Prophet, Priest, and King

The grand miracle of all time is celebrated at Christmas – the miracle of the incarnation: Very God and very man coming together in the person of Jesus. The intersection of all the hopes and fears of mankind are met in Christ. And Christ brings together all the "offices" that were familiar to the people of God in the Hebrew scriptures. The major offices of the Old Testament were Prophet, Priest, and King. The inaugural ceremony for each involved anointing with oil. The Greek word for "anointed one" is "Christos", were we get the title "Christ". So when we say "Christ", we are saying Jesus is our prophet, priest, and king!

Not to wax too theological, it is still very important to reflect on these offices. Let's consider Christ as our priest.

As our "High Priest", Jesus is the one who offered the perfect sacrifice for sins. He continually brings us close to God. And he continually offers prayers on our behalf.

Stop there. Think about that. What is Jesus doing right now? If you are a follower of Jesus, you know what he is doing. He is praying for you! He knows you deepest needs, even better than you do! And he is sharing those needs with his Father, who delights in answering the prayers of his beloved Son!

So, how secure should that make you feel? As the theologian Louis Berkof said:

"It is a consoling thought that Christ is praying for us, even when we are negligent in our prayer life; that He is presenting to the Father those spiritual needs which were not present to our minds and which we often neglect to include in our prayers; and that He prays for our protection against the dangers of which we are not even conscious, and against the enemies which threaten us, though we do not notice it. He is praying that our faith may not cease, and that we may come out victoriously in the end."

The warm feelings of Christmas don't come from traditions, decorations, sentimentalism, or eggnog (well, not the right kind of warm feelings anyway!). The security of the season is knowing that your high priest is pleading your cause before the listing ears of his Father! Reflect on that this week and respond in amazement and awe! As we sing in the famous carol…

"Good Christian fear, for sinners here the silent Word is pleading"

The well wisher of your soul's happiness,

Pastor Tom