Prophet, Priest, and King

Prophet, Priest, and King

Jesus Christ was a prophet, who, like many Prophets, was often unrecognized as such by some of those closest to Him:

"And when Jesus had finished these parables, He went away from there, and coming to His own country He taught them in their Synagogue [see Aliyya and Haftara, also Which Bible Did Jesus Use?], so that they were astonished, and said, "Where did this man get this wisdom and these mighty works? Is not this the carpenter's [see Joseph] son? Is not His mother called Mary? And are not His brothers James and Joseph and Simon and Judas [see Brother Jude]? And are not all His sisters with us [see Mary's Other Children?]? Where then did this man get all this?" And they took offense at Him."

"But Jesus said to them, "A prophet is not without honor except in his own country and in his own house." And He did not do many mighty works there, because of their unbelief." (Matthew 13:53-58 RSV)

"And the crowds that went before Him and that followed Him shouted, "Hosanna to the Son of David! Blessed is He who comes in the Name of the Lord! Hosanna in the highest!" And when He entered Jerusalem, all the city was stirred, saying, "Who is this?" And the crowds said, "This is the prophet Jesus from Nazareth [see also Nazarene] of Galilee." (Matthew 21:9-11 RSV)

Jesus Christ is the ultimate High Priest of humanity:

"Therefore, holy brethren, who share in a heavenly call, consider Jesus, the apostle [apostle means someone who is sent] and High Priest of our confession. He was faithful to Him who appointed Him, just as Moses also was faithful in God's house." (Hebrews 3:1-2 RSV)

"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 have not a High Priest who is unable to sympathize with our weaknesses, but one who in every respect has been tempted as we are [see Could Jesus Have Sinned?], yet without sin." (Hebrews 4:14-15 RSV)

Jesus Christ is a King:

"And when they drew near to Jerusalem and came to Bethphage, to the Mount of Olives, then Jesus sent two disciples, saying to them, "Go into the village opposite you, and immediately you will find an ass tied, and a colt with her; untie them and bring them to me. If any one says anything to you, you shall say, 'The Lord has need of them,' and he will send them immediately." This took place to fulfil what was spoken by the prophet, saying, "Tell the Daughter of Zion, Behold, your king is coming to you, humble, and mounted on an ass, and on a colt, the foal of an ass." (Matthew 21:1-5 RSV)

"I charge you to keep the commandment unstained and free from reproach until the appearing of our Lord Jesus Christ; and this will be made manifest at the proper time by the blessed and only Sovereign, the King of kings and Lord of lords" (1 Timothy 6:14-15 RSV)

Fact Finder: What is Jesus Christ doing today? And where?
See What Is Jesus Christ Doing Right Now?

This Day In History, August 23

1244: Turks expelled the crusaders under Frederick II from Jerusalem. See The Crusades

1367: Gil Alvarez Carrillo de Albornoz died at age 57. A Spanish soldier and cardinal, he paved the way for the return of the papacy to Italy from Avignon, France, where the popes lived from 1309 to 1377.

1541: French explorer Jacques Cartier landed near Quebec on his third voyage to North America.

1572: In France, Catholics massacred thousands of Huguenots (French Protestants), under orders of Catherine de Medici, advisor to her son, Charles IX, King of France.

1775: King George III of England declared the American colonies in open rebellion.

1821: Mexico was declared independent of Spain by the Treaty of Aquala.

1866: The Treaty of Prague was signed, formally ending the Seven Weeks' War between Austria and Prussian-led German states.

1914: Japan declared war on Germany.

1914: In the town of Dinant, Belgium, during the First World War, German soldiers murdered 612 civilian men, women and children, the youngest a 3 week old baby held in its mother's arms. The Germans gave as their reason that Belgian civilians had fired on them while they were repairing a bridge.

1921: Feisal I was installed as King of Iraq.

1926: American film idol Rudolph Valentino died, causing world-wide hysteria and a number of suicides.

1942: The Battle of Stalingrad began. Although the city was reduced to rubble by the Germans, the Russians fought on, and after 6 months the Germans surrendered.

1952: Frederick George Kenyon died at age 89. The British archaeologist and language scholar devoted his life to discovering Biblical parallels in ancient Greek papyri, convincing critics that science does not disprove the Bible.

1961: Ranger I, the first in a series of successful lunar probes, was launched from Cape Canaveral.

1980: The Polish communist government agreed to negotiate directly with striking Gdansk shipworkers.

1990: East and West Germany announced that they would unite on October 3, ending four decades of post-World War II division.

1991: Radical Moscow city leaders took control of the Soviet Communist Party's headquarters, seizing documents and sealing offices, as anti-communism swept the nation in the wake of a failed hardline coup.