August 27, 2020
FROM YOUR PASTOR’S DESK:
CHRIST’S DEITY: THE GREAT STUMBLING BLOCK IN THE WAY OF JUDAISM FOR ACCEPTING CHRIST
The Jews attempted to stone Him to death at least twice for saying, ‘I and My Father are one,” accusing Him of blasphemy! See John 10: 22-39 first.
The first chapter of Hebrews introduces Christ as God, deity; the second chapter reveals Christ as a Man, His humanity. Now, read Hebrews 1: 4-14 first before proceeding.
“Israel [consequently, the Jewish nation] had long prided itself on its monotheism [comparing and contrasting themselves with the polytheistic, heathen and pagan nations and tribes]. Other religions had many God’s; Israel had only One. ‘Hear, O Israel, the Lord our God is one Lord,’ (Deut. 6:4), has been the challenge to their heathen neighbors for more than a thousand years!”
“And now Deity was claimed for Christ! How could this belief be harmonized with their Sacred Scriptures which recognized only one God?”
“Under these conditions it became necessary to present proofs from the Scriptures of the OLD TESTAMENT that Jesus was indeed divine. This Paul [the writer of Hebrews] does in the section before us:”
“See Heb. 1:4. ‘Being made’ better, ‘having become.’ This is in contrast to to ‘being’ in verse 3, which there means a permanent, unchangeable, eternal state. Here, ‘having became’ means a condition RESULTING FROM THE INCARNATION, a change from one state to another.”
“‘So much better than the angels.’ The remainder of the chapter is devoted to a discussion of the CONTRAST between Christ and the angels. The author [Paul] sets out to show that Christ is GOD essentially, and in the HIGHEST sense.”
“This He must be if He is to be our Savior and if He is to PURGE us from OUR sins. Great as are the angels, and highly as the Jews ESTEEMED them, no angel [much less dead ‘saints’] can ever be a savior! Only God can FORGIVE sins, only God can SAVE [from sinning]. The author [Paul] therefore proceeds to show that Christ is ‘much better’ than the angels.”- M. L. Andreasen. The Book of Hebrews, pp. 62, 63.
Bless all. NMF