Christmas 2025, part 3

We continued our Christmas and New Year Study by looking at Christ in the New Testament, and then the differentiation between the son of Joseph and the son of David in reconciling what Scripture says.

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December 21, 2025

Good Morning:

Merry Christmas Week

Silent Prayer - Grace Recovery

Scripture reading

Scripture Reading:

Genesis 3:15 NKJV

15 And I will put enmity Between you and the woman, And between your seed and her Seed; He shall bruise your head, And you shall bruise His heel.”

Genesis 12:3 NKJV

3 I will bless those who bless you, And I will curse him who curses you; And in you all the families of the earth shall be blessed.”

Genesis 22:18 NKJV

18 In your seed all the nations of the earth shall be blessed, because you have obeyed My voice.”

Genesis 17:19 NKJV

19 Then God said: “No, Sarah your wife shall bear you a son, and you shall call his name Isaac; I will establish My covenant with him for an everlasting covenant, and with his descendants after him.

Numbers 24:17 NKJV

17 “I see Him, but not now; I behold Him, but not near; A Star shall come out of Jacob; A Scepter shall rise out of Israel, And batter the brow of Moab, And destroy all the sons of tumult.

Genesis 49:10 NKJV

10 The scepter shall not depart from Judah, Nor a lawgiver from between his feet, Until Shiloh comes; And to Him shall be the obedience of the people.

2 Samuel 7:12–16 NKJV

12 “When your days are fulfilled and you rest with your fathers, I will set up your seed after you, who will come from your body, and I will establish his kingdom. 13 He shall build a house for My name, and I will establish the throne of his kingdom forever. 14 I will be his Father, and he shall be My son. If he commits iniquity, I will chasten him with the rod of men and with the blows of the sons of men. 15 But My mercy shall not depart from him, as I took it from Saul, whom I removed from before you. 16 And your house and your kingdom shall be established forever before you. Your throne shall be established forever.” ’ ”

Isaiah 7:14 NKJV

14 Therefore the Lord Himself will give you a sign: Behold, the virgin shall conceive and bear a Son, and shall call His name Immanuel.

Micah 5:2 NKJV

2 “But you, Bethlehem Ephrathah, Though you are little among the thousands of Judah, Yet out of you shall come forth to Me The One to be Ruler in Israel, Whose goings forth are from of old, From everlasting.”

Isaiah 9:6–7 NKJV

6 For unto us a Child is born, Unto us a Son is given; And the government will be upon His shoulder. And His name will be called Wonderful, Counselor, Mighty God, Everlasting Father, Prince of Peace. 7 Of the increase of His government and peace There will be no end, Upon the throne of David and over His kingdom, To order it and establish it with judgment and justice From that time forward, even forever. The zeal of the Lord of hosts will perform this.

Chanukkah started last Sunday at sunset on December 14, which is actually 25 Kislev or Chislev and year 5786. Which is the Rabbinic year relative to Creation. This is according to the rabbinic Anno Mundi system. Our conservative scholars actually think the time has been compressed by the Rabbis, and that the actual year is closer to 5940–5980.

Chanukkah will end on Tuesday at Sunset, which will be the end of 2 Tevet which started Monday at Sunset, and when Tuesday sunset comes, it begins 3 Tevet and Chanukkah is over.

Chanukkah is 8 days long. Chanukkah is 8 days because it was patterned after the 8‑day Feast of Dedication in the Old Testament — specifically the 8‑day celebration of Sukkot (Tabernacles).

Introduction

The connection to Christmas.

Lets start with the connection to Christmas. And to introduce us to that concept, I want to bring in a Scholar to help us.

Alfred Edersheim - Jewish Scholar

First, let me read a synopsis from Alfred Edersheim from his book, The Temple, Its Ministry and Services as They Were at the Time of Jesus Christ. Not only was Alfred Edersheim a scholar, but he was considered probably one of the leading if not the foremost Jewish scholar of orthodox and conservative Christianity until Arnold Fruchtenbaum came on the scene.

Here is his synopsis:

Alfred Edersheim - from his book, The Temple, The Feast of the Dedication of the Temple. Notice up front the names of the festival. These will come up again later in our study.

