Tag: Priest

Jesus Takes Office Through His Resurrection

Posted onAuthorRyan Higginbottom

The Christian faith is based in history. Jesus of Nazareth was a man who lived, died, and came back from the dead.

These are historical claims of fact, and Christianity rests on the truth of these claims. As Paul wrote, “if Christ has not been raised, then our preaching is in vain and your faith is in vain” (1 Corinthians 15:14).

Jesus’s resurrection is central to our faith and has scores of implications for Christians throughout the ages. But in this post I want to direct our attention to what Jesus’s resurrection tells us about Jesus himself and the offices he occupies.

Jesus is a Prophet

While it is true that Jesus is The Prophet, the one spoken of by Moses (Deuteronomy 18:15–19), that is not my present concern. In this post, I’ll only argue that Jesus was confirmed as a prophet of God by his resurrection.

Jesus predicted his suffering, death, and resurrection multiple times (see Luke 9:22 and Luke 18:31–33 among other places). Further, the two men at the tomb told the women,

“Why do you seek the living among the dead? He is not here, but has risen. Remember how he told you, while he was still in Galilee, that the Son of Man must be delivered into the hands of sinful men and be crucified and on the third day rise.” (Luke 24:5–7)

These prophecies were a regular part of Jesus’s teaching. His contemporaries recognized that Jesus was a prophet, and the Old Testament teaching on prophets is clear: false prophets can be identified when prophecies do not come to pass.

This means that Jesus’s credibility was on the line on the third day after his death. His resurrection proved that he was a true prophet of God.

Jesus is a Priest

The book of Hebrews spends a lot of time explaining that Jesus is a priest. The author contrasts the priesthood of Aaron (the Levitical priesthood) with the priesthood of Melchizedek and concludes that Jesus is a priest of the second kind.

How was Jesus qualified for this priesthood?

This becomes even more evident when another priest arises in the likeness of Melchizedek, who has become a priest, not on the basis of a legal requirement concerning bodily descent, but by the power of an indestructible life. For it is witnessed of him, “You are a priest forever, after the order of Melchizedek.” (Hebrews 7:15–17)

Jesus’s resurrection proved his “indestructible life”—he was victorious over death and therefore stepped into his eternal priesthood. In his death, Jesus was both priest and sacrifice (Hebrews 7:27), and he now lives to make priestly intercession for his people (Hebrews 7:25).

Jesus is a King

Jesus’s resurrection declared him to be the king of the world.

Paul, a servant of Christ Jesus, called to be an apostle, set apart for the gospel of God, which he promised beforehand through his prophets in the holy Scriptures, concerning his Son, who was descended from David according to the flesh and was declared to be the Son of God in power according to the Spirit of holiness by his resurrection from the dead, Jesus Christ our Lord (Romans 1:1–4)

Paul writes that Jesus was “declared to be the Son of God … by his resurrection from the dead.” The title “Son of God” was, in part, a royal title, so Paul is connecting Jesus’s resurrection to his kingly office. (I have written more about the title “Son of God” and its use in the Gospels; you can find that post here.)

The Centrality of the Resurrection

It is not a stretch to start with Jesus being a prophet, a priest, and a king and end with the fact that he is the prophet, the priest, and the king. In other words, Jesus occupies these offices in a way that is so unique, powerful, and unending that there can be no comparison with other human prophets, priests, or kings.

The resurrection of Jesus starts us down that road. In addition to being a necessity for our faith, Jesus’s resurrection reveals some of the historical and ongoing work that he does for his people.

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The Glory of Repetitive Tasks

Posted onAuthorRyan Higginbottom

“Do you think we’ll wash dishes in heaven?”

My feet ached from standing, and I winced as I dipped my already-dry hands into the dishwater. The plastic containers had gathered by the sink, and as I worked my way through the pile, I looked for hope as I asked my wife this question.

“Probably, but I don’t think we’ll mind it,” she said.

Accurate, gentle, and with just a hint of rebuke. You can tell I married up, as they say.

The Weight of Repetition

We all feel the weight of repetition. We need to wash our clothes, cook our food, cut the grass, and brush our teeth. We finish a job…and put it right at the top of our list again! (With feedings and changings, mothers of young children feel this weight acutely.)

