Sunday, August 24, 2014

Jesus is LORD


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