Great Doctrines of the Bible—God the Father, God the Son/ Martyn Lloyd Jones

27. Christ the Priest 

“The priest is one who represents us with God” (297). 

“For every high priest chosen from among men is appointed to act on behalf of men in relation to God, to offer gifts and sacrifices for sins. He can deal gently with the ignorant and wayward, since he himself is beset with weakness. Because of this he is obligated to offer sacrifice for his own sins just as he does for those of the people. And no one takes this honor for himself, but only when called by God, just as Aaron was. So also Christ did not exalt himself to be made a high priest, but was appointed by him who said to him, ‘You are my Son,/ today I have begotten you’” (Hebrews 5.1-5). 

We are told that “he must be taken from among men in order to be their representative,” “he is chosen and appointed by God,” “he is active in the interests of men in things pertaining to God,” and “he has to offer gifts and sacrifices for sins” (299). 

In addition, a priest must be holy (Leviticus 21:6-8). 

Jones continues, the “priest is essentially a mediator who does two main things. First, he propitiates by sacrifices; second, he intercedes on behalf of the people” (300). “The priest propitiates by making offerings and sacrifices” and offerings and sacrifices are “piacular” (301). 

There are three things our Lord has done as our Priest in order to secure this reconciliation of sinful people with God. “First, satisfaction must be offered to the offended God” (propitiation: it means “satisfying the demands of violated holiness”) “Second, there must be a substitution of suffering and death on the part of someone who is innocent for the deserved punishment of the guilty” (expiation: “To expiate means to extinguish guilt, to pay the penalty, to male reparation for something”). “And third, a community of life needs to be brought about between the one who has offended and the offender” (atonement: “To atone means to set at one”; “it means that two people who were formerly divided are brought together and made as one”) (201-302). 

There is one great difference between Jesus Christ and everything we read about priests in the Old Testament: “In the Old Testament the priest had to find his sacrifices—the lamb, and so on—but in the case of the Lord Jesus Christ, the priest and the sacrifice were one and the same” (303).