************ Sermon on Heidelberg Catechism Q & A 31 ************
Doctrine: The Apostles' Creed, second line; the title "Christ"
By: Rev. Adrian Dieleman
This sermon was preached on August 6, 2000
Q & A 31
Luke 3:21-22; 4:14-22
"The Messiah, The Anointed One"
I Christ, Messiah, Anointed One
A In the Apostles' Creed we say with the church of all ages, "I believe in Jesus Christ ..." This, I need to remind you, is part of true faith, part of saving faith. In order to be saved and redeemed and cleansed you and I need to believe in Jesus as the Christ.
B Many people think that "Christ" is one of the names of Jesus. But Christ is not one of His names. It is a title added to His name. In the same way as we speak of Bill Clinton as President and Jean Chretien as Prime Minister, so we speak of Jesus as Christ.
C Christ is the Greek translation of the Hebrew word Messiah. In the Gospel of John the title Messiah is found twice and both times, by way of explanation, it is added that He is the Christ (Jn 1:41; 4:25). Did you know that Jewish Christians never refer to the Son of God as Christ Jesus; rather, they call Him Messiah Jesus. The English term, as the Catechism points out, is "Anointed One."
D We confess to believe that Jesus is the Christ, the Messiah, the Anointed One. There are four questions we should ask about Jesus' anointing. First, with what was Jesus anointed? Jesus was anointed with the Holy Spirit.
Second, when was Jesus anointed? Jesus was anointed at His baptism. Jesus stepped into the Jordan where He was baptized by John. As He came out the water, the "Holy Spirit descended on him in bodily form like a dove" (Lk 3:22).
Third, we need to ask what Jesus' anointing means? Jesus' anointing means that He was ordained and equipped by God for office. Or, to put it another way, anointing shows that He has been set apart or ordained by God to do a certain task or calling. In our Bible reading the voice from heaven confirmed this calling: "You are my Son, whom I love; with you I am well pleased" (Lk 3:22). So do you realize what Jesus was doing when He was baptized? In being baptized Jesus was accepting the assignment, the offices, the task that God had given Him and ordained for Him from eternity.
E Fourth, what was Jesus' assignment as the Anointed One? What were the offices and the task accepted by Jesus at His baptism – and before? To answer these questions we have to turn to the Old Testament.
In the Old Testament period God related to His people through three offices: prophet, priest, and king. A prophet is someone who speaks for God to the people. A priest brings the people to God through sacrifice and prayer. And a king rules over the people on behalf of God.
Scripture stipulates that those holding these offices are to be anointed (Is 61:1; Ex 29:7). In the Old Testament the anointing was done with olive oil – representing or symbolizing the Holy Spirit. Think of Moses pouring oil on Aaron, of Samuel pouring oil on Saul and later on David. As with Christ, their anointing shows them as ordained and equipped by God for office. Or, to put it another way, their anointing shows that they have been set apart by God to do a certain task or calling.
In believe in Jesus, the Christ, the Messiah, the Anointed One. This, says the Catechism, means that He has been ordained and equipped by God for the office of prophet, priest, and king. In Jesus, these three offices are climaxed and fulfilled. It is Jesus Who makes the Lord known to us, Who leads us to the Father, and Who rules over us forever.
II Chief Prophet and Teacher
A Jesus has been ordained by God and anointed with the Holy Spirit to be "our chief prophet and teacher who perfectly reveals to us the secret counsel and will of God for our deliverance."
Jesus' main task as prophet is to reveal God's wonderful plan of salvation. And this He does in Word and deed. While on earth He taught the people about God's plan for salvation – through parables or the Sermon on the Mount, for instance. But, He also taught the people about God's plan for salvation by the events of His life: His incarnation and virgin birth, His atoning death, His glorious resurrection, His triumphant ascension. In all of this He clearly revealed what was veiled to the Old Testament believer.
