The Present Reign of Jesus as Universal King

Psalm 2                       1 Samuel 17:41-47                    John 1:29-51

The Present Reign of Jesus as Universal King

Little Johnny loved to have the old classic fairy tales read to him and his all-time favourite was “Jack the Giant Killer”, a Cornish legend about a young man who slew several bad giants during the reign of King Arthur. 

Because he loved the story so much, his parents decided to take him to see the stage production at a local theatre. At first, little Johnny was enthralled by the colour and the excitement of the occasion. But then, the “Giant” appeared on the stage. Suddenly the fun was over as little Johnny leaped into his mother’s lap and covered his eyes with both hands. You see, Johnny could listen all day long to the story being told over and over again, but when he was confronted by what seemed to be the real giant, he was terrified.

The Scriptures teach us that the lost dominion of Adam and Eve, created to be God’s vice-regents on earth, was recovered and restored by Jesus (the 2nd Adam, to use Paul’s words) who presently reigns as universal king, seated as he is at the right hand of God the Father. We say we believe this. We repeat this in the Creeds. We sing this in our hymns and songs. And yet, when the giants of the world walk onto the stage of our life, we are deeply disturbed. 

This is nothing new. Remember the patriarchs who said their wives were their sisters because they feared the rulers of the land? Remember Moses who at first did not want to return to Egypt because he was afraid? Remember the ten spies when they saw the giants of Canaan? Remember Israel when they faced Goliath? He had the whole army of Israel cowering in fear. Then one young shepherd boy dared to look past the giant to focus on his omnipotent God. Looking past the apparent enabled him to see the inapparent…what looked impossible at first, suddenly became possible.

We have now looked at two of the three so-called offices of Jesus, namely his priestly office and his prophetic office. Today, we are going to look at the final office of Jesus, his royal or kingly office. My hope is that our understanding of his present reign as universal king will be strengthened as we examine the Scriptures. 

Our Gospel lesson has introduced us to four titles used by John to describe Jesus: Son of God, Messiah or Christ, King of Israel, and Son of Man. Each one of these four depictions points to royalty. Son of God (a title also used for Adam in Luke’s genealogy as well as for Israel in Hosea) describes vice-regency. Messiah or Christ (both meaning the anointed one) speaks of the ancient practice of anointing the kings of Israel. The title King of Israel is clear enough, but it does help to remember that Jesus was of the royal line of David from both his mother’s side as well as that of his adoptive father. And finally, while the title Son of Man at first seems to simply refer to his humanity as it is used of several other biblical characters, it rises to a higher level when read together with a prophecy of Daniel, a passage we will look at briefly later in this talk.

John was determined to present Jesus not only as a Prophet and a Priest, but also as a King…not an earthly king though…no, Jesus is portrayed in the New Testament as a cosmic King, ruling over every part of creation.  So, let’s look a little closer at this office of Jesus, shall we? 

We will be examining the expectation of Jesus in the Old Testament, the exaltation of Jesus in the New Testament, the effects of the universal reign of Jesus, and finally at our personal experience of his reign today. 

There are a number of prophecies in the Old Testament concerning the coming of a King unlike any other king Israel ever had. In Genesis 49:10, we have a prediction concerning the coming monarchy…bear in mind that this prophecy was spoken a long time before Israel ever had a king. In his parting words to each of his sons, Jacob had this to say to his son Judah:

“The sceptre shall not depart from Judah, nor the ruler’s staff from between his feet, until Shiloh comes; and to him shall be the obedience of the people.” 

The first thing we learn from this prophecy is that the kingly line was to come through Judah and, as you no doubt know, Jesus was of the line of Judah. In the words of John, Jesus is the Lion of the tribe of Judah (Revelation 5:5). 

The second thing we learn is that this reign would continue until Shiloh came. Now, while commentators disagree on what this refers to, most believe that the word is derived from the root form of Shalom or Salem, meaning peace. In other words, this king must reign until He has put all His enemies under His feet…until he has brought in eternal peace. We will look again at this later. 

And then the last thing to note is that the word “people” is plural…the peoples. The reign of this king would be over all tribes, tongues, and nations.

