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Jesus’ View of Pacifism
(Chapter excerpt from New Light on the Difficult Words of Jesus, with permission.)
The idea that Jesus taught pacifism arose primarily due to the misunderstanding of a number of his sayings. When viewed from a Jewish perspective, the gospel passages on which pacifism is based point to a quite different conclusion.
Many people over the years have seen Jesus as a pacifist—and for good reason. Here was a man who apparently was willing to die rather than defend himself, a man who taught his disciples not to kill, not to resist evil, to love their enemies, not to fear those who kill the body, and that only those who are willing to lose their lives will be able to save them.1 Jesus’ teachings seem very much like those of such popular pacifists as Tolstoy and Gandhi, and indeed, Tolstoy based his views on gospel passages.2
But did Jesus teach that it is wrong to defend oneself against attack? Did he really mean that we should not resist evil? Such a view seems to contradict what we read elsewhere in the Bible. In Romans 12:9, for example, Paul says that one should “hate what is evil,” and in James 4:7 we read that we are to “resist the devil.” It is clear from passages in Luke 22 that Jesus’ disciples were armed,3 and Jesus himself advised them to purchase swords.4
These apparent contradictions may be reconciled by recognizing the Hebraic nuances of the gospel texts, and by developing a deeper understanding of the Jewish background to Jesus’ words.
Kill or Murder?
One verse that is commonly cited in support of Jesus’ pacifism is Matthew 5:21, which most English versions of the Bible render, “You shall not kill.” The Greek word translated “kill” in this passage is a form of the verb phoneuo. This verb was always used as the equivalent of the Hebrew verb ratsah in the Septuagint Greek translation of the Hebrew Scriptures. Ratsah is the word used in the sixth commandment in both Exodus 20:13 and its parallel, Deuteronomy 5:17. It seems quite certain that in Matthew 5:21 Jesus was quoting the sixth commandment.
The words phoneuo and ratsah are both ambiguous and can mean either “kill” or “murder,” depending upon the context. However, God himself commanded capital punishment for such crimes as deliberate murder (Ex 21:12–15), rape (Deut 22:25–26), kidnapping (Ex 21:16), adultery (Lev 20:10; Deut 22:22), sorcery (Ex 22:18), and many other crimes. The sixth commandment, therefore, must be a prohibition against murder, not killing as such.
In spite of this, the King James Version of 1611, and the revisions of 1885 (Revised Version) and 1952 (Revised Standard Version), used “kill” rather than “murder” in translating Jesus’ quotation of this commandment.5 Although most recent translations of the Bible have corrected this mistake,6 the use of “kill” in the King James Version and its successors has strongly influenced many English-speaking Christians’ views of self-defense.
Another saying of Jesus on which his supposed pacifism is based is found in Matthew 5:39a. It is usually translated, “Do not resist evil,” or “Do not resist one who is evil.” However, when Jesus’ saying is translated back into Hebrew, it is seen to be a quotation of a well-known Hebrew proverb that appears with slight variations in Psalms 37:1, 8 and Proverbs 24:19.7
This Hebrew maxim is usually translated, “Do not fret because of evildoers,” or “Do not be vexed by evildoers.” Bible translators apparently have supposed from the contexts of this maxim in Psalm 37 and Proverbs 24, which emphasize that evildoers will be destroyed, that the righteous should not be concerned about evildoers or pay them any attention.
This supposition is strengthened by the second half of Psalms 37:1 that, as it is usually translated, advises that one should not be envious of such evildoers. It thus appears that the verb translated “fret” or “be vexed” is correctly translated. However, elsewhere in the Bible this verb always seems to have some sense of the meaning “anger.”8 Furthermore, the two parallels to this verb in Psalms 37:8, both synonyms for anger, suggest that the verb in Matthew 5 must also have that meaning.
The verb in question is from the root h-r-h, whose basic meaning is “burn.” From this root meaning is derived “anger,” a sense that all Hebrew words from this root have in common. (Note that in English also, many verbs expressing anger have something to do with fire or burning—be hot, burn, boil, flare up.) In some occurrences of this root, anger is a result of jealousy or rivalry. Saul’s jealousy of David caused him to fly into a rage (1 Sam 20:7, 30). This nuance of h-r-h is also reflected in the use of “contend” in Isaiah 41:11: “Shamed and chagrined shall be all who contend with you” (JPS).
The particular form of the verb used in our proverb is a form for intensive action and thus expresses a passionate anger. This furious anger leads to a response in kind. Such anger results in a rivalry to see who can get the better of the other, and in each round of the competition the level of anger and violence rises. This amounts to responding to evil on its own terms, to competing in doing wrong with those who wrong us.
Do Not Try to Outdo Evildoers
The New English Bible’s translation of Psalms 37:1 and 37:8 is unique: “Do not strive to outdo the evildoers or emulate those who do wrong. For like grass they soon wither and fade like the green of spring”; “Be angry no more, have done with wrath; strive not to outdo in evildoing.” This seems to be the only version of the Bible that reflects the Hebrew “anger” verb’s nuance of rivalry or competition.
Likewise, the Good News Bible is apparently the only translation of the New Testament that uses “revenge,” or anything similar, to render Matthew 5:38–39:
You have heard that it was said, “An eye for an eye, and a tooth for a tooth.” But now I tell you: do not take revenge on someone who does you wrong. If anyone slaps you on the right cheek, let him slap your left cheek too.
It is surprising there are not other versions that translate in the same way. Following “But I tell you,” the context demands “Do not take revenge,” since the first part of verse 39 speaks of “an eye for an eye,” in other words, punishment that is a response in kind.
In idiomatic English, Matthew 5:39a might read simply, “Don’t try to get even with evildoers.”9 Not “competing” with evildoers is very different from not resisting evildoers. Jesus was not teaching that one should submit to evil, but that one should not seek revenge. Jesus’ statement has nothing to do with confronting a murderer or facing an enemy on the field of battle. As Proverbs 24:29 says, “Do not say, ‘I will do to him as he has done to me. I will pay the man back for what he has done.’”
English mistranslation of Matthew 5:39a has created a theological contradiction, but when Jesus’ saying is correctly understood, it harmonizes beautifully with other New Testament passages:
See that none of you pays back evil with evil; instead, always try to do good to each other and to all people. (1 Thess 5:15)
Do not repay evil with evil or curses with curses, but with blessings. Bless in return — that is what you have been called to do — so that you may inherit a blessing. (1 Pet 3:9)
Bless those who persecute you. Bless them, do not curse them. Do not pay anyone back with evil for evil…. If it is possible, as far as it depends on you, live peaceably with everyone. Beloved, do not take revenge, but leave that to the wrath of God. (Rom 12:14, 17–19)
Or, as Jesus commanded, “Love your enemies and pray for those who persecute you” (Mt 5:44). Our response to evil does have to be resistance — it is morally wrong to tolerate evil. However, we also must continue to show love for the evildoer.
