by W. Hartono
(last update: 11 April 2000)
Not many Catholics are aware that the priesthood is one issue that divides Catholic and Protestants. Protestants accept only the priesthood of Jesus and the universal priesthood of all believers. On the other hand, the Catholic Church together with the Eastern and Oriental Orthodox Churches also recognize another priesthood, which belongs to a group of ordained men. The Catechism of the Catholic Church (# 1547) defines this priesthood as the ministerial or hierarchical priesthood to distinguish it with the common (or universal) priesthood of all believers. All Protestant churches reject the ministerial priesthood because it has no direct scriptural (in this case the New Testament) support. Apart from Jewish priests (Luke 17:14) and the priests of Zeus (Acts 14:13), the New Testament applies the title "priest" (Greek "hiereus" or Hebrews "kohen") only to Jesus (Hebr. 4:14) and to all believers (1 Peter 2:5,9, Rev. 1:6). The position of the Protestants can be summarized in what the late Reformed scholar Lorraine Boettner wrote: Thus the New Testament sets forth a new and different kind of priesthood: first, Christ, the true High Priest, who is in heaven, and second, the universal priesthood of believers, through which they offer the "spiritual" sacrifices of praise, of gifts, and of themselves in Christian service. It thereby repudiates the pretentious claims of the Roman priesthood, which would perpetuate the Jewish priesthood and limit it to a few chosen men who are set apart from the laity, who profess to offer literal sacrifices in the mass, and who supposedly are nearer to God than are other men. Boetnerr, Roman Catholicism, page 46 And also: There is probably no other doctrine revealed in Scripture that the Roman Church has so obviously turned upside down as that of the priesthood. The function of no New Testament minister or official resembled that of a priest of the Roman Church. ibid, page 52 Before we can go further, we need to understand the meaning of the priesthood. The word "priest" refers to a person appointed on behalf of others or mediator to intercede and to offer gifts and sacrifices to God. The priesthood is not unique to both Christianity and Judaism but can be found in many other religions and beliefs. The Bible mentions the priests of Egypt (Gen. 41:45, 46:20, 47:26), of the Philistine (1 Sam. 5:5, 1 Sam 6:2), of Baal (2 Kings 10:19), of Chemosh (Jer. 48:7) and of Zeus (Acts 14:13). The main function of a priest is therefore closely related to offering sacrifice. In fact there is no priesthood without sacrifice. A sacrifice (Greek "thusian" or Hebrews "qorban") is the principal act of a religious worship. In the Old Testament sacrifice is an offering to God in the form of animal or product of the soil. It may involve the shedding of blood, for example in the case of atonement sacrifice (Lev. 4:1-12). The relation between priesthood and sacrifice leads to another reason why Protestants reject the ministerial priesthood, that is their rejection of the Eucharist as a sacrifice to which the ministerial priesthood is related. Since the New Testament gives no instructions at all about the continuation of the Old Testament sacrifices, it was necessary for the Roman priesthood to invent a new kind of sacrifice. This they did by making a frivolous distinction between the "bloody" sacrifice of Christ on the cross, and the "unbloody" sacrifice which they pretend to offer in the mass. A priest, of course, must have a sacrifice, for that is the distinguishing mark of his profession. A priest without sacrifice is simply no priest at all. Boettner, Roman Catholicism, page 172 Before we can answer all those charges to undermine the ministerial priesthood, we need to examine how the Catholic Church derived the ministerial priesthood. The Catechism of the Catholic Church (#1541) states that it is modeled after the Levitical priesthood of the Old Testament. An understanding the priesthood of the Old Testament, especially the Levitical priesthood is necessary. The Old Testament says that the whole Israelites are kingdom of priests (Exod. 19:6, Isa. 61:6), which prefigures the common priesthood of the New Testament (1 Peter 2:5,9, Rev 1:6). God also established priesthood from one of the twelve tribes of Israel, the Levi. From