# LCMS Convention Workbook_St. Louis Missouri_2019_S310
# Machine transcription, uncorrected — CHI Digital Archive (demonstration)

310

II. THEOLOGICAL DOCUMENTS­­—COMMISSION ON THEOLOGY AND CHURCH RELATIONS

A REPORT OF THE COMMISSION ON THEOLOGY AND CHURCH RELATIONS
THE LUTHERAN CHURCH—MISSOURI SYNOD SEPTEMBER 2018

The Royal Priesthood
IDENTIT Y AND MISSION
DISCUSSION GUIDE AND BIBLE STUDY

THE ROYAL PRIESTHOOD:

You yourselves like living stones
are being built up as a spiritual house,
to be a holy priesthood, to offer
spiritual sacrifices acceptable
to God through Jesus Christ.

IDENTITY AND MISSION
DISCUSSION GUIDE AND BIBLE STUDY

This discussion guide and Bible study is based on the 2018 report, The Royal Priesthood: Identity and Mission,
produced by the Commission on Theology and Church Relations of The Lutheran Church—Missouri Synod1

OLD TESTAMENT BACKGROUND

1 Peter 2:5

What comes to mind when you think of an Old Testament priest? How would you define the word “priest”?
God freed His people from slavery in Egypt. Then, at
Mount Sinai, before the Lord gave His Law or established the Levitical priesthood, He declared His intention
for all Israel to be His priests. He said to Moses:
Thus you shall say to the house of Jacob, and tell
the people of Israel: “You yourselves have seen
what I did to the Egyptians and how I bore you
on eagles’ wings and brought you to myself. Now
therefore, if you will indeed obey my voice and
keep my covenant, you shall be my treasured
possession among all peoples, for all the earth is
mine; and you shall be to me a kingdom of priests
and a holy nation. (Ex. 19:4–6)
Scripture presents the priest as a mediator between
God and man.2 The priest had certain duties to fulfill.
Read Heb. 5:1 and Lev. 6:1–7. What are priests to do
according to these verses? Read 1 Sam. 7:5; Ezra 9:5–9
and Heb. 5:7. In these verses what priestly work is carried
out? Read Mal. 2:7 and 2 Kings 17:26–28. What priestly
duty is mentioned in these verses? Read Gen. 14:17–20.
Who is this priest — the first in the Bible to be identified
by that title — and what does he do?
1
The report is available for download from the CTCR website at lcms.
org/ctcr.

The English word “priest” is derived from the Greek word presbyter
by way of Latin and then German.

2

THE ROYAL PRIESTHOOD

Eve, as pious parents, preached often and much to their
children about the will and worship of God, inasmuch
as both bring an offering to God.”4 Luther also draws a
direct connection to the priesthood: “Adam and Eve are
not only parents, nor do they merely provide for their
children and educate them for this present life; but they
also perform the office of priests. Inasmuch as they are
filled with the Holy Spirit and are enlightened by the
knowledge of Christ, who is to come, they set before
their children this very hope of a future deliverance and
exhort them to show their gratitude to so merciful a
God. It is evident that the sacrifices which were handed
down had no other purpose.”5
Throughout the book of Genesis, God’s people were
involved in priestly work, although they did not bear
the title “priest.” They gave thank offerings, prayed and
proclaimed the works of God. They interceded for others
and handed His blessing and promises down to the following generations.
Read Gen. 4:1–4 and Gen. 8:20–22. In these verses,
what priestly work is done, and by whom is it done? Read
Gen. 18:16–33; Gen. 20:17 and Gen. 22:10–14. What
priestly tasks does Abraham carry out in these verses?
Read Gen. 27:22–29 and Gen. 49:1–12. What priestly
tasks are performed by Isaac and Jacob?

Called by Grace to Be Priests
Although God applied the title “priests” to His people
in Exodus 19, His kingdom of priests had been carrying
on priestly work as long as God had been working to
redeem people and to show to others His gracious will.
God called all of Israel His priests because He had set
them apart. He had brought Israel out of slavery and to
Himself. They were freed to live in sacrificial service,
worship and witness to Him. They were set apart from
the surrounding nations as a “holy nation” (Ex. 19:5–6).
Read Ps. 145:10–12. What were the people of Israel to
do as God’s priests?
As God’s priests, Israel itself would serve as a mediator — a beacon — to all the nations: “Strangers shall
stand and tend your flocks; foreigners shall be your
plowmen and vinedressers; but you shall be called the
priests of the Lord; they shall speak of you as the minis4
Martin Luther, “Lectures on Genesis: Chapters 1-5,” Luther’s Works,
vol. 1, ed. Jaroslav Pelikan (St. Louis: Concordia Publishing House,
1958), 246.
5

Luther’s Works 1:247, emphasis added.

