The Prophetic & Priestly Offices of Christ

Of all the books of the Bible it is Hebrews that is consistently among my favorites. The reason for this ought to be obvious. Hebrews is arguably the most Christ exalting book in the whole Bible. If it were possible to place a sub-title for this book it would be, “You name it, Jesus is Better.” Over and over again we see Christ being compared to the Old Testament types and shadows and each time Christ is represented as the consummation and final fulfillment of each of them. What a beautiful truth it is to realize that Christ embodies what those types merely pointed to.

However, this precious truth is not clearly understood by all. In my estimation, groups such as The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints do not understand the extent of Christ’s work on the cross or the current “offices” which he possesses as the overseer of his church. My point here is not to speak negatively about Mormonism, or any other group, but to speak positively about Jesus.

When theologians speak about “The Offices of Christ” they are usually referring to his roles as prophet, priest, and king. I do not intend here to discuss Christ’s role as King since that is highly debated and often coupled with eschatological baggage. Rather, I’d like to focus on the prophetic and priestly ministries of Christ.

When we survey the Old Testament we see that God called specific men to represent himself to his people: known as prophets. Likewise, God called specific men to represent his people to himself, which were the priests. The prophets were to speak the words of God to the people and to reveal God’s purposes to them, and the priests were to perform sacrifices on behalf of the people as an offering for their sins. The beautiful thing about Christ is that he has fulfilled both of these ministries.

The book of Hebrews begins by telling us Christ is the final authoritative voice for God. Whereas God use to speak through prophets, he now speaks through his Son. There is no more need for human prophets. Since the prophetic position entailed the representing of God to the people, who would be more qualified for this position then Christ? The whole point of the first eight verses of Hebrews is that Christ is able to represent God, as prophets of old did, in the fullest sense of the term because he is God. As John states in the prologue to his Gospel, “No one has seen God; the only God, who is at the Father’s side, he has made him known (John 1:18).” He is most qualified because he is God.

Within the book of Hebrews we see a clear defense of Christ’s fulfillment of the Aaronic Priesthood and his sole possession of the Melchizidek Priesthood. Concerning the Aaronic Priesthood we know that under the old covenant, the high priest was required to enter the holy of holies each year to provide atonement for sins. Yet, under the new covenant of Christ, the atonement has been settled with his blood. We no longer need a high priest because Christ has “entered once for all into the holy places (Heb 9:12).” The former priesthood system was done away, and Christ remains our priest permanently (Heb 7:24). The former priests were required to sacrifice on behalf of their own sins as well as the sins of others. However, the author of Hebrews tells us, “For it was indeed fitting that we should have such a high priest, holy, innocent, unstained, separated from sinners, and exalted above the heavens (Heb 7:26).” Therefore, because of the perfect offering of Christ’s life on our behalf, not only do we have no need for the function of the Aaronic Priesthood through sacrifices and other rituals, but we are also imputed with his righteousness.

With regard to the Priesthood of Melchizidek we are told that Christ received this Priesthood “not on the basis of a legal requirement concerning bodily descent, but by the power of an indestructible life (Heb 7:15).” No one can meet these requirements. The Aaronic priesthood required lineal descent from the tribe of Levi to Aaron, but Christ was from the tribe of Judah. Christ received the Priesthood of Melchizidek as the one that was victorious over death. The writer of Hebrews says that in light of this Christ remains a priest forever and is the mediator of a better covenant (Heb 7:21-22). Perhaps the clearest indication that Christ is the sole holder of this Priesthood can be found in verse 28, which says, “For the law appoints men in their weakness as high priests, but the word of the oath, which came later than the law, appoints a Son who has been made perfect forever.” The law appointed the sons of Aaron to fulfill the temple rituals, although they were “weak.” Their weakness was in the ineptitude to fulfill the sacrificial system’s intent. However, “the word of the oath,” or the promise of his eternal office as priest, appoints a Son who has been made perfect forever. The idea is that the sacrificial system pointed to Christ. It is no longer that any man represents us before God, as the priests did, instead Christ is our mediator to God and the one who intercedes for us (1 Tim 2:5; Heb 7:25). He is the only one able to do this because he is the one who has an indestructible life, the one who was sworn to be a priest forever, the one who mediates the new covenant, and the one who has done away with all priestly services. He is truly the only one worthy to hold this Priesthood.

As an extension of his priestly ministry Christ also fulfills the temple. Not only did Jesus fulfill the sacrificial rituals that took place within the temple, but he fulfilled what the temple’s symbolic representation of the presence of God. However, Jesus was not just a representation or symbol of the presence of God; instead he was the presence of God. This is because the fullness of deity dwelt within his physical body (Col 1:19, 2:9). Matthew makes this clear in the opening chapter of his Gospel by calling Christ “Immanuel”, which means “God with us” (Mt 1:23). Hebrews tells us that Christ’s priestly ministry, although not being fulfilled in a literal, or earthly temple, “is in the holy places, in the true tent that the Lord set up, not man (Heb 8:2).” Christ has indeed fulfilled the roles of prophet and priest, yet he continues to occupy these offices before the presence of God, the true temple. He both represents God to us, and represents us to God. This indispensable truth is at the heart of the Gospel and the very work of the person of Christ.