Zechariah chapter 6 tonight,
Zechariah chapter 6 and we'd like to look at verses 12 and
13 and I believe we have one more message then in this glorious
chapter of a prophet who is declaring someone's coming. Prophet Zechariah,
like all the prophets of the Old Testament, were declaring
someone's coming. And this prophet, Zechariah,
is sharing that with such glorious words as we find here. One more verse, verse 15, we
plan to look at next week. So read with me here in Zechariah
6, verse 12 and 13. and I speak unto you, saying,
Thus speaketh the Lord of hosts. Now, we've looked at that name
a number of times, and I believe it's important for us from time
to time just to remember who's speaking here. This is that one
that we read about in the book of Daniel. He rules in the armies
of heaven and among the inhabitants of the earth, and none can stay
his hand or say, what doest thou? That's this one. He's the Lord
of hosts. He's the Lord of the armies of
heaven. He says, Behold the man. Notice that? Behold the man whose
name is the branch. And he shall grow up out of his
place, and shall build the temple of the Lord. Now it's interesting
that that phrase is repeated in the next verse. Even he shall
build the temple of the Lord, and he shall bear the glory,
and shall sit and rule upon his throne. And he shall be a priest
upon his throne, and the counsel of peace shall be between them
both. I liked what another translation
said with that last phrase. There will be perfect harmony
between his two roles. perfect harmony between him being
king and priest. There will be no conflict. And
so we find our Lord and Savior is not only king, he's also priest,
but he is the prophet that we read about over there as Moses
spoke. Well, let's just look at these
two verses, break them down just a little bit tonight, and look
at them part by part as the Lord gives us his resume. The Lord of hosts gives us his
resume with regard to him being the one promised. Zechariah is
a faithful preacher of the gospel. He's a faithful preacher of the
Lord God Almighty. God has called him, God has given
him the word, and God has sent him to a people. And he gives
this message. Even he And he spake unto him,
saying, Thus speaketh the Lord of hosts, saying, Behold the
man whose name is the branch. Now, we've mentioned that this
word branch with regard to the Savior, with regard to Christ,
with regard to the Lord Jesus Christ is mentioned a number
of places in the Old Testament. But I draw your attention tonight
to the book of Jeremiah, chapter 23. Would you back up with me
to the book of Jeremiah, chapter 23, as this prophet also pointed
ahead, saying, someone's coming, his name is the branch. This
man whose name is the branch. That's an important characteristic
about our savior. This man whose name is the branch. But here in the book of Jeremiah,
chapter 23, We have these words left for us to ponder, to go
over, and to review from time to time as we run into them,
as we read the Old Testament. In the book of Jeremiah, chapter
23, and there in verse 5 and 6, it says, Behold, the days
come, saith the Lord, that I will raise unto David a righteous
branch. He fulfilled the perfect almighty
will of almighty God. He kept the law perfectly. He
is the righteous branch. It is his righteousness that
we are in so desperate need of. And we thank God because of his
death on the cross, it is imputed to us. It's given to us on our
behalf. And so we stand in his righteousness and nothing else. His righteousness and nothing
else. And it goes on to tell us there, And a king shall reign
and prosper and shall execute judgment and justice in the earth. Now notice verse 6. In his days
Judah shall be saved. Now he has promised to save his
people from their sins. We have the word Judah often
used in the Old Testament as a symbol, as a picture of the
church. And then we find here in that
same verse it says, Judah shall be saved and Israel shall dwell
safely. How important it is for God's
people to dwell safely in the presence of God. Now we may have
affliction in this world. But we can dwell safely in the
presence of God, knowing that all our sin has been put away,
and that He has taken care of us completely and wholly, and
we have no regrets. We have nothing between our Lord,
our God, and us. And then He goes on to tell us
in that verse, and this is His name, whereby He shall be called. the Lord our righteousness. I
appreciate the translators that put that bold print in there.
