In 2013 I finished my dissertation, A Biblical-Theological Investigation of Christ’s Priesthood and Covenant Mediation with Respect to the Extent of the Atonement. While the theological question it answered pertained to the extent of the atonement, the bulk of its pages (nearly 400 of them) considered a biblical typology of priesthood from Genesis to Revelation. In subsequent years, I have written a occasionally on the subject.

• “Resurrection and Priesthood: Christological Soundings in the Book of Hebrews.” Southern Baptist Journal of Theology 18.4 (Winter 2014): 89–114.
• Nicholas G. Piotrowski and David S. Schrock, “‘You Can Make Me Clean’: The Matthean Jesus as Priest and the Biblical-Theological Results,” Criswell Theological Review 14.1 (Fall 2016): 3–14.
• “From Beelines to Plotlines: Typology That Follows the Covenantal Topography of Scripture,” The Southern Baptist Journal of Theology 21.1 (Spring 2017): 35–56.

But this year marks the first time I am picking up pen to publish on the subject. Under the banner of “If the Lord wills,” I have three (maybe four) writing assignments in the next 12 months.

• First, in the next edition of the SBJT, I am writing on Exodus 19:4–6 and how this key passage transforms the priesthood from a patriarchal assignment of firstborn sons to a legislated position in the nation of Israel.
• Then, at ETS I am offering a paper called “A Family of Royal Priests: Why the Priesthood of Believers Must Be ‘In Christ.'” This paper will engage with Andrew Malone’s fine work on the priesthood, God’s Mediators. In my review of his book, I suggested a weakness regarding his division of Christ’s priesthood and the new covenant priesthood of believers. In this paper, I will attempt to show how the priesthood of believers is united to Christ through the believers participation in the new covenant and identity in Christ. If you are at ETS this year, come join me for the paper.
• Third, I hope to submit an article to an undecided journal on what “mediator” (mesites) means in the book of Hebrews. This is something I wrote up a few years ago, but one that seems to fill a gap in the discussion about priesthood and mediation. If you know of any journals that would be interested in such a article, let me know :-)
• Fourth, I am under contract with Crossway to publish a book on the biblical theology of the priesthood in 2019. This book will fall in the Short Studies in Biblical Theology series. In preparation for that book, I am working on the three aforementioned articles. As it goes, my hope is to take the technical work in these previous studies to produce a more popular book on the priesthood.

All in all, I share these things to solicit prayer for these works and to mention that I will probably have an increasing number of blog posts on the priesthood in the next 9–12 months. Should you want to dialogue on this subject, please free to engage with these posts. The best theology and exegesis is done in community and I welcome any questions or insights you have on the subject.

Soli Deo Gloria, ds

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