Some repetition happens because of the curse, and some is made more difficult by the curse. But there’s no denying that our sin affects the way we respond to and carry out our duties.

If we chafe at repetition, think of the Levites and priests in the Old Testament. Think of the sacrifices they carried out on an annual, monthly, or daily basis. Some of these offerings were matters of bread and oil, but many more involved the blood, fat, skin, and organs of animals.

These sacrifices were messy, smelly, expensive, labor intensive, and numerous. I imagine that as soon as one sacrifice was complete, the Levites were anticipating the next. This cycle, needed only because of sin, spun round and round and round. How would it be resolved? Would it be resolved?

The End of Repetition

The sacrificial system pointed to a need for something permanent, one sacrifice to end the cycle. One decisive offering to bring about a cosmic change.

For while we were still weak, at the right time Christ died for the ungodly. (Romans 5:6)

Through his Son, God accomplished what the law could not. The sacrifice of Jesus Christ was once-for-all. The author of Hebrews meditates on this glorious fact:

For since the law has but a shadow of the good things to come instead of the true form of these realities, it can never, by the same sacrifices that are continually offered every year, make perfect those who draw near. Otherwise, would they not have ceased to be offered, since the worshipers, having once been cleansed, would no longer have any consciousness of sins? But in these sacrifices there is a reminder of sins every year. For it is impossible for the blood of bulls and goats to take away sins. (Hebrews 10:1–4)

The sacrifices would have ceased if the law could make God’s people perfect. Instead, the sacrifices reminded the people of sin.

But look at what Christ has accomplished:

And every priest stands daily at his service, offering repeatedly the same sacrifices, which can never take away sins. But when Christ had offered for all time a single sacrifice for sins, he sat down at the right hand of God, waiting from that time until his enemies should be made a footstool for his feet. For by a single offering he has perfected for all time those who are being sanctified. (Hebrews 10:11–14)

Jesus is the only priest who could sit down, because his was the only sacrifice that needed no sequel. His offering perfected God’s people, who now are being sanctified.

Imagine an Old Testament Levite longing for a one-time sacrifice! Think of the relief, the lifted burden! As a comparison, suppose you had only one load of laundry to do, or that the next time mowing the grass would be your last. Imagine changing only one diaper!

The Repetition that Remains

While the sacrifice for sins is complete, Jesus’ work for us continues.

Instead of an ongoing offering for sin, Jesus intercedes (Romans 8:34; Hebrews 7:25) and advocates (1 John 2:1) for us before his Father. This perpetual work of our High Priest is exactly what we need!

Because we are weak and needy, we need Jesus’ prayers. We don’t know how to pray as we should, so we need the Holy Spirit to intercede with “groanings too deep for words” (Romans 8:26).

Because we continue to sin, we need Jesus’ advocacy. He is our righteous defense attorney, pleading his blood as the reason for peace with the Father.

Repetition for God’s People

Our spiritual disciplines and good works are shaped by Jesus’ work. While the repetition in the Old Testament flowed toward Jesus’ sacrifice, our repetition flows from it.

We now have the joyful calling and freedom to worship weekly, celebrate communion, confess our sins, pray, hear and read God’s Word, and do good to our neighbors. These tasks are repeated because we are not yet home. We are frail and need strength; we are ignorant and need instruction; we are scared and need encouragement. We—and so many around us—need the Spirit to work within us.

See Glory in Repetition

God has created this world and written his Word so that much of what we see and experience remind us of eternal truths.

  • The rainbow is a sign of God’s promise to Noah.
  • Trumpets and clouds remind us of Jesus’ second coming.
  • A bird with a worm in its mouth points to God’s provision for his children.

Let’s see repetitive tasks in the same way.

  • When you cringe at the thought of another load of laundry, think of Christ’s singular work to wash you clean.
  • When it’s time to clean the gutters or shop for food yet again, remember his one-time, effectual sacrifice.
  • When you need to change the light bulb, re-paint the walls, or replace the tires, consider the Holy Spirit’s ongoing work of sanctification within you.

Let your thoughts bounce from your frustrations to these magnificent, eternal truths. Embrace the contrast between your ongoing work and the completed work of Jesus. Build your longing for heaven, where the curse will be no more and all repetition, even washing dishes, will be free from the stain of sin.

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