Today, we consider the important fact that the one assigning us our mission is Christ—and how that name, Christ, enlightens us about the nature of our mission as Christ-followers.
One might think of the word, Christ, as Jesus’ last name. But Jesus’ last name would have been bar Joseph—“Jesus the Son of Joseph.” Rather, Christ, is a title, like Emperor Nearhedo (of Japan), Premiere, Netanyahu (of Israel), or President Trump. It refers to the office held by Jesus, or in his case OFFICES. Christ comes from CHRISTOS, a Greek word that means “the anointed one.” The Hebrew word meaning the same thing is MASHIACH, or as we know it—Messiah. The anointing process in Israel, was used to set apart a man to the office of prophet, priest, or king. The Anointed One, i.e. the promised Messiah would be the ultimate prophet, priest, and king, filling all three offices, himself. So, when we, or the New Testament writers call our Lord, Christ, we refer to Christ’s role as prophet, priest, and king.
This episode digs into a biblical understanding of Jesus’ work in fulfilling the office of prophet, and in fulling the office of priest. The next article, Dec 22, will examine the way Christ fills the office of king.
CHRIST FILLS THE OFFICE OF PROPHET
Christ, the Messiah, the Anointed One, fills the office of prophet. What does that mean?
A. The Greek word for prophet is PROPHETES, which means to speak forth the mind of God. It is from PRO, forth + PHEMI to speak. In both the Old and New Testaments, the prophet was understood to be the mouthpiece of God. Jesus is the ultimate prophet as the one revealing to us God’s Word. The author of Hebrews makes this point: Long ago, at many times and in many ways, God spoke to our fathers by the prophets, 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. (Heb 1:1-2)
Why is Jesus’ role as prophet important in understanding my mission? Because one of the results of the fall is a darkened understanding. Our sinful nature causes all human beings to suppress the truths they don’t want to hear. Scripture says:
- For the wrath of God is revealed from heaven against all ungodliness and unrighteousness of men, who by their unrighteousness suppress the truth (Rom 1:18).
- Now this I say and testify in the Lord, that you must no longer walk as the Gentiles do, in the futility of their minds. They are darkened in their understanding, alienated from the life of God because of the ignorance that is in them, due to their hardness of heart (Eph 4:17-18).
- There is a way that seems right to a man, but its end is the way to death (Prov 14:12).
Because sin has darkened our minds, a regular part of our mission is to give the Holy Spirit the tool to reprogram our thinking—spending time in the Word of God. In the words of the Psalmist, The law of the Lord is perfect, reviving the soul; the testimony of the Lord is sure, making wise the simple; the precepts of the Lord are right, rejoicing the heart; the commandment of the Lord is pure, enlightening the eyes (Ps 19:7-8).
B. Secondly, the prophet was not only the mouthpiece of God; he was the prosecuting attorney for God’ against God’s people when they broke their covenant with him. When God revealed his law to Moses, God went to great lengths to convince his people that the moral law was the path to blessing, not to restrictions on their happiness. Listen to the words in Deuteronomy 28, which summarize both blessings for obedience and curses for disobedience to the covenant sanctions:
And if you faithfully obey the voice of the Lord your God, being careful to do all his commandments that I command you today, the Lord your God will set you high above all the nations of the earth. And all these blessings shall come upon you and overtake you, if you obey the voice of the Lord your God. Blessed shall you be in the city, and blessed shall you be in the field. Blessed shall be the fruit of your womb and the fruit of your ground and the fruit of your cattle, the increase of your herds and the young of your flock. Blessed shall be your basket and your kneading bowl. Blessed shall you be when you come in, and blessed shall you be when you go out (vs 1-8)
But then the curses for disobedience: But if you will not obey the voice of the Lord your God or be careful to do all his commandments and his statutes that I command you today, then all these curses shall come upon you and overtake you. Cursed shall you be in the city, and cursed shall you be in the field. Cursed shall be your basket and your kneading bowl. Cursed shall be the fruit of your womb and the fruit of your ground, the increase of your herds and the young of your flock. Cursed shall you be when you come in, and cursed shall you be when you go out…And the heavens over your head shall be bronze, and the earth under you shall be iron. The Lord will make the rain of your land powder. From heaven dust shall come down on you until you are destroyed…. (vs 15-23).
To prophecy is often thought of primarily as revealing the future. And it is true that the OT prophets, at times, had supernatural knowledge from God about the future. But their negative predictions about the future were because they were God’s prosecuting attorneys. God’s covenantal laws had been broken and God had already spelled out what the sanctions would be for breaking the covenant. For example, the prophet, Elijah, told Ahaz that there would be no rain in the land, but Elijah also knew that drought was a punishment for worshipping false God’s. As soon as the people repented and came back to the worship of Yahweh, Elijah prayed for the rain to return, which it did. The point is that a prophet, today, especially since the Bible is completed, is not one who tells us what the future will be but one who warns us of the harmful consequence of sin.
Christ, as prophet, lays bare the human heart, convicting us of our sin so that we, with the help of the Holy Spirit, turn away from the cancer of sin that rots the moral fabric of our lives. As prophet, Christ’s role is to make us holy. And holiness is always the path to health, wholeness, and life. As A. W. Tozer writes:
God is holy and has made holiness the moral condition necessary to the health of his universe. Sin’s temporary presence in this world only accents this. Whatever is holy is healthy; evil is a moral sickness that must end ultimately in death. The formation of the language itself suggests this, the English word, holy deriving from the Anglo-Saxon halig, hal, meaning “well, whole” (The Knowledge of the Holy).
