Learn the Lesson Well

“Keep yourselves in the love of God, waiting anxiously for the mercy of our Lord Jesus Christ to eternal life” (Jude 21. Scriptures from updated NASB unless otherwise indicated.)

— Tom Gilbert

In his first letter to the church, “to God’s elect” (1 Peter 1:1 NIV), the Apostle Peter writes, “you also, as living stones, are being built up as a spiritual house for a holy priesthood, to offer up spiritual sacrifices acceptable to God through Jesus Christ,” and “you are a chosen race, a royal priesthood” (1 Peter 2:5, 9). In Hebrews, Jesus is repeatedly described as our “high priest.”

If the church is to fill the role of being priests under the leadership of Jesus as high priest, it seems fitting to consider the work of the priesthood established by God under the Law Covenant for the nation of Israel and the qualities of character that would make a priest effective in his work.

We are most familiar with the priestly functions related to the Tabernacle or Temple. These include receiving and offering the sacrifices brought by the people, the daily morning and evening burnt offerings, and the services and offerings associated with holy days, such as the Day of Atonement.

We may not be as familiar with other priestly functions, particularly after they had come into and settled the Promised Land. They had duties in the communities in which they lived — duties that required interaction with people of the community and affairs of their lives.

Priestly Duties

● Priests were responsible for teaching and explaining God’s laws to the people (Deuteronomy 33:10, 2 Chronicles 17:7-9, Malachi 2:6-7). Upon returning to Jerusalem from Babylon, Ezra the priest, assisted by other priests and Levites, gathered the people in front of the Water Gate and, from early morning until midday, read and explained the Law to them (Nehemiah 8:1-8).

● Priests played a role in the administration of justice. They were available to assist local judges and became involved in resolving difficult cases (Deuteronomy 17:8-9).

● Priests performed a ceremony prescribed in the Law to determine the innocence or guilt of a woman whose husband became jealous of his wife because of suspected adultery (Numbers 5:11-31).

These, and others duties, were carried out among the people in the community where the priest lived. As a leader in the community, the priest would, or should, have established relationships with the people and grown to love them. Although he was a leader in the community, he should have a heart attitude of not seeing himself as so different from the others he served in his community. This is a beautiful lesson on humility for us, the royal priesthood described in Hebrews 5:2-3. “He can deal gently with the ignorant and misguided, since he himself also is beset with weakness; and because of it he is obligated to offer sacrifices for sins, as for the people, so also for himself.”

When realizing his own need for divine mercy and forgiveness of sins, a priest would be drawn to deal mercifully with those who needed instruction or correction under the Law. The same should be true for the royal priesthood that will serve humanity in Christ’s kingdom. Jesus emphasized this principle in Matthew 5:7: “Blessed are the merciful, for they shall receive mercy.”

Mercy is a Positive Action

Mercy is more than a feeling. It is an active response to the plight of someone in need by someone with resources to meet that need.

Mercy in the Bible is sometimes associated with holding back consequences or punishment for wrongdoing, motivated by sympathy or compassion. See Psalm 103:8-11, Daniel 9:8-9, and Micah 7:18-19 for records of God withholding consequences because of His compassion. However, withholding of such consequences is not the primary meaning of mercy.

Mercy is better understood to be a positive action, an expression of kind consideration or pity that brings relief to those who are disadvantaged and in need of merciful action. This is perhaps best illustrated in the Parable of the Good Samaritan (Luke 10:30-37). Our Lord gave this parable while talking with a lawyer about the two great commandments — loving God with all your heart, soul, strength, and mind, and loving your neighbor as yourself. The lawyer asked, “And who is my neighbor?”

Jesus answered his question with this parable, drawing a direct connection between love and mercy. The Samaritan was traveling along the road between Jerusalem and Jericho and came upon a man who had been robbed, beaten and left for dead. The Samaritan bandaged his wounds, brought him to an inn, and left money with the innkeeper to continue his care while he himself continued his journey. The Samaritan had the ability and resources to come to the beaten man’s aid and did so. Jesus said, “Go and do the same.”

Love Is as Love Does

Like mercy, love is more than a feeling. “Love can be known only from the actions it prompts.”¹ It is a conscious decision to respect others positively: treat them kindly, do good to them, and value who they are.