Another interesting reference comes from the lips of a Gentile man who had been hired by King Balak to curse Israel in the wilderness. But, instead of cursing them, Balaam blessed them, much to the fury of the heathen king. In his fourth prophecy (Number 24:17-19), Balaam said this:

“I see him, but not now; I behold him, but not near. A Star shall come out of Jacob; a Sceptre shall rise out of Israel, and batter the brow of Moab, and destroy all the sons of tumult. And Edom shall be a possession; Sier also, his enemies shall be a possession, while Israel does valiantly. Out of Jacob one shall have dominion and destroy the remains of the city.”

Now I do hope that more than just visions of sugarplums are dancing in your head right now, because here we have a reference to the Nativity and Epiphany. When one looks at the wording of this prophecy one can understand why Herod was so disturbed when the Magi from the East came following this mysterious star. Herod was an Idumean, which is the Greek form of the Hebrew name Edom. This prophecy told of a time when a star would herald the birth of a King of Israel who would rule over all the surrounding nations…including Edom and the Edomites.

The next Scripture I would like us to look at, is Psalm 2. 

“Why do the nations conspire, and the peoples plot in vain? The kings of the earth rise up and the rulers band together against the Lord and against his anointed, saying, ‘Let us break their chains and throw off their shackles.’” 

Now, what is interesting about these first three verses is that they are used in a prayer of the Early Church in Acts 4:23-31. If you recall, Peter and John had been threatened by the Sanhedrin and told never to speak about Jesus again. This was no idle threat as the book of Acts shows clearly later, especially with regard to Stephen, but it did not dampen the spirit of the disciples nor discourage them from continuing in their mission to preach the Gospel. 

“For truly,” they prayed, “against your holy servant Jesus, whom you anointed, both Herod and Pontius Pilate, with the Gentiles and the people of Israel, were gathered together to do whatever your hand and your purpose determined before to be done. Now, Lord, look on their threats, and grant to your servants that with all boldness they may speak your word, by stretching out your hand to heal, and that signs may be done through the name of your holy servant Jesus.” And when they had prayed this, the place where they were assembled was shaken; and they were all filled with the Holy Spirit, and they spoke the word of God with great confidence and certainty. 

The Early Church knew what it meant to call Jesus King! They knew the true meaning of Psalm 2. “I have set my King on my holy hill of Zion. I will declare the decree: The Lord has said to me, ‘You are my son, today I have begotten you.’ Ask of me, and I will give you the nations for your inheritance, and the ends of the earth for your possession.”

This King had a promise no other king ever had before…that of universal dominion…and it was his for the asking. Paul tells us in Romans 8:34 that Jesus is seated at the right hand of God ever interceding for us. We know that Jesus always prays according to the will of the Father…so is there ever any prayer of his that will not be answered? If he is asking for the ends of the earth as his possession, will God not grant it? 

Let’s look at one more Old Testament reference before turning to the New Testament. In Daniel 2, King Nebuchadnezzar had a disturbing dream which none of his wise men could interpret…except Daniel. The dream, if you remember, was of a statue made of various elements that represented four separate kingdoms, starting with Babylon, then Medo-Persia, then Greece, and finally Rome. In the days of the kings of Rome, Daniel said, “the God of heaven will set up a kingdom which shall never be destroyed.” This kingdom was represented by a stone cut out without human hands…in other words, it has a divine origin. This stone then struck the statue and broke it in pieces…and then it became a great mountain and filled the whole earth. Jesus came preaching and teaching that the kingdom of God was at hand…and this kingdom began at his incarnation and it was established through his enthronement on the cross.

What some call the humiliation of Jesus began when he took on the form of a lowly servant and coming in the likeness of a human. This is the basis of Paul’s call for the followers of Jesus to cultivate the same humble mind of Christ. While Jesus never ceased to be God, at the incarnation he deliberately chose to live his earthly life never more than a human so that he could not only identify with us in all things, but also provide us with an example of how to walk in step with the Holy Spirit so as to live in total submissive obedience to God. 

But his exaltation began, not at the ascension, but at the cross as it was there that he fought and won the battle against Satan, sin, and death. It was there that his work of recreation was finished. “It is finished,” Jesus said, deliberately echoing Genesis 2:1-3. And then he too rested on the 7th day in the tomb. Whenever Jesus spoke about the cross in the Gospel of John, he referred to the event as his being glorified. It was at the cross that the determining judgment of God upon humanity took place. It was there that he, as the Lamb of God, took away the sin of the world. Jesus redeemed us from the curse of the law by becoming a curse for us. The cross thus became the great watershed of all time and it is, as such, central to the Christian faith.

