-
Son of Man
This week is another two-fer, Son of God and Son of Man. Why do these two go together? Together the titles of Son of Man and Son of God express the incredible mystery of the incarnation–that the second person of the Trinity came down from heaven to become one of us so that we could be one with him. – Ann Spangler in Praying the Names of God for 52 Weeks Just as with the concept of the Trinity-God in three persons, I have a hard time wrapping my brain around Jesus being fully God and fully Man. But that’s okay – I don’t have to understand it to accept that…
-
Prophet
Jesus isn’t just our Priest and King, He’s a Prophet. Do you stumble over that notion like I do? When I think of prophets, I think of “Thus says the LORD,” and “The word of the LORD came to the prophet so-and-so.” In Jesus’s case, that translates to, “Thus says Me,” and, “I came to Me.” That makes me smile. He’s a ringer! Furthermore, we think of prophets telling of future events. With Jesus, it’s like cheating or insider trading. The one who’s telling the future is the one who ordained it. He knows the end from the beginning. Come on, Jesus, you’ve got insider information. You wrote the book.…
-
Priest
This week’s name is a two-fer: Priest and Prophet. We’ll look at priest today, and the next post will focus on prophet. Ann Spangler says: Prophet, priest, and king–these were the three major offices in Israel, titles also ascribed to Jesus. While the king governed as God’s representative on earth, the priest’s role was to represent the people to God . . . We’ve already looked at King here and here. Jesus is not only king; He’s our high priest, the One Who represents us before the Father.. But Jesus wasn’t of Aaron’s line, the Levitical priesthood. Hebrews tells us He is of the order of Melchizedek. Melchizedek? We first…
-
Another Son of David
But when he had thought this over, behold, an angel of the Lord appeared to him in a dream, saying, “Joseph, son of David, do not be afraid to take Mary as your wife; for the Child who has been conceived in her is of the Holy Spirit. – Matthew 1:20 Today, we start with a different heir to David’s throne. When the angel appeared, he called Joseph the son of David. Although Joseph had no throne, he was the rightful king of Israel. He was a dirt-poor tradesman who should have worn a crown. Herod, an Idumean usurper, held the title “King of the Jews.” Yet the angel made special mention of Joseph’s title. Why?…
-
Son of David
King David had a lot of sons. A LOT of sons if you consider that, in Hebrew, all his male descendants were simply his “sons.” But referring to someone as “son of David” had special significance. He was the heir to David’s throne. King David wanted to build a temple for Yahweh, but the prophet Nathan had some bad news. God wouldn’t allow David to build it. However, his son Solomon would. In that passage, things take an unexpected turn. “Moreover, I tell you that the LORD will build a house for you. When your days are fulfilled that you must go to be with your fathers, that I will set up one of your descendants after you, who will be of your sons; and…
