Prophet, Priest & King

“ CHRIST being come an high priest of good things to come, by a greater and more perfect tabernacle, not made with hands, that is to say, not of this building; by his own blood he entered in once into the holy place, having obtained eternal redemption for us. ”

Prophet, Priest, King : the great ones, the ones of which we have records, tales of valor, accounts of heroism, key roles played for a nation, epic battles and everlasting proclamations and sacrificial lives. Prophet, Priest, King : in one age only an occasional charismatic, often tragic figure. Now Prophet, Priest and King are one man in Jesus Christ, God and man. He fulfilled all the god-given roles, the highest callings, in Himself. He becomes the epitome of all three anointed characters, and then does He just leave us?

A prophet is one who hears from God, perhaps sees visions, receives spiritual messages and truths from above, and then reports to us what God has shown. Prophets of old—Noah, Abraham, Moses, Deborah, Samuel, Isaiah, Elijah, Daniel—give us the benefit of their exploits in the spirit, the Word of God on their lips, messages from I AM. Their mighty acts, from an ark upon a world of water, the birth of a miracle son, a voice from a burning bush, fire from heaven and visions in the night all speak of the power of Him who has sent them.

Jesus comes as One who has seen the Father, who hears His voice always and wouldn't do anything unless the Father is showing Him what it is.

“The Spirit of the Lord God is upon me, Because the Lord has anointed me To bring good news to the afflicted; He has sent me to bind up the brokenhearted, To proclaim liberty to captives, And freedom to prisoners.” Isaiah 61:1 “All things have been handed over to Me by My Father; and no one knows the Son, except the Father; nor does anyone know the Father, except the Son, and anyone to whom the Son wills to reveal Him.” Matthew 11:27 “When you lift up the Son of Man, then you will know that I am He, and I do nothing on My own initiative, but I speak these things as the Father taught Me.” John 8:28 “For I did not speak on My own initiative, but the Father Himself who sent Me has given Me commandment, what to say, and what to speak. And I know that His commandment is eternal life; therefore the things I speak, I speak just as the Father has told Me.” John 12:49-50 “No longer do I call you slaves, for the slave does not know what his master is doing; but I have called you friends, for all things that I have heard from My Father I have made known to you.” John 15:15

Jesus came with a message for the world, for His people Israel, and He did many mighty acts demonstrating God's love, compassion and judgment. He fulfills the ancient role of Prophet, even of Lawgiver, in a better way than any before Him, for “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, through whom also He made the world.” Hebrews 1:1-2

A priest is one specially called by God to offer a prescribed sacrifice on behalf of others. He is trained, ordained, and then given place to bring that offering to God, have it received on high, then transformed and returned to the priest, so he may give it to the people he represents. Aaron and his sons were the Levite priests to Israel, as Melchizedek was to Abraham, and Abel was in the family of Adam.

Jesus came to fulfill His roles as priest, though He was not from the line of Aaron, but from Judah. This was according to God's will, and as such, He is a priest after the order of Melchizedek. The Epistle to Hebrews says much about Jesus the Priest:

“…consider Jesus, the Apostle and High Priest of our confession. He was faithful to Him who appointed Him. Hebrews 3:1-2 He had to be made like His brethren in all things, that He might become a merciful and faithful high priest in things pertaining to God, to make propitiation for the sins of the people. 2:17 No one takes the honor to himself, but receives it when he is called by God. So also Christ did not glorify Himself so as to become a high priest, but He who said to Him, ‘Thou art My Son, Today I have begotten Thee.' 5:4-5 Since then we have a great high priest who has passed through the heavens, Jesus the Son of God. 4:14 For we do not have a high priest who cannot sympathize with our weaknesses, but One who has been tempted in all things as we are, yet without sin. 4:15 Hence, also, He is able to save forever those who draw near to God through Him, since He always lives to make intercession for them. 7:25 Who does not need daily to offer up sacrifices, first for His own sins, and then for the sins of the people, because this He did once for all when He offered up Himself. 7:27 and not through the blood of goats and calves, but through His own blood, He entered the holy place once for all, having obtained eternal redemption... 9:12 nor was it that He should offer Himself often; but now once at the consummation of the ages He has been manifested to put away sin by the sacrifice of Himself. 9:25-26 but He, having offered one sacrifice for sins for all time, sat down at the right hand of God.” 10:12

Jesus, the high priest of all mankind, was called by His Father to offer Himself, the greatest sacrifice, upon the altar of the Cross, and we gain the benefit of His sacrifice through the miracle of the Eucharist.