Without the cross there can be no atonement for sin, and we would remain guilty before a Holy God. It is the acceptance or rejection of this one act of substitutionary sacrifice that ultimately determines the eternal destination of all humankind. We see this most clearly with the two thieves crucified on either side of our Lord. The one who believed entered Paradise with our Lord while the other who rejected him remained under the wrath of God.

In this the cross is glorious in that it accomplishes all that God intended to achieve through the coming of Jesus. Jesus came to save his people from their sin. Jesus came to deliver us from slavery to Satan. Jesus came to gain for us access to the kingdom of God. And he did this by dying for us on the cross. 

Yet the cross would remain a tragic failure without the resurrection. The resurrection testifies to our Lord’s triumph over death…because he had no sin, death could not hold him…and because he died as our substitute, there is no longer a sting in death. Because Jesus is risen, all those who are in him are risen and seated in heavenly places with him. And because we are in him, we can be assured of our own resurrection. This is what Paul and John meant when they called Jesus the firstborn from the dead…the firstborn of the new creation. In this he is the Second Adam…the head of a renewed and renewing humanity. As such the resurrection is glorious as it guarantees what was accomplished on the cross.

Yet, the resurrection would remain largely ineffective if Jesus did not ascend on high to take up his rule over all the ends of the earth. Daniel indicated that it was at the ascension that Jesus became the universal ruler. “I was watching in the night visions,” Daniel wrote, “and behold, one like the Son of Man, coming on the clouds of heaven! He came to the Ancient of Days, and they brought him near before him. Then to him was given dominion and glory and a kingdom, that all peoples, nations, and languages should serve him. His dominion is an everlasting dominion, which shall not pass away, and his kingdom the one which shall not be destroyed.” It was at the ascension that Jesus, the God-Man, took up his role as King over all the earth. 

And then we must also bear in mind that without the ascension, the Holy Spirit would not have been poured out on all believers. The Church would have been left powerless in her role as witnesses to Jesus. So, the ascension too was glorious as it led to the coronation of our Lord and King as well as the empowerment of his people to do his bidding.

All these things are glorious in and of themselves, but they are made more glorious with the sure promise of the consummation of all things when Jesus returns once he has triumphed over all those who oppose him through the witness of his Body, the Church. As Paul said, “Then comes the end, when he delivers the kingdom to God the Father, when he puts an end to all rule and all authority and power. For he must reign until he has put all his enemies under his feet.” Until Shiloh comes…our Lord’s second coming is glorious as it brings all history to an end and subjects everything to the Father so that God may be all in all.

But if Jesus is reigning over all, even now, what are the effects of this reign? Basically, three things. First, his reign means the redemption of all who believe in him. Second, his reign means the restraining of evil…Satan may prowl around like a roaring lion, but he is wounded and bound and therefore limited. And thirdly, Jesus’ reign means that all things will be restored. 

In the parable of the wheat and the weeds in Matthew 13, Jesus explained that the field, representing his kingdom, is the world, the good seeds are the sons and daughters of the kingdom, but the weeds are the sons and daughters of the evil one. The enemy who sowed them is the devil, the harvest is the end of the age, and the reapers are the angels. It is interesting to note that the farmer refrains from pulling out the weeds to ensure that the wheat is not uprooted with them. This tells us something about the reality of our Lord’s present reign. At the end of this age, he weeds are said to be gathered out of his kingdom. But once the weeds are removed at the end of the age, the righteous will shine forth like the sun in the kingdom of their Father…all will be restored.

The reign of Jesus is not subject to anyone but himself. The salvation of believers is not dependent on anyone except our Saviour, and the final subjection of those who persist in their refusal to believe is according to his plan for the advancement of his kingdom throughout the world. 

Now there are, of course, many objections to this triumphant theology. I will look at only two. The first is based on the depravity of humanity. The argument is that if evil is present, there can be no kingdom. At first this argument seems logical and biblical, until one uncovers its basis. It is the presence of evil that becomes the determining factor, not the triumph of Jesus. I do believe the Scriptures teach us that Jesus reigns despite all opposition. There are weeds in his field…there are weeds in his kingdom…and they will remain there until the end of this age. 

The second argument is based on observation. If we examine the world today, does it look like Jesus is gaining the upper hand? This argument is usually used by those who believe that world history is doomed to end in chaos as Jesus returns to rescue his dwindling Church amid all sorts of calamities, disasters, mishaps, and trials. But Scripture does not share in this negative view of history. 

