The Jewish Conception of God and the Messiah

THE GREAT CREED OF ISRAEL

Hear O Israel, the Lord our God is ONE LORD. (Deut 6:4).
 

It is impossible to overstate the significance of this creed to devout Jews down through the centuries. They recite it twice a day, once in the morning and once in the evening. It is recited when praising God and when beseeching Him. It is the first prayer a Jewish child is taught to say and is the last words a Jew says prior to death. It is recited when preparing to read the Torah on Sabbaths and festivals. It is recited at the end of the holiest day of Yom Kippur. No other text defines the essence of Judaism more than this one.

 

Jesus affirmed this Creed in Mark 12:28ff:

 

And one of the scribes came, and heard them questioning together, and knowing that he had answered them well, asked him, What commandment is the first of all?
 

Jesus answered, The first is, Hear, O Israel; The Lord our God, the Lord is one: and thou shalt love the Lord thy God with all thy heart, and with all thy soul, and with all thy mind, and with all thy strength. The second is this, Thou shalt love thy neighbor as thyself. There is none other commandment greater than these.
 

And the scribe said unto him, Of a truth, Teacher, thou hast well said that he is one; and there is none other but he: and to love him with all the heart, and with all the understanding, and with all the strength, and to love his neighbor as himself, is much more than all whole burnt-offerings and sacrifices.
 

And when Jesus saw that he answered discreetly, he said unto him, Thou art not far from the kingdom of God.

 

The Apostle Paul affirmed this Creed in I Corinthians 8:4-6:

 

We know that an idol is nothing in the world, and that there is none other God but one. For though there be that are called gods, whether in heaven or in earth, (as there be gods many, and lords many,) but to us there is but one God, the Father, of whom are all things, and we in him; and one Lord Jesus Christ, by whom are all things, and we by him.

 

Notice Paul's definition of God: "one God, the Father" AND there is also "one Lord Jesus Christ." That this verse differentiates between Jesus and God and that Jesus is not God would be the plain meaning of this statement. But if you cannot see that this is so, consider what Paul says in I Timothy:

 

For there is one God, and one mediator between God and men, the man Christ Jesus; who gave himself a ransom for all, to be testified in due time (I Tim. 2:5, 6).

 

Again Paul affirms the Creed of Israel - that there is ONE God. He also states again that there is one MAN who mediates between God and man, "the man Christ Jesus".

 

GOD ALONE IS GOD - GOD ALONE CREATED THE WORLD

 

• ...who alone stretched out the heavens and trampled the waves of the Sea (Job 9:8)

• And Hezekiah prayed before Jehovah, and said, O Jehovah, the God of Israel, that sittest [above] the cherubim, thou art the God, even thou alone, of all the kingdoms of the earth; thou hast made heaven and earth. (II Kings 19:15)

• Now therefore, O Jehovah our God, save thou us, I beseech thee, out of his hand, that all the kingdoms of the earth may know that thou Jehovah art God alone. (II Kings 19:19)

• Thou art Jehovah, even thou alone; thou hast made heaven, the heaven of heavens, with all their host, the earth and all things that are thereon, the seas and all that is in them, and thou preservest them all; and the host of heaven worshippeth thee. (Nehemiah 9:6)

• That they may know that thou alone, whose name is Jehovah, Art the Most High over all the earth. (Ps 83:18)

• For thou art great, and doest wondrous things: Thou art God alone. (Ps 86:10)

• Thus saith Jehovah, thy Redeemer, and he that formed thee from the womb: I am Jehovah, that maketh all things; that stretcheth forth the heavens alone; that spreadeth abroad the earth (who is with me?) (Isaiah 44:24)

 

GOD ALONE IS GOD - THERE IS NO OTHER

 

• To you it was shown so that you would acknowledge that the Lord is God; there is no other besides him. (Deut 4:35)

• So acknowledge today and take to heart that the Lord is God in heaven above and on the earth beneath; there is no other. (Deut 4:39)

• See now that I, even I, am he; there is no god besides me. I kill and I make alive; I wound and I heal; and no one can deliver from my hand. (Deut 32:39)

• There is no Holy One like the Lord, no one besides you; there is no Rock like our God. (I Sam 2:2)

• ...so that all the peoples of the earth may know that the Lord is God; there is no other. (I Kings 8:60)

• Before Me there was no God formed, and there will be none after Me (Isa. 43:10).

• I am the Lord, and there is no other, besides me there is no God (Is 45:5)

• ...there is none besides me; I am the Lord, and there is no other (Is 45:6)

• God is with you only, and there is no other, no god besides him (Is 45:14)

• I am the Lord, and there is no other (Is 45:18)

• There is no other god besides me, a righteous God and a Savior; there is none besides me (Is 45:21)

• For I am God, and there is no other (Is 45:22)

• To whom will you liken me and make me equal, and compare me, that we may be alike? (Is 46:5)

• O Lord the God of Israel...thou art the God, thou alone...(II Kings 19:15)

• ...thou, O Lord, art God alone. (II Kings 19:19)

• Thou art the Lord, thou alone...(Nehemiah 9:6)

• Blessed be the Lord, the God of Israel, who alone does wondrous things (Ps 72:18)

 

THE MESSIAH

 

The Jews have NEVER thought of God as having ANY kind of plurality. On the contrary, they taught that God was an ABSOLUTE SINGULARITY. In the Old Testament, they used singular pronouns thousands and thousands of times to refer to him. Scriptures that would indicate a plurality if literally interpreted, were understood to be personifications, metaphor, and the like.

