Jesus is Prophet, Priest, and King

Today we’re continuing our 5-week teaching series focused on the question Who is Jesus? We’re focusing on the question who is Jesus, and what it means to follow Jesus today. There isn’t a name in history that’s more known, discussed, and debated than the name of Jesus. People in every culture and continent have been asking who is Jesus for centuries, and last week we talked about how Jesus is either our Lord, or he’s nothing more than a lunatic, a liar, or a legend. We discussed several reasons for believing Jesus is our Lord, instead of believing he’s a lunatic, liar, or legend. But this week we’re discussing how Jesus is also our Prophet, Priest, and King. Jesus is our Lord, but he’s also our Prophet, Priest, and King. We’ll also talk about what it means for us to live as prophets, priests, and kings today. So let’s turn to John Ch. 4 and get into it. If you open the Bible to the middle and keep turning right, you’ll find John. We’ll be in John 4:5-26. Title of the message is: Jesus is Prophet, Priest, and King. The big idea of the message is Jesus is our Prophet, Priest, and King...Jesus is our Prophet who speaks truth to us, our Priest who sympathizes with us, and our King who invites us into his eternal kingdom. 

Here’s your context. In Old Testament history, people had many different prophets, priests, and kings leading them, and they were all flawed in some way. But in New Testament history, people had Jesus leading them in all three roles, and he wasn’t flawed in any way. These three roles that he fulfilled are often known as the offices of Christ. Just like we sometimes talk about a president “taking office,” theologians sometimes talk about Jesus “taking office,” meaning he fulfilled the specific office or roles of a prophet, priest, and king. These aren’t a complete summary of every role he fulfilled and everything he accomplished, but they can help us better understand some of the roles he fulfilled and some of the things he accomplished. So we’ll look at three places in the Bible where each of these roles are mentioned. We’ll look at John 4, Hebrews 4, and John 18. As we study these texts, we’ll learn the following three things: #1 Jesus is our Prophet, #2 Jesus is our Priest, and #3 Jesus is our King. We’ll learn Jesus is our prophet, priest, and king. But we’ll also learn what it means to live as prophets, priests, and kings today. Let’s check it out. 

John 4:5-26 states, “Jesus came to a town of Samaria called Sychar...6 Jacob’s well was there, and worn out from his journey, he sat down at the well...7 A woman of Samaria came to draw water. Jesus said to her, ‘Give me a drink...’  9 The Samaritan woman asked, ‘How is it that you, a Jew, ask for a drink from me, a Samaritan woman?’ (For Jews don’t associate with Samaritans.) 10 Jesus answered, ‘If you knew the gift of God, and who is saying this...you would ask him, and he would give you living water.’ 11 The woman said, ‘So where do you get this living water?...’ 13 Jesus said, ‘Everyone who drinks from this water will get thirsty again. 14 But whoever drinks from the water I give him will never be thirsty again. In fact, the water I give him will become a well of water springing up in him for eternal life.’” Okay so Jesus meets this Samaritan woman at a well, and what he’s offering her is eternal life. This is important because the Jews despised Samaritans. So when he offers this Samaritan woman eternal life, he’s showing us that he’s offering salvation to all people groups, including despised Samaritans. When she woke up that morning, she thought it was just another normal day to get physical water from the well. But Jesus was offering her a new day, a new life, a much greater water than physical water. He was offering her living water, a spiritual water, to help quench her eternal spiritual thirst for God. He was offering her the eternal forgiveness of her sins, and eternal life in heaven with him.

Vs. 15, ‘The woman said to him, ‘Sir, give me this water so I won’t get thirsty…’ 16 Jesus told her, ‘Go call your husband, and come back here.’ 17 She answered, ‘I don’t have a husband.’ Jesus said, ‘You are correct...18 For you’ve had five husbands, and the man you now have isn’t your husband. What you’ve said is true.’ 19 The woman replied, ‘I see you are a prophet.’” Notice she recognizes the 1st office of Christ, and it’s that Jesus is our Prophet. She recognizes Jesus is our prophet, and when we hear the word prophet, we often think it’s someone who can predict the future. But when the bible uses the word prophet, it’s often talking about someone God has uniquely chosen to reveal God’s word, warnings, and will. A prophet sometimes revealed the truth of God’s word. They sometimes revealed God’s warnings so people would repent and turn back to God. They sometimes revealed God’s will, including some prophetic future events such as the coming of the Messiah. The first major prophet God chose was Moses, and every biblical prophet, including Moses, made prophetic claims that a greater prophet was coming. That greater prophet is Jesus! He’s the greater prophet they were all pointing to. Jesus said in John 5, “You pore over the Scriptures because you think you have eternal life in them, yet they testify about me...If you believed Moses, you would believe me, because he wrote about me.” The apostle Paul said in 2nd Corinthians 1, “All the promises of God find their Yes in him.” All the promises of God find their Yes in Jesus! It’s because Jesus is the greater prophet that all the other prophets were pointing to. 

