Here are the royal servants of the King who serve at his pleasure and only by his matchless grace. But unlike Aaron the high priest, the Son of God was first crowned with thorns. Indeed, as King in heaven, he left his regal realm to live among kings and servants. Wearing the estate of sin and misery upon his brow, he took up his royal seat on the cross. There hung, and there we hail him as, the King of the Jews. For salvation came from that Jew for all who by faith would cling to his cross of glory.

Christ cleanses you. Christ clothes you. That’s what we’ve rejoiced to see in the shadows of the Levitical priesthood. By grace there’s more. Carrying on in our brief reflections from Leviticus 8, we notice that God though Moses the mediator crowns his high priest and his sons. One of the gifts of the priesthood is a crowning. Moses as mediator crowns Aaron and caps Aaron’s sons. Look at verses 9 and 13: “And he set the turban on his head, and on the turban, in front, he set the golden plate, the holy crown, as the Lord commanded Moses… And Moses brought Aaron’s sons and clothed them with coats and tied sashes around their waists and bound caps on them, as the Lord commanded Moses.”

When people graduate from school, they wear a cap and gown. It’s a special attire that fits the joyous and solemn occasion. Some ministers of the gospel wear a Geneva Gown, which shows similar respect for the office of preaching the Word. There’s something similar going on here.

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