The book of Leviticus is called
Leviticus because it pertains to the Levites, that is, to the
Levitical priesthood. It gives us God's law in all
things with regard to those priests, and throughout the book, Aaron
stands preeminent as the priest, but then the scriptures speak
much about Aaron's sons, his family. They, too, were priests
unto God. Aaron's sons primarily are illustrations,
types, and pictures of the believer. Certainly, they are pictures
of Christ as well in their garments and in their services. But their
consecration to God, their service in the holy place, their ministering
about the holy things is a constant reminder that you and I, who
are God's holy priesthood, his royal priesthood, his holy nation,
you and I who have been made priests unto God through Christ,
our great high priest, are to continually consecrate ourselves
to God, living unto him. devoted to him, seeking his glory. Now, in the first nine verses
of Leviticus 21, the primary picture has been that of the
consecration of you and I who are believers, God's priesthood. In verses 10 through 24, the
passage takes a turn, a turn that is turned to Aaron. God's high priest and those high
priests who follow him in the priestly office as the high priest
of Israel. In these verses, we are told
that which God required of the high priest. In many ways, similar
to what we saw in verses 1 through 9 this morning. But in all ways,
far more excellent. Because Aaron stands preeminently,
not as a picture of the believer who is a priest unto God in Christ,
but of Christ, our great high priest. And we're going to look
this evening at Leviticus 21, beginning at verse 10. But let's
begin in Hebrews chapter 2. Hebrews, the second chapter,
verse 17. Wherefore, in all things, it
behooved him. It was incumbent upon him. It
was necessary for him. Now, nothing was necessary for
him except what he made necessary for him. But if the Lord Jesus
Christ were to save his people, if he who is the Son of God is
to bring us to glory, If he is to bring sinners into reconciliation
with God and blessedness forever, he can't do it by simply saying,
I want them there. He can't do it by simply saying,
I'm going to. He can create the world by simply saying, do it.
And it's done. But not save our souls. If he
saves our souls, he's got to become one of us. He's got to
live in our room instead in perfect righteousness, fulfilling all
the demands of God's law for us. And then he's got to satisfy
justice on our behalf and enter into the holy place with his
own blood, with the merit of his blood. Now, I stress that
because there are folks who talk about the Lord Jesus actually
gathering up his blood and taking it into heaven in some physical
way. The merit of his blood, the merit of his blood, He entered
into heaven with the merit of his blood, having obtained eternal
redemption for us as our high priest, because there was no
other way for it to be done. God, you see, must be just if
he is to justify the ungodly. All right, look at it here, Hebrews
2.17. Wherefore, in all things, in bringing many sons to glory,
it behooved him to be made like unto his brethren, that for this
purpose that he might be a merciful and faithful. Mercy is not enough. It won't get the job done. He
must be merciful and faithful high priest in things pertaining
to God to make reconciliation for the sins of the people. Now
tonight, I want us to look at this merciful and faithful high
priest, our Lord Jesus Christ, as he set forth in the typology
of Leviticus 21, 10 through 24. And first, learn this. Our Lord
Jesus, in all things, is a merciful and faithful high priest. Leviticus
21, verse 10. And he that is the high priest
among his brethren, upon whose head," now watch the description,
upon whose head the anointing oil was poured, and that is consecrated
to put on the garments, only one fellow could wear the garments
of the high priest, the high priest, shall not uncover his
head, nor rend his clothes. Neither shall he go into any
dead body, nor defile himself for his father or for his mother. Neither shall he go out of the
sanctuary, nor profane the sanctuary of his God. For the crown of
the anointing oil of his God is upon him. I am the Lord."
Now, notice this first. The first time the word high
priest is used in the Bible is right here in Leviticus 21 10.
