Then Aaron lifted up his hands toward the people and blessed them, and he stepped down after making the sin offering and the burnt offering and the peace offerings. (Lev 9:22)
After completing the prescribed sacrifices, Aaron lifted his hands toward the people and blessed them. The Sages say that he blessed them with the words of the priestly benediction, "The LORD bless you, and keep you: the LORD make His face shine on you, and be gracious to you; the LORD lift up His countenance on you, and give you peace" (Num 6:24-26). One of the names given to this blessing is "the lifting of the hands" because in Temple times to fulfill the commandment, "So they shall invoke My name on the sons of Israel, and I then will bless them" (Num 6:27).
Yeshua indicated His entrance into His own high priesthood in the same way. After His death and resurrection, He led His disciples out onto the Mount of Olives as far as Bethany "And He lifted his hands and blessed them" (Luke 24:50). Just as Aaron concluded his first day officiating by lifting his hands and blessing the people, Messiah concluded his sacrifical mission by lifting His hands and blessing His disciples. By using the term "lifted up His hands," Luke makes it clear that Yeshua blessed them with the priestly benediction of Numbers 6:24-26.
In the Talmud, there is an interesting discussion on the lifting of the hands. The etiquette of the Temple required the congregation to look down when the priest lifted their hands out of respect for the name of God. The Talmud explains that when the priests lifted their hands in the Temple and blessed the people, the glory of God rested upon their hands. The custom was to avert one's eyes from the hands of the priest to avoid being blinded by the glory of God. One who stared at the priest's hands risked losing his eyesight. Because of this, the Sages prohibited a priest with deformities on his hands from performing the priestly benediction, lest the deformities distract the people receiving the blessing, causing them to look at the priest's hands. Therefore, a priest with deformed hands or even discolored hands was discouraged from offering the priestly benediction.
However, when Messiah lifted His hands to bless the disciples with the priestly benediction, the scars left behind by the nails were clearly visible. The scars of Messiah are testimony to the glory of God.
While Yeshua blessed His disciples, "He departed from them and was carried up into heaven" (Luke 24:51).
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2 comments:
consider 1 Timothy 2:8 Therefore I want men in every place to pray, lifting up holy hands, without wrath and dissension. NAS This has always been used by, and applied to charismatics and their worship, but possibly it just might have more to do with the priestly blessing so beautifully described in your post.
I was thinking the same thing before I read Sandi's comment. The lifting “up holy hands in prayer” can be interpreted to mean that Paul is telling us to bless GOD in our prayers or bless others in our prayers since it draws on the imagery of priests lifting up their hands to bless the people.
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