Ezekiel 44:3

A prince (king) who would rule over the Israelites would sit in this gate complex and eat sacrifices to the Lord there (cf. Ezekiel 34:24; Ezekiel 37:25; Ezekiel 46:2; Ezekiel 46:8-10). Jesus Christ will be the King of Kings. He will rule over many kings including this king (prince). The city gate was a place of civil and judicial business in the ancient world (cf. Ruth 4:1-11). It was where the elders of the city assembled to discuss and transact important matters. Therefore sitting in this gate pictures the prince as an administrator of the temple area. He would go in and out of the gate complex by way of the vestibule at its west end, but no one would be able to enter or exit the outer court through the gate at the east end of this structure.

This prince (Heb. nasi) is not Messiah. This becomes clear later when the writer described him as presenting a sin offering for himself, something that it is impossible to imagine Jesus Christ doing (Ezekiel 45:22; cf. Hebrews 4:15; Hebrews 9:22-28). Furthermore, this leader will produce natural children, another extremely unlikely action for Messiah (Ezekiel 46:16). Third, he is not a priest and exercises no priestly rights, whereas Jesus Christ is now and ever will be our great high priest. Ezekiel mentioned no high priest in his revelation of the millennial priests. Jesus Christ will fill that role (Hebrews 5:6; Hebrews 5:10; Hebrews 6:20; Hebrews 7:3; Hebrews 7:17; Hebrews 8:1). Rather, this prince will function in an intermediate status between the priests and the people (cf. Ezekiel 45:13-22; Ezekiel 46:2; Ezekiel 46:10; Ezekiel 46:18; Ezekiel 48:21-22). The exact identity of this leader is presently unknown, but he will apparently function as Messiah’s administrative representative in charge of certain affairs in the Millennium. [Note: See E. A. Speiser, "Background and Function of the Biblical Nasi," Catholic Biblical Quarterly 25 (1963):111-17; and J. D. Levenson, Theology of the Program of Restoration of Ezekiel 40-48, pp. 61, 67.] Some believe he will be King David resurrected. [Note: E.g., Dyer, in The Old . . ., p. 696. See my comments on 34:24 and 37:24-25.] This person appears in every chapter in Ezekiel that follows except chapter 47.