So when you're flipping to the book of Jeremiah and you're looking
for this verse, it's quite obvious. It pops out on the page, the
Lord our righteousness. And we find also that the church,
that Judah, that Israel shall be called by the same name, the
Lord our righteousness. So as as Zechariah refers to
the Lord, as Zechariah refers and points ahead, someone's coming,
he refers to the branch, and that branch has been brought
up here, it's been brought up in the book of Isaiah. But also
look with me, if you would, back one book in the book of Isaiah.
In Isaiah chapter 32, we find that something Zechariah brought
out here, that this branch, a man, what did it say over there? It
said in verse 12, Thus speaketh the Lord of Hosts, behold, the
man whose name is the branch, a man whose name, that's very
important. That is so important to our salvation
that the God-man would take care of it. A man would come, the
perfect man, the second Adam would come. Well, here in the
book of Isaiah chapter 32, Isaiah chapter 32 verses 1 and
2. Now, if you live in the Dalles,
you know what it is to have a covert from the storm. You know what
the Lee of the Rock is. You know where it is to stand
behind a pickup and not be blasted. Well, behold, a king shall reign
in righteousness. and princes shall rule in judgment,
and a man shall be as an hiding place from the wind, and a covert
from the tempest. This is speaking of no one else
but the Lord Jesus Christ. This is the man. This is the
man of God. This is the man that God prepared,
a body thou hast prepared for me. A covert from the tempest
as rivers of water in a dry place as a shadow of a rock in a weary
land. Even in the driest of place,
God gives such sweet living water. No, really the world to a believer
is a dry place. We're just passing through. We
take up our residence here for a short time, but the Lord has
promised to give us rivers of water, righteous rivers of water. And then it goes on and tells
us in that same verse of scripture, a great rock in a weary land,
a shadow of a great rock in a weary land. My twin brother and I used
to haul hay to earn a little money when we were teenagers.
And when we had lunch, we crawled under the truck, because that's
where the shade was. Out in the middle of a hayfield,
you don't have much shade, but there was there. And so we find
that we have a shade in the shadow of a mighty rock, the Lord Jesus
Christ. That's where we're protected,
in Him. Well, over in the book of John
chapter 19, a person that we wouldn't think would have much
to do or say about the Lord Jesus is prompted by God to say something
very important about Him. Over here in the book of John
chapter 19, John chapter 19, now the person we're speaking
of is Pilate. We wouldn't think Pilate had a whole lot to say
about the Lord, but he is prompted to say two or three things that
have great value. One of them is, what I've written,
I've written. Now he'd have never done that
if he had not had God's hand right in his back telling him,
this is what you're gonna say. Well, here in the book of John chapter
19, and there in verse five, and then came Jesus forth wearing
the crown of thorns and the purple robe and Pilate saith unto them. What a prophetic statement out
of this mouth of this treacherous man, out of the mouth of this
Roman, he says, behold the man. Behold the man. Now this is that
man that was spoken of throughout the Old Testament. This is the
man that will be spoken of throughout the New Testament. And Pilate
is used by Almighty God to point out that here he is, right here. He's the one that was promised
in the Old Testament. He's the one that was told of
in the Old Testament. All the prophets said this man
is coming. And in the Matthew, Mark, Luke,
and John, he is identified, here he is. And Pilate is one of those
used by God to say, here he is. Now, it's not long that they
take him out and fulfill every word that was prophesied about
his death. And Pilate instructs it. And
they crucified him. And they cast lots over his clothes. They mocked him. And you know,
after it was all over with, there was a soldier said, truly, this
man is the son of God. And the church says, there's
the man, the man Christ Jesus. Now we know him as far greater
than that, as just a man. And that is shared with us back
there in the book of Zechariah. Zechariah chapter six again,
where it tells us, behold the man whose name is the branch.
And it says, and he shall grow up out of his place. Now, what
is that telling us? It's telling us that during his
life, he is going to be identified as more than just a man. He's going to grow up out of
his place. Now, he was born of a virgin. He was given a birth
much like you and I have had, except he did not have a human
father. His father was God. It's a very
special creation that God gave. A body was prepared, and in that
body dwelt the God-man. In that body was God. I cannot
explain how it is. People much wiser and more knowledgeable
than I have have tried, and they come to the same conclusion.
