Solus Christus | Prophet, Priest, and King
With Jesus’ unique nature as being fully God and fully man, He alone is the one person who is capable of providing salvation for mankind by the power of His sacrificial work on the cross as a penal substitution for our sins. His unique nature as God made flesh incarnate allowed Christ to serve as our Prophet, Priest, and King. While the Old Testament had seen prophets, priests, and kings, each role sought only to point to the coming Christ and ideally submitted to the authority of God. With the coming of Jesus Christ, the role of the prophet, priest, and king would be ultimately changed and find its perfect expression. Christ alone serves as our perfect prophet, the high priest, and the sovereign King over all creation. Where the previous system sought to have man approach God for salvation, God instead chooses to approach man and bridge the gap from the heights of heavens to the earth below.
While the idea of Jesus Christ acting as prophet, priest, and king has been around since the early church (tracing back to Eusebius of Caesarea), John Calvin reiterated this thought during the reformation in his work “Institutes of the Christian Religion” (Chapter 16). The three offices of Jesus relate to His function stemming from His nature. They demonstrate what Christ does as the natural outpouring of His identity. While we will later get into the work of Jesus Christ on the cross, but for now, we will discuss His various roles as the one who bring the Old Covenant to completion and institutes the New Covenant. Regardless of whatever prophets, priests, and kings the world has seen before, Jesus Christ is uniquely and solely qualified to serve as the perfect advocate, ruler, and intercessor coming from above rather than coming from earth. The biggest distinction comes from the directionality. Rather than man attempted to approach God, God chose to approach man.
Prophet
The role of the prophet through the Old Testament sought to speak on behalf of God, being the mouthpiece of the word of God. They would frequently remind the people of the breaches of the covenant that had either individually occurred or corporately as a people. Frequently, this would come at great risk and peril of the Prophet’s safety. But nonetheless, the prophet spoke the word of the Lord, serving as the mouthpiece of truth for all who heard. As people, we need the constant reminder of the word of God. When the people strayed from the tenants of the covenant, the prophet would declare the truth of God, reminding them of consequences of abandoning the covenant and the conditions upon which they would be gracefully welcomed back. The prophet provided a revelation from God in the specific context they found themselves while submitting to the authority of the word of God to speak through them. In all cases, the prophet sought the restoration of the people to God by bearing witness to the truth of God in every
Jesus, in His coming as the word of God made flesh, takes on the role of the prophet to the world, bringing the word of the New Covenant through His embodied presence and by the shedding of His blood. Jesus Christ embodies the word of God as the message to the people, making His home among the people, tabernacling with them. Where the prophet brought the word to the people of God, Jesus Christ embodied the word as He became incarnate in the midst of the people. “And the Word became flesh and dwelt among us, and we have seen his glory, glory as of the only Son from the Father, full of grace and truth.” (John 1:14, ESV) Jesus reveals the glory and the fullness of God through His incarnate presence, bringing the word to the world and guiding us to submit to His Lordship as fully God and fully man. He brings the message of hope and restoration to the people by paving the path to their return to the blessing of God. He reminds them of the word of God, the consequences of sin and rebellion against God, and establishes the New Covenant by His word.
Priest
During the Old Covenant, the priest held a specific role for the people of God. They advocated on behalf of the people to God. Furthermore, they played a pivotal role in the offering of the sacrifices for the people. While there were daily sacrifices that needed to be made, once per year, the priest was permitted to enter into the Holy of Holiness in the temple to offer a sacrifice on behalf of the people for the forgiveness of their sins. This day was called the Day of Atonement and the standards the priests had to meet were lengthy and difficult. They gave up rights to land ownership and various other practices all to minister in the temple. Yet, for all their hard work and dedication, their work would never fully satisfy the requirements of a Holy God. Every year on the Day of Atonement, the priest would endure the difficult ritualistic cleansing. There would be mourning the death of an innocent animal for the sake of mankind, and then celebration that God had remitted the punishment of sins, at least temporarily. But the Day of Atonement would come against next year and the sacrifices on behalf of the sins of the people would continue. Mankind could not adequately approach the Holiness of God in perfection and righteousness being an inherently sinful individual in a broken and sinful world.
With the Old Covenant priest being man, seeking to approach God to intercede on behalf of man, Christ as our priest turns the entirely of the process and direction on its head. Man no longer strives to prove themselves worthy enough to approach a Holy and Righteous God. Instead, God took initiative, taking on the form of man, interceding for mankind on behalf of mankind. “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.” (Hebrews 4:14-16, ESV) Christ, as our High Priest interceding on our behalf demonstrates the necessity of God in the person of Jesus Christ, to provide salvation for the world. The Old Testament sacrifices were limited in effectiveness, needing to be continually done. Christ’s work on the cross as the propitiation of our sin-debt clears the way for Jesus to advocate on our behalf to the Father by placing His Spirit within us while not sacrificing his nature and damaging His holiness. Jesus acts as our ultimate High Priest as one from above.
King
The institution of the Kings of Israel came at the request of the people and the hesitancy of God. The people of Israel demanded that they instate a King over them, despite the warning that Samuel gave in 1 Samuel 16. Yet, the people persisted and God granted their request and allowed Samuel to anoint Saul as the first King of Israel. The King would rule and reign over the people, declaring the way they should go and the law they should follow. Israel already had a King as God intended the people should be ruled by the One, True King who rules on high from the Throne Room of Heaven. Yet, God permitted the people to have a King while still maintaining the ultimate Kingship over all. King carry a certain amount of sovereignty within the bounds of their rule. Their word becomes law and the people must follow the law. The fate of the people would rest on the character of the King to either continue to pursue God above all others, or pursue their own selfish ambition.
Through the introduction of sin into the perfect creation of at Eden, sin ruled supreme throughout the world. The coming of the Messiah represented the recapturing of the land by the rightful heir. The Israelites at the time understood the Messiah to free Israel from the grips of the Roman rule, but this perspective was severely limited. Jesus coming to die on the cross became an extension of the God-man nature by establishing His Kingdom in both the physical and the spiritual world. Death’s reign no longer stood as Christ paid the price of our sins. Furthermore, as Jesus ascended to heaven, he went to rightfully reign from the throne room of heaven. In claiming His Kingdom the world would fight against Him, “They will make war on the Lamb, and the Lamb will conquer them, for he is Lord of lords and King of kings, and those with him are called and chosen and faithful.” (Revelation 17:14, ESV) Make no mistake, Jesus, being fully God is fully sovereign over all creation and free to do as He pleases. He is the King of Kings whose authority knows no limits. Yet, he is a benevolent King who sought to rescue His people from the tyrannical rule of sin. While kings did rule and instruct His people, as fully God and fully man, Christ and Christ alone ruled as The King with intention of saving His people. No one will be able to stand against Jesus as our King.
