There is a remarkable statement in John 12:37-38 concerning the deity of Jesus. The text says:
“Though he had
done so many signs before them, they still did not believe in him, so that the
word spoken by the prophet Isaiah might be fulfilled: ‘Lord, who has believed
what he heard from us, and to whom has the arm of the Lord been revealed?’”
It might be easy to overlook this
comment by John if the Old Testament context is not known. The quotation in
verse 38 is from Isaiah 53:1. What is truly remarkable about the original
quotation and its New Testament application to Jesus is the word used to
describe the ‘Lord’ in the passage.
There
are two Hebrew words in the Old Testament commonly translated Lord in our English Bibles. The first is
Adonai which means lord,
master¸ or ruler. This word is properly translated Lord in our English Bibles, but it is not the word that appears in
Isaiah 53:1. The second Hebrew word commonly translated LORD is Yahweh which is
the covenant name of God. This is his actual name, not merely a description of
his role, character, or power. Our English Bibles usually translate Yahweh as LORD (all capital letters) because the Jews considered this name so
sacred they dared not pronounce it but would substitute the word Adonai when reading aloud. Yahweh is the name of God which appears
in Isaiah 53:1, and it is this term that makes the quotation in John 12:37-38
so important.
Jesus
is Yahweh. Some people think of Yahweh as the Father alone, but actually Yahweh
is the covenant name of the one true God: Father, Son, and Holy Spirit. All
three persons of the Godhead are one God, and that one, triune God has revealed
himself as Yahweh. So the Father is Yahweh, so is the Holy Spirit, and so is
the Son of God, Jesus Christ. We worship Yahweh (Psa. 106:1), the one true God
(Deut. 6:4), maker of heaven and earth (Exod. 20:11). This worship belongs not
only to the Father but also to the Son (and the Holy Spirit). John 12:37-38
clearly establishes that Jesus Christ is Yahweh. -JME