I just can't explain it. but it's the truth. And we find
that this position that he has, he says, he shall grow up out
of his place. He is for all people around him
and is brought up during his ministry. Is not this Joseph's
son? Is not that his mother, and there
are his brethren, and there's his sisters? And yet, we find
out that through the process of time, he grows up out of that
place. He shows himself as much different
than just a man, because he is identified as the son of God. He declares that about himself.
Now, it's interesting over in the book of Micah. Would you
turn with me to the book of Micah? Just a little bit towards the
New Testament. The book of Micah chapter five. Micah chapter five. Micah chapter
five. Let me get to Micah instead of
Malachi. Micah chapter five and verse
two. We have this wonderful passage
of scripture. It says here, but thou Bethlehem, Now, this is the passage of Scripture
that was used to identify the place where the Christ would
be born. When those king came, they searched
the Scriptures and they says, well, right here. Here it is,
right here. though thou be little among the
thousands of Judah, yet out of thee shall he come forth unto
me that is to be ruler in Israel. Now notice this, whose goings
forth have been from of old, from everlasting. There's one
that's going to come forth out of Bethlehem. There's one that's
going to be born in Bethlehem, but that is not his beginning.
His beginning has no beginning. He's from everlasting. He's identified
as the everlasting one. He is God almighty. He is the everlasting one. And
we find this is brought out throughout the scriptures. Turn with me
to the book of Matthew. Even those that we would think
would be enemies of the Lord Jesus have this confession, the
demons. The demons have this confession
about the Lord Jesus. They knew who He was. They knew
He was the Son of God in Matthew chapter 27. Excuse me. Matthew 8. Matthew chapter 8
and verse 29. Matthew chapter 8 and verse 29.
The scriptures share this, And behold, they cried out, saying,
What have we to do with thee, Jesus? Now, these are the devils. It's mentioned in verse 28. There
was the coming of the country of the Gadarenes, and there met
Him two possessive devils. Now, those that were had possessed
these men, Jesus, thou Son of God, what have you to do with
thee? What have we to do with thee,
Jesus, thou Son of God? Art thou come hither to torment
us before the time? So they knew Him, and they identified. Now the Lord says, keep silent
about that. Well, over in the book of Matthew
chapter 27, Matthew chapter 27, we find the those who had brought the trial
or call for the trial of the Lord Jesus. They make this confession
about Him that He grew up out of His place. He's not just one
of the run-of-the-mill disciples. He's just not a fanatical leader. He is the Son of God. He has
been identified as the Son of God. And here in Matthew chapter
27 and verse 43, He shares this as those who brought the accusation
mentioned this. in Matthew chapter 27, and there
in verse 43, He trusted in God, let Him deliver him now, if He
will have him, for He said, I am the Son of God. Now, several
times they come, confess, tell us if you be the son of God.
Well, here at the conclusion of his physical life, as he's
hanging on the cross, they said, he said he's the son of God.
Now, if he is, let him come down. Well, we know that that's not
gonna be the purpose of Jesus Christ on the cross. His purpose
is to lay down his life, a ransom for many. Now, in the book of
1 John, there's so much that is said. Turn there with me if
you would, the book of 1 John. We're going to stop in chapter
5, 1 John chapter 5. And in the book of 1 John, we
have so much said about the sonship of Christ, that he is the son
of God. And his people know this. Those
who have been raised from the spiritual dead, those who have
been regenerated by the Holy Spirit, we all agree on this. Now, we may have some differences
in other places, but when it comes to the Sonship of Jesus
Christ, Jesus Christ, His Spirit, and the Father reveal to every
one of us that He is the Son of God. No question is left in
our mind. We don't go off wondering whether
He was. Now, an unregenerate person will
wonder if he is, but a regenerated person will never have that problem.
