Scripture Reading
Leviticus 21 for our meditation before the Lord's Supper. It's a bit of a long text. We're gonna read all of 21 and some of 22. Leviticus chapter 21, I'll read to the end of the chapter, then we'll skip to chapter 22 and verse 17.
Leviticus 21, beginning in verse one. And the Lord said to Moses, speak to the priests, the sons of Aaron, and say to them, none shall defile himself for the dead among his people, except for his relatives who are nearest to him, his mother, his father, his son, his daughter, and his brother. also his virgin sister who is near to him, who has had no husband, for he, or excuse me, for her he may defile himself. Otherwise he shall not defile himself, being a chief man among his people to profane himself. "'They shall not make any bald place on their heads, "'nor shall they shave the edges of their beards, "'nor make any cuttings in their flesh.
"'They shall be holy to their God, "'and not profane the name of their God, "'for they offer the offerings of the Lord made by fire, "'and the bread of their God. "'Therefore, they shall be holy. "'They shall not take a wife who is a harlot, "'or a defiled woman, "'nor shall they take a woman divorced from her husband, "'for the priest is holy to his God. Therefore you shall consecrate him, for he offers the bread of your God.
He shall be holy to you, for I, the Lord who sanctify you, am holy. The daughter of any priest, if she profanes herself by playing the harlot, she profanes her father. She shall be burned with fire. He who is the high priest among his brethren, on whose head the anointing oil was poured, and who is consecrated to wear the garments, shall not uncover his head nor tear his clothes.
Nor shall he go near any dead body, nor defile himself for his father or his mother. Nor shall he go out of the sanctuary, nor profane the sanctuary of his God. For the consecration of the anointing oil of his God is upon him. I am the Lord.
And he shall take a wife in her virginity, a widow, or a divorced woman, or a defiled woman, or a harlot. These he shall not marry, but he shall take a virgin of his own people as wife. Nor shall he profane his posterity among his people, for I the Lord sanctify him." And the Lord spoke to Moses saying, speak to Aaron saying, no man of your descendants in succeeding generations who has any defect may approach to offer the bread of his God. For any man who has a defect shall not approach, a man blind or lame, who has a marred face or any limb too long, a man who has a broken foot or broken hand or is a hunchback or a dwarf or a man who has a defect in his eye or eczema or scab or is a eunuch.
"'No man of the descendants of Aaron the priest, "'who has a defect, shall come near to offer "'the offerings made by fire to the Lord. "'He has a defect, he shall not come near "'to offer the bread of his God. "'He may eat the bread of his God, "'both the most holy and the holy, "'only he shall not go near the veil "'or approach the altar, because he has a defect, "'lest he profane my sanctuaries, "'for I the Lord sanctify them. And Moses told it to Aaron and his sons and to all the children of Israel.
So let's move over to chapter 22, verse 17. And the Lord spoke to Moses saying, speak to Aaron and his sons and to all the children of Israel and say to them, Whatever man of the house of Israel, or of the strangers in Israel, who offers his sacrifice for any of his vows, or for any of his freewill offerings, which they offer to the Lord as a burnt offering, you shall offer of your own freewill a male without blemish from the cattle, from the sheep, or from the goats. Whatever has a defect, you shall not offer, for it shall not be acceptable on your behalf. And whoever offers a sacrifice of a peace offering to the Lord to fulfill his vow, or a freewill offering from the cattle or the sheep, it must be perfect to be accepted.
There shall be no defect in it. Those that are blind, or broken, or maimed, or have an ulcer, or eczema, or scabs, you shall not offer to the Lord, nor make an offering by fire of them on the altar to the Lord. Either a bull or a lamb that has any limb too long or too short, you may offer as a freewill offering, but for a vow it shall not be accepted. You shall not offer to the Lord what is bruised or crushed or torn or cut, nor shall you make any offering of them in your land.
Nor from a foreigner's hand shall you offer any of these as the bread of your God, because their corruption is in them and defects are in them. They shall not be accepted on your behalf. And the Lord spoke to Moses, saying, When a bull or a sheep or a goat is born, it shall be seven days with its mother, and from the eighth day and thereafter it shall be accepted as an offering made by fire to the Lord. Whether it is a cow or ewe, do not kill both her and her young on the same day.
And when you offer a sacrifice of thanksgiving to the Lord, offer it of your own free will. On the same day, it shall be eaten. You shall leave none of it until morning. I am the Lord.