It should be noted that loving and praying for one’s enemies in no way precludes defending oneself when one’s life is in danger. One is morally obligated to preserve life, including one’s own. Jesus never taught that it is wrong to defend oneself against life-threatening attack. However, he consistently taught his disciples to forgive and not to seek revenge against those who had insulted or wronged them. As Proverbs 20:22 counsels, “Do not say, ‘I will repay the evil deed in kind.’ Trust in the LORD. He will take care of it.” Our responsibility is not to respond in kind to offenses directed against us. That only prolongs and perpetuates the evil. We are not to “be overcome by evil,” but to “overcome evil with good” (Rom 12:21).
Not only does a pacifistic interpretation of Jesus’ sayings contradict many biblical passages, but pacifism was never a part of Jewish belief. According to Scripture, for example, a person who kills a housebreaker at night is not guilty of murder: “If a thief is seized while tunneling [to break into a house], and he is beaten to death, the person who killed him is not guilty of bloodshed” (Ex 22:2). The rationale is that the thief is ready to murder anyone who surprises him, thus one may preempt the thief.
The Jewish position on this issue is summed up in the rabbinic dictum, “If someone comes to murder you, anticipate him and kill him first.”10 The rabbis taught that if one is in danger of being murdered, he should defend himself, even if there is a measure of doubt about the intention of the attacker. Furthermore, if another person’s life is threatened, one is obligated to prevent that murder, if necessary by killing the attacker.11 The rabbis ruled that a person who is pursuing someone else with intent to murder may be killed.12 In light of this, it is very unlikely that Jesus, a Jew of the first century, would have espoused pacifism.
When we examine Jesus’ words from a Hebraic-Jewish perspective, we can see what has been obscured by mistranslation and lack of familiarity with Judaism. The passages construed to support pacifism actually condemn revenge rather than self-defense. It is not surprising that this interpretation is consistent with Jesus’ other teachings and the rest of biblical instruction.
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To explore this topic more, see New Light on the Difficult Words of Jesus, En-Gedi Resource Center, 2006.
1 Mt 5:21; 5:39a; 5:44; 10:28; 16:25.
2 See Leo Tolstoy, The Kingdom of God Is within You, trans. Constance Garnett (New York, 1894; repr. Lincoln: University of Nebraska Press, 1984).
3 Lk 22:38, 49.
4 Lk 22:36.
5 In addition to the King James Version and its revisions, such versions as the New Jerusalem Bible, The Living Bible and The Amplified Bible render Matthew 5:21 as “kill.” However, The Living Bible and The Amplified Bible show inconsistency by translating the sixth commandment using “murder” (Ex 20:13; Deut 5:17).
6 Rendering Matthew 5:21 by “murder” or “commit murder” are the New English Bible, New International Version, New American Standard Bible, New American Bible, Good News Bible, New Berkeley Version and the New Testament translations of Goodspeed, Moffatt, Phillips, Stern (Jewish New Testament) and Weymouth.
7 I am indebted to Robert L. Lindsey for drawing my attention to the connection between Matthew 5:39a and these three passages. Psalm 37:1 and Proverbs 24:19 read al tithar bamere’im (Do not be furiously angry with evildoers). Psalm 37:8 reads al tithar ach lehare’a (Do not be furiously angry; it can only do harm).
8 See the entry harah in Theological Dictionary of the Old Testament, ed. G. Johannes Botterweck and Helmer Ringgren (Grand Rapids: Eerdmans, 1986), 5:171–76.
9 “Wrongdoers” might be preferable to “evildoers.” As the context, which mentions insults and lawsuits, shows, Jesus probably was not speaking primarily of confrontations with criminals or enemies on the field of battle, but of confrontations with ordinary acquaintances who have committed an offense.
10 B. Sanhedrin 72a.
11 This ruling was based on Leviticus 19:16: “You must not stand idly by when your neighbor’s life is at stake” (New English Translation).
12 M. Sanhedrin 8:7.
(Photo credits: Francois Polito [CC BY-SA 3.0], Bullying)
Our Final Dwelling
A fundamental aspect of God’s plan to redeem the world is mend is the idea that sin caused a break in the relationship between humankind and God, so God’s plan is to mend that break so that we can dwell together forever.
When God first makes man and woman, he puts them in a garden, and he walks and talks with them there. When they sin, they are cast out of the garden, and therefore barred from entering his presence. Mankind rapidly increases in wickedness until the whole world is filled with corruption.
However, God makes a covenant with the people of Israel that they will be his people, and he will be their God. After the covenant is first enacted, and before it was broken in any way, seventy elders of Israel could enter God’s presence and not suffer harm (Ex. 24:9-14).
This shows that God had, through this covenant, already begun to mend the severed relationship between mankind and himself, so that people could enter his presence once again, even if only temporarily. The break in intimacy was beginning to be healed, but it still was only partial: only a few could enter God’s presence, from one nation that he had chosen to extend his covenant.
When the Israelites left the presence of God on Mt. Sinai, he gave them instructions on how to make a portable facility where they could meet with God once again, the tabernacle. God said to Moses,
Then have them make a sanctuary for me, and I will dwell among them. (Ex. 25:8)
Notice what is significant in this sentence: God tells them to make a sanctuary for him, but his goal is not to dwell in it, but to dwell among them. His goal is to have intimacy with his people, for them to live in his presence. After it is built and consecrated, God’s Holy Spirit indwells it, and his people can worship him in the desert wherever they go.
When the Israelites sin by worshiping the golden calf, God threatens that his presence would not go with them into the Promised Land. He relents, however, after Moses pleads for them, and says they do not want to go if his presence does not go with them (Ex. 33). Later, Moses reminds them that they are unique among the nations in having their God so near them (Deut. 4:7). This was a central aspect of the blessing of Israel, that they could come near the true God.
Looking ahead to the New Testament, we see fulfillment of the messianic imagery of God’s presence coming near his people in a powerful new way. Certainly, when Jesus walked on earth as Emmanuel, God with us, God’s presence was at its peak in the person of Jesus. Yet he said there was coming something better: God’s presence as the Holy Spirit being poured out on humanity.
While before the people worshiped God in the temple where his presence dwelt, now God’s presence dwelt in the people, making God’s people the temple. The blood of the first covenant made it so that the seventy elders could enter God’s presence, but the blood of the new covenant by the atonement of Christ made it so that God’s presence could be poured out into the whole world.