It's revealed to them. In 1 John 5, verse 5, we read
these. Who is he that overcometh the
world? but he that believeth that Jesus
is the Son of God. That's who overcomes. Now, if
we get over to Revelation chapters 2 and 3 and we read about overcomers,
let's go right back to here and we find out those who will overcome
are those who have had Christ reveal to them that He is the
Son of God. What does that mean for us? That
He is Immanuel. He is the God-man, came for the
purpose of dying for His people. A man could not do it. God could
not die. But in the two, 100% man and
100% God, he could lay down his life, a ransom for us to pay
for us completely and totally, and put our sins as far as the
east is from the west. Now in verse 10 of that same
chapter, it says, he that believeth on the Son of God hath the witness
in himself. When we are saved, God gave us
this witness. We're not going to be worried
about it. We're not going to be concerned
about it. We're not going to try to prove it because it's been revealed
to us. He said, here he that believeth on the Son of God hath
the witness in himself. He that believeth not God hath
made him a liar. I don't believe it. because he
believeth not the record that God gave of his son. I've shared
with you that brother who shared with his own daughter when she
said, you don't believe I'm saved. And he says, I know you're not.
And he says, how do you know that? And he says, number one,
you've never been a sinner. And number two, you don't believe
the record. You don't believe the word of God. Now that's something
a believer will do, is believe the word of God. And you will
believe that Jesus is the man, Christ Jesus, and you'll believe
that he is the son of God. Son of man, son of God. And in
that verse 12 of that same chapter, he that hath the son hath life,
and he that hath not the son of God hath not life. What a
difference it makes. If Christ is revealed to you,
you have life. If he's not revealed to you, you have not life. It's
that plain. And then in verse 13, these things
have I written unto you that believe on the name of the Son
of God that you may know that you have eternal life. Everyone
that has this revealed has eternal life. Regeneration does this. We don't need any more than regeneration. Brother Craig and I were talking,
people believe that you have to have more than that. You have
to add some, oh my goodness. Regeneration is what God does
for his people. And then in verse, that verse,
finish that verse 13, know that you have eternal life and that
ye may believe on the name of the Son of God. And verse 20
of that same chapter, and we know that the Son of God has
come and has given us an understanding that we may know him that is
true. and we are in Him that is true,
even in His Son, Jesus Christ. This is the true God in eternal
life. Well, children, keep yourselves
from idols. What's that? Don't depend on
your will, depend on God. Don't depend on your thoughts,
depend on God, trust Him. And then over in the book of
Revelation chapter two, we have another wonderful statement here
made that he will grow up out of his place. born among humanity,
and yet he is so different than any other man ever walked on
the face of the earth. This is the God man. This is
Emmanuel. This is the Savior. This is the
Savior Christ Jesus. He's so different. Now, Peter,
on the behalf of all of us, made this statement because every
believer will say this. Thou art the Christ, the Son
of the living God. That's a confession that God's
people will make. We may have lots of other differences,
but that we'll settle on. And then here in the book of
Revelation chapter two and verse 18, it says, and unto the church
of Thyatira write, these things saith the son of God. who hath
his eyes like a flame of fire and his feet are like fine brass.
As we read through these passages of scripture, we have different
descriptions of the very Savior, the Lord Jesus, and here, the
Son of God. God, Emmanuel, God with us. Lots of words are given to us
about who he is and what he is. And yet we are at a loss to describe
it, but we don't have to describe it. We are given the faith to
believe it. Thou art the Christ, the Son
of the living God. Now, he shall build his temple,
it tells us over there in the book of Zechariah chapter 6.
Zechariah chapter 6, in the last phrase it says, and he shall
build the temple of the Lord. It's important that his temple
is the temple of the Lord. A lot of temples are being built.
By nature we build a temple. Our temple, it's a temple that
is made of very imperfect materials, wood, hand stubble, and the mortar
isn't tempered and it's not going to stand. We build on sand, it's
not going to stand. but the temple of the Lord."