The author to the Hebrews wrote that God has put all things in subjection under his feet (this is in keeping with what Jesus said about himself – that all authority in both heaven and earth has been given to him). “For in that (God) put all in subjection under him,” the author to the Hebrews said, “he left nothing that is not under him.” (In other words, Jesus has supreme authority over everything in all creation.) “But”, and here comes the argument of observation, “but we do not yet see (or observe) all things put under him.” Can you hear the argument? As I hear the daily news, I don’t see evidence of Jesus reigning now.

But the author of Hebrews has an answer for this: we may not see evidence of his reign, but we do “see Jesus…crowned with glory and honour…” We live by faith and not sight, no? So, by faith, we believe that Jesus is on the throne currently subjecting all things under his feet through the reconciling ministry of the Church.

The second argument only stands so long as we keep our eyes fixed on something other than our enthroned Lord Jesus. We need to remember that Jesus never said things would be easy in this life. We are not to deny the presence of evil…the devil is prowling around us…but we are not to be paralysed by it. Jesus warned us that in this world we would face trails and troubles, but that we should rejoice in the fact that he has overcome the world! The world cannot and should not triumph over us! Remember how the Early Church faced persecution. They asked for more boldness to speak in the name of Jesus! John reminds us in his first letter that is our faith in Jesus…that steadfast and abiding focus on him…that overcomes the world.

Joshua and Caleb understood this as they urged the fear filled Israelites to take the land because God had promised them victory. David understood this as he faced Goliath. “You come to me with a sword, with a spear, and with a javelin,” he shouted to the giant. “But I come to you in the name of the Lord of Hosts, the God of the armies of Israel, whom you have defied. This day the Lord will deliver you into my hand…then the whole world will know that the Lord does not save with sword and spear; for the battle is the Lord’s and he will give you into our hands.”

What giants are you facing today, dearest beloved brethren? Are you filled with fear because of the evil all around you? Do you feel more like the ten spies than like Joshua and Caleb? Are you more like Saul and his army than like David? When trouble comes your way do you run and hide, or do you ask God for more boldness to face it head-on? Where is your focus?

The opening chapter of the Gospel of John sets the triumphant tone for the rest of the Gospel. Before he tells us anything more about Jesus, John wanted us to firmly fix in our minds that the one he was writing about was the final and complete revelation of God, the substitutionary sacrificial High Priest who freely gave his life to deliver us from the curse, and the sovereign present reigning king over the universe. 

This is our God, dearest beloved brethren. Set your eyes on him and not on the things of this world. He is working out his purpose. He will bring to pass all he has promised. In the meantime, we have work to do. 

Shall we pray?

© Johannes W H van der Bijl 2023

The Prophetic Office of Christ and His Church

Numbers 11:16-17; 24-29             John 1:19-51

The Prophetic Office of Christ and His Church

An athletic and impressive looking salesman representing Nike sportswear came to sell his products to a local manager of a sport’s store. The manager expressed interest in the man’s footwear.

“Those are good looking track shoes you’re wearing,” he said.

“Oh, yes,” the Nike salesman replied, suddenly getting very animated and excited, “They are the newest release of performance footwear from Adidas imported directly from the factory! They’re not even out in the shops yet!” 

“Adidas?” the surprised manager echoed back.

“Yes! They are the best of the best!”

The salesman enthusiastically slipped them off and proudly placed them on the manager’s desk. 

“See here. Notice the inner arch support and the extra stitching on the seams – basically indestructible. The soles are made of a special material to give a little bounce to reduce the pressure to your heels. The manufacturers chose only the very best material which is not too heavy and not too thick…in other words, these shoes are designed for comfort, durability, and practicality. A lot of scientific research went into the shape of the shoes and the inner support was made using memory foam so that each shoe conforms to the contours of each specific wearer’s foot. They cost me a fortune, but these are, in my professional opinion, the best on the market.”

The salesman paused to draw breath and then said, without skipping a beat, “Now, could I interest you in the latest merchandise from Nike?”

Now, of course, Nike will sell simply because of the brand name, their reputation, and their effective advertising – so even though the salesman messed up his sales pitch, the manager probably was interested in what he had to offer.

