110

Jesus Christ - Our Priest

In the Name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit. Amen.

This Advent we are considering Christ as our Prophet, Priest, and King. And with guidance from the book of Hebrews, we are considering Christ in His threefold office by comparing Him to various types given in the Old Testament. Last week, our type was Moses the prophet. Moses, we know! When the Hebrews were enslaved in Egypt, Moses was called by God in the Burning Bush to deliver them out of slavery. Moses appealed to Pharaoh, “Thus says the LORD, the God of Israel, ‘Let my people go, that they may hold a feast to me in the wilderness’” (Exodus 5:1b). Pharaoh knew many gods, and he even thought himself to be a kind of god… but he did not know the true God, the God of Israel. So he decided not to listen to God and did not let God’s people go. Moses repeatedly requested Pharaoh to release the Israelites so that they could serve God, and Pharaoh repeatedly rejected. But who is Moses’ brother, Aaron? When you look at the book of Exodus, you find out that the appeals made to Pharaoh by Moses were actually with Moses’ brother Aaron. When God calls Moses to be the one to go before Pharaoh, Moses replies, “Oh, my Lord, please send someone else” (Exodus 4:13). He doesn’t want to do it. Among other excuses, Moses claims he is not eloquent enough, that people won’t listen to him because he is “slow of speech and of tongue” (Exodus 4:10). Moses quickly discovers that his call is non-negotiable. However, God does assign Aaron, Moses’ brother, to help him. So Aaron serves as a spokesperson for Moses (Exodus 4:16). Moses and Aaron repeatedly ask Pharaoh to obey the LORD and release the Hebrews, hard-hearted Pharaoh repeatedly says, “No”, and as a result the people witness awesome and terrible wonders wrought by God against Pharaoh and his people: the Nile river turned to blood, overwhelming amounts of frogs, swarms of gnats, thick clouds of flies, pestilence that kills the Egyptian livestock, fiery hail to destroy buildings and crops, locusts to eat what little crops remain, and utter darkness. Finally… the final plague, the death of all the firstborn in the land of Egypt. An impartial punishment enacted on all people, whether in the royal house of Pharaoh or those held captive in prison… a punishment prevented only by the blood of a spotless, male lamb slain at twilight (Exodus 12:5,13). This was Aaron’s first assignment. Aaron sees God’s hand pressed down hard on the Egyptians, and in great fear of death the Egyptians send out the people of Israel in haste with all sorts of plunder: gold and silver and clothing. In the first year of his service, Aaron witnesses the Plagues, the Passover, the Exodus, and the miraculous crossing of the Red Sea; he is fed by manna from heaven, and he drinks water from the rock. These are the works God’s people will be writing about, singing about, and speaking about for a long, long time even still today. Then, while Moses is on top of the Mountain of God receiving the Law and plans for the tabernacle, Aaron succumbs to the demands of the people and forges the golden calf. The people bow down and worship it as God and their camps fall into debauchery and sin. Not long after, the tabernacle is constructed according to God’s specifications, also the priestly garments, and Aaron is consecrated as Israel’s first High Priest… all this happens in about one year… that’s quite a vicarage.

Aaron is a priest. And today we will look at the second office of Christ’s threefold office, Priest. According to the pattern of Hebrews we are given another type, a mysterious figure mentioned very few times in the Bible, Melchizedek. Melchizedek is the Priest King of Salem, and his name and title translate to “King of Righteousness and King of Peace” (Hebrews 7:2). Melchizedek is a type of Christ. Psalm 110 and Hebrews both attest that Christ is a priest according to the Order of Melchizedek. This is to stress that Christ is NOT a priest according to the Levitical priesthood. After all, Christ is not born of the Tribe of Levi, but comes from the Tribe of Judah.

Aaron is a member of the Levitical priesthood, and like Moses the prophet, Aaron is a type of Christ too. Remember that a type is like a shadow of something else, or a reference to it. Remember also that Christ is also greater than his types. The type is imperfect, less brilliant, and weaker by far than the fulfillment we see in Christ. This is especially true when we compare the Levitical priesthood with the priesthood of Christ. Aaron is worthy of much less honor than our Lord, and the priestly order that Aaron belongs to is not capable of achieving that which our Lord Christ has come to achieve.

As prophet, Jesus brings the Word of God to us, He is Himself the very Word of God. During His life on earth, Christ preached repentance and of the coming Kingdom of God, and he validated His word with miracles. The most miraculous and astounding proof was His own resurrection. Even today, Christ is still proclaiming Himself to be the Son of God and our Savior through the preaching of the Gospel. Jesus Christ is our prophet, and as our prophet He is God’s representative to us (Small Catechism 1991, p124). So what does Jesus do as a priest? In Martin Luther’s Lectures on Hebrews, “Luther argues that Jesus, as God’s apostle, represents him before people, while as High Priest Jesus represents people before God” (Concordia Commentary on Hebrews, p156). A priest represents the people before God, he intercedes for them, he “bear[s] the iniquity of the congregation, to make atonement for them before the LORD” (Leviticus 10:17).