“The Feast of the Dedication of the Temple, Chanuchah (‘the dedication’), called in 1 Maccab. 4:52–59 ‘the dedication of the altar,’ and by Josephus ‘the Feast of Lights,’ was another popular and joyous festival. It was instituted by Judas Maccabæus in 164 B.C., when, after the recovery of Jewish independence from the Syro-Grecian domination, the Temple of Jerusalem was solemnly purified, the old polluted altar removed, its stones put in a separate place on the Temple-mount, and the worship of the Lord restored. The feast commenced on the 25th of Chislev (December), and lasted for eight days. On each of them the ‘Hallel’ was sung, the people appeared carrying palm and other branches, and there was a grand illumination of the Temple and of all private houses. These three observances bear so striking a resemblance to what we know about the Feast of Tabernacles, that it is difficult to resist the impression of some intended connection between the two, in consequence of which the daily singing of the ‘Hallel,’ and the carrying of palm branches was adopted during the Feast of the Dedication, while the practice of Temple-illumination was similarly introduced into the Feast of Tabernacles. All this becomes the more interesting, when we remember, on the one hand, the typical meaning of the Feast of Tabernacles, and on the other that the date of the Feast of the Dedication—the 25th of Chislev—seems to have been adopted by the ancient Church as that of the birth of our blessed Lord—Christmas—the Dedication of the true Temple, which was the body of Jesus.”

Alfred Edersheim, The Temple, Its Ministry and Services as They Were at the Time of Jesus Christ. (London: James Clarke & Co., 1959), 333–334.

So we see a historic reason for Christmas being on December 25th. if anyone asks you about your strange tradition of celebrating the birth of Christ on December 25, you now have an answer. Through the festival of Chanukkah Jews celebrate the dedication of the temple. Christians celebrate the dedication of He who is the true Temple, which was the body of Jesus Christ.

On Christmas we celebrate the birth of the humanity of Christ and the provision of His human body via the hypostatic union of God, wherein we have the perfect joining of the second person of the Trinity to perfect sinless man, born of a Jewish Virgin, heir to the throne of David, purposed and prepared for what was to come: dividing the veil of separation between God and man: by a Jew, but on behalf of all mankind.

Let’s see this connection of the idea of the temple to the physical body of the humanity of Christ. As we read through this next passage, ask yourself this question:

Is there an actual connection of thought that ties together the physical temple (Herod’s temple) and the physical body of Christ? Where did this come from?

John 2: The Temple

This is spoken of in John 2:13-25.

John 2:13-25

John 2:13–25 NKJV

13 Now the Passover of the Jews was at hand, and Jesus went up to Jerusalem. 14 And He found in the temple those who sold oxen and sheep and doves, and the money changers doing business. 15 When He had made a whip of cords, He drove them all out of the temple, with the sheep and the oxen, and poured out the changers’ money and overturned the tables. 16 And He said to those who sold doves, “Take these things away! Do not make My Father’s house a house of merchandise!” 17 Then His disciples remembered that it was written, “Zeal for Your house has eaten Me up.” 18 So the Jews answered and said to Him, “What sign do You show to us, since You do these things?” 19 Jesus answered and said to them, “Destroy this temple, and in three days I will raise it up.” 20 Then the Jews said, “It has taken forty-six years to build this temple, and will You raise it up in three days?” 21 But He was speaking of the temple of His body. 22 Therefore, when He had risen from the dead, His disciples remembered that He had said this to them; and they believed the Scripture and the word which Jesus had said. 23 Now when He was in Jerusalem at the Passover, during the feast, many believed in His name when they saw the signs which He did. 24 But Jesus did not commit Himself to them, because He knew all men, 25 and had no need that anyone should testify of man, for He knew what was in man.

Here is artist Carl Bloch’s depiction of Christ casting out the money changers, painted 1864.

So whose idea was it that the Body of Yeshua-Jesus should be compared to the Temple of the Jews?

Yes it turns out that Yeshua-Jesus Himself was behind the idea.

