Daniel and Zechariah Volume 2, week 12

My Great Delight in God's Word

Crystallization Study of Zechariah, Message 6

The Priesthood and the Kingship for the Building Up of the Church as the Temple of God

Praise the Lord! Now we are at the "Season Finale" of the crystallisation study of the book of Zechariah. It is so amazing that we clearly see Christ in this book. I'm sure that in the light of the New Testament that we have at hand, we can understand all the visions much better that the prophet himself. So let's continue enjoying the discovery of the truth concerning Christ in this book.
As mentioned previously in the first message of this book, both priesthood and kingship are needed in order to build a temple. The authority of a king is needed for the construction of the building, and the priesthood of the high priest is needed for the services within the temple. At the time of the prophet Zechariah, the priesthood of Joshua and the kingship of Zerubbabel the governor were required for the re-building of God's temple. And at our time, the all-inclusive Christ is all we needed for the building of the truly glorious temple, the Church. In this message, we are going to explore about the crowning of the BRANCH, which appears in Zechariah chapter 6, with some links to the true BRANCH, the king-priest Messiah, and our calling to be the royal priesthood.

The crowning of the BRANCH

¹¹ Take the silver and gold, make an elaborate crown, and set it on the head of Joshua the son of Jehozadak, the high priest.
¹² Then speak to him, saying, 'Thus says the LORD of hosts, saying: " Behold, the Man whose name is the BRANCH! From His place He shall branch out, And He shall build the temple of the LORD;
¹³ Yes, He shall build the temple of the LORD. He shall bear the glory, And shall sit and rule on His throne; So He shall be a priest on His throne, And the counsel of peace shall be between them both." '
¹⁴ "Now the elaborate crown shall be for a memorial in the temple of the LORD for Helem, Tobijah, Jedaiah, and Hen the son of Zephaniah.
¹⁵ Even those from afar shall come and build the temple of the LORD. Then you shall know that the LORD of hosts has sent Me to you. And this shall come to pass if you diligently obey the voice of the LORD your God." (Zechariah 6:11-15 NKJV)

In this vision, we see a coronation of the one whose name is BRANCH. In the context, the message is addressed to the high priest Joshua. However, it is unlikely that a priest would be crowned. The crowning is reserved for a king, which must come through the Davidic line. Moreover, it is Zerubbabel, not Joshua, who was a branch from David's line. Therefore, as also suggested by The Bridgeway Bible Commentary, it is likely that the message is better applied to Zerubbabel, the Davidic prince.
Verse 13 says that, "the counsel of peace shall be between them both." This further emphasises the roles of both the king (Zerubbabel) and the priest (Joshua) on the re-building of God's temple.

Christ as the great High Priest and the King

We should not stop the interpretation of the crowning of the BRANCH at the king Zerubbabel and the priest Joshua. The message points us to a far greater One, Jesus Christ, who is the great High Priest and the great King. He is the true BRANCH.
In the Old Testament, a king cannot serve as a priest, and a priest cannot be crowned to be a king. The king comes from the line of David, and the priest comes from the line of Levi.
There is a king of Judah, who started his kingship very well. His name is Uzziah. He was a great king. But because of his pride, "he transgressed against the LORD his God by entering the temple of the LORD to burn incense on the altar of incense." (2 Chronicles 26:16 NKJV) It is the job of the chief priest Azariah, not the king Uzziah, to burn an incense in the temple. As a result, the king became leprous and spent the rest of his life alone in an isolate house. It was really sad ending for this potentially great king.
Nevertheless, we have a King, Jesus Christ, who has the right to be a Priest also. He is the true BRANCH, the king-priest Messiah. Genealogically, He comes through the line of David. He, therefore, absolutely is legitimate to be crowned as a King. However, the book of Hebrews also explains that He is also the High Priest according to the order of Melchizedek, "to whom also Abraham gave a tenth part of all, first being translated "king of righteousness," and then also king of Salem, meaning "king of peace." " (Hebrews 7:2 NKJV) Therefore, according to the type of Melchizedek, not only is He our King of righteousness and the King of peace, with power and authority, but He is also our great High Priest, who is now interceding for us. (Romans 8:34)
There is an interesting point mentioned in the KJV Scofield Study System concerning the "Branch" in the Old Testament's prophecies, which all point to Christ. It is so amazing that there are 4 aspects of the Branch, which reveal the 4 aspects of Christ that can be observed in the 4 books of Gospel. I will quote 4 representative verses to you first, and will explain later what they represent.

There shall come forth a Rod from the stem of Jesse, And a Branch shall grow out of his roots. (Isaiah 11:1 NKJV)
Hear, O Joshua, the high priest, You and your companions who sit before you, For they are a wondrous sign; For behold, I am bringing forth My Servant the BRANCH. (Zechariah 3:8 NKJV)
"Then speak to him, saying, 'Thus says the LORD of hosts, saying: " Behold, the Man whose name is the BRANCH! From His place He shall branch out, And He shall build the temple of the LORD" (Zechariah 6:12 NKJV)
In that day the Branch of the LORD shall be beautiful and glorious; And the fruit of the earth shall be excellent and appealing For those of Israel who have escaped. (Isaiah 4:2 NKJV)

