“But you shall be called the priests of the Lord; they shall speak of you as the ministers of our God.” Isaiah 61:6
Jesus opened his ministry by declaring that the first one and a half verses of Isaiah 61 were fulfilled on that day. With this revelation and word, the kingdom of God was opened up for the rest of the promises in the book of Isaiah to follow.
The kingdom of God comes into the world in power through the life, death, burial and resurrection of Jesus and, as a result, those who believe in him will be called “priests of the Lord.”
The role of the priest in the Old Testament was to bring the people to God through the sacrifice of animals as payment for their sins. But now, because Jesus substituted himself as the perfect sacrifice on our behalf, we, as believers, are the priesthood. We bring the broken and the ones who are in need to God, not by sacrifice, but by declaring the truth of Jesus’ sacrifice. We bring the lost and unbelieving into communion with God.
Your life as a Christian is not just “you and God.” You were saved by God to be his priest. You are God’s representative in your neighborhood and you get to bring the gospel of Jesus to the unbelieving. You cannot hide from this calling.
As a priest of the living God, those who hear you proclaiming Jesus will speak of you as his minister. You will be known as a Christian and, as a result, many will hear about the good news of Jesus.
Own this great truth: you are a priest of the Lord and the world will know Jesus is alive through you. Go and tell the people that Jesus is the perfect sacrifice and that we can stand righteous in front of a holy God through him. You are a minister of God Almighty.
Ryan Williams is a pastoral resident at the Downtown Bellevue church.
