How does Leviticus 6:29 connect with New Testament teachings on priesthood? Leviticus 6:29 in Context • “Any male among the priests may eat it. It must be eaten in a holy place; it is most holy.” (Leviticus 6:29) • The verse concerns the sin offering. • Only Aaron’s male descendants could consume the sacrificed animal, and only within the tabernacle courts. • The meal signified identification with the offering and with the worshiper’s atonement. Exclusive Priesthood and the Sin Offering • Access was restricted: priestly service, priestly food, priestly space. • The limitation underscored God’s holiness and humanity’s separation from Him because of sin (Leviticus 10:3). • The priests functioned as mediators, previewing a greater Mediator (Hebrews 5:1–4). Foreshadowing the Perfect Priest • Jesus fulfills every facet of the sin offering: – Sacrifice: “He sacrificed for sins once for all when He offered Himself.” (Hebrews 7:27) – Priest: “We have a great High Priest who has passed through the heavens—Jesus the Son of God.” (Hebrews 4:14) – Place: “Not by the blood of goats and calves but by His own blood He entered the Most Holy Place once for all.” (Hebrews 9:12) Participation Through a Better Sacrifice • OT priests ate the sin offering; NT believers partake of Christ symbolically in the Lord’s Supper (Luke 22:19–20; 1 Corinthians 10:16). • The meal today is open to every believer, reflecting the completeness of the atonement and the tearing of the veil (Matthew 27:51). Expansion to the Royal Priesthood • In Christ, priestly privilege broadens: – “You also, like living stones, are being built into a spiritual house to be a holy priesthood.” (1 Peter 2:5) – “You are a chosen people, a royal priesthood.” (1 Peter 2:9) – “He has made us a kingdom, priests to His God and Father.” (Revelation 1:6) • Gender and lineage restrictions are removed; every believer—male or female, Jew or Gentile—now shares priestly access (Galatians 3:28). Holiness Then and Now • OT: holiness confined to tabernacle courts. • NT: holiness indwells believers individually and corporately—“For we are the temple of the living God.” (2 Corinthians 6:16) • God’s standard of holiness remains unchanged; the sphere of holiness has widened. Key Takeaways for Today • Christ alone satisfies the sin offering prefigured in Leviticus 6:29. • Because His priesthood is perfect and eternal, believers confidently “draw near with a sincere heart in full assurance of faith.” (Hebrews 10:22) • Every follower of Jesus now enjoys priestly privileges: access to God, participation in sacred fellowship, and service to others. |
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