Branch of David. From Isaiah 11:1, we see that the Branch grows out of the stem of Jesse. Christ "was born of the seed of David according to the flesh." (Romans 1:3 NKJV) This emphasises the kingship of the Messiah, which can be clearly seen in the Gospel of Matthew.
Jehovah's Servant, the BRANCH. Zechariah 2:8 demonstrates the Branch as God's Servant. Likewise, the Gospel of Mark presents our Messiah as the Servant who "did not come to be served, but to serve, and to give His life a ransom for many." (Mark 10:45 NKJV)
The Man whose name is the BRANCH. In Zechariah chapter 6, the Messiah is indicated as "the Man whose name is the BRANCH." (Zechariah 6:12 NKJV) The Branch is a man. Like the Gospel of Luke, this highlights Christ as the Son of Man.
The Branch of Jehovah. Lastly, Isaiah 4:2 says that this Branch really is "the Branch of the LORD." (Isaiah 4:2 NKJV) Actually, the Branch is the Jehovah Himself. This underlines that Christ is the Son of God, as the Gospel of John does.

Believers as a royal priesthood (priests and kings)

It is so amazing that we can see the concept of the kingship and priesthood throughout the bible.
The book of Genesis tells us that man was created to be both a priest, who had the image of God, and a king, who had dominion over all the creation.

Then God said, "Let Us make man in Our image, according to Our likeness; let them have dominion over the fish of the sea, over the birds of the air, and over the cattle, over all the earth and over every creeping thing that creeps on the earth." (Genesis 1:26 NKJV)

However, since the fall of man, we have lost both the priesthood and the kingship. Because of sin, we cannot fully express the image of God. We all fall short of the glory of God. (Romans 3:23) And we have lost our dominion over sin, Satan and death.
Praise the the Lord, by the complete work of Jesus on the Cross, we now can have fellowship with God again. The more we have fellowship with Him, the more we will be like Him. And by this means, we can be the expression of God again. We can function as a priest again. Moreover, Christ, who has absolute power and authority both in heavens and on earth, promised that "I am with you always, even to the end of the age." (Matthew 28:20 NKJV) By grace, we now have dominion over the enemies - Satan, sin and death. We don't have to fear them anymore, because Christ in us has already overcome them. Christ has restored our kingship and our priesthood.

To Him who loved us and washed us from our sins in His own blood, and has made us kings and priests to His God and Father, to Him be glory and dominion forever and ever. Amen. (Revelation 1:5-6 NKJV)

The great grace comes with the great calling. We have already been saved by grace through faith. Now we are called to be the royal priesthood.

Coming to Him as to a living stone, rejected indeed by men, but chosen by God and precious,
you also, as living stones, are being built up a spiritual house, a holy priesthood, to offer up spiritual sacrifices acceptable to God through Jesus Christ. (1 Peter 2:4-5 NKJV)

The function of a priest is to offer sacrifice. What does God require us to offer to Him? God wants us to offer ourselves to Him as a living sacrifice. He wants us to come to Him, and be transformed to be like Christ. He wants us to express Himself through us. He wants us to bear His image again on the earth. He wants to change us from glory to glory into His image, so that we will reflect, as a mirror, the glory of the Lord.

I beseech you therefore, brethren, by the mercies of God, that you present your bodies a living sacrifice, holy, acceptable to God, which is your reasonable service.
And do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind, that you may prove what is that good and acceptable and perfect will of God. (Romans 12:1-2 NKJV)
But we all, with unveiled face, beholding as in a mirror the glory of the Lord, are being transformed into the same image from glory to glory, just as by the Spirit of the Lord. (2 Corinthians 3:18 NKJV)

That sounds to be a great responsibility, doesn't it? We are called to be His ambassador, His representative. But don't be panicked! There is a secret. The only important thing that we need to do in order to express Him is just to come to Him! Come to the throne of grace. Come to receive mercy and find grace for timely help. The great High Priest is always there on the throne of grace. (Please note that the Priest is sitting on the throne. This implies the Priesthood and Kingship of Christ.) He understands us much better than we understand ourselves. He understands our weaknesses. And He is always there ready to help. We can come to Him anywhere anytime.

¹⁴ Seeing then that we have a great High Priest who has passed through the heavens, Jesus the Son of God, let us hold fast our confession.
¹⁵ For we do not have a High Priest who cannot sympathize with our weaknesses, but was in all points tempted as we are, yet without sin.
¹⁶ Let us therefore come boldly to the throne of grace, that we may obtain mercy and find grace to help in time of need. (Hebrews 4:14-16 NKJV)

Moreover, from the throne of grace, you will find a pure river of water of life coming out. Come and enjoy drinking the water of life!

And he showed me a pure river of water of life, clear as crystal, proceeding from the throne of God and of the Lamb. (Revelation 22:1 NKJV)

Would you like to come to the throne of grace now? Would you like to obtain mercy, find grace, and enjoy drinking the water of life today? Don't wait. Come now. He is there waiting for you.

Here is the final episode of this series. Thank you very much for coming to read my sharing about the Christ-centred truth from the Christ-centred book of Zechariah. Hope you enjoy all the messages, and will follow the next series, "The Experience, Growth, and Ministry of Life for the Body."

The grace of our Lord Jesus Christ be with you all. Amen. (Revelations 22:21 NKJV)

More readings

• The Holy Word for Morning Revival: Crystallization Study of Daniel and Zechariah Volume 2, week 12.

• The Bridgeway Bible Commentary on Zechariah 6:9-15.

• KJV Scofield Study System, Footnote of Isaiah 4:2

Thirayost Nimmanon (Tony)