Sing for joy and be glad, O daughter of Zion; for behold I am coming and I will dwell in your midst,” declares the LORD. “Many nations will join themselves to the LORD in that day and will become My people. Then I will dwell in your midst, and you will know that the LORD of hosts has sent Me to you. (Zech 2:10-12)
Here, God had accomplished an even greater thing than in his first covenant, in terms of healing the breach between himself and humanity. While the first covenant allowed a few to enter his presence, this new covenant allowed people of all nations to repent and enter his presence. His presence would flow out into the world through them!
The final picture of God’s presence fully among his people is that of heaven in Revelation.
Then I saw a new heaven and a new earth; for the first heaven and the first earth passed away, and there is no longer any sea. And I saw the holy city, new Jerusalem, coming down out of heaven from God, made ready as a bride adorned for her husband. And I heard a loud voice from the throne, saying, “Behold, the tabernacle of God is among men, and He will dwell among them, and they shall be His people, and God Himself will be among them, and He will wipe away every tear from their eyes; and there will no longer be any death; there will no longer be any mourning, or crying, or pain; the first things have passed away.” (Rev. 21:1-4)
It is impossible to imagine the glory of God we will experience when we are present with him in heaven, but if there is any doubt that this is not the ultimate goal from the very beginning of scripture, we only need to compare the vision of heaven at end of the book of Revelation with the garden of Eden in the beginning of Genesis.
In Revelation, we read a description of heaven that includes a tree of life, a river of life, no sin, no death, and many other things that remind us of the the garden of Eden in Genesis. In Hebrew, the word for “heaven” is actually gan eden, the Garden of Eden! It is a picture of what all of the Bible is about, that the Lord made humans to dwell with him in intimate relationship.
When that relationship was severed by sin, God immediately made a plan to redeem humanity. Over history he worked out that plan so that the end is even more glorious than the beginning. At first only two people live in the presence of God, but at the end an entire kingdom of people live with God for all eternity!
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Photos: Jade Seok on Unsplash, Inge Wallumrød from Pexels
Forever and Ever … Hallelujah!
An overarching theme in both the Old and New Testaments is the idea of God becoming king over all the world. In Zechariah we read:
The LORD will be king over the whole earth. On that day there will be one LORD, and his name the only name. (Zech. 14:9)
In Revelation, we find a similar vision of God becoming king over creation:
Then the seventh angel sounded; and there were loud voices in heaven, saying,”The kingdom of the world has become the kingdom of our Lord and of His Christ; and He will reign forever and ever.” (Rev 11:15)
It seems odd to us that the creator of all the universe would not be considered its king at all times. The biblical picture, however, is that even though God is creator over all of his creation, once humanity fell, they excluded themselves from God’s kingdom because of their disobedience.
After the fall, the world was in bondage to sin, and was given over to worshiping other gods. While God is the sovereign judge over all creation, the Bible says that only those who accept him as their king are actually a part of his kingdom.
One of the main themes of the Bible is that after the fall, God’s plan is to repair the breech and bring humans back into his kingdom. Only a couple stories after the flood, the time of man’s worst rebellion, we begin to hear about how God finds one man who will be faithful to him, Abraham. God tells him that he would make him into a great nation.
Later, God makes a covenant with Abraham’s descendants, the Israelites, that he would be their God and they would be his people. God’s kingdom started with one man and expanded to the nation of Israel. The goal was that the whole world would see the true God through this nation who worshiped him as King. He would give them a land that was in the middle of the international trade routes, so that their culture would impact the world as they lived according to his instruction.
In addition, God promised that one of king David’s descendants would be king, and have a kingdom without end. The plan was that this righteous king, the Messiah, would come to establish God’s kingdom over the whole world. The Bible’s vision is that finally, at the end of all things, the LORD will be king over the whole world once again, through the messianic king that God promised to send.
Jesus and the Kingdom of God
We can imagine there would be much speculation about how God would establish his reign over the whole world. At the time of Jesus’ coming, this was especially important to Israel, who was under oppression by the pagan Romans. Obviously, when the Messianic King came, he would establish God’s reign by conquering the Romans. They read many prophecies about the Messiah that were images of a mighty king who defeated his foes and then took the throne. For instance:
The kings of the earth take their stand and the rulers gather together against the LORD and against his Anointed One (Messiah, in Hebrew). Then he rebukes them in his anger and terrifies them in his wrath, saying, I have installed my King on Zion, my holy hill. You will rule them with an iron scepter; you will dash them to pieces like pottery. (Ps. 2:2, 4-6, 8)
They also read about the “great and dreadful day of the Lord,” where he would come to judge the enemies of Israel, and they longed for that day.
Messianic prophecy also talks about a “suffering servant” and a “Prince of Peace,” but the people of Jesus’ day expected the Messiah would bring God’s judgment. They imagined that there would be one sudden event when he would assert his power and vanquish his enemies, the “wicked” of the nations around them. Then, God’s kingdom would be established because God had destroyed all his enemies. Only the righteous would be left to be God’s Kingdom. They assumed they were the righteous who would survive the judgment, and their enemies would not survive.
When Jesus comes and proclaims himself as Messiah, he spends much of his time talking about the Kingdom of God, because it was the role of the Messiah to establish God’s kingdom on earth. Much of his teaching deals with the fact that God’s way of establishing his Kingdom on earth would be very different than their expectations:
Now having been questioned by the Pharisees as to when the kingdom of God was coming, He answered them and said, “The kingdom of God is not coming with signs to be observed; nor will they say, ‘Look, here it is!’ or, ‘There it is!’ For behold, the kingdom of God is in your midst.” (Luke 17:20-21)
Jesus explained that the kingdom was not going to be established by a sudden, great war to kill all the wicked, but would grow like a mustard seed, as each person repented and enthroned God as their king. It would be a spiritual kingdom that would expand as people heard about the mercy of God, that he would forgive their sins and they could have new life as his people.
It would be good news to the poor in spirit, those who were humble and realized their need to repent, but not to the arrogant who wanted his judgment to fall on the other “sinners.” God would hold off his judgment, allowing the wheat and tares to grow together: he would allow his kingdom to grow in the midst of evil, rather than wiping it out. Only at the end would Jesus return as judge between good and evil, and then his kingdom would be fully established and have its greatest glory.
Jesus explained that God’s way of establishing his kingdom over the whole world was just the opposite of what humans had imagined. The Messiah had come to extend mercy to humanity rather than judgment. God’s kingdom would be established by the atoning death of the Messiah, by which sinners, even the most wicked, could enter by repenting of their sins and being forgiven. In that way, God’s kingdom could expand as the whole world would hear about his amazing grace. Jesus came and brought God’s kingdom to earth, and its expansion is unstoppable, as God’s spirit is poured out, the lost are found, and God’s glory fills the whole earth.
