Christmas is about light. We celebrate the light of the world being born into the darkness and the Dayspring on high who guides our feet to peace. The wise men saw his star in the night sky, and the light from the heavenly hosts blinded the shepherds. Lights decorate our trees and neighborhoods, and candlelight warms our family gatherings. At Christmastime, light is an ever-present reminder of the hope Jesus’ birth brings to the world.
But there’s a dark side to the light. On the other side of the light are shadows—reminders of why the Savior was born. While the blazing center of the story is that Jesus came, the shadow of the cross lays over his manger bed. In the Old Testament, there were types and shadows that foretold who and what this Savior would be. In a way, the shadows tell a different story—a story within a story. We look at lights at night because light is most beautiful when contrasted with the darkness around it. When we understand the shadows of Christmas, we learn to love the light even more.
Psalm 110 sheds light on the Christmas story by showing us the shadows of Christ. When you see your shadow, you know that’s not the “real” you. It’s a representation of you that points to the reality. In Psalm 110, we see David and Melchizedek, but in their shadows is Jesus Christ. Over one thousand years before Jesus was born, Scripture revealed our kingly priest would fulfill our greatest needs.
The Shadow King
Psalm 110 is a royal psalm written by King David around 1044 B.C. He likely wrote it around the time the prophet Nathan told him that from his line would come a king who would rule forever (2 Sam 7:12; 1 Chr 17:27). Verse one holds a unique distinction as the single most-quoted psalm in the New Testament.
“The LORD says to my Lord; “Sit at my right hand, until I make your enemies your footstool.”
(v. 1).
It’s a curious verse packed with meaning. The first LORD is in all caps, which indicates the covenantal name of God as the great “I AM” or “Yahweh.” The second Lord is translated as “Adonai,” which means master or ruler. It can be translated as “Yahweh speaks to Adonai.”
The greatest king of Israel, David, begins by acknowledging that he was not the supreme one. There was one coming after him who would be the greatest. In a prophetic promise, David revealed that Yahweh, the Lord of heaven and earth, told David’s master, Jesus, that he would be the promised, eternal king of everything.
This is a radical statement, especially coming from David’s pen. There was one who would come, a great-great-great-grandson who would rule and reign and to whom David would bend his knee. He would be David’s son and the Son of David, yet David would be subservient to him. There would be no contesting this future king’s power, and all his people would offer themselves to him freely. He will rule so completely that he will crush all his enemies under his feet.
He Sits at God’s Right Hand
The Son of David has come, but as we look around, it appears that God’s enemies (and ours) are prevailing and prospering while Christians suffer. To David, these prophetic writings were in the future tense, but part of this verse has already been fulfilled. We live in the middle of the ‘now and not yet’ aspect of this verse.
After completing his redemptive work on the cross, Jesus ascended into heaven and was seated at God’s right hand (Mark 16:19, Eph 1:20, Col 3:1). Right now, he sits in sovereign control over every molecule in the universe. But Satan and his demonic forces are still at work, seeking to do as much damage and damn as many souls as possible before their final day.
We feel the effects of their hell-bound race every day, but Psalm 110 assures us this tension will one day be resolved. Someday, we’ll ride behind our victorious king arrayed in white linen, and he will strike down the nations and rule with a rod of iron (Rev 19:14). As he overthrows Satan’s rule, he will not break a sweat. Like a man who rests his feet on his ottoman at the end of the day, our conquering king will put all his enemies under his feet with ease.
The Shadow Priest
We not only need a conquering king, we also need a righteous priest. In verse four, Yahweh makes an unbreakable oath to Jesus, similar to the conversation between Yahweh and Adonai in verse one.
“The LORD has sworn and will not change his mind, ‘You are a priest forever after the order of Melchizedek.’”
Psalm 110:4
Melchizedek is briefly mentioned in Genesis 14 and further explained in Hebrews 7. He was the king of Salem and a priest of God Most High, who met with Abram after he slaughtered enemy kings. After Melchizedek blessed him, Abram gave him a tithe, indicating that Melchizedek was of greater and higher importance than himself.
After the Order of Melchizedek
Melchizedek’s name means ‘king of righteousness,’ and he was the king of Salem (probably an early name for Jeru-Salem), which means peace. While Abram lived in Ur, God introduced Melchizedek before the biblical narrative shifted to Jerusalem. This indicates he already had a representative priest living in his city!
Unlike the priests of Israel, whose sole qualification was their Levitical heritage, Melchizedek’s genealogy is unknown, and we do not know anything about his death. Hebrews tells us this makes him like the Son of God who, without beginning or end, continues in his priesthood forever (Heb 7:3).
But what is the order of Melchizedek? The law, which the Levitical priests tried to uphold, never produced a perfect priest. Jesus bypassed Aaron’s Levitical line and came from the non-priestly tribe of Judah. Better than a priest having the bodily descent from Aaron was a priest who lived a perfect, indestructible life (Heb 7:16). Also, the Levitical priests were bound only to serve the nation Israel, and for a limited time. But as one from the order of Melchizedek, Jesus serves all people forever.
How precise is God’s Word? Only in the mind of God could he make one man both our perfect priest and king, our righteousness and peace!
The Substance of the Shadows
At Christmas, we celebrate light, but the shadows tell us a story, too. For centuries, the shadows of David’s kingly role and Melchizedek’s priestly one grew long as the people waited. But then the light dawned, and the shadows fled. The Savior was born, who would also be our Priest and King.
You may not have known to ask for a priest and king this year for Christmas, but God’s overwhelming kindness has already provided him for you. You need this king to fight all your battles and this priest to cleanse you from all your sins.
He is the substance of the shadows, and he is the light. He’s everything we need: our priestly king, Jesus.
Emmanuel.
Cara
P.S. Please enjoy this free resource to prepare your heart for Christmas.
