When God set out to redeem his creation from the Fall, His ultimate purpose was to take what He had once created as good and to completely restore it to a state of sinless glory. His plan was that the entire universe would once again be free from sin and once again under His glorious and benevolent rule. Then He would hand that rule over to another, His only Son and Heir to the throne, who would rule over all things as King of kings and Lord of lords.

This morning we have gathered to worship Jesus Christ our Prophet, Priest and King. Perhaps, this morning the image of Jesus that is most easily called to mind is the image of Him as a newborn baby nestled in a manger. He didn’t come into this world in the majesty of a king; his birth was as humble as they come. He wasn’t born in Jerusalem, the Kings’ city, but in Bethlehem where the shepherds lived. At His birth, He traded a king’s robe for peasant rags.

This is definitely not the way you would expect the story to go for the Son of God and king of all the world to come into the world; but this will be the theme of His rule.

Isaiah 9:6 For to us a child is born, to us a son is given; and the government shall be upon his shoulder, and his name shall be called Wonderful Counselor, Mighty God, Everlasting Father, Prince of Peace.

Our King has to rescue the poor by becoming poor. He has come to heal the broken, the lame, the blind, and the outcast by being broken and cast out in our place. Jesus has come to rule with a heart for the lowly and with the desire to make sinners into sons.

Transition…

The story of Jesus’ rise to kingship is the story of the Bible and it is a progressive journey from the brokenness of the Garden to the glory of the cosmos restored; and on that day we will see Jesus in this way…

Rev 19:11 Then I saw heaven opened, and behold, a white horse! The one sitting on it is called Faithful and True, and in righteousness he judges and makes war. 12 His eyes are like a flame of fire, and on his head are many diadems, and he has a name written that no one knows but himself. 13 He is clothed in a robe dipped in blood, and the name by which he is called is The Word of God. 14 And the armies of heaven, arrayed in fine linen, white and pure, were following him on white horses. 15 From his mouth comes a sharp sword with which to strike down the nations, and he will rule them with a rod of iron. He will tread the winepress of the fury of the wrath of God the Almighty. 16 On his robe and on his thigh he has a name written, King of kings and Lord of lords.

But how does that story actually unfold? How do we get from the curse in the Garden to the restored rule of our resurrected King? That is the story that we will be studying this morning and it begins all the way back in the Garden with a promise from God.

Sermon Focus…

I. God Promised a King

Even before the fall in Genesis 3, we see something of God’s design for a King to rule over creation. He gave Adam and Eve the command to, “Be fruitful and multiply and fill the earth and subdue it, and have dominion over…every living thing that moves on the earth (Gen 1:28).” To have dominion means to rule, it means to exercise authority over the things that have been made. It was part of God’s plan for mankind that we rule God’s creation but instead we bowed our knee to sin and have been dominated by it ever since.

But in the promise of God to restore creation He made it clear that one day He would send a king to rule. In Genesis 12, God spoke to Abram and called Him to be the father of His people. He promised to give Abram a great name, to give him a great land, and to make his family a great nation. God also promised to give Abram a son and then He promised that through that son, one day God’s people would have a king. Soon a king would come!

They had their first opportunity during the period of the judges. At that point, Israel had taken possession of the Promised Land but they were being threatened by the surrounding nations. The theme of the book of Judges is what I call the cycle of stupidity. The cycle began with the people enjoying peace and God’s blessing, but then rebellion occurred and idolatry as well. They would be given over to bondage and then would cry out for mercy. He would hear and raise up a deliverer, a judge, to save them only to have the cycle repeat itself.

So, one by one God raised up judges to lead their armies, fight their enemies, and protect their land. But just a few cycles in and the people of Israel came up with a plan that they thought woulg keep them from falling into the hands of their enemies. In Judges 8:22-23, The people request that Gideon establish himself as their king.

Gideon had led their armies against the soldiers of Midian and had been victorious so the people want to exalt him as their king. But Gideon refused saying, “I will not rule over you, and my son will not rule over you; the Lord will rule over you.”

Gideon’s son Abimilech, did lead them as a judge for a short time but only in a small region and his rule was nothing like the king God had promised. But, God had promised and it wouldn’t be long now. Very soon a king would come!

II. Kings Come and Kings Go

It was Samuel who would serve as Israel’s final judge and near the end of his life the people begged him for a king. Like Gideon before him, Samuel wasn’t excited about the idea of appointing a king for the people. Of course, he knew that God had promised to send Israel a king but the problem was that they didn’t exactly want the kind of king that God had promised them.

The people demanded of Samuel, “Now appoint for us a king to judge us like all the nations.” Israel did not want a righteous king to come in and lead them in faithfulness to God, they wanted a champion king, a war-lord to rule and strike fear into their enemies. They did not want to be faithful to God’s covenant; they wanted to be like the other pagan nations around them.

The short rule of Saul…

In response, God tells Samuel, “Go ahead and appoint them a king…‘They have not rejected you, they have once again rejected me.” The period of the judges comes to a close when Saul is chosen to be king of Israel. But his place among the people of God would be short-lived.

Saul’s rule as king started well. He gave glory and credit to God for Israel’s victory over the Ammonites. But his first major blunder came in I Samuel 13 when he took upon himself the office of Priest. He disobeyed the command of God and he found out that his days as king were numbered. God wants His people to have a King, but only the right king will do.

David the improbable champion…

Enter David the one who would become the shepherd-king of God’s people. We first meet David in I Samuel 16 as the youngest son of a herdsman of Bethlehem, named Jesse. God sent Samuel, to anoint young David to be the future king of Israel and when that anointing took place the Spirit of God rushed upon David. This anointing would be put to the test in the very next chapter as David, the shepherd boy anointed king stood in the valley of Elah to face the giant, Goliath of Gath, the champion of the Philistine army.

For forty days this seemingly invincible man would come out into the valley between the two armies and he would mock Israel and defy their God, while the people of Israel trembled in fear. But, God’s anointed king, who appeared weak and insignificant, in his zeal for the glory of God he strides out into the valley to meet his enemy. ”He fights for the people knowing and trusting that the battle belongs to the Lord. David stands alone as the one in the place of the many, and through him God works salvation for His People.”[1]

David wasn’t a perfect king, but he foreshadows Christ more clearly than any other. Regardless of what some modern Christian authors might say about you and I taking on giants, we are not the heroes in this story. We are not David, we are Israel. Jesus is the true and better David whose victory becomes his people’s victory, though they never lifted a stone to accomplish it themselves.

