Page 54 - Christology - Student Textbook

engage in the sins of the nations around them. These nations were practicing sorcery or divination.
So, if they listened and obeyed the words of the prophets, they would stand strong against the sins
of these nations. God put his words in the mouth of these prophets (Deut. 18:14-18).

Luke writes about two disciples who were headed for the village of Emmaus (24:13) after the
crucifixion of Jesus. On their way, they were discussing death and missing body of Jesus of Nazareth
(24:19-24). Evidently, they were disheartened because they did not expect their promised Messiah
to die (24:21a). Most Jews thought that the Messiah was coming to overthrow the Romans and free
the Israelites from slavery.

Contrary to what they imagined, the Messiah did not come to save them from the Romans or from
physical problems. He came to save the world from the bondage of sin. While on their journey, the
resurrected Jesus joined them on their journey. Jesus taught them what was written concerning the
Messiah’s suffering and His entrance into glory in the writing of Moses and all the prophets (vv25-
27). He shared that “Jesus does not fulfill only the Messianic prophecies
contained in the Old Testament, but He fulfills the whole Scripture
because it points to Him as the climax of God’s delivering His people.” 137

Moses also prophesied concerning the coming of Jesus when He wrote
about the enmity that would exist between the snake and the woman
(Gen. 3:15). Further, Moses wrote about the seed through whom all the
nations will be blessed (Gen. 12:1-3). Paul argues that the seed is Jesus
(Gal 3:16). There are many Old Testament passages that predicts the coming, suffering, death by
crucifixion, and resurrection of the Messiah (Isa 53; Jer. 33:15-22; Ezek. 36:22-30; Mic. 5:2; cf. 2 Sam
7:12-14).

In Acts, Peter states that the prophet whom God was going to raise after Moses (Acts 3:20-23; cf.
Deut. 18:14-18) is Jesus because he cited the exact passage when defending their actions of faith in
Jesus Christ.

Jesus fulfilled the office of a prophet by His proclamation of the coming Kingdom of God and the call
to repentance.

Office of a Priest

Definition of the word priest
A priest is someone who offers up sacrifices to someone on behalf of
people. Elwell argues that the word “priest” had the same origin as the
word, “presbyter” or “elder”. In English, a priest is defined as a religious
138
official whose chief function is to offer sacrifices. Unlike a prophet
who is a mouthpiece for God, a priest represents the people before God. He acts as a mediator
between God and His people. He offers sacrifices to God on behalf of the people.

In 1 Samuel, we read about the priesthood of the sons of Eli; Hophni and Phinehas (2:34a). They did
evil in the eyes of the LORD and died later in an attack by the Philistines (2:13-17, 22-25; 4:11). In
chapter 2:35, the man of God prophesied the following:

137 Carson, NIV Zondervan Study Bible: Built on the Truth of Scripture and Centered on the Gospel
Message, Luke 24:27: 2137.

138 Elwell, Evangelical Dictionary of Theology, 952.

53