For the Levitical priesthood, this was a frightening responsibility and they bore it with great weakness. Being a priest of the God of Israel was an extremely serious calling, and those who took it lightly suffered greatly for it. Aaron’s two sons, Nadab and Abihu, are priests also. In Leviticus 10, we are given a shocking account of their folly and its consequences. Nadab and Abihu offer “unauthorized fire before the LORD” (Leviticus 10:1). This is very likely referring to the mixture of incense that they brought into the Holy Place. The LORD commanded one thing, and out of carelessness, or drunkenness, or faithlessness, Nadab and Abihu offered something else… somethings strange and of their own making. What a temptation it is to worship the LORD according to our own fickle desires instead of according to God’s Eternal Word. The result was that “fire came out from before the LORD and consumed them, and they died before the LORD” (Leviticus 10:2). The LORD says, “Among those who are near me I will be sanctified, and before all the people I will be glorified” (Leviticus 10:3). God is not mocked… Aaron accepts God’s judgement upon his sons, but he is shaken and for a time unable to carry out all his priestly duties for fear that his service would also be unacceptable to the LORD. Aaron knows that he stands before a righteous and holy God. Aaron intercedes for the people, but who will intercede for him? This is a frightening place to be. Hopefully after last weeks midweek lesson, you are not left in the same place. But you have heard the Word of God and believed it. You are a poor, miserable sinner. Even now, as a follower of Christ, you see the goodness and beauty of God’s Law illuminating the path you should go, but you still stumble away into sin and find yourself rightly accused. God’s Law always accuses. Here you will feel a strong temptation to try to justify yourself. “I tried my best” … “I didn’t know” … “It could have been worse” … “Other people are less faithful” … Don’t do it. “The wrath of God cannot be conciliated as long as we set our own works against it” (Ap IV.80). As it turns out, God’s people needed more than a better prophet, we also needed a better priest… a truly righteous priest.

In our Old Testament Lesson for today, after the death of Nadab and Abihu, God sets up guardrails for His priests and establishes strict regulations on when and in what manner the priests will enter into the Holy Place. He does this out of love and mercy, to protect His people and His priests. A priest is instructed to enter with a bull, two rams, and two male goats for sin offerings and burnt offerings. By the blood of these animals the priest will first make atonement for himself and his house, and then for the people. He will even make atonement for the Holy Place, the tent, and the altar because these also are polluted by our uncleanness. It is true that there is no forgiveness of sin without the shedding of blood, and the priests of God shed a lot of it. The priests will perform sacrifices each and every day, and the Day of Atonement must happen each and every year. Now, with these regulations, the priests are able to carefully conduct their business in safety, but they are still a far cry from being able to deliver what God’s people really need. They need an atonement that lasts. They need a perfected conscience. God’s people needed a better priest, a better priesthood, and a better sacrifice… they needed a better covenant. In the end, all of these things were only ever just a shadow of the things to come.

If your works cannot appease God’s wrath, what can? Who can? Jesus the Christ, our Great High Priest. “Christ has been set forth as the propitiator in order that on account of him the Father may be reconciled with us” (Ap IV.80). This is where Christ’s priestly office provides you with exactly what you need. “As a Priest, Christ fulfilled the Law perfectly in [y]our stead [and] sacrificed Himself for [y]our sins. [Additionally, He] still pleads for [you] with his heavenly Father” (Small Catechism 1991, p126). At this very moment, Christ is interceding for you at the Right Hand of His Heavenly Father… and for Christ’s sake, you are forgiven and made righteous. See that the temptation to justify yourself is an evil distraction, it is a lure from the devil who wants you to turn away from the righteousness of Christ that is given to you by faith toward your own insufficient works. The book of Hebrews tells us that Christ suffers every temptation that you do, except he does it without sin. Christ sympathizes with your weakness and redeems you. “God shows his love for us in that while we were still sinners, Christ died for us” (Romans 5:8). Christ is the perfect priest and He offers Himself as the perfect sacrifice. The sacrifice that Aaron offers is in fear, the Holy Place is obscured by a cloud of incense in a tent made with hands. And the sacrifice of a priest must first be made to atone for their own sins, and then for the sins of the people. Christ offers Himself as a sacrifice with all confidence. Christ knows that His perfect life is acceptable to God the Father and that His work is complete. “It is finished” (John 19:30). Now, we are given that same confidence. In this time of need, we approach the throne of grace and receive grace, mercy, and peace. You no longer have to fear the fire of judgement because Christ’s perfect work is yours, you are forgiven and set free.

In the Name of Jesus, Our Great High Priest. Amen