Therefore you shall keep my commandments and perform them. I am the Lord. You shall not profane my holy name, but I will be hallowed among the children of Israel. I am the Lord who sanctifies you, who brought you out of the land of Egypt to be your God.
I am the Lord. Amen. Well, let us pray.
Opening Prayer
Our Father, we thank you for the reading of your word. We pray now for the ministry of the Holy Spirit as we consider these things in a typical significance and how they point us to that great High Priest and to that perfect Lamb of God. We thank you so very much that that sacrificial system, the blood of bulls and goats, which could never take away sin, nevertheless pointed to that one in whom there is forgiveness, that one in whom there is a righteousness to be had. We bless you and we praise you for the life, death, and resurrection of our Lord Jesus Christ.
And may we indeed celebrate those things tonight. And we ask in the name of Jesus Christ, our Lord, amen.
Introduction
Well, as we look at this particular chapter, it's in what's called the holiness code in the book of Leviticus. In chapter 10 of Leviticus in verses 10 and 11, we read that you may distinguish, this is the priest's task, that you may distinguish between holy and unholy and between unclean and clean, and that you may teach the children of Israel all the statutes which the Lord has spoken to them by the hand of Moses. And then essentially in terms of the book in its broadest outline, you have laws pertaining to cleanness, or excuse me, chapters one to 16 contain ritual regulations for public life and for worship. And then chapter 17 to 26, I mentioned are the holiness code, how Israel was to conduct themselves in their day in and day out activities.
Now here specifically in chapters 21 and 22, regulations concerning the priesthood, and concerning acceptable sacrifice. And again, this points us to our Lord Jesus Christ. I realize there's some challenging portions in this particular passage. As I was reading through it, I thought, perhaps this wasn't the best idea.
I'm going to lean on a few men, especially when we get to the physical requirements of the priesthood. But that section I skipped is not unimportant, it just wasn't germane to our study tonight. So I'll give you the outline. I'll at least try and explain the function of that center section as we move along.
But in the first place, in chapter 21, verses 1 to 15, you have the practical restrictions concerning the priesthood. practical restrictions concerning the priesthood. Then secondly, in 21-16-24, the physical requirements of the priesthood. The physical requirements of the priesthood. Thirdly, that section I skipped in chapter 22, verses 1-16, the regulation concerning food for the priesthood.
Remember the priests were not given their own lands. The priests were basically committed to the house of God and to the worship of God. So they lived based on the tithes and the offerings that were given. And so those are particular rules in terms of family members who could participate in that food.
And then that last section, the fourth point is the physical requirements for sacrificial animals in chapter 22, verses 17 to 33. In short, the thesis is simple, that God through Moses is preaching Jesus Christ in Leviticus chapters 21 and 22. We'll end tonight by looking at some of the book of Hebrews. And I've often thought that if you didn't have access to the book of Leviticus, it would be hard to navigate the book of Hebrews, because much of Hebrews, especially chapters 5, verse 1 to about chapter 10, verse 18, is about the priestly office of our Lord Jesus Christ.
Christ is superior to angels, Christ is superior to Joshua, Christ is superior to Moses, and of course, Christ is superior to Aaron, and his sons, and the entirety of the Levitical priesthood. So
Practical Restrictions on Priests
let's just jump in first to the practical restrictions concerning the priesthood in verses 1 to 15. And essentially, there's two things going on here. First,
Ordinary Priests: Mourning and Marriage
the priests, the regular, normal, day-in, day-out priests, verses 1 to 9, and then the high priests in verses 10 to 15. And the prohibitions are quite simple. One deals with the act of mourning, and the other deals with the act of marriage. So with reference to the ordinary priests, mourning, verses 1 to 6, marriage, verses 7 to 9.
With the high priests, mourning, verses 10 to 12, and marriage, verses 13 to 15. And we might wonder why there are these strict prescriptions against the kinds of mourning that are associated with this particular sachet. Well, it's quite simple. If you look specifically at verse 4, it says, otherwise he shall not defile himself being a chief man among his people to profane himself.
As a chief man, he's not to profane himself so that he can continue on in the absolutely necessary duties of functioning as a priest. In fact, Gill says it this way, because he was a principal person among his people to officiate for them in sacred things, Wherefore, if he did not take care that he was not defiled for the dead, which might often happen, remember, lots of people died in the olden days, he would be frequently hindered from doing his office for the people, which would be attended with ill consequence to them, and therefore the above cases are only accepted, those that are closest to him, as being such that rarely happen. You see an instance of this when God kills Nadab and Abihu in chapter 10. Because God kills them, that doesn't stop worship.
