July 14, 2023
Passage Read: Matthew 21-22
Meditation Verse: 21:43
Thought
The Pharisees and Sadducees, the chief priests and teachers of the law, they were supposed to be caring for God's kingdom and leading the people into faith and obedience to the Lord. But instead, they muddied the waters and discouraged the people, making faith in the Lord impossible to follow. They were in charge! But they were failing horribly at their task. So the Lord was giving up on them. He was changing everything in fulfilling the Old Testament promises of a New Covenant. The Aaronic priesthood would be set aside, and all who believe in Jesus would be priests of God, a whole kingdom of priests!
Application
But anyone who attains to this privilege has a responsibility, the same responsibility the original priests had: to walk accurately in God's ways so that they could teach accurately God's ways to the rest of mankind. If God was willing to set aside the original priests, it stands to reason that He is also willing to disavow any New Testament priest who fails in his duty to accurately represent the Lord. I am a true priest of God if I take time to know Him so that I can walk in His ways and make His ways known to others. If I don't take time to know Him and learn to walk in His ways, my position is likewise precarious.