David the father of the future Messianic king…

After his battle with Goliath David quickly became all the rage in Israel. The people made up songs about him and he was elevated to first place in their hearts even over Saul the reigning king. At the age of thirty, David took over in Israel as God’s anointed king and the favor of the Lord went with him in all of his efforts.

He led the army into battle against the Philistines and he defeated them to secure Israel’s borders. He captured Jerusalem from the Jebusites and made it his own capital city. He brought the Ark of the Covenant into the midst of the people and dreamed about building a grand sanctuary around it; but God said, “No!” God would not allow David’s blood-stained hands to build His temple, His house.

But this wasn’t God’s final word to David. In 2 Samuel 7 God made a covenant promise to David…

2 Samuel 7:8…I took you from the pasture, from following the sheep, that you should be prince over my people Israel. 9 And I have been with you wherever you went…And I will make for you a great name, like the name of the great ones of the earth. 10 And I will appoint a place for my people Israel…And I will give you rest from all your enemies. Moreover, the LORD declares to you that the LORD will make you a house. 12 When your days are fulfilled and you lie down with your fathers, I will raise up your offspring after you, who shall come from your body, and I will establish his kingdom. 13 He shall build a house for my name, and I will establish the throne of his kingdom forever. 14 I will be to him a father, and he shall be to me a son.

While David was a good king, He was not the King. God’s purpose was not fulfilled in David but would be fulfilled through David. The King that God will one day send to rule over His people will come from the tribe of Judah, from the line of David. He will build a house for God and His rule will last forever. This is God’s plan. Very soon now and Israel’s true king would come.

III. Our Promised King Arrives

David died in 971 B.C. and 1000 years had come and gone. But as the New Testament opens we hear that the promise made to David was about to come to pass. In Matthew 1 we see the genealogy of Christ that begins with Abraham, continues through David and results in Jesus. The entire New Testament is established on the fact that Jesus is the focal point of all redemptive history and He is the heir to the throne over God’s people.

In Luke’s gospel account, we read that not only is the genealogy in order for Christ to be the long-awaited king; but God sent a messenger (an Angel) to make it very plain who Jesus is. Look with me at Luke 1:26-35.

26 In the sixth month the angel Gabriel was sent from God to a city of Galilee named Nazareth, 27 to a virgin betrothed to a man whose name was Joseph, of the house of David. And the virgin’s name was Mary… 30And he came to her and said, “Do not be afraid, Mary, for you have found favor with God. 31 And behold, you will conceive in your womb and bear a son, and you shall call his name Jesus. 32 He will be great and will be called the Son of the Most High. And the Lord God will give to him the throne of his father David, 33 and he will reign over the house of Jacob forever, and of his kingdom there will be no end… The Holy Spirit will come upon you, and the power of the Most High will overshadow you; therefore the child to be born will be called holy—the Son of God.

The King that God had promised His people had almost arrived. He was in the womb, a miracle in itself, because this king was the very Son of God, conceived by the Holy Spirit. But even before He was born He had a name, “you shall call his name Jesus, for he will save his people from their sins (Matt 1:21).”

Jesus was a very common name among Jewish males in the first century; the 4th most popular name behind Simon, Joseph and Judah. If you grew up in first-century Palestine, odds are you would have known a boy named Jesus.

But the reason this name was so popular was that it meant something wonderful? Jesus is the Greek equivalent of the Hebrew name Joshua and Joshua is the combination of two words that when put together mean, “Yahweh Saves.” This little boy, born of a virgin, conceived by the Holy Spirit, bore the name “Yahweh Saves.” God had saved Israel in the past and the day was approaching when He come and save them again, for good.

Thirty years pass and the name Jesus of Nazareth is well known throughout Israel. He had proven Himself to be a prophet, mighty in word and deed. He had proven Himself to be a faithful teacher of God’s word. He had declared Himself to be the Son of God and if you had ears to hear, He claimed to be the long-awaited hope of Israel, their promised Messiah and King.

In Luke 19 God’s promised King is standing on the doorstep of Jerusalem. The King to end all kings had made His way to the city but more importantly all of history has been leading up to this moment when the Son of God would enter the city where He will rescue fallen humanity from sin.

The people of Israel have been hoping for God to raise up a King to lead their nation out of oppression and into freedom and prominence. They have prayed for such a king, longed for such a king and God has indeed sent them a king. But his posture is not what they expected. Jesus hasn’t come as a warrior King firing arrows into enemy lines, instead He has come as a humble prophet whose words pierce people’s hearts. Israel expected a conquering king and God sent them a sacrificial savior.

As the disciples complete the final leg of their journey into Jerusalem, the city of Kings, they are not prepared for how this journey will end. Their sights are set on a throne but Jesus is focused on the mercy seat. They expect that they would soon see Jesus wearing a crown of gold but in just a few short days they will see Him wearing a crown of thorns. The disciples are filled with hope on Sunday as Passover week is set to get underway, but by the end of the week they will be filled with grief and fear. But make no mistake…their King had finally arrived.

Before He goes in, Jesus tells His disciples to go and get him a donkey. Now, why does Jesus want to ride the last mile and half on a donkey? He has been walking for three years and now all of a sudden, He wants a donkey? This request has to do with fulfilling prophecy. In fact, almost everything we see in the triumphal entry has to do with fulfilling prophecy.

The prophet Zechariah let us know that when the Messiah came, one of the identifying marks would be that He will come into the city of Jerusalem in a unique way,

Zech 9:9 Rejoice greatly, O daughter of Zion! Shout aloud, O daughter of Jerusalem! Behold, your king is coming to you; righteous and having salvation is he, humble and mounted on a donkey, on a colt, the foal of a donkey.

So, Jesus’ riding in on this colt is actually fulfilling an OT prophecy made about Him. Five hundred years before Jesus arrived in the city, Zechariah predicted that the messiah would come in this way, and here He is for all to see. The King to rule all kings wouldn’t come on a great white stallion, but on a colt, the foal of a donkey.