That doesn't stop what's happening in the house of God. There is an order given to drag the bodies out, but the priests are on duty. They have been anointed. There is a great body of people that depend upon their intercession and depend upon them offering up sacrifice.
Now in verses five and six, this not making any bald place on their heads, it's not like the new haircut that I just got or the one that Andy sports, but rather it's probably pagan mourning rites. And it's already been addressed in Leviticus 19 at verses 27 and 28, and then Deuteronomy chapter 14 and verse one. But I think the main emphasis is specifically at verse 12, "...nor shall he go out of the sanctuary, nor profane the sanctuary of his God. For the consecration of the anointing oil of his God is upon him.
I am the Lord." So the main emphasis in terms of the mourning rites is to make sure you donate the pagans and to make sure that it's only those closest to you. There isn't any other thing that should take you from your essential duty in terms of intercession and in terms of sacrifice. But then with reference, or not but, and
Marriage Regulations for Priests
with reference to marriage. Again, the prescriptions are given specifically to the priests, verses seven to nine, and then to the high priests, in verses 13 to 15. Not a lot of differences there, though there are a couple of things that we ought to observe. Notice in verse 7, with reference to the ordinary priest, they shall not take a wife who is a harlot or a defiled woman, nor shall they take a woman divorced from her husband, for the priest is holy to his God.
It's interesting. They are specifically prohibited from marrying a divorcee, which I think assumes that it was lawful and that it was going on that divorcees did remarry. In fact, I think this is an emphasis as well in Deuteronomy chapter 24, verses 1 to 4. Now the priest, the ordinary priest, neither the high priest could marry a divorced woman.
But the garden variety Israelite could. God's law teaches that if divorce is lawful, and in the New Testament we see the two specific instances, sexual immorality and desertion. I would categorize spousal abuse as an act of desertion as well. 1 Corinthians 7 deals with desertion, Matthew 19 deals with porneia or sexual immorality. And it's a much broader term than simply adultery.
But those are two lawful reasons why the innocent party may sue out for divorce. And if the divorce is sanctioned by God, then remarriage is permitted. Now, I realize that is a controversial statement. I preached at length on it when we went through Matthew 19, but this is definitely a compelling text.
The priest could not marry a divorced woman. but the non-priest could marry a divorced woman. And again, the emphasis here is on purity and not being profane. Not that the normal Israelite is somehow impure because he married a divorced woman, but the priest of God functioning in the house of God, in the constant service of God must be unique. And that's what separates them from the garden variety Israelite.
So that's the practical restrictions concerning priesthood. Mourning and marriage, those things aren't to be associated, obviously. Mourning is not always the case of a good marriage. Good marriages don't promote mourning.
Good marriages promote happiness and joy. So, mourning and marriage disconnected. Make sure you don't think that those two are sort of combined here in this passage. Now,
Physical Requirements for Priests
note secondly, and this is the place where, as I said, I'm going to lean on a couple of trusted brothers to try to give the sense of what we find in verses 16 to 24, in terms of the physical requirements with reference to the priesthood.
Defects Disqualifying Priestly Service
Note the general statement in verses 16 and 17. For any man who has a defect shall not approach." So the general statement is such. Defects, not good. Defects, not allowed.
Defects, not permissible in terms of the service of God in the call. Now, the specific description is quite detailed, and that's from verses 18b all the way down to verse 20. There's a whole host of things in that list that cause us to reflect upon the fact that God has said none with these sorts of defects are authorized to offer the bread of God. Note in verse 21, no man of the descendants of Aaron the priest who has a defect shall come near to offer the offerings made by fire to the Lord.
He has a defect. He shall not come near to offer the bread of his God. Robert Alter makes the observation, the underlying notion, however objectionable to modern sensibilities, That's my concern here. We read a list like this, we say, that's not fair.
That doesn't seem right. Sounds like God has an ax to grind. Isn't God sovereign? Didn't God create that dwarf?
Didn't God create that person and the eczema that they have? Didn't God create these sorts of people? Again, we've got to get it out of the mind that this means they're somehow hell bound. They're condemned, they're damned to eternal punishment.
That's not the point. The point is, relative to the service of God, within the mass of Israel, you find those that are the sons of Aaron that don't have defects. So again, back to altar. The underlying notion, however objectionable to modern sensibilities, is one shared by many ancient religions.