For the earth shall be filled with the knowledge of the glory of the Lord as the waters cover the sea! (Habakkuk 2:14)
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Photos: John Stephen Dwyer [CC BY-SA 3.0], Warrior King Jesus on a White Stallion by Amy Meredith [CC BY-ND 2.0]
The Kingdom Breaks Forth
In Matthew 2:6 we read a famous prophecy from Micah about the town of Bethlehem:
But you, Bethlehem Ephrathah, though you are small among the clans of Judah, out of you will come for me one who will be ruler over Israel, whose origins are from of old, from ancient times. (Micah 5:2)
This is one of several messianic passages in the book of Micah. Christians are largely unaware of another passage in Micah that has been considered very messianic by Jews over the ages:
I will surely gather all of you, O Jacob; I will surely bring together the remnant of Israel. I will bring them together like sheep in a pen, like a flock in its pasture; the place will throng with people. One who breaks open the way will go up before them; they will break through the gate and go out. Their king will pass through before them, the LORD at their head. (Micah 2:12-13)
This passage was understood as quite messianic in the time of Jesus. To us, it doesn’t make a lot of sense unless we understand the imagery behind it. Once you understand it, you see that it clarifies one of Jesus’ most puzzling sayings and makes bold claims to be the fulfillment some of the most important messianic themes in the Old Testament.
Regathering His People
Micah 2:12 begins by describing the gathering of the “remnant of Israel.” What does that mean? At the end of the book of Deuteronomy, God forewarns Israel that they would wander from the covenant that he made with them. He says that if they forsake him, they will lose the promised land, where they worshiped him and will be scattered to different lands, where they will serve other gods.
However, he promises that if they repent, he will regather this remnant of his people who seek him. It’s very important to realize that to “regather” doesn’t just refer to a physical gathering, but spiritual renewal too. God will regather his people spiritually, to give them hearts to worship him. Deuteronomy 30 says,
So it shall be when all of these things have come upon you, … and you call them to mind in all nations where the LORD your God has banished you, and you return to the LORD your God and obey Him with all your heart and soul…the LORD your God will circumcise your heart and the hearts of your descendants, to love the LORD your God with all your heart and with all your soul, so that you may live. (Deut 30: 1-3, 6)
Even back when Israel made the covenant, God promised them that even after they broke his covenant, God would search them out and bring them back to him again if they repented. Several times in the Old Testament, God is described as a shepherd that will search for his people (see Jer. 23, Ezek. 34). When Jesus describes himself as the Good Shepherd in John 10, he is claiming that he is the fulfillment this promise.
The Flock and the Shepherd
Looking back at the Micah passage, it says the flock will be gathered together like many sheep in a pen, and “one who breaks open the way will go up before them; they will break through the gate and go out.” What does this mean? Here, you need to know how shepherds took care of sheep in biblical times.
The shepherd would lead the sheep around open land to graze all day, and at evening, would herd them into a makeshift pen made out of boulders rolled near the mouth of a cave. Sometimes the shepherd would even sleep just inside the rocks so that he blocked the exit for the sheep himself, as if he was the “gate” for the sheep (think of John 10:7-9).
In the morning, one of the shepherd’s helpers would “break open the way” by pushing aside a boulder, so that the sheep could exit from their overnight confinement. The hungry sheep wouldn’t just leave calmly, they would burst out in a stampede, breaking through the other boulders in their way. The shepherd would exit along with them, and they would follow the shepherd out to pasture.
In the time of Jesus, the passage in Micah 2 was understood to be messianic. It was understood as describing two figures who were supposed to come, a messenger who would prepare the way, and the Messiah, who was going to be a king who would reign over his people. In this passage, they imagined that the “one who breaks open the way” was the messenger, who would cause people to repent and be ready for the Messiah, and then the Messiah was the shepherd with the sheep.
Interestingly, the passage says that the Shepherd is the LORD, hinting that the Messiah is God himself! We can see how this would apply to John the Baptist and Jesus.
The picture in this prophecy is really that of a people who are full of joy at the coming of their Messiah. Like sheep that are stampeding out of their pen after a night of being confined, the “sheep” of the messianic shepherd will be exuberant at his coming, and eager to follow where ever he leads. A very similar image is used of calves in another messianic passage in Malachi:
But for you who fear My name, the sun of righteousness will rise with healing in its wings; and you will go forth and skip about like calves from the stall. (Mal. 4:2 )
The Kingdom Suffers Violence, or Bursts Forth?
It is not immediately clear to readers that Jesus speaks about this image in Micah 2, because difficulties in translation have obscured the meaning of the passage. Older translations of Matt 11:12 read,
From the days of John the Baptist until now the kingdom of heaven suffers violence, and violent men take it by force.
As it has been translated, it sounds as if Jesus was talking about the kingdom “suffering violence” in terms of the persecution he and John went through. Some have even hypothesized that Jesus was advocating violence in order to be a part of it.
The problem is in assuming that the kingdom is the victim of violence. The word “suffers” is not literally there in Greek at all: it is a way to explain how the kingdom and “violent” can be connected. However, the word for “violence,” biazo in Greek, can also mean “forceful,” or “bursting out.” Biazo can even mean “explosive,” poretz in Hebrew, which is the word used in Micah 2.
Instead of the kingdom being victim of violence, Jesus was describing the bursting out of the kingdom! In the New International Version (1984) this verse is translated:
From the days of John the Baptist until now, the kingdom of heaven has been forcefully advancing, and forceful men lay hold of it.
Jesus appears to be alluding to the bursting out of the sheep with their shepherd, as in the Micah 2 passage. He is speaking of John the Baptist as the “breaker” who has begun the explosive effect of the kingdom of God on earth. A similar verse appears in Luke 16:
The Law and the Prophets were proclaimed until John. Since that time, the good news of the kingdom of God is being preached, and everyone is forcing (biazo) his way into it. (Luke 16:16)
What does this mean?
This is one more example of how we see Jesus using the messianic imagery of the Old Testament to describe the amazing implications of the Kingdom of God being among them. He is saying that God had begun doing a powerful new thing on earth at the coming of John the Baptist, who with his ministry called people toward repentance.
Now that he the Messiah had come, the movement was exploding outward, as people were filled with joy at the coming of their redeemer and telling others about him. This movement was like yeast or a mustard seed that had started small, but was rapidly gaining force and power. When people realized its worth, like a pearl of great price, they were excitedly forcing their way into it.
Jesus is giving us a potent picture of the fulfillment of the promise of the ages: the Lord would come to his people, to forgive their sins and restore their relationship with him. The messianic age had arrived with his coming! The Spirit of God would propel this movement outward until it would fill the whole earth.
It is easy for us to become complacent, to feel that the need to grow and expand has waned. From this passage, it seems that Jesus is reminding his followers of the force behind them, that the Spirit was bursting out on earth in an entirely new way, and they should be filled with excitement. So should we be too!
