This sermon was preached at St. Peter's Evangelical Lutheran Church in Plymouth, Michigan.
IT IS FINISHED: The Kingly Priest.
ZECHARIAH 6:9-13
In
the name + of Jesus.
“The people refused to listen to the
voice of Samuel. Instead they said, ‘No,
we want to have a king over us, so that we also can be like all the nations,
and our king can judge us and lead us out to fight our battles.’ Samuel heard all the words of the people, and
he repeated them in the hearing of the LORD. The LORD said
to Samuel, ‘Listen to them, and appoint a king for them’” (1 Samuel 8:19-22).
In their request, the people themselves
gave the job description for the king.
He was not just a law-giver and enforcer. He was also the leader of the people in times
of war. The king did not merely send
troops off to fight and die for him. He himself
would lead those troops into battle. He
would fight for the people he ruled.
Israel’s first king, Saul, was a reluctant
fighter. When he was anointed to be
Israel’s king, Samuel commissioned him with this promise: “The Spirit of
the LORD will rush upon you with power, … and you will become
a changed man. When you have received
these signs, do whatever is appropriate for the occasion, for God is with
you” (1 Samuel 10:6-7). “Doing what is appropriate for the occasion” meant going to
fight to deliver God’s people. God would
be with him. God would grant him the victory. When Goliath rose up and demanded a
challenger, however, Saul did not venture out.
In many ways, Saul proved to be unfaithful to the word of the Lord.
Therefore, the Lord raised up a new king—a
man after the Lord’s own heart. David
served as a faithful king. As the Lord’s
anointed, David did go out and lead the battle for God’s people. The Lord also gave David an additional promise:
“When your days are complete and you rest with your fathers, I will raise up
after you your seed, who will come from your own body. I will establish his kingdom. He will build a house for my name, and I will
establish the throne of his kingdom forever” (2 Samuel 7:12-13).
But this seemed to be a failed promise
when Nebuchadnezzar destroyed Jerusalem.
The royal house of David was either killed or taken into captivity. No longer did Isrel have a king. Even when the people of Israel returned to
rebuild the city and the temple, they did not install a new king. Zerubabbel served as a governor, but not king.
Israel was not able to restore the kingship,
but they did restore the priesthood.
They reconstructed the temple and rebuilt the altar. The high priesthood was reestablished and the
sacrifices resumed. The high priest was
anointed to represent the people before the Lord. He made the sacrifices on their behalf. He was vested in garments which bore the names
of the tribes of Israel. He was designated
by God as the one person who could enter the Holy of Holies and stand in the
presence of the Lord with blood to atone for all the people. He stood before God on behalf of all the people.
The high priest also stood before the
people on behalf of God. He wore the sacred
vestments which was crafted as the Lord had directed. He presided over the sacrifices as the Lord
had directed. After performing all his duties
in the temple, he exited and proclaimed the Lord’s blessing upon the
people. The words were spoken by the
high priest, but the benediction was from the Lord. You might be familiar with that benediction: “Tell
(Aaron and to his sons) to bless the Israelites with these words: The LORD bless
you and keep you. The LORD make
his face shine on you and be gracious to you.
The LORD look on you with favor and give you peace. In this way they will put my name on the
Israelites, and I will bless them” (Numbers 6:23-27).
The king of Israel and the high priest of
Israel each had their own distinct roles.
The king did not have the right to enter the Holy of Holies or to make
the sacrifices. The high priest was not
given the authority to punish lawbreakers or to summon the armies of
Israel. Therefore, the word of the Lord
through Zechariah is an astounding message.
The word of the LORD came
to me: “Take an offering from the exiles—from Heldai, Tobijah, and Jedaiah,
who have come from Babylon—and on that very day go into the house of Josiah son
of Zephaniah. Take the silver and gold
and make a crown, and place it on the head of Joshua son of Jehozadak, the high
priest” (Zechariah 6:9-11). This was
an unprecedented decree. The Lord
declared he would establish a priestly king in Israel.
This could be good news or bad news. It is like headlines that try to spark your
interest in a story. While the headlines
may be true, you don’t know if the story is good news or bad. Over the years, I have read reports about the
water levels of the Great Lakes. At one
point, they were high. Then they dropped
and were low. Back and forth it went. So, the story may have reported the facts,
but without knowing the impact of the rising or falling of lake levels, I didn’t
know if I was supposed to be scared or relieved. So, Zechariah declares that the high priest
will be fitted with the king’s crown. Is
that good or bad?
