Jay Speights seems an ordinary, everyday kind of guy. He lives in an apartment in the suburbs of Rockville, Maryland, USA. He has a modest career as a pastor. He doesn’t own a car. Jay grew up in an African-American family in New Jersey. There wasn’t much documentation about his family history and he had spent much of his life wondering about his ancestry. Jay decided to do a DNA test from the world-wide genealogy organisation, Ancestry. Within minutes of entering his information into the database, the website returned a result: “royal DNA”.
Can you imagine how stunned you would be if that news was given to you? All your life you thought you were just an ordinary person…then you discovered you had royal heritage. It would seem too unbelievable! Too good to be true! It would change your life. That was how Jay Speights felt when he discovered he was a prince. He was identified as a distant cousin of a man named Houanlokonon Deka—a descendant of a royal line in Benin, a small nation in Western Africa.
Jay had no idea how to contact a man who could be his sixth or eighth cousin and lived on the other side of the Atlantic Ocean. But a few months later, a man from Benin visited Speights at the New York seminary where Jay serves. During the visit, Jay shared about his DNA discovery. “I know your king,” the man said. “Here is his phone number.”
It was the king of Allada. When Jay called the first time, the King hung up—kings don’t usually take calls from random strangers. The second time that Jay phoned, the King passed the phone to his English-speaking wife, who asked to see photos of Jay’s parents and grandparents, and reasons for him making contact. Jay simply stated that he just wanted answers. After seeing the photos, the Queen later messaged Jay in WhatsApp: “You are a descendant of King Deka, 9th King of Allada who ruled from 1746 to 1765. We will be delighted to welcome you to your home, dear Prince.”
Jay flew to Benin. The family pictures he had sent to the queen were plastered on big blue posters hung throughout the airport. “Welcome to the kingdom of Allada, land of your ancestors,” the posters said. As he stepped outside, hundreds of people were dancing and playing instruments and singing. It was a welcome party for Jay.
Jay spent the next week learning local customs and visiting various sites and dignitaries. He was enthroned by the king, given white lace robes to signal he is a holy man, and several crowns. How incredible it was for this ordinary, everyday person to discover he was a part of a royal family![1]
Imagine if that happened to you! It would somehow not seem possible, to good to be true. It would seem all so surreal—wouldn’t it?! It would change your life, and bestow on you rights and privileges that you never thought you had.
Well, ordinary, everyday people—the Apostle Peter brings you the news: you belong to a royal family too. You are royalty. And we might think: “Well, OK, that’s a nice idea” or “that sounds good” without grasping the reality of it. But it’s true. That’s what the Bible says, doesn’t it? “Peter says: “You are a chosen people, a royal priesthood…”
Peter draws on the Old Testament, where God ordained Aaron and his sons to serve him as priests. Because God is a holy God from whom an unholy, sinful human race has separated themselves, no one can approach God and live. But God chose priests in the Old Testament, made them holy so that they could minister before him, and authorised them to offer sacrifices on behalf of the people, so that he would dwell with the Israelites and be their God (Exodus 29:45).
Aaron and his sons were to be brought to the entrance to the tent of meeting and washed with water. Aaron was to be dressed with special garments and anointed by pouring oil on his head. Two rams were to be sacrificed. The blood from the first was to be splashed against the altar. The blood from the second was to be used to mark Aaron and his sons as God’s priests. Then blood from the altar and some of the anointing oil was to be sprinkled on Aaron and sons and on their garments. In this ritual, the altar and the priests were made holy—that is, they were set apart, purified and anointed to do God’s work so that he could be present to his people with his blessing (Exodus 29). God had said: “So I will consecrate the tent of meeting and the altar and will consecrate Aaron and his sons to serve me as priests. Then I will dwell among the Israelites and be their God.” (Exodus 29:44-45).
Only the priests who had been made holy were to mediate between the holy God and his people. Ordinary Israelites could not offer their own sacrifices or approach God, who is holy, directly.
The role of the priests in mediating for the people before God culminated annually with the Day of Atonement. On that day, the High Priest was to take the blood of a goat and go behind the thick veil into the Holy of Holies where he would sprinkle the blood before God’s sight on the Mercy Seat, the golden lid of the Ark of the Covenant, bringing atonement for all the community’s sins. could enter the most Holy Place in the Tabernacle and later the Temple, bringing before God the blood of the sacrifice to cleanse the whole community from sin (Leviticus 16:30).
