Leviticus 21:1-24 NKJV
21 And the Lord said to Moses, “Speak to the priests, the sons of Aaron, and say to them: ‘None shall defile himself for the dead among his people, 2 except for his relatives who are nearest to him: his mother, his father, his son, his daughter, and his brother; 3 also his virgin sister who is near to him, who has had no husband, for her he may defile himself. 4 Otherwise he shall not defile himself, being a chief man among his people, to profane himself.
5 ‘They shall not make any bald place on their heads, nor shall they shave the edges of their beards nor make any cuttings in their flesh. 6 They shall be holy to their God and not profane the name of their God, for they offer the offerings of the Lord made by fire, and the bread of their God; therefore they shall be holy. 7 They shall not take a wife who is a harlot or a defiled woman, nor shall they take a woman divorced from her husband; for the priest is holy to his God. 8 Therefore you shall consecrate him, for he offers the bread of your God. He shall be holy to you, for I the Lord, who sanctify you, am holy. 9 The daughter of any priest, if she profanes herself by playing the harlot, she profanes her father. She shall be burned with fire.
10 ‘He who is the high priest among his brethren, on whose head the anointing oil was poured and who is consecrated to wear the garments, shall not uncover his head nor tear his clothes; 11 nor shall he go near any dead body, nor defile himself for his father or his mother; 12 nor shall he go out of the sanctuary, nor profane the sanctuary of his God; for the consecration of the anointing oil of his God is upon him: I am the Lord. 13 And he shall take a wife in her virginity. 14 A widow or a divorced woman or a defiled woman or a harlot—these he shall not marry; but he shall take a virgin of his own people as wife. 15 Nor shall he profane his posterity among his people, for I the Lord sanctify him.’ ”
16 And the Lord spoke to Moses, saying, 17 “Speak to Aaron, saying: ‘No man of your descendants in succeeding generations, who has any defect, may approach to offer the bread of his God. 18 For any man who has a defect shall not approach: a man blind or lame, who has a marred face or any limb too long, 19 a man who has a broken foot or broken hand, 20 or is a hunchback or a dwarf, or a man who has a defect in his eye, or eczema or scab, or is a eunuch. 21 No man of the descendants of Aaron the priest, who has a defect, shall come near to offer the offerings made by fire to the Lord. He has a defect; he shall not come near to offer the bread of his God. 22 He may eat the bread of his God, both the most holy and the holy; 23 only he shall not go near the veil or approach the altar, because he has a defect, lest he profane My sanctuaries; for I the Lord sanctify them.’ ”
24 And Moses told it to Aaron and his sons, and to all the children of Israel.
The laws in this section legislate for the protection of the holy things of God. The most significant of these holy things is the holy name of God, by which the Lord gives access to Himself in the sacrificial ritual (21:6). God instituted the ritual so that He could present Himself to His people by name in it. Through the sacrificial ritual He sanctifies them by means of that holy name (21:8, 15). God’s holy name is revealed as most important in that it is the very first petition taught by our Lord to His disciples when asked how they should pray.
We are blessed to have revealed to us the fulfillment of these rigid rituals through Christ Jesus, our Lord. Jesus was appointed by God both as the Messiah and the great High Priest in the heavenly sanctuary. He became human being and was anointed at His Baptism (Acts 4:27, 10:38) so that He could serve as the High Priest of the human race.
Following the holiness understanding (the importance of the holy name of God as mentioned above), Jesus shares His holiness with His disciples and sanctifies them so that they serve God the Father together with Him.As proclaimed in Heb. 2: “For it was fitting for Him, for whom are all things and by whom are all things, in bringing many sons to glory, to make the captain of their salvation perfect through sufferings. For both He who sanctifies and those who are being sanctified are all of one, for which reason He is not ashamed to call them brethren, saying: “I will declare Your name to My brethren; In the midst of the assembly I will sing praise to You.” And again: “I will put My trust in Him.” And again: “Here am I and the children whom God has given Me” (Heb 2:10-13).
God has called all Christians to share in His holiness and God brings that to be in Holy Baptism where He bestows His holy name upon them and accounts to them Christ’s holiness (righteousness) though the faith that is therein created.
Let us pray: O Lord, thank You for our great High Priest, Jesus, keep us steadfast and rejoicing in the holiness of Your name and Christ’s righteousness given in Holy Baptism. Amen.