Thursday, October 13, 2022

 

Thursday, October 13, 2022


Psalm 101; 102:1-11

Zechariah 8:9-23

1 Peter 2:4-10


But you are a chosen race, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, God’s own people.


Over the past few months we have identified a couple of tendencies in God’s word. One is that God moves in human history in such a way that real-life events have spiritual realities embedded into them. We can deepen this understanding with Peter’s teaching that all of human history has been to point forward to Jesus. The rebuilding of the Temple in Jerusalem is one such event.


Earlier in Zechariah we read about certain visions that didn’t seem to make much sense, apart from being particularly flowery ways of describing events in the immediate future. But chapters 4 to 7 seem to conflate civil rule (that is, by the king) with religious authority (found in the position of high priest). At the time this prophecy was given, that was two different jobs (Zech 4:14).


The Temple; the King; the High Priest. Peter is telling us that the events described in Zechariah foreshadow the work of Jesus Christ. We are “the exiles”; our old “Temple” was destroyed on the cross; God “rebuilt” it in the resurrection; and He is now the cornerstone, the foundation upon which will be built the enduring Body of Christ, the church. God’s work of calling us out from darkness into His marvellous light, that is, choosing a group of people and making them worthy of being the physical representation of the spiritual and invisible God, is nothing less than mighty.


To hold this relationship together (because joining together a perfect and holy God with a weak and sinful humanity seems like a recipe for disaster), Jesus Christ is our King and Priest: He rules over us, gently yet firmly, keeping us on the narrow path to abundant life. He is also our Priest: the one who goes into the presence of the Godhead on our behalf to keep the relationship alive and healthy. Both roles are required, and they are both held by Him.


This is our reality: we are the representatives, the foreign delegation visiting this world, from our true home in the holy nation. Our role as priest (since we have been joined to Christ, who is our High Priest) is to also enter that place where God’s glory is undimmed, and speak to Him directly. We are both the builders of the new Temple as well as the structure of the new Temple itself. Looking back to where we have come from and comparing it with this new place God has brought us to, it is no wonder Peter begins his letter with saying “blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ!”



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