Our Lady of Lourdes Church Blog

The Gospel of the Forty Days: Priesthood

      We again consider the “gospel of the forty days” (Ac 1:2-3), and consider what Jesus may have taught the Apostles after His resurrection about their priesthood.

      In the New Testament (NT) the Christian community is described as a “holy priesthood” (1 Pt 2:5), a kingdom of priests to God (Rev: 1:6, 5:10, 20:6). This fulfills God’s original intention for Israel to be a kingdom of priests (Ex 19:6) but which they lost through idolatry. This NT “holy priesthood” we call the “common priesthood” or “priesthood of all believers.” So St. Paul can appeal to all to present themselves “as a living sacrifice,” our “spiritual worship” (Ro 12:1).

      Yet, as St. Paul put it, “all the members [of the Body] do not have the same function” (Ro 12:4), and so we distinguish between the “common priesthood” and the “ministerial priesthood.” The book of Hebrews develops wonderfully Christ’s priesthood which far surpasses the OT Levitical priesthood, and also was a kingly and prophetic priesthood, like Melchizedek’s (Gen 14:18), like David’s (who succeeded to Melchizedek’s throne in Jerusalem, Ps 110:4), and like David’s sons who also were priests (2 Sam 8:18). Christ, then, as High Priest, designated His Apostles for ministry (cf., Mt 19:28; Rev 21:12-14), to shepherd His flock (1 Pt 5:2), to offer sacrifice (1 Cor 11:23-26, Eucharistic sacrifice; Heb 10:10, body; Heb 9:12, blood; Lk 22:19, command to “do this;” cf., Mt 26:28, Christ’s blood shed for the forgiveness of sins), to mediate the forgiveness (Mt 9:6; Jn 20:23) – all priestly duties, all by their standing in His name, His person, and His power. We see this also with the Apostle Paul who saw His ministry as priestly (Ro 15:16) with Christ working in him (Ro 15:18).

      Christ also claimed priestly status for Himself and the Twelve when He defended the Twelve picking grain on the Sabbath by their acting as David did eating priestly bread, or as the priests do in the temple (Mt 12:1-6). Similarly, His granting Peter (Mt 16:19) and the other Apostles (Mt 18:18) the power to “bind” (to forbid something) and “loose” (to permit something) was giving them priestly powers to authoritatively interpret and teach Christ’s New Law (the Gospel), as the OT priests had the authority to interpret the Old Law. By Jesus giving Peter the “keys of the kingdom of heaven” (Mt 16:19), He appointed Peter as the royal steward of the Kingdom, the first officer after the King. Royal stewards wore priestly garments (Is 22:22) and typically were Levitical priests.

      Christ apparently also instructed the Apostles (likely in those forty days before His ascension) that the Bishops, as successors to the Apostles, should hold their office for life, consistent with priesthood. Again, here is St. Clement of Rome’s testimony from his 96 AD First Letter to the Corinthians (44:2): “The Apostles also knew, through our Lord Jesus Christ, that there would be contention over the bishop’s office. So, for this cause, having received complete foreknowledge, they appointed the above-mentioned men [bishops], and afterwards gave them a permanent character, so that, as they died, other approved men should succeed to their ministry.” Such a life-time responsibility as Bishop echoes what we know about Jesus’ gospel of the forty days: He personally gave them commandment (Ac 1:2), teachings (Ac 1:3), and commissions (Mt 28:19-20), and these, like priesthood, could never be laid aside. 

Dibby Green

Originally published in the print edition of the Mojave Desert News  dated August 13, 2020.

Our Lady of Lourdes Catholic Church is located in California City, CA. Visit our website at ollcalcity.org.

References:

G. Kittel, Ed., Theological Dictionary of the New Testament, Vol. II, p. 619.
Scott Hahn, Ed., Catholic Bible Dictionary (New York: Doubleday, 2009), p. 120-121, 725-730.
John Bergsma, Jesus and the Dead Sea Scrolls, Revealing the Jewish Roots of Christianity (New York: Image, 2019), p. 174-179.