 

The Messiah, however, was understood to be a man, descended from David. The Messiah would be in a unique position, advocating between God and the nation. Jesus fulfilled over 300 Old Testament prophecies that the Jews themselves believed referred to the Messiah. We will examine a few of those passages below in order to try to get a handle on how a first century Jew would be thinking about the Messiah.

 

Note: Whenever you see the word, "LORD" in all capital letters, the word in Hebrew is YHWH. YHWH, probably pronounced, Yahweh, refers to the ONE and ONLY ONE God who ALONE created the world, and everything in it (see above). The name, YHWH, was considered too sacred to even be spoken. Whenever the scriptures were being read aloud, the word, "Adonai" (Lord) was used. This word is used in place of YHWH. It refers to YHWH and only YHWH in ALL of its 449 occurrences. There is another, similar word, adoni (lord), used 195 times in the Bible that refers to a human (occasionally an angelic) superior. It NEVER means YHWH. This distinction becomes very important when attempting to understand Psalm 110. For more info see the forward to the RSV.

 

Deut 18:15ff: The Lord your God will raise up for you a prophet like me [Moses] from among your own people; you shall heed such a prophet. This is what you requested of the Lord your God at Horeb on the day of the assembly when you said: "If I hear the voice of the Lord my God any more, or ever again see this great fire, I will die." Then the Lord replied to me: "They are right in what they have said. I will raise up for them a prophet like you [Moses] from among their own people; I will put my words in the mouth of the prophet, who shall speak to them everything that I command. Anyone who does not heed the words that the prophet shall speak in my name, I myself will hold accountable.

 

The prophet-like-Moses was understood by many Jews to be the Messiah. He was to be one of them - "from among your own people" - a human being, and an Israelite. He was to take the place of God in dealing with Israel, to be a mediator between God and the nation. This is the background for understanding what people meant when they said of Jesus in John 7:40:

 

When they heard these words, some in the crowd said, "This is really the prophet"

 

- that is, the prophet foretold in Deut 18.

 

See also John 6:14: Therefore when the people saw the sign which he had performed, they said, "This is truly the Prophet who is to come into the world."

 

Isaiah 11: 1 - 2: But a shoot shall sprout from the stump of Jesse, and from his roots a bud shall blossom. The Spirit of the LORD shall rest upon him...

 

Again, the Messiah would be an Israelite, descended from Jesse - Jesse was King David's father.

 

Psalms 89: 27 - 28 states how the anointed will call God his father, his God, his rock, his savior, and how God will make him the firstborn:

 

"He shall say of me, "You are my father, my God , my rock, my savior." And I will make him the firstborn."

 

Micah 5: 3: "He shall stand firm and shepherd his flock by the strength of the LORD, in the majestic name of the LORD, his God..."

 

Notice; the Messiah has a God - "his God". His God is the LORD, that is, YHWH.

 

Isaiah 53: 3 states that the servant of God will be a man. "A man of suffering, accustomed to infirmity..."

 

Ps 2:7-12: I will declare the decree: the LORD hath said unto me, Thou [art] my Son; this day have I begotten thee. Ask of me, and I shall give [thee] the heathen [for] thine inheritance, and the uttermost parts of the earth [for] thy possession. Thou shalt break them with a rod of iron; thou shalt dash them in pieces like a potter's vessel. Be wise now therefore, O ye kings: be instructed, ye judges of the earth. Serve the LORD with fear, and rejoice with trembling. Kiss the Son, lest he be angry, and ye perish [from] the way, when his wrath is kindled but a little. Blessed [are] all they that put their trust in him.

 

It is evident who is who here: the LORD is YHWH - God. The Son is the Son, not YHWH.

 

1 Chronicles 17:10b-14. Nathan the Prophet is speaking to David;

 

Moreover I declare to you that the LORD will build you a house. When your days are fulfilled to go to be with your fathers, I will raise up your offspring after you, one of your own sons, and I will establish his kingdom. He shall build a house for me, and I will establish his throne forever. I will be his father, and he shall be my son; I will not take my steadfast love from him, as I took it from him who was before you, but I will confirm him in my house and in my kingdom for ever and his throne shall be established for ever.

 

GOD (the LORD - Yahweh) is telling David of one of his (David's) descendants. A descendant that will be fathered by God Himself, who will relate to God as a son to his father and who God will relate to as a father to a son, a descendant who will build a house for God's name, a descendant for whom God will establish the throne forever.