With the birth, death and resurrection of Christ, Christians no longer need a human priestly mediator—for there is now only one mediator between God and humankind, the Lord Jesus Christ (1 Timothy 2:5), who by his death is the once for all perfect sacrifice for sins. He is our great High Priest who has sprinkled a better blood than that of sacrificed animals; he is the Lamb of God who has purified his people by his own holy and precious blood. Through Jesus we have direct access to God and can boldly approach God’s throne of grace (Hebrews 4:16). Through Jesus, all Christians are now priests.
But notice that Peter introduces something that was never a part of the Old Testament priesthood: royalty! None of Aaron or his sons were kings. When God established the priesthood, Israel had no kings at that time. It was only centuries later that Israel’s monarchy was established. Yet Peter says that we are a royal priesthood.
The church is a royal priesthood not because of our performance or ability, because we are joined with Jesus who is both our High Priest and King. In Christ, the Kingdom of Heaven has come to us and reigns among us and within us. Luther explained that it is by virtue of baptism that all Christians are united with Christ the King and therefore royal priests. How fitting we should have a baptism this morning, for this is all true for Scarlett too, by God’s grace! And so it is true—you are royalty! You are like Jay Speitz, who, although ordinary, everyday people, are also truly of royal ancestry! You are not a prince in the kingdom of Benin. You are princes and princesses in a better kingdom than any earthly kingdom; the Kingdom of God whose Kingdom will never end, long after the grass withers and the flowers fade and the heavens and earth pass away.
Jesus brought the old covenant and priesthood with its various ceremonies to complete fulfillment. Jesus entered the Holy of Holies—Heaven itself—having sprinkled a better blood than that of animals, but his own holy and precious blood to make atonement for the communion of saints. When Jesus died the curtain of the Temple segregating the Most Holy Place was torn in two, opening the way to direct access with God.
As he did for Israel’s priests, God has washed you when he met with you, not in the entrance to the Tent of Meeting, but in the waters of baptism. As the priests of the Old were clothed in garments made holy by sprinkled blood, so too, you are made holy by the sprinkled blood of Jesus and clothed in Christ’s own righteousness. So as the Old Testament priests were anointed, God has anointed you not with oil on your head, but with the Holy Spirit, who descended upon you through water and the word and dwells within you so that you are the holy temple of God and might appear before him to offer spiritual sacrifices (1 Peter 2:5).
The writer to the Hebrews calls God’s people to “continually offer up a sacrifice of praise, the fruit of lips that give thanks to his name.” As God’s holy priests we are to declare the praises of him who called us out of darkness into his wonderful light. All Christians have the priestly duty to share the Word of God to those around them in daily life to tell others of what God has done for us. We are to give thanks to God for all his good gifts, and pray to him for his church, the government and all people. This includes our enemies, Jesus said (Matthew 5:44), meaning those who set themselves against Jesus and persecute his people for their faith, that they would instead come to trust Jesus and repent.
We make our confession of faith before the world, both in words but also in action as we come together to worship. This doesn’t only happen when we come to the church building for worship, for our whole life together as the holy communion of saints is to be a life of priestly service before God. We no longer offer animals to be sacrificed, for Paul said in Romans: “Therefore, I urge you, brothers and sisters, in view of God’s mercy, to offer your bodies as a living sacrifice, holy and pleasing to God—this is your true and proper worship. Do not conform to the pattern of this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind.” (Romans 12:1-2).
Imagine if what happened to Jay Speitz—that although he was an ordinary everyday person, yet discovered he had royal ancestry—happened to you. It would somehow not seem possible, to good to be true. It would seem all so surreal. It would change your life, and bestow on you rights and privileges that you never thought you had. Well it has! Peter declares that you are royal priests. Luther wrote:
“…just as you are not called ‘Christian’ because you have much gold or wealth, but because you are built upon this stone and believe on Christ, so you are not called a priest because you wear a tonsure or long robe, but for this reason, that you come into God’s presence. Likewise you are not a king because you wear a golden crown, and have many lands and people subject to you, but because you are lord over all things, death, sin, and hell. Therefore, it is as much as though he had said, “You are Christians”, when St. Peter says here, “you are a royal priesthood,” That you may proclaim the excellencies of Him who has called you out of darkness into his marvellous light. For your whole duty is discharged in this, that you confess what God has done for you; and then let this be your chief aim, that you may make this known openly, and call every one to the light, into which you have been called.” [2]Amen.
[1]Lang, Melissa ‘I’m a prince’: When an ordinary guy discovers he has royal blood’ Financial Review https://www.afr.com/world/im-a-prince-when-an-ordinary-guy-discovers-he-has-royal-blood-20190227-h1bs3u last accessed August 25, 2024 7:75am
[2] Mueller, John (1926) Five minutes daily with Luther—daily lessons from the writings of Martin Luther, MacMillan, New York