Just as the animal offered in sacrifice must be unblemished, the officiant offering the sacrifice must be without physical blemish. 1 Timothy 3 gives a list of prescriptions for what the man who functions as an elder in the Church of Christ must be. Now, admittedly, there's no prohibition against dwarves, there's no prohibition against eczema, there's no prohibition against amputees or anything like that. But there are these requirements built in by God. And as you read through Leviticus 21 and 22, it is very clear that this comes from God.
It's not Moses who sort of hatched this in his mind just to keep out those who are a bit unsavory. Gordon Wenham explains, the idea emerges that holiness finds physical expression in wholeness and normality. Then I want to read an extended quote from C. H.
Spurgeon, again, just to help us navigate, just to help us see. Are modern sensibilities being offended with things like this? Now, Spurgeon's not expounding Leviticus 21. Spurgeon has a series of lectures to my students, he calls them, and he's dealing specifically with this kind of an issue with reference to the gospel ministry.
He says, physical infirmities raise a question about the call of some excellent men. I would not, like Eusthenes, judge men by their features, but their general physique is no small criterion. That narrow chest does not indicate a man formed for public speech. You may think it odd, but still I feel very well assured that when a man has a contracted chest with no distance between his shoulders, the all-wise creator did not intend him habitually to preach.
If he had meant him to speak, he would have given him in some measure breadth of chest, sufficient to yield a reasonable amount of long force. Elsewhere in lectures to my students, he gets after the narrow chest and he says to the students there, that's why we have dumbbells in the basement of the college. Go expand your chest. Be fit and prepared and ready.
He goes on to say, when the Lord means a creature to run, He gives it nimble legs. And if He means another creature to preach, He will give it suitable lungs. A brother who has to pause in the middle of a sentence and work his air pump should ask himself whether there is not some other occupation for which he is better adapted. A man who can scarcely get through a sentence without pain can hardly be called to cry aloud and spare not.
There may be exceptions, but is there not weight in the general rule? Again, this isn't exposition of Leviticus 21 proper. But there is a sense where when you have a man or an animal that is in the service of God Most High, of the sons of Aaron, try to pick those men that aren't going to be a distraction to others. He says, brethren with defective mouths and imperfect articulation are not usually called to preach the gospel.
The same applies to brethren with no palate or an imperfect one. Application was received some short time ago from a young man who had a sort of rotary action of his jaw of the most painful sort to the beholder. His pastor commended him as a very holy young man who had been the means of bringing some to Christ. And he expressed the hope that I would receive him.
But I could not see the propriety of it. I could not have looked at him while preaching without laughter if all the gold of Tarshish had been my reward. And in all probability, nine out of ten of his hearers would have been more sensitive than myself. A man with a big tongue which filled up his mouth and caused indistinctness.
Another without teeth. Another who stammered. Another who could not pronounce all the alphabet. I have had the pain of declining on the ground that God had not given them those physical appliances which are, as the prayer book would put it, generally necessary." Again, not commentary on Leviticus 21 proper, but he makes the point.
Bonar, or I'm sorry, Poole, picks up on the typological, the moral, and the prudential of this particular section. He says, the reason hereof is partly typical, that he might more fully represent Christ. the great high priest, who is typified both by the priest and sacrifice, and therefore both were to be without blemish. Partly moral to teach all Christians, and especially ministers of holy things, what purity and perfection of heart and life they should labor after, and that notorious blemishes in the mind or conversation render a man unfit for the ministry. the ministry of the gospel and partly prudential because such blemishes were apt to breed contempt of the person and consequently of his function and of the holy things where any minister. Again, this may offend our modern sensibilities, but it does resonate practically in terms of natural revelation.
And here under God in special revelation. Now, having said that these are not to participate in the service of God in the house of the Lord, there is this qualification given in verse 22. Notice in verse 22, he may eat the bread of his God, both the most holy and the holy. He's still a son of Aaron.
He still doesn't get land. He still doesn't have the ability to generate income. He's not dispossessed from the sons of Aaron due to that defect. He is forbidden from priestly service in the house of God, offering the bread of God, but he is still a son of Aaron.
He is still a part of that Levitical class. He is therefore still entitled to participate in the food that is given specifically to the priesthood. gill again, for though their natural infirmities disqualified them for service, yet they did not become hereby impure, either in a moral or ceremonial sense, and might eat of the sacrifices which impure persons might not." So this wasn't banishment, this wasn't exclusion, this wasn't a revocation of their status as sons of Aaron. It was simply a prohibition relative to offering the bread of God in the house of God for the glory of God. And so in chapter 22, since the food is mentioned in 21, 22, chapter 22 verses 1 to 16 amplifies that.
