Commentary on Leviticus
John Chrysostom (347–407)
And before the time of the prophets, when he wanted to show that sins received a much heavier penalty when they were committed by the priests than when they were committed by ordinary people, he commanded as great a sacrifice to be offered for the priests as for all the people. This explicitly proves that the priest's wounds require greater help, indeed as much as those of all the people together. They would not have required greater help if they had not been more serious, and their seriousness is not increased by their own nature but by the extra weight of dignity belonging to the priest who dares to commit them.
The washing which is common to all persons is that of the baths, which usually cleanses away the filth of the body. There is also the washing of the Jews, which is more solemn than that of the baths but much inferior to the bath of grace. While this [baptismal] bath cleanses bodily filth, it does not merely remove the uncleanness of the body but also that which clings to a weak conscience.
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