The Messianic Priesthood of Jesus Christ

Gospel Reflection for October 27, 2024 - Mark 10:46-52

And they came to Jericho: and as he went out of Jericho, with his disciples, and a very great multitude, Bartimeus the blind man, the son of Timeus, sat by the way side begging.

Who when he had heard, that it was Jesus of Nazareth, began to cry out, and to say: Jesus son of David, have mercy on me.

And many rebuked him, that he might hold his peace; but he cried a great deal the more: Son of David, have mercy on me.

And Jesus, standing still, commanded him to be called. And they call the blind man, saying to him: Be of better comfort: arise, he calleth thee.

Who casting off his garment leaped up, and came to him.

And Jesus answering, said to him: What wilt thou that I should do to thee? And the blind man said to him: Rabboni, that I may see.

And Jesus saith to him: Go thy way, thy faith hath made thee whole. And immediately he saw, and followed him in the way. (Mark 10:46-52)

Upon first hearing or reading the Scripture passages for this Sunday, it may initially seem difficult to recognize their interconnections. There is, however, a strong theme which underlies all three, as well as the Psalm: the eschatological priesthood of the Messiah. This priesthood, which Hebrews directly identifies with Christ as the new High Priest, is the culmination and fulfillment of the priestly office in the history of human religion and particularly as revealed in Scripture, beginning with Adam and running through Melchizedek, Aaron and David, down to the priests who served in the Temple during Christ’s earthly life. Priesthood is fundamental to the message of Scripture, the idea that there are, as Hebrews put it, “representatives” chosen by God’s own initiative to offer “gifts and sacrifices” to Him, in a word, to sanctify the world to God through right worship, revealing the source and end of all things in Him. This is what a priest does, as all liturgical religions in history have understood, most of all the religion established by God Himself through His covenants with Israel.

But what distinguishes the messianic priesthood of Christ from its predecessors? It is distinct in several important ways, though each is also a mark of continuity with what came before. The priesthood of Christ is first of all divine – whereas previous orders of Jewish priests acted as representatives of God, Christ is the Son of God, with His humanity elevating human nature above (but not contrary to) its natural capacities by grace to commune face-to-face with God, something only possible for God Himself. This messianic priesthood is also integral, in the sense that, while earlier priests offered sacrifices of objects or animals, and on altars made from stone or other materials, Christ is Himself the Victim, the definitive offering of reconciliation with God through the merits of His divine charity; He is also the altar, so identified with the Cross that He is adored and signified by it; finally, He is the Word who, like the words of priests spoken in sacred languages, exerts power to reveal and communicate spiritual mysteries through material signs. Another distinction in His priesthood is that it is not limited by time, place or people – it is universal, sanctifying all of Creation through the indwelling of His Incarnation and calling all men, Jew and Gentile alike, to membership in His Body, the Church.

This is the eschaton, the “last things” which are “unveiled” (apokalupsis) in Christ. As the messianic High Priest, He takes our sins and the sin of the whole world on Himself, as Hebrews beautifully described. For Bartimaeus, He took the weight of blindness, itself an effect of sin, and nailed it to the Cross, carrying it in redemptive love for Bartimaeus and for all those who are afflicted with illnesses of any kind. In a deeper sense, Christ opened the eyes of his mind and heart to see and know the truth of God, to look beyond worldly concerns and perceive the divine mysteries to which he was otherwise blinded by sin; this is the cure to blindness which Christ offers to all. As the Son of God, His “defeat” on the Cross was in fact His greatest victory, one which He had already won in the Garden of Gethsemane, when He refused to succumb to sin no matter the weight of temptation laid on Him by Satan, and which He enabled us to participate in through the institution of the Eucharist at the Last Supper. He thus reoriented suffering towards love and death towards Resurrection, overthrowing the dominion of Satan and opening the gates of Heaven.

The first reading also demonstrates another element of this messianic fulfillment. The “remnant of Israel” signifies not only the Israelites who were led into exile several centuries before Christ’s Incarnation, whose return was seen as a sign of the coming of the Kingdom of God established by the Messiah and which Christ fulfilled in the Twelve Apostles – it is also, according to St. Paul, an image of the Church, “a remnant saved according to the election of grace.” (Rom 11:5) It is by faith, rather than only through the flesh, that someone is an heir of Abraham, whose faith looked forward to Christ (Jn 8:56) and is thus fulfilled in the faith of the Church: “For not through the law was the promise to Abraham, or to his seed, that he should be heir of the world; but through the justice of faith.” (Rom 4:11) In this way, Christ returned the “remnant of Israel” from its exile in sin by establishing the Church and opening it to all men through faith as the seal of citizenship in the Kingdom of God.

The messianic character of the Church is not merely a thing of the past or a sign of the future End Times – it also applies to Christians today. By our Baptism, all Christians share in the messianic priesthood of Christ, and by correcting the sin in ourselves and in the world, we act as coworkers in His mission of sanctifying all of Creation to God. (Col 1:24) In a more explicit way, those called to the ministerial priesthood are consecrated by God to act as proxies of the High Priest, just as the priests of Israel were ministers representing the high priesthood of Aaron; through the Sacrament of Holy Orders, they have the power to act in persona Christi, speaking Christ’s very words to transubstantiate bread and wine into His Body and Blood, forgiving sins in His name and, if they live up to their great calling, to be evangelical icons of Christ’s fatherly love to the world.

As Christians, we should see ourselves as sharers in this priestly role, laying up treasure in Heaven rather than on Earth and preparing for the Second Coming, keeping our lamps trimmed like the holy virgins in Christ’s parable who awaited the return of the Bridegroom at an unknown hour:

How then is it not of the utmost folly, where destruction and waste is the lot of all that is stored, there to heap up all, but where things abide untouched and increase, there not to lay up even the least portion; and this, when we are to live there forever? For this cause the very heathens disbelieve the things that we say, since our doings, not our sayings, are the demonstration which they are willing to receive from us; and when they see us building ourselves fine houses, and laying out gardens and baths, and buying fields, they are not willing to believe that we are preparing for another sort of residence away from our city. (St. John Chrysostom)

We must correct the world’s sins, help others be reconciled to Christ and celebrate all that is true, good and beautiful in Creation as reminders of the infinite love of God. Then we will be ready when He comes to bring us to our eternal home.