A passing priesthood

Now I'd like to read a few scriptures from the Gospel of Luke, starting at chapter one. Luke chapter one and verse number five. There was in the days of Herod the king of Judea a certain priest named Zacharias of the course of Abii and his wife was of the daughters of Aaron and her name was Elizabeth and they were both righteous before God walking in all the commandments of the ordinances of the Lord blameless and they had no child because Elizabeth was barren and they both were now well stricken in years and it came to pass that while he executed the priest's office before the Lord in the order of his course according to the custom of the priest's office his lot was to burn incense when he went into the temple of the Lord.

Now verse number 20 and behold thou shalt be dumb or silent and not able to speak until the day that these things shall be performed because I believe it's not my words which shall be fulfilled in their season. Now chapter three please and verse number two. Annas and Caiaphas being the high priests the word of the Lord came on to John the son of Zacharias in the wilderness.

Verse 21. Now when all the people were baptized it came to pass that Jesus also being baptized and praying the heaven was opened and the Holy Spirit descended in a bodily shape like a dove upon him and a voice came from heaven which said thou art my beloved son and thee I am well pleased. Now verse 38.

This is part of the genealogy which was the son of Enos which was the son of Seth which was the son of Adam which was the son of God. Now a couple of verses in chapter 10 please. Chapter 10 and verse number 30.

10 and 30 and Jesus answering said a certain man went down from Jerusalem to Jericho and fell among thieves which stripped him of his raiment and wounded him and departed leaving him half dead. And by chance there came down a certain priest that way and when he saw him he passed by on the other side and likewise a Levite when he was in the place came and looked on him and passed by on the other side. But a certain Samaritan as he journeyed came where he was and when he saw him he had compassion on him and went to him and bound up his wounds pouring in oil and wine and set him on his own beast and brought him to an inn and took care of him.

And on the morrow when he departed he took out two pence and gave them to the host and said unto him take care of him whatsoever thou spendest more when I come again I will repay thee. Now I want to read a few verses in chapter 23 please. Verse 27.

And there followed him a great company of people and of women which also bewailed and lamented him. But Jesus turning unto them said daughters of Jerusalem weep not for me but weep for yourselves and for your children. Verse 34.

Then said Jesus father forgive them for they know not what they do and they parted his raiment and cast lots. And verse 42. And he said unto Jesus Lord remember me when thou comest into thy kingdom.

And Jesus said unto him verily I say unto thee today thou shalt be with me in paradise. And one final verse in 24 and verse number 49. And behold I send the promise of my father upon you but tarry ye in the city of Jerusalem until you be endued with power from on high.

Now we know that God will bless his word. We've read quite a few verses but you don't have to worry you're going to get to the break around three o'clock or maybe a little bit before. Now our brother has been talking about change and I wondered maybe if this would be a good time for me to give my little message.

I want to talk too about change. And then our brother gave out the hymn about the terrors of law and of God with me kind of nothing to do and that kind of confirmed it. So if you don't appreciate that go to the brother and it's their fault for encouraging me.

Now we read in the gospel of Luke of course about Zechariah and Zechariah and Elizabeth were wonderful people. He was a priest and according to the law it says they were blameless. Aren't too many people like that likely living in that day and age but here they are.

But there was one big difficulty in their life of course and that is that they were barren. They had no children and here's a man and he's officiating perfectly in the way that God had asked him. He's fulfilling his course the course of Abii and he's fulfilling that course and he's going in he's offering incense and then he was to go out and to bless the people but you know he couldn't bless the people.

He was struck silent because of unbelief. Now what I want to link with that is it's a passing priesthood. You see the law even though this man was perfect in his execution of it, the law failed.

It failed to bless the people and instead of another priest coming on the scene you find that he had a son who was a prophet. John the Baptist was a priest he could have had the priestly garments on and going in and fulfilling his part in the course and his priesthood but instead of that you find him out in the wilderness and he's out in the wilderness and he's dressed in clothing suitable to the wilderness and of course you know he's out there he's a fearless preacher and he's the forerunner of the Lord. So the law was coming to an end.

The priesthood had failed not just Zachariah but it reminded me when I read this it reminded me of earlier days in the days of Eli the priest. Now there's a big difference. Eli was a priest that was sitting.

He wasn't fulfilling his course and his sons were nothing like John the Baptist but you know that priesthood was coming to an end that he was a judge but he was failing and God brought a prophet in. He brought in Samuel and the reason God brings in prophets in the old testament is to bring his people to draw his people back onto himself. There weren't prophets in times of prosperity and you know of course there aren't any prophets today.

