
- PRIEST
prist noun. An ordained minister of the Roman Catholic Church, Orthodox Church, or Church of England, having authority to perform certain rites and administer certain sacraments. - 2. A person who performs the religious ceremonies and duties of a religion.
- 3. A mallet used to kill the fish one catches when angling.
- [Priestlike
'pris(t).laɪk adjective, priestly'pris(t).li adjective.]
I pulled this definition out of the dictionary. I hadn’t heard definition #3 before; I included it ’cause it amuses me.
Y’notice it either says a priest is an ordained minister of a
Yes, you. ’Cause you’re a priest. Every Christian is.
It was after all God’s intention to create a kingdom of priests, a holy nation.
Yeah okay,
Because the ancient Christians’ elders were usually the ones doing these priestly duties, over time the Greek word for elder,
But again: Every Christian is a priest. A new believer can anoint and heal a sick person, same as any elder. God can use anybody, y’know.
Still, whenever we’re sick, and want a fellow Christian to pray for us, whom do we usually go to? Right you are: An elder. A mature Christian. Not some newbie, who doesn’t yet have the hang of hearing the Holy Spirit; not some longtimer who lacks
That’s why, when a newbie comes running to the front of the church, hoping to preach a little something, they’re not automatically gonna get the microphone. We tend to keep priestly functions in the elders’ hands. We permit newbies to do it only under an elder’s supervision and training.
Or, of course, when there’s absolutely no one else available. Or, let’s be honest, when they’re the pastors’ kids. Or when nobody else knows how to play the piano so well. Or when they’re interns who’ve been really good at hiding
Oh yeah: I should mention many of the same Christians who claim presvýteros means “priest,” never ever translate
Old Testament priesthood.
In ancient times, same as today, anybody could call themselves a priest. Takes chutzpah to claim you know God, or how to access him and determine his will. Hopefully it’s true—but as we all know, it’s not always. The tricky part is getting other people to believe you, and come to you to be ministered to.
Anybody can likewise claim God made ’em
Ideally the religion would recruit kings, ’cause kings make really influential followers; especially when they force everybody into their kingdom to join your religion! Of course, if we’re talking a fake religion, it wouldn’t be long before the kings realized it was more profitable to run the scam than be run by it. If they hadn’t already declared themselves gods (as did the Egyptian pharaohs), they often made themselves important priests, even head priests, of their religions. That’s what we see all over antiquity. There’s Melchizédek in Genesis, there are the Maccabee/Hasmonean kings of Jerusalem, and the pagan emperors of Rome made themselves the pontifex maximus/“chiefest priest” of Jupiter.
Priesthood tended to be hereditary. Grandpa was a priest, Dad was a priest, and so were you, and your sons after you. Wasn’t necessarily because there was something special in your bloodline; that’s just how all trades worked back then. Priesthood would just be the family business. In the Law, the L
Priests were required to be physically perfect. They couldn’t intermarry with other tribes. They had to remain
Now,
The king of Israel was also a huge exception. Kingly and priestly duties regularly overlapped.
No, the kings of Israel weren’t allowed to perform all the priestly duties. King Uzziah ben Amaziah tried burning incense in temple, and God struck him down with leprosy, making it impossible for him to ever go to temple again.
Christian priesthood.
As Messiah’s followers, we Christians fall under Messiah’s priesthood. As his followers, we’re his priests.
Whenever Christians use “priesthood” type language, the first thing people think of are our rituals. (And sometimes weird secret stuff—even though we Christians aren’t supposed to have any weird secret stuff. Blame
Like I said, every Christian is meant to do this. We’re all meant to grow into mature Christians, and serve one another and the world in “the priesthood of all believers,” as Protestants put it. Problem is, this isn’t always what happens.
The most obvious example: Those churches which refuse to permit women to minister. Even though women apostles,
Forbidding women from ministry is a legitimate outrage. But more often, bellyaching comes from immature or sinful Christians who covet leadership positions, and wanna know why they don’t get to perform baptisms, lead prayers, or preach. Or why their fellow Christians never come to them for these things: How come nobody ever comes to them for spiritual advice? How come nobody asks them to pray for them? How come Pastor gets all the attention, not them? And really it’s not because they want to serve more: They figure these ministry positions come with authority, power, and honor. That’s what they desire. Not to give, but receive.
Now, the immature Christians have a point: If all Christians are priests, of course they’re priests too. But as I’ve said, immature Christians make lousy ministers—as the leaders of our churches often learn the hard way. Immature Christians make loveless prophets. Graceless preachers. Performance-focused worship leaders. Hypocritical prayer leaders. Gossipy confessors. I’ve been burned by immature Christians many times. You don’t want these people in charge of anyone, in positions where they’ll do real and lasting harm. Reserving these jobs for elders just makes sense.
So if you wanna function as a priest in your church, work on your maturity. Pitch in at your church.

