Reformation Sunday, October 27, 2013

There are many themes of the Protestant Reformation. Some of these sound like modern day bumper stickers, slogans or talking points. For example, “Faith alone, Grace alone, Christ alone, Scripture alone, the Priesthood of All Believers,” and a few more. Today let’s look at “the Priesthood of All Believers.”

This expression is based on the Bible passage of First Peter 2:4-5, 9. “Come to him, the living Stone, rejected by men but chosen by God and precious to him, you also, like living stones, are being built into a spiritual house to be a holy priesthood, offering spiritual sacrifices acceptable to God through Jesus Christ. … You are a chosen people, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, a people belonging to God, that you may declare the praises of him who called you out of darkness into his wonderful light.” And from the top of Mt. Sinai God speaks of the People of Israel, Exodus 19:6 “‘Although the whole earth is mine, 6 you will be for me a kingdom of priests and a holy nation.’” [See also, Rev.1:6, 5:10]

Although neither Martin Luther nor the Lutheran Confessions in the Book of Concord use this exact expression, the teaching is there from the very earliest days of the Lutheran Reformation. We find it in the early popular works of Luther like “The Freedom of the Christian Man,” “The Babylonian Captivity” and “Address to the German Nobility.”

First, let’s define the word “priest” as used in the Bible. A priest is a person who stands between people and God. As a mediator, he prays for people and offers sacrifices for the forgiveness of sin. In the Bible there are also Levites who assist the priests by singing in the choir and doing chores around the temple and doing charitable work in their home towns. In the Bible there are also prophets. The prophets were seldom priests. The prophets spoke the word of God to the people. Sometimes the prophets were fire-and-brimstone preachers, other times they were political counselors. But in the Old Testament only a priest can offer a sacrifice.

In the New Testament, we call Jesus “Prophet, Priest, and King.” As Prophet Jesus spoke the word of God, as Priest he sacrificed himself on the cross to forgive sin, and he is the Messiah King. Since the sacrifice of Jesus on the cross was a one time event that never needs to be repeated, Christians who are the New Testament priests never have to make sacrifices to forgive sin. However they proclaim the effectiveness of Christ’s ultimate sacrifice and pray for people.

“Ordination” is the ceremony when a person becomes a priest or pastor or monk. In the Middle Ages, the Church thought that ordination gave a person special spiritual blessings and authority. Such a person was closer to heaven and closer to salvation. But Martin Luther taught that every Christian received ordination at baptism. Baptism was ordination that gave every Christian the same spiritual blessings and authority. Spiritually the Pope was no better than a child. The Pope or a bishop or a priest had no more religious authority than a layman. Of course there were different jobs within the church and a priest or bishop should be respected for their leadership and guidance in spiritual things. Therefore the church should not and need not be involved in secular politics, because the Emperor and the princes were also baptized Christians to whom temporal duties had been given. Luther called on both religious leaders as well as political leaders to be faithful to their baptism.

Perhaps the idea of the Priesthood of All Believers could be likened to the military. A person signs up and after basic training the recruit becomes a marine. The youngest marine and the top general are both marines. They have the same duty, namely to defend the country from enemies and if necessary to shoot the enemy, and if necessary to give their life for their country in the line of duty. There are different jobs: helicopter pilots, truck drivers, desk workers, officers, guards, etc. But since they are all members of the armed forces, they have the same duty, which is, to protect their country from the enemy, perhaps to shoot the enemy and perhaps to die for their country.

Every baptized person has the same duty to God, which is, to proclaim the Gospel and in so doing defeat the enemy of the Kingdom of God. The devil is defeated when the Gospel is believed and when sins are forgiven. The old evil Foe is defeated by the love of God and the love of Christians. There are many different jobs in the Church. Christians are given authority to work for God at the time of their baptism and the laying on of hands at that time. A pastor or priest or evangelist or laymen all have the same authority to tell the Good News and talk about the forgiveness of sin. We respect those who have been trained and can preach or teach well, but they are not spiritually closer to heaven than any other believer. That is the main teaching of the doctrine of the Priesthood of All Believers. It means we are all priests and have the authority and duty to be a Christian in prayer and in everyday work. The butcher, the baker, the banker, the government bureaucrat all can and must do the work of God in the place where God has called them.

Of course teaching like this got Martin Luther in trouble with the Pope. And so began the Protestant Reformation of the 16th Century. Our job today is to continue that work of reformation in our churches and in our lives.

The Priesthood of All Believers means that we all have the job as priests. It means that the pastor is not the only minister in the church. It means that we cannot be lazy. In his Life and Death Jesus taught us how to be priests when he prayed, healed, taught, and gave his life as a sacrifice for sin. After the resurrection, Jesus ordained his disciples in this way, John 20:21-23. “19 On the evening of that first day of the week, when the disciples were together, with the doors locked for fear of the Jews, Jesus came and stood among them and said, “Peace be with you!” 20 After he said this, he showed them his hands and side. The disciples were overjoyed when they saw the Lord. 21 Again Jesus said, “Peace be with you! As the Father has sent me, I am sending you.” 22 And with that he breathed on them and said, “Receive the Holy Spirit. 23 If you forgive anyone his sins, they are forgiven; if you do not forgive them, they are not forgiven.”” And the Great Commission in the last chapter of Matthew, “18 Then Jesus came to them and said, “All authority in heaven and on earth has been given to me. 19 Therefore go and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, 20 and teaching them to obey everything I have commanded you. And surely I am with you always, to the very end of the age.””

In the Old Testament, the job of the priest was to offer sacrifices for the forgiveness of sin. In the New Testament, since Jesus was the perfect Sacrifice for sin that never needs to be repeated, our job as New Testament priests is to bring the benefits of Jesus’ sacrifice to the world. That is, to bring and distribute forgiveness and love and peace and reconciliation and salvation and the word of God. That is our job since we are all in the Priesthood of All Believers.

Amen.

Michael Nearhood, Pastor
Okinawa Lutheran Church

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