God and His Anointed

Understanding John's Prologue Some Caution: When we interpret John, we must assume that he is a devout Jew who is familiar with the scriptures that were written before him. If the ideas in his prologue (or our interpretations of them) seem incompatible with other bible texts, we must either regard John as a rogue or rethink our interpretation. For instance, Gen 1, Ex 20:11, Psalm 33:6, Hebrews 11:3, and Isaiah 44:24 all say that there is one creator, YHWH, who was alone during creation, who used his words (speech, commands, breath) to bring the world into existence. If we think John comes along saying “Actually, it was the pre-existent Jesus, who was with God, that did all the creating,” then we have a rogue writer who contradicts God’s word. This interpretation quickly makes the Old Testament testimony of creation meaningless. Further, Luke 1 and Matthew 1 state clearly that the baby Jesus was "conceived" in Mary by “the Spirit of God… the power of the Most Hi...

The author of Hebrews uses the figure of Melchizedek from Genesis 14 to teach us something about Jesus. In doing so, he uses some exciting language that is easy to take in a way that is contrary to the author's meaning. Let us get to the bottom of it! First, the episode from Genesis. Abraham had just defeated an alliance of city-kings who had taken his nephew Lot as prisoner. In doing so, he rescued the people and assets of other kings who had been attacked. At this point, the King of Salem meets with Abram, and they have this interaction: And Melchizedek king of Salem brought out bread and wine. (He was priest of God Most High.) And he blessed him and said, “Blessed be Abram by God Most High, Possessor of heaven and earth; and blessed be God Most High, who has delivered your enemies into your hand!” And Abram gave him a tenth of everything. [Genesis 14:18-20] As priest, Melchizedek (which in Hebrew means 'King of Peace') intercedes to YHWH, God Most High, for a b...

It is much easier, in our time, to get an answer to "who is Jesus?" than it is for the question " what  is Jesus?" For the former: Jesus is our Messiah, our Redeemer; he is lowly, meek, full of compassion. He is the Coming King, our Good Shepherd, etc. But to the latter question, there has been much debate and confusion. Does he have two wills or one? Is he God, a part of God, or the Son of God? Is he "man," or is he  a man? I think the Scriptures are quite clear, if we let them speak for themselves. The confusion often comes from traditions obscuring the meaning, or from a preconceived notion forcing the text to say what it is not saying. Let's have a look: What is Jesus? Genesis 3:15 " I will put enmity b etween you and the woman, And between your seed and her Seed ; He shall bruise your head, And you shall bruise His heel." Deuteronomy 18:16-19 "For this is what you asked of YHWH your God at Horeb on the ...

The bible is (among other things) about God and his Son. The entire work always clearly distinguishes between the two. The New Testament alone refers to God and Jesus distinctly at least 700 times. Let's have a quick survey: God and His Son: Deut 18:18 "YHWH your God will raise up for you a prophet like me from among you, from your fellow Israelites. You must listen to him." [The "prophet" is Jesus, refer to Acts 3:22-26] 1 Samuel 2:35, YHWH: "I will raise up for myself a faithful priest, who will do according to what is in my heart and mind. I will firmly establish his priestly house, and they will minister before my anointed one always" [This is a prophecy of the future High Priest] Psalm 2:2 "Why do the nations rage and the rulers plot a vain thing, against YHWH and his Messiah?" [Some translations read "anointed," which is the same as Christ and Messiah.] Psalm 2:6 "As for me [YHWH], I have ...

In many Christian and bible-believing circles, I hear confusion about who the Creator is (or who the Creators are). Some think it was Jesus/Yeshua. Some the Father. Some a cooperation of the two. Still others think it was a group effort within the Trinity. If we believe that God wants to be known, and deserves praise for creating the world, we should expect a clear answer from His Word.  Who is the One Creator? Genesis 1:1,3 In the beginning, God created the heavens and the earth. … And God said, “Let there be light,” and there was light. Ex 20:11 For in six days YHWH made heaven and earth, the sea, and all that is in them, and rested on the seventh day. Psalm 33:6-9 By the word of YHWH the heavens were made, and by the breath of his mouth all their host. He gathers the waters of the sea as a heap; he puts the deeps in storehouses. Let all the earth fear YHWH; let all the inhabitants of the world stand in awe of him! For he spoke , and it c...