8 Once when Zechariah’s division was on duty and he was serving as priest before God, 9 he was chosen by lot, according to the custom of the priesthood, to go into the temple of the Lord and burn incense. 10 And when the time for the burning of incense came, all the assembled worshipers were praying outside.
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Notice that only Zechariah was inside burning incense, while the assembled worshipers who had come to the temple, were outside. Only the priests were allowed inside the temple building itself, and even then only when they were on duty. Let’s take a closer look at that and what it means for us today that we are called a “royal priesthood.”
Most of the time Zechariah lived away from the temple. Even though he was a priest, he only served at the temple a couple of times a year. There was a program of rotating service at the temple, described in 1 Chronicles 24, where the priests who lived in other parts of Israel (which were the vast majority of the priests) came to serve at the temple. When they were not serving at the temple, they served as teachers in the communities where they lived.
Priests served as intermediaries between the people and God. They offered sacrifices and incense on behalf of the people, bringing the prayers of the people to God. They also served as God’s messengers, bringing the blessings and teachings of the Lord to the people. There was a separation between God and the people, and the priests served to bridge that gap.
All of that is different now, since Jesus has come and acted as the high priest for all, once and for all. Sometimes this is interpreted to mean that we no longer need priests to stand between us and God. But that is not exactly how it is portrayed in the New Testament. The truth is that all who are in Christ are all priests now. Peter writes that we are a “chosen people, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, God’s special possession, that you may declare the praises of him who called you out of darkness into his wonderful light.”
In Christ, we are all called to serve as priests, bringing the things of God to those in darkness, and bringing prayers to God on their behalf. This is what is called the “priesthood of all believers” and it is inextricably bound up with the mission that Christ has given us to make disciples of the nations.
We who are in Christ are all called as priests. The service to which we are called is not just a couple of weeks a year in the temple, but every day in all of our lives. May God bless our priesthood, working through us to bring blessing to others, and hearing our prayers that we pray on their behalf.
Lord, bless my priestly service to you. Make me a blessing to others, especially those in darkness.
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For previous Abide devotions, go to https://stjohnslutheran.net/category/abide/
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