Jesus as Priest and King
Spontaneous Ponderings
I’ve always been a bit confused by the genealogy of Jesus. All the genealogies listed in the Bible trace his lineage back to Joseph, not Mary (see Matthew 1 and Luke 3). But theoretically, Joseph isn’t really his biological dad. Yes, I know that God could have made the “father” side of Jesus’ DNA perfectly match Joseph. I have no doubt that God has the power to do this. And all the genealogies of Jesus consider Joseph’s line, which is how Jesus’s lineage traces back to King David (which make sense because Israel is a patriarchal society). I fully believe that the Bible is the inspired Word of God, so I know this isn’t a mistake, even though it seems to me that Jesus’ line should come through Mary only.
But if it’s in the Bible, the genealogies provided must be God’s intention for Jesus’ heritage. Jesus came from the line of King David. In fact, we read in the lesson on Luke 2:1-21 that Joseph and Mary went to Bethlehem for the census because that is the town of David, and they were from the line of David. We also saw in that lesson that in 2 Samuel 7:16, God promised David a house and kingdom that would endure forever. So it’s clearly established that Jesus came from the line of David through Joseph, his father. This fulfills the prophecy that Jesus would be King.
The Bible also establishes that Jesus would be our Priest. Hebrews 4:14-15 clearly outlines this: “Therefore, since we have a great high priest who ascended into heaven, Jesus the Son of God, let us hold firmly to the faith we profess. For we do not have a high priest who is unable to empathize with our weaknesses, but we have one who has been tempted in every way, just as we are—yet he did not sin.” So how does Jesus “earn” the title of Priest? In Hebrews 7, it talks about Jesus being a High Priest in the order of Melchizedek. Melchizedek was not from the line of Levi (the priestly tribe). In fact, he wasn’t even a descendent of Abraham. He was a contemporary of Abraham, and he was a priest of the Most High God separate from any association with Abraham. Abraham even paid tribute to him by giving him a tenth of everything (see Genesis 14). So Jesus is a priest that rises above any genealogical connections to Abraham.
But here’s something else to consider. As I was reading through the verses about Jesus’ baptism and his relationship to John the Baptist, I was reminded of the verses in Luke 1 that give us a hint of Mary’s lineage. It says in Luke 1:36 that Mary was a relative of Elizabeth, and it establishes clearly in Luke 1:5 that Elizabeth was a descendent of Aaron, who was Israel’s first priest. The statement that Mary is a relative of Elizabeth here doesn’t seem to indicate that they are very distant relatives, both descendants of Abraham but of different Israelite tribes. It seems to indicate something closer than that. So does that mean that Mary was also a descendent of Aaron? If so, that would mean that in addition to Jesus being a priest in the order of Melchizedek, he would also be a priest through the line of Aaron.
So, Jesus is from the line of kings through Joseph, his father. And he could be from the line of priests through Mary, his mother. Of course, the Bible never really clearly states that Jesus is from Aaron’s priestly line, but it does clearly focus on Jesus being from David’s line. So Jesus being from Aaron’s priestly line is pure speculation. But it is definitely something interesting to ponder.