This is the first time it's used. It would be better translated,
the great priest, and even better translated, the great high priest. Now Moses is instructed of God
to give instructions concerning this one who is imminently the
type of the Lord Jesus Christ, who is indeed our great high
priest. He is that one of whom the passage
speaks. So that in all things, he is
our example. We've been given instructions
concerning how we must behave as the priest of God. Now the
Lord Jesus says, look at me. I'll show you what I'm talking
about. Watch me and follow me, and you'll learn what it is to
walk before God, consecrated, devoted to him, serving him in
his sanctuary. so that even in the typology
of the Old Testament, the Lord Jesus stands out preeminent as
an example of devotion to God. And let me show you several things
in these verses we've read. Number one, the holy anointing
oil is upon him. The Lord Jesus is that one who
is separated from among men, separated from among his brethren,
particularly by the anointing of God the Holy Spirit. You remember
when John the Baptist was about to baptize him? He said, now
this is he of whom the Lord said to me, on whom you see the Spirit
descending, lighting upon him and remaining on him. That's
the one of whom the Scripture spoke. That's the Messiah you
read about, the messenger, the covenant, back in Malachi chapter
4. John said, I know it because I saw the Spirit descend on him.
He said, God has given His Spirit to him without measure. The Lord
God put on and in Jesus Christ our Lord manifestly His Spirit
without measure that He might give of His Spirit unto us. Secondly,
the words anointing oil are given to us again down in verse 12.
And here he speaks of the crown of the anointing oil. The crown
of the anointing oil. You see, our great high priest
is a priest like no other. He is the only priest who's also
a king. There were kings of old who intruded
into the priest office, and God killed them. But our Lord Jesus
Christ makes no intrusion. He who is our king, he who wears
the crown of universal monarchy, is also God's high priest. And
it's typified even in the garments of the priest. You remember the
priest had his miter on his head. And he had on the breast, on
the front of that mitre, a plate of gold inscribed, holiness to
the Lord. And on the mitre, he had a crown
placed, the crown of the anointing oil. The Lord Jesus Christ then
is a priest, but he's not a priest who simply is trying to do something
he hopes will come to pass. He is a priest seated on his
throne. And the throne on which he is
seated is called the throne of grace. It is the mercy seat of
our God. In Revelation chapter 4, whenever
you see the throne described, and you see the lamb in the midst
of the throne, the picture goes right back to the tabernacle,
and the throne is the mercy seat. He who is the priest, who has
obtained eternal redemption, is the king who sits yonder on
the throne to see to it, that all he intended by his work of
redemption is fully accomplished. Then again, we are told that
our all-glorious Christ was consecrated to put on the garments. The high
priest was specifically, Aaron I, specifically consecrated to
put on the holy garments of the high priest and the work of the
high priesthood. Our Lord Jesus is that priest
consecrated to God to put on the garments of salvation. He
wore them first, garments of perfect righteousness. The righteousness
of God in a man is in Christ Jesus. Not only did he wear the
garments himself, he made them and he wore them, and he's the
one who puts them on us and causes us to be clothed with the garments
of salvation. And then we're told here that
our Savior, Jehovah's righteous servant, never rent his clothes
nor uncovered his head as one that is in mourning. You recall
in the earlier part of the chapter, The Lord specifically told those
common priests, Aaron's sons, now it's all right for you to
mourn for your near kinsmen. We're not stoics. We're not stones.
But Aaron, you can't. When his sons were killed by
the hand of God, God said, don't you weep for them. Don't you
shed a tear. Don't you show any, any sign
of discontent with what I've done. Don't you do it. How come? Because Aaron represents one
who's more than just a man. Aaron represents one who's more
than just a believer. Aaron represents one who's more
than just a sinner saved by grace, consecrated to God. Aaron represents
him by whom sinners are saved by grace and by whom sinners
are consecrated to God. And our Lord Jesus Christ is
that one, that one man. That one man who served God and
never once fletched, was never once discontent and showed no
discontentment at all, no frustration. Turn to Isaiah chapter 42. Hold
your hands here in Leviticus 21 and turn to Isaiah 42. Isaiah is here giving us a declaration. Actually, he's just writing it.
The Lord God is speaking of the Lord Jesus Christ as God's righteous
servant. He says, behold, my servant. whom I uphold, mine elect, in
whom my soul delighteth. I have put my spirit upon him.