Jesus is no ordinary king. He is humble and gentle, willing to set aside His Kingly right in order to take on the role of a sacrificial servant. Jesus comes as our king and then He humbles himself to be our servant. This is a picture of the gospel to us. When we sin against our God, we are doing the opposite of what Jesus does here. When we sin against God, we are like servants trying to put ourselves in the place of the king. We have no right and no authority to rebel against our creator but we do.

But when Jesus came He flipped the script. He came as our king but He put himself in the servant’s place. So that He could die for our sin and rescue us from ourselves.

35 And they brought it (the colt) to Jesus, and throwing their cloaks on the colt, they set Jesus on it. 36 And as he rode along, they spread their cloaks on the road.

In 2 Kings 9:13, the men of Israel took off their outer garments (cloak) and laid them on the ground for Jehu the newly anointed king of Israel to walk over. This might seem like an obscure bit of OT history but to the disciples this is an honor afforded to a king in celebration of his anointing.

37 As he was drawing near—already on the way down the Mount of Olives—the whole multitude of his disciples began to rejoice and praise God with a loud voice for all the mighty works that they had seen, 38 saying, “Blessed is the King who comes in the name of the Lord! Peace in heaven and glory in the highest!”

Jesus is riding on a donkey, His disciples are laying their garments on the ground in front of Him, and now the people are singing and celebrating the coming of the King. This phrase, “blessed is He who comes….” is taken directly from Psalm 118, which is a Messianic psalm, and it means that this crowd is acknowledging Jesus to be the Messiah.

Jesus is being welcomed into the city as the promised Son of David and this title is known by all of the Jews to refer to the ultimate King, the promised and final King, the Messiah. Jesus is the rightful king of Israel but His ruling crown will have to wait.

IV. Christ Our King Returns

As our great High Priest (Heb 4:14) Jesus had another task to complete; to offer the sacrifice that would atone for our sin. He was that sacrifice. He was our true Passover lamb. He entered the Holy Place to offer His own blood as atonement and He poured it out upon the mercy seat…every last drop.

The king we needed was not the king we deserved. He came to die and by his death he bought our freedom. In Heaven, they sing a song about Jesus,

Rev 5:9…“Worthy are you to take the scroll and to open its seals, for you were slain, and by your blood you ransomed people for God from every tribe and language and people and nation, 10 and you have made them a kingdom and priests to our God, and they shall reign on the earth.”

Today, Christ rules as our king from Heaven and His rule is a spiritual one. His rule is grounded in his work of redemption and all who believe in Christ are citizens of His kingdom. He rules over the church as our Savior, He reigns in the hearts of His people by the Holy Spirit, He governs His people by His Word, and the day is coming when our king will return to rule over all the earth in glory.

Conclusion…

The day is coming when a window will open in the sky and the white war horse of heaven will come bearing the One who is, Faithful and True, whose name is King of kings and Lord of lords.

This morning we find ourselves living in the time in between Christ’s first and second coming. The King Has Come and His Return is Imminent.

He is coming again, as the king over all kings. King of Israel, king of all the nations, king of nature and the universe.

Until he comes again, there is a day of amnesty and forgiveness and patience. His posture now is humble and meek riding upon a donkey; at his return, he will sit atop a white war horse holding in his hand a rod of iron. He is ready to save all who receive him as Savior and who worship Him as King.

Which King will you have?

[1][1] G. Goldsworthy, According to Plan pg. 166.

December 17, 2017

Justin Wheeler

Prophet Priest & King

Christ our Great High Priest

December 17, 2017

Justin Wheeler

Prophet Priest & King

Series: Prophet, Priest, and King

Speaker: Pastor Justin Wheeler

Scripture: H ebrews 4:14-1 6

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Hebrews 10:11 And every priest stands daily at his service, offering repeatedly the same sacrifices, which can never take away sins.

Have you ever considered what it was like to spend a day as a priest in Jerusalem? If you were a Jewish priest in active service at the temple, then your day began before the sun came up. You would gather with the other priests on duty and cast lots to decide which tasks you would perform on that day. You might be filling the bronze lavers with water or maybe preparing the altar for the sacrifices to come. You might be stationed at the gates, which opened at 9 am, or maybe you would blow the silver trumpets to announce the beginning of the morning service.

Of course, there was a possibility that your day had a bloodier start to it. Each morning a sacrificial lamb was slain and then salt was sprinkled on the sacrifice. Someone had to make sure the lamps were trimmed, the incense needed to be filled, burnt offering was given, the drink offering was poured out and then the trumpets were blown again. The morning service would come to an end with the singing of the Psalm of the day presented by singers (Levites) and this would be accompanied with the playing of instrumental music.

An evening service, much like this would begin at 2:30 pm and this meant you had a few hours before you would be doing this all over again. But and in between the two daily services the people were allowed to come and offer private sacrifices or offerings as needed. If you were a priest of God this was your routine every single day but there were also special days like the Sabbath. There were special feasts and celebrations, each requiring careful attention on the part of the priests. There were even some functions that only the high priest could perform, like entering into the most holy place, which was the highest honor a priest could ever hope to receive.

The responsibilities of the priests included making the sacrifices and performing the ritual of the sanctuary, burning the incense along with their intercession in the Holy Place, and teaching the people the laws and the ritual (Deut. 33:9,10; Mal. 2:7). According to the writer of Hebrews, these services took place day in and day out, the sacrifices were offered over and over; but at the end of the day sin remained (Heb 10:11).

Something needed to change and with the coming of Christ it did change. Jesus brought an end to this priestly system. He even brought an end to the temple that housed the priestly operations. He did this by stepping into the priestly role himself offering the single sacrifice of His own body as atonement for the sins of all those who believe. When His task was completed He rendered this entire priestly system obsolete and He took up the office of Our Great High Priest.

Hebrews 4:14 Since then we have a great high priest who has passed through the heavens, Jesus, the Son of God, let us hold fast our confession. 15 For we do not have a high priest who is unable to sympathize with our weaknesses, but one who in every respect has been tempted as we are, yet without sin. 16 Let us then with confidence draw near to the throne of grace, that we may receive mercy and find grace to help in time of need.

