Previous Posts in this Series:
A Gospel Presentation: Part 1 (Two-Age Worldview)
A Gospel Presentation: Part 2 (Creation/Curse)
A Gospel Presentation: Part 3 (Covenant/Commitment)
"For I say that Messiah has become a servant to the circumcision in behalf of the truth of God, to confirm the promises given to the fathers, and for the Gentiles to glorify God for His mercy..." (Romans 15:8-9, NASB)
In some ways Jesus is the easiest part of this narrative to write about, and in other ways, He is the hardest thing to write about. On the one hand, few are confused as to who Jesus is and what He has done. Those of us who have grown up in the Faith have heard about Jesus all of our lives and heard the wonderous stories of his life; the miracles, the teachings, his death and his resurrection, etc. many times over. On the other hand, the layers of meaning run endlessly deep - the possible avenues for discussion and commentary could (and have) fill volumes upon volumes. In Evangelical circles, the 'volume' on Jesus is turned way up, and I don't seek to change that in any way. When speaking of Messiah Jesus, he deserves to have the volume all the way up. What I have hoped to achieve with these writings is a turning up of the volume in some other areas as well, to present what I believe is a full Gospel, ala Acts 18:24-26. What I want to do here is communicate how Jesus fits into the narrative I have been speaking about throughout this series.
Jesus as Messiah/King
A good starting place in speaking about Jesus, is his role as 'Messiah'. In keeping with some of what I brought up in the last post, I will point out that 'Messiah' is a thoroughly Jewish term. There was a whole 'messianic expectation' that had formed prior to Jesus' appearance, mostly in the Intertestamental Period (the ~400 year period between the end of the Hebraic Scriptures, Genesis through Malachi, and the beginning of Matthew). This expectation centered, in part, around the Davidic Covenant and the Jewish hope of one who would come to sit/rule on the throne of David forever. It is critical to understand that at the time of Jesus birth, the primary expectation of a 'messiah' within the mind of a Jew, was the expectation of a coming King. A political figure, to put a modern context to it. This is clear when we look at what the Magi say when they come to find the one they are searching for:
"After Jesus was born in Bethlehem in Judea, during the time of King Herod, Magi from the east came to Jerusalem and asked, "Where is the one who has been born king of the Jews? We saw his star when it rose and have come to worship him." (Matthew 2:1-2, NIV)
Sprinkled throughout the Messianic Writings (New Testament), we see this idea of King and Kingdom many times. Even at the very end of Jesus' time here on Earth, we see the Disciples ask a curious question related to Kingdom, on the heels of 40 days of teaching, directly from Jesus, as he explained himself and who He was from the Hebraic Scriptures:
"After his suffering, he presented himself to them and gave many convincing proofs that he was alive. He appeared to them over a period of forty days and spoke about the kingdom of God. On one occasion, which he was eating with them, he gave them this command: "Do not leave Jerusalem, but wait for the gift my Father promised, which you have heard me speak about. For John baptized with water, but in a few days you will be baptized with the Holy Spirit." They they gathered around him and asked him "Lord, are you at this time going to restore the kingdom to Israel?"" (Acts 3-6, NIV)
That question is so loaded! Just to point out two elements - after 40 days of teaching, they had a clear expectation of a coming Kingdom AND they were looking to Jesus to be either the one who did the restoring of the Kingdom to Israel, or who was to be the ruler of that Kingdom (probably both). I would also like to point out here that the Disciples did not seem to think, given the tone and tense of the question, that the Kingdom was already here. It is a future expectation. Jesus may hold all rights to His eternal throne, which He most certainly does, but the realization of that role, on Earth, is yet to come.
Jesus as Priest
Another primary identity of Jesus that is fairly well fleshed out in the book of Hebrews, is that of Jesus as a High Priest. Again, this identity is thoroughly Jewish, drawing from the Sacrificial System detailed in Leviticus. What the writer of Hebrews painstakingly explains, however, is that Jesus is not a priest according to the order of Aaron (the High Priest of the Levitical priesthood), but rather that Jesus is a priest in the "Order of Melchizedek". I will probably end up writing an entirely separate post about the Sacrificial System and how Jesus fits into that, but for the sake of time here and now, let us do a brief overview.
