In any religion a priest is a kind of “middleman” between the people and God (or gods). Priests of various religions are mentioned in the Bible.
Aaron, Moses’ brother, was Israel’s first high priest, and the priestly garments are described in Exodus 28–29 and Leviticus 8. Israel’s priesthood was connected with the Levites, Moses and Aaron’s tribe.
In the tabernacle and, later, at the temple in Jerusalem, the priests performed sacrifices and, on behalf of the people, confessed sin and thus reconciled God to His people.
In the New Testament, most of the priests were religious officials with no deep spirituality, and they worked to have Jesus executed.
Christians began to believe that not only was Jesus the final sacrifice for man’s sin (the “Lamb of God”) but also the ultimate Priest, making man right with God.
The letter to the Hebrews states this theme clearly (Heb. 7–10). The old system of sacrifices and priests is no longer needed. After the Jews’ temple was destroyed by the Romans in A.D. 70, the Jewish priesthood ended.