the tribe of Levi God chose Aaron and his sons and their descendants to be His priests (Num. 18: 1) while the rest of the tribe was called as the Levites (Num. 3:5-10). In other words the Old Testament's priests are the Levites who belong to the house (or clan) of Aaron, the brother of Moses. Both priests and Levites in the Old Testament are heredity. Before and even after God established the Levitical priesthood, the Israelites had or acted as priests. Noah (Gen. 8:20), Abraham (Gen. 12:7), Jacob (Gen. 31:54, 46:1) and Jethro (Exod. 18:12) offered sacrifice. Exod. 19:22 mentions priests before the establishment of the Levitical priesthood and in Exod 24:4-5 Moses and some young men offered sacrifices. God established the Levitical priesthood solely for the service in the sanctuary. The sanctuary is the place where God was present with the Israelites (Exod. 25:8). During exodus the sanctuary was a moveable tent or Tabernacle, built according to God's instruction. Later Solomon built the temple in Jerusalem to house the sanctuary (1 Kings 6:5). The New Testament (Hebr. 8:5, 9:24) testifies that this man-made sanctuary is a copy of the heavenly sanctuary. The Old Testament also mentions non-Levites Israelites who offered sacrifice or became priest after the establishment of the Levitical priesthood. Micah consecrated one of his sons to be his priest (Jud. 17:5), although later he took a Levite to be his priest (Jud. 17:11-12). Gideon offered sacrifice (Jud. 6:20-28) and so did David (2 Sam. 6:13), Manoah (Jud. 13:15-23) and the prophet Elijah the Tishbite (1 Kings 18:30-38). David's sons were priests in 2 Sam. 8:18 (although the parallel verse 1 Chr. 18:17 placed them as chief officials in the service of the king), so was Ira the Jairite (2 Sam. 20:26). However all of them offered sacrifice not in the sanctuary. King Solomon offered sacrifice when he dedicated the temple (1 Kings 8:5, 62). Yet most likely he only presided the ritual and it was the priests who performed the sacrifice. Thus as far as offering sacrifices in the sanctuary, the honor is reserved only to the descendants of Aaron. Among the priests, one will be selected to become the High Priest. The first High Priest was Aaron and the next ones were his descendants through his third son, Eleazar (Num. 3:32) because his first born and second son died (Lev. 10:1-2). The Old Testament High Priest represents the whole Israel through his breast plate bearing the names of the twelve tribes of Israel (Exod. 28:29). He alone can enter the Holy of Holies, the most sacred part of the sanctuary and only once a year (Exod. 30:10, Heb. 9:7) on the Atonement day to make atonement for the sins of the people. In the New Testament, the High Priest is Jesus Christ (Hebr. 7:26). Jesus belongs to the tribe of Judah, so strictly speaking He cannot become a High Priest (Hebr. 7:14). Inspired by the Holy Spirit, the writer of Hebrews solved this problem by stating that Jesus the High Priest according to the order Melchizedek (Hebr. 7:17, Psalm 110:4). Melchizedek is the priest and king of Jerusalem who blessed and received tithes from Abraham, the forefather of all Israelites (Gen. 14:18-20). In other word Christ Priesthood is superior to that of the Levite (Hebr. 7:1-10). Similar to the High Priest of the Old Testament, Jesus also offers atonement for sins. However, unlike the Old Testament High Priest who offers blood of animal as sacrifice, Jesus offers Himself as Sacrifice or He is both the Priest and the Victim (Hebr. 9:12). Jesus also offers His Sacrifice in a sanctuary in heaven (Hebr. 9:24) and because of this He needs to do it only once, not every year as the Old Testament High Priest does (Heb. 9:26). Furthermore while the Old Testament High Priest only atones the sins of the Israelites, Jesus atones the sins of the whole human kind. The Catholic Church echoes this biblical truth in her teaching that Jesus is the only High and True Priest who offers Himself as sacrifice on the cross, once for all (Catechism of the Catholic Church #1544). The Old Testament priests are Aaron sons and their descendants (Exod. 28:1, Num. 18:1, 1 Chr. 24:1-19). They are in charge of sacrificial duty, thus only priests can offer sacrifice in the sanctuary (Num. 3:10, 18:1,5,7). They also give instructions from God and are His messenger (Mal. 2:7), they