It explains the various relations to the priests that may lawfully participate in that food that is received by the priest from the tithes and the offerings. So that's that section. So
Physical Requirements for Sacrificial Animals
let's then move finally to the physical requirements for the sacrificial animals. in 22 17 to 33. I hope you're seeing, again with some of the challenges even notwithstanding, how this points to Jesus. He must be the perfect priest. He must be the great high priest.
He must as well be the perfect sacrifice. So all the things that are written here, all the things that are stipulated here, all the things regulated here are typical in their significance. They point forward to the Lamb of God who takes away the sin of the world. Now with reference to the animals, note the requirement concerning sacrificial animals, verses 17 to 19.
There's that emphasis on free will and without blemish, without blemish, without defect. And then the specific defects disqualifying sacrificial animals is given there specifically in verses 20 to 30. And the connection ought to be apparent. The connection ought to be tight.
I'll just quote Alter again. The list of deformities for the animals unfit for the cult parallels the list of deformities for priests unfit for the cult in the previous chapter. The demand of God is the best for God. The demand of God in terms of the priest and the sacrifice is the best.
That which is whole, that which is complete, that which is without defect, that which gives all glory and all praise and all honor to God most high. We've got the unacceptability of the animals just stipulated there in verse 20. Whatever has a defect, you shall not offer, for it shall not be acceptable on your behalf. And then the description in verses 21 to 25.
And again, consistent with that list that we find that disqualifies priests for their service. Now, there are some things unique to animals that aren't true of men, some things unique to men that aren't true of animals, but you see the connection. When it comes to the service of God, in the offering of the bread of God, both the offerer and the offered must be without blemish, must be pure, must not be defiled. It must be acceptable unto our God.
Notice for a moment,
Malachi's Rebuke of Defiled Offerings
you can turn to the book of Malachi. This is a lesson that they could have used in that particular prophet setting. Malachi chapter one. Malachi chapter 1, specifically at verse 6.
A son honors his father and a servant his master. If then I am the father, where is my honor? And if I am a master, where is my reverence? Says the Lord of hosts to you priests who despise my name.
The recurring cycle in the prophet Malachi is for Malachi to upbraid the nation. It is to convict them. It is to tell them their sin. And then consistently their response is, who, us?
How did we despise your name? How did we do what you are condemning us for? In what way have we not been faithful? In what way have we not done what is appropriate before the Lord?
At the end of verse 6, yet you say, in what way have we despised your name? Well, Malachi is going to tell them, or God's going to tell them through Malachi. You offer defiled food on my altar, but say, in what way have we defiled you? By saying the table of the Lord is contemptible.
And when you offer the blind as a sacrifice, is it not evil? And when you offer the lame and sick, is it not evil? Offer it then to your governor. Would he be pleased with you?
Would he accept you favorably, says the Lord of hosts? You see the argument? You're giving to God what you wouldn't dare pay your pagan governor in terms of taxes. You know he'd laugh you right out of the tax office.
You know it would be condemned. You give to God that which is less than you give to the civil state? You give to God that which is blemished and defective when you would never, ever dream of doing that with reference to paying your own tax debt. Notice in verse 9, and I think here the prophet is personifying the people.
But now entreat God's favor that he may be gracious to us while this is being done by your hands. Will he accept you favorably, says the Lord of hosts? Who is there even among you who would shut the door so that it would not kindle fire on my altar in vain? I have no pleasure in you, says the Lord of hosts, nor will I accept an offering from your hands.
You see, they're caught, they're found out, and yet they've got this constant refrain. Now, entreat God's favor. Fetch God's blessings. Make it so that we enjoy the benefits of the land.
I love verse 10. Who is there even among you who would shut the doors so that you would not kindle fire on my altar in vain? I have no pleasure in you, says the Lord of hosts. In other words, shut it down.
If it's a sham, if it's a fake, if it's transgression, if it is lacking conformity under my law relative to sacrifice, then shut the thing down because it's hypocrisy. Notice in verse 11, for from the rising of the sun, even to its going down, my name shall be great among the Gentiles. In every place, incense shall be offered to my name, and a pure offering, for my name shall be great among the nations, says the Lord of hosts. But you profane it, in that you say, the table of the Lord is defiled, and its food is contemptible.