It turns out that the impressive Jewish Temple is only an illustration of the reconciliation that must actually be done by Yeshua-Jesus

But Yeshua-Jesus was angered by the destruction of the picture that God had created that demonstrated the perfect sinless Messiah Yeshua-Jesus Himself. Notice that first Christ scourged the temple clean before He mad the analogy to His body?

So we have a reason given by Yeshua-Jesus Himself. As the Temple in Jerusalem was intended to put a spotlight on the reconciliation of and through the Jews, Yeshua-Jesus Himself would do that reconciliation. The proof that reconciliation was accomplished would be the rebuilding of the Temple - His body. Raised on the third day … but with a focus on the resurrection. It is a variation of the sign of Jonah which will be proclaimed after Israel rejects Yeshua-Jesus as their Messiah.

Now recognize that this cleansing of the temple is done at the beginning of Christ’s ministry, while he was still doing signs to authenticate that He was indeed the Messiah. There is another cleansing of the temple at the end of His ministry - remember 3 years are recorded across which some events happen repeatedly.

When was Christ born?

We have established that the date for Christmas was set to create a connection with Chanukkah, on the 25th of Chislev.

But when was Christ actually born? We haven’t addressed that before in our studies.

Jesus was NOT born in December.

Every conservative scholar in our circles rejects the December 25 date as a later arriving church tradition with no biblical or historical basis.

Shepherds would not be in the open fields in late December.

Luke’s census timing does not fit a winter birth.

Early Jewish and Christian sources do not support a winter date.

Conclusion: December 25 is liturgical, not historical.

The most defensible window for Christ’s birth is:

Late September – Early October, 3–2 BC

This is the consensus among conservative literalist scholars who take the biblical chronology seriously.

Historical Chronology of Christ’s Birth

Luke 1–2

• Priestly Courses

• Herodian Dating

• First‑Century Conditions

1 — Zechariah’s Priestly Service (Course of Abijah)

Luke 1:5 identifies Zechariah as serving in the course of Abijah

The Abijah course served mid‑June in the first‑century rotation, per 1 Chronicles 24:10

After his service, Zechariah returns home and John the Baptist is conceived

Luke 1:5

Luke 1:5 NKJV

5 There was in the days of Herod, the king of Judea, a certain priest named Zacharias, of the division of Abijah. His wife was of the daughters of Aaron, and her name was Elizabeth.

1 Chronicles 24:10

1 Chronicles 24:10 NKJV

10 the seventh to Hakkoz, the eighth to Abijah,

Luke 24:1–19 NKJV

1 Now on the first day of the week, very early in the morning, they, and certain other women with them, came to the tomb bringing the spices which they had prepared. 2 But they found the stone rolled away from the tomb. 3 Then they went in and did not find the body of the Lord Jesus. 4 And it happened, as they were greatly perplexed about this, that behold, two men stood by them in shining garments. 5 Then, as they were afraid and bowed their faces to the earth, they said to them, “Why do you seek the living among the dead? 6 He is not here, but is risen! Remember how He spoke to you when He was still in Galilee, 7 saying, ‘The Son of Man must be delivered into the hands of sinful men, and be crucified, and the third day rise again.’ ” 8 And they remembered His words. 9 Then they returned from the tomb and told all these things to the eleven and to all the rest. 10 It was Mary Magdalene, Joanna, Mary the mother of James, and the other women with them, who told these things to the apostles. 11 And their words seemed to them like idle tales, and they did not believe them. 12 But Peter arose and ran to the tomb; and stooping down, he saw the linen cloths lying by themselves; and he departed, marveling to himself at what had happened. 13 Now behold, two of them were traveling that same day to a village called Emmaus, which was seven miles from Jerusalem. 14 And they talked together of all these things which had happened. 15 So it was, while they conversed and reasoned, that Jesus Himself drew near and went with them. 16 But their eyes were restrained, so that they did not know Him. 17 And He said to them, “What kind of conversation is this that you have with one another as you walk and are sad?” 18 Then the one whose name was Cleopas answered and said to Him, “Are You the only stranger in Jerusalem, and have You not known the things which happened there in these days?” 19 And He said to them, “What things?” So they said to Him, “The things concerning Jesus of Nazareth, who was a Prophet mighty in deed and word before God and all the people,

So this anchors our Date — John is conceived in late June and John is born in late March / early April

This is the key chronological anchor for the entire timeline of the Birth of Jesus.

