8 Aaron therefore went unto the altar, and slew the calf of the sin offering, which was for himself.

9 And the sons of Aaron brought the blood unto him: and he dipped his finger in the blood, and put it upon the horns of the altar, and poured out the blood at the bottom of the altar:

10 But the fat, and the kidneys, and the caul above the liver of the sin offering, he burnt upon the altar; as the Lord commanded Moses.

11 And the flesh and the hide he burnt with fire without the camp.

12 And he slew the burnt offering; and Aaron’s sons presented unto him the blood, which he sprinkled round about upon the altar.

13 And they presented the burnt offering unto him, with the pieces thereof, and the head: and he burnt them upon the altar.

14 And he did wash the inwards and the legs, and burnt them upon the burnt offering on the altar.

Aaron performed the sin and burnt offering for himself, but his sons did help slightly by presenting the blood of the animals to him so that he could sprinkle and spread it. This once again continues the pattern of hierarchy, training, and downward distribution of authority for the priest class.

But that is not all. By having even but one step of the ritual performed by Aaron’s sons, it was made clear that not even the High Priest could fully administer to himself. Man cannot clean himself, not wholly. He must be served by another for that, even if only for the washing of his feet. Yes, he may be a vessel to administer in the cleaning of others, but that only makes him a facilitator, not a causer. It was sacrifice and blood, ultimately of Jesus, and symbolically of the animal, that did the actual cleaning, and it was only distributed by the works of the priest.

Today, too, we must remain humble and recognize that on our own we are nothing. We might be the mouth that convicts of sin, the hands that command illness to leave, or the heart that shares forgiveness. But we are not the essence of conviction, healing, or mercy. They merely pass through us to others, and through others to us.