Christmas is definitely a time to think
seriously about the three-fold office of Jesus Christ. The Bible describes the
Savior as a prophet, priest and king.
As a prophet Jesus stands between man and God representing
God to us; He reveals God to us so clearly that our ignorance can be overcome.
“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 – (Deuteronomy
18:15)
Moses is referring to the promised
Messiah, and because Peter uses this passage (under the direction of the Holy
Spirit) to refer to Jesus it is speaking of Christ (Acts 3:22-23).
As a priest Jesus gives Himself on behalf of sinful
people to the Father; He offers Himself to wipe out the guilt we carry around
every day.
“The
Lord has sworn and will not change his mind; you are a priest forever in the
order of Melchizedek.” (Psalm 110:4)
The author of Hebrews applies this psalm
to Jesus Christ (Hebrews 6:20).
As a king Jesus holds out His ruling scepter of
hope that He will one day completely destroy the tyranny of sin. The book of
Numbers is an odd place to find a prophecy about Christmas and Balaam is an
interesting prophet because he’s a bit of a rascal, but in spite of that God
uses him. Balaam is hired by the king of Moab to prophesy against Israel. Keeping
in mind that the king of Moab actually paid for this, here’s what he prophesies
“I
see him, but not now; I behold him, but not near a star shall come out of
Jacob, and a scepter shall rise out of Israel; it shall crush the forehead of
Moab and break down all the sons of Sheth.” (Numbers 24:17)
The king of Moab is asking the prophet
what he sees and his answer is not exactly what the king hoped for, he didn’t
get his money’s worth. He tells him he sees a king coming from the tribe of
Jacob who will crush him, the King of Moab, and annihilate the sons of Sheth.
Here’s what happening. God is taking the
promise He made with Adam and Eve, the covenant He made with Abraham, the
covenant He made with David and He’s joining them together to be one in the
same. So the promise made in Genesis 3 and Genesis 12 carries on into the
promises made in Numbers, Psalms and Deuteronomy.
The Old Testament treats those three
offices separately, however what we see in Jesus Christ is a brining together
of all three offices. He is the prophet who speaks the true words of God to us,
He is the priest who atones for our sins and He is the king who rules over
everything.
Grace
& Peace,Scott
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