That's what it says here. He shall build the temple of
the Lord. And in verse 13 it says, and even He shall build
the temple of the Lord. Twice it says this very same
thing in two places. It's mentioned twice to show
the great importance that He shall build it and it is His
temple. Now, when he builds it, he's
going to select the material. Well, let's back up. He's going
to select the soil where the material will be. It's going
to be on good soil. He'll prepare the soil. He's
going to select the foundation. He's the foundation. He's going
to select the lively stones that will go into this temple, his
people. His people have been selected,
chosen before the foundation of the world. And out of the
world, he calls those people and he makes them diamonds. A lively stones are built here. It is his temple. He is building
it. And we are just the recipients
of all his building activity. We find out when we're saved
that all of this was done and progress was made in the covenant
of grace before the foundation of the world. And all through
time, all through the scriptures, he has the purpose of building
it. Even as he said upon this rock himself, The great rock
and not Peter, the little stone, but upon this rock, upon Christ,
I will build my church and the gates of hell will not prevail
against it. What a promise he makes. I will build my temple. Now this is gonna be a much different
temple than Solomon's. You know, to the world, Solomon's
was a beautiful temple. And to most of those Jews, it
was a beautiful temple. And to the world, the church
is not very good looking. It's made up of sinners. It's
just made up. There's not much attraction about
it until your eyes are caused to see the builder. And then
it changes us. Everybody are brothers and sisters. Everybody is equal. We all, in
some miraculous way, this building, every stone gets to touch the
foundation. I don't know how that happens,
but it is. from the very first stone that was put into this
building to the very last stone, we all will be able to touch
the foundation, or should I say the foundation touches us? Because
Christ truly is our foundation. And he has promised to build
this foundation, to build this church. Turn with me, if you
would, over to the book of Hebrews. Hebrews. Christ is the only foundation
of the spiritual temple but also the builder, and he has selected
every lively stone that goes into it. In the book of Hebrews
chapter three, Hebrews chapter three, verses one through six.
Hebrews chapter three, verses one through six. Let's look at
these six verses of scripture as they speak about a builder
over his house a builder over his house. Hebrews 3, beginning with verse
1, it says, Wherefore, holy brethren, partakers of the heavenly calling,
that's believers. God calls his people out, partakers
of the heavenly calling. There's been a calling gone out,
calls every one of his lively stones by name. He calls us out
of darkness to his marvelous light. The apostle, consider
the apostle and high priest of our profession, Jesus Christ. who was faithful to him that
appointed him as also Moses was faithful in all his house. Now
this one was appointed by the Godhead. This one was appointed
by the covenant of grace and he is faithful to fulfill everything
the covenant of grace had in it. For this man was counted
worthy of more glory than Moses. I love it. More glory than Moses. Moses was an honorable man. Moses
was called to do a great deal. Moses was called to set out the
design of the tabernacle. Moses was called to set up the
camp. Moses was all physical. But this one has a spiritual
place inasmuch as he hath made, hath builded the house, hath
more honor than the house. For every house is built by some
man, but he that built all things is God. And Moses verily was
faithful in all his house as a servant, for a testimony of
those things which were to be spoken after. But Christ, as
the Son over God, His own house. Whose house are we? If we hold
fast, the confidence and the rejoicing of the hope firm unto
the end. Now, that if sometimes should have
been translated since. Since we hold fast. We're not looking at a works-oriented
salvation here. We're looking at a fulfilled
salvation. And when God takes care of His
business, then we can say, since we hold fast the confidence and
the rejoicing of the hope firm until the end. Notice there.
Verse six, but Christ as a son over his own house, whose house
are we? We're his house, and we are the
building of his great grace. And then another verse just right
after this in 1 Peter 2. 1 Peter 2, it brings up this
point. 1 Peter 2, and there in verse
five, scripture say, ye also as lively stones, You know, if
we go out here and dig in the dirt, we're not gonna find lively
stones. These are created by God. They are the stones of building
that have been given life from God, are built up a spiritual
house. We're not looking for a physical
temple. We're not looking for a physical
tabernacle. It's a spiritual house, a holy
priesthood. to offer up spiritual sacrifices
acceptable to God by Jesus Christ. I am convinced that the Old Testament
saints understood this too. That they truly were to offer
up spiritual sacrifices even though they brought this lamb
from time to time or this oxen from time to time. Those who
knew grace, those who knew Christ, those who knew the Messiah in
the Old Testament were permitted to do the same thing. They understood
that that tabernacle or that temple was not the house. They
were the spiritual house and they were the holy priesthood
and to offer up spiritual sacrifices. Thanksgiving, prayer, to offer
these up, acceptable to God by Jesus Christ. Now in the book
of Isaiah, it talks about that God himself was not pleased because
so many trusted the days, or the sacrifices, or the seasons,
or the moons for their righteousness. They kept those things. He says,
they are an offense to me. They're vain oblations, but this
is not. This is not. This is God's work. This is his handiwork. This is
what he does. Now, over there in the book of
Zechariah, another part of his great resume, it says here with
regard to him, he shall build his temple and he shall bear
the glory. Well, there's so much in the
Bible about the glory of God. what glory he has. We can't imagine
it, but we get to talk about it. We get to sing about it.
