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Preparation of a New Priesthood God gave instructions in Torah to observe certain times throughout the year as Holy appointments for us to meet with Him. These are appointments that our Creator set apart for us as yearly reminders of His plan of redemption. Reminders He knows we need. In each of these appointments throughout the year He gives us a view of Messiah and His redemptive work for Israel, humankind and all of His creation. Erev Pesach is the beginning of the yearly cycle of appointed Holy times - and it starts at sunset, the 14th of Nissan - the first month of the year in God’s sacred calendar: " 'These are the designated times of Adonai, the holy convocations you are to proclaim at their designated times." In the first month, on the fourteenth day of the month, between sundown and complete darkness, comes Pesach for Adonai. ' On the fifteenth day of the same month is the festival of matzah; for seven days you are to eat matzah." Leviticus 23:3 - 4 We are here to remember this night as a memorial - to observe the last night Yeshua spent with his disciples; just hours before freely laying down his life as the sacrificial Lamb of God for our redemption. "And this day shall be unto you for a memorial, and ye shall keep it a feast to the LORD; throughout your generations ye shall keep it a feast by an ordinance forever." (JPS) Exodus 12:14 This night above all nights is very special and the most important for all of mankind. It marks the redemption of fallen man and as well as the redemption of all creation. There is great significance in this night for each one of us. Jew and Gentile The Apostle Kefa (Peter) tells us: "As you come to him, the living stone, rejected by people but chosen by God and precious to him, you yourselves, as living stones, are being built into a spiritual house to be cohanim set apart for God to offer spiritual sacrifices acceptable to him through Yeshua the Messiah. This is why the Tanakh says, "Look! I am laying in Tziyon a stone, a chosen and precious cornerstone; and whoever rests his trust on it will certainly not be humiliated. "Now to you who keep trusting, he is precious. But to those who are not trusting, "The very stone that the builders rejected has become the cornerstone"; also he is a stone that will make people stumble, a rock over which they will trip. They are stumbling at the Word, disobeying it — as had been planned. But you are a chosen people, the King's cohanim, a holy nation, a people for God to possess! Why? In order for you to declare the praises of the One who called you out of darkness into his wonderful light." 1 Peter 2:4 - 9 Who was Kefa speaking to? "From: Kefa, an emissary of Yeshua the Messiah To: God's chosen people, living as aliens in the Diaspora in Pontus, Galatia, Cappadocia, the province of Asia, and Bythinia" 1 Peter 1:1 Further - Revelation 5 explains that this priesthood includes people from all languages, tribes, people and nations: "...and they sang a new song, "You are worthy to take the scroll and break its seals; because you were slaughtered; at the cost of blood you ransomed for God persons from every tribe, language, people and nation. You made them into a kingdom for God to rule, cohanim to serve him; and they will rule over the earth." Revelation 5:9 - 10 This isn't speaking of the Levitical priesthood. It can't be, because the Levites were one tribe from one nation, Israel. There is more to this priesthood. It goes beyond Israel proper, extending to the commonwealth of Israel. What authority does Yeshua have to do this? "Next I saw in the right hand of the One sitting on the throne a scroll with writing on both sides and sealed with seven seals; and I saw a mighty angel proclaiming in a loud voice, "Who is worthy to open the scroll and break its seals?" But no one in heaven, on earth or under the earth was able to open the scroll or look inside it. I cried and cried, because no one was found worthy to open the scroll or look inside it. One of the elders said to me, "Don't cry. Look, the Lion of the tribe of Y'hudah, the Root of David, has won the right to open the scroll and its seven seals." Then I saw standing there with the throne and the four living beings, in the circle of the elders, a Lamb that appeared to have been slaughtered. He had seven horns and seven eyes, which are the sevenfold Spirit of God sent out into all the earth." Revelation 5:1 - 6 Does that not mean He has the authority to make us priests? The question is which order of priesthood is scripture talking about? Which priestly order are we called into? The writer of the book of Hebrews compares the current structure found within Judaism at the time of Yeshua and relates it back to Yeshua. When we look at the priesthood of the day, it was of the tribe of Levi. The writer refers to a different priest and order that Yeshua is establishing: "For it is stated, "You are a cohen FOREVER, to be compared with Malki-Tzedek." (Ps 110:4) Hebrews 7:17 This verse is referring to the type of priest Yeshua is. So who is this Malki-Tzedek? "Malki-Tzedek king of Shalem brought out bread and wine. He was cohen of El `Elyon [God Most High], Genesis 14:18 The writer of the book of Hebrews continues: Heb 7:1-28 - selected scriptures have been presented from Hebrews chapter 7, speaking of Makki-Tzedek: He is a king and a priest: This Malki-Tzedek, king of Shalem, a cohen of God Ha'Elyon, met Avraham on his way back from the slaughter of the kings and blessed him; also Avraham gave him a tenth of everything. Now first of all, by translation of his name, he is "king of righteousness"; and then he is also king of Shalem, which means "king of peace." There is no record of his father, mother, ancestry, birth or death; rather, like the Son of God, he continues as a cohen for all time. Just think how great he was! Even the Patriarch Avraham gave