 

Psalm 45:1-7: My heart overflows with a good theme; I address my verses to the King; My tongue is the pen of a ready writer. You are fairer than the sons of men; Grace is poured upon Your lips; Therefore God has blessed You forever. Gird Your sword on {Your} thigh, O Mighty One, {In} Your splendor and Your majesty! And in Your majesty ride on victoriously, For the cause of truth and meekness {and} righteousness; Let Your right hand teach You awesome things. Your arrows are sharp; The peoples fall under You; {Your arrows are} in the heart of the King's enemies. Your throne, O God, is forever and ever; A scepter of uprightness is the scepter of Your kingdom. You have loved righteousness and hated wickedness; Therefore God, Your God, has anointed You with the oil of joy above Your fellows.

 

We have two beings. God and the King. God has blessed the King forever. In speaking of the King it says, "Your throne, O God, is forever and ever...you have loved righteousness and hated wickedness; Therefore God, Your God, has anointed you..." The King is called, "God" - but there is a God over the King. A God who has blessed the King forever. The book of Hebrews when quoting this passage calls this King, "the Son".

 

The words, "God" and "Lord" were not used by the Hebrews in the same way we use them. In John 10:30 Jesus says,

 

"The Father and I are one."
 

The Jews took up stones again to stone him.

Jesus replied, "I have shown you many good works from the Father. For which of these are you going to stone me?"

The Jews answered, "It is not for a good work that we are going to stone you, but for blasphemy, because you, though only a human being, are making yourself God."

Jesus answered, "Is it not written in your law, "I said, you are gods'? If those to whom the word of God came were called "gods'' - and the scripture cannot be annulled - can you say that the one whom the Father has sanctified and sent into the world is blaspheming because I said, "I am God's Son"? If I am not doing the works of my Father, then do not believe me. But if I do them, even though you do not believe me, believe the works, so that you may know and understand that the Father is in me and I am in the Father."

 

Here we see that Jesus, in replying to the Jews' accusation that when he said, "The Father and I are one" he was making himself to be God, in effect says, "Even God calls those to whom the word of God came, "gods". So if even God calls men, "gods" why would you stone me for saying, "I am God's Son?"

 

Notice again the text given above in I Corinthians 8:4-6:

 

"We know that an idol is nothing in the world, and that there is none other God but one. For though there be that are called gods, whether in heaven or in earth, (as there be gods many, and lords many,) but to us there is but one God, the Father, of whom are all things, and we in him; and one Lord Jesus Christ, by whom are all things, and we by him."

 

The word, "Lord" is easier for us to understand because even in our own culture in the not-so-distant past we called a person of a superior societal class, "My Lord." What has happened to the Hebraic use of the word, "god", would be like Shakespeare being executed for blasphemy because he called the King of England, "My Lord." We know that the ONE and ONLY ONE LORD, YHWH, is not what is meant when Shakespeare calls his king, "My Lord." And so we can say that in the Hebraic manner of speaking, the word "god" does not always refer to YHWH but is sometimes used in a lesser sense.

 

PSALM 110

 

With this in mind, see Ps 110:1-4:

 

A Psalm of David. The LORD says to my lord: "Sit at my right hand, till I make your enemies your footstool." The LORD sends forth from Zion your mighty scepter. Rule in the midst of your foes! Your people will offer themselves freely on the day you lead your host upon the holy mountains. From the womb of the morning like dew your youth will come to you. The LORD has sworn and will not change his mind; "You are a priest for ever after the order of Melchizedek."

 

"The LORD (YHWH) says to my lord". The Jews, and Jesus also (see Mathew 22:41ff), understood the second "lord" to be the Messiah - and the Messiah was NOT YHWH. Jesus said he (the Messiah) was the son of YHWH. The second "lord" is adoni, not Adonai, and not YHWH. There is NO WAY a Jew would see adoni as referring to YHWH.

 

Psalm 110 is THE most quoted Old Testament text quoted in the New Testament. It is quoted or alluded to at least 23 times. It appears in every section of the New Testament, and it would be a major mistake to ignore its importance. It is a valuable illustration of how Jesus viewed himself, and of how he was viewed by the apostles.

 

CONCLUSION

 

There are many more but what I've given above is enough. Remember; Jesus and all the apostles were first century Jews. As a first century Jew, you would probably believe the following:

 

1. YHWH is one and only one. There is no other. He is God, He is one, and there is no other.

2. YHWH alone created the heavens and the earth and everything in them. There was no other.

3. YHWH has said that he will send and anoint a man who will come from Israel, of the tribe of Judah, a descendent of Jesse, David, and Solomon, one called the Messiah. This man will speak ALL the words that YHWH commands him to speak, this man will function as mediator between YHWH and man. He will be human, and YHWH will be his God. He will call YHWH his father, and YHWH calls this man his son. This man is foreshadowed as well as explicitly spoken of all throughout the Jewish scriptures, a few of which I've listed above.

With all this in mind, I first began to conciously question the idea of the Trinity as a result of trying to put myself in the place, the mind-frame, of a Jew listening to the apostles preaching in the book of Acts. Would anything they said lead me to believe in a triune God? Would anything they said lead me to believe that Jesus was ontologically God?

 

So - let's go to Jerusalem at the Feast of Pentecost - the Pentecost following the Passover on which Jesus was crucified.

 

Next: The Sermons of Peter