Magyar Egyház, 1956 (35. évfolyam, 1-11. szám)

1956-11-01 / 11. szám

16

MAGYAR EGYHÁZ

first. John the Baptist pointed Him out as the “Lamb of God”. In the baptism, the heavenly voice revealed Him as the beloved Son. In Nazareth, and elsewhere, too, no doubt, He applied the Messianic prophecies to Himself. In His preaching, He said, “The Kingdom of Heaven is at hand.” Small wonder it is, then, that Andrew hastened to tell his brother Simon, later called Peter, “We have found the Messiah (which means “Christ), and he brought him to Jesus.” (John 1:41b- 42a).

This now became the difference between the followers and the enemies of Jesus. Some accepted His claims and believed that He was the Messiah, the Christ, as I have explained the meaning of the word. Others said, “No, Jesus can’t be Christ because He is not driving out the Romans and setting up an earthly kingdom.” The faith of the Christians is summed up by Peter’s great confession, “Thou art the Christ, the Son of the living God.” The unbelief of His enemies is voiced in their mocking cry to Jesus as he hung on the cross, “If you are Christ, save yourself and us.” We call ourselves Christians because, with the former, we believe that Jesus was indeed the longpromised Savior of the world, the Christ or Messiah foretold by the Old Testament, now come to earth. The Jews, on the other hand, persist in rejecting this idea, and look for a Messiah still to come to rule from Jerusalem and Israel over the whole world.

But what does it contribute to our understanding of the Savior to confess Him as Christ? We are not as imbued with Messianic hopes as were the Jews among whom He first came. For them this name meant everything. That is why John wrote to tell them that Jesus is the Christ That is why the apostles preached the same message in all the synagogues to which they came. But does this designation of Jesus have a meaning for us? Or shall it be simply a name, as it is for most people, and remain a name only?

The Heidelberg Catechism seizes upon this designation, as it did upon the name of Jesus, and makes it an important part of its teaching about the nature of the Son of God, who was sent into the world to be our Savior. Q. 31, Why it He called “Christ”, that is, “anointed”? — Because He is ordained of God the Father, and 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 redemption; and our only High Priest, who by the one sacrifice of His body has redeemed us, and ever liveth to make intercession for us with the Father; and our eternal King, who governs us by His Word and Spirit, and defends and preserves us in the redemption obtained for us.

In brief, Jesus’ Messiahship maybe summed up by stating that He exercises a three-fold office, that of Prophet, that of Priest, and that of King. Just as in Old Testament times, these three offices were associated with anointings, so the Anointed One now administers them. His anointing is a different one than that used in the Old Testament. No man needed to pour oil on His Head. His appointment was directly from God the Father. His baptism in the Jordan is perhaps the most obvious place in which this is made known. The Holy Spirit came down upon Him like a dove, and the voice from heaven revealed Him as the One who was pleasing to the Father, whom men should hear.

At a prophet, Jesus teaches divine truth. At the end of the sermon on the mount, it savs. “He taught them as One having authority, and not as their

scribes.” Jesus had the best authority any religious teacher could have — a complete and intimate communion with His Father, by whom He received the knowledge He was to communicate to others. There are many in the world today who would construct a religion for themselves. Books are written about these systems or thoughts. Recently Ldward R. Murrow brought out such a book entitled, “This I Believe”, in which many prominent people were asked to write about their beliefs. The result was utter confusion, because each one had worked out a religion for himself, and this was considered something admirable. Few of these thinkers or scientists or public figures had reckoned with the Maste1 Teacher, nor did they seem at all disposed to submit to His authority.

Man left to his own untutored view will never be able to comprehend eternal truths. Such truths must be revealed — the Messiah-Prophet, Jesus Christ, has revealed them to us, and we value His instructions above all othrs.

But the teachings of Jesus, the Prophet of Nazareth, are not the whole of the significance of the Messiah, the Christ. Too many would stop there — even many liberal-minded Jews are willing to acknowledge Jesus as a great and significant prophet, even the most insprided of the prophets. But Christians see in the Christ also a Priest and a King.

Jesus Christ is our great High Priest. Now the office of a priest in the Old Testament is to offer sacrifice and make prayers in behalf of the congregation. This is what Jesus did and is doing in behalf of us, His people. The sacrifice He offered was a self-sacrifice; the greatest Sacrifice possible. That is why He is called in Scripture, the Lamb of God that taketh away the sin of the world. The sacrifice of an unspotted Lamb under the old Law was the highest sin-offering. Here the spotless Lamb of God has offered Himself a sacrifice for the sins of the whole world, or at least, for as many as will avail themselves of the sacrifice forever. Likewise, as our Priest, He makes intercession for us. “Father’ forgive them, for they know not what they do,” He prayed for those who nailed Him to the cross of Calvary. With that, and many like prayers, He prays for us before the throne of grace, and His prayer is migthly to prevail.

Because we have Jesus as a Priest forever, we do not need any earthly priests. The Christian religion has no special group of men, set aside from all others for the work of sacrifice and intercession, as had been the case under the Old Testament law. The two ideas are carefully distinguished in the Bible — a priest, iereus, and an official of a Christian church, presbyteros, elder, and it is wrong for the church to confuse them. The Christian pastor is not a priest, but an elder or shepherd in the congregation. Of priests we have no need, because Christ, the perfect and universal priest, has offered the whole sacrifice and still lives to perform every priestly function needed.

But even more glorious than this is the office of our Messiah. He is also our King. As such, He preserves and defends His church from the onslaughts of Satan and all His emissaries now and forever. We need not fear for the future of the church. It will weather all storms, because its Head is a King more mighty than the mightiest of men — the Messiah. The Christ.

By our faith in Christ, we too share in His Messiahship and in His threefold office. This Is the wonderful privilege contained in our name, Christian. We are members, very parts of the Christ. We share in His