Jesus has three primary jobs in the Bible: Prophet, Priest and King.
- Let’s talk first about his role as Prophet. Moses said in Deuteronomy 18:15, “The Lord your God will raise up for you a prophet like me from among you…” Moses was the mouthpiece of God to the nation of Israel. When he said God would raise up a prophet like him, he meant in the sense that the prophet would be the mouthpiece of God, as he was. Well what do we read of Jesus? In John 14:24 Jesus said, “These words you hear are not my own; they belong to the Father who sent me.” When Jesus came to earth he spoke the words of God about how mankind could be saved from the penalty and consequences of sin. So Jesus was the fulfillment of Moses’ prophecy. Jesus was the Prophet Moses spoke of.
- Now let’s talk about Jesus’ role as Priest. In the Old Testament the high priest was the supreme ruler over the nation of Israel. Well Hebrews 6:20 tells us that Jesus has become our High Priest forever. And as High Priest, Jesus is the supreme ruler over the church. As the high priest was the supreme ruler over the nation of Israel, so Jesus, as our High Priest, is the supreme ruler over the church.
- Finally, let’s talk about Jesus’ role as King. Jesus told us to pray in Matthew 6:10, “…your kingdom come…” That’s because one day, Jesus will rule as King over his kingdom here on earth during his thousand year reign (We’ll actually be covering this in week five of this series). Isaiah spoke of this time when he wrote in Isaiah 9:6, “For to us a child is born, to us a son is given, and the government will be on his shoulders…” At Jesus’ first coming he was the suffering servant who died for our sins. But at his second coming he will be the King of kings and the Lord of Lords.
Now, in the past Jesus primarily played the role of Prophet. In the future Jesus will primarily play the role of King. But in the present, Jesus primarily plays the role of High Priest. You see, until the consummation of the age, Jesus will play a role in the salvation of mankind. And Jesus wants the same to be true of us! If you haven’t found a role to play, click here to check out some of the serving opportunities at New Day.