One of the basic
tenets of the church is that Jesus was a priest! This the church presumably
inferred from the few references to that effect from the letter to the Hebrews.
However, Jesus never ever seemed to have claimed so in the gospels.
Peter in his first
letter extends priesthood to the disciples in exile of the Dispersion also:
“Come to him, to that living stone… like living stones be yourselves built into
a spiritual house, to be a holy priesthood.” 1:4-5. “But you are a chosen race,
a royal priesthood, a holy nation, God’s own people…” 2:9.
It was this priest
Jesus and to a certain extent the king Jesus that matters to the church than
the prophet Jesus contrary to Jesus’ own understanding of himself and approach
to people and events. He seemed to have loved the vulnerabilities of being a
prophet rather than being made a king (Jn. 6:13-14). Many a times he was in
conflict with the priests and the authorities who worked hand in gloves with
one another.
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