Christ Cleanses
Christ's Gift of Priestly Purification
All of Leviticus applies to the believer today, just not in exactly the way it did to the Israelite in the Old Testament. The priesthood is fundamental to the life of the believer in both OT and NT. Jesus is our High Priest, and we are a kingdom of priests, a holy priesthood, called out of darkness to proclaim the excellencies of Christ.
In Leviticus 8 we witness the ordination of Aaron, the first Levitical high priest, and of his sons by Moses the mediator serving in God’s earthly house/Tabernacle (Hebrews 3). One commentator opens his commentary on Leviticus 8 thus: This ordination is “nothing short of breathtaking in its scope and in its gospel meaning” (Milton, Approaching God, 61). If you read Leviticus 8, could you come to that conclusion? May it be so! In this chapter, we come to the very first ordination and installation service, the moment that all future Levitical priests of Israel would turn to as their own origin story as priests in God’s world. We have ordination and installation services from time to time in our local churches, and the idea behind these services is the same as here: to set apart men for a particular office/service in the church. In this brief series, I want us to consider some of Jesus Christ’s priestly gifts to his people.
Moses as mediator washes, and so cleanses, Aaron and his sons. In verse 6, it reads, “And Moses brought Aaron and his sons and washed them with water” (cf. also vv. 22-29). The hitherto unholy soon-to-be High Priest and his sons the priests must first be washed. This task is first. It must be first. When we go to the gym or come home from vigorous exercise, before we change our clothes, we cleanse ourselves. We take a shower, so that our new clothes don’t carry the baton of our body odor. In a similar but less sweaty way, before these men are clothed, they’re cleansed. Water is a must.
But more than water was needed, just like more than oil was needed for the consecration of the Tabernacle (vv. 10-13, 22-29). Blood must be also shed, and so the ram for this ordination offering was presented. After it was killed, Moses took its blood and put it on Aaron’s right ear, right thumb, and the big toe on his right foot. Then Aaron’s sons were likewise sprinkled with blood. Finally, the altar was sprinkled. From top to toe, God’s priestly representative is cleansed and covered by water and blood. His whole right side is specially sanctified. The priest is to hear for God, he is to stretch out his hand for God, and he is to move his feet in service to his God.
Jesus Christ is our Mediator, the Son and better Mediator in God’s heavenly house (Hebrews 3). The Father in heaven applied the waters of baptism to his Son as our high priest. John the Baptist objected, but Jesus insisted, to fulfill all righteousness. As the water was poured on the Messiah, and as the Spirit was outpoured on the Lord’s Anointed, the Christ was set apart by oil and water. Unlike the case of Aaron, it was not the blood of an animal or another but his own blood by which he was consecrated. And now, the Son who left his Father’s side in the Incarnation, and who is now at the right hand of his Father, has sprinkled clean our consciences and poured out his Spirit upon our lives, to set us apart as his holy priesthood. Christ cleanses you. Now baptism saves you, beloved. Praise God for your cleansing. Proclaim the excellencies of him who purified you.
Rev. Dr. Michael Mock is the Pastor of Grace Presbyterian Church (PCA) in Fresno, CA and an ACBC-certified Biblical Counselor. He’s the author of Hey, Dad, Why Do We…?: Kids Ask the Greatest Questions, Old Testament Introduction and Workbook, New Testament Introduction and Workbook, Comfort from Corinthians: A Devotional Walkthrough of 2nd Corinthians for Sinful and Struggling Saints, and A Confessional Marriage: Marriage Based on the Firm Foundation and a Faithful Confession. You can find his books here: Amazon.com: Dr. Michael D. Mock: books, biography, latest update.