We get to honor his glory. It is glorious. His glory is
glorious. All the glory of the temple,
Solomon's otherwise was for the physical eye, but this glory,
the true glory of the temple is Christ. He is the true temple
and it is all glorious. There's not one characteristic
or one attribute that's offensive to God or to the church. They're
all for their good. They're all for their blessing.
Everything about God is for the blessing of His people. He has
all glory in Himself. He needs none. He was in His
glory before He created the heavens and the earth, before He created
Adam, before the fall. He was in His glory. He didn't
need us. And salvation is for His glory. We're thankful that
He saves His people from their sins, but it's still for His
glory. And as we look at that, we see there in that verse 13,
He shall build the temple of the Lord and He shall bear the
glory. He is the Lord. He's the Savior. It's His righteousness. It's
His holiness. Unto Him be glory in the church. You know, I was taught a really
erroneous view of that verse of Scripture. That verse of Scripture
is telling us that everything that is done in order to have
a church is because of Christ. Unto Him be glory in the church. He calls His people. He chose
His people. He is their salvation. He's their
righteousness. He's their holiness. He's their
confession of faith. Unto Him be glory. Everything
redounds to His glory. So we find that unto Him be glory
in the church. Everything offers glory to God
in the church. Every knee-bowed, everyone called
out of sin into his righteousness bears the glory of Jesus Christ. And then it tells us over there
in Zechariah chapter 6, and he shall sit and rule upon his throne. A lot of discussion goes on in
the religious world today about when is he going to start. He
started. He started before the world was
created as King of Kings and Lord of Lords. I'd like to look
just at a few verses of scripture. First of all, turn with me to
Psalm 97. Psalm 97. Psalm 97. Verse one, Psalm 97 and verse
one. The Lord reigneth, that's what
it says here in Psalm 97 and verse one. The Lord reigneth,
let the earth rejoice, let the multitude of isles be glad thereof. The Lord reigneth. You know,
this is really the hymn. This is the church's hymn. The
Lord reigneth. That is our psalm. The Lord reigneth. The Lord reigneth. That's our
song. He reigns. He reigned before
the foundation of the world. He has reigned all through time. He will reign for eternity. He
is the ever reigning. He is the present reigning Christ. Someone asked me what I believed
about eschatology and I just simply said, He has forever reigned. He doesn't have to wait and then
reign a thousand years. He reigns, the Lord reigneth.
This is truly the hymn of the gospel. This is a hymn of the
church. All events obey his authority. Have you thought about that today? All events obey his authority. Nothing happens that he hasn't
purposed. All events obey His authority. Our health, our well-being, our
friends, our travel, all things. Every event could whisper to
us, it is of the Lord. Every event. It is of the Lord. Sometimes it's very hard on us.
But every event says, it is of the Lord. If it is of the Lord,
let him do what seemeth good. Oh, to be satisfied with that
in our spirit, just to lay down to that. Let him do what seemeth
good. It is his. Now, whether we agree
with that or not, it's not gonna change what he does. He's gonna
do what seemeth good unto him. Just a couple of verses I'd like
to read. One is found in 1 Timothy 6.
