Priesthood

The priest in Israel stood between Yahweh and the people. He was not a teacher primarily, though he had a teaching role. He was a mediator: one who brought the offerings of the people to God and the word and blessing of God back to the people. The whole institution of the Aaronic priesthood was built on the problem of a holy God and a sinful people needing to live in proximity to each other without the people being consumed.

Access to God was strictly regulated. The most holy place, where Yahweh’s presence dwelt between the cherubim above the ark of the covenant, could be entered only once a year, only by the high priest, and only with the blood of sacrifice. This was not arbitrary restriction; it was an exact representation of the theological reality. Sin separates. Holiness cannot be approached casually. The elaborate requirements of the priestly system were a constant, enacted declaration that the way to God is not open to sinful mankind on its own terms.

Hebrews argues that the Aaronic priesthood was always pointing beyond itself. Its limitations were built in: priests died and had to be replaced, their sacrifices had to be offered repeatedly, and they themselves were sinners who needed atonement. Christ fulfils and supersedes the entire institution. He is the great high priest who has passed through the heavens, who offered himself as the once-for-all sacrifice, who lives permanently to intercede for his people, and who has opened the way into the most holy place for all who come to God through him. The articles below trace this theme across several of its most significant passages.