Transition…

In the Old Testament, God established three offices to operate within the nation of Israel; Prophets, Priests and Kings. These offices were put in place to function in the lives of the people and to help them have an ongoing relationship with God. But one of the things we learn in the New Testament is that these offices were also put in place to foreshadow the day when God’s Son would take up each of those offices on behalf of His people. The writer of Hebrews refers to the function of those three offices in the Old Testament as mere shadows and He refers to Christ as their fulfillment.

This is one of the primary points of the book of Hebrews; to show us that in the unfolding of God’s plan of salvation a radical change has taken place with the coming of Jesus. Within God’s plan for the redemption of His people a shift has occurred from the Old to the New, from promise to fulfillment, from shadow to substance.

Jesus has taken over the priestly office and has assumed the role of our Great High Priest and our task this morning is to understand the shift that has taken place. To do that we are going to learn 2 truths about Jesus as our High Priest, 2 ways that we respond to Jesus as our High Priest, and 1 promise made sure by Jesus our High Priest.

Sermon Focus…

I. 2 Truths about Jesus, Our Great High Priest (V. 14)

V. 14 Since then we have a great high priest who has passed through the heavens, Jesus, the Son of God…

The first thing I want us to see in this verse is that Jesus is our High Priest but He didn’t come into that role in the conventional way. The high priest was distinguished from other priests by the roles and responsibilities that fell to him, but also by his family lineage. The priesthood traced its lineage back to Aaron and through Aaron’s sons. If you were part of that family line then you were eligible to serve as a priest. The high priests came from the line of Zadok, Aaron’s grandson and this was the established pattern up until the time of the exile.

Each High Priest was supposed to be able to be able to trace his lineage back to the High Priestly families, but from the exile onward, the high priests were often appointed by rulers and at times the office could be attained for a sum of money.[1] This led to much corruption within the priesthood and the regular operation of the temple, which Jesus addressed during his ministry (Luke 19:46). The High Priests major responsibilities were to make atonement in the Holy of Holies on the Day of Atonement, to officiate in the Temple, and (at certain times) to preside over the Sanhedrin.

Now, we just read in Hebrew 4:14 that Jesus is our Great High Priest but He is not a son of Aaron, He is the Son of God. He came into this role in an unconventional way. Obviously, as the Son of God He can have and do whatever He wants but don’t forget that He is also a Son of Man. Jesus’ lineage is two-fold, divine and human and one of the question that we should ask is how can a nobody from the tribe of Judah become High Priest, or better yet our Great High Priest?

To answer this question, we need to talk about a priest named Melchizedek. First of all, Jesus is not from the priestly line of Aaron, instead His human lineage follows the kingly line of David, which we will talk about more next week. But, Jesus’ entry into the priesthood didn’t come from His human genealogy, it came by divine appointment.

Heb 5:1 For every high priest chosen from among men is appointed to act on behalf of men in relation to God, to offer gifts and sacrifices for sins…4 And no one takes this honor for himself, but only when called by God, just as Aaron was.

5 So also Christ did not exalt himself to be made a high priest, but was appointed by him who said to him,

“You are my Son, today I have begotten you”;

6 as he says also in another place,

“You are a priest forever, after the order of Melchizedek.”

7 In the days of his flesh, Jesus offered up prayers and supplications, with loud cries and tears, to him who was able to save him from death, and he was heard because of his reverence. 8 Although he was a son, he learned obedience through what he suffered. 9 And being made perfect, he became the source of eternal salvation to all who obey him, 10 being designated by God a high priest after the order of Melchizedek.

Now, I’m certain that most of you didn’t come to church this morning wondering, “I sure hope Pastor Justin helps me understand that guy Melchizedek?” but this is a very important point in the discussion about Jesus’ priesthood and it ties in with this mysterious character from Abraham’s past. Melchizedek was the king of Salem and a priest of the Most High God; he held both of these offices. He met Abraham in Genesis 14 after the battle to rescue Lot from the five kings. Melchizedek met Abraham with bread and wine and blessed him and then Abraham gave him a tenth of all that he had.

That is all that we know of Melchizedek until Psalm 110, which is both a royal Psalm because it deals with David’s kingly line but it is also a Messianic Psalm. But the really odd thing about Psalm 110 is that it connects the kingly line of David (Jesus lineage) to the priestly line of Melchizedek. Then later in Zechariah (3 & 6) we see a vision where God sends His servant and this servant is called the righteous Branch.

Zech 6: 12 ‘Thus says the Lord of hosts, “Behold, the man whose name is the Branch…13 It is he who shall build the temple of the Lord and shall bear royal honor, and shall sit and rule on his throne. And there shall be a priest on his throne, and the counsel of peace shall be between them both.” ’ 14 And the crown shall be in the temple of the Lord

So what does all of this mean? Melchizedek is important for two reasons: He is a priest of God from outside the line of Aaron and in him we see a pattern of one who would serve as both a priest and a king. This means that God’s plan has always been to bring together, through His Anointed Servant, the two offices of Priest and King and these offices would be held by the Messiah permanently.

The Old Covenant priesthood was intended to be temporary because it was just ‘a copy and shadow of the heavenly things (Heb 8:5).’ When God gave Moses the instructions for the temple and the instructions for the priesthood, He gave him only the earth scale model of what was truly taking place in Heaven. The earthly priests were acting out a ritual that would eventually be played out in Heaven itself.

When the High Priest would go into the Holy Place to make sacrifices and offerings for the people, he was simply acting out what Jesus would eventually do when He passed through the Heavens. The OT High Priest came before the earth scale model of the Throne of God, but Jesus went before the actual Throne of God and He is there now, constantly reminding the Father of the sacrifice that He made for us and constantly praying to the Father on our behalf.