You also say, oh, what a weariness, and you sneer at it, says the Lord of hosts. and you bring the stolen, the lame and the sick, thus you bring and offer it. Imagine being at that level of so-called holiness where you actually steal somebody else's animal, take it to the temple and offer it up as a sacrifice. Sacrifice involves a pinch to one's own flesh, not a pinch to your neighbor's flesh when you fetch his goat and take it and offer it up to God. Notice verse 14, But cursed be the deceiver, who has in his flock a male and takes a vow, but sacrifices to the Lord what is blemished.
For I am a great king, says the Lord of hosts, and my name is to be feared among the nations. So Israel obviously needed this law revived in their own hearts during the prophet Malachi's tenure. But back to Leviticus chapter 22. So we've got the defective animals and then the unacceptability of newborn animals in verses 26 to 30.
This does not run on humanitarian reasons. It's not that, you know, God says, well, you know, leave that little baby. Just let Peanut live. That's not what's happening here.
What is happening here specifically is typical. It's typological. pointing forward, preaching Jesus to us. Listen to John Gill. It was not to be taken from its dam and killed, either for food or sacrifice, before it was seven days old.
He cites a particular Reformed Protestant theologian named Thagius. He says, the Hebrews give two reasons why a creature might not be offered before the eighth day. One is that a Sabbath might pass over it, nothing being perfect and consistent without it, that giving, as they say, perfection and consistence to all the things of the world. And the other, as the heavens and the earth being perfected in seven days, a creature which lives so long seems to be, as it were, perfect.
See? Phagius was a Hebrew scholar, Old Testament scholar. So he says that's how the Jews interpret this prohibition against the newborn. But then he observes, if we inquire after the mystical sense of it, we might like the word typological a little better, a better reason is to be given namely that Christ, the type of all the sacrifices was not to be offered or suffer death in his infancy, which Herod contrived, but at man's estate and to show that no man is fit to be a propitiatory sacrifice through weakness and inability, being unable to stand before the justice of God only Christ, in whom is perfection of strength." Bonar, in his commentary, makes a similar observation.
This precept guards the type. The animal sacrifice must have lived a complete time, seven days. For the anti-type was not to be offered in infancy, but was to live the full of a man of sorrows. As during the six days of creation there was time for God to unfold gradually his creating skill, so this period becomes symbolical in a manner of sufficient time to unfold and develop any purpose.
Christ, our surety, was to live far beyond infancy, tasting the world's sorrows as He breathed its air, taking time to open out the law and exhibit conformity to it all, before His set time came that He must die. So
Newborn Animals and Christological Typology
the prohibition against killing a newborn animal has nothing to do with humanitarianism and everything to do with Christology. I think these brothers have the right sense of the text. And then the passage ends in verses 31 to 33 to sort of culminate everything concerning the requirements for priesthood, and for sacrifice. Notice the exhortation in verse 31.
Therefore you shall keep my commandments and perform them. I am the Lord. The prohibition is stated, verse 32a. You shall not profane my holy name, but I will be hallowed among the children of Israel.
I am the Lord who sanctifies you. I am the Lord who brought you out of the land of Egypt to be your God. I am the Lord. Again, this wasn't Moses' idea.
This wasn't Moses with an ax to grind against several of the sons of Aaron. It is Moses, under the inspiration of the spirit of the living God, communicating the legislation concerning a perfect priesthood, or in this sense, a typically perfect priesthood and a perfect sacrifice.
Application
Well, two thoughts in conclusion. First, the superiority of the new covenant. We see that eunuchs are forbidden from entering into the assembly of the Lord. In this list, in Leviticus 21, in that section with reference to physical impediment, but Deuteronomy 23, verse 1, one who is emasculated shall not enter into the assembly of the Lord.
Lo and behold, the prophet Isaiah speaks concerning the messianic age, and he says that eunuchs will be drawing nigh. And lo and behold, we get to Acts chapter 8, and there's that Ethiopian eunuch. Happened to be reading the prophet Isaiah at chapter 53, and Philip happens to fall upon him. The significance there is not only, it is, the salvation of the Ethiopian eunuch, but the blessed fulfillment of new covenant reality specified by God through Isaiah that now eunuchs enter into the assembly of the Lord based on the reality of Jesus Christ, our Lord and Savior.