B "In the past," says the author of Hebrews, "God spoke to our forefathers through the prophets at many times and in various ways, but in these last days he has spoken to us by his Son" (1:1). Notice, God used other prophets and teachers. Even today the Holy Spirit teaches and instructs God's people through other prophets and teachers. But Jesus is the chief prophet and teacher. For it is He Who taught and teaches through the prophets of old; it is He Who speaks through ministers of the Word; it is He Who instructs little children through Godly parents; it is He Who teaches through the illuminating presence of His indwelling Spirit.
C There can be little doubt that the office of prophet is climaxed and fulfilled in Jesus (cf Deut 18:15-19). In our Scripture passage in Luke 4 Jesus reads from Isaiah 61. When He had finished reading this, Jesus sat down. The eyes of everyone in the synagogue were fastened on him, and he said to them, "Today this scripture is fulfilled in your hearing." One of the things Jesus claims for Himself here is the office of prophet. He says the Spirit has anointed Him to preach and proclaim.
D Scripture makes clear how people reacted to Jesus as prophet and teacher.
(Lk 4:31-32) Then he went down to Capernaum, a town in Galilee, and on the Sabbath began to teach the people. (32) They were amazed at his teaching, because his message had authority.
(Mt 7:28-29) When Jesus had finished saying these things, the crowds were amazed at his teaching, (29) because he taught as one who had authority, and not as their teachers of the law.
Some animals, when they are surprised by a hunter, or are suddenly caught in a beam of light, become totally immobile and seem rooted to the ground. Their instinctive reaction to sudden danger is to freeze, as though thunderstruck.
The Greek word which ancient hunters used to describe this reaction is the same word the Gospels use to describe the effect of Jesus' teaching (cf also Mt 13:54,55; 22:33; Mk 1:22; 6:2; 11:18; Jn 7:46). People stopped dead in their tracks when they heard what Jesus said; they were thunderstruck by the words of His teaching. This was something altogether unprecedented in their experience.
Jesus spoke with authority. He, the carpenter's son from Nazareth, spoke as though He were God Almighty. Unlike the Pharisees and their scribes, Jesus did not quote recognized authorities to make His point and present His case. Jesus' authority as prophet and teacher is not borrowed, based on the declarations of earlier prophets and teachers. He speaks with the Master's voice, with a sovereign air of command which assumes the right to be obeyed. The people were greatly amazed that with authority and power He gave orders to evil spirits and even they came out (Lk 4:36). To believers He sounded like the very voice of God – which, in fact, He was and is! But to the skeptic He sounded like a crazy man with delusions of grandeur. When the people in His hometown of Nazareth first heard Him preach, they could not accept Him as prophet. In fact, they were furious when they heard Him. "They got up," says Scripture, "drove him out of the town, and took him to the brow of the hill on which the town was built, in order to throw him down the cliff" (Lk 4:23ff). And, when the chief priests and the teachers of the law heard him, they "began looking for a way to kill him, for they feared him, because the whole crowd was amazed at his teaching" (Mk 11:18).
E In believe in Jesus, the Christ, the Messiah, the Anointed One, our chief prophet and teacher. There can be only one proper response to Him. In speaking of Jesus as prophet, Moses said, "You must listen to him" (Deut 18:15). Peter could say, "Anyone who does not listen to him will be completely cut off from among his people" (Acts 3:23). On the Mount of Transfiguration God speaks of the Son in language that reminds us of His baptism: "This is my Son, whom I have chosen." Then He adds, "listen to him" (Lk 9:35).
As in days of old, the voice of Jesus can still stop men and women dead in their tracks, making them thunderstruck, leading them to acknowledge it is God's voice they are hearing. But, also as in the days of old, some people respond with skepticism too.
Let me tell you, congregation, unless you listen to Jesus, unless Jesus is your chief prophet and teacher, you are ignorant and remain in Your misery and sin. Only those who listen to Him are granted salvation and life.
III Only High Priest, Eternal King
A Jesus has been ordained by God and anointed with the Holy Spirit to also be our only high priest and eternal king.