He shall bring forth judgment, that is, justice, righteousness
to the Gentiles. And he shall not cry, nor lift
up, nor cause his voice to be heard in the street. You'll never
hear him moaning and groaning and acting as though somehow
he were frustrated, somehow things were out of control. This man
walked before God in perfect faith by whose faith we are justified
before God. He shall not lift up nor cause
his voice to be heard in the street. Our Lord Jesus never
once defiled himself. Back here in Leviticus 21. He
shall not defile himself. Aaron, leave it to somebody else
to bury your boys. Leave it to somebody else to
bury your mama and daddy. Leave it to somebody else to take care
of the dead. Don't you come near a dead body. Don't touch it and
thereby defile yourself. Don't engage in anything that
has to do with mourning. Don't engage with anything that
shows disappointment or shows disapproval in any way. Don't
do it. Why? Because the Lord Jesus is
that priest who never defiled himself. Let me show you. Our Lord, read the four Gospels,
never touched a dead body. except to give life. Not one time. Every time he came
in contact with death, life sprang out of death. More than that,
you remember when his mother stood before him as he hung on
the cursed tree? And he looked on his mother.
There she is, a woman who stands before him apparently as a widow. I don't have any idea whether
she was widowed before or afterwards, but apparently as a widow because
she stands before him as the one who took care of her. Not
only the one who took care of her, but the one whom she nourished
and raised and cherished as her only son. Or as her son, rather. And our Lord Jesus looks on her
and says to her, woman, behold thy son. And he says to his disciple,
you take care of her. You take care of her. Doesn't
call for anything for himself. He just looked at Mary, and she
looked to him as God her Savior, and he took care of her need
in his lowest hour. He never wants. asked for anything
for himself. He came here not to be ministered
unto, but to minister and give his life a ransom for many. And
he stood before his disciples as he hung on the cursed tree
as our substitute and begins to speak as that high priest
that he is, Father, forgive them. He said to that one thief, today
shalt thou be with me in paradise. Now listen. What he did for them. He does for us. Turn to Psalm
69. Let me show you an example. In the midst of his woes, as
the smitten shepherd, he took time to take care of his sheep.
In Psalm 69, verse 4, the Lord Jesus is speaking. They that
hate me without a cause Can't possibly refer to anybody but
him. Somebody's got a cause to hate you and me both. They that
hate me without a cause, nobody has cause to hate him. And he
applies this to himself. They hated him without a cause.
The Lord Jesus is speaking, they that hate me without a cause
are more than the hairs of my head. They that would destroy
me, being mine enemies wrongfully, are mighty. I restored that which
I took not away. Now watch this, he continues
to speak. Oh God, thou knowest my foolishness and my sins are
not hid from thee. How can that possibly be him? Only as a substitute. But as
a substitute, it's him. Our sins James, are our utmost
foolishness, our iniquities, our transgressions,
our sins. Oh, what folly for a man to sin
against God and thus sin against his own soul. But he who knew
no sin was so fully made to be sin for
us That He takes our sins and our foolishness and owns it as
He is. Now watch this. Verse 6. He's made to be sin. And the
wrath of God is flooding into His soul. And He speaks for us. Let not
them that wait on Thee, O Lord God of hosts, be ashamed for
my sake. Let them not be confused. Let not those that seek Thee
be confounded for my sake, O God of Israel. Because for thy sake
I have borne reproach, shame has covered my face. I've become
a stranger to my brethren, an alien to my mother's children.
For the zeal of thine house, the zeal of thine house, oh,
how committed and devoted he is to us. I said this morning,
and I repeat now, everything he ever did, he did for us. for the saving of our souls,
for the glory of God. And the two are synonymous. God's glory, Merle Hart. God's
glory is wrapped up in the saving of your soul. His glory. He said, I do this for my name's
sake. And now the Lord Jesus, speaking
as our substitute, as He hangs on the tree, says, Lord, for
Your sake, the zeal of Your house has eaten me up, consumed my
very life. That's what it is to be consecrated
to God. Consumed by the zeal of Your
house. and the reproaches of them that
reproached thee." The reproaches of Don Fortner and such like
have fallen on me. Now look at this. According to
Leviticus 21, this priest was never to go out
of the sanctuary. Never to go out of the sanctuary. In Aaron's case, certainly those
words can only be made to mean and can only be understood to
mean that he was never to cease from the work God had trusted
to him. But our Lord Jesus is the only
one of whom it can be said he never went out of the sanctuary.