But what does this mean? What does it mean that Jesus is our prophet? It means we can trust he’ll always teach us the truth, and his truth will always guide us in the right direction. Psalm 119 says, “Your word is a lamp to my feet and a light to my path!” But what makes Jesus a far greater prophet than all the other prophets, is that he doesn’t just teach us the truth, he IS the truth! He doesn’t just teach us a message, he IS the message!...Jesus as our prophet also means his teachings can lead us to eternal forgiveness and eternal life. His teachings can reveal our sins not to shame us, but to save us. Not to crush us, but to heal us, just like he did with the Samaritan woman. When he spoke the truth about her having five husbands, it wasn’t to condemn her. It was to awaken her soul to the living water, the spiritual water, the eternal life he was offering her. Jesus as our prophet sees through our fake, filtered, Instagram lives to expose the truth about what’s really going on in our hearts. He tells us the truth because he loves us too much to leave us where we are. It’s okay to not be okay, but Jesus loves us too much to leave us that way. So he speaks truth not to crush us, but to transform us from the sins and brokenness that’s crushing us. The Samaritan woman says in vs. 39, “He told me everything I ever did!” Jesus as our prophet knows everything we ever did, including the things nobody else knows about. So he speaks truth into our hearts to help transform our hearts. The question isn’t does Jesus speak truth? It’s are you listening to his truth?...Are you consistently reading the bible to let his truths transform your heart?...You need to read the bible daily, if you want his prophetic truths to transform your heart and life daily. 

Vs. 25, “The woman said, ‘I know the Messiah is coming (who is called Christ). When he comes, he’ll explain everything to us.’ 26 Jesus told her, ‘I, the one speaking to you, am he.’” So Jesus is revealing to this woman that he’s much more than a prophet. He’s revealing that he’s the Messiah, which is the Hebrew word for Anointed One. In the Old Testament prophets, priests, and kings were usually anointed with oil to display God’s unique calling on their lives. But nobody ever fulfilled all three offices, all three roles, except for Jesus the Messiah. He’s the only one who’s prophet, priest, and king. So let’s turn to Hebrews 4:14-16 and learn about Jesus being our priest. 

Hebrews 4:14-16 states, “Therefore, since we have a great high priest who has passed through the heavens—Jesus the Son of God—let’s hold fast to our confession. 15 For we don’t have a high priest who is unable to sympathize with our weaknesses, but one who has been tempted in every way as we are, yet without sin. 16 Therefore, let’s approach the throne of grace with boldness, so we may receive mercy and find grace to help us in time of need.” This is talking about the 2nd office of Christ, which is that Jesus is our Priest. The text says two times that he’s our great high priest.But what’s that mean? What does it mean that Jesus is our priest? The difference between prophets and priests, is that prophets were chosen to speak to the people for God, but priests were chosen to speak to God for the people. Back then high priests offered sacrifices for the atonement of people’s sins once a year, but they also offered prayers to God on behalf of the people. What makes Jesus the greatest high priest in history, is he doesn’t just offer sacrifices for people’s sins; he becomes the sacrifice for people’s sins! He doesn’t just atone for people’s sins once a year; his sacrifice on the cross atones for people’s sins for eternity. This means you don’t need to go to priests or pastors for the forgiveness of your sins; you need to go to Jesus. You don’t need to go to priests or pastors for special access to God or for answers to your prayers; you need to go to Jesus. You need to go to Jesus with your sins and prayers, because he’s your great high priest 

In vs. 16 it says we can approach God with boldness, and the Greek word for boldness can also be translated as confidence. So because Jesus is our great high priest, vs. 16 is saying we can approach God with boldness, with confidence, that he will hear our prayers. But it also says we can have confidence that he will give us the exact amount of mercy and grace we need, to help sustain our lives and our faith in times of need. As our church focuses on growing in prayer this year, vs. 16 is a great reminder that Jesus hears our prayers, and he’ll care for us in times of need. It’s because he’s our great high priest who can sympathize with us in every way. We don’t have a great high priest who doesn’t understand our pain. We have a great high priest who can sympathize with our pain, because he’s experienced all kinds of pain. He’s experienced the pains of hunger, thirst, rejection, slander, torture, and much more! We have a great high priest who can sympathize with us in every way! So the question isn’t do you have a great high priest? It’s are you turning to Jesus as your great high priest?...Are you turning to Jesus as your great high priest for the forgiveness of your sins?...Are you turning to Jesus as your great high priest in your times of need?...You can always turn to Jesus with bold confidence, knowing he’s a great high priest who will always sympathize and help you in times of need. He won’t always help you in the way you want. But he’ll always give you the exact amount of mercy and grace you need to sustain your life and your faith in times of need. Jesus is our greater prophet, he’s our greater priest, but he’s also our greater king. So let’s turn to John 18:33-37 and learn about Jesus being our greater king.