(1) Excerpt from agapao, in An Expository Dictionary of New Testament Words, W. E. Vine.

Paul describes the many characteristics of agape love in 1 Corinthians 13:4-8: “Love is patient, love is kind and is not jealous; love does not brag and is not arrogant, does not act unbecomingly; it does not seek its own, is not provoked, does not take into account a wrong suffered, does not rejoice in unrighteousness, but rejoices with the truth; bears all things, believes all things, hopes all things, endures all things. Love never fails.”

Love and mercy are inherent qualities of God’s character. “God is love” (1 John 4:16). “The LORD is gracious and merciful; slow to anger and great in lovingkindness. The LORD is good to all, and His mercies are over all His works” (Psalm 145:8-9). Mercy is one of the primary ways God displays His love for people, especially those who seek Him and strive to obey Him.

God’s mercy and love toward humanity in general are shown in his great plan of reconciliation and restoration, rescuing them from sin, sickness, and death. God’s mercy and love toward individuals are demonstrated in his patience and long-suffering, giving them the opportunity to repent and correct a wrong course. God sees our needs and He responds with mercy because of his love.

We know from the first verse of John’s Gospel that Jesus is like his Father. So the love and mercy of God is perfectly reflected in His Son, our Lord Jesus, the “High Priest of the faith we profess” (Hebrews 3:1-2, TEV). “Therefore, he had to be made like His brethren in all things, so that he might become a merciful and faithful high priest in things pertaining to God … For since he himself was tempted in that which he has suffered, he is able to come to the aid of those who are tempted” (Hebrews 2:17-18).

Those who hope to have the privilege of serving as priests in Christ’s kingdom must develop this same love and mercy. They must become inherent qualities of our character.

Similar to the work of the Levitical priests, the royal priesthood will be involved in teaching God’s laws and bringing about reconciliation between individuals, nations, and peoples — those who have treated one another as enemies because of greed, exploitation, violence, and prejudices over ethnicity, skin color, religion, political affiliation, and other differences. Because of the love and mercy developed within their characters, those in the royal priesthood will be able to “deal gently with the ignorant and misguided” and give them new direction that will result in peace, contentment, joy, and everlasting life.

All of this will be accomplished through the leadership of the “merciful and faithful high priest,” Jesus Christ, and his royal priesthood. The priests of the Millennial Age will be able to bring relief to those who are disadvantaged and in need of merciful action because, as divine spiritual beings, they will have infinite resources available to them.

Our Present Goal

The goal of our lives in the present time is to develop the love, compassion, mercy, and other facets of Christian character that will make us useful as priests in Christ’s kingdom. “God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son, that whoever believes in Him shall not perish, but have eternal life” (John 3:16).

Likewise, Jesus so loved the world that he willingly gave his life to save humanity from sin and death. Those hoping to be part of the royal priesthood must develop the same all-inclusive love for humanity. A selective love will not suffice to become part of the royal priesthood. “If anyone boasts, ‘I love God,’ and goes right on hating his brother or sister, thinking nothing of it, he is a liar. If he won’t love the person he can see, how can he love the God he can’t see? Our command from Christ is blunt: Loving God includes loving people. You have got to love both” (1 John 4:20-21, The Message).

In his letters to the Ephesians and to Titus, the Apostle Paul beautifully describes God’s love and mercy working together to bless us, and eventually the whole world. “But God, being rich in mercy, because of His great love with which He loved us, even when we were dead in our transgressions, made us alive together with Christ” (Ephesians 2:4-5).

“But when the kindness of God our Savior and His love for mankind appeared, He saved us, not on the basis of deeds which we have done in righteousness, but according to His mercy, by the washing of regeneration and renewing by the holy Spirit, whom He poured out upon us richly through Jesus Christ our Savior, so that being justified by His grace we would be made heirs according to the hope of eternal life” (Titus 3:4-7).

As disciples of Jesus Christ, may we be diligent in developing the love and mercy displayed in the character of God and his Son. Paul and John describe this as Christ living in us. “I have been crucified with Christ; and it is no longer I who live, but Christ lives in me; and the life which I now live in the flesh I live by faith in the Son of God, who loved me and gave Himself up for me” (Galatians 2:20).

“For we realize that our life in this world is actually his [Christ’s] life lived in us” (1 John 4:17, Phillips).

Let us strive to have Christ living in us.