act as judges (Deut. 17:8-9, 2 Chr. 19:8-11, Eze. 44:24) and they can bless in the name of God (Num. 6:22-27). On the other hand the Levites are in charge in lower duties in the sanctuary (Num. 3:28,32, Num. 8:15, Num. 31:40,47), assist the priests (Num. 3:6,8, Num. 16:9, Num. 18:2), take care the temple and service (1 Chr. 23:28-32), and even act as chorister and musician (Ezra 3:10, Neh. 12:27). They also can give instruction and teaching together with the priests (Neh. 8:7-9, 2 Chr. 17:7-9). Yet they are not supposed to perform priestly function in the sanctuary which is reserved only for Aaron and his descendants (Num. 3:10, 18:7). Those who disobeyed like Korah (a Levite) and Dathan were doomed (Num 16). The Old Testament (Num. 11:16) also mentions the institution of elders (Greek: presbyteros),. They served as leaders (Josh. 24:31, Jud. 2:7), as judges (Deut. 22:15-19, 25:7-9), as representatives of the people (2 Sam. 8:4-5, 5:3) and they participate in the sacrifice (Lev. 4:15). In the New Testament, bishops can also be elders (Acts 20:17,28; Titus 1:5,7) and even the apostle Peter claimed to be an elder (1 Peter 5:1). The Catholic Church believes that the priesthood of Aaron and his sons (Num 18:1) prefigures the bishops (Greek: episcopos); the institution of seventy elders (Num 11:16) prefigures the priests (the English word priest is derived from Greek presbyteros) while the Levites prefigure the deacons. Bishops, priests and deacons are all ordained through the Sacrament of Holy Orders (Catechism of the Catholic Church # 1554), yet they belong to three different degrees, the episcopacy (for bishops), the presbyterate (for priests) and the diaconate (for deacons). The title sacerdos (Latin for Greek hiereus), however, can be applied only to bishops and priests because they have ministerial participation in the priesthood of Christ. On the other hand the deacons (like the Levite in the Old Testament) are intended to help and serve them. Whilst the existence of the Levitical priesthood is clearly mentioned in the Old Testament, Protestants believe that it became obsolete or abolished with the coming of Jesus, the High Priest of the New Testament. .. . . Christ alone has become our true High Priest, the human priesthood as a distinct and separate order of men has fulfilled its function and has been abolished. Boettner, Roman Catholicism, page 44 With the coming of Christ and the accomplishment of redemption through His work, the entire Old Testament legalistic and ritualistic system which had prefigured it became obsolete and passed away as a unit. It is very inconsistent for the Roman Church to retain the priesthood while discarding the other elements of that system. ibid, page 47
However the Old Testament has a prophecy saying that God does not have intention to abolish the Levitical priesthood. On the contrary God intended to perpetuate it. For thus says the Lord: David shall never lack a man to sit on the throne of the house of Israel, and the Levitical priests shall never lack a man in my presence to offer burnt offerings, to burn cereal offerings, and to make sacrifices forever. The word of the Lord came to Jeremiah: Thus says the Lord: If you can break my covenant with the day and my covenant with the night, so that day and night will not come at their appointed time, then also my covenant with David my servant may be broken, so that he shall not have a son to reign on his throne, and my covenant with the Levitical priests my ministers. As the host of heaven cannot be numbered and the sands of the sea cannot be measured, so I will multiply the descendants of David my servant, and the Levitical priests who minister to me. Jeremiah 33: 17-22 Furthermore God even extended the Levitical priesthood to include non-Jewish or it is no longer based on heredity. Isaiah chapter 66 describes the prophecy that God will gather all nations and tongues and they will see His glory (Isaiah 66:18) and then it goes saying And some of them also I will take for priests and for Levites, says the Lord. Isaiah 66:21 This prophecy can only be fulfilled in the establishment of the ministerial priesthood. Interestingly, after the destruction of the Jerusalem temple in AD 70 (it is never rebuilt to this day), the sacrificial system of the Judaism came to end (The Oxford Dictionary of