#focr 67

In the Torah (the first five books of the Bible) the king and high priest each had their own genealogy: kings descended from the tribe of Judah and the High Priests descended from the tribe of Levi, specifically from Aaron, the first High Priest. The Jewish People were expecting that one day a Messiah would come as king and be a descendant of King David, who was from the tribe of Judah. But they never thought king Messiah would also be a priest—that is, until God told the Prophet Zechariah to put a crown on the High Priest Joshua:

“Take silver and gold, make an ornate crown and set it on the head of Joshua the son of Jehozadak, the high priest. Then say to him, ‘Thus says the LORD of hosts, Behold, a man whose name is Branch, for He will branch out from where He is; and He will build the temple of the LORD. ‘Yes, it is He who will build the temple of the LORD, and He who will bear the honor and sit and rule on His throne. Thus, He will be a priest on His throne,’” (Zec. 6:11–13)

This passage is a vivid picture of Joshua as a symbol of things to come. We know this because God said so very clearly:

“Listen, High Priest Joshua, you and your associates seated before you, who are men symbolic of things to come: I am going to bring my servant, the Branch.” (Zec. 3:8)

The High Priest Joshua would be a symbol of the Branch, who would be a Righteous King, and the Messiah. In fact, the ancient translation of Zechariah into Aramaic that was read to the Jews in the synagogues (known as a Targum), declares who this Branch is:

“Behold the man Messiah is his name.” (Zec. 6:12, Targum Jonathan)

Let’s look at each piece of this portrait to see how Joshua symbolizes the Messiah.

Joshua → Yeshua: In Hebrew, Joshua’s name is Yehoshua. The short form of this name is Yeshua. Both Yehoshua and Yeshua mean “The LORD saves.”

Joshua → The Branch → Righteous King → Messiah: Joshua is symbolic of a Righteous Branch, which the Prophet Jeremiah explained would be a king: “The days are coming,” declares the Lord, “when I will raise up for David a righteous Branch, a King who will reign wisely and do what is just and right in the land.” (Jer. 23:5). It is widely understood, even to this day in Judaism, that this righteous Branch, who is a descendant of King David, refers to the Messiah.

As the Jewish People were about to leave Israel for exile in Babylon, however, the Prophet Ezekiel told the people that their Davidic dynasty would be suspended until someone comes who is worthy to receive the crown of a king and the garments of a priest:

‘And you, O slain, wicked one, the prince of Israel, whose day has come, in the time of the punishment of the end, thus says the Lord GOD, ‘Remove the turban and take off the crown; this will no longer be the same. Exalt that which is low and abase that which is high. ‘A ruin, a ruin, a ruin, I will make it [the throne of David]. This also will be no more until He comes whose right it is, and I will give it to Him.’” (Eze. 21:25–27, verses 30–32 in Hebrew Bibles)

This prophecy reveals that the kingship of Israel will be suspended until God brings forth someone who will be both king and priest (the crown represents the king; the turban represents a ceremonial garment of the High Priest). The High Priest Joshua and King Zerubbabel were given authority to rebuild the physical Temple after returning from exile in Babylon (Ezra 5:2). However, the Branch (Messiah) would rebuild another Temple not made by hands. Yeshua explained this to the Pharisees when He said:

“’Destroy this temple, and in three days I will raise it up.’ … He was speaking of the temple of His body.” (John 2:19–22)

The same Glory of the Lord that once filled the Temple building filled the physical body of Yeshua. It is the same Glory that He revealed to Peter, James, and John on the Mount of Transfiguration.

~ Messianic Bible Prophecy Project

The effect it has is to make Jesus the center of history. Every work of God’s grace in history before the sacrifice of Christ looked forward to the death of Christ for its foundation. And every work of God’s grace since the sacrifice of Christ looks back to the death of Christ for its foundation. Christ is the center of the history of grace. There is no grace without him. Grace was planned from all eternity, but not without Jesus Christ at the center and his death as the foundation. Paul says in 2 Timothy 1: 9 that God’s “grace … was granted us in Christ Jesus from all eternity.”

The doctrine of intercession emphasizes the great truth that Christ never ceases to intercede for His own. While human prayers on earth are limited in both extent and power, the intercession of Christ knows no limits within the will of God. As an infinite person Christ is able to concentrate His intercession wholly on each individual believer without any diminution or detraction from the needs of any other. In effect, the believer is assured of the intercession of Christ in such a manner as would be true if Christ centered all His love and all His intercession on that one believer. Whatever may be the limitation of human prayers, the believer is assured that there is One who never ceases to pray to him and his needs and that this Intercessor has all power and favor with the Father and, accordingly, “is able to do exceeding abundantly above all that we ask or think” (Eph. 3:20).

~ Dr. John Walvoord