him a tenth of the choicest spoils." There is no beginning or end. Regarding Maki-Tzedek, Torah is silent regarding this man's origin. He is seen in Torah once. The writer of Hebrews is relating Messiah with this man who was both king and cohen. Even though Yeshua has earthly parents and a time for which He appeared on the scene for humanity, His origin has no beginning or end: "In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. He was with God in the beginning. All things came to be through him, and without him nothing made had being. In him was life, and the life was the light of mankind. The light shines in the darkness, and the darkness has not suppressed it. There was a man sent from God whose name was Yochanan. He came to be a testimony, to bear witness concerning the light; so that through him, everyone might put his trust in God and be faithful to him. He himself was not that light; no, he came to bear witness concerning the light. This was the true light, which gives light to everyone entering the world. He was in the world -- the world came to be through him -- yet the world did not know him. He came to his own homeland, yet his own people did not receive him. But to as many as did receive him, to those who put their trust in his person and power, he gave the right to become children of God, not because of bloodline, physical impulse or human intention, but because of God. The Word became a human being and lived with us, and we saw his Sh'khinah, the Sh'khinah of the Father's only Son, full of grace and truth." John 1:1 - 14 A transformation of completion of one type of order is found in Messiah. The order of the Levitical priesthood has been completed in Messiah through His atonement on Pesach. Identified as God's Lamb...God's Sacrifice: "The next day, Yochanan saw Yeshua coming toward him and said, "Look! God's lamb! The one who is taking away the sin of the world! This is the man I was talking about when I said, `After me is coming someone who has come to rank above me, because he existed before me." John 1:29 - 30 A sacrifice that would occur on Passover. No longer would an animal sacrifice be required for atonement. "For if the system of cohanim is transformed, there must of necessity occur a transformation of Torah. The one about whom these things are said belongs to another tribe, from which no one has ever served at the altar; for everyone knows that our Lord arose out of Y'hudah, and that Moshe said nothing about this tribe when he spoke about cohanim. It becomes even clearer if a "different kind of cohen," one like Malki-Tzedek, arises, one who became a cohen not by virtue of a rule in the Torah concerning physical descent, but by virtue of the power of an indestructible life. For it is stated, "You are a cohen FOREVER, to be compared with Malki-Tzedek." Hebrews 7:12 - 17 (referencing Psalm 110:4) Witness the words given to Jeremiah, regarding a new covenant: "Here, the days are coming," says ADONAI, "when I will make a new covenant with the house of Isra'el and with the house of Y'hudah. It will not be like the covenant I made with their fathers on the day I took them by their hand and brought them out of the land of Egypt; because they, for their part, violated my covenant, even though I, for my part, was a husband to them," says ADONAI." Jeremiah 31:31 - 32 It will not be like the covenant I made with their fathers. This new covenant has God as King and High Priest in Messiah. Many years ago, Israel harped on Adonai for a king. They wanted to be just like the other nations. They were not content with the one true God of Israel as their King. They were envious of the other nations that had a human authority whom they could see and bow down towards. It was foretold in Torah: "When you have entered the land ADONAI your God is giving you, have taken possession of it and are living there, you may say, 'I want to have a king over me, like all the other nations around me.' In that event, you must appoint as king the one whom ADONAI your God will choose. He must be one of your kinsmen, this king you appoint over you - you are forbidden to appoint a foreigner over you who is not your kinsman. However, he is not to acquire many horses for himself or have the people return to Egypt to obtain more horses, inasmuch as ADONAI told you never to go back that way again. Likewise, he is not to acquire many wives for himself, so that his heart will not turn away; and he is not to acquire excessive quantities of silver and gold. "When he has come to occupy the throne of his kingdom, he is to write a copy of this Torah for himself in a scroll, from the one the cohanim and L'vi'im use." Deuteronomy 17:14 - 18 When this became a reality, Adonai viewed His peoples desire to have an earthly king as being rejected. "All the leaders of Isra'el gathered themselves together, approached Sh'mu'el in Ramah and said to him, "Look, you have grown old, and your sons are not following your ways. Now make us a king to judge us like all the nations." Sh'mu'el was not pleased to hear them say, "Give us a king to judge us"; so he prayed to ADONAI. ADONAI said to Sh'mu'el, "Listen to the people, to everything they say to you; for it is not you they are rejecting; they are rejecting me; they don't want me to be king over them. They are doing to you exactly what they have been doing to me, from the day I brought them out of Egypt until today, by abandoning me and serving other gods. So do what they say, but give them a sober warning, telling them what kinds of rulings their king will make." 1 Samuel 8:4 - 9 Adonai was their King, but the people would rather have an earthly king who would rule over them. It is on this Erev Pesach that Yeshua would prepare a new priesthood for the new covenant that Adonai would establish through Messiah and bring forth through the nation of Israel. Adonai, through Messiah would once again be King to