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Photos: Daniel Case [CC BY-SA 3.0]; http://mecardo.com.au/; Paul M on Unsplash
Gracious, Compassionate, Slow to Anger
Did you know that the Old Testament has a “John 3:16” — a verse that everyone knows by heart that describes the incredible love of God?
On Mt. Sinai, Moses asks the Lord to show him his glory. So God passes his glorious presence before him and delivers this profound description of his nature:
The LORD, the LORD, the compassionate and gracious God, slow to anger, abounding in love and faithfulness, maintaining love to thousands, and forgiving wickedness, rebellion and sin. (Ex. 34:6)
This description of God, that he is “gracious and compassionate, slow to anger, abounding in loving-kindness…” is quoted nine times in the Old Testament, more than any other text. It’s found several times in the psalms (Ps. 86:15, 103:8, 145:8 and others) and was probably part of worship liturgies during Bible times.
Because these are God’s own revelation about himself, they are some of the most important words in all of the Bible about the nature of God. They begin with God saying his divine name, so holy that for thousands of years Jews, including Jesus, do not utter it out loud, even to this day. Then they describe God’s great mercy, patience and willingness to forgive even the worst sin.
Today Judaism refers to this passage in Exodus 34 as the “Thirteen Attributes of God,” counting thirteen ways God’s mercy is described, though some are not obvious as we read it. Jewish people still recite this every morning as part of their congregational prayers and every time they read from the Torah. On Yom Kippur, the day of Atonement, and on other fast days, many prayers focus on this verse.
But What About the Next Verse?
You might be surprised that when Exodus 34:6 is quoted elsewhere in the Bible, usually the next line is not included even though it seems to be part of God’s self-revelation:
…Yet he does not leave the guilty unpunished; he punishes the children and their children for the sin of the fathers to the third and fourth generation. (Ex. 34:7)
Why is this? You probably find this line troubling, so you might be relieved that it is left off. But it this picking and choosing of quoted texts allowable? Yes, say rabbinic scholars, because of a pronouncement God made in Ezekiel 18, which says that innocent children are not punished for the sins of their fathers:
If a man is righteous and does what is just and right, … walks in my statutes, and keeps my rules by acting faithfully—he is righteous; he shall surely live, declares the Lord GOD.
If he fathers a son who is violent, a shedder of blood, who does any of these things… though he himself did none of these things, he shall not live. He has done all these abominations; he shall surely die; his blood shall be upon himself. (Ezekiel 18:5-12, excerpted)
Because of Ezekiel 18, the rabbis interpret Exodus 34:7 about God’s punishment of later generations as only applicable as long as the children do not repent, but carry on in their father’s sin. While God does not let the unrepentant go unpunished, he is ultimately forgiving. Therefore, in Jewish prayers (as well as in the rest of the Bible), the focus is on the first verse about his mercy.
God’s Frustrating Graciousness
In the book of Jonah, you might be surprised that the Exodus 34 passage is used in anger toward God. God sent Jonah to Ninevah to warn them of God’s judgment, and Jonah ran the other way to Tarshish. Why? Jonah knew about the incredible cruelty of the Assyrians in war, who were well-known for the horrific things they did to their prisoners. He knew that of all peoples, they deserved punishment.
Finally, he did go to Ninevah to tell them to repent, and they did! When God saw how they turned from their evil ways, he did not bring the destruction he had threatened — and Jonah was outraged at God’s mercy. We read:
He prayed to the LORD, “O LORD, is this not what I said when I was still at home? That is why I was so quick to flee to Tarshish. I knew that you are a gracious and compassionate God, slow to anger and abounding in love, a God who relents from sending calamity. Now, O LORD, take away my life, for it is better for me to die than to live.” (Jonah 3:10-4:3)
It is amazing to hear that Jonah is so furious with God for his forgiveness that he wishes he was dead. What a contrast between the emotions of sinful humanity and the grace of a holy, but compassionate God! While we usually look to the New Testament for stories of God’s mercy, we find one of the most powerful accounts of God’s grace in the Old Testament in the book of Jonah.
Christians sometimes think that the God of the Old Testament was an angry, unforgiving God, until he poured out his wrath on Jesus. Yet we see here that when God reveals himself in all his glory, he describes himself in terms of his grace, love and mercy.
His mercy winds its way through the Bible from Genesis to Revelation. Because Jesus says he does nothing but what he sees his father in Heaven doing, we know that his life and death reflects his Father’s great desire: that we be forgiven and reconciled with him.
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Photos: Shelby Miller on Unsplash; Hult, Adolf, 1869-1943;Augustana synod. [from old catalog] [No restrictions]
Seeing Prophecy Through Jesus
Both the book of Daniel and the book of Revelation are apocalyptic in nature, meaning they are filled with visions of end times. Christians spend a lot of time discussing the end times and have many viewpoints on how to read prophetic material.
One way to gain wisdom about prophecy is to look at it through the life and words of Jesus. How was prophecy fulfilled at his coming? What did he himself say about it?
Surprisingly, according to Jesus, God doesn’t necessarily fulfill prophecy as we think. Many of the prophecies that describe the coming of the Messiah also describe a time of judgment by God. For instance, in Luke 1:17, the angel tells Zechariah that his son John “will go on before the Lord, in the spirit and power of Elijah, to turn the hearts of the fathers to their children.”
The angel was quoting a prophecy from Malachi which says,
Behold, I am going to send you Elijah the prophet before the coming of the great and terrible day of the LORD. He will restore the hearts of the fathers to their children and the hearts of the children to their fathers, so that I will not come and smite the land with a curse. (Mal. 4:5-6)
The Malachi passage appears to describe the “great and terrible day of the Lord” as coming right at the time of Elijah. John the Baptist knew scripture well, and in his ministry we hear him preaching that judgment is right around the corner, in accordance with his scriptures.
These prophecies are also the reason why John sends some of his disciples to ask Jesus, “Are you the one to come, or should we look for another?” John knew he was to be the “messenger” prophesied in Malachi 3, and he had expectations for the one coming after him:
See, I will send my messenger, who will prepare the way before me. Then suddenly the Lord you are seeking will come to his temple; the messenger of the covenant, whom you desire, will come,” says the LORD Almighty. But who can endure the day of his coming? Who can stand when he appears? For he will be like a refiner’s fire or a launderer’s soap… So I will come near to you for judgment. I will be quick to testify against sorcerers, adulterers and perjurers, against those who defraud laborers of their wages, who oppress the widows and the fatherless, and deprive aliens of justice, but do not fear me,” says the LORD Almighty. (Mal 3:1-2, 4-5)
John’s question for Jesus came from the fact that Jesus wasn’t fulfilling prophecy as he expected. It appears he was thinking that Jesus would be a mighty warrior who would destroy the wicked, including those who had imprisoned him.
