The Work of Christ

                  In the very moment Adam and Eve fell, God announced that the seed (esv, “offspring”) of the woman would one day crush the serpent (Gen. 3:15). In its broadest sense, this promise meant the human race would ultimately conquer Satan, but as revelation progressed, it became clear the victory would take place through one man, Jesus Christ. It was through the seed of Abraham that all nations would be blessed (Gen. 22:18), and in Galatians 3:16 Paul makes plain that the singular “seed” points to one person, Christ.

                    When the deliverer comes, however, he is not only the seed of the woman. He is also the Son of God (Gal. 4:4) and thus able to stand as the sole and exclusive Mediator (1 Tim. 2:5), charged with restoring communion between God and humanity. Sensitive to the privileges of deity but no less sensitive to the interests of humanity, Christ alone could take on this role as Mediator, and for this task he was anointed. By virtue of this anointing, he bears the title “Messiah” or “Anointed One,” which occurs first in Psalm 2:2 and finds definitive fulfillment in the descent of the Spirit at his baptism (Mark 1:10).

                  There are three aspects to the work of the anointed Mediator.

                  Messianic Prophet

                  First, he is the messianic Prophet, specifically anointed for this task by the Spirit of the Lord (Luke 4:18, 21). At one level he stood in the succession of the OT prophets, but within that succession he was unique because in him God spoke no longer through a servant but through his Son (Heb. 1:1–2). As such, he alone knew the Father (Matt. 11:27), and even before his advent it was his Spirit who spoke in the prophets (1 Pet. 1:11). But above all, he was God’s last word (Heb. 1:1–2), not merely through his own personal teaching ministry but also through what he continued to teach by his Spirit (John 16:13–14) through his apostles.

                  What Christ brought was not merely knowledge about redemption but the knowledge that is itself an essential part of redemption. Only the truth can set people free (John 8:32). Besides, Christ not only brought the truth. He was the truth, its living embodiment, so that to see him was to see the Father (John 14:9). Nor was his prophetic ministry merely external. It was, and is, also internal. He opens hearts (Acts 16:14) and thus commands a hearing for the gospel.

                    Messianic Priest

                  Second, Jesus is the messianic Priest, representing men before God. Only the epistle to the Hebrews explicitly calls him a priest, but priestly functions such as sacrifice and intercession are clearly ascribed to him throughout the NT. Nevertheless, Hebrews gives us the deepest insight into his priesthood.

                  Hebrews emphasizes, first of all, that priesthood was an honor no one could simply take upon himself (Heb. 5:4). Behind Jesus’ priesthood, therefore, lies a divine call (Heb. 5:5–6). This goes back to the eternal covenant (Heb. 13:20), of which Jesus was the mediator (Heb. 8:6; 9:15; 12:24) and surety (Heb. 7:22), and in which there was work given him to do (John 17:4), including the command to lay down his life (John 10:17–18). It was to secure the blessings promised in this covenant that he shed his blood (Matt. 26:28; Mark 14:24; Luke 22:20).

                  Second, Hebrews stresses Christ’s priestly compassion. Having taken our nature, he became like us in every way, except for sin. He is thus able to help us in our trials (Heb. 2:18) and sympathize with us in our weaknesses (4:15).

                  Third, Hebrews says that Christ was not merely a priest, but a high priest: indeed, the High Priest, in whom all that was prefigured in the Aaronic priesthood found its fulfillment. The unique work of the high priest was that once a year, on the Day of Atonement, he went into the Most Holy Place, bearing an offering of blood to atone for his own and the people’s sins. The writer to the Hebrews clearly sees this ritual as typifying the work of Christ.

                  But he also highlights the fundamental contrasts between Aaron and Christ. For example, whereas Aaron entered only an earthly tabernacle, the risen Jesus entered the heavenly one (Heb. 9:11–12) to appear in the real presence of God for us (9:24); whereas Aaron had first of all to make atonement for his own sins, Christ had no such need (7:28); whereas Aaron and his successors entered the Most Holy Place bearing only animal blood, Christ entered bearing his own blood (9:12); and whereas the Aaronic high priests had to offer their sacrifices year after year, Christ’s sacrifice was once and for all (7:27).

                    The effects of Christ’s sacrifice are spelled out repeatedly throughout the NT. He expiated sin (took it away; John 1:29), thereby propitiating God (absorbing his wrath; Rom. 3:25; 1 Thess. 1:10; Heb. 2:17; 1 John 2:2). He reconciled God to us, making peace by his blood shed on the cross (Col. 1:20). He redeemed us from the curse pronounced against us by the law, enduring the curse in our place (Gal. 3:13). He destroyed the Devil and delivered us from the fear of death (Heb. 2:14). He secured for us the ministry of the Holy Spirit (Gal. 3:14). And by his cross he revealed the love of the Father, which was so deep that it moved him to give his Son as a sacrifice for the sins of the world (1 John 4:10).

                  The priestly work of Christ did not, however, end with the cross. It continues within the veil, where the risen Jesus “always lives” and is ever actively interceding for his people (Heb. 7:25; cf. Rom. 8:34; Heb. 7:17, 24; 1 John 2:1).

                  Messianic King

                  Third, Christ is the messianic King. As the Son of David, he inherits his father David’s throne (Luke 1:32); as the Son of Man, he has an everlasting kingdom (Dan. 7:27). He was born a king (Matt. 2:2), and during his earthly life even the wind and the waves obeyed him (Mark 4:41). But with his ascension his kingship entered a new phase. Now he stands at the center of his throne (Rev. 5:6), opening the scroll and turning the pages of history.

                  As King, Christ first has universal sovereignty. He has all authority in heaven and on earth (Matt. 28:18), and this authority is closely linked to his mediatorial duties. It is because he has universal supremacy that he is able to give eternal life to those the Father has given him (John 17:2).

                    Second, Christ reigns in the hearts of his people. He opens their hearts (Acts 16:14), his grace rules within them (Rom. 5:21), and because they love him, they keep his commandments (John 14:15).

                  Third, Christ is the victorious conqueror who finally crushes the serpent and fulfills the promise of Genesis 3:15. The decisive battle has already been fought on the cross, where Christ disarmed the evil powers (Col. 2:15), and in his resurrection (1 Cor. 15:54–57), but the final victory will come only when he returns in glory. Then our individual glorification will be consummated in the resurrection of our bodies (Phil. 3:21); the universe, too, will experience its own redemption. There will be a new heaven and a new earth (Rev. 21:1), and the river of the water of life will flow forever out of the throne of God and of the Lamb (Rev. 22:1).