Ezekiel's Mystery "Chieftain"/Leader, A Sinner???
We read at Ezekiel 44:1-3 the following mysterious information about a FUTURE Temple of God's making and blessing,
"And he proceeded to bring me back by way of the gate of the Sanctuary, the outer one facing east, and it was shut. Then Jehovah said to me: "As regards this gate, shut is how it will continue. It will not be opened, and no mere man will come in by it; for Jehovah himself, the God of Israel, has come in by it, and it must continue shut. However, the chieftain -- as chieftain he himself will sit in it [the east gate], in order to eat bread before Jehovah. By way of the porch of the gate he will come in, and by way of it he will go out." -- Ezekiel 44:1-3
"And on that day, in his own behalf and in behalf of all the people of the land, the chieftain must provide a young bull as a sin offering." -- Ezekiel 45:22
Who is this mystery "Chieftain." Is it Jesus Christ? Or is it someone else? In the above quoted scripture, he is said to have made a "sin" offering for himself as well as for the people of the nation?
1) Why would Jesus Christ, a perfect, sinless person while on earth, need to do such a thing?
2) Also, is Jesus Christ today, in the form of a "man" who makes earthly sacrifices "for himself," to cover some sin that he may have committed?
3) Jesus dwells in heaven, the bible says, in powerful spirit form. He is not a man, anymore. But the Mystery "Chieftain" is a man. How could this person prove to be Jesus Christ, in human form, offering sacrifices for "sins" he has committed?
Bible scholars answer no. They say it is a man.
The Expositors Bible Commentary Volume 6 (released in 1986) page 974 makes this straightforward comment on the "chieftain's" identity. It says,
"Only the prince was permitted to enter this gate. He must enter and leave by way of the portico from the outer court only. His only function within that gate was to eat bread in the presence of the LORD, but exactly which meal or for what purpose is not stated.
"The identity of this prince has been a puzzle to many. The meaning of the Hebrew word nasi has in itself contributed to the problem. The English word prince connotes royalty. However, the word nasi would best be translated "leader" (cf. E.A. Speiser, "Background and Function of the Biblical Nasi," CBQ 25 [1963]: 111-17). This leader was not the Messiah, because the leader is made a sin offering for himself (cf. 45:22). If the leader" were Jesus Christ, then he, the Messiah, would need cleansing from sin. Such was not possible (cf. Heb 4:15). In addition, this leader had natural children (46:16), another impossibility for the Messiah. The leader was a man."
"The identity of the leader is unknown. He functions as the people's leader in their millennial worship, almost like a high priest, but not having the same role and function." -- Expositors Bible Commentary Volume 6, page 974
The Mystery "Chieftain" is not Jesus Christ. It is some one else. A man.
bjc