But this book, like the other 65 in the collection, is here for our benefit. Leviticus, like all of Scripture, is breathed out by God and useful for our instruction, correction, and training.

Even a casual reading of Leviticus will reveal an emphasis on clean and unclean. This not only applies to animals that can be eaten, but also people, buildings, and even clothing. Yet the priesthood being clean is of utmost significance, since they are the ones offering sacrifices on behalf of the people. The priest must be clean in order to offer the sacrifice. (Leviticus 8 and 16 outline the ritual washings that were necessary for the priesthood to be considered clean.)

Upon offering the sacrifice, the priest would then consume the sacrifice. So in the case of a sin offering, the animal would be slaughtered and offered on the altar – which is to say, it was cooked. It did depend on the type of offering, but most often, the priest (and his family) would then eat whatever was offered as a part of their daily sustenance. Since the Levites did not own land, they had no fields or farms, so this was one of the ways that God provided for the priests and their families – through the sacrifices offered for sin.

But a “common” person could not eat the sacrifice. The Levitical law also made that clear: “No one outside a priest’s family may eat the sacred offering” (Lev. 22:10). The ESV says, “A lay person shall not eat of a holy thing.” So only the priestly line could consume the sacrifice, and only those who were ceremonially clean within the priestly line could do so.

Holding your place in Leviticus, flip over in your mental Bible to the night that Jesus was betrayed. As he gathered with his disciples in the Upper Room to celebrate Passover (something he did each year), Jesus interrupted the normal sequence of events by doing two things: first, he got up from dinner (John is careful to note, “During supper…”), wrapped a towel around his waist, and washed the disciples’ feet. Second, as they were eating the Passover, Jesus instituted a new remembrance for the New Exodus. We call it, “the Lord’s Supper” or “Communion.” And as been said many times before, Jesus breathed new life into the Passover meal by taking what was already on the table - bread and wine - and giving them new significance: “This is my body…this is my blood…”

It would seem, though, that this isn’t all Jesus was doing at the Last Supper, because of everything we know about priests and sacrifices. If you read the account in John 13, you will see how much is made of clean and unclean in what Jesus says. He washes the feet of his disciples, but this is a symbolic washing - because their greatest problem was not dirty feet. Jesus tells them just two chapters later, “Already you are clean because of the word that I have spoken to you” (John 15:3). But this ceremonial cleansing tells us something important: Jesus is cleansing his priesthood. We know that in the Old Covenant, only the Levites could be priests. But here in the New Covenant, it’s as if Jesus is telling the disciples, “All of you are priests in this new covenant.” We don’t know what tribes the 12 disciples hailed from. It’s possible that Matthew was a descendant of Levi, given that he was also known by that very name. But for Jesus, in this new covenant, tribal ancestry doesn’t make you eligible for priesthood. Instead, he intends for all of his followers to also be his priests.

And so what does Jesus do after cleansing this priesthood? He gives them a symbol of his sacrifice: the bread and the cup, depicting his body and his blood. In the old covenant, only the priests could consume the sacrifices – and only the priests who were clean could do so. In the new covenant, the same rule applies: Jesus makes the priesthood clean and then instructs them to consume the sacrifice. In the new covenant, the “layman” and the priest are now one and the same.

So when we come to the table, we first remember Jesus’ sacrifice for us. That’s why we eat and drink “in remembrance” of him. But as we do, we must also remember our role as priests. He has cleansed us by his Word, he has consecrated us (or, set us apart) to live distinct lives in a crooked and twisted generation, and he has commissioned us to announce the Good News (the terms of the new covenant) to the world. It is through our ongoing communion with him – pictured in this small meal we partake in – that we can invite others to share in that communion as well.

It’s no wonder that Peter, who reclined at that table with Jesus, would one day write:

1 Peter 2:9

But you are a chosen race, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, a people for his own possession, that you may proclaim the excellencies of him who called you out of darkness into his marvelous light.

This priesthood is intended to announce that God can take anyone from darkness and bring them into his light. If you are in Christ, you are a priest in this new covenant: cleansed, consecrated, and commissioned. This meal reminds you of your mission.