The role of a king includes establishing laws
and then enforcing them. The King of
heaven and earth has established his laws.
The Psalms testify: “To eternity, O LORD, your
word is fixed firmly in the heavens. For
generation after generation, your faithfulness remains. You established the earth, and it stands. As for your judgments, they stand to this
day, because all things are your servants” (Psalm 119:89-91).
The word of the Lord is supreme. The word which brought this world into
existence still sustains it. God’s word causes
the sun to rise and set at precise times.
It causes the seasons to come and go.
It enforces gravity, enables the union of a man and a woman to produce
offspring, and ensures that the rain and the sun will cause the plants to sprout,
bloom, and produce food. All these occur
because the word of the Lord declares it to be so.
The seasons, the sun, and the laws of physics
obey the King’s decrees, but we do not. The
King of Heaven and Earth has decreed that his creatures are to live godly lives. We know what is good, but we fail to live up
to it. We know what is evil, but we fantasize
and give into it. Our problem is not ignorance. Our problem is a heart that is rebellious and
stubborn. We may confess that we deserve
God’s punishment both now and in eternity, but when we suffer, we change our confession
and accuse God of injustice. But God’s
word is not altered by our protests. He
does not make concessions to rebels. God
takes his own word seriously. The King
will surely enforce his Law, and his judgments will be just.
Zechariah declared that the office of King
would be bestowed upon the high priest. So,
the crown should be placed upon the head of Joshua. He became the kingly priest. And do not overlook the name of this kingly priest. He is Joshua, which means “the Lord saves.” He foreshadowed a future kingly priest with the
same name. The letters would be the
same, although the pronunciation would change a bit. The kingly priest would be called Yeshua in
Aramaic, although you are much more familiar with the Greek version of his
name: Jesus. This is the kingly priest
whom Zechariah said was coming. This is
good news, indeed!
“This is what the LORD of
Armies says: There is a man whose name is the Branch, because he will branch
out from his place and build the temple of the LORD. He is the one who will build the temple of
the LORD. He will be clothed
with majesty, and he will sit and rule on his throne. He will be a priest on his throne, and there
will be peaceful relations between the two offices” (Zechariah 6:12-13).
This kingly priest represents the people before
God. He fulfills the role of the high priest. The high priest made sacrifices to atone for
sins. He slaughtered the sacrificial
victim. God’s wrath was redirected to the
sacrificial animal; it no longer rested upon the sinner who presented it. This substitution allowed God to be merciful
to the sinner. For, judgment was carried
out. Blood was shed. The life of the animal was sacrificed
according to God’s command. Our kingly
priest put all our sins upon himself. He
stood before God the Father in place of us all.
All God’s wrath was transferred from us to him. Jesus died willingly for us who had willingly
defied the King’s Law. The King’s Law
was fully enforced in the death of Jesus.
This kingly priest also represents God before
us. Having died in obedience and innocence,
Jesus was raised from the dead. And God
the Father entrusted all authority to Jesus.
Our great high priest is now Sovereign.
His decrees stand firm. Because
he has made the atoning sacrifice which pays for our sins—in fact, he IS the
atoning sacrifice which pays for our sins—his royal decree is mercy, pardon,
and peace. For, he did not nullify the demands
of the Law; he fulfilled them. And he
did not erase the judgment the Law lays on the guilty; he suffered that judgment
for us. He did all this so that you can
live under him in his kingdom and serve him in everlasting righteousness,
innocence, and blessedness—just as he has risen from death and lives and rules
eternally. This is most certainly true;
and this is most certainly good.
This Joshua, this Yeshua, this Jesus is your
kingly priest. “He is the one who
will build the temple of the LORD. He will be clothed with majesty, and he will
sit and rule on his throne. He will be a
priest on his throne, and there will be peaceful relations between the two
offices” (Zechariah 6:13). He is the kingly priest. Jesus faithfully fulfills the duties of both
offices. He has established his Church
by his sacrificial death. He bestows the
benefits of his death in the Holy Supper.
“For as often as you eat this bread and drink the cup, you proclaim
the Lord’s death until he comes” (1 Corinthians 11:26). Your kingly priest lives. His royal decree is mercy upon all who are
gathered to him. His reign extends to
the ends of the earth and will endure into all eternity.
Zechariah foretold it. The high priest Joshua foreshadowed it. The Lord Jesus Christ has fulfilled it. And we will rejoice in it forevermore.
In the name of the Father and of the Son + and of the Holy
Spirit. Amen.
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