Hints of the Threefold Office

So sermon prep became a mess this week. I’ve been cutting since Wednesday — too much in some places, too little in others. Like Pastor Kenny said on Sunday, we could spend several weeks in Chapter 2 alone! I trust that it’ll all come together in the next 36 hours, but until then, below are a few notes I’ve had to set aside …

It goes back to our first week. In my exposition of Hebrews 1:1–4, I introduced Jesus’s threefold office as Prophet, Priest, and King.

Jesus is the promised Messiah who has come — that’s his office — but Calvin says that this office “enjoined upon Christ by the Father consists of three parts.” Jesus is Prophet, Priest, and King. And then later Reformed theologians developed this more. It’s in all the Reformed catechisms, like our favorite, the Heidelberg Catechism:

Question 31: Why is [Jesus] called “Christ,” meaning “anointed”?

Answer: Because he has been ordained by God the Father and has been anointed with the Holy Spirit to be our chief prophet and teacher who fully reveals to us the secret counsel and will of God concerning our deliverance; our only high priest who has delivered us by the one sacrifice of his body, and who continually pleads our cause with the Father; and our eternal king who governs us by his Word and Spirit, and who guards us and keeps us in the freedom he has won for us.

As you can [see], the Catechism explains that Jesus is our chief prophet, our high priest, our eternal king. 

These are the three parts of his Messianic office and they give us a fuller picture of how Jesus is our Savior, and get this: we see all three parts in the Book of Hebrews.

We should expect, then, that hints of the “threefold office” will show up, and lo and behold, it’s in Chapter 2 –—

First, in verse 10, we see that Jesus is king(ly).

Jesus is called the “founder” of our salvation. Other translations could be “pioneer” or “leader.” It’s undeniably a reference to Moses-like leadership. Moses is mentioned a few verses later at the beginning of Chapter 3, and the parallel here is that just as Moses was the founder/leader who pioneered the first salvation-exodus of God’s people, Jesus is the founder/leader who pioneered the final salvation-exodus of God’s people. This leadership role is kingly.

Second, in verse 11, we see that Jesus is priestly.

The writer of Hebrews says that Jesus sanctifies (“for he [Jesus] who sanctifies…”). Remember from the Book of Leviticus who sanctifies! It’s Yahweh who sanctifies through his priests. So to say that Jesus sanctifies implies that Jesus is a priest. He’s a founder like Moses who saves (verse 10), which is Kingly, and he’s a Priest who sanctifies (verse 11), which is priestly

Third, in verse 13, we see that Jesus is a prophet.

In verse 13, the writer of Hebrews quotes words spoken by the prophet Isaiah (see Isaiah 8:17–18), and he says that Jesus speaks those same words. This means that Jesus is identified as a prophet himself. What the prophet says, Jesus says, because Jesus is also a prophet.

And you have it, subtly but true, the threefold office is at work. Jesus is Prophet, Priest, and King.

See you Sunday!