Priest, Prophet, and King
John 6: 14-15
Excerpts from a sermon by Hunter Irvine,
guest preacher for Fellowship at Morrison Chapel
on September 18, 2022
Today I post this sermon from the fall, because it elaborates on the nature of the Anointed One, the subject of the passage examined in the piece this past Sunday where Peter made the bold statement that Jesus is the Anointed One. As our study of Matthew has continued, teachings by Jesus have pointed to His Messiahship. My sermon goes back a few steps in Matthew to the first time Jesus did a miracle feeding, starting with only five loaves and two fish. Afterwards, Jewish people were concluding that Jesus was the Prophet and bubbling up with emotion to make Him the king of Judea. They were realizing Jesus was sent from God, but they did not completely understand the divine identity of Jesus, and they did not understand His ultimate mission. Yet Scripture reveals Jesus kept working to fulfill His mission as the Messiah. In Matthew 5:17, Jesus stated, “Do not think that I have come to abolish the Law or the Prophets; I have not come to abolish them but to fulfill them” (NIV).
John 6: 14-15
After the people saw the miraculous sign that Jesus did, they began to say, “Surely this is the Prophet who is to come into the world.” Jesus, knowing that they intended to come and make him king by force, withdrew again to a mountain by himself (NIV).
= Open in prayer!!!
1.) The miraculous sign
The miracle referred to here was the fact that Jesus fed thousands of men, women, and children starting with only five loaves of bread and two fish.
2.) The Prophet
The Israelites were expecting The Prophet, because Moses foretold of a man called The Prophet who would come in the future (in Deuteronomy 18:14-22).
Who was the Prophet?
Let us start from the top!
3.) Olive oil
There were three big positions in the history of Israel!
When someone was starting in his position, he would be anointed!
Before getting to the positions –
If someone was anointed, what was he anointed with?
* Olive oil
Olive oil was used for:
food
for cooking
as fuel for lamps
and other uses
For example, regarding lamp fuel: “Command the Israelites to bring you clear oil of pressed olives for the light so that the lamps may be kept burning” (Exodus 27:20).
Regarding the value of olive oil: “She went and told the man of God, and he said, ‘Go, sell the oil and pay your debts. You and your sons can live on what is left’” (2 Kings 4:7).
I have attended a number of seminars at my second Alma mater, Colorado Christian University. Once the speaker was Dr. Eric Welch of the University of Kansas. He spoke for over an hour on the topic of olive oil in the ancient world. I thought it was interesting! He has participated in a number of archaeological digs in areas of ancient Israel. He explained how great the value of olive oil was in the Ancient Near East.
And in 2019, I spent a day at The Museum of the Bible in Washington, D.C. They have a display of an ancient olive oil press, which is impressive.
Thus, olive oil was of great value in the Ancient Near East.
4.) Who was anointed?
In the history of Israel, people were anointed for three big positions!
First: Priests
The precise ingredients for the “sacred oil” for priests is spelled out in Scripture:
“Then the LORD said to Moses, ‘Take the following fine spices: 500 shekels of liquid myrrh, half as much (that is 250 shekels) of fragrant cinnamon, 250 shekels of fragrant cane, 500 shekels of cassia – all according to the sanctuary shekel – and a hin of olive oil. Make these into a sacred anointing oil, a fragrant blend, the work of a perfumer. It will be the sacred anointing oil’” (Exodus 30: 22-25).
“‘Anoint Aaron and his sons and consecrate them so they may serve me as priests’” (Exodus 30: 30).
As elaborate as the anointing oil was for priests, the base ingredient was olive oil.
And Moses did obey God, thus Moses anointed his brother Aaron!
“He poured some of the anointing oil on Aaron’s head and anointed him to consecrate him” (Leviticus 8:12).
All Israelite priests from then on had to be in the lineage of Aaron!
Second: Prophets
I go out on a limb here, since there is only one reference to a prophet being anointed with oil in the Bible which I have found.
“…and anoint Elisha son of Shaphat from Abel Meholah to succeed you as prophet” (I Kings 19:16).
More may have, since the ministries of prophets were not as detailed in the Bible. Prophets were unique individuals as men and women who spoke for God.
However the anointing with oil may not have been standard for prophets. Yet all of them likely had a temporary anointing of the Holy Spirit! (The Bible shows that happened to King David.)
Third: Kings
Kings being anointed is well documented in the Bible.
For examples, see I Samuel 16:13, which involved David, or note 2 Kings 9:1-6, which involved a man named Jehu.
(I add under the Mosaic Covenant, the Israelites were required to have judges as leaders, however the Israelites at one point rejected God’s plan, and even God Himself. But God allowed them to have kings, after a stern warning. Thus they started having kings like all other countries. Tragically this led to the demise of Israel.)
5.) Our Message: Jesus was all three!
Scripture reveals that Jesus fit all three big positions:
1 - Jesus is the Great High Priest.
The incredible book of Hebrews explains that Jesus is the Great High Priest whose sacrifice was Himself!!!
Only Immanuel, God with us, could serve both at the Great High Priest and as the Lamb of God.
2 - Jesus is The Prophet
Key: Jesus gave the ultimate prophecy that He would suffer, die, and then be resurrected!
see Matthew 16:21 and Matthew 26:2
see Mark 9: 30-32
see Luke 18: 31-33
3 - Jesus is the King of heaven
One key regarding Jesus as King: When Jesus was here in the world, He told Pontius Pilate that His kingdom was of another world.
***And it was not His mission to be king in this world at that time.
The mission of Jesus was to be the Lamb of God.
One day, as is detailed in the book of Zechariah, Jesus will return again, and He will be “…king over the whole earth…”
6.) Who was Jesus anointed with?
Jesus was not anointed with olive oil.
Jesus was anointed with the Holy Spirit!!!
Jesus was anointed with the Holy Spirit at His baptism!
see Matthew 3: 16-17
see Mark 1:9-10
see Luke 3:21-22
7.) Jesus is the Messiah
Messiah & Christ both mean the same thing: Anointed One!
Christ is the Greek word, and Messiah is the Hebrew word for:
Anointed One!
And the Christ encompasses being the great high Priest, the Prophet, and the King of kings.
Jesus is the Messiah, the Christ!
The Gospel:
Going back to the mission of the Messiah as both the Great High Priest, and as the Lamb of God, Jesus was the sacrificial atonement for sins.
Jesus Christ died on a cross for the forgiveness of sins of anyone!
Jesus was the substitutional atonement for the consequence of sins, which is spiritual death.
Then He was resurrected.
If you believe in Jesus, you will have eternal life in heaven.
Invitation:
If there is any anyone here who does not know
Jesus as your Savior and Lord,
you can receive Him right now.
To receive Jesus, you simply need to
believe in Jesus!
Hunter