The exclusion of the maimed from the house of the Lord. and the inclusion in the New Covenant. Luke chapter 14, that statement about going into the highways and the hedges, to call the main, to call the lane, that was obviously signifying there was something going on, New Covenant-ish, that far exceeds and surpasses the Old Covenant. And then the second observation is the glory of the Lord Jesus, the perfect high priest and the perfect sacrifice. This is what I suggest Leviticus is all about.
That's what the entirety of the Old Testament is all about. Remember Jesus' condemnation of the religious leaders in John 5. You search the scriptures, for in them you think you have eternal life. But these are they that testify of me.
Abraham rejoiced to see my day. He saw it and he was glad. John chapter 8. The Old Testament drips of Christ.
Do not neglect the Old Testament. Do not neglect the reading of Old Testament scripture. It is full of Jesus, typically pointing us forward to that Lamb of God who takes away the sin of the world. So the Lord Jesus is perfectly suited to serve as the high priest of the new covenant, the nature of the priest.
John 1.1 and John 1.14, in the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. The Word became flesh and dwelt among us. He is perfectly suited for that work. In fact, our confession in chapter 8, paragraph 3, speaks of His suitability.
The Lord Jesus, in His human nature thus united to the Divine, in the person of the Son, was sanctified and anointed with the Holy Spirit above measure, having in Him all the treasures of wisdom and knowledge, in whom it pleased the Father that all fullness should dwell, to the end that, being holy, harmless, undefiled, and full of grace and truth, He might be thoroughly furnished to execute the office of mediator and surety. which office he took not upon himself, but was there unto called by his father, who also put all power and judgment in his hand and gave him commandment to execute the same." So the Lord Jesus is perfectly suited to function as the high priest of the new covenant. But additionally, Jesus is perfectly suited to serve as the sacrifice in the new covenant. John the Baptist says, behold the Lamb of God who takes away the sin of the world. He's unblemished.
He's without defect. He is pure. He is perfect. The very sacrifice that God demands, God provides in the person and in the work of his own blessed son.
Turn to the book of Hebrews, Hebrews chapter seven specifically. As I mentioned, from 5.1 all the way to 10.18, the emphasis is upon the priesthood of Jesus Christ. We'll just sort of focus in on this one section, and then we'll close. Notice in chapter 7, verses 20 to 28, you have the Lord's appointment to office as the mediator.
As our confession says, which office he took not upon himself, He was appointed by the oath of God the Father for this particular work. Verse 20, and in as much as he was not made priest without an oath, for they had become priests without an oath, but he with an oath, by him who said to him, the Lord has sworn and will not relent, you are a priest forever, according to the order of Melchizedek, by so much more, Jesus has become surety of a better covenant. The surety of a better covenant that is founded on better promises, according to 8.6, which affords a better hope, according to chapter 7 and verse 19. There is continuity between the covenants, but there is some great discontinuity as well.
This attempt to flatten things out and make the new covenant the old covenant is a backward step in redemptive history. We should rejoice that we get to participate in the better covenant that is grounded upon better promises, that affords a better hope, We shouldn't want to minimize those discontinuities. We shouldn't want to argue based on some other doctrinal commitments that the new is really just the old, but maybe just a little bit better. But that's not what the emphasis in the book of Hebrews is on.
It's the superiority of Jesus Christ. Then notice the accomplishment of redemption in verses 25 to 28. Therefore, he is also able to save to the uttermost those who come to God through him, since he always lives to make intercession for them. He is able to save to the uttermost.
He saves completely. Isn't that good news? Isn't that encouraging? Isn't that give you hope and the ability to get out of bed tomorrow morning?
He doesn't save us partially. He doesn't save us for a time, but he saves us to the uttermost. Why? Because he's the great high priest and the sacrifice that he sacrificed was himself.
And that wrought atonement for us men and for our salvation. Notice in verse 26, for such a high priest was fitting for us, who is holy, harmless, and undefiled, separate from sinners, and has become higher than the heavens, who does not need daily as those high priests to offer up sacrifices, first for his own sins and then for the people's. For this he did once for all when he offered up himself. That once-for-all language that is employed by the apostles several times in this book is again such encouragement.
The sacrifice doesn't need to be duplicated. It doesn't need to be replicated. We don't need to go through that. Christ paid the debt once for all.
He says in John 19 30, it is Finished! And that's the emphasis that the apostle brings here. Notice in chapter 10, verses 1 to 4. I won't read the whole thing, but it simply says there is an inefficacy with reference to the blood of bulls and goats.