2 —Jesus’ Conception Six Months After John

per Luke 1:26, 36 Gabriel appears to Mary six months after Elizabeth conceived.

If John is conceived in late June, Jesus is conceived in late December

Luke 1:26, 36

Luke 1:26 NKJV

26 Now in the sixth month the angel Gabriel was sent by God to a city of Galilee named Nazareth,

Luke 1:36 NKJV

36 Now indeed, Elizabeth your relative has also conceived a son in her old age; and this is now the sixth month for her who was called barren.

This anchors the conception of Jesus to Late December.

3. Jesus’ Birth ~9 Months After Conception

Normal gestation places Jesus’ birth in late September to early October

So this anchors the date of Jesus birth in late September – early October

This matches agricultural and shepherding conditions in Judea Luke 2:8.

Luke 2:8

Luke 2:8 NKJV

8 Now there were in the same country shepherds living out in the fields, keeping watch over their flock by night.

4. Herod the Great’s Reign Fixes the Year

Jesus must be born, Matt. 2:19, before Herod’s death

Conservative scholars place Herod’s death in 1 BC, not 4 BC.

This allows:

Jesus’ birth in 3–2 BC

Magi arriving in 2–1 BC

Herod dying shortly after

Matthew 2:19

Matthew 2:19 NKJV

19 Now when Herod was dead, behold, an angel of the Lord appeared in a dream to Joseph in Egypt,

This anchors Jesus birth year to 3–2 BC

5 — Census Timing Fits the Same Window

Luke 2:1-5 describes a census under Quirinius during a period of registration tied to Herod’s rule.

Conservative scholars note that a registration in 3–2 BC fits Roman administrative patterns and Herodian oversight.

Luke 2:1-5

Luke 2:1–5 NKJV

1 And it came to pass in those days that a decree went out from Caesar Augustus that all the world should be registered. 2 This census first took place while Quirinius was governing Syria. 3 So all went to be registered, everyone to his own city. 4 Joseph also went up from Galilee, out of the city of Nazareth, into Judea, to the city of David, which is called Bethlehem, because he was of the house and lineage of David, 5 to be registered with Mary, his betrothed wife, who was with child.

Census travel anchors the date to: 3–2 BC

6 — Astronomical Data Supports the Fall of 3 BC

Conservative scholars who take Revelation 12:1 literally note that the “woman clothed with the sun” alignment occurs in early September 3 BC

This is supportive, not determinative, but it matches the Luke‑based chronology.

This is a specific, observable astronomical pattern:

The constellation Virgo (“the woman”)

The sun positioned in Virgo (meaning the sun is in that part of the sky)

The moon near the feet of Virgo

This combination is rare and only occurs during a narrow window each year.

Our matching Astronomical date alignment is September, 3 BC

Our Final Historical Conclusion is that Jesus was born in the fall, late September to early October, of 3–2 BC. This is the historical reconstruction consensus among conservative literal‑grammatical‑historical scholars.

December 28, 2025

Good Morning:

Happy New Year

Silent Prayer - Grace Recovery

Scripture reading

Scripture Reading:

Genesis 3:15 NKJV

15 And I will put enmity Between you and the woman, And between your seed and her Seed; He shall bruise your head, And you shall bruise His heel.”

Genesis 12:3 NKJV

3 I will bless those who bless you, And I will curse him who curses you; And in you all the families of the earth shall be blessed.”

Genesis 49:10 NKJV

10 The scepter shall not depart from Judah, Nor a lawgiver from between his feet, Until Shiloh comes; And to Him shall be the obedience of the people.

2 Samuel 7:12–13 NKJV

Isaiah 7:14 NKJV

14 Therefore the Lord Himself will give you a sign: Behold, the virgin shall conceive and bear a Son, and shall call His name Immanuel.

Micah 5:2 NKJV

Isaiah 9:6–7 NKJV

What the Old Testament Says About Yeshua-Jesus

Therefore the Lord himself will give you a sign: behold, a virgin shall conceive, and bear a son, and shall call his name Immanuel.

