Why We Need a Priest

One of the chief differences between the office of a prophet and a priest is that a prophet stands more intimately related to God as revealing Himself to man and a priest stands more intimately related to man as coming before God. Geerhardus Vos captured this well when he wrote, “A prophet . . . represents not man but God; therefore the nearer he stands to God the better he is qualified. A priest, on the other hand, represents man and his qualification is measured by his nearness to man.”