But the story draws a parallel with the sales pitch, if you will, of the modern church. We are meant to be representatives of the God revealed to us in the Holy Scriptures…we are meant to be ambassadors of the Kingdom of Heaven and yet, our lives very often speak of the things that belong to the kingdom of this world. Some would even dare to use the name of Jesus to sell the wares of the world. Representing one company, as it were, while wearing the garments of another. 

 Of course, like Nike, the Gospel doesn’t really need a salesman – it is effective in and of itself and has stood the test of time and trial – but nevertheless, we ought to ask ourselves whether what we say and do represents Jesus (the REAL biblical Jesus) or something else. Do those around us see and hear God’s Word in our words and deeds?

Today, we will be looking at the prophetic office of Christ and, as we do, we will also look at how this office or this role has been shared with us, His Church. First, we will look at the prophetic office in the Old Testament so that we can define it biblically. Then we will look at the office as it pertains to Jesus and to the Early Church. And then, finally, we will look at the prophetic office today. In all three cases, we will look at the anointing or baptism of the Holy Spirit as well as the teaching or ministry of the Holy Spirit through the office of the prophet.

Now, in the Old Testament, the Holy Spirit was sent from God to an individual (or to individuals) for a specific purpose and for a specific time. The references are many and are mostly alike, but I will give you a few examples.

In Numbers 11, the Lord instructed Moses to gather seventy men who were known as leaders for the express purpose of giving them the same Spirit who rested on Moses. The purpose was for them to be enabled to share the burden of teaching and leading or “judging” the people of God. We are told that the Lord came down in the glory cloud and that he put the Holy Spirit on the 68 leaders who had come to the tent of meeting as well as the other 2 who had remained in the camp…and all 70 of them prophesied. Now, remember the two in the camp as we will look at them a little later. 

Then in 1 Samuel 10:10, we read that the Holy Spirit came upon Saul, and he prophesied…we also know that the Holy Spirit later departed from Saul. 

In Ezekiel 2:2 we are told that the Holy Spirit entered Ezekiel and told him to preach to Israel and warn them of imminent judgment if they did not turn from their wickedness and live according to God’s law. 

Now, these are just a few examples, but I’m sure you get the picture. The Holy Spirit would come and go as God sent him upon individuals to enable them to say some specific word or do some specific task in God’s name. 

But just what exactly did the Holy Spirit enable these individuals to say or do? Unfortunately, many people think that prophecy is solely a foretelling or a prediction of events yet to come…but, as you read through the Scriptures, you soon realise that what these prophets or leaders did or said when the Holy Spirit came on them had very little to do with predicting the future. Most of what they had to say and do was to either teach the people the law or warn them of the consequences should they choose not to obey or follow the law. 

You can see this particularly in their references to and quotes from the books of the Torah…from the Law. And so, we can safely assume that the primary task of the Holy Spirit filled individual was to forthtell (in other words, to preach, teach, exhort, reprove, encourage, or train up in godliness) rather than to foretell (to predict future). As such, the Holy Spirit filled prophet, as the term is used in Scripture, was simply a person who represented God – they were channels of revelation and interpreters of the law. Of course, they did from time to time predict the future, but such predictions were usually simple statements with regard to the logical consequences of bad behaviour…other predictions were rather rare and usually only incidental to their main objective, which was to call people to repentance through preaching and teaching what was written in the Scriptures…and also calling the people of God back to faith through their proclamation of the coming redemption. Some of what they said was recorded and preserved for the edification of all believers.

So, the bottom line is simply this: prophecy in the Old Testament had more to do with teaching, preaching, admonishing, exhorting, and recording the pronouncements of God than with foretelling the future…and then we must also remember that when these were predictions they were usually linked to warnings already contained in the law.

But what about the New Testament?

In our Gospel reading for today, we saw that John testified to the coming of the Holy Spirit upon Jesus. This is very similar to what happened with the Old Testament recipients of the Holy Spirit. However, with Jesus there were some differences.

Whereas the Old Testament prophets had to preface everything they said with the words, “thus says the Lord,” Jesus spoke with authority, “I say to you”. He not only spoke for God, but he spoke as God. As the author to the Hebrews wrote: “God, who at various times and in different ways spoke in times past to the fathers by the prophets, has in these last days (please note the words, “these last days”) spoken to us by his Son.” As such, Jesus is, in many ways, the final revelation of God to humanity…the rest of the New Testament and, indeed, the teaching of the Church, is basically a commentary on his life and ministry and an application of his teaching.

