Solidarity

Christ is revealed to us in the New Testament in the threefold Office of Prophet, Priest, and King. Prophets were tasked with speaking God’s Word to the people; the King represented God to the people; and the Priest represented the people to God…exactly how these Offices functioned in ancient Israel.

The next part of our series, “Gentle and Lowly”, deals largely with the book of Hebrews—a book primarily about the priestly work of Christ. Christ himself being the Priest to end all Priests. The One who is representing us to God.

And Christ’s Priestly work is captured best by the word “solidarity.” It’s not a word we use a lot today, but it’s a magnificent word. It conveys his “withness”. Christ is with us. He is one with us. He experiences what we experience. His joy and happiness are bound to ours. And Hebrews seems especially anxious to let us know that Christ is in solidarity with us not just when we’re doing well, but in our anguish, in our pain, in our failures, and in our penitence.