Curry, Green, and Thompson may have gotten the headlines, but the 2015 Warriors didn’t win it all because of just three guys. Kerr led his team to embrace this philosophy: everyone has a role – and every role matters. He said, “Everybody matters. That’s the idea. That everybody’s collective effort matters and if everybody’s dialed in, we can get a lot of work done.”

Because of this, Coach Kerr gave significant playing time to guys who you probably have never heard of. Each member of the team knew their role, and the other members of the team validated it as important. In fact, for the first time in NBA history, a bench player – Andre Iguodala – won the NBA Finals MVP. Why? Strength in numbers.

When it comes to the local church, we would do well to observe these lessons – especially when these ideas originated in Scripture!

“Now you are the body of Christ, and each one of you is a part of it” (1 Cor. 12:27).

“So in Christ we, though many, form one body, and each member belongs to all the others” (Rom. 12:5).

Of course, at a theological level we know this is true. But functionally, what we believe is revealed in what we do. And if we’re honest, sometimes we believe that in order for any ministry to be accomplished, the pastors are going to have to get it done. Perhaps we’d never be that brazen to articulate these thoughts out loud! But our praxis may reveal exactly what we think about the other members in the Body.

In contrast, the principle that arises out of the Scripture is this: whatever God is going to do in the world, he will do through all of Christ’s people. Immediately some people from your local church may have just passed across the viewfinder of your mind. ALL of Christ’s people? Maybe I can agree with MOST of Christ’s people, or perhaps only MANY of Christ’s people – but not ALL.

Yet God’s purposes are clear: the whole Body is necessary, essential, and important. Some members are more visible, others are behind the scenes. And yet, everyone has a role - and every role is important. If our aim is missio Dei, do we really think that this task can be accomplished with just a handful of skilled preachers? Is it really God’s design that the task of world evangelization would be the preoccupation of a few apostles, prophets, evangelists, pastors, and teachers – while the rest of the Body looks on in awe and cheers them on?

In Acts 8, when persecution breaks out in Jerusalem (as a result of Stephen’s martyrdom), Luke records an interesting observation: “And all except the apostles were scattered throughout Judea and Samaria” (Acts 8:1b). The Apostles stayed home. We can admire them for “holding down the ship” and not wavering in the face of persecution. But everyone else – i.e., the non-Apostles – were scattered. Then Luke tells us: “Those who had been scattered preached the word wherever they went” (Acts 8:4). The Apostles stayed in Jerusalem, while the “ordinary” disciples – the rest of the Body – were scattered into Judea and Samaria, and as they went they preached the Word. They took the Gospel on the road! I am not here questioning the decision of the Apostles to hunker down in Jerusalem; I am only highlighting the reality that it was the rest of the Body, not the leadership, that God first used to fulfill Jesus’ promise in Acts 1:8, when he said, “You will be my witnesses…in Judea and Samaria.” Whatever God is going to do in the world, he will do through all of Christ’s people.

This is likely a corrective for us. It is so easy for us to share the deceptions of Corinth: that success is measured by the personality you follow (1 Corinthians 1:12ff) and it’s the superstars who are really getting the job done (see Paul’s words about “super-apostles” in 2 Corinthians 10-12). And so often, we engender that kind of personality attachment by placing the pastor (or pastors, or elders) at the center of the local church, and all the activity flows through them. But it’s hard to see this as anything other than turning the senior pastor into the New Testament equivalent of the Old Testament High Priest: all ministry goes through him.

But in order to give every man, woman, and child a clear and compelling Gospel encounter, it certainly is going to require more than just the pastors, more than the golden tongues, more than the Instagram-famous. It’s going to take each disciple of Jesus joining God on his mission. It’s going to take each disciple of Jesus owning their own sphere of influence – the people they encounter daily where they live, work, learn, and play. It’s going to take each disciple of Jesus, with their unique representation of the Spirit-gifts, living out the Gospel and talking out the Gospel. And it is the responsibility of leaders within the church to empower each disciple to recognize their role – and tell them that it matters.

Because whatever God is going to do in the world, he is going to do it through all of Christ’s people. There is strength in numbers.