World Religions, page 767; Encyclopaedia Judaica Vol. 14 page 612). Thus the Levitical priesthood of the Judaism itself cannot fulfill the prophecy in Jer. 33:17-22. Protestants usually quote from Hebrews to justify their belief that the Old Testament priesthood became obsolete. First they argued that the Old Testament priests are mortals and so are the Catholic priests, while Christ remains forever The former priests were many in number, because they were prevented by death from continuing in office; but He holds his priesthood permanently, because He continues forever. Consequently he is able for all time to save those who draw near to God through Him, since He always lives to make intercession for them. Hebr. 7:23-25 Secondly the sacrifice offered by the (Levitical) priests never takes away sins. And every priest stands daily at his service, offering repeatedly the same sacrifices, which can never take away sins. But when Christ had offered for all time a single sacrifice for sins, he sat down at the right hand of God, then to wait until His enemies should be made a stool for his feet. For by a single offering he has perfected for all time those who are sanctified. Hebr. 10:11-14 Yet the Catholic Church teaches that Jesus is the only true priest who offered Himself as sacrifice once for all. Those Catholic priests are merely His ministers; they do not offer their own sacrifices, but make present the same sacrifice Christ has offered. They are not mediators, strictly speaking but are simply representative of His, who act in His name. Everything that the priesthood of the Old Covenant prefigured finds its fulfillment in Christ Jesus, the "one mediator between God and men." The Christian tradition considers Melchizedek, "priest of God Most High," as a prefiguration of the priesthood of Christ, the unique "high priest after the order of Melchizedek"; "holy, blameless, unstained," " by a single offering he has perfected for all time those who are sanctified," that is, by the unique sacrifice of the cross. The redemptive sacrifice of Christ is unique, accomplished once for all; yet it is made present in the Eucharistic sacrifice of the Church. The same is true of the one priesthood of Christ; it is made present through the ministerial priesthood without diminishing the uniqueness of Christ's priesthood: "Only Christ is the true priest, the others being only His ministers." Catechism of the Catholic Church #1544-5 Finally, what is Jesus attitude to the Levitical priests? In His famous parable of the Good Samaritan (Luke 10:30-35), a priest and a Levite were shown as persons who did not show love. Yet Jesus just wanted to draw a contrast between a Samaritan (whom the Jews despised) and a priest and a Levite (who had special position and were supposed to give good examples). Jesus is not against the Levitical priesthood, in fact He recognized their position and duty (Mark 1:44 and Luke 17:14). The earliest (surviving) reference about the application of the title priest to Christian ministers appears in 1 Clement 40:5; 42:1,4 (written c. AD 96). It was the first to apply the titles High Priest, priests and Levites to Jesus, bishops and deacons, respectively. Ignatius, bishop of Antioch (c. AD 110) wrote in the epistle to the Smyrneans 8.1 that the celebrant of the Eucharist is a bishop or a presbyter whom the bishop delegates. Polycrates, bishop of Ephesus (c AD 195) referred John the apostle as a teacher and a priest (quoted in Eusebius, HE 5.24.3). Tertullian (c. 170 AD) applied the title priest to bishop (Bapt. 17:1-2). Hyppolytus (c AD 215) applied priesthood to bishops and presbyters and distinguished deacons to be non-ordained priests (Trad. Ap. 3). Cyprian of Carthage applied priest to bishop and associated the presbyters with the bishop in sacerdotal order (Eph. 61.3.1). Origen applied the title priests to both the whole church and individuals who fulfilled the law of God (Homily in Jos 9.5). Thus the title priest was first applied to the bishops as the successors of the apostles and then it was also applied to the presbyters. Is there a ministerial priesthood or does the Bible support the existence of such priesthood? Catholics can answer with confidence that the ministerial priesthood has indeed scriptural support.
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