I discuss the priestly and kingly office together because that's what the Bible does (cf Zech 6:13 and the person of Melchizedek which is applied to Christ).
B In the Old Testament, it was the task of the high priest to represent man before God: each day he would offer gifts and sacrifices for the people's sins, and would intercede for them before God.
As High Priest, what did Jesus do? He offered Himself as an atoning sacrifice; He suffered and died upon the cross. He was both the offerer and the offering.
The purpose of this work of Christ is to free us – body and soul – from our sin.
Topic: Sin
Subtopic: Bondage of
Index: 3352
Date: 8/2000.101
Title: Entangles Like Vines
I remember how late one Summer I had to spend three or four hours cleaning out the eave troughs of the house I lived in. On one side they were completely blocked by vines. I suspect the vines started small – nothing to bother about. But over time they managed to cover the entire wall and then clog up the eave troughs. I cut all the vine branches about 3 or 4 inches below the gutter. For a while the tangled mass of the vine's branches still clung to the eave troughs but as the weeks passed the creepers died and fell away.
Sin is like those vines. It can begin so small and seemingly insignificant but it can grow until it has a strangling grip on our lives. It is Christ Who "has set us free by the one sacrifice of his body." Yes, the "creepers" of sin may still cling to us, but sin's power has been severed by Christ.
As High Priest Jesus not only sets us free by the one sacrifice of His body but He also intercedes for us. That is the second part of His work as High Priest. The first part Jesus did on earth. The second part He is now doing in heaven. The two cannot be separated: they are both the high priestly work of Christ; furthermore, Christ's intercession carries to completion His work of atonement.
In His great work of intercession, Christ appears for us in God's presence (Heb 9:24). There He defends our cause against the accusations of Satan. It is He Who sanctifies our prayers and makes them acceptable to God. And, He prays for the church: He presents to the Father those spiritual needs which we are not aware of or neglect to include in our prayers; He prays for our protection from enemies we do not even see; He prays that our faith may not cease and that we may come out victoriously in the end.
In believe in Jesus, the Christ, the Messiah, the Anointed One, the only High Priest. There is only one response that we can have to Jesus as our only High Priest. Don't forget, He died for us and He prays for us. What love, what wondrous love! What grace, what beautiful grace! We can only respond to this love and grace with praise and thanksgiving; we need to give ourselves to Him Who gave Himself for us.
C Jesus is also our eternal king. It is the task of the king to rule over the people on behalf of God. As king, Jesus governs us by His Word and Spirit. As king, Jesus always keep us in the great salvation He has gained for us (Jn 10:28). In fact, as He is an eternal king, we know He can never lack for subjects and that the church is forever preserved.
In believe in Jesus, the Christ, the Messiah, the Anointed One, the eternal king. If Jesus is our king, then we must try in everything to submit to His rule. If Jesus is our king, then we must surrender our life to Him and we rest secure in the thought that all things are in His hands.
Conclusion
In believe in Jesus, the Christ, the Messiah, the Anointed One. He has been ordained by God and anointed with the Spirit to be our Prophet, Priest, and King.
Yet, as Scripture makes clear, the work of Christ is quite paradoxical in nature. Yes, he is our chief prophet and teacher. But His message went largely unheeded and His final prophecies were made while hanging from a tree.
Is He our only high priest? Absolutely! But notice how He set us free: "by the sacrifice of his body."
He is our eternal king. But He is also the lowliest of servants Who "did not come to be served, but to serve, and to give his life as a ransom for many" (Mt 20:28).
Christ is the Prophet Who was rejected by His own hometown, the Priest Who was wounded for our transgressions, and the King Who was first a servant and was then crucified.
"I believe ... in Jesus Christ ..." says true faith, believing faith. If that is your confession too, then Jesus is your chief prophet and teacher – and you listen to His words of life. If that is your confession too, then Jesus is your only high priest, your Savior from sin, your Intercessor in heaven – and you praise Him and thank Him and give yourself to Him. If that is your confession too, then Jesus is your eternal king – the Lord and Master of all Your life.