There might be in some ways a prophet-like ministry but there there are no prophets. A prophet was a man that spent time in the Lord's presence and come out with a message and the old testament many foretold the future but John he came out with a message from the Lord and it was a message to recover the nation. The law had failed in that way because it was weak through the flesh and now here's a man and he's coming and if you follow his pathway in the wilderness he's a man sent from God.

It doesn't say sent by God, sent from God so he must have spent time with God and he's coming out from God and he's fearless in his preaching. It doesn't matter whether he's preaching to Herod or whether he's preaching to the soldiers or whoever it is he's making a straight path for the way of the Lord. He's preparing a remnant when the high place is made low and the low places brought up.

It's not speaking just of the of the land but speaking about the people in the land and they're bringing the proud down and bringing the those who are humble giving them a good standing before God because of the repentance and so on. I don't want to leave her that but here he is and you have a prophet priest, a passing priesthood and you have a prophet priest. Now he's preparing the way for the Lord Jesus and that's why I read those scriptures about the Spirit of God descending upon the Lord.

You'll remember likely when you read about the consecration of the priesthood that Aaron the high priest was anointed before the shedding of the blood and here's the Lord Jesus fulfilling that now. There's a new a priest coming in, a priest of a different kind. Not a priest like Aaron or after that or the Lord couldn't be a priest in that way because he was from the tribe of Judah and while Samuel in the Old Testament he was bringing in a king.

That's not a king that they need right now. The king's going to be brought in in the future but he's bringing in a new priest and a new priesthood and that's the Lord Jesus Christ and you know I'm glad there was a change that took place. I'm glad that I'm not living under law aren't you? I'm glad that I'm living in a day of grace.

If I had been living under law my parents would have taken me out in stone be long ago. Thank God they didn't do that but I'm glad I'm living under grace and the Lord Jesus is coming in. That's the change that you have in the gospel of Luke, a change from law to grace and this wonderful person comes in.

Who is he? He's got a genealogy. You know he's the only person that ever needed a genealogy to show he was a real person and his ancestor goes right up to son of Adam which was the son of God. The genealogy you know in the gospel of Matthew it comes down.

It comes down from son of David, son of Abraham and right down here it's going up and when I read that in my mind the way it works I thought as the children are partakers of flesh and bloody and like manner took part of the same. He had to be like us not only to go to the cross at Calvary but to be our great high priest. So here he is and you have the genealogy.

Some have likened it to the ark going into the Jordan and when the ark went into the Jordan when the children of Israel were coming into their inheritance. You remember what happened to the waters of Jordan? Some flowed on, flowed down. That's what you'd have in Matthew.

Some backed up and if you have a margin like the one I have in my bible it says it backed up as far as to Adam. Isn't that amazing? It was a little town called Adam and but you see the way the scriptures are. It's delightful isn't it really to read the scriptures.

I don't need any proof to show that this is God's Word. It's just the way it's written and the enjoyment they get from it. So we have the participation of the priest.

I'll call it as the children are partakers of flesh and blood in like manner took part of the same. We could have read in John chapter or Luke rather chapter four about the priest and the Lord stood up in the synagogue at Nazareth and he said the Spirit of the Lord is upon me. He's speaking about his anointing now as our great high priest.

The Spirit of the Lord is upon me. He has anointed me to preach the gospel to the poor. Wow that's the grace of God isn't it? He wasn't silent like Zechariah but he's able to preach the gospel to the poor and release the prisoners.

You see here's a priest that had a real heart for the people. John the Baptist it seems he didn't really understand that. He likely thought he should have come in in judgment and set up the kingdom right away.

And the Lord sent his John's disciples back to him and he said you tell him what you see and what you hear. And while John likely was expecting the Lord to fulfill some of Isaiah's prophecies regarding the Lord coming back to reign yet he was fulfilling other of Isaiah's prophecies. He's reaching out to the poor.

The man that has compassion. Now I read there in chapter 10 the Lord chapter 4 he's a preaching priest. Did you know that preaching is a priestly work? You would get that from Romans wouldn't you? Because Paul's offering up the Gentiles.

And the priestly work maybe I should emphasize this for young brethren and others of us who are trying to preach and preach the gospel. Well you know it's a priestly work. We need to spend time in the presence of the Lord beforehand.

One old preacher was asked one time how do you prepare your sermons? And of course you need to prepare a message after some thought of what you're going to say. But he said well first of all I prepare myself. Isn't that the most important thing? See the Lord had compassion.

