All positions have been filled.
I recently started a new job, the position having been made vacant by the resignation of my predecessor. On my first day of work, the first place my new employer showed me was the barren office with the empty seat that I would now call my own. Regardless of the comparisons that could be made between my predecessor and me, that seat was now under new ownership—the position had been filled.
The Lord Jesus Christ found Himself in the position of occupying offices. The offices had once belonged to others, but they became rightfully His; and He proved Himself to be the worthier occupant of those offices! In the synoptic gospels, we have portraits of the Lord Jesus fulfilling the Old Testament offices of King, Prophet, and Priest, respectively. Many had preceded Him, but to this day, nobody has qualified to be His successor.
As we will see, each of these gospels is significant in how it begins, what the Lord first says in the gospel, and how the gospel ends. Then we will see how the fourth and last gospel, John, portrays the Lord Jesus filling an office without precedent—that of the eternal Son of God.
Matthew: the Messiah-King
Matthew’s gospel testifies to the Jewish nation that Jesus of Nazareth is, indeed, the promised Messiah, offering more references to Old Testament prophesies than any of the other gospels and showing their fulfillment in the Lord Jesus Christ.
The beginning: the vacant throne.
This gospel opens with the statement, “the book of the generation of Jesus Christ, the Son of David, the Son of Abraham.” David’s son Solomon reigned in peace and majesty—but not before Abraham’s son Isaac typified the willing sacrifice upon the altar. The Lord Jesus, as the promised Messiah, is the antitype of both. Notice that the genealogy records the severed kingdom under Jeconiah followed by national captivity because of disobedience (1:11). But the Son of an unrighteous kingdom and a disobedient nation would restore what they had lost!
His first statement.
Regarding His baptism, the Lord appeals to His baptizer by stating, “suffer it to be so now: for thus it becometh us to fulfill all righteousness” (3:15). The Lord identified with Israel by being baptized in the Jordan along with the repentant remnant. This foreshadowed another baptism He would undergo—one that brought Him under the billows of God’s wrath for the sake of the nation (20:22-23).
How it ends.
The gospel ends with the King’s commission to His agents on the mountain of His return (ch.?28), reminding us that when He returns, He will establish His kingdom on earth.
As the earthly agents of the King, are we preparing those around us for the kingdom, or are we preparing them (and ourselves) to live comfortably in this world?
Mark: the Servant-Prophet
Identifying itself as “the beginning of the gospel of Jesus Christ, the Son of God,” the tone of the shortest gospel is that of a prophet on an urgent mission. No Old Testament office was more identified with being God’s servant than that of the prophet. Mark simultaneously portrays the Lord Jesus as God’s promised Prophet (Deut. 18:15) and as YHWH’s perfect Servant.
The beginning: the imprisoned prophet.
At the opening of this gospel, we’re brought to the Jordan where we meet the Christ’s forerunner, John the Baptist, “the voice crying in the wilderness” and the last of the Old Testament prophets. For 400 years, there had been no divine revelation to the nation. But John’s voice shattered the silence. Nonetheless, his ministry was to be short-lived, and we read of the transition from forerunner to fulfillment: “Now after that John was put in prison,
Jesus came into Galilee, preaching the gospel of the kingdom of God” (1:14).
His first statement.
Upon John’s incarceration, the Prophet declared, “the time is fulfilled and the kingdom of God is at hand: repent ye, and believe the gospel” (1:15). Our Lord is not the first prophet to call the nation to repentance, but His distinction is that He is also the Son of God (1:1). Later, the Lord solemnly illustrated the history of Israel’s rejection of God’s messengers and ultimate rejection of the Son in the parable of the husbandmen (12:1-12).
How it ends.
The gospel begins with a message and it ends with a collection of messengers: “And they went forth, and preached everywhere, and the Lord working with them and confirming the word with signs following. Amen.” (16:20)
Do we speak on behalf of the Lord in our communities, schools, and workplaces?
Luke: our great high Priest
The author of Hebrews defines the high priest as being “taken from among men…ordained for men in things pertaining to God, that He may offer both gifts and sacrifices for sins” (Heb. 5:1). Who else but the Lord Jesus qualifies to be our human representative before the throne? No gospel better defines Christ’s perfect humanity than Luke. The beloved physician, in his examination room, reveals the Lord’s early physical, mental, and spiritual development (2:40, 52), yet with the total absence of malice and wickedness. Our Lord’s presence in the temple and His prayer life are detailed more in this gospel than in any other.
The beginning: the mute priest.
In chapter 1, we are introduced to Zacharias at the golden altar of incense before the veil of the most holy place in the temple. Praise God that our great High Priest gives all who are in Him unveiled access before the throne of grace (Heb. 4:16)! Blameless as Zacharias is, he is made mute because of his disbelief of the angel’s message.
His first statement.
After a three-day search, Joseph and Mary found their Son in the temple, where “all that heard Him were astonished” (2:47). The Lord responded to His parents’ queries with the first recorded statement of His life, “How is it that ye sought Me? Knowest ye not that I must be about My Father’s business?” (2:49). In the same temple where Zacharias was made mute because of disbelief, the boy Jesus opens His mouth to disclose His commission—to be occupied with the Father and His house. Our Lord’s priesthood is unique, however, in that He offered Himself as the sacrifice.
How it ends.
The gospel begins with temple worship and a mute priest, and it ends in temple worship with a New Testament priesthood offering praise, the fruit of their lips (24:53).
Are we silent about the Lord, or are we fulfilling our roles as holy and royal priests (1 Pet. 2:5, 9)?
John: the eternal Son
In the fourth Gospel, we see a role defined that has no precedent: the office of the eternal Son.
How it begins:
The occupied seat in heaven. “In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God” (1:1). Whereas each of the synoptic gospels begins with a human forerunner on Earth, the final gospel takes us to a heavenly scene with no time limits or dimensions—it is simply “in the beginning.” The humanity of the Lord Jesus began at His incarnation, but He Himself had no beginning. This office was never vacant—the position has always been filled!
His first statement.
After Jesus was identified by John the Baptist as the Lamb of God (1:29, 36) and the Son of God (1:34), John’s disciples followed Him. The Lord Jesus asked them, “What seek ye?” (v.38) As their provider, He asked them what it is that they sought. There are no limits to what the Son of God provides for those who follow Him! He is the bread of life (6:35); the light of the world (8:12); the door (10:9); the good Shepherd who gives His life for the sheep (10:11); the resurrection and the life (11:25); the way, the truth, and the life (14:6); and, finally, the true vine (15:1).
How it ends.
The gospel began before the world was; its ending describes One who is simply out of this world: “And there are also many other things which Jesus did, the which, if they should be written every one, I suppose that even the world itself could not contain the books that should be written. Amen.” (21:25)
Does the world contain us, or do we transcend the world through the One who loved us and gave Himself for us?
Legions of prophets, priests, and kings failed to do full justice to their respective offices. Praise God that the eternal Son has secured all three offices. No more applicants are required—the position has been filled!