Isaiah 7:14 NKJV

14 Therefore the Lord Himself will give you a sign: Behold, the virgin shall conceive and bear a Son, and shall call His name Immanuel.

Introduction

If the Old Testament only spoke of the Messiah in terms of His suffering, it would hardly give us enough to go on, but there is much more to the Old Testament picture of the Messiah than that found in Isaiah 53. In other passages, there is often less conflict, if any, than the conflict over Isaiah 53. These other passages, taken along with Isaiah 53, go a long way to show how the Messiah was to be a thoroughly unique Person.

I — The Uniqueness of His Birth

Genesis 3:15

Following the account of Creation, the Old Testament continues with the story of Adam and Eve. In the guise of a serpent, Satan deceives Eve and causes her to break God's one commandment. Adam follows suit. The result is that sin enters the human family and the human experience. Man now stands under God's righteous judgment.

Nevertheless, at the time of the Fall, God provides for future redemption. As He addresses Satan, God says in Genesis 3:15:

Genesis 3:15 NKJV

15 And I will put enmity Between you and the woman, And between your seed and her Seed; He shall bruise your head, And you shall bruise His heel.”

The keynote of this verse is the statement: the seed of the woman. In and of itself, this statement may not seem unusual, but in the context of biblical teaching, it is most unusual. Throughout the Hebrew Scriptures, lineage was never reckoned after the woman but only after the man. In all the genealogies in the biblical record, women are virtually ignored because they are unimportant in determining genealogy. Yet the future Person who would crush Satan’s head, while only suffering a slight wound Himself, would not be reckoned after a man, but after a woman.

In the biblical pattern, this is highly unusual.

Despite the typical biblical pattern, we have a clear statement that the future Redeemer comes from the “seed of the woman.” His birth will take into account His mother only. For a reason that is not explained here, the father will not be taken into account at all. Yet this goes totally contrary to the whole biblical view regarding genealogies.

That this verse was taken to be messianic by the Jews is clear from the Rabii’s “Targums of Jonathan” and the “Jerusalem Targums.” Furthermore, the Talmudic expression, “Heels of the Messiah,” seems to have been taken from this verse. However, Genesis does not explain how or why this Redeemer can be labeled “seed of the woman” when it contradicts the biblical pattern.

Isaiah 7:14

Centuries later, Israel had a great prophet in the person of Isaiah. It was left to this prophet to explain the meaning and reason why the Messiah would be reckoned only after the seed of the woman. Isaiah writes in Isaiah 7:14:

Isaiah 7:14 NKJV

14 Therefore the Lord Himself will give you a sign: Behold, the virgin shall conceive and bear a Son, and shall call His name Immanuel.

The very fact that the birth of the Person spoken of in this passage is described as a sign points to some unusual circumstance regarding the birth. In other words, the birth could not be normal, for that would not fulfill the requirement of the word sign. It had to be unusual in some way, perhaps miraculous or, at least, attention-getting.

The very existence of the Jewish people is derived from a sign of birth. The Scriptures make it clear that both Abraham and Sarah were beyond the point of being able to bear children; Abraham was ninety-nine years old, and Sarah was eighty-nine. She had, of course, already undergone menopause when, in Genesis 18, God promised that Sarah would have a son within one year! This would be the sign that God would keep his covenant with Abraham and would make a great nation from him. A year later, this sign took place with the birth of Isaac, through whom the Jewish people came. It was the sign needed to authenticate the covenant. This was a miraculous birth.

The birth of the son in Isaiah 7:14 was also to be a sign of being unusual in some way. But this time, the unusual nature of the birth was not going to be due to the great age of the mother. It would be a sign because this son would be born of a virgin.

Isaiah 7:14 NKJV

14 Therefore the Lord Himself will give you a sign: Behold, the virgin shall conceive and bear a Son, and shall call His name Immanuel.

Right at this point, another conflict often ensues. Rabbis today claim that the Hebrew word almah does not mean “virgin” but “young woman.” But they fail to explain how this would be used as a sign. A young woman giving birth to a baby is hardly unusual; in fact, it happens all the time!