Brothers and sister, “we have a great high priest who has passed through the heavens, Jesus, the Son of God.” We also have a Great High Priest who understands our humanity in ways that make him sympathetic to our weaknesses because He lived on earth in the flesh and during that time He experienced all of the temptations that we face, but He was without sin (V. 15)

Brother/Sister Jesus knows what it is like to be tempted to sin. In fact, He knows more about facing and overcoming temptation than you and I ever will. We face temptations and there are times we overcome but far too often we fail and give in. Our capacity to battle temptation is small compared to His. He has faced every temptation that we have but He never gave in to them, which means that His capacity to sympathize with us is greater than we can imagine and if we will look at God’s word we will see His sympathy in action.

Think about Jesus’ sympathy for the woman caught in adultery in John 8. Why didn’t He call for her to be stoned? Why didn’t He pick up the stones Himself? For one, He felt sorrow (sympathy) for her. He understood the temptation that she had given in to and rather than condemn her, He felt compassion for her and He did what only a great High Priest could do; He brought her case before His Father.

Do you realize that right at this moment Jesus is serving as your Great High Priest in Heaven. He is sitting at the father’s side asking Him to show you mercy and grace. When you are being tempted to sin, Jesus is fighting for you before the throne of God. When you fail and give in to that temptation, Jesus is ready to forgive you and cleanse your sin away. Right now, He is sitting at God’s right hand reminding the Father of His sacrifice for you and praying that the Father would restore you and give you new mercy and fresh grace.

And because He lived on this earth in the flesh Jesus knows the sorrow that sin brings. He knows the pain that sin leaves behind. He knows the guilt that you bear from past sins and the anxiety you face in your present struggles. He not only faced the temptations that we face, He also lived with sinners. He may not know our grief first-hand but He sat with those whose lives had been destroyed by sin. He ministered to those whose families were torn apart by sin. He comforted people who had to live with the fact that their sin had brought pain and heartbreak to people they loved.

Jesus knows and He cares. Jesus is the great High Priest that God planned to give to His people. He is the priest who lives forever, divinely appointed to offer the once-for-all sacrifice to atone for our sin. He is at God’s right hand and will remain there for eternity whispering prayers in the Father’s ear on our behalf.

But what does this mean for you and me? It means that we should hold fast to our confession of Jesus as our Savior and we should draw near to the throne of God with confidence.

II. 2 ways that we respond to Jesus our Great High Priest (V. 14 &16)

Since then we have a great high priest who has passed through the heavens, Jesus, the Son of God, let us hold fast our confession… (and)16 Let us then with confidence draw near to the throne of grace, that we may receive mercy and find grace to help in time of need.

First, we respond to the news of Jesus as our High Priest by holding fast to our confession. This means that we don’t abandon our faith in Christ as the Son of God who saves us from our sin. We stay faithful. We keep trusting His gospel and we keep believing His promises. Why would we turn away from this Great High Priest?

The author of Hebrews is writing this letter to Jewish Christians who are being tempted to abandon Christianity and run back to Judaism. They were being tempted to go back to the system of sacrifices and laws that they had known all their lives. They weren’t sure if Jesus would truly save them and bring them to God.

But the whole point of this book is to show us that Jesus is better. Jesus is the One that God has been pointing us to ever since Genesis 3. He is the Savior that God promised and the Savior that has come. He truly brings us to God as the fulfillment of God’s eternal plan of salvation and because of that he urges us to hold on to our confession of Jesus as Savior and Lord.

Don’t be ashamed of Jesus. Don’t abandon the hope He gives you. Don’t seek some other way to deal with your sin or your temptation. Don’t seek another priest, but Hold Fast to Jesus and with confidence draw near to the throne of grace. We should hold fast and draw near because everything that was required for our salvation has been provided. We have no reason to fear and no reason to turn back.

Heb 10:12 When Christ had offered for all time a single sacrifice for sins, he sat down at the right hand of God…14 For by a single offering he has perfected for all time those who are being sanctified.

Let me try to put this into perspective for us by imagining what it was like to try and approach God before the coming of Jesus.

(Illus… May I Go In There?[2]

Imagine with me a Moabite of old gazing down upon Jerusalem and the Tabernacle of Israel from some lofty hillside. This Moabite is attracted to what he sees so he descends the hill and makes his way toward the Tabernacle.

He walks around this high wall of dazzling linen until he comes to a gate and at the gate, he sees a man. “May I go in there?” he asks, pointing to the gate where all the bustle of activity in the Tabernacle’s outer court can be seen.

“Who are You?” demands the man suspiciously.

“I’m from Moab,” the stranger replies.

“Well, I’m very sorry, but you can’t go in there. You see, it’s not for you. The Law of Moses has barred the Moabite from any part in the worship of Israel until his tenth generation.”

The Moabite looks so sad and said, “Well, what would I have to do to go in there?”

“You would have to be born again,” the gatekeeper replies. “You would have to be born an Israelite, of the tribe of Judah, or of the tribe of Benjamin or Dan.”

“Oh, I wish I had been born an Israelite,” the Moabite says and as he looks again, he sees one of the priests, having offered a sacrifice at the brazen altar and the priest cleansed himself at the bronze laver and then the Moabite sees the priest enter the Tabernacle’s interior. “What’s in there?” asks the Moabite. “Inside the main building, I mean.”

“Oh,” the gatekeeper says, “That’s the Tabernacle itself. Inside it contains a lampstand, a table, and an altar of gold. The man you saw was a priest. He will trim the lamp, eat of the bread upon the table and burn incense to the living god upon the golden altar.”

“Ah,” sighs the Moabite, “I wish I were an Israelite so that I could do that. I would so love to worship God in there and help to trim the lamp and offer Him incense and eat bread at that table.”

“Oh, no, the gatekeeper hastens to say, “even I could not do that. To worship in the holy place one must not only be born an Israelite, one must be born of the tribe of Levi and of the family of Aaron.”

The man from Moab sighs again, “I wish that I had been born of Israel of the tribe of Levi of the family of Aaron,” and then, as he gazes wistfully at the closed Tabernacle door, he says, “What else is in there?”

“Oh, there’s a veil. It’s a beautiful veil I’m told and it divides the Tabernacle in two. Beyond the veil is what we call ‘the Most Holy Place’… ‘the Holy of Holies.’”

“What’s in the Holy of Holies?” the Moabite asks.

