Finding Christ in All of Scripture
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“You search the Scriptures because you think that in them you have eternal life, and it is they that bear witness about me, yet you refuse to come to me that you may have life…If you believed Moses, you would believe me, for he wrote of me” (John 5:39, 46).
In the above passage from John chapter 5, Jesus told the religious leaders of his day that they had essentially missed the main point of the Bible. In their view, Scripture was seen almost exclusively as a rule of conduct, which is why in sources from the Second Temple period it was often referred to as “the way.” In one of the Dead Sea Scrolls, for example, we find the statement: “If then the secret way is perfected among the men of the community, each will walk blamelessly with his fellow, guided by what has been revealed to them, that will be the time of ‘preparing the way in the desert.’” (1QS 9:18-22).
The problem with this approach is that no one has ever perfected his or her way, and no one has ever been able to walk blamelessly, just as David confessed in Psalm 143:2 when he wrote, “Enter not into judgment with your servant, for no one living is righteous before you.” What’s interesting is the fact that the author of the above Qumran scroll ended up citing a verse from Isaiah 40 related to Israel’s coming Messiah, but he ended up applying this passage to himself and members of his community. In other words, he made the same mistake that Jesus spoke of in John 5—he missed the Bible’s main point.
Isaiah chapter 40 opens with a grand announcement of God’s solution to Israel’s problem. “Comfort, comfort my people, says your God. Speak tenderly to Jerusalem, and cry to her that her warfare is ended, that her iniquity is pardoned…” So, if David was correct when he said that no one living is righteous before God, then how could Isaiah proclaim such a message of good news and comfort? The answer is that God had graciously decided to intervene on behalf of his people. This is why the Bible, though it certainly does contain rules for conduct, shouldn’t be thought of primarily as a moral guidebook for life. Instead, we need to see it as a dramatic rescue story.
This becomes clear in verse 3, “A voice cries: ‘In the wilderness prepare the way of the LORD; make straight in the desert a highway for our God.’” First of all, we should notice immediately that the “way” spoken of here is not “our way” but the way of the LORD. Yahweh is the one who is coming to rescue and redeem his people in the midst of their sin. As you may recall, Jesus specifically applied this verse to the role of John the Baptist, who prepared the people for his arrival (Mt 11:10, Lk 3:4).
But if John is the fulfillment of Isaiah 40:3, then what does this imply about the identity of Jesus himself? John’s role was to prepare the way for the LORD and to make a highway for God himself. According to Isaiah, when God would eventually arrive on the scene to rescue his people, “the glory of the LORD” would be revealed. This is precisely what we find in the opening chapter of John’s Gospel, “And the Word became flesh and dwelt among us, and we have seen his glory…” (Jn 1:14). In no uncertain terms, Jesus is being presented as Yahweh incarnate. Though “all we like sheep have each gone astray” (Is 53:6), “his way is perfect” (Ps 18:30). Therefore, Jesus is the divine protagonist of this grand rescue story. He doesn’t merely show us the way, but he “is the way, the truth, and the life” (Jn 14:6).
I’m convinced that John 5:39 is one of the most important verses in all of Scripture since it provides us with this crucial interpretive insight. This one verse helps us to see that the Bible isn’t a self-help manual, but instead should be seen as a compelling drama in which Jesus is presented as the central character. As John makes clear throughout his Gospel, he’s not merely a good teacher, but is the Word made flesh (Jn 1:14), the Lamb of God (Jn 1:29), Jacob’s ladder (Jn 1:51), the Temple of God’s presence (Jn 2:21), Israel’s bridegroom (Jn 3:29), the source of living water (Jn 4:10), the bread of life (Jn 6:48-50), the light of the world (Jn 8:12), and the good shepherd who came to give his life for wandering sheep (Jn 10:11).
Throughout this short exploration, we’ll take a look at many of the claims John makes about Jesus throughout his Gospel. And when we pay close attention to his words, we’ll begin to see clearly that Jesus isn’t merely hinted at here and there in the pages of the Old Testament, but is actually its primary character. At the end of the day, the Bible should never be thought of as a kind of ladder that we use to climb our way up to heaven. Rather, this amazing collection of ancient books and letters bears witness to the one who descended to us in mercy and grace in order to rescue and redeem us. In fact, this is precisely what Jesus revealed to Nicodemus in Jn 3:13 when he said: “No one has ascended into heaven except he who descended from heaven, the Son of Man.”
Stairway to Heaven
Toward the end of John chapter 1, a disciple named Philip began telling his friend Nathaniel about Jesus, saying, “We have found him of whom Moses in the Law and also the prophets wrote, Jesus of Nazareth, the son of Joseph.” When Nathanael heard Philip say this, he was initially skeptical, but eventually, he came to believe that Jesus was Israel’s promised Messiah. And by verse 51, Jesus tells him, “Truly, truly, I say to you, you will see heaven opened, and the angels of God ascending and descending on the Son of Man.” For those unfamiliar with the Old Testament, Jesus’ language probably won’t make a lot of sense, but those who have studied the book of Genesis closely will notice that Jesus has just alluded to the story of Jacob by citing words from Gen 28:12.