In other passages where this word is used, almah clearly means “virgin.” It is used in six other places in the Old Testament outside of Isaiah 7:14. In all six other places, no one argues that the word means a “virgin.” If it means a “virgin” in those six other passages, there is no way it could mean a “non-virgin” in Isaiah 7:14.

About 250 b.c., seventy Jewish rabbis translated the Greek version of the Old Testament, called the Septuagint. These seventy rabbis all made almah to read Parthenos, the simple Greek word for “virgin.”

Even if almah is allowed to mean “young woman,” it still must be admitted that the word can refer to a “virginal young woman.” It must not be ignored that this birth was to be a sign, an unusual birth. This is best seen if taken to mean a “virgin birth.”

This explains the mystery of Genesis 3:15. The Messiah would be reckoned after the seed of a woman because He would not have a human father. Because of a Virgin Birth, His lineage could be traced only through His mother and not His father. Thus, Isaiah 7:14 clarifies the meaning of Genesis 3:15: the Messiah will enter the world by means of a Virgin Birth.

End of Second Service

II — The Place of His Birth

Not only was the means of the Messiah’s birth prophesied, but also the place of His birth was prophesied. This was done by the Prophet Micah, a contemporary of Isaiah. In chapter 5 of his book, we read in verse 2:

Micah 5:2

Micah 5:2 NKJV

There is far less disagreement among Orthodox rabbis about this verse since they generally take it to mean that the Messiah will originate from Bethlehem. This is the view taken by “The Soncino Books of the Bible,” the Orthodox Jewish commentary on the Old Testament that takes as its source some earlier Jewish commentaries.

III — The Lineage of the Messiah

Another uncontested point is that the Messiah would be a descendant of King David. From this comes the rabbinical ascription of the title, “Messiah, the Son of David.”

Of the numerous passages that might be cited, we will limit ourselves to the following two, both from Isaiah. The first passage is Isaiah 11:1:

Isaiah 11:1

Isaiah 11:1 NKJV

1 There shall come forth a Rod from the stem of Jesse, And a Branch shall grow out of his roots.

And the second passage is Isaiah 11:10:

Isaiah 11:10

Isaiah 11:10 NKJV

10 “And in that day there shall be a Root of Jesse, Who shall stand as a banner to the people; For the Gentiles shall seek Him, And His resting place shall be glorious.”

Jesse was the father of David; thus, these passages show that the Messiah will come from the House of David. All Orthodox Judaism agrees with this. Other passages regarding this same point will be cited later in a different context.

IV — The Sufferings of the Messiah

Isaiah 53

All early rabbis agreed that the Messiah would suffer and die. They referred to the Suffering Messiah as “Messiah, the Son of Joseph,” making Him distinct from Messiah, the Son of David. The central passage that supports this view is Isaiah 53. As we have discussed, the Rabiis following the Masorites corrected their theology since so many Jews were becoming Christians, excising Isaiah 52 and 53.

Psalm 22:1–21

This is another passage dealing with the suffering of the Messiah.

Psalm 22:1–21 NKJV

1 My God, My God, why have You forsaken Me? Why are You so far from helping Me, And from the words of My groaning? 2 O My God, I cry in the daytime, but You do not hear; And in the night season, and am not silent. 3 But You are holy, Enthroned in the praises of Israel. 4 Our fathers trusted in You; They trusted, and You delivered them. 5 They cried to You, and were delivered; They trusted in You, and were not ashamed. 6 But I am a worm, and no man; A reproach of men, and despised by the people. 7 All those who see Me ridicule Me; They shoot out the lip, they shake the head, saying, 8 “He trusted in the Lord, let Him rescue Him; Let Him deliver Him, since He delights in Him!” 9 But You are He who took Me out of the womb; You made Me trust while on My mother’s breasts. 10 I was cast upon You from birth. From My mother’s womb You have been My God. 11 Be not far from Me, For trouble is near; For there is none to help. 12 Many bulls have surrounded Me; Strong bulls of Bashan have encircled Me. 13 They gape at Me with their mouths, Like a raging and roaring lion. 14 I am poured out like water, And all My bones are out of joint; My heart is like wax; It has melted within Me. 15 My strength is dried up like a potsherd, And My tongue clings to My jaws; You have brought Me to the dust of death. 16 For dogs have surrounded Me; The congregation of the wicked has enclosed Me. They pierced My hands and My feet; 17 I can count all My bones. They look and stare at Me. 18 They divide My garments among them, And for My clothing they cast lots. 19 But You, O Lord, do not be far from Me; O My Strength, hasten to help Me! 20 Deliver Me from the sword, My precious life from the power of the dog. 21 Save Me from the lion’s mouth And from the horns of the wild oxen! You have answered Me.