THE ROYAL PRIESTHOOD

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ters of our God” (Is. 61:5–6).
God called Israel first a “kingdom,” that is, a people
gathered and organized by Him and in Him as their
King (Ex. 15:18), the King over all nations. They have
not earned this status for themselves. God initiates, He
promises, He forgives, He redeems. Priesthood is a gift, a
blessing graciously bestowed on people called into a relationship with God to carry out His will, to be His instruments. “No one takes this honor for himself ” (Heb. 5:4).
The royal priests do not serve themselves, but the
One who made them priests, and they serve all others
within the covenant. They are servants and mediators of
God’s salvation to the world. Toward others, the priest’s
most important task was to teach.

serve as mediators on behalf of Israel, administering the
sacrifices of forgiveness and grace, proclaiming, teaching
and praying.
God’s revelation to His people was a revelation of
grace and their identity rested on His continuing favor,
sealed with His pledge of faithfulness in the covenant.
But Israel would forget God’s faithfulness and come to
think they possessed something that had drawn God
to them. Many misunderstood their identity as a
privilege exclusive to them and meant for no one else.
They would lose track of the promise that the blessings
given to them would result in a blessing for all the
nations (Gen.12:1–3; 26:4–5).

Israel’s service rested on God’s promise of a faithful Servant of the Lord yet to come, one who would fulfill the
service Israel could not achieve.

Read Num. 3:5–13. What does God say about the tribe
of Levi? What are their duties? Read Num. 18:7; Deut.
17:8–12 and Deut. 33:8–10. What are the duties of the
Levitical priesthood as described in these verses?
Of the tribe of Levi, God said, “For the Lord your
God has chosen him out of all your tribes to stand and
minister in the name of the Lord, him and his sons
for all time” (Deut. 18:5). The Levitical priests served as
mediators or go-betweens in formal worship. The entire
tribe maintained the Tabernacle. From among the tribe
of Levites, Aaron and his sons were appointed to be
the priests who offered up the people’s daily and yearly
sacrifices (Lev. 1:7–8). The high priest alone stood in for
the Aaronic priests, the Levites, and the entire people,
making yearly atonement for all sins in the Holy of Holies (Ex. 30:6–10; Lev. 16:32–34). The priests reminded Israel
of their present relationship to God and of the work of
the Messiah still to come.
Israel’s worship was given by God to make Him
known within Israel and through Israel to the surrounding nations. In Genesis, Noah (Gen. 8:20) and Abraham
(Gen. 21:33) served as priests for their families. The formal
Levitical priesthood would carry out these duties for all
of Israel in a public worship setting. Still, the Levitical responsibilities did not put an end to the identity and work
given by God to His entire kingdom of priests (Ex. 19:6).
There is a both/and nature to the priesthood. All
Israel was called to priestly standing before God, to serve
as mediators on behalf of their future generations and
on behalf of the surrounding nations, the Gentiles. At
the same time, there were priests from within Israel to

3

Read Is. 42:1–7; Is. 49:5–6; Is. 52:13–15 and Is.
53:10. What is said about the Lord’s Servant? What will
He do?
The Servant’s faithfulness would involve sacrifice and
priestly service, but not in the way of Aaron. The Servant
would suffer in self-sacrifice — offering Himself for sin,
silent as a lamb (Is. 53:7), bearing all griefs, sorrows,
transgressions, iniquities and chastisement (Is. 53:4–5) for
the Lord “laid on him the iniquity of us all” (Is. 53:6).
Read Gen. 3:15; Micah 5:2; Deut. 18:15–18; 2 Sam.
7:4–5, 12–13; Is. 7:14; Dan. 7:13–14 and Ps. 2:1–2. In
these verses, what promises does God make to His people?
How are all of these promises fulfilled in Jesus, the promised Servant of the Lord?