As prophet, Christ’s job is to make us holy, restoring us to moral health, through the process called, sanctification. The second part of this podcast’s three-part understanding of our mission is based on Christ’s role as prophet. We state it this way. We are Called to BE LIKE Christ—to holy, Christ-like attitudes.
At times, Bible-believing Christians misunderstand grace. Since it is by grace alone, through faith alone that we are clothed in the righteousness of Christ and not through our own works, it is thought that seeking to be righteous is de-emphasized in the New Testament and that a focus on the moral law is legalistic. But as Gabriel made clear to Jospeh, the Christ-child was to be named Jesus (which means Salvation is from Yahweh) because “he will save his people from their sins” (Matt 1:21). From the beginning, such salvation was never merely freedom from the PENALTY of their sins; it was freedom from the POWER and PRESENCE of their sins, as well.
The fact is that Jesus, who was full of grace and truth (John 1:14), nevertheless taught in the Sermon on the Mount (Matt 5-7) that true holiness goes way beyond outward compliance to the letter of the law. For example, Jesus taught that the sixth commandment not only prohibits murder, but verballing assaulting another, wounding his self-esteem. Lest his grace be misunderstood, Jesus explicitly said,
Do not think that I have come to abolish the Law or the Prophets; I have not come to abolish them but to fulfill them. For truly, I say to you, until heaven and earth pass away, not an iota, not a dot, will pass from the Law until all is accomplished. Therefore whoever relaxes one of the least of these commandments and teaches others to do the same will be called least in the kingdom of heaven, but whoever does them and teaches them will be called great in the kingdom of heaven. (Matt 5:17-20)
Christ’s work in filling the office of prophet is to make us holy.
CHRIST FILLS THE OFFICE OF PRIEST
As we’ve seen, the PROPHET speaks FOR God TO the people about how they’ve broken his Law. The PRIEST, on the other hand, speaks FOR the people TO God about how they have broken his law. Christ is the Great High Priest, provided by the God of all grace to advocate for our forgiveness on the basis of his own shed blood. He is the ultimate lamb of God who takes away the sin of the world. It is the work of Christ, filling the office of Priest that enables us to have a personal relationship with the God of the universe, a relationship so close that we can call him, Daddy (which is how abba father is translated). Because of Christ's priesthood, we are urged to draw near to God.
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, with our hearts sprinkled clean from an evil conscience (Heb 10:19-22).
The Most Holy Place in the temple was always associated with the very presence of God, and was separated from the Holy Place, where the sacrifices were offered, by a thick curtain (which was torn open on the day of Christ’s crucifixion) No one dared enter the Most Holy Place, lest he die, except one man, once per year, after he had offered sacrifices for his sins and those of the people. That was the High Priest.
Christ’s atoning work tears down the wall, the barrier to the presence of God. The whole plan of salvation was to tear down that wall to enable, us back into the presence of the one for whom we were created, and without whose unconditional love we cannot thrive. That is why on the podcast we identify the first part of our mission as being Called TO Christ--to enjoy a love relationship with him. This part of our mission is articulated by the author to the Hebrews in these words:
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. 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. 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. (Heb 4:14-16).
In these verses, we are not only commanded to draw near to God, we are given four reasons to do so:
1) The one we draw near to is full of sympathy for us. Sympathy is a natural attraction between two persons who have felt the same emotions. The one thing a human being most needs to open his heart to another is understanding. This text tells me not only that Jesus understands me, but that his heart is drawn to me in whatever emotions I am feeling, because he experienced those emotions as well. But, you might say, “Much of what I feel is shame for the ways I have disappointed him and chosen to sin over loving him. Jesus didn't fail God, so how can he know these feelings?" Jesus even understands the feelings of guilt and shame because even though he never sinned, he was made to BE sin for us (2 Cor 5:21). He took our sin and guilt upon himself so he knows what shame and guilt feel like. As you come into Jesus’ presence, no matter what emotion you are feeling, that emotion resonates in the heart of Jesus and makes him want to reach out to you. WOW.
2) The throne on which Jesus is seated as you approach him is not labeled, the throne of perfection, the throne of disgust over your repugnant sin, or the throne of righteousness. It is not the throne where justice is meted out but where unmerited favor is granted to those who profess their need of such grace.
3) In the presence of our High Priest we not only find a heart of sympathy, we also find a heart of mercy. Showing mercy is not only to grant forgiveness but to be full of compassion for the misery that a person's sin brings into his life. Not only does Jesus cover our guilt with his righteousness, he comforts us in the pain that our rebellion against him brought upon us! He does not abandon us when we experience the painful consequences of our sin, but walks with us along the path of restoration.
4) In the presence of our High Priest we find grace to help us in our time of need. Grace is not only, unmerited favor, it is positive energy at work in us, helping us, by the Holy Spirit to overcome our sinful nature and honor Christ with our lives. Paul wrote to the Corinthian’s, And God is able to make all grace abound to you, so that having all sufficiency in all things at all times, you may abound in every good work (9:8). It is by abiding in Christ, the Vine, that spiritual fruit is born.
