The King and the Priest Are One

The precious birth of the Lord Jesus Christ is full of joy and yet bitterness. The beauty of not just new life, but of Immanuel is haunted by foreshadows of the ultimate scandal: the crucifixion of God-with-us. We see in the Christmas story many such parallels. Here are three.

First, his transportation into Bethlehem and his transportation into Jerusalem were the same, that is, on a donkey. The humble, simple, laborious creature signifies peace, as opposed to the more valiant warhorses of the ancient world. On the one, he was yet unborn and kings were being rallied to come worship him. On the other, he was hailed as King of Israel with Hosanna in the highest only to be mocked with the same label a week later.

Second, his place of birth and his place of death were the same, that is, on the outside. There was no room in the inn proper, so his parents were forced to dwell with the beasts of the earth there in the manger. This was better than the alternative of giving birth in an alley, but a stark reminder of Mary and Joseph’s humble beginnings. Jesus too was ushered outside of Jerusalem proper to dwell with the cursed of the earth there on the cross. For some time, Jesus had known that there was no alternative to this fate and it was a public proclamation of Jesus’s humiliating end.

Third, his first and final gifts were the same, that is, ones fit for a King come to die. Those far-eastern nobles emerged from darkness, following a great light and bringing with them gold and incense as a sign of royalty as well as myrrh as a sign of death. The latter was a fragrant resin used for burial. After his work on the cross was finished and the Light of the world descended into the Darkness itself, two nobles served him once again, namely Joseph of Arimathea and Nicodemus. They gave him a tomb which had never been used and embalmed him with myrrh and aloe (John 19:39). This was the custom of the day (John 19:40), but using 75 pounds worth was certainly not customary for a man born in barn. This extravagance reveals that even in his burial, his regality was recognized by those who knew him.

The King who reigns and the Priest who died are not two, but one, the one Lord Jesus Christ. In birth and in death, we see a rich tapestry of seemingly opposing themes woven together in Immanuel: riches and poverty, glory and humiliation, worship and scorn, joy and bitterness, Christmas and Good Friday.