“‘…he will be clothed with majesty and will sit and rule on his throne. He will be a priest on his throne. And there will be harmony between the two.’” (Zechariah 6:13, NIV)
It’s one thing to be number one on the money list or number one on the points list. While those are great accomplishments, try this one on for size: be number one both as the Tour’s best driver and as its best short game player.
To be the Tour’s best overall driver, you have to hit it far and straight; to be its best scrambler, you have to wedge it well and make your putts.
All in all, that’s a lot of ands. Thus, the unlikelihood of this accomplishment.
In the histories of Scripture, the most unlikely of combinations within a single man were the roles of king and priest. Priests came from the Levitical line, kings never. And because kings were leaders of earthly power, they were often reluctant, even antagonistic, in ceding some measure of authority to the priests.
This is why Zechariah’s prophecy of the Messiah is so remarkable. Here would be one who would sit on the throne as king. But when there, he would also be a priest. The roles would be harmoniously united in this one man.
At the time, of course, neither Zechariah nor any who heard him could have identified this Messiah as Jesus of Nazareth. Don’t blame them. There were few, if any, who recognized this when Jesus was born. Even the magi, who came looking for the one born king, would not also have known of his priestly role. It was only as Jesus’ life unfolded and as the apostles and gospelers were led by the Holy Spirit in their recording and interpreting Jesus’ life that they came to recognize the fullness of this man.
Jesus entered Jerusalem the Sunday ahead of his death, received as a king. Pilate chose “King of the Jews” as the identifier above Jesus’ head on the cross. And the writer of Hebrews saw that Jesus followed the priestly line of Melchizedek, who met with Abraham, bearing the name of “king of peace.” It was this Melchizedek who preceded Jesus like no other—indeed, who may have been a pre-incarnate appearance of Jesus himself before he came to be the Christ. This is our Savior, one who is wholly qualified to govern and to minister. It is only right that we are awed by him!
—
Jeff Hopper
March 6, 2015
Copyright 2015 Links Players International
The Links Daily Devotional appears Monday-Friday at www.linksplayers.com.
OTHER DEVOTIONS IN THIS SERIES
The Narrative of Scripture, Part 1
The Narrative of Scripture, Part 2
The Narrative of Scripture, Part 3
The Narrative of Scripture, Part 4
The Narrative of Scripture, Part 5
The Narrative of Scripture, Part 6
The Narrative of Scripture, Part 8