"Now the main point in what has been said is this: we have such a high priest, who has taken His seat at the right hand of the throne of the Majesty in the heavens, a minister in the sanctuary and in the true tabernacle, which the Lord set up, not man. For every high priest is appointed to offer both gifts and sacrifices; so it is necessary that this high priest also have something to offer. Now if He (Jesus) were on earth, He would not be a priest at all, since there are those who offer gifts according to the Law, who serve a copy and shadow of the heavenly things..." (Hebrews 8:1-4, NASB)
What stands out to me here is two things. A) The writer of Hebrews is very clearly speaking about Jesus' CURRENT role - that of high priest, who has taken His seat at the right hand of the throne of the Majesty in the heavens. B) There is a different priesthood that Jesus is serving in because the temple that He serves in is the heavenly temple - the earthly temple, that the Levitical priesthood was put in charge of, is not a temple that Jesus would even have been eligible to serve in because he was not a Levite. Back up to Hebrews 7, and we read even more detail on this:
"If perfection could have been attained through the Levitical priesthood - and indeed the law given to the people established that priesthood - why was there a need for another priest to come, one in the order of Melchizedek, not in the order of Aaron? For when the priesthood is changed, the law must be changed also. He of whom these things are said (Jesus) belonged to a different tribe, and no one from that tribe has ever served at the alter. For it is clear that our Lord descended from Judah, and in regard to that tribe Moses said nothing about priests. And what we have said is even more clear if another priest like Melchizedek appears, one who has become a priest not on the basis of a regulation as to his ancestry but on the basis of the power of an indestructible life. For it is declared: "You are a priest forever, in the order of Melchizedek."" (Hebrew 7:11-17, NASB)
There is so much more to say here - but it involves a deep dive into the details of the sacrificial system. Suffice to say for now, in lieu of a longer post on this, Jesus is currently serving as a priest in the heavenly temple, interceding on the behalf of those who are His (Romans 8:31-34). A priest is an intermediary between God and Man. Because a schism still exists in the relationship between Heaven and Earth, a priest is needed who can intercede (present requests, etc) on behalf of mankind. Just as the high priest who served in the earthly temple would serve in this way, Jesus himself now currently serves in this role in the heavenly temple and will serve in this way until he returns as King.
Jesus as Prophet/Rabbi/Teacher
I'm not trying to be provocative by referring to Jesus as a 'prophet'. I'm using that word to describe a role - namely the role that He played during his life on Earth. The role of Prophet in the Hebraic Scriptures was that of someone who served as the mouthpiece of God - often in terms of punishment/judgement, but always towards repentance. Isaiah, Jeremiah, Ezekiel, Daniel, etc - all of them were sent to proclaim to the people of Israel (and others) their need to turn away from idols and the worship of other Gods, and return to the worship of the God of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob...or face certain punishment. The stories, teachings, parables and general message of Jesus all fall solidly into the category of Prophet - proclaiming the coming Kingdom of God (where this whole series of posts started, I'll remind the reader) and calling the people of Israel to repentance and faith in God's promises, made to the patriarchs. The writer of Hebrews also makes this connection between the prophets of old and Jesus saying, "God, after He spoke long ago to the fathers in the prophets in many portions and in many ways, in these last days has spoken to us in His Son, whom He appointed heir of all things..." (Hebrews 1:1-2, NASB).
A Rabbi in 1st century Judaism was certainly a teacher, but the primary importance of a rabbi was one who had a distinct interpretation of Torah for the purposes of showing the people how to live Torah-obedient lives. Jesus' role as Rabbi and teacher was very much in keeping with that tradition. To be a disciple of a Rabbi meant that you followed your Rabbi very closely, emulating his conduct in public life, as a sort of walking billboard for your Rabbi's interpretation of how Torah was to be lived out. Given this backdrop, Jesus was not doing away with Torah, but rather was showing everyone how to live in anticipation of the coming Kingdom of God, which was the very essence of the promises given to Abraham, Moses and David.
