The Mystery of Messiah

Beit Ariel Panel Discussion, Shabbat Toldot 5783 / 26 November 2022

My contribution today drew a few insights from British scholar, Richard Bauckham, in his God Crucified, later included in his Jesus and the God of Israel (2008, published by Eerdmans). I used David Stern’s Complete Jewish Bible translation. Additional comments, not in this morning’s discussion, appear in square brackets; each of them could be expanded greatly.

Who God Is

For a starting point, I used the start of the Ten “Commandments” in Deuteronomy 5. Deuteronomy 5.6-10 reads,

א ^‎6 “ ‘I am Adonai your God, who brought you out of the land of Egypt, where you lived as slaves.

ב ^‎7 “ ‘You are to have no other gods before me. ⁸ You are not to make for yourselves a carved image or any kind of representation of anything in heaven above, on the earth beneath or in the water below the shoreline—⁹ you are not to bow down to them or serve them; for I, Adonai your God, am a jealous God, punishing the children for the sins of the parents, also the third and fourth generation of those who hate me, ¹⁰ but displaying grace to the thousandth generation of those who love me and obey my mitzvot.

Note:

1. The passage starts with the divine name. [Traditionally, both Jews and Christians use a substitute for the name like “HaShem” (“the Name”), or ADONAI which is like saying “the LORD,” also written in all capitals. It’s the four-letter name of God in Hebrew, the Tetragrammaton.] This name uniquely identifies the deity from everything else.

2. This ADONAI identifies himself as Israel’s God. He is the deity, divine.

3. If this were not enough, he further identifies himself as the one who redeemed the people of Israel from slavery in Egypt. That is to say, he shows who he is by what he does, or has done. This is not a definition of God; it’s a way of uniquely identifying him: HaShem is the God and Redeemer of Israel. This is not about God’s so-called “nature.” It is not abstract philosophy. It’s not about what God is but who he is—in relation to his people. God concretely revealed himself by intervening in human history to deliver his people from slavery.

4. Verse 7 stresses that Israel may not have any other gods. Thus Israel has one God only.

5. Verses 8-10 sternly warn Israel against idolatry [which would inevitably result from having other gods.]

These points are intended to serve as a foundation for our on-going discussion. We did not, however, have time to build on it much today. Furthermore, two key characteristics of the LORD will be important in future discussions:

1. He alone is the creator of all things. Isaiah 44.:24 says, “I am ADONAI, who makes all things, who stretched out the heavens all alone, who spread out the earth all by myself.”

2. God alone is the ruler of all things.

The Pierced One

Our conversation touched on Zechariah’s prophecy of the piercing of Yeshua (see John 19:34). Zechariah, however, identifies the pierced one as HaShem. This prophecy begins in Zechariah 12:1:

“A prophecy, the word of Adonai concerning Isra’el—here is the message from Adonai, who stretched out the heavens, laid the foundation of the earth and formed the spirit inside human beings.”

Verse 1 tells us twice whose prophetic word it is: that of ADONAI. He elaborates by identifying himself as the creator of heaven and earth and of people’s spirits. He is still the speaker in Zechariah 12:10 when he says that

“the House of David and … those living in Yerushalayim … will look to me, whom they pierced.”

Revelation 1:7 speaks of Yeshua:

Look! He is coming with the clouds!

Every eye will see him,

including those who pierced him;

and all the tribes of the Land will mourn him.

[See Matthew 26:64 and Mark 14:62 for Yeshua’s self-identification with the one coming on/with the clouds.]

The First and the Last

Isaiah 44:6 says,

Thus says ADONAI,

Isra’el’s King and Redeemer,

ADONAI-Tzva’ot:

“I am the first, and I am the last;

besides me there is no God.”

In the address, God immediately invokes his own name in the emphatic formula, “Thus says the LORD.” He then stresses his relationship to Israel as part of his identity: he is both the King and Redeemer of Israel. “Redeemer” alludes to his deliverance in the exodus from Egypt. “King” identifies God as the sovereign [and implies a kingdom—another discussion]. He stresses his identity further by repeating his sacred name in the formula, “LORD of Hosts.” “Hosts” means “armies.” [Evidently, God is a military commander too!]

What does God say, now that he has stamped his name and identity so securely to his message?

1. He reveals himself to be the first [rishon—he is from the beginning]

2. And the Last [acharon—he is at the end]

3. There is no God besides him. He alone is God.

In Isaiah 48:12, God says something similar. [He starts by identifying himself in relation to “Israel, whom I called.”] He says,

“I am he.

I am the first;

also I am the last.”

[Stern’s translation loses something that will prove to be significant in this formula, so I am taking this from another.]

Revelation 1:8 says,

“I am the ‘A’ [alpha] and the ‘Z,’ [omega] ” says ADONAI,

God of heaven’s armies,

the One who is,

who was

and who is coming.

[Stern has translated “Lord” as “LORD,” that is, to refer to the divine name. He uses A and Z because they correspond to the first and last letters of the alphabet, though Z does not equate to omega.] Again we see God identified as a military commander—of heaven’s armies! He claims to be the beginning and end of the alphabet, a way of saying that he is the beginning and the end. He is clearly identifying himself as the same God who spoke in Isaiah 44:6 and 48:12. The end of Revelation provides a similar identification of the LORD God (Rev 21:5-6):

Then the One sitting on the throne said,

“... I am the ‘A’ [alpha] and the ‘Z,’ [omega]

the Beginning and the End.”

The formula is crystal clear; “the One sitting on the throne” is God himself, ADONAI. Yet there two other instances of the “beginning and end” formula in Revelation, both of which refer to Yeshua. As with the first two, these appear near the beginning and end of the book. The writer, John, first sees “someone like a Son of Man” (Revelation 1:13) who said to him,

“I am the First

and the Last,

the Living One.

I was dead,

but look!—I am alive forever and ever!”

The one “like a Son of Man ... was dead,” yet he also claims the divine title, “the First and the Last!” Thus, Yeshua identifies himself as God. He does so again in Revelation 21:6:

“I am the ‘A’ [alpha] and the ‘Z,’ [omega]

the First and the Last,

the Beginning and the End.”

[Verse 16 confirms that the speaker has changed to Yeshua. Note the words, “I am coming soon” in verses 12 and 20, with the response in verse 20, “Amen! Come, Lord Yeshua!”]