But it wasn't that those were without use. They had use in the old covenant for reasons of holiness and purity and cleanliness and typology. They pointed us forward or pointed them forward to the great Lamb of God who takes away the sin of the world. and then the efficacy of the blood of our Lord Jesus Christ. Notice in chapter nine, specifically at verse 12, not with the blood of goats and calves, but with his own blood, he entered the most holy place once for all, having obtained eternal redemption.
And then drop down to verse 15, and for this reason he is the mediator of the new covenant by means of death for the redemption of the transgressions under the first covenant, that those who are called may receive the promise of the eternal inheritance. So the efficacy of Christ's blood had a retrospective application for old covenant saints. If the blood of bulls and goats couldn't do it, how did they get to heaven? Because of what the blood of the bulls and goats typified, what it pointed them forward to.
They believed in the promise of the coming Messiah, and by grace they were justified before God Most High. And then 10, 11 to 15, and every priest stands ministering daily and offering repeatedly the same sacrifices, which can never take away sins. But this man, after he had offered one sacrifice for sins forever, sat down at the right hand of God. From that time, waiting till his enemies are made his footstool, for by one offering he has perfected forever those who are being sanctified." Notice that Christ is here sitting down.
In Acts chapter 7, when Stephen is filled with the Holy Spirit, and he gazes into heaven, and he sees the glory of God, and Jesus standing at his right hand. Remember the explanation? Jesus is standing there to receive his holy martyr, Stephen, when he breathes his last. Jesus is standing there in judgment and as the tribunal over the Sanhedrin that is unlawfully executing Christ's martyr.
Here he's sitting. What do you think the sitting underscores? It underscores completion. Finished.
It's over. He doesn't have to keep duplicating this activity. It's once for all. So brethren, Leviticus 21 and 22, while it may offend our delicate sensitivities, is nevertheless rich in Christology.
It points us to that one who satisfies the requirement to be the great high priest and to be the perfect sacrifice that God demands. God provides it in the person and the work of His blessed Son. Let us pray.
Closing Prayer
Our Father in heaven, we thank You for Your Word. We thank You for the Old Testament and how it points us to our Lord Jesus, the New Testament, how it explains the fulfillment and the realization, and God, how we praise You and thank You for His work on our behalf. And as we eat this bread tonight, as we drink this cup, May we continually ponder the glory of the cross of our Lord Jesus Christ and what he went through on our behalf. May you draw out our hearts in worship and in love and in adoration.
May you strengthen us in our faith. May you further conform us unto the image of your beloved son. And may you fit us for service in your hand. And we ask this through Jesus Christ, our Lord.
Amen. Well,
Lord's Supper Administration
you can turn to Matthew's gospel, Matthew chapter 26. Matthew chapter 26, that is the section we will read from after the brothers pass out the bread. But I just want to give us a few reminders concerning the sacrament or the ordinance of the Lord's Supper. Remember, it's for believers only.
If you're not a believer, we would ask that you do not participate or take. The main emphasis for an unbeliever is to believe on the Lord Jesus Christ, to look to Him in faith, and to know the joy of being found in Him. As well, the sacrament is for believers who are dealing with their sin. That's the emphasis in 1 Corinthians 11.
They had a meal in conjunction with the supper, and at that meal, there was some sin happening. So Paul rebukes them, Paul reproves them, Paul chides them, and Paul tells them to examine themselves. And the examination isn't to find perfection in the heart, because none of us would ever be able to take. The examination is to see, if you've got sin that you're not dealing with, We've all got remaining corruption.
That's a giving. And the supper is for us. But if there's some sin we're not dealing with, we're unwilling to deal with, we're not going to let go of it. Paul, I think, makes a good statement in a different context, but he says, I always strive to maintain a conscience void of offense toward God and toward men.
That's a good sort of overarching principle when it comes to this believers who are dealing with their sin. Remember, the sacrament is a means of grace, for sure, but the elements are not changed. This is not transubstantiation. It is not consubstantiation.
And then ultimately, the sacrament points us to Christ. Yes, see your sin, confess your sin, repent of your sin, and find that forgiveness with thee that thou mayest be feared. As John Murray said, it is the Lord we are remembering. So frequently believers become so introspective that preoccupation with themselves excludes preoccupation with Christ.
Jesus says, do this in remembrance of me, not of you. Do this in remembrance of the one who lived and who died and who was raised again. Well, I'll ask the brothers if they can pass out the bread. Please do not take the bread until we read the appropriate section and pray to God.
But we'll sing Psalm 130A, as in alpha. You can remain seated. Psalm 130A, as in alpha.