Leviticus 21 · a question people ask
Was a priest with a defect shut out?
The chapter names two things he may not do. He may not "approach to offer the bread of his God" (21:17), and "He shall not come near to the veil, nor come near to the altar" (21:23). It names what he keeps. He is still "of the offspring of Aaron the priest" (21:21), and "He shall eat the bread of his God, both of the most holy, and of the holy" (21:22). That was the priests' own food: of the most holy meal offering Leviticus says, "Every male among the children of Aaron shall eat of it" (Leviticus 6:18). The reason the chapter gives is the sanctuary: "that he may not profane my sanctuaries, for I am the LORD who sanctifies them" (21:23). The same word, defect, is used of animals in the next chapter: "you shall not offer whatever has a defect" (Leviticus 22:20). In the Gospels, "The lame and the blind came to him in the temple, and he healed them" (Matthew 21:14), and Jesus said, "when you make a feast, ask the poor, the maimed, the lame, or the blind" (Luke 14:13). None of these passages names Leviticus 21. Christians agree on what the chapter says in 21:22 and on Jesus' welcome in the Gospels. They read the two side by side in two main ways.
How Christians read it
Where Christians differ, Favor sets out the main views side by side and doesn't pick one.
A shadow pointing to Christ
Those who hold this view read the rule as part of what Hebrews calls "a copy and shadow of the heavenly things" (Hebrews 8:5). On this reading, the wholeness the altar asked of priest and offering alike (21:17; Leviticus 22:20) pointed to Christ, "who through the eternal Spirit offered himself without defect to God" (Hebrews 9:14), and through him "you who once were far off are made near in the blood of Christ" (Ephesians 2:13). Jesus' healing in the temple (Matthew 21:14) is read in that light.
Hebrews 8:5 · Hebrews 9:14 · Ephesians 2:13 · Matthew 21:14
A rule for the tabernacle's service
Those who hold this view read the rule by the reason the chapter itself gives, the holiness of the sanctuary (21:23), as Leviticus guarded it from uncleanness too (Leviticus 15:31). They stress what the law kept for the priest: his place among "the offspring of Aaron the priest" (21:21) and his share of the most holy food (21:22). They read Jesus' healing in the temple (Matthew 21:14) and his words about the feast (Luke 14:13, 14:21) on their own terms, as his welcome, without drawing a picture from this law.
Leviticus 21:21-23 · Leviticus 15:31 · Matthew 21:14 · Luke 14:13 · Luke 14:21
The verses
“Every male among the children of Aaron shall eat of it, as their portion forever throughout your generations, from the offerings of the LORD made by fire. Whoever touches them shall be holy.’””
“But you shall not offer whatever has a defect, for it shall not be acceptable for you.”
“The lame and the blind came to him in the temple, and he healed them.”
“But when you make a feast, ask the poor, the maimed, the lame, or the blind;”