John 18:33-37 states, “Then Pilate went back into the headquarters, summoned Jesus, and said to him, ‘Are you the king of the Jews?’ 34 Jesus answered, ‘Are you asking this on your own, or have others told you about me?’ 35 Pilate replied, ‘I’m not a Jew. Your own nation and the chief priests handed you over to me...’ 36 Jesus said, ‘My kingdom isn’t of this world. If my kingdom were of this world, my servants would fight so I wouldn’t be handed over to the Jews. But as it is, my kingdom isn’t from here.’ 37 Pilate asked, ‘You are a king?’ Jesus said, ‘You say that I am a king,...I’ve come into the world for this: to testify to the truth. Everyone who is of the truth listens to my voice.’” This is Jesus on trial before his crucifixion, and the Roman Governor Pilate is trying to figure out if Jesus is a king. This is the 3rd office of Christ, which is that Jesus is our King. Pilate wants to know if Jesus is a king, because he’s trying to figure out if Jesus is a threat to the Roman Empire. Jesus affirms that he’s a king, but that his kingdom isn’t of this world. So what’s that mean? What does it mean that Jesus is our King?...At one point God chose kings to lead the Jews, and he gave them the authority to rule over Israel. But all these kings were flawed in some way. What makes Jesus such a great King is that he isn’t flawed, and he doesn’t rule his kingdom with force. He has the power to rule with force, but he chooses to rule with love, not force. When he tells Pilate his kingdom isn’t from this world, he’s saying he’s a different king with a different kingdom than the world’s kings and kingdoms. He’s saying he’s a king with a kingdom that’s built on truth and sacrificial love, not political deception and military force. He’s a king who invites people into his kingdom through faith, not force. In Revelation 19 we learn that when Jesus returns, his kingship will be fully recognized by people in every nation, tribe, and tongue. When he returns, every knee will bow and every tongue will confess that Jesus is King of Kings and Lord of Lords. In fact this is one of the reasons why Christians eventually started being persecuted and killed by the Romans. It’s because the Greek word for Lord is kurios, and Caesar wanted to be called Kaiser Kurios, which meant Caesar is Lord or Caesar is King. Christians weren’t willing to call Caesar that because they knew Jesus is Lord, not Caesar. They knew Jesus is King, not Caesar. They faced persecution and death standing firm on that belief. But what about you? Who is king in your life?... Who or what is king in your life?...Who or what is taking a seat on the throne of your heart?...Is Jesus your king, or has someone or something else taken his place on the throne of your heart?... Jesus is the only one who’s worthy to be called Lord, and he’s our greater prophet, priest, and king.

But how can we live as Prophets, Priests, and Kings today? The truth is we can’t ever live as perfect Prophets, Priests, and Kings like Jesus. We can’t ever replace Jesus in those roles, but we can strive to reflect Jesus in those roles. We can’t ever replace Jesus, but we can strive to reflect Jesus in a world that desperately needs Jesus. As lesser prophets, we can speak truth in loving ways to help point others to Jesus. As lesser priests, we can forgive others, pray for others, have sympathy for others to help point others to Jesus. As lesser kings, we can be leaders who steward our lives for his purposes rather than our own. We can use our time, talent, and treasures in ways that help point others to Jesus to build his Kingdom rather than our own. We can’t ever replace Jesus or our own need for Jesus. But we can strive to reflect Jesus as lesser prophets, priests, and kings wherever he places us. Maybe spend some time this week thinking about what that looks like for you. How can you reflect Jesus, in a world that desperately needs Jesus?...

The big idea of the message is that Jesus is our Prophet, Priest, and King...He’s our Prophet who speaks truth to us, our Priest who sympathizes with us, and our King who invites us into his eternal kingdom...If you put your faith in Jesus today, then it means you have access to Jesus as your prophet, priest, and king today...As your Prophet, he speaks truth into your life so you can receive healing for your soul and guidance for your life like the Samaritan woman. As your Priest, he gives you eternal forgiveness through his sacrifice on the cross so you can enjoy a fresh start every day with him. You can always go to him with your sins and your struggles, and enjoy a fresh start every day with him. As your King, he gives you hope for the future, the assurance that sin, death, and darkness won’t rule over your life or this world forever, because he’s a triumphant resurrecting King with a greater eternal kingdom that’s coming...The reality is you’re following a king whether you realize it or not, because every heart bows to something. But Jesus is the only King worthy of following, the only King worthy of our allegiance, the only King with an eternal kingdom. He’s our greater prophet, our greater priest, our greater triumphant resurrecting King... How can you let that truth, change the way you live and view your life today?...Let’s pray...