You remember in Psalm 40, and the passages cited in Hebrews
10, the Lord Jesus, great mercy and grace as our covenant surety,
lifted his hand, as it were, to his father as our surety and
our priest. And he said, lo, I come to do thy will, O my God. And
Paul tells us that as he was coming into the world, Read it
either way you want to. As he was coming into the virgin's
womb, as he was conceived in the womb of the virgin by God
the Holy Spirit, he says, Lo, I come to do thy will, O my God. Or when he was breaking his mother's
womb, taking his first breath as a man in the earth, he said,
Lo, I come to do thy will, O my God. In Luke chapter 2, his mother
began to scold him a little bit because he wasn't found when
he was 12 years old. He was missing and they had been
searching for him. And he said to her, I came to
do my father's will and I must be about it. When he knelt in
Gethsemane and he set his face toward the cursed tree. And he
cries, not my will, thy will be done. He still got his hand
lifted to God and said, Lo, I come to do thy will, O my God. And
when he hung upon the curse tree, as he said, Father, into thy
hands I commend my spirit. He said, Lo, I've come to do
thy will, O my God. He never went out of the sanctuary. He never drew back. Oh, God,
give me grace to follow his example. Consecrated to God. Our great
high priest never profaned the sanctuary by the introduction
of any personal concern. James says we ask and we have
not because we ask amiss that we might consume it upon our
own lust. But oh, how we ought to strive
and seek grace from our God to live in entire selflessness. The Son of God ever felt the
streams of the anointing oil on His head. The same anointing, Bobby, He
put on ours. You have the unction of the Holy
One. It's on you. He never forgot it. He never
forgot it. He requires of us that we save
not our lives, but hate them and lose them. Now listen to
me. What he requires, Rex, he has
done perfectly. He saved not his life, but hated it and lost it for
us. Perfectly. Oh, thanks be unto God for such
a Savior, for such a priest, for such a substitute. What shall I render to the Lord
for all His benefits toward me? The only thing I can give Him.
The only way on this earth I can honor Him. The only way on this
earth. If I magnify His name, I'll take
the cup of salvation. Oh, thank God for that cup. And I'll call on His name as
long as I live. I'll worship Him. I'll trust
Him. Now look at verse 13, Leviticus
21, 13. And read about our Savior's bride. And he, the high priest, shall
take a wife in her virginity. A widow, or a divorced woman,
or profane, or a harlot, these shall he not take. But he shall
take a virgin of his own people to wife. What a word. A virgin of his own people. Neither
shall he profane his seed among his people, for I, the Lord,
do sanctify him." Here's our Savior again. God's elect, his
church, is espoused to Christ as a chaste virtue. He calls
her, my undefiled. When we stand before God, standing
before Him dressed in the righteousness of our Savior, washed in His
blood, finally standing before Him in the perfection of everlasting
glory. We're told in Revelation 14 that
we'll stand before Him as a chaste virgin, undefiled, those who
have not defiled themselves with men. As He calls us His undefiled,
we look upon the Son of God. and call him Isha. Hosea 2, do
you remember what it is? My first husband. He said, I'll take away the names
of Balaam out of her mouth and they won't even be remembered.
We look on him and call him our first husband. But pastor, you
know these things aren't so by nature. I know it. But blessed
be God, they are so. Did you hear me? We are, before
God, chaste virgins espoused to Christ. And we have him and
own him as our first and only husband. The Lord Jesus, you
see, is married to his church in perfect holiness. We read
in the scripture, she cometh to the king in robes of needlework. All glorious. She's not thus
fair when He found her. Oh, no. But she is all fair. Undefiled. The choice one when
He marries her. The marriage supper of the Lamb
is described as best I can fathom it. That day when the Lord Jesus
comes out of the holy place, like Aaron came out on the Day
of Atonement after he'd finished all the work. And all was done. He comes out of the holy place
and steps again into this world that He makes new. And as He
does, He brings from the holy place on the basis of the blood
of the Lamb slain for us, His blood, all the blessing of God
Almighty in its perfection. And in that day, He rejoices
over His people. and rejoices over them with singing,
for no spot or wrinkle or blemish or anything like it appears on
His redeemed. The blood of our all-glorious
Christ, His sacrifice, His perfect righteousness demand and absolutely
secure our everlasting glory and perfection as his bride.