The Lord had a love for those that he preached to. And that's what we should have. And I often quote when I think of a dear brother Harold Paisley.

He's gone quite senile. But you know I had the privilege to preach with him a few times in a couple of gospel series. And there was a man come out to the meetings as far as I know he never ever got saved.

But I saw him a few years later after we had preached there in Lakeshore Ontario. And he asked me said how's brother Paisley? Well I said the last time I saw him I think he's doing all right. And he said do you know what I liked about his preaching? I said no but I'm very interested.

He said you could tell when he was preaching to you that he loved you. And I thought there could be no greater commendation to have the right spirit. And the Lord Jesus so different from the law.

It was cold wasn't it? Written in tables of stone. We're talking about things now written in fleshly tables of the heart. The work of the Lord a preaching a priest.

But then in John chapter 10 we have the pity of the priest. And you remember the man's going down from Jerusalem to Jericho. And he's robbed and he's half dead.

And a priest comes along from the house of Levi. And what does he do? He walks by on the other side. One ever wondered why he did that? Well he probably thought this man maybe he's dead.

I don't want to be contaminated for this man. Then a Levi comes. He was occupied in the things of God too in Jerusalem.

And he at least looked and then he walks on. They couldn't help him. The law couldn't help the sinner.

The law only showed the sinner to be destitute. Not just half dead but maybe dead in trespasses and in sins. And penniless.

Not able to do anything. But thank God there was one that came along. They call we call him the good Samaritan.

Isn't it John 8 where they accused the Lord of being a Samaritan. They Jews hated the Samaritans. They said he's a Samaritan and he has a demon.

But the Lord Jesus came right to where we were. Not just to where this man was. But right to where you and I were in all our need.

And he pours in the oil and wine. Everything that was needed. And he takes us to a place.

And I hope you appreciate that place because I believe it's really a lovely little picture of God's assembly. That's a great privilege you know. I'm sure you appreciate that.

To be part of an assembly. When God saved me and you know I was like many of our brethren. I was brought up in a Christian home.

But I didn't just come into the assembly because of that. I was older maybe that's why I considered it. And my first wife had never wasn't raised in a Christian home like I was.

So we said where are we going to go? You know how long it took us to decide? Well first of all I said I know there's no such thing as a clergyman in the Bible. The New Testament. So that wiped out quite a few places didn't it? And I knew that there were places that I loved music.

I still love music. And they had timpani drums and trumpets and everything else. And I could enjoy that.

But I thought where could we find that in the New Testament? So it wasn't very very hard to see that there is a place. It's a place where the Lord is. If the Lord draw drew near to me and rescued me from my sins.

Would I not really want to be with him? And while here in the story of course the Lord's absent yet we know he's absent today. Whom having not seen we love. Do we really love the Lord Jesus? If we don't we'll love the place where he is.

Now if you love someone you like to be with them don't you? You don't like to have any barriers. And I know you're might be away from home for a while if you're like some of us preachers. And you know absence makes the heart grow fonder.

I'm still glad I have a wife to come back to. That's where my heart is. And that's what we enjoy.

So why would we want to go any other place? But to be with this wonderful person. A person who draws near to us in our weakness. Now must go on with the pity of the priest.

Those verses I read in chapter 23. I call those a priority of the priest. I hope you notice they're all peas.

You know it's not easy to get them all to fit in sometimes. But when I was a boy I used to pea shoot you know. And I'm still doing it now.

I'm a little bit older. And sometimes they don't all fit. But we try to make them fit anyhow.

But you know the priest was a person with compassion. And if this is the gospel of grace and it is the gospel of grace. You'll find that the priest is not occupied with himself.

Would you have been occupied with yourself if you knew you were going to be crucified? If you knew you were going to be forsaken by God there on the cross? Would you not have been thinking about this? I have no doubt the Lord thought about it often. You know there's another little scripture that says the foxes have holes and the birds of the air have their nests. But the son of man hath not where to lay his head.

Doesn't mean that the Lord never slept. Doesn't mean that he never put his head down. But I think it means this.

He never had perfect rest because Calvary was always looming before him. It was from eternity. But here in the world he knew it's coming.

It's getting closer and closer. But here he is and he's on the way to the cross. And there are women that are weeping.

No wonder. I wonder sometimes why I don't weep more when I think of it myself. But the Lord wasn't occupied with the cross as far as they were concerned.

But as a priest, as a person with compassion, he says weep not for me but weep for yourselves and for your children. The Lord knew something that they didn't know. He knew that about A.D. 70, Titus was going to come in with his Roman army and many of them were going to be slain.

