Sacerdotal Priesthood

The Light Shines in the Darkness...

According to its dogma, the Roman Catholic Church claims to be the “universal sacrament of salvation” (John Hardon, The Question and Answer Catholic Catechism (Garden City: Image, 1901), Question #401.). The Roman Church teaches that its priesthood was established by Christ from the very beginning and is the means by which the sacraments are administered and the expiation of sin is obtained. However, since the sixteenth century, Protestants have been pointing out that a priesthood that confers the grace of God through sacraments is completely antithetical to the New Covenant. I will prove that the New Testament repudiates any form of priesthood under the New Covenant except for the High-Priesthood of Christ and the general priesthood of all believers.

A Little History

William Webster gives us the early church history behind this subject:

“Similarly, in the early writings of the Church no mention is made of priests in Christian ministry. There is a parallel sometimes drawn between the offices of the New Testament and the ministerial functions of the priesthood in the old dispensation-as found in the writings of Clement and Ignatius, for example-but they do not teach that New Testament ministry and ministers are the same as in the Old Testament. Clement in 1 Clement 40-41 uses the Old Testament priesthood as an illustration of a principle of divine calling and orderliness…Clement never uses the term ‘priest’ to describe a Christian minister. This is true of all the writings of the Apostolic Fathers. Polycarp, Ignatius, Clement and The Didache all use the terms ‘bishop’ or ‘presbyter’ and ‘deacon’ when referring to those responsible for Christian ministry…When these and other writers do use the Greek term for ‘priest’ (hiernus), it is always in reference to the Old Testament or to the person of Christ…And it is with Tertullian in the West that the beginnings of a sacerdotal function in the Christian ministry began to become evident…It was Cyprian who crystallized this application by drawing a direct parallel between Judaism and the New Testament ministry.”

-William Webster, The Church of Rome at the Bar of History (Carlisle, Pennsylvania: The Banner of Truth Trust, 1995), pp.93-95.

Thus, the first time the Christian elder is connected in any way with a sacerdotal function was in the third century with Tertullian, and the first time that the Christian elder is called a priest is with Cyprian. This is not exactly the constant teaching of the Church from the beginning.

The Abolition of the Special Priesthood: The Book of Hebrews

Theme of the Book of Hebrews:

Simply put, the purpose of the book of Hebrews is to show that the New Covenant is better than the Old Covenant (Hebrews 1:1-4), and thus, the Old Covenant is obsolete (Hebrews 8:13). The author (who is unknown) is attempting to convince those Jews who are being pressured by friends and family to return to the Mosaic Covenant to stay faithful to Christ (Hebrews 2:1-4). Thus, every single one of the arguments that is presented by the author must be interpreted in light of this as well as the immediate context. The context of Hebrews 7 and 8 is that the priesthood and ministry of the New Covenant are better than the Old Covenant. All quotes are from the NASB:

Hebrews 7:18-19

“For, on the one hand, there is a setting aside of a former commandment because of its weakness and uselessness (for the Law made nothing perfect), and on the other hand there is a bringing in of a better hope, through which we draw near to God.”

Commentary:

The author says that the Old Covenant has been set aside because the New Covenant is better. In the following verses, the author explains that the New is different and better than the Old because it has a different kind of priesthood than the Old.

Hebrews 7:20-22

“And inasmuch as it was not without an oath (for they indeed became priests without an oath, but He with an oath through the One who said to Him, “The LORD has sworn and will not change His mind, ‘You are a priest forever’”); so much more also Jesus has become the guarantee of a better covenant.”

Commentary:

The author is arguing that the priesthood of Christ is better than the Old Covenant priesthood because the priesthood of Christ was ordained by God with a Divine oath.

Hebrews 7:23-25

“The former priests, on the one hand, existed in greater numbers because they were prevented by death from continuing, but Jesus, on the other hand, because He continues forever, holds His priesthood permanently. Therefore He is able also to save forever those who draw near to God through Him, since He always lives to make intercession for them.”

Commentary:

The priesthood of the New Covenant is better than the Old because the Levitical priests existed in greater numbers due to their mortality. Christ, on the other hand, lives forever, and thus, He can make intercession for our souls forever.

Hebrews 7:26-27

“For it was fitting for us to have such a high priest, holy, innocent, undefiled, separated from sinners and exalted above the heavens; who does not need daily, like those high priests, to offer up sacrifices, first for His own sins and then for the sins of the people, because this He did once for all when He offered up Himself.”

Commentary:

The author argues that the priesthood of the New Covenant is better than the Levitical priests because the priesthood of the New Covenant does not need to offer up sacrifices for Himself. This is because He is sinless unlike the Levitical priests who had their own sin.

Hebrews 7:28

“For the Law appoints men as high priests who are weak, but the word of the oath, which came after the Law, appoints a Son, made perfect forever.”

Commentary:

The author places the eternal, sinless priesthood of the New Covenant in contrast with the multiple, mortal, and sinful priests of the Old Covenant.

Hebrews 8:1-2

“Now the main point in what has been said is this: we have such a high priest, who has taken His seat at the right hand of the throne of the Majesty in the heavens, a minister in the sanctuary and in the true tabernacle, which the Lord pitched, not man.”

Commentary:

Here, the author argues that the ministry of the New Covenant is better than the Old because the tabernacle of the New Covenant was made in Heaven by God and not an earthly tabernacle made by man.

Summary of Hebrews 7:18-8:2 and Implications to the Doctrine of the Priesthood:

1. The author argues that the New is better is than the Old because the King Messiah is the high-priest and not someone else. The Roman Catholic Church acknowledges the high-priesthood of Christ. So, no argument can be made here.

2. The author argues that the New is better than the Old because the New priesthood was ordained by an oath in contrast to the Levitical priests.

3. The author argues that the New is better than the Old because the Old priests were mortal and could not make intercession for their people after their death. Christ, on the other hand, is immortal and can make intercession forever.

4. Because they were mortal, the Old priesthood existed in greater numbers. Christ’s priesthood, on the other hand, is singular.

5. The author argues that the New is better is than the Old because the New priesthood is sinless in contrast to the sinful Levitical priests who need their own forgiveness.

6. The author argues that the New is better than the Old because the New ministry’s tabernacle is made in Heaven by God. However, the Old covenant tabernacle was made on earth by man.

Thus, the Roman Catholic priesthood is contrary to the New Covenant because it is just like the Old Covenant priesthood in the following ways:

1. The Roman priesthood was not ordained by an oath.

2. The Roman priests are mortal.

3. Because they are mortal, the Roman priests exist in greater numbers.

4. The Roman priests have the taint of sin on themselves, and thus, they must make sacrifices for themselves to expiate their sins.

5. The Roman priests have a tabernacle made on earth by human hands (the altar of a Catholic Church).

In conclusion, any attempt to make the Roman Catholic priesthood compatible with Hebrews 7 and 8 is an impossible task because it destroys the argument that the author is trying to make, both in the context of the immediate passage and of the entirety of the book itself.

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Also, some helpful audio on this topic can be found at:

http://www.straitgate.com/webster/

http://www.straitgate.com/aom/dl/01.htm (December 29)