Now before we move on, let me briefly show you one more thing.
And there's a whole lot more here than I've got. I just got
a glimpse of it. Verse 15, neither shall he profane
his seed among the people. Now, I'm sure that in the physical
context of the chapter, this means Aaron was never to give
his son or his daughter to one of the common people, most especially
to one of the Gentiles. But Aaron is not here, greater
than Aaron is. The Lord Jesus Christ will never
profane his people. He will never profane his seed,
never, by in any way mixing his seed with the reprobate, the
unbelieving, and the damned. It won't happen. Not now, not
tomorrow, not forever. What do you mean, pastor? I mean,
blessed is the man to whom the Lord will not Impute sin. That's what I mean. He's put
away our sins, and He will never put our sins upon us again. He's put away our sins, and He
will never charge us with sin again. He's put away our sins,
and when He punishes the wicked with everlasting punishment from
the presence of the Lord, He will never profane His seed. It won't happen. It won't happen. I hear folks talk about God's
people having to suffer. Oh, they say suffer loss, but
it's still suffering. Suffer because of their sins
in eternity. Oh, no. He will never profane
His seed. All right? We know this too. Our Lord Jesus is a priest without a blemish. All the work of our great high
priest shall effectually and has effectually secured this
blessed end, that his seed shall never be profaned, that his bride
be perfectly holy and blameless and without spot, because our
priest is exactly the priest God requires. Look at verse 16. The Lord spoke to Moses, saying,
now look at this. Don't miss it. He speaks not
to Aaron personally, but he speaks to Moses, the lawgiver. How come? Because Moses is about to describe
for us what God requires of a priest. The law must be satisfied. The law must be honored. And
so God speaks to Moses and said, Moses, this is what the priest
must be. Look at it, verse 17. Speak to
Aaron, Moses, and say this, whosoever he be of thy seed in their generations
that hath any blemish, any blemish, let him not approach to offer
the bread of his God. For whatsoever man he be that
hath a blemish, he shall not approach. A blind man, or a lame,
or he that hath a flat nose, or anything superfluous, or a
man that is broken-footed, or broken-handed, or crooked-backed,
or a dwarf, or that hath a blemish in his eye, a cataract in his
eye, or be a scurvy, or scabbed, or hath stones broken, no man
that hath the blemish of the seed of Aaron the priest shall
come nigh to offer the offerings of the Lord made by fire. He
hath a blemish. He shall not come nigh to offer
the bread of his God. This is the kind of priest who
became us, one who is wholly harmless, undefiled, and separate
from sinners. The sacrifice is spoken of here
and in other places called the bread of God. I know who He is. The Lord Jesus said, I'm the
bread that came down from heaven. You're going to have to eat my
flesh and drink my blood or there's no life in you. That's what faith
is. It's trusting Christ, perfect
obedience and perfect satisfaction as the God-man, our Savior, for
all our acceptance with Him. Christ is the bread God gave,
the bread God accepts. Christ is the bread He gives
us on which we live. And Christ is the bread we eat.