The Order of Melchizedek
The Lord’s Servant has many titles and He will also be a
“a priest forever.” The Old Testament describes Melchizedek’s mysterious appearance. He reappears in one of
the great messianic psalms (Ps. 110) as the pattern for an
eternal royal Priest who sits at the Lord’s right hand.
Read Ps. 110:2–4 and Heb. 7:1–22. What is distinctive about the new, promised Priest of the order of
Melchizedek?
In the eternal, royal Priest to come, the earthly call of
Israel as a royal priesthood will be fulfilled in the universal priesthood of all justified believers, old and new.

THE ROYAL PRIESTHOOD

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As the priesthood unfolds through the Old Testament, it is a work of mediation, of offering gifts and
sacrifices for sin, of supplication and prayer and of
proclaiming God’s Word. Martin Luther summarizes the
biblical duties of a priest:
According to the way the Scriptures picture him,
a priest is a person whom God has ordained and
commanded to mediate between God and men.
That is to say, a priest comes from God and brings
us His Word and doctrine; again, he presents
himself to God to sacrifice and pray for us. Hence
the priestly office consists of three parts: to teach
or preach God’s Word, to sacrifice, and to pray. All
three of these functions are abundantly referred to
in the Scriptures.3
These three duties of sacrifice, prayer and proclamation are carried out long before Sinai, before the declaration of Israel’s royal priesthood and before the establishment of the Levitical priesthood. Adam and Eve served
as priests before God. Luther, speaking of Gen. 4:3, says:
“In the first place, we are reminded here that Adam and
3
Martin Luther, “Sermon on Psalm 110,” Luther’s Works, vol. 13, ed.
Jaroslav Pelikan (St. Louis: Concordia Publishing House, 1956), 315,
emphasis added.

DISCUSSION GUIDE AND BIBLE STUDY

God’s Faithful Servant
The Levitical Priesthood

DISCUSSION GUIDE AND BIBLE STUDY

2019 Convention Workbook

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The first priest mentioned by that title in Scripture is
the mysterious Melchizedek, “priest of God Most High,”
who blessed Abram in God’s name and brought him
bread and wine (Gen. 14:17–20). Then he disappears, but
we will meet him again.

2

“PRIEST” IN THE NEW TESTAMENT
The Servant, the Seed, the Son, has come. He is “God
with us” (Matt. 1:23), the anointed Son of Man, serving
and saving people. His coming is the fulfillment of every
promise to Israel, the righteousness that Israel failed to
offer and the atonement that every other sacrifice anticipated. The work promised in the Servant, who is King
and Priest, creates the kingdom of priests. Their priestly
service is forever grounded in Him.

Promises Fulfilled
This is the New Testament. Its newness is that of promise
(prophecy) and fulfillment. The New Testament makes
plain the preparatory character of the Old Testament.
The New Testament is utterly dependent upon Christ,
the fulfillment of the Old Testament in all its parts.
Read Matt. 5:17–18; John 5:39–40, 46–47 and
Luke 24:44–47. What does the Lord Jesus say about the
fulfillment of the promises concerning Himself in the Old
Testament Scriptures?
God delivered the people of Israel from slavery. He
chose them as His covenant people and promised to
send His Servant, who would be Prophet (Deut. 18:15),
Priest (Ps. 110:4) and King (Ps. 2:6). The Old Testament
royal priesthood was grounded entirely in God’s gracious
provision, His redemptive work and His promises. The
royal priesthood of the Old Testament was redeemed
by grace through faith alone, just as the New Testament
royal priesthood. Yet the New Testament priesthood is
just that — new.
Read Heb. 3:1–6. What is “new” in the New Testament
priesthood?
The New Testament royal priesthood is defined entirely in the light of Christ, who is our great High Priest.
He offered the full atoning sacrifice of Himself, the sacrifice anticipated by the countless Old Testament sacrifices.
In Jesus we share “in a heavenly calling” in a priesthood
conferred in the covenant of Baptism, intended for all
nations (Matt. 28:19). This new priesthood is not focused
on Israel or its sacrifices, but on proclaiming the Gospel
of Christ’s sacrifice for all people.
Read Luke 1:67–79. What does Zechariah (a member
of the Levitical priesthood) say about the promises of God
and about sunrise and shadows? Read Col. 2:16–19 and
Heb. 10:1. What is said in these verses about the shadows
that were the Old Testament sacrifices and festivals?

DISCUSSION GUIDE AND BIBLE STUDY

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