In chapter 28 of the book of Genesis, we find Jacob fleeing the promised land because his brother has threatened to kill him for deceiving his father and stealing his birthright. And it was on this particular journey that he stopped for the night and dreamt of “a stairway set up on the earth, with the top reaching to heaven. And behold, the angels of God were ascending and descending on it” (Gen 28:12). Now, the Hebrew word for “ladder” can also be translated as a “stairway,” and I think that fits better with this passage since the angelic traffic to and from heaven would be difficult to picture on a narrow ladder. Therefore, it makes more sense to picture this as a grand stairway that bridges the gap between heaven and earth.
According to the ESV, verse 13 says that “the LORD stood above” this grand stairway, but after studying the Hebrew of this passage closely, I ended up concluding that a better way of rendering this text would be to say that “the LORD stood upon” the ladder, rather than above it. This is the way the verse ended up being translated into Greek before the time of Jesus, and it’s also the way the passage was rendered into English by William Tyndale.
As I’ve read this passage over the decades, I assumed that God the Father was the one depicted above the stairway and that Jesus was merely being hinted at, since he is the ultimate bridge between heaven and earth. But now I’m convinced that Jesus is the one who appears to Jacob in this fascinating text—he’s the one standing upon the grand stairway. This is not only the clear implication of John 1:51, but it also becomes clear as we continue reading the book of Genesis. For example, in chapter 31, Jacob tells his father-in-law about another dream he had in which “the angel of God” revealed himself to him, saying, “I am the God of Bethel, where you anointed a memorial stone…” (Gen 31:11-13). Bethel was the name Jacob gave to the place after “the LORD” appeared to him while standing on the great stairway in chapter 28. But mysteriously, here in chapter 31, we’re told that it was an “angel of God” who revealed himself to Jacob that night. So which was it? Did God appear to Jacob in Genesis 28, or was it an angel of God?
The Angel of the Lord
Though it may seem strange, it’s actually quite common to find this sort of language throughout the Old Testament when you start paying attention to it. For example, at the scene of the burning bush, we’re told that it was “the angel of the Lord” who appeared to Moses (Ex 3:2), and yet, this angel went on to reveal himself saying, “I am the God of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob” (Ex 3:6). In cases such as these, the “angel,” or “messenger” of Yahweh, speaks and acts as Yahweh himself. But how can this be? How can a messenger sent by Yahweh also be identified as Yahweh? This was indeed mysterious for many Old Testament saints, but it’s perfectly understandable for those familiar with the opening of John’s Gospel, which says, “In the beginning the Word was with God, and the Word was God.” This unique concept of “the Word” was the specific term that many Jewish writers, both before and after the time of Christ, gave to this mysterious angel of the Lord figure who appeared in many Old Testament passages as Yahweh. For example, a Jewish writer named Philo, who lived in Alexandria, Egypt, around the time of Jesus, wrote that “God sometimes changes his appearance for the sake of those who are unable to bear his true form, and he does this without changing his real nature. Those who are unable to bear the sight of God,” Philo says, “look upon his image, his Angel-Word, as himself” (Dreams, 1:239).
Though Philo was not a Christian, he was clearly wrestling with ideas that later Christians ended up hammering out as they formulated the doctrine of the Trinity. But that doctrine, though it is more clearly taught in the New Testament, is there in rudimentary form in the writings of Moses. The angel or messenger who is sent by Yahweh also happens to be identified as Yahweh. And what do we find Jesus saying throughout John’s Gospel? Over and over again he describes himself as the one sent by the Father (cf. Jn 3:17, 34, 4:34, 5:23-24, 30, 36-38, 6:29, 38-39, 6:44, 57, 7:16, 18, 28-29, 33, 8:18, 26, 29, 42, 9:4, 10:36, 11:42, 12:44-45, 49, 13:16, 20, 14:24, 15:21, 16:5, 17:3, 8, 18, 21, 23, 25). Jesus is much more than an ordinary angel, he’s presented throughout Scripture as the heavenly prince (Is 9:6, Dan 9:25), the Son of God (Ps 2:7, 45:7, Jn 1:49), and the divine ambassador (Mt 11:27, Jn 1:18).
In the opening of his Gospel, John announced, “In the beginning, the Word was with God, and the Word was God.” But then in verse 14, he went on to say that “the Word became flesh and dwelt (literally tabernacled) among us.” In other words, Jesus is the true Tabernacle, the ultimate dwelling place of God’s presence. In fact, in John 2:19, Jesus told the religious leaders, “Destroy this Temple and in three days I will rebuild it.”In saying this, John makes clear that Jesus was referring to “the temple of his body.”
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I love your intellect and your abilities as a conmunicator.
If I had one wish, I would ask you to be skeptical of any tradition that originates in the later church.
Why is the "Doctrine of the Holy Trinity" a trap?
It separates and divides God from his creation. It reduces the oneness which the Scriptures are revealing to come. (Deut 6:4, Jn 17)
It leads to speaking of "ordinary angels". There is, however, none ordinary among the hosts of him to whom all things belong.
We need to grow into understanding what God meant with calling Israel to אחד echad, Yeshua calls his holy ones to become one.
The church has done more evil than introducing this idolatrous "philosophical" and deeply pagan concept of three being one. The Son is one with the Father, we agree on that. And the invisible working of God's will and power is of God and agrees in all things. However, neither is there name (שימ shem nor ονομα) given to it as it appears as strong winds (forces) and mighty flames, as God makes his angels רוחת ruchot.
And the revelation which John received speaks of seven.
Is there any way to get this other than Dropbox? Thanks!