Zechariah 6:13

Zechariah 6:13

I. The true hope of the world is a Priest. The idea of priesthood is universal. It has been distorted and abused; it has been made the foundation of spiritual tyranny. The priest has not been the teacher nor the elevator of the people. All over the world he has been the ally of oppression and darkness; he has hindered and cramped social and intellectual progress. And yet, in spite of all this, there the office stands, and wherever men go, by some strange perversity, they take with them this idea, and choose from among themselves those who, being endowed with some sort of ceremonial and symbolic purity, shall discharge for their brethren the double office of representing them before God and of representing God to them. That is what the world means, with absolute and entire unanimity, by a priest one who shall be sacrificer, intercessor, representative, bearer of man's worship, channel of God's blessing.

What is the Priest whom men crave? (1) The first requisite is oneness with those whom He represents. We have a Priest who "in all things is made like unto His brethren." (2) As in nature and character, so in function, Christ corresponds to the widely expressed wants of men, as shown in their priesthoods.

II. The priest of the world is the King of men. (1) He does rule."The kingdom of Christ" is no fanciful phrase. (2) The foundation of His rule is His sacrifice. (3) His rule is wielded in gentleness.

III. The Priest-King of men builds among men the temple of God. (1) Christ is Himself the true temple of God. (2) Christ builds the temple. By faith the individual soul becomes the abode of God, and into our desecrated spirits there comes the King of Glory. (3) Christ builds this temple because He is the temple. By His incarnation and work He makes our communion with God and God's dwelling in us possible. By His death and sacrifice He draws men to Himself, and blends them in a living unity. By the gift of His Spirit and His life He hallows their wills, and makes them partakers of His own likeness; so that, coming to Him, we also are built up a spiritual house. (4) Christ builds the temple, and uses us as His servants in the work.

A. Maclaren, Sermons Preached in Manchester;2nd series, p. 310.

References: Zechariah 6:13. Spurgeon, Sermons,vol. iv., No. 191; vol. xxv., No. 1495; Ibid., Morning by Morning,p. 174.Zechariah 7:1. W. Lindsay Alexander, Homiletic Magazine,vol. vii., p. 105.Zechariah 7:3. A. Mursell, Christian World Pulpit,vol. xix., p. 353.Zechariah 7:5; Zechariah 7:6. Spurgeon, Sermons,vol. viii.. No. 438; Ibid., My Sermon Notes: Ecclesiates to Malachi,p. 368. Zechariah 7; Zechariah 8 Expositor,3rd series, vol. iv., p, 216.