To summarize this passage, we find that the Messiah is forsaken by God, is ridiculed and tormented by the people, and His tormentors gamble away His clothes. He suffers such agony that all His bones come out of joint; His heart breaks with a mixture of blood and water; and His hands and feet are pierced. In many ways, this Psalm is very similar to Isaiah 53, providing even more detail about the type of suffering and agony the Messiah must undergo. The rabbis in the Yalkut also understood this passage to refer to Messiah, the Son of Joseph.

V — The Kingship of the Messiah

In all the passages discussed so far, the Messiah is portrayed as a man, but as a man of sorrows; He was to suffer and die. The earlier rabbis recognized that these passages speak of the Messiah and called Him Messiah, the Son of Joseph. For as Joseph, the Patriarch, suffered at the hands of his brethren, the Messiah would also suffer.

But other Old Testament passages speak of another kind of Messiah: not a sufferer but a conqueror; not a dying Messiah but a reigning One. The rabbis called this One “Messiah, the Son of David.” Most of what is said about the Messiah in Moses and the Prophets revolves around the Messiah’s coming to bring peace and establish the Messianic Kingdom in Israel.

There are far too many such passages to begin listing them here, but two such passages will be quoted in full. It should be noted how differently this Messiah is portrayed compared to all the previous passages thus far discussed. Little wonder the early rabbis were confused and devised the Theory of the Two Messiahs, with each Messiah coming only once.

Isaiah 11:1–10

Isaiah 11:1–10 NKJV

1 There shall come forth a Rod from the stem of Jesse, And a Branch shall grow out of his roots. 2 The Spirit of the Lord shall rest upon Him, The Spirit of wisdom and understanding, The Spirit of counsel and might, The Spirit of knowledge and of the fear of the Lord. 3 His delight is in the fear of the Lord, And He shall not judge by the sight of His eyes, Nor decide by the hearing of His ears; 4 But with righteousness He shall judge the poor, And decide with equity for the meek of the earth; He shall strike the earth with the rod of His mouth, And with the breath of His lips He shall slay the wicked. 5 Righteousness shall be the belt of His loins, And faithfulness the belt of His waist. 6 “The wolf also shall dwell with the lamb, The leopard shall lie down with the young goat, The calf and the young lion and the fatling together; And a little child shall lead them. 7 The cow and the bear shall graze; Their young ones shall lie down together; And the lion shall eat straw like the ox. 8 The nursing child shall play by the cobra’s hole, And the weaned child shall put his hand in the viper’s den. 9 They shall not hurt nor destroy in all My holy mountain, For the earth shall be full of the knowledge of the Lord As the waters cover the sea. 10 “And in that day there shall be a Root of Jesse, Who shall stand as a banner to the people; For the Gentiles shall seek Him, And His resting place shall be glorious.”

The ancient and modern rabbis agree that this passage speaks of the Messiah and the Messianic Age. But unlike the previous passages, there is no picture of a dying Messiah being rebuked and despised by His people. The picture here is of a reigning Messiah who brings peace and prosperity to the entire world; peace extends down to the animal kingdom; the wicked are removed in judgment; and the Messiah’s authoritative word settles differences between the nations. The knowledge of the God of Israel spreads until it covers the entire world. Now that the reigning Messiah has brought peace and prosperity, the world has an intimate knowledge of the God who created it.

Psalm 72:1–19

This is a second passage that gives the same picture.

Psalm 72:1–19 NKJV

1 Give the king Your judgments, O God, And Your righteousness to the king’s Son. