Journey to The Journey

I think the Christian faith may be the simplest thing on the face of the earth. Jesus died for my sins so I can be forgiven. We teach this to our children in rhymes and songs so that they can recite it back to us. It's not a complicated formula. There's no elaborate rituals one needs to participate in. The gospel is simple and to participate in it is even simpler. We enter into the hope of the gospel by faith. That's it! We merely have to believe upon Jesus to take possession of his promises for us.

The New Covenant is the foundation of the hope that Christians enjoy. Jesus ratified this covenant by the shedding of his own blood. It is by his blood that we are made righteous, holy, and perfect before God. Through this alien righteousness that lies outside of ourselves and our own works, we are guaranteed a future inheritance in God's eternal kingdom. This is a tremendous source of hope and confidence.

The theme of the priesthood of Jesus is one of the most unique characteristics of the book of Hebrews. It is central to the argument that the author is making, and in many ways a unique contribution to the New Testament, but it is firmly rooted in God's messianic promises of the Old Testament. In fact, according to the scriptures, God's Messiah would fill three important offices: prophet, priest, and king.

This week in our study over the book of Hebrews, we were introduced to a very important Biblical concept; that of the priest-king. While, as Cody rightly explained, Melchizedek is a relatively obscure figure in scripture, the importance of the priest-king is anything but. Of course, we see in Hebrews that Jesus is the ultimate priest-king, and the ultimate expression of both of these offices in redemptive history. However, the idea or concept of the priest-king is vital to not just our understanding of Christ as our Lord and Savior, but also to how we understand God's design for mankind, the creation narrative in Genesis, and the recreation of Revelation. I will do my best to briefly explain how each of these things tie together and why they are so important to our understanding.