His people. "What is more, God swore an oath. For no oath was sworn in connection with those who become cohanim now; but Yeshua became a cohen by the oath which God swore when he said to him, "Adonai has sworn and will not change his mind, 'You are a cohen forever.' " Also this shows how much better is the covenant of which Yeshua has become guarantor. But because he lives forever, his position as cohen does not pass on to someone else; and consequently, he is totally able to deliver those who approach God through him; since he is alive forever and thus forever able to intercede on their behalf." Hebrews 7:20 - 25 Moses was given very specific instructions ( blueprints ) from Adonai for the building of the Tent of Meeting, all that was placed within its walls right down to the priest's nickers. God is the designer - we are the hands that fashion - bring into the physical world around us the reality of His design both in tangible and Spiritual forms. The Priests performed their duties exactly according to the instructions given by Adonai to Moses. Who anointed Aharon and his sons priests? It was not a high priest that anointed Aharon and his sons to the office of cohen - but none other than Moses an intercessor. In Exodus 29 we read of the consecration of Aharon and his sons. This consecration included washing with water. "Bring Aharon and his sons to the entrance of the tent of meeting, and wash them with water." Exodus 29:4 In addition, any time Aharon and his sons were to come near the altar to minister, they were to wash their hands and feet, cleansing them from impurities "Aharon and his sons will wash their hands and feet there when they enter the tent of meeting - they are to wash with water, so that they won't die. Also when they approach the altar to minister by burning an offering for ADONAI..." Exodus 30:19 - 20 "He set the basin between the tent of meeting and the altar and put water in it for washing, so that Moshe and Aharon and his sons could wash their hands and feet there - so that they could wash when entering the tent of meeting and when approaching the altar, as ADONAI had ordered Moshe." Exodus 40:30 - 32 The concept of washing in relation to the priesthood, as part of consecration was not new to believers in Messiah in that they knew Torah. At the time of Yeshua, foot washing was considered to be a courtesy shown to the guest who entered one's home. What Yeshua was doing for His talmadim went beyond a courtesy. It was a consecration. The mystery, or failure to understand what was happening at the time of Yeshua's talmadim was not related to the scripture, but by whom He was doing this to. Other than Matthew, none were of the tribe of Levi, the tribe that comprised the priesthood of Israel. The mystery of Messiah had not yet been fully revealed to them. "Yeshua was aware that the Father had put everything in his power, and that he had come from God and was returning to God. So he rose from the table, removed his outer garments and wrapped a towel around his waist. Then he poured some water into a basin and began to wash the feet of the talmidim and wipe them off with the towel wrapped around him. He came to Shim`on Kefa, who said to him, "Lord! You are washing my feet?" Yeshua answered him, "You don't understand yet what I am doing, but in time you will understand." John 13:3 - 7 This statement by Yeshua to Peter says to me that one day it will become clear as to what this is all about. Yeshua does go on to teach them about true servant hood -yet I believe there is more to this because he says "but IN TIME you will understand”- this seems to me as though this understanding is not in the next few minutes - as we will see... "No!" said Kefa, "You will never wash my feet!" Yeshua answered him, "If I don't wash you, you have no share with me." "Lord," Shim`on Kefa replied, "not only my feet, but my hands and head too!" Yeshua said to him, "A man who has had a bath doesn't need to wash, except his feet -- his body is already clean. And you people are clean, but not all of you." (He knew who was betraying him; this is why he said, "Not all of you are clean.") After he had washed their feet, taken back his clothes and returned to the table, he said to them, "Do you understand what I have done to you? You call me `Rabbi' and `Lord,' and you are right, because I am. Now if I, the Lord and Rabbi, have washed your feet, you also should wash each other's feet. For I have set you an example, so that you may do as I have done to you. Yes, indeed! I tell you, a slave is not greater than his master, nor is an emissary greater than the one who sent him. If you know these things, you will be blessed if you do them." John 13:8 - 17 I believe Yeshua was following the instructions that He had given in Torah pertaining to the consecration of the priests. Just as Moses was the intercessor for Aharon and his sons, Yeshua is our intercessor and the one who consecrates us as the priests under the order of Malki-Tzedek. The washing of hands and feet was part of the consecration process for the Levitical priests - again a shadow of the heavenly original. Remember what the author to the book of Hebrews said:"Now if he were on earth, he wouldn't be a cohen at all, since there already are cohanim offering the gifts required by the Torah. But what they are serving is only a copy and shadow of the heavenly original; for when Moshe was about to erect the Tent, God warned him, "See to it that you make everything according to the pattern you were shown on the mountain." But now the work Yeshua has been given to do is far superior to theirs, just as the covenant he mediates is better. For this covenant has been given as Torah on the basis of better promises." Hebrews 8:4 - 6 Yeshua
is our Cohen Gadol, our High Priest – in the Order of Malki-Tzedek. We
have been consecrated through Him.
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