Jesus replies by quoting other prophecies about the Messiah, that “the blind receive sight, the lame walk, those who have leprosy are cured, the deaf hear, the dead are raised, and the good news is preached to the poor” (Luke 7:22-23). John probably still believed that Jesus was the Messiah, but he was asking the question to show how perplexed he was at how Jesus fulfilled prophecy.
Jesus specifically avoids passages about vengeance, demonstrating that his ministry is one of healing and forgiveness. In one place, Jesus selectively quotes a passage to avoid words about judgment. In Luke 4, he says,
The Spirit of the Lord is on me, because he has anointed me to preach good news to the poor. He has sent me to proclaim freedom for the prisoners and recovery of sight for the blind, to release the oppressed, to proclaim the year of the Lord’s favor. (Luke 4:18 -19)
He is quoting from Isaiah 61, but stops in mid-sentence, because after “to proclaim the year of the Lord’s favor,” it goes on to say, “and the day of vengeance of our God.” Jesus made a point of saying that he was the Messiah, and that his time on earth then was to bring forgiveness and a new relationship with God, but the judgment would come later. He was to suffer as in Isaiah 53, and only later come to judge and to reign.
Often, Christians say that Jesus’ people rejected him as Messiah because they just wanted a political leader, not a spiritual leader. It is more likely that many rejected him because he did not fit their reading of prophecy. They wanted vengeance and expected Jesus to come in judgment, as the Bible appeared to say.
Even Jesus’ disciples were waiting for him to announce when he would begin the war, and they would take their thrones to reign in power. They expected he would kill all his enemies, and then usher in a great messianic age where he would reign as Prince of Peace.
Instead, he fulfilled the prophecies about the “suffering one” in Isaiah 53, who by his own death would justify many and make atonement for their sins. He ushered in the Kingdom of God by his death, not by war. Only in his second coming will he come in judgment.
God surprised everyone, even the most faithful, in the coming of Jesus. It should humble us to realize that he does not use our logic to fulfill prophecy, and should make us very careful to say we have definitive knowledge about the future from Bible prophecy. Jesus said of his second coming, “of that day or hour no one knows, not even the angels in heaven, nor the Son, but the Father alone” (Mark 13:32).
One thing Jesus does say about his second coming that we often hear is the need to repent and to be prepared. He will return when he is least expected. As Peter says, God is not tarrying: he is waiting patiently for as many to come to faith to avoid judgment as possible. As we read Revelation and other prophecies about the end, it should give us a special urgency to share the gospel and live lives that are a witness to Christ.
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Photos: Dimnent Chapel [public domain], James Tissot [Public domain], Rapture sign by Marc Nozell [CC BY-NC-SA 2.0]
Son of God, Son of Man
The book of Daniel has many symbolic visions, and even though they are strange, some of them are very important for describing the coming of Jesus and his kingdom. One of the most important passages is in Daniel 7:13-14:
In my vision at night I looked, and there before me was one like a son of man, coming with the clouds of heaven. He approached the Ancient of Days and was led into his presence. He was given authority, glory and sovereign power; all peoples, nations and men of every language worshiped him. His dominion is an everlasting dominion that will not pass away, and his kingdom is one that will never be destroyed.
This passage is about the Messianic king. God had promised David that one of his own offspring would have a kingdom without end (2 Sam 7:13), and this is who is being described here. Daniel has visions of many kingdoms rising to power, but the final kingdom that conquers them all is this kingdom of the Messiah. This is the scene of the the great King coming to take his seat of honor and receive authority over all creation.
The most significant part of this passage is the description of the Messiah as “one like a son of man.” The term “son of man” is often used poetically in the Old Testament to refer to a human being. Often, it emphasizes that the human being is merely mortal and not divine, like in Psalm 8:
O LORD, our Lord, how majestic is your name in all the earth! You have set your glory above the heavens… what is man that you are mindful of him, the son of man that you care for him? (Psalm 8:1, 4)
Many Christians have assumed that when Jesus uses the phrase to describe himself, he is emphasizing his humanity. That appears to be true in some places. However, people are often unaware that the phrase “Son of Man” was one of the most powerful Messianic claims, because of this passage in Daniel that describes the incredible glory that is given to this particular “Son of Man,” who is also the Son of David who is the Messianic King.
When we now look closer at how Jesus uses the phrase “Son of Man” to refer to himself, we can see that he is often referring to himself in terms of this passage.
If anyone is ashamed of me and my words, the Son of Man will be ashamed of him when he comes in his glory and in the glory of the Father and of the holy angels. (Luke 9:26)
At that time, the sign of the Son of Man will appear in the sky, and all the nations of the earth will mourn. They will see the Son of Man coming on the clouds of the sky, with power and great glory. (Matt. 24:30 )
We can see in these scenes the Son of Man coming in the clouds, and the picture of Jesus having great glory, just as in Daniel. Here, Jesus is hinting to his great glory as the Messiah by alluding to these passages, as he does many places.
While Jesus frequently refers to himself using the term “Son of Man,” it is rare in the rest of the New Testament for anyone else to refer to him in this way. In the places where they do, they are clearly reflecting the picture of the glorious messiah in Daniel 7:
Stephen, about to be stoned to death, looks up and says, “I see the heavens opened, and the Son of Man standing at the right hand of God.” (Acts 7:56)
And when I turned I saw seven golden lampstands, and among the lampstands was someone like a Son of Man, dressed in a robe reaching down to his feet and with a golden sash around his chest. His head and hair were white like wool, as white as snow, and his eyes were like blazing fire. (Revelation 1:13-14, see also Rev 14:14)
The passage in Daniel predicting the Son of Man coming in glory is central to what Jesus says about his own future, and is a prominent image in the New Testament to describe the glorified Christ on the throne in heaven. This explains Jesus’ usage of the term as prophetic toward his return as judge at the end of time, and also shows that he didn’t regard himself only as a humble human being, but as the predicted messiah who would have a kingdom without end.
The Suffering of the Son of Man
While it is clear that Son of Man is often used by Jesus to describe himself as the Messianic King who has authority, glory and power, he also says something paradoxical — that the Son of Man must suffer and die:
Jesus replied, “To be sure, Elijah does come first, and restores all things. Why then is it written that the Son of Man must suffer much and be rejected? (Mark 9:12)
And he said, “The Son of Man must suffer many things and be rejected by the elders, chief priests and teachers of the law, and he must be killed and on the third day be raised to life.” (Luke 9:22)
One scholar, Dr. Steve Notley, has shared his hypothesis of how the Jewish people had come to understand who the “Son of Man” was going to be. In the few hundred years before Jesus, during the rule of the Greeks, the Jews had suffered terribly for trying to be faithful to God. This was very difficult for them to understand theologically, because before they had been attacked by enemies when they lapsed into idolatry, but now they were killed if they were faithful to God. They began to ask how could God bring justice to all the people who had been killed because they refused to forsake him.