“Well, there’s the sacred chest in there and it’s called the Ark of the Covenant. It contains holy memorials of our past. Its top is gold and we call that the mercy seat because God sits there between the golden cherubim. Do you see that pillar of cloud hovering over the Tabernacle? That’s the Shekinah glory cloud. It rests over the mercy seat,” said the gatekeeper.

Again, a look of longing comes over the face of the Moabite man. “Oh,” he said, “if only I were a priest! How I would love to go into the Holy of Holies and gaze upon the glory of God and worship Him there in the beauty of His holiness!’

“Oh no!” said the man at the gate. “You couldn’t do that even if you were a priest! Only the high priest can enter the Most Holy Place. Only he can go in there. Nobody else!”

The heart of the man from Moab yearns once more. “Oh,” he cried, “If only I had been born an Israelite, of the tribe of Levi, of the family of Aaron. If only I had been born a high priest! I would go in there every day! I would go in there three times a day! I would worship continually in the Holy of Holies!”

The gatekeeper looked at the man from Moab again and once more shook his head. “Oh no,” he said, “you couldn’t do that! Even the high priest of Israel can go in there only once a year, and then only after the most elaborate preparations and even then only for a little while.”

Sadly, the Moabite turned away. He had no hope in all the world of ever entering there!

Therefore, brothers, since we have confidence to enter the holy places by the blood of Jesus, by the new and living way that he opened for us through the curtain, that is, through his flesh, and since we have a great priest over the house of God, let us draw near with a true heart in full assurance of faith (Hebrews 10:19-22).

Here it is, a tremendous word of welcome, extended to Jew and Gentile alike, to come on in and worship, not in the holiest place of the human tabernacle, but into the Holy of Holies in heaven itself "by the blood of Jesus."

Conclusion…

We don’t have to stand outside the temple any more. We can go right in to the very throne of God and we will find that it is a throne of grace. Because of Jesus, God’s throne of judgment has become to us a throne of grace. As believers in Christ, when we approach God we will find there mercy and grace to help in our time of need.

So, draw near to Christ today and confess your sin and your need of Him. Hold fast to Christ today knowing that if you hope in Him your hope will not fail you.

[1] From the Talmud (Talmud Jer. Ioma, I.), “In the first Temple, the high-priests served, the son succeeding the father, and they were eighteen in number. But in the second Temple they got the high-priesthood for money.”

[2] This is taken from an illustration in John Phillips' Exploring Hebrews commentary

December 10, 2017

Justin Wheeler

Prophet Priest & King

The Work of Christ our Prophet

December 10, 2017

Justin Wheeler

Prophet Priest & King

Series: Prophet, Priest, and King

Speaker: Pastor Justin Wheeler

Scripture: H ebrews 1:1-3

Manuscript PDF

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1 Long ago, at many times and in many ways, God spoke to our fathers by the prophets, 2 but in these last days, he has spoken to us by his Son, whom he appointed the heir of all things, through whom also he created the world. 3 He is the radiance of the glory of God and the exact imprint of his nature, and he upholds the universe by the word of his power. After making purification for sins, he sat down at the right hand of the Majesty on high, 4 having become as much superior to angels as the name he has inherited is superior/more excellent than theirs.

Here in this opening paragraph to the book of Hebrews we are introduced to Jesus and since we are gathered here to worship Him this morning I thought it would be a good idea for us to try and understand what this text says about Him. Working backward from verse 4, we learn that Jesus is superior to, He is greater than the angels and the name that He has inherited is more exceptional than theirs. The word “superior/better” is used 13 times in Hebrews to compare Jesus to what went before Him. That Jesus is better is a key theme of this book and here at the start, God wants us to know that Jesus is much superior to the angels. As powerful and amazing as the angels are, Jesus is better.

In verse 3, we learn that He has taken his seat at the right hand of God’s throne. Jesus sits on a throne in the place of chief honor beside the Majesty on high. In other words, Jesus is sitting in the throne room that governs the universe and He is the king in waiting who rules over all. This position, this title was His by right, as the Son of God, but He also claimed it when He accomplished the task given to Him. He was given the task of making purification for sin.

The sin that entered the world through the Garden, the sin that spread through the hearts of every generation of mankind, the sin that separates us from God, the sins of all God’s people; by Jesus work on the cross that sin has been cleansed, washed away. He provided the remedy for our defilement by offering up His own life to set us free.

In the middle of verse 3, we learn that by His command the universe stays in place, the stars continue to burn and shine, the planets continue in their orbiting course and life as we know it is sustained. Jesus is the strong nuclear force (ie. The nuclear glue) holding the nucleus of atoms together and if He were to let them go, the universe would dissolve in a moment.

If you could look upon His face, you would find yourself looking into the face of God. If you tried to look upon Him, you would have to shield your eyes to see beyond the shining glory of God that radiates from Him like the consuming fire of the sun in its full strength. He is the radiance of the glory of God.

He was the construction supervisor for the creation of the universe and He is set to inherit the very universe that He made. When you hear Him speak, you are hearing the voice of God and His voice is the final and definitive voice.

As we look at this passage we see a handful of wonderful truths about Jesus but there is something in particular that I want to discuss with you this morning. In this passage, we also see a three-fold description of the work of Jesus as a Prophet, Priest and King. He is the prophet through whom God has spoken His final word; He is the priest who has accomplished a perfect work of cleansing for His people’s sins; and He is the King who sits enthroned in the place of honor alongside God the Father.

Transition…

Over the next few weeks, I want us to focus on Christ’s fulfillment of these three roles and this morning we are going to learn about His role as the final Prophet of God.

Sermon Focus…

In the OT, prophets priest and king were three separate offices that God established and these offices served as mediators between God and the people of God. The prophets spoke the Word of God to the people, the priest offered sacrifices, prayers and even praises to God for the people, and the king ruled over the people as a representative of God. At times there were faithful prophets, priests, and kings; and as we know there were also wicked ones who failed in their office. But each of these offices foreshadowed the One who was to come. The One who would execute these offices with finality; that’s where Jesus comes into this discussion.

In Christ, these three offices come together and are fulfilled. As our Prophet, Jesus speaks the Word of God to us and He also reveals God to us. As our Priest, Jesus offers Himself as a sacrifice to God for us that ends all sacrifices. As our King, Jesus rules over the church and all of creation.