Prophet, Priest and King
Prophet, Priest and Coming King - these are the three primary roles of Jesus and all of them work to confirm everything that was promised to Abraham, Moses and David. Jesus is, the very embodiment of those promises, again confirming that God is not only willing to release this world from the curse that He laid upon it, but also that He is able to do that very thing. Jesus is the mechanism by which the blessing of the whole world, promised to Abraham in Genesis 12, is accomplished. He is the very representation of Israel as a Nation (much more to say on this), and he is the Eternal King promised to David in 2 Samuel 7. Not only that - but His blood is the assurance of the Covenant that is to come, ala the New Covenant in Jeremiah 31. He has a glorified body and perfect intimacy with God and our hope is the same - that one day we will be given glorified bodies of life, no longer hindered by these wretched body of death and decay. To that end, Jesus currently sits at the right hand of God Almighty, interceding on our behalf and sending the Holy Spirit to give us strength to say 'no' to ungodliness and to lead upright and godly lives in this present age (Titus 2:11-14). What a hope that is, and what grace! We are not left to our own devices and abilities - we can have the very power of God to persevere and endure the hardships and troubles of this life, in anticipation of what is to come. Much more to come on the Holy Spirit in the next post.
Side Note
I'm not sure where to fit this in, so I'll make it an aside: I feel that it is important to recognize that these three roles are not simultaneous, but distinct. He wasn't a priest while he was serving in his role as Prophet/Rabbi (which the writer of Hebrews makes clear) and He isn't serving in his role as King now (though he holds all rights to the throne) because He is currently serving as a priest on behalf of those who love and obey Him. Though he has been made the 'heir of all things' (Hebrews 1:2) and has been 'given all power and authority' (Matt 28:18), that doesn't mean that He is currently sitting on the Throne of David, as King. There is a nuance there and I feel its appropriate to point that out and to not conflate the roles.
Areas for Further Study:
- I mentioned it in my comments, but I will do much more on the sacrificial system in an upcoming post. Understanding the sacrificial system really helps us understand Jesus' role. It also helps us answer the question of 'why did Jesus have to die?' That question probably doesn't occur to most Christians because we have been told all of our lives that Jesus died for our sins...but that doesn't fully capture it. After all, human sacrifice is against Torah law - so Jesus' death is not an appeasement of God. Neither were animal sacrifices in the temple an appeasement of God's wrath. Understand the basic elements of the sacrificial system will help in understanding what the system was meant for, and how Jesus' death/resurrection can be understood within the system.
- I didn't touch on it at all in my comments, but one of the ways that Jesus can be understood is as the figurehead, or individual representation, of the Nation of Israel as a whole. ....the main characters of the Bible are Jesus, and his family (Israel).
- Jesus was a Torah-observant Jew. Everyone knows the story of the bleeding woman who touches "the fringe of Jesus' garment" and is healed and Jesus, sensing that power has gone out from him asks, "who touched me?" We tend to gloss over that part about the "fringe of Jesus' garment" but it reveals that Jesus was Torah-observant. Numbers 15:38-39 says, "Speak to the Israelites and say to them: 'Throughout the generations to come you are to make tassels on the corners of your garments, with a blue cord on each tassel. You will have these tassels to look at and so you will remember all the commands of the Lord, that you may obey them and not prostitute yourselves by chasing after the lusts of your own hearts and eyes." What is translated as 'fringe' or 'edge' in the story of the bleeding woman (Matthew 9) is referring to this Torah directive in the book of Numbers. There are many other instances throughout the Messianic writings that refer to Jesus observing feasts and festivals with his disciples and doing other things that a Torah-observant Jew would have done. This make it very confusing when people try and argue that Jesus was somehow doing away with Torah. If that is what He was doing, then adhering to it would be an awfully bizarre way to demonstrate that. If you want to read more about the particular story I mentioned here and its relation to Torah, here is a good article I found that expounds on it.
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