Page 55 - Christology - Student Textbook

35 And I will raise me up a faithful priest, that shall do according to that which is in my heart and in
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my mind: and I will build him a sure house; and he shall walk before mine anointed forever. And it
shall come to pass, that every one that is left in thy house shall come and bow down to him for a
piece of silver and a loaf of bread, and shall say, Put me, I pray thee, into one of the priests’ offices,
that I may eat a morsel of bread.

A faithful priest who would minister before the anointed was coming. The word “anointed” could be
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referring to “the future establishment of kingship in Israel.” Ultimately Jesus Christ, a priest to the
Israelites, would execute the roles of a priest because He knows the mind of God the Father. The
faithful priest being discussed could be referencing Jesus Christ (cf. 2 Sam. 8:17; 1 Chr. 24:3, 31).

There are other Old Testament passages which talk about a priest who would serve before God the
Father forever. Those include Psalms 110:4 and Zechariah 6:13.

In the New Testament, the author of Hebrews discusses Christ’s priestly work as superior to early
priests. Jesus Christ is the inaugurator of the New Covenant. The author of Hebrews argues that if
the sprinkling of the blood of goats, bulls, and ashes of a heifer sanctified them, how much more will
the blood of Christ who offered Himself without blemish to God purify our conscience from dead
works to serve the living God? (Heb. 9:13-14). So, Jesus Christ was not only a better High Priest
(Heb. 8:1-13; 10:11-14) but He is the great High Priest (Heb. 4:14-6) after the older of Melchizedek
(Heb. 5:6, 10; 7:1-10). Jesus as the great High Priest is our mediator. Gordon R. Lewis and Bruce A.
Demarest argue that people should not seek any other mediator other than Christ. We should offer
allegiance to the “great High Priest, the once-for-all Sacrifice, the resurrected and ascended Head of
the church.”
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Office of a King

Nathan the prophet shared with David that God would establish
his kingdom and kingship forever (2 Sam 7:12-16). This passage
of Scripture references his son, Solomon, whom God would bless
as a result of David’s faithfulness. But God told David that He
would establish the throne of his son forever. We know that
Solomon wandered from God, and eventually his thrown was
defeated by Babylon. Evidently God was projecting this promised to David’s seed. According to
Luke, angel Gabriel confirmed to Mary that she was going to bear a son who was going to be great.
He was going to be given the throne of His father David and He was going to reign over the house of
Jacob forever, and of His kingdom, there was going to be no end. Luke uses the exact words spoken
about in 2 Samuel 7:12-16.

Jesus was the fulfillment of that perpetual promised King. We read in Numbers 24:17 which came
from the mouth of Balaam,

There shall come forth a star out of Jacob,
And a sceptre shall rise out of Israel,
And shall smite through the corners of Moab,

139 Carson, NIV Zondervan Study Bible: Built on the Truth of Scripture and Centered on the Gospel
Message, 1 Samuel 2:35, 496.

140 Gordon R. Lewis and Bruce A. Demarest, Integrative Theology: Historical, Biblical, Systematic,
Apologetic, Practical (Grand Rapids, MI: Zondervan, 1990), 2: 360.

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