1 Timothy 6. Every event, it is of the Lord. Every hurricane, every tornado,
every earthquake, every cataclysmic event, it is of the Lord. In 1 Timothy, 1 Timothy chapter
6, we have these glorious words. about our Savior, the Lord Jesus,
about the one who rules and reigns in 1 Timothy 6, verse 15. 1 Timothy 6, verse 15. These words, it says, which in his times he
shall show who is the blessed and only potentate the King of
Kings, and Lord of Lords, who only hath immortality, dwelling
in the light which no man can approach unto, whom no man hath
seen, nor can see, in whom we honor in whom be honor and power
everlasting. Amen. King of kings. Now twice
or three times in the book of Revelation that is brought up.
And one time, I believe it's in Revelation 19 and verse 16. Let's look at that. Revelation
chapter 19 and verse 16. This is his name. He hath on
his vesture and on his thigh a name written, King of kings and Lord of lords. Now Zechariah said someone's
going to come that has all of these qualities. He's the branch. He's the man, the branch. He
is sovereign. He's the master builder. He builds
his temple. He's the king. All of these identifying
marks are about this one. There's only one that has ever
come that even fulfills just this short list of qualifying
marks as we find in the book of Zechariah. He is king of kings. And not only that, he is a priest. Notice there in Zechariah 6 and
verse 13, it says, He shall sit and rule upon his throne, and
he shall be a priest upon his throne. In the book of Hebrews alone,
the word priest is mentioned about 34 times, and over half
of those times is talking about Christ as our great high priest,
or a priest after the order of Melchizedek, or the high priest. On and on it goes about him being
the priest. He said if the priesthood had been in Levi, but there's
been a change of tribe out of the tribe of Judah, There's a
priest been ordained after the order of Melchizedek, an eternal
priesthood. He's always been prepared, been
prepared, prepared. And in fact, as it's mentioned
with regard to Christ, he is the lamb slain. He is the priest
that offered the acceptable offering himself. He is our advocate,
the priest. So Hebrews just goes all out
declaring him as our priest. Just one verse I want to read
in the book of Hebrews. We're about to close here. Our
time is about out, but I want to read this verse in Hebrews. Hebrews chapter two. And you
can just go through here and read time after time about the
priesthood, the Lord Jesus Christ, the high priest. And it's interesting
that he is the king priest and that dual Occupation, if you
please. Dual responsibility is in complete
harmony. Hebrews chapter 2, verse 7. Hebrews chapter 2, verse 7. The
scriptures share this. Thou madest him a little lower
than the angels, that thou crownest him with glory and honor. chapter three and verse one,
excuse me. Wherefore, holy brethren, partakers of the heavenly calling,
consider the apostle and high priest of our profession, Christ
Jesus. And this theme goes through the
book of Hebrews time and time and time again. And then we find
he hath broken down the middle wall of partition between us.
He is the King Priest, and as King Priest, he has complete
harmony in his activities. I said there was one other, not
going to be another verse, but there has to be one more, and
that's found in the book of Ephesians. And with this, we will close. Ephesians chapter two. Ephesians
chapter two. His great resume. My goodness,
there's only one that could fulfill this. Someone's coming. Look
at all of his attributes. Look at his character here. There's
only one that will ever be on the face of the earth that fulfills
all of this. and His name is Jesus. Ephesians
2, verse 14, it says here, for He is our peace. who hath made both one and hath
broken down the middle wall of partition between us, having
abolished in his flesh the enmity, even the law of commandments
contained in ordinances, for to make in himself of two of
twain one new man, so making peace, and that he might reconcile
both unto God in one body by the cross, having slain the enmity
thereby." He's made peace. No longer enmity. We're by nature
enmity with God, but He's broken it down. Now therefore ye are no more
strangers and foreigners, but fellow citizens with the saints
and of the household of God, and are built upon the foundation
of the apostles and prophets, Jesus Christ himself being the
chief cornerstone, in whom all the building fitly framed together
groweth up, and holy temple in the Lord, in whom ye also are
built together for a habitation of God, through the spirit, complete
unity. And by that, we are at peace
with God through our Lord Jesus Christ. Look at the character,
look at this, the great qualities of this one that Zachariah describes. There's none like him. And his
name is Jesus. And he shall save his people
from their sins. We'll stop there and pick this
up next time.