Let’s look at His role as Prophet.

I. God Has Spoken to Us in His Son (V. 2)

As we open our Bibles we learn very quickly that our God speaks. In Genesis 1, we learn that He spoke creation into existence. God’s word is powerful and true and this is a theme throughout the book.

Psalm 33:6 By the word of the LORD the heavens were made, and by the breath of his mouth all their host. 7 He gathers the waters of the sea as a heap; he puts the deeps in storehouses. 8 Let all the earth fear the LORD; let all the inhabitants of the world stand in awe of him! 9 For he spoke, and it came to be; he commanded, and it stood firm.

Our God speaks and things happen; but He also speaks to men and He speaks to His people through those men called prophets. Moses was the first prophet of God and after him there was a line of prophets all the way to Malachi in the OT and then John the Baptist in the NT. These prophets were anointed by God with the Holy Spirit and they spoke or wrote God’s message to God’s people.

But there was a lingering promise that came through Moses, about a special prophet that God would send one day.

Deut 18:15 “The Lord your God will raise up for you a prophet like me from among you, from your brothers—it is to him you shall listen…18 I will raise up for them a prophet like you from among their brothers. And I will put my words in his mouth, and he shall speak to them all that I command him.

Fast forward to the New Testament and you see that people are discussing whether or not Jesus is that prophet. The woman at the well discovered that Jesus was a prophet when he told her everything that she had ever done. The people were trying to figure out who Jesus was and they guessed, “Some say you are John the Baptist, other say Elijah or Jeremiah or one of the prophets (Matt 16:14).” But Peter puts all the questions to rest in Acts 3 when He reminds the people of Moses’ promise and declares that Jesus is the one who fulfilled that promise.

Jesus is a prophet of God, the greatest of the prophets and He was also more than a prophet. He is the One prophet that all the other prophets were pointing to. He is the One prophet who fulfills all the promises and prophecies that God ever gave to His people. He is the One prophet who not only speaks the Word of God but who is the Word of God.

John 1:1 In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God.

Jesus was not only a messenger bringing revelation from God, He was the source of revelation from God (Grudem 626) and we see this even in the Sermon on the Mount when Jesus says, “Truly I say to you.” Jesus uses this phrase all the time and when He does He is drawing our attention to His authority not simply as a messenger of God but as the Son of God.

When Old Testament prophets spoke a word of prophecy to the people they would introduce it with the phrase, “Thus saith the Lord” and this showed that they weren’t speaking on their own authority, they were speaking on the authority of God. God was speaking through them.

Jesus uses a different phrase, “Truly, I say to you…” He is a prophet like no other because He doesn’t simply speak for God, He speaks as God. He is a faithful witness to God’s truth, because He is God’s Word in the flesh.

But why was it necessary for God to send us His Word in the flesh? Why were the prophets of Old not enough? To answer this question I want us to take a theological tour.

II. Munus Triplex – The Three-Fold office and the Triple Cure

It was John Calvin who brought the three-fold office of Christ into prominence during the Reformation. He wasn’t the first to write on it, the early church fathers and Catholic theologians referred to the work of Christ in these three distinct ways (prophet, priest, and king). But Calvin set out to show how Christ not only served in these roles but did so as a means to completely satisfy our need for salvation, where the Catholic teachers left that need unfulfilled.

Calvin understood that Jesus’s fulfillment of the three-fold office was tied to His title as the Messiah or the Anointed One of God. “Under the law, prophets, as well as priests and kings, were anointed with holy oil. Hence, the illustrious name of “Messiah” was bestowed upon the one promised mediator,” who fulfilled all three anointed offices of the Old Testament.[1]

But another Reformed theologian, named Francis Turretin, who introduced the threefold office of Christ as the divinely revealed cure to man’s threefold disease of ignorance, guilt, and pollution. Turretin taught that Christ serving in the triple office, as prophet, priest, and king, was necessary to accomplish the Triple Cure to our fatal three-fold disease.”

We don’t like to think of ourselves as ignorant, but the Bible points out that man lives in a state of ignorance that is brought on by our sin.

“God saw that every intention of the thoughts of man’s heart was only evil continually (Gen 6:5).”

“We did not honor God or give thanks to God, but our foolish hearts were darkened and we exchanged the glory of the immortal God (Rom 1:21).”

“We were blinded by the god of this world, kept from seeing the light of the gospel of the glory of Christ (2 Cor 4:4).”

As a result of this, we are like blind men stumbling through life ignorant to the truth of God and to the guilt that we bear as sinners.

James 2:10 For whoever keeps the whole law but fails in one point has become guilty of all of it.

Romans 3:23 For all have sinned and fallen short of the glory of God.

But why is this true? Why have we sinned and become guilty before God? Because the sin in our hearts has infected every part of us.

You were dead in the trespasses and sins 2 in which you once walked, following the course of this world, following the prince of the power of the air, the spirit that is now at work in the sons of disobedience— 3 among whom we all once lived in the passions of our flesh, carrying out the desires of the body and the mind, and were by nature children of wrath, like the rest of mankind (Eph 2:1-3).

These are the descriptions of our disease, the explanation of our corruption. The disease itself is sin and its prognosis is fatal. All of humanity is infected with it and earthly doctors have no cure because with a man it is impossible. But with God all things are possible.

Our threefold misery of ignorance, guilt, and bondage to sin are addressed and overcome by the threefold cure of Christ our prophet, priest and king.

Ignorance is healed by the prophetic; guilt by the priestly; the corruption of sin by the kingly office. Prophetic light scatters the darkness of error; the merit of the Priest takes away guilt and secures reconciliation for us; the Power of the King removes the bondage of sin and death. The Prophet shows God to us; the Priest leads us to God, and the King joins us together and glorifies us with God.[2]

There is one more thing I want us to see related to Christ’s role as our prophet and it is something that only He alone could help us to see.

III. Christ’s Role as our Prophet (Luke 4:16-21)

Christ’s role as our prophet means that He is representing God to man. He is shedding light on the love of the Father and the plan of the Father for ruined sinners like us. Like the prophets of old, Jesus serves as a prophet by speaking the word of God to us. But, the fact that He is God in flesh should give us a clue that His role as prophet will not simply be contained in the words that He speaks but also in the life that He lives.

