Triperspectivalism, all in One: Jesus

One of the community group leaders in our church asked me a Bible question last week. It was in reference to an event in Numbers 17 where Aaron’s rod budded, and related to their study on Jesus in the Old Testament.

The author of a book they use in group students wrote:

"The blessing of God was upon Aaron’s line, upon the priestly role in the old covenant until the Messiah came.  So central was this that some of the Jews in the centuries before Jesus speculated that there would be two Messiahs, a priestly one and a kingly one!  Jesus is the root and offspring of David but he is also the root and offspring of Aaron and the priestly line."

The leader asked: Since the Bible is clear Jesus came from the tribe of Judah we’re thinking the above is just metaphorical and not actual genealogy. Or are we missing something?

Here’s most of my response:

Good question. I think I agree with the author here.

There are three OT Offices Jesus had to fulfill:

• Prophet
• Priest
• King

In Him is the full embodiment of God’s revelation. As Prophet He speaks as God (Heb. 1:1-3). As Priest He comes to mediate between God and man, as the God-Man (1 Tim. 2:1-7), and as King His Name is above all names (Phil. 2:8-11) . Could plug in dozens of Scriptures for each of those.

Some highlights in the OT give us clue to the connected identity of the One Messiah: Prophet (Deut. 18), Priest (God is the only holy priest), King (2 Sam. 7). But the amazingness to the Jews must have been how this could come in one person. Thus, many had a tradition and commentary that there must be two! Add to the mix this one caveat: Only God (YHWH) is the Savior (Isa. 45; notice the connection between v. 23 and Phil. 2:10-11). Someone must come Who is all of these, and so much more.

The thing is that Jesus had to come from both lines, in some sense. He could be a King, in the line of David. But not a priest. That is part of the argument in Hebrews 7 + 10, regarding Melchizedek and Jesus. The Covenant promises to David, and the lineage of His Son to establish the (Theocratic) Kingdom of God to rule and reign forever are so key. The other lineage is symbolic, for as you mention, Jesus came from the line of Judah (from which no priest had/will ever come). Think of Aaron’s budding rod/staff as a signpost on the way to Jesus (Heb. 9:4), the fulfillment of true worship and priestly service to God. In the context of Numbers, notice in that this event is the exact opposite of Korah’s rebellion — strange fire, religion coming on man’s terms. Aaron’s rod budded out of God’s free will and initiation.

(Speaking of the 3 offices, it is interesting to note that in the Psalms David essentially writes time and again that he would gladly trade in both of his offices (Prophet + King) for the one he longed to be — a Priest. In Christ we have The High Priest, the only Mediator (1 Tim. 2), and as the God-Man is both of the others as well.)

This help?

I’d share the first paragraph I wrote above ("As Prophet/Priest/King") if you want to share any of this with your group.

Digging into the Word with you!

Jeff
p.s.- If you need another handy reference as you study all the Scriptures on the way to Jesus (OT), I have a copy of From Creation to the Cross , which you could borrow. One of my professors wrote it, and it is an extremely helpful book, and full of charts, summaries and maps.

For those wondering what "triperspectivalism" means, it is essentially the emphasis of ministering from all three perspectives: prophet, priest and king. Only Jesus is all Three, yet we can follow His example and share leadership on those trajectories. There is a wealth of good resources on the topic here . Especially helpful as a primer is this diagram .

I have more a doctrinal and administrative (prophet and king, respectively) bent, so I must always come back to the Gospel, to see people through the lens of a loving priest (pastor) — just like Paul did in 1 Cor. 1:1-9. (Note that I normally don’t use the big "T" word in communicating with people, but seek to embody it in all I do. Another example forthcoming from another question I received.)

Would you speak like that to your Creator?

What can I ask you?