In verse 33 of John 1 we see another difference. “The one on whom you see the Spirit come down and remain (or abide) is the one who will baptise with the Holy Spirit.” The Holy Spirit remained or abided on or with Jesus, unlike the Old Testament characters, where he would come and go. In other words, the Holy Spirit is fundamentally central to who Jesus was as well as to what Jesus did. It was through the Spirit that Jesus was conceived. It was through the Spirit that Jesus spoke and performed wonders. It was through the Spirit that Jesus was resurrected from the dead. And it is through Jesus breathing the Spirit on the disciples that the Church was born. 

The opening chapter of Genesis speaks of the Spirit hovering over the face of the deep shortly before creation is spoken into existence. And here, in the opening chapter of John’s Gospel, the Spirit once again hovers over the face of the baptismal waters to speak into existence the new creation through the life and ministry and death and resurrection of Jesus. It is Jesus who, through the Spirit abiding on him, brings spirit and life to those who receive him.

Now, did Jesus predict the future? Yes, he did but in a rather limited fashion. His foretelling mainly focussed on the coming destruction of the old order – these are the so-called “last days” spoken of in the Scriptures…the days between the end of the old order and the beginning of the new. Now, of course, he does speak about his return, his second coming, if you will but these few references are somewhat vague and rightly so. It is not for us to know the times and the seasons…that is the Father’s prerogative…it is for us to obey whether we know what the future holds or not. Humanity has always wanted to control the future independent from God, but God knows it is best for us to be totally reliant on him…that’s what faith and trust is all about. If we knew all there was to know, we would not need God, would we? No, we need him, and we trust him because he alone holds the future in his hands…and we know that his thoughts and plans for us are always the best.

Be that as it may, besides these few predictions, Jesus’ ministry was mostly focussed on demonstrating by word and deed the character and will of God. His prophetic ministry as revealed in the Gospels had to do with teaching, preaching, exhorting, admonishing, encouraging, challenging and calling people back to God and warning them of the consequences should they refuse to listen. Throughout the sermon on the mount, he repeatedly called people back to the Scriptures and away from the so-called oral law or the tradition of the elders. “You have heard that it was said…NOTE: NOT READ WHAT HAS BEEN WRITTEN…you have heard that it was said…but I say to you…” 

In a classic confrontation with the teachers of the law, Jesus asked, “Why do you transgress the commandment of God because of your tradition?” You see, his ministry was to call people back to the Word and thereby back to the God of the Word. The prophetic ministry of Jesus had to do with correcting false teaching and bringing people back to the true meaning of Scripture. That’s why he said that he did not come to destroy the law and the prophets but to confirm them or fulfil them. To clarify or illuminate what the Word really says…not what we want them to say.

So, what about those who followed him and those who took the Gospel out into all the world?  Well, we know that all 120 believers praying together in the Upper Room were filled with the Holy Spirit on the Day of Pentecost. Jesus had already breathed the breath of regeneration on them when he appeared to them in that same upper room shortly after his resurrection, but now they received the promise of power…power to be witnesses to Jesus. And that is what they did…they preached, by word and by deed, the good news of liberation from Satan and sin and death through the death and resurrection and ascension and present reign of Jesus. Then the same Holy Spirit came upon the Samaritan believers and then later on the Gentile believers for the same reason…to spread the Gospel to all. 

Now, when one reads the book of the Acts of the Apostles and the New Testament Letters, one does see a few predictions of future events, especially in the Book of the Revelation of Jesus, but these predictions dealt mainly with the destruction of the vestiges of the Old Covenant, namely Jerusalem and the Temple. But mostly, the New Testament believers functioned in very much the same way as did the Old Testament prophets. In John 14:26 Jesus told his disciples that “the Helper, the Holy Spirit, whom the Father will send in My name, he will teach you all things, and bring to your remembrance all things I said to you.” He said something similar in John 15:26-27: “…when the Helper comes, who I shall send to you from the Father, the Spirit of truth who proceeds from the Father, he will testify of me. And you also will bear witness, because you have been with me from the beginning.” 

So, in this case, the Holy Spirit enabled the followers of Jesus to recall his teaching in order to write it down for future generations so that we and those yet to be born can have an eye-witness account of all Jesus said and did. In theological terms this is called the doctrine of inspiration…just like the authors of the Old Testament books, the Holy Spirit inspired the authors of the New Testament to write down the teaching and the application of the teaching of Jesus. 

