You're probably familiar with the story of the woman caught in adultery recorded in John chapter 8. The religious leadership of the day raided her house, dragged her off and threw her down in front of Jesus. They rightly attested that the law of Moses says she should be stoned to death, and they asked Jesus His opinion. He answered wisely, showing grace while still honoring God's standards and defused the situation.
He does exactly what the religious people should have done.
The priesthood was established in order to help men and women deal with their sins before a holy God and find the redemption, atonement and forgiveness we all so desperately need.
At some point, however, it became a legion a of scorekeepers and umpires, calling out sins, and keeping track of everyone's relative proximity to heaven, certain that none were as close as they were. They were God's right hand men, hauling in sinners so God could judge them. I'm sure they believed they were providing a necessary service.
One of the disciples who witnessed this event later wrote that we as believers form a priesthood, holy and royal. (1 Peter 2:5,9).
The question is, are we the type of priests who point people to Jesus so they find grace and soul-healing? (The same grace and healing we found.)
Or are we the other type?
Lauren says
Definitely something worth thinking about. One would hope we were the priesthood that offers grace, but I think more often than not we have no grace to offer. (Except when we look for grace, then we would say we offer grace) It’s something to keep in mind going down the road… Excellent post!