But what about these blemishes? Why on earth? Does the Lord specify
such things? Is it to cause men and women
to look as these modern fellows who think they're smarter than
God and kinder too? So that causes such stigma and
such prejudice. Somebody has this thing. That
shall not talk them that way. No, no, no, no, no. Solomon gives
us a little light on it. You can look at it later, but
especially in the Song of Solomon chapter 5. The Lord God speaks of the blemishes
of the types, telling us that these men with these blemishes
can never be types of the Lord Jesus Christ, the great high
priest. Solomon speaks of the excellencies
of the same priest. If the priest had been blind,
then the people would have been led to misapprehend the type. He could not fitly represent
him whose eyes are as a flame of fire. If the priest had been
lame, he could not represent him whose legs are as pillars
of marble. If the priest had been flat-nosed,
kind of like your pastor, he could not be the type of him
whose bride has this said of her. He says of her, thy nose
is as the Tower of Lebanon. If the priest had been superfluous
in any limb, if one limb had been longer or shorter than another,
then he could not have been that one or a type of that one who's
described as he who cometh leaping upon the mountains. If he had
been broken-footed, he could not have been a type of him whose
feet are sockets of fine gold. If the priest had been broken
handed, he could not have typified him of whom the Solomon says
his hand is as gold rings set with burl. The priest could not
be crooked back. Otherwise, he could not be a
picture of him who is our great Savior, who is the tree planted
by the rivers of living water. If the priest had been a dwarf,
a dwarf according to the stature of what was described here, could
not have reached up to the top of the altar to offer the sacrifice. He just couldn't reach it. We're
all dwarfs. We can't reach it. Jesus Christ
is that one who has the countenance as leaven and excellent as the
cedars. If the priest had a blemish,
a cataract in his eye, How could they have looked for him whose
eyes are as doves by rivers of waters washed with milk and fitly
set? If he had had a scurvy or been
scabbed, he could not have been a type of him who is all fair,
having no spot and no wrinkle, all glorious within. You see,
our priest, our great high priest, is just the kind of priest we
need. Holy, harmless, undefiled, separate
from sinners, ever living, making intercession for us, and therefore,
he is able to save to the uttermost every sinner, every sinner, Every
sinner, did you hear me? Every sinner who comes to God
by Him. What a priest! But look at verses
22 and 23, just a moment. Now, he speaks of these sons of Aaron, blind, lame, flat-nosed,
crooked limbs, broken footed, broken handed, crooked back,
dwarf, cataracts in their eyes, scurvy, scabbed. That's a pretty
good picture of us, isn't it, Bob? Now watch the provision he makes.
Not one of them is fit. to go into the holy place. Not
one of them is fit to offer sacrifice to God. Not one of them will
be accepted behind the veil on his own. Not one of them. But
the Lord says in verse 22, that poor old boy, he shall eat the
bread of his God, both of the most holy and of
the holy. Only he shall not go into the
veil, nor come nigh into the altar, because he has a blemish,
that he profane not my sanctuaries. For I, the Lord, do sanctify
them." We can't ever find acceptance
with God or for a sacrifice God will accept. do a deed God will
accept on our own merit. But blessed be God, because of
our perfect priest, we eat the bread of the most holy place
as he himself does. We received and accepted in him
and because of him. The priest had to be a man with
no fault and no blemish. And thus, our Savior is such
a man. He offered the bread of perfect
righteousness in His holy place in the outer sanctuary. And He
offered the blood of complete satisfaction in the most holy
place behind the veil. Look at verse 24. And Moses said
to Aaron and to his son. Moses told it to Aaron and to
his sons and to all the children of Israel. By these things, when the Lord Jesus came, and men saw Him, they said, I have found Him of whom the
Scriptures speak. This is He. He will save us. They might cry, as in Isaiah
25, in that day, lo, this is our God. We've waited for him,
and he will save us. This is the Lord. We've waited
for him. We will be glad and rejoice in his salvation. Now,
turn to Numbers chapter 6, and I'll wrap this up. Let me show you how God gives
the blessing to us by our great Aaron, our great high priest,
the Lord Jesus. We often read this, or I read
it to you, or recite it at the end of one of our days of worship. But it's more than just a religious
form. The Lord God spoke to Moses in
verse 22 and said, speak to Aaron and his son, saying, on this wise shall you bless
them. the children of Israel, saying
to them. Now try to get the picture. Aaron
comes fresh from the mercy seat. He's pulled off his holy linen
garments, those bloodstained garments, and he's put on all
the royal attire of the priesthood. and effort, and the apron, the
breastplate, the miter, the plate, holiness to the Lord, the crown
on His head. And it comes out on the basis of what's done in
there. The Lord Jesus lifts up His hands
on the basis of redemption obtained to His Israel. And says, the
Lord bless thee and keep thee. The Lord make His face to shine
upon thee and be gracious unto thee. The Lord lift up His countenance
upon thee and give thee peace. Now watch what God says about
it. Verse 27. And they shall put my name upon
the children of Israel. Aaron, Put God's name on them. Oh, Son of God, come here now
and put God's name on us. And this is what he says, and
I will bless them. Only bless them. Always bless
them. Bless them when they rise up
and bless them when they lie down. Bless them in their house
and bless them in the field. Bless them in the city and bless
them in the way. And bless them forever when they
come to the end of the way. Amen.