I want us to look at Luke 4, where Jesus not only speaks the Word of God in a very interesting way but He also points us to what He will accomplish for us.

Luke 4:16-21 And he came to Nazareth, where he had been brought up. And as was his custom, he went to the synagogue on the Sabbath day, and he stood up to read.

The setting for this chapter is that Jesus has already begun his ministry of preaching the good news in the synagogues around Galilee. But on this day, He has come home to the synagogue in Nazareth and it is easy to imagine the excitement about His arrival. All of His friends, neighbors and family have gathered around to see if all the stories are true. Not to mention the fact that there is probably a great deal of pride on their part that one of their own has been called out to be a prophet to the nation.

There hadn’t been a prophet in Israel for several hundred years until John the Baptist stepped out and now the word is that Jesus might be a prophet as well. This is a local boy made good kind of story. So everybody is crowding into the synagogue because Jesus is in town and they want to hear what He is going to say.

Luke 4:17 And the scroll of the prophet Isaiah was given to him. He unrolled the scroll and found the place where it was written,

This verse is really interesting because many scholars believe that synagogues at this time followed a regular schedule of reading through the Scriptures but Jesus searches the scroll of Isaiah until he finds the passage He wants to read. He came into synagogue on the Sabbath with a particular message to preach. So when the time came he stood up and read this…

Luke 4:18 "The Spirit of the Lord is upon me, because he has anointed me to proclaim good news to the poor. He has sent me to proclaim liberty to the captives and recovering of sight to the blind, to set at liberty those who are oppressed, 19 to proclaim the year of the Lord's favor." Luke 4:20 And he rolled up the scroll and gave it back to the attendant and sat down. And the eyes of all in the synagogue were fixed on him. 21 And he began to say to them, "Today this Scripture has been fulfilled in your hearing."

This is not only the message of Jesus but His mission as well. This is why Jesus has come, to fulfill the promises made about Him through the prophets. Or you could say that He has come to fulfill the promises that He has made about Himself. Let me explain, this passage comes from Isaiah 61:1-2 where the Anointed Servant of the Lord is speaking about what He will do when He comes.

This section of Isaiah is understood to be the future Messiah speaking about His Mission. So when Jesus stands up to read this passage He is literally speaking about himself. He is quoting Himself and declaring the reason He has come and everything He declares He will also accomplish.

But what did He say?

1. He came with the anointing of the Spirit of God and He displays the power of God…we see that taking place in two ways: 1. He was anointed by the Spirit at His baptism and 2. He walked in the power of the Spirit throughout His life performing signs and wonders which only God can accomplish. What this means is that Jesus is the Anointed One of God.

2. He came to bring good news to the poor… Jesus preached the gospel of the Kingdom to all who would listen and He calls them to respond with a humble heart to the good news. This verse is not saying that the gospel is exclusively for those who don’t have money; the idea of poverty here is related to those who are poor in spirit. He is preaching good news to those who will humbly receive His word and this message is still being preached today.

Friend, if you come to the gospel of Jesus with a hard heart and an arrogant spirit you will walk away like the Pharisees boasting in self-righteousness on your way to Hell. But if you come to the gospel with humility, the knowledge that you cannot save yourself, and you cry out for mercy; you will find it in Jesus. He delivers what He promises.

3. He came to set the captives free…This is not the language of political revolution but a prophetic word of spiritual transformation. Jesus has come to proclaim forgiveness from sin and freedom from the law of sin and death. We do not simply need to be set free from individual sins and bad habits; we need to be transformed and set free from Satan’s control.

4. He came to give sight to the blind…we could easily read this and take note of those for whom Christ restored their physical sight; but the point is much deeper. The Scriptures say that Satan has blinded the minds of unbelievers so that they might not see the glory of God in the face of Christ and Jesus has come to strip those blinders off our eyes so that we can see and be set free. He doesn’t just declare the truth, but He gives us eyes to see that truth and hearts that are eager to accept it.

5. He came to liberate the oppressed... This carries a couple of ideas: Jesus came to liberate those men and women who had been abused under the legalism of their religious leaders. He came to liberate those who had been oppressed by demonic forces. Jesus does not simply come and promise liberty for the oppressed, He actually delivered and still does.

6. He proclaimed and ushered in the year of the Lord’s favor... This verse ties in to the Old Testament concept of the Year of Jubilee which was a time when everybody got to start over. If you had to sell your land because of debt or some family tragedy, in the year of Jubilee you would get it back. If you had to sell your possessions to your neighbor because of hard times, in the year of Jubilee you would get it all back. If you were weary from working and laboring for year after year, in the year of Jubilee you could rest and God would make the fields grow in abundance. Jesus has come to usher in the year of Jubilee, which means that it is time to celebrate.

Here’s what that means for us spiritually, Jesus not only preached Good News but in His death, burial and resurrection He made that news good. He atoned for our sin. Jesus died in the place of sinners and paid the ransom price to make us free and this becomes the foundation for our celebration. God’s favor is poured out on all those who receive Christ as savior and Lord. We don’t work for our salvation because the work has already been done. It is Finished! Let the celebration begin.

He told them “Today this passage is fulfilled in me.”

Conclusion…

In His role as the final prophet of God, Jesus came to reveal His plan to us but in His role as the Savior of the world, He came to accomplish this for us. As our prophet, He not only announced an end to our sin but He made an end to our sin. He not only announced the love of the Father but showed us the love of the Father.

Jesus fulfilled His role as our prophet but He also fulfilled His role as our redeemer. He does more than prophecy about these good things, He has come to give us these good things. He not only preaches Good News but He makes that news Good. He not only talks about a celebration, He has given us an invitation to the party.

[1] Calvin, Institutes of the Christian Religion Vol 1, Book 2 (pg. 495-6)

[2] https://www.monergism.com/triple-cure-jesus-christ-–-our-prophet-priest-and-king {Francis Turretin, Institutes of Elenctic Theology, Vol. 2 (Phillipsburg: Presbyterian and Reformed Publishing, 1994), p. 393.}