A king rules in the place of God among men. God being the great and true King bestows some of His power and judgment and dominion upon certain chosen rulers who may exemplify His dignity so that we can see it and give honor to God through such rulers as David and Solomon, Cyrus, and a few others. The list of good biblical kings is brief for the reason that power corrupts. God was reticent to give kings to Israel, and truly through their kings the land was corrupted and turned away from God.

But Jesus comes in the line of the Kings of Israel, of the bloodline of David by His mother Mary, and the lineage of the line of Solomon by His adopted father, Joseph. He fulfills the prophecies of Messiah-King as one who comes to rule and reign forever as God among men. King David had seen Him coming: “The Lord said to my Lord, “Sit at My right hand, Until I put Thine enemies beneath Thy feet.” Mark 12:36 Isaiah had proclaimed Him: “Unto us a child is born, unto us a son is given: and the government shall be upon his shoulder: and his name shall be called Wonderful, Counsellor, The mighty God, The everlasting Father, The Prince of Peace. Of the increase of his government and peace there shall be no end, upon the throne of David, and upon his kingdom, to order it, and to establish it with judgment and with justice.” 9:6-7 In time He came, and wise men from the East came asking, “Where is He who has been born King of the Jews? For we saw His star in the east, and have come to worship Him.” Matthew 2:2 He never attempted to wrest power from the corrupt rulers of Israel, from Herod or Pilate or the Emperor. That was not His domain. Yet, He does come with great authority and power, and He does truly reign over men in all the world, and “He must reign until He has put all His enemies under His feet.” 1 Cor. 15:25 In His parable of the sheep and goats at the Judgment, Jesus says, “Then the King will say to those on His right, ‘Come, you who are blessed of My Father, inherit the kingdom prepared for you from the foundation of the world.'” Matthew 25:34 A King goes to battle his people's enemies, and ours were eternally defeated by our King, only to make skirmishes until He comes: “These will wage war against the Lamb, and the Lamb will overcome them, because He is Lord of lords and King of kings, and those who are with Him are the called and chosen and faithful.” Rev. 17:14 And at His trial before men: “Pilate said, ‘So You are a king?' Jesus answered, ‘You say correctly that I am a king. For this I have been born, and for this I have come into the world, to bear witness to the truth. Everyone who is of the truth hears My voice.'” John 18:37 Ironically, Pilate gave that title to our Lord, as he “wrote an inscription, and put it on the cross. And it was written, ‘JESUS THE NAZARENE, THE KING OF THE JEWS.'” John 19:19

Prophet, Priest and King: all these are fulfilled perfectly in Jesus Christ. But does He then go away to heaven and we are without these God anointed offices and their benefit until He comes again? Two answers are ours today.

Jesus is still our Prophet, and we have His glorious words enshrined in the New Testament. He is still our Priest, and makes intercession for us and gives us His Body and His Blood. He is still our King, and reigns over the enemy that besets us.

But Jesus also gave these roles to us for their fulfillment within His Body the Church. He sent His Holy Spirit, by Whom all God's Prophets gave utterance, to live within our hearts and speak to His people at all times. He gave the Apostles power to do all that He did as His priests among men, to offer the continuing sacrifice of bread and wine, to give Christ's blessed Sacraments. And we are all priests of one sort, as we offer ourselves to God, and transformed by Him into new creatures, we give Him to the world by our acts of devotion and witness. And Christ gives us power over the devil, dominion over the enemies of our souls, and thus we are a royal priesthood in that same Melchizedek order as He.

Jesus confronted the false disciples with truth about Himself, and they didn't believe Him. “ I honour my Father, and ye do dishonour me.” St. John viii. 46 “If a man keep my saying, he shall never see death.” They argued: “Art thou greater than our father Abraham, which is dead? and the prophets are dead: whom makest thou thyself?” Jesus responded: “Your father Abraham rejoiced to see my day: and he saw it, and was glad.” Then said the Jews unto him, “Thou art not yet fifty years old, and hast thou seen Abraham?” Jesus said unto them, “Verily, verily, I say unto you, Before Abraham was, I am.”

The Good News is that Jesus is . This is not just an epic story of long ago, of a hero that lived and died whom we celebrate. He didn't say, “Before Abraham was, I was also.” God says, “I AM.” Jesus says likewise, “I AM.” If you are looking for a true prophet, an effective priest, and an uncorrupted king, look no further than Our Lord. For He tells you , “I AM.” If you seek that power still on earth, then through His Church He calls out to all mankind, “I AM.”

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