On Purpose Witness
I, I myself, am YHWH; and beside Me there is no savior. Isaiah 43:11
Savior – Go read Isaiah 42:1. What is the purpose of the Servant? To bring justice to the nations – mishpat. What is this? Mishpat is the word for a judicial decision, a legally binding determination. But it is more than that. It stretches to cover nearly all of what we would call the judicial process. The servant will bring a confronting decision to the nations. He will bring law and order – God’s law and God’s order. And who are the nations? The Gentiles, of course. The role of the servant, the one who is the faithful witnessing storyteller of YHWH’s great acts of compassion, is to take this confronting decision to those outside Israel.
Why does the servant take the message “I am He” to the nations? YHWH gives us the answer. There is no other savior except Him. Without this message, the Gentiles are lost. They serve other gods, gods who have no ability to save. The servant Israel must take this message to the world. YHWH is the Lord. Serve Him and live! Come under His law and order and He will save.
So far, so good. We shake our heads in agreement. Of course the Gentiles (those pagans) are lost. They must come to believe in God and accept Jesus as their savior, right? Ah, well, not so fast. According to Isaiah, YHWH is the only savior. The role of the servant is to bring peace with YHWH, to confront the nations with YHWH’s judgment and tell the story of YHWH’s compassion. The servant doesn’t save. YHWH saves. The servant witnesses to YHWH’s saving grace. YHWH brings the nations to a place of safety (yasa’). He delivers.
Now this is distressing. New Testament Christians firmly believe that Jesus saves (just read the billboards). If the writings of the Ketuvim Netzarim are faithfully true, then it seems we have a problem. How can God through His mouthpiece Isaiah proclaim that He alone is the savior when the apostles seem to portray Yeshua as the savior? Have you come to the solution? Yeshua must be YHWH.
But this is also difficult. How can Yeshua be the servant who provides the witness and also be the God who saves? Ah, the mystery of it all. Did you think it was going to be straightforward and simple. These are deep matters with deep solutions. Of course, we could pay attention to the text and realize the Israel is called to be the witness. Israel is the servant and all those attached to Israel accept this role. Their purpose is not to simply establish a closed community of purity in worship and work. Their purpose is to exhibit God’s grace by living the story of His acts of mercy in their own lives. They are to model what Yeshua modeled, as one man representing the true purpose of Israel for all God’s chosen. Perhaps Yeshua plays more than one role in this drama. Perhaps we haven’t looked deep enough to see the mystery in the man.
Topical Index: witness, save, Yeshua, Isaiah 43:11
Yeshua must be YHWH.
Hi Skip,
Very interesting and mysterious.
Isaiah 42:1 Here is my servant whom I uphold, my chosen one in whom my soul delights.
I have endowed him with my spirit that he may bring true justice to the nations.
Just to make sure I understand what is going on here, Isaiah is prophesying the coming of Yeshua who will serve as the model for Israel and savior of mankind.
This “suffering servant” will raise the level of our consciousness (“open the eyes of the blind”) and set us free (“free captives from prison”).
And if Yeshua is YHWH, then Yahweh God himself will be crucified, die, and be born again.
good morning Michael (and all). Yes, this “Jesus” is the gentile name “Y’shua”. This “name” as we have learned from Isaiah 53.6 is just a little bit “more” than any of us “mere mortals” know! This name (Hashem) the name above every name is the only name by which we can be (yes I said can be) “saved.” “Saved” (another greek construction!)- how about more accurately and more clearly defined as “delivered!”
If we are “saved/delivered” (only) through this Name, then hadn’t we ought to “know” this name? What is His name or His Son’s name if you can tell?
As we read in the Brit Chadashah (the New Covenant scriptures) the same question we (also) should ask is already been “asked” for us. (amazing how Providence works, isn’t it?)
[The jailer] “brought them out, and said, Sirs, what must I do to be saved? And they said, Believe on the Lord Jesus Christ, and thou shalt be saved, and thy house” (Acts 16:30-31)
Very well then.. may I ask this same question today? (is G-d’s word is eternal -unchanging? still in effect today? forever?) Is this a “relevant” question still today? Or have we arrived at a place where “salvation/deliverance” is no longer needed? “Sin” is no longer an issue. A “Savior” is no longer required.
The questions still abound- fer sure. Are there any answers available? Are we left to wonder?
Is “technology” the answer? Is “education”? How about “culture”? – This question though-asked by an obscure jailer, yet written in a book for us to read today, still comes back and speaks to me- 2000 plus years later and is one that I will ask the readers of Today’s Word- please, can someone tell me the answer to this one question- don’t skirt around- don’t obfuscate- don’t muddle the answer- tell me clearly, concisely- “Sirs, what must I do to be saved?”
“Sirs, what must I do to be saved?”
Hi Carl,
CORDELIA: Nothing, my lord.
KING LEAR: Nothing!
CORDELIA: Nothing.
KING LEAR: Nothing will come of nothing: speak again.
Mike: How wrong and tragic was the King.
Jack: They call that a paradox.
From the Departed Movie Lines
Skip,
Wow! Another great study this morning, I found it very enlightening and intellectually stimulating!! Of course, evangelical Christians would agree that Jesus is God. He is, as we’ve heard, fully God and fully man – a great mystery. But then the disconnect. The doctrine of the trinity separates God into three persons, and then emphasizes that Jesus is the only way to salvation – which is of course, necessary and convenient for the promotion of the Christian religion. However, this creates a real problem with how Israel and all the saints in the Old Testament were saved. Christianity’s explanation is often to claim that Old Testament saints believed in a future coming Jesus – but that just doesn’t cut it. This also helps us understand the refusal of the orthodox Jew to accept Jesus as their savior. They can’t, God is one and YHWH saves! Hear O Israel: The LORD our God, the LORD is one. (Deut 6:4). There can’t be any other that saves us except YHWH and so YHWH must be Yeshua! It is brilliant, YHWH is hidden in plain sight!
Yeshua said, “I and the Father are one.” (John 10:30) – Yet, they are distinct since Yeshua prays to the Father. It is a very deep mystery!!
Something that came to me: Water flows everywhere unless it is given boundaries such as a bottle. The waters above, the expanse below, the waters below. Spirit is infinite, it has no boundaries unless It pours Itself into a form and out of that form comes vast universes of forms. Even when infinite Spirit pours Itself into a form It still remains infinite.
I like your image here. 🙂 Thanks!
Excelente estudio, Dr. Moen. Excelente. Le felicito. Ha enriquecido mucho mi conocimiento con esa gran enseñanza sobre Jesús… Bendiciones.
(le-havdil), A analysis (found here: http://www.netzarim.co.il (that is the only legitimate Netzarim)) of all extant source documents and archaeology using a rational and logical methodology proves that the historical Ribi Yehosuha ha-Mashiakh (the Messiah) from Nazareth and his talmidim (apprentice-students), called the Netzarim, taught and lived Torah all of their lives; and that Netzarim and Christianity were always antithetical.
The Nәtzâr•im′ never changed their mind about it, maintaining that only the Jewish Ta•na”kh′ is Scripture and only their own The Nәtzâr•im′Hebrew Ma•tit•yâh′u (NHM) was a legitimate account of the life and teachings of Rib′i Yәho•shu′a.
The Nәtzâr•im′ haven’t changed from this position, and won’t change from this position.
Find documentation in the above website proving the above claims.
yes, Robin- the Word became flesh!- That (in itself) is a wonder! G-d in a manger.. what wondrous love is this?? G-d hanging on a Roman cross- what wondrous love is this?
Brother John- (and others!) I agree completely- the LORD (our G-d) is ONE. One Lord, one faith and one baptism. (It is written!).
The master theme of the Bible seems to me to be- “behold the Lamb which taketh away the sins of the world” or to shorten or distill this even further- “behold the Lamb”
I really don’t know (fer sure) whether or not this little “detail” was purposeful or not, but Abraham’s words to Isaac were (in the KJV)- “G-d will provide (Himself) a Lamb.” Prophetic? IDK.
When the troops arrived on the scene to “strongarm” the Savior, He went (willingly) as a Lamb (rachel/female ewe) to the slaughter. No resistance at all as He knew what needed to be done. He (willingly) laid down His life for His friends. Yes,- “no greater love”, in all of recorded history.
It is this very (demonstrated) love that changes hearts, minds and lives miraculously. This (physically demonstrated) love reveals the very heart of YHWH and my friends- G-d was “in Christ” reconciling the world unto Himself.
I absolutely love the “encounter” displayed in John chapter 18. When Jesus told them, “I AM,” they backed away and fell to the ground. This was G-d speaking His name!! I’m taking a bit of liberty with this, but if ever Y’shua said “Oops!” – this would be it! A little bit of “Deity” leaked out here..
Y’shua constantly referred to Himself as “the Son of Man” and yet at Peter’s confession- “Thou art the Christ the Son of the living G-d”, Peter was well-received and Y’shua was well-pleased.
We (all) learn by asking questions. Coming out of this finite peanut-brain, I believe the “best question ever” to be found in Psalm 24.. – “Who is this King of glory?” My answer? The LORD- He is G-d!
“Yeshua must be YHWH.”
I’m not sure the early community of Jerusalem lead by James would have agreed. They believed that Yeshua was the Messiah; however, to the Hebrew, the Messiah was a man, i.e. a military leader and not a divine being. That concept developed decades later. The Messiah did come to set people free and bring deliverance. That Yeshua did, just not as expected.
“Messiah was a man”
Hi Barry,
I tend to agree but, to over-simplify, don’t we have two views of Jesus in the New Testament?
On the one hand, Jesus is born of the Virgin Mary and associated with Joseph as the Son of God.
And, on the other, Jesus is the Son of Man, who is associated with King David as the Messiah.
In his first coming, nailed to the cross, Jesus refers to himself in Psalm 22.
A man god reduced to a “worm”:
“Yet here am I, now more worm than a man.”
But in his second coming, in Psalm 2, he will be a King:
The One whose throne is in heaven sits laughing,
Yahweh derides them.
Then angrily he addresses them,
in a rage he strikes them with panic,
“This is my king, installed by me
on Zion, my Holy mountain.”
I am not so sure that all Christians believe Jesus actually saves regardless what the billboard reads. The basic tenets of Christianity say that a man is justified by his faith in Jesus Christ; it is his faith that is critical. Jesus Himself at John 3:5-8 seems to acknowledge that it is the Holy Spirit who does the actual saving or regeneration.
I am also not so sure that all Christians believe that Old Testament saints are lost because they can’t accept Jesus either. To accept that as a reality would mean denying quite a bit of apostolic teaching (particularly Paul’s letter to the Romans) that teaches Abraham believed and it was credited to him as righteousness. From what I read and understand Abraham believed the promise God made to him and by leaving his country, home and father’s household showed his faith in the promise maker YHWH.
The New Testament Christian by believing on the name of Christ shows their faith in the promise maker YHWH too by their choice to pursue the righteous way of life Christ demonstrated.
As for the inner workings of the Trinity I profess to know little, being content to marvel more than seek to know what is a great mystery of our faith.
Loving the articles Skip! You push the boundaries of my thinking and open up perspectives I have never seen…keep up the great work.
Shalom,
The truth and nothing but the truth! … You go for it Skip!
1) Yeshua is YHVH … indeed … the Form of the Boundless Infinity that is ELOHIM! It was HE that communed with Abraham, Jacob and Moses. It was HE Who stood between the Egyptians and the Israelites in the desert. On and on! 🙂
2) Our witness is not about some theological truth … it is about the truth of what HE has done for me (us) and how HE has grafted me into Himself … and if my life does not bear witness to the message of my tongue then “Houston we have a problem”. If I do not understand that as a servant I am part of Israel and that Israel needs to be part of my testimony … then “Houston we have a problem”.
I suppose the cold hard truth for the purported “body of Mashiach” is simply … “Houston we have a problem”.
Let us pray for mercy and correction!