Sharon Reformed Presbyterian Church · Sermon study sheet

Aaron the high priest

Bryan Schneider · May 25, 2019

Exodus 6:28

sharonrpc.org/sermons/aaron-the-high-priest

Summary

Aaron's life addresses the sinner's unresolved guilt by showing both the necessity of mediation and the inadequacy of a sinful human priest.
Aaron speaks for Moses before Pharaoh, witnesses God's covenant presence at Sinai, and is appointed to Israel's high-priestly office.
His participation in the golden calf reveals that the priest himself is guilty and needs intercession and cleansing.
On the Day of Atonement Aaron must wash, wear holy garments, and offer sacrifice for himself before representing the people.
Repeated animal sacrifices and the scapegoat dramatize guilt, substitution, and removal of sin but cannot finally cleanse the conscience.
Jesus is the sinless, final high priest and sacrifice whose blood truly atones, cleanses guilt, and gives access to the Father.

What do I do with guilt after conscience exposes repeated sin?
Why can no sinful priest, moral achievement, or repeated ritual provide final cleansing?
What do Aaron's washing and sacrifice for himself reveal about approaching God's holiness?
How do the sacrifice and scapegoat together picture both payment for and removal of guilt?
Am I trusting Christ's finished atonement or trying to establish peace through my own holiness?

High priest: The representative appointed to enter the holy place with sacrifice on behalf of himself and the covenant people.
Atonement: God-appointed dealing with guilt through sacrifice so that sinful people may be reconciled to the holy God.
Scapegoat: The living goat symbolically bearing confessed sins away into the wilderness on the Day of Atonement.
Mediator: The representative who stands between God and sinners, perfectly and finally fulfilled in Jesus Christ.