The Jews looked back to their scriptures and saw the first innocent victim of murder in the Bible, Abel. He was murdered by his brother Cain, after God accepted his worship because he was more righteous than Cain (Genesis 4:4-8, 1 John 3:12). Abel became the forerunner and representative of all the righteous people that had been killed for being faithful.
Jesus says so in Matt. 23:35: “And so upon you will come all the righteous blood that has been shed on earth, from the blood of righteous Abel to the blood of Zechariah son of Berekiah, whom you murdered between the temple and the altar.”
They noted that Abel was the son of Adam, or ben Adam. In Hebrew “adam” can be a proper name, or it can just mean “man” or “human,” so “ben adam” can mean either son of Adam or Son of Man. They imagined that in Daniel 7, the messianic king who came on the clouds of heaven was one like Abel, the first Son of Adam, who had died for being righteous.
Like him, he would suffer and be murdered, but then would come on the clouds in glory to judge. It appears they understood that the reason God gave Jesus authority to rule over all mankind is precisely because he walked on earth as a human, and suffered and died as a righteous man!
This understanding of “Son of Man” links two paradoxical things we have known about the messiah, that he would suffer and die, as in Isaiah 53, but yet he would be a victorious king, as in Daniel 7. This has been a problem for many, and some even postulate that two messiahs would need to come: one to suffer, and one to reign.
This figure of the Son of Man would first die as a righteous man, then would be resurrected to glory, and be given authority to judge. It is fascinating that Jesus could link, extract, and create multidimensional meanings with such a “simple” phrase to teach us so much about himself!
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Photos: Jastrow [Public domain], William-Adolphe Bouguereau [Public domain]
Encouraging Evidence
In the early 20th century, scholars had a profound cynicism about the historicity of the Bible. This was mainly because very little archaeology had been done, and scholars didn’t understand the results well enough to see the evidence that was there.
Just in the past twenty years, key evidence has been found for many of the characters in the biblical text. For instance, in 1990, the ossuary of the family of Caiaphas the high priest was found, and some of the bones that were found were those of a man in his 60’s, presumably Caiaphas himself. We even have the very bones of one of the people present at the trial of Jesus. Inscriptions with the names of Herod, Pilate and others have also been found. Next time you read the story of Jesus’ crucifixion and death, think about that!
Christians tend to be intimidated by scholarship and are fearful of higher study, feeling that it is more spiritual to not fill our heads with lots of facts. This is unfortunate because if we believe that God is who he says, and that the message of the gospel is true, we should not lose confidence that it will hold up under scrutiny.
The “good news” is that the archaeological evidence points our way, and we can study with integrity and see that the story holds up. If anything, the message only gets stronger when put into its native context.
In my own “walk,” I have found that the more knowledge I have under my belt about the evidence for the scriptures, even for potential difficulties in the text, the more bold my witness has been. Before, I felt like the ground I stood on was a tiny patch of knowledge. I was poised on one foot trying to keep my balance while defending it from others, as well as from my own doubts! The more I study, the more the ground becomes solid around me, and the bolder I become in sharing with others.
Jews say that “study is the highest form of worship” — and it is, because the more we study the real world, the more the reality becomes clear that God truly is here, and that he is acting powerfully in our midst.
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Photos: Nicole Honeywill / Sincerely Media on Unsplash, Colin W [CC BY-SA 3.0]
The Fragrance of Christ
Mary then took a pound of very costly perfume of pure nard, and anointed the feet of Jesus and wiped his feet with her hair; and the house was filled with the fragrance of the perfume. (John 12:3)
In Matthew 26 we read the story of Jesus being anointed by Mary with very expensive perfume. Most Christians focus on the story of the anointing as pointing towards Christ’s death at the end of the week, because of Jesus’ comment that she did it to prepare for the day of his burial (Matt 26:12).
Another thing was likely going on, however, that would have been obvious to the disciples, so obvious that Jesus didn’t even need to mention it. While fragrant oils were used on the dead, they were also used to anoint kings. Mary’s extravagant, worshipful action was quite likely intended as her own personal declaration of Jesus as the “Anointed One,” the mashiach in Hebrew, or christos in Greek.
Usually, the ceremony of anointment was reserved only for sacred objects in the Temple and for anointing priests and kings, to show that they had been chosen by God. Instead of being crowned during a coronation, kings were anointed with sacred oil that was perfumed with extremely expensive spices, making it like diamonds in terms of its preciousness. The fragrant, flowing oil was like an invisible crown that conferred an aura of holiness. Everything that had that unique scent would be known to all as God’s special possession.
After their initial anointing, kings would anoint themselves with other precious scented oils for special occasions. We read that both king David and Solomon did this:
(From a psalm for King David) You have loved righteousness and hated wickedness; Therefore God, Your God, has anointed You With the oil of joy above Your fellows. All Your garments are fragrant with myrrh and aloes and cassia. (Ps. 45:7-8)
What is this coming up from the wilderness like columns of smoke, perfumed with myrrh and frankincense, with all scented powders of the merchant? Behold, it is the traveling couch of Solomon; sixty mighty men around it, of the mighty men of Israel. (S. of Sol. 3:6-7)
In ancient times, the majesty of a king would be obvious to those around him, not only because of the jewels and robes that he wore, but by the scent of extremely expensive oils that were poured on him. These royal figures would parade through the streets with the fragrance of the oils, telling all of the bystanders a king was passing by. We see this after the anointing of Solomon, who is placed on a donkey and parades through the streets of Jerusalem, while people stand by and cheer:
So Zadok the priest… went down and had Solomon ride on King David’s mule, and brought him to Gihon. Zadok the priest then took the horn of oil from the tent and anointed Solomon. Then they blew the trumpet, and all the people said, “Long live King Solomon!” All the people went up after him, and the people were playing on flutes and rejoicing with great joy, so that the earth shook at their noise. (1Kings 1:38-40)
As much as anointing portrayed a person as being set apart by God for a purpose, the ultimate “Anointed One,” that everyone hoped for was the Messiah, the Christ, the King of Kings who God would someday send to reign over the earth.
Mary’s action was not an “official” anointing, but an expression of her own extravagant, worshipful love of Jesus. She knew that he was the one that God had chosen to redeem the world and reign over it as Messiah and Lord.
I wonder if Jesus’ comment about her preparing him for his burial is somewhat ironic, because she intended to glorify him, but he saw her action as pointing toward his suffering and death. Indeed, it was through that death that he was glorified! But I’m not sure that Mary would have thought of it at the time, given that all of Jesus’ disciples failed to grasp the greater plan.