But the Lord was occupied with them. And then even on the cross, he could look at those that had put the nails in his hands and his feet. He could say, Father, forgive them for they know not what they do.

I tell you what a change was taking place. God coming out in grace to poor sinners. And then you think of that man, one of the thieves on the cross.

And when I think of that scene, I often, my mind goes away back to the Garden of Eden. You know, there was a tree in the Garden of Eden, a tree they were forbidden to eat from. There was a paradise, beautiful place where God had put Adam and Eve, special place in the Garden of Eden.

And there was a thief. You say, who was the thief? Well, Adam took something that didn't belong to him. Is that not thievery? Took it when nobody was looking, he thought.

A robber usually robs you right in daylight. Puts a mask on and robs you. But you see, when we come to the end of this beautiful account in Luke 23, we have a tree, tree in the midst, the Lord Jesus on that tree.

And imagine in all the agonies of the cross, the Lord can speak about paradise. And there's a thief. He said, we deserve what we're getting.

We're in this judgment. But this man had done nothing amiss. And when I think of that, my mind always goes to Psalm 69, the Psalm of the trespass offering.

I know what it says about the Lord. He restored that which he took not away. That's the opposite of a thief, isn't it? None of us would hardly ever do that.

But he restored that which he took not away. What a wonderful person the Lord Jesus is. And here's a man said, Lord, remember me when thou comest into thy kingdom.

When I think of the Lord Jesus on the cross, I think of him mostly as a man suffering agonies. He was still God's son, we know that. But he's suffering agonies untold.

But yet he's occupied with those that nailed him to the cross, with a man that's on a cross beside him. The Lord's occupied with him. Today, thou shalt be with me in paradise.

And you know, that very day, that man was in paradise. You say, because he died? No, because the Lord died. No one could die in the Lord's presence.

But then when we read at the end of chapter 24, I could have read a lot of verses in that chapter, but you're all familiar with it. But I call it the pattern for the priest. You see, we are part of a priesthood.

Every believer is a priest. That's what the Word of God teaches. You don't have to wear special garments or anything like that to be a priest, but we're all priests.

And in John 24, the Lord gives an example, really, first of all, of his priesthood. What is the Lord doing now? At the beginning of his earthly ministry, there's a 40-day period. It's in the Gospel of Matthew, it's showing that he's competent to be king, stronger than the enemy.

If you look at it in the Gospel of Mark, the Gospel of the servant, you find that the Lord is a competent servant. And look, it's showing he's a man, a righteous man. No sin, the sinless man.

When we come to the last part of his life here on earth, 40-day period, it's a little preview, or maybe a prelude, or maybe both, of what he's doing right now. What did he do? There were two on the way to Emmaus, and they're discouraged. And they're talking about what happened at Jerusalem.

And I always marvel at this. When the Lord drew near to them, the Lord said, what things? And they said, are you the only stranger that doesn't know what happened in these past days? You know, the Lord was the only one that did know what happened in those past days. The disciples didn't really, the truth didn't grip them till later on.

And in the epistles, it was all explained what took place at Calvary. The Lord was the only one that knew, but yet he's so gracious, and he draws near to them, he doesn't upbraid them. Although he did call them foolish men, because they were unbelieving, but still, you know, he encouraged them.

And he encouraged them through the scriptures. That's why it's so important for us to read the Word of God, and to read all the Word of God. Because he read to them, or quoted to them from the prophets, and from the Pentateuch, and from Moses, and from the prophets, and from the Psalms, and all the scriptures, the things concerning himself.

What do you think he was talking to them about? About the fact that he had to suffer. Why this is something, it must have been wonderful to, it's too bad it's not all recorded, but I know God didn't make mistakes by not recording it. I'd love to have heard him, the Lord, speaking about the Levitical offerings.

I like the study of those things. There's a few things I'm not too sure about, you know, I'd like some help. And I've read books, and a lot of them are all different, and a lot of them don't even agree with what I believe.

But anyhow, I still enjoy it anyhow. But you know, it must have been wonderful for the Lord to unfold those things to them. And then Isaiah, you know, we have a lot of Bible readings on Isaiah, and sometimes we get kind of used with it, but I'll tell you, it must have been some reading of the Lord was telling about what we know as Isaiah 53, and from the Psalms, and how we must need suffer.

And you know, it touched our hearts. That's what we need. We need to have our hearts touched.