So, the prophetic work of Jesus, as we understand it from Scripture, continued as the Holy Spirit enlightened and inspired and led the Early believers to be the witnesses they were called to be. They were empowered by the same Spirit that rested on the Old Testament believers and on Jesus to be ambassadors or spokespeople for the Kingdom of God.

This work continues today in and through us…those who have come to believe in Jesus through what was recorded and expounded by the first disciples. We are also called to bear witness to Jesus wherever we may go in this world.

Now, do you remember the two leaders in the wilderness who did not go up to the Tent of Meeting, but stayed in the camp? The Holy Spirit came on them in the same way as with the other 68 and they also prophesied, but in the camp, not at the tent as was customary. All teaching and other matters of ritual and religion always happened in and around the Tent…not in the camp. What these two men were doing was considered irregular. So, Joshua asked Moses to put a stop to their prophesying, but Moses replied: “Are you zealous for my sake? Oh, that all the Lord’s people were prophets and that the Lord would put his Spirit on them!” This yearning desire and heart prayer of Moses came to pass from the day of Pentecost on through to today. 

Like Moses, the leaders, other Old Testament characters, and like the disciples, all of the Lord’s people are filled with the Holy Spirit. Paul states quite clearly in Romans 8:9 that “if anyone does not have the Spirit of Christ, he is not his.” Plain and simple. Every believer after Pentecost has the Spirit…and, unlike the Old Testament believers, but like Jesus, the Holy Spirit abides or remains in us. 

So, in a sense, all of God’s people are prophets…prophets like Jesus…and, as such, all of God’s people can proclaim the truth of the Gospel and can call people back to God through repentance and faith. Of course, there are some who are specifically gifted and called to be leaders and teachers and preachers in the Church, but this does not detract from the responsibility of all God’s children to be witnesses to Jesus. If you are in Jesus, then you are filled with the Holy Spirit. As Paul said in Galatians 4:6-7, “Because we are children, God has sent forth the Spirit of His Son into our hearts, crying, ‘Abba! Father!’” 

So, the prophetic ministry of Jesus continues down through the ages as his faithful followers, now empowered and illumined by the indwelling Holy Spirit, bear witness to the truth: that Jesus has come to seek and to save the dead and the dying.

But alas and alack…the modern Church seems more preoccupied with the agenda of the world, rather than with the agenda of Jesus. Our preaching and teaching ministry has taken a wrong turn somewhere and we are stuck in some dead-end alley. We speak more about humanity and their needs than about God and his will…which is so strange because Scripture clearly teaches that if we obey God’s will then all our needs will be met. Note, I said needs, not greeds or wants or lusts or desires. It seems as if Jesus has become a celestial vending machine, or a Santa Claus who exists solely to give us what we want, and prophecy has become little more than crystal ball gazing…you will be blessed in 2023 with health, wealth, and a Rolex watch…whatever…

In so many ways, Christianity has become an empty or shallow religion practiced by people who no longer view God as altogether Holy and Just and True, not to mention the Almighty Creator and Owner of everything that exists. When the first disciples met Jesus, he asked them what they were looking for. This is another way of asking them if they had considered the cost involved should they choose to follow him. They had to think about why they would follow him…and what the consequences would be should they choose to do so. Jesus taught them that they had to deny themselves…deny those wants and desires and dreams and ambitions…and that they had to be consistent, determined, persistent, informed, and submissive in their following. They had to come to him on his terms, not theirs. 

There was and there still is a price to pay in following the Lord Jesus. When one speaks the truth, there will be a reaction. Jesus died for speaking the truth. Most of his first century followers also died for speaking the truth. Down through the ages, people have paid a tremendous price for following Jesus. Some still do. 

But what about us? Are we perhaps a little bit like our salesperson…trying to sell Nike while promoting Adidas? Do we perhaps outwardly claim to believe the Word of God while living in the skin of the world? Jesus warned us about wolves in sheep’s clothing. 

But let’s not engage in finger-pointing here. Let us look deep down into our own hearts. Are we fulfilling the prophetic role of our Lord or are we just biding our time till we die by and by? Are we truly serious about being his witnesses…about doing what the Holy Spirit has enabled and empowered us to do…about seeking first his kingdom and his righteousness? 

What are you “selling”, dearest beloved brethren? 

Shall we pray?

© Johannes W H van der Bijl 2023