Yet, this scene has profound implications for Jesus’ final week before his death. Jesus owned only one garment that he wore every day, and washing and bathing were not done daily. Because of Mary’s anointing, Jesus likely smelled like royalty during the final week of his life. In a very subtle way, God gave the people who interacted with Jesus a powerful message about him. Every where he went, he smelled like a king!
John 12 relates that the very next day after his anointing, Jesus rode on a donkey on his triumphal entry into Jerusalem, in a scene very reminiscent of the coronation of Solomon. As he rode past, the people who were cheering must have sniffed the air and said, “It was a king that just passed by!”
Imagine the passion week in that light. As Judas entered the garden with the guards to arrest him, the guards must have sniffed the air and wondered what royalty stood before them. As he stood trial, was mocked and stripped naked, this aroma would have quietly clung to him, suggesting who they were beating. Even when the tomb was empty except for his grave clothes, that odor would have wafted in the air when the women entered. What an amazing God we have!
But thanks be to God, who always leads us in triumphal procession in Christ and through us spreads everywhere the fragrance of the knowledge of him. For we are to God the aroma of Christ among those who are being saved and those who are perishing. To the one we are the smell of death; to the other, the fragrance of life. (2 Cor. 2:14-16).
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Photos: William Bout on Unsplash, Roberta Sorge on Unsplash
The Great Shepherd
When we hear the term “the Good Shepherd,” many of us immediately think of Psalm 23, “The Lord is my Shepherd, I shall not want…” But there are actually several messianic passages about “the Shepherd” in the Old Testament, and we can learn a lot about Jesus’ mission and message by what these passages say about him. Let’s look at a few:
But you, Bethlehem Ephrathah, though you are small among the clans of Judah, out of you will come for me one who will be ruler over Israel, whose origins are from of old, from ancient times.” … He will stand and shepherd his flock in the strength of the LORD, in the majesty of the name of the LORD his God. And they will live securely, for then his greatness will reach to the ends of the earth. And He will be their peace. (Micah 5:2, 4-5)
We can see many truths about Jesus as our shepherd even in this passage. It says that he will be born in Bethlehem, like his ancestor David, who was a shepherd. His origins are from many ages ago, suggesting that he was co-eternal with his Father. It says he would have a kingdom that would expand to the ends of the world, and that he himself would be the source of the peace of his people. What powerful words!
Another passage about the shepherd describes his suffering too. Jesus quotes Zechariah 13 which says,
“Awake, O sword, against my shepherd, and against the man, my Associate (one who is close to me),” declares the LORD of hosts. “Strike the shepherd that the sheep may be scattered; and I will turn my hand against the little ones. (Zech. 13:7)
This passage suggests that the messiah would have an especially close relationship with God, but yet God would allow him to be attacked and harmed by others. Jesus quotes this passage to tell his disciples that he expects to suffer, and that they as his “sheep” would be scattered: they would abandon him at his death (Matt 26:31, Mark 14:27).
Another passage where the shepherd is mentioned is in Isaiah 40. There, we hear about a person who would come before him who would be a voice crying out, “In the wilderness, prepare the way of the Lord.” We recognize this as the passage referring to John the Baptist (Jn 1:23). The rest of the passage talks about the shepherd who is coming after him:
A voice of one calling: “In the desert prepare the way for the LORD; make straight in the wilderness a highway for our God. …You who bring good tidings to Jerusalem, lift up your voice with a shout, lift it up, do not be afraid; say to the towns of Judah, “Here is your God!” See, the Sovereign LORD comes with power, and his arm rules for him. See, His reward is with him, and His recompense accompanies Him. He tends His flock like a shepherd: He gathers the lambs in his arms and carries them close to his heart; He gently leads those that have young. (Isaiah 40:3, 9-11)
Here, the amazing thing is that the shepherd who comes after the one who calls out is actually the Lord God himself! If this passage is about John the Baptist and Jesus, the implications are quite clear — the Messiah that John was proclaiming would be God incarnate.
Many messianic prophecies describe the coming of a great king, but do not explicitly say that he would be divine. This one, however, seems to imply that the LORD himself will come as the shepherd.
One of the most important passages about the Good Shepherd is in Ezekiel 34. It also has some very powerful things to say about the Shepherd:
For thus says the Lord GOD, “Behold, I Myself will search for My sheep and seek them out. As a shepherd cares for his herd in the day when he is among his scattered sheep, so I will care for My sheep and will deliver them from all the places to which they were scattered on a cloudy and gloomy day.” “I will feed My flock and I will lead them to rest,” declares the Lord GOD. “I will seek the lost, bring back the scattered, bind up the broken and strengthen the sick; but the fat and the strong I will destroy. I will feed them with judgment. “As for you, My flock, thus says the Lord GOD, ‘Behold, I will judge between one sheep and another, between the rams and the male goats. …“ (Ezek. 34:11-12,15-17)
This passage contains several rich things that are in the background of Jesus’ statements about himself. We can hear the background of Jesus’ parable about the shepherd who leaves the ninety-nine to look for the one lost sheep (Luke 15:4-7), or when he said he will judge between the sheep and the goats when he returns (Matt. 25:31-34). We even find a reference to this passage in his words to Zacchaeus: “…the Son of Man came to seek and to save what was lost” (Luke 19:9-10).
The Ezekiel passage clearly says it would be God himself who would come to seek out his lost sheep, and Jesus repeatedly says he is the fulfillment of these words. Through this, his listeners would have heard his very bold claim that not only is he the Messiah, he is God incarnate, coming to earth to rescue his people.
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Photos: Patrick Schneider on Unsplash, FOYN on Unsplash
We’re pleased to be able to share this difficult-to-find classic by Brad Young. Check it out!
The Jewish Background to the Lord’s Prayer
by Brad H. Young
© 1984, Gospel Research Foundation Inc.
Softcover, 46 pages, $8.99
- Explore the Jewish roots of the Lord’s Prayer
- Learn how the Dead Sea Scrolls, rabbinic literature, Jewish prayers, and worship breathe fresh meaning into the revered words of the Lord’s Prayer
- Understand Jesus’ powerful prayer better in the light of Jewish faith and practice
Dr. Brad H. Young (PhD Hebrew University, under David Flusser) is the founder and president of the Gospel Research Foundation in Tulsa, Oklahoma. He is emeritus professor of Biblical Literature in Judaic-Christian Studies in the Graduate School of Theology at Oral Roberts University. Young has taught advanced language and translation courses as well as the Jewish foundations of early Christianity to graduate students for over thirty years.
Check out what else is available from the En-Gedi Resource Center bookstore too…
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