When I was first saved, there was a brother helped me a lot. And one thing he said, I don't remember all that he said, but he said, you can't fix a clock by twiddling around with our hands. Okay, we could tell the Lord's people, and we could give you a set of rules and so on.

But what do you need? We need to touch the heart. And I need my heart touched. And that's why I like to come to meetings like this.

I hope my heart gets touched again, and touched already. But we need to have our heart touched. And they said, surely our heart burned within us.

While he spoke with us on the way. You know, the priest in the Old Testament trimmed the lamps, the lampstand. And you know why he trimmed them? To make them burn all the more brightly.

If you had been there on the way to a Mass, if I had been there, I might have put the lamp right out, the lamp of their testimony by saying, what's the matter with you? Do you not know your Bible? Do you never read it? Did you not listen to what I taught? No, the Lord doesn't do that. The Lord's compassionate. And sometimes we need our lamp trimmed.

We need to be corrected. But it's all with that thought that it's going to burn all the more brightly. And I'll tell you, I don't need to tell you, things are getting so dark in this world.

Even a little flicker would be a testimony. But may the Lord help us as individuals and help our assemblies to shine as lights in the world. Now, tarry ye at Jerusalem, he said, until you be endued with power from on high.

You know, of course, the spirit of God was one come down. But what I want to say just in closing is this endued. It could be rendered clothed until you be clothed.

And when I think of the clothes there, just to keep it in mind and context, I look at that as clothed with priestly garments. The Lord has clothed this all with priestly garments. Why? To give us access into his presence.

That's wonderful. He was taken up. You know what he did when he was taken up? He blessed them.

Zacharias was at the golden altar. He came out and he couldn't bless the people. Couldn't speak.

The Lord went to the altar. Could we say the brazen altar for the wrath and the judgment of God? Now he's going back into heaven, carried up into heaven. And what's he doing? He's blessing the people.

And when he tells me now you've got a priestly garment, it's not just to give me access into his presence. That's tremendous truth. But it's so that I'll be able to do a priestly work among others.

That's what we've been hearing in some of the ministry this morning. To be helping one another. You know anyone that's a little bit discouraged? Would you draw near to them? It's not a public work.

Just give them a little encouragement. And we've been talking recently and you know sometimes you go to encourage somebody, you end up being encouraged yourself. But just to encourage them.

How do you encourage them? Well there's one thing. You encourage them from the scriptures. Just as the Lord did.

He showed them these things are going to happen. And we need to encourage one another. We're weak.

We have nothing to boast about when it comes to ourselves or to our assemblies. We're very weak. And we need to be built up.

And it can be all through the word of God. And I'm speaking to sisters as well as brethren. This is a work that we all can do.

We can draw near to someone. Give them a little word of encouragement. Used to be older men would come and ask you what have you been reading or what have you been studying? And you know it wasn't that they were trying to put you down or they wanted to help you.

And if you would tell them then they could add to what and they could explain things to you. And we're glad of men. And when I look at the brother Gary I always think of Mr. Daugherty.

He was a tremendous help. And there's others. And not just men full-time workers but just to be a little help.

To use that priestly work that God has given us. Compassion. Not like the law.

The change has taken place. And now instead of you having to be a descendant from Aaron you need to be associated with the Lord Jesus Christ. Part of the great priesthood.

So may the Lord encourage our hearts and help us as we study the word of God. I like to try and fit little things together. Maybe I don't always do it the right way but I enjoy it.

Just like a book. We need to look at verses and words and so on. Some brethren are better at that than I am but I like to get things in the context if I can.

Or let's put it this way just simply. Try to get the overall picture. And I tell you that can really cheer your heart.

And help you to understand little incidents and you see how they fit in. When I look at the Lord Jesus and the gospel of Luke. The gospel of the priest.

The gospel of Matthew. He's the teacher. Teaches the precepts of the kingdom and the parables of the kingdom and the prophecies of the kingdom.

And he sends the disciples out to teach. Luke is the evangelist. Straightway immediately forthwith forthwith all the the haste that's required in the in the work of the Lord.

He sends them out to preach the gospel. Gospel of John he's the shepherd. Out after the lost sheep bringing him in.

Putting him in the in the flock in John 10. Then going before when we come to the end of the of the gospel. Then the gospel of Luke he's the priest.

The priest that draws near to you and to me. The succor is in temptation. The sympathizes when our weakness and the save to the uttermost.

That means he's going to bring us safely through this wilderness scene. I'm glad that that change has taken place and I hope the change will affect me. And affect all of us.

So that we'll all be engaged in this great work of building up and encouraging one another in these dark days.