Here’s the deal: There
are at least 10 different verses in the New Testament that very specifically
identify Jesus as the one and only example for what the Father is really like.
Before I share those verses with you here, let me ask you to notice a few things:
First, notice that in
nearly every case Jesus is either explicitly contrasted with the Old Testament
Prophets, or it is implicitly suggested that He is the superior source for
information about who God is and what God is like.
Secondly, please
notice that whenever the New Testament says something about Jesus, it doesn’t
affirm that the Old Testament was right and Jesus confirmed it. Instead, it
often either ignores what the Old Testament claims or flat-out contradicts it.
This is pretty
significant, really. Because it’s not as if the authors of the New Testament
were ignorant about what the Old Testament said about God. Yet, their claims
about Jesus very boldly supersede those claims made by the Law and the
Prophets.
To help you see this,
I will point out examples of how these explicit and implicit contrasts are made
between Jesus and the Old Testament prophets, just in case they are not
obvious.
Ready? Ok, here we go,
according to the New Testament:
Who does God speak to
us through today? (Not Moses. Not Elijah.)
Jesus.
“In the past God spoke
to our ancestors through the prophets at many times and in various ways, but in
these last days he has spoken to us by his Son, whom he appointed heir of all things,
and through whom also he made the universe. The Son is the radiance of God’s
glory and the exact representation of his being, sustaining all things by his
powerful word.” (Hebrews 1:1–3, NIV)
Who is the one mediator
between God and man? (Not the Law. Not the Prophets.)
Jesus.
"For there is one
God and one mediator between God and mankind, the man Christ
Jesus...” (1 Tim. 2:5)
Who is the one
instructor who teaches us? (Not the Law. Not the Prophets.)
Jesus.
“For you have one instructor
– the Messiah.” (Matt. 23:10)
Who is the one we
should listen to? (Not Moses. Not Elijah.)
Jesus.
*After
removing Moses [the Law] and Elijah [the Prophets], God says: “This is my Son.
Listen to Him!” (Matt. 17:4-6)
Who
is the only one who removes the veil that covers the Old Testament scriptures?
Only
Jesus.
“For to this day, when they read the
old covenant, that same veil remains unlifted, because only through Christ is
it taken away. Yes, to this day whenever Moses is read a veil lies over their
hearts. But when one turns to the
Lord, the veil is removed.” (2.
Cor. 3:14-16)
Where
is the one place we can go to find life? (Not to the scriptures.)
Jesus.
“You search the
scriptures because you think that in them you have eternal life; and yet you
refuse to come to me that you may have life.” [John 4:39-40]
Who is the only one who has ever seen God at any time? (Not Moses. Not
Elijah.)
Jesus.
“No one has ever seen God, but God, the one and only [Jesus]
makes Him known.” [John 1:17-18]
Who is the “Word of God”? (Not your Bible.)
Jesus.
“In the beginning was
the Word and the Word was with God and the Word was God…and the Word became
flesh and dwelt among us.” [John 1:1; 14)
Who reveals the Truth to us about the Father?
No one but Jesus.
“Whoever has seen me has seen the Father.”
(John 14:9)
“Jesus said to him, “I am the way,
and the truth, and the life. No one comes to the Father except
through me. If you had known me, you would
have known my Father also.” (John 14:6-7)
Please
note in this list of scriptures above how easy it would have been for the New
Testament writers to affirm the Old Testament and exalt Jesus at the same time.
But that’s not what they do.
But that’s not what they do.
For
example, in John 1:17-18, if the author had intended to protect the witness of
the Old Testament prophets who claimed they saw God and wanted to affirm their
testimony about God's character, how easy it would have been to say something like this:
“Whereas Moses and Elijah had also seen God in
the past, Jesus came from God as the Word made flesh to confirm their
testimony.”
But,
what he wrote sounds nothing like that. Not at all. It says this:
“No one has ever seen God, but God, the one and
only [Jesus] makes Him known.” (John 1:17-18)
That’s pretty harsh. It's almost as if John is trying to make a point here. He wants to say that, until Jesus came, we did not have an accurate revelation about who God was and what God was like.
Let's think of it another way: Let's say that John wanted to communicate to us that Jesus's testimony about the Father was accurate but the testimony of the Old Testament Prophets was inaccurate. How might he do that? Maybe he would say something like:
"No one except Jesus has seen the Father. Jesus came to reveal the Father to us because our ideas about God were less than exact."
Or...he might say it like this:
"No one has ever seen God at any time, but God, the one and only [Jesus] makes Him known." (John 1:17-18)
Now, we shouldn’t assume that Matthew was just using hyperbole or that he had a
momentary lapse of memory. Clearly, he was aware that there was something
called the Old Testament and that people in the past, like Moses and Elijah, had claimed to see God and to hear from Him.
That’s why his statement is so radical: “No one has ever seen God…”
The same could be said
for every other verse above. If the authors had wanted to affirm the Old Testament,
they had every opportunity to do so. Instead, they very boldly contrast Jesus
with the Law and the Prophets and emphasize the supremacy of Christ.
Now, before you break
out the pitchforks let me say that I do believe the Law and the Prophets point
us to Christ. In fact, they do that beautifully. We should be very grateful for
the Old Testament scriptures that foreshadow the coming of Jesus.
Jesus Himself said that
He did not come to abolish the Law and the Prophets but to fulfill them, and
this is exactly what He did.
Because of this
fulfillment, those scriptures have become obsolete and are fading away.
What we have now is the
Living Word who is alive inside us.
He has written His law
on our hearts. This is what the new covenant is all about. [See Jeremiah 31:31]
So, if
anyone is to blame for pitting Jesus against Moses or Elijah, or against the
Old Testament scriptures, it’s Paul, Matthew, John and the author of
Hebrews, not me.
All
I’ve done here is to quote those verses that they wrote and pointed out the
obvious.
The
rest, I believe, speaks for itself.
"For the law was given through Moses, but grace and truth came through Jesus Christ." (John 1:17)
"For the law was given through Moses, but grace and truth came through Jesus Christ." (John 1:17)
If I am guilty of anything, it is that I have taken those 10 verses above at face value and I have exalted Jesus above everyone and everything else.
That's something I can live with.
-kg
2 comments:
I agree all the way--the bible is a great book but it is not greater than Jesus Himself.
no "pitchforks" in order. :-)
to note, NIV adding "only" at 2. Cor. 3:14-16.
John 1:18 "No one has ever seen God at any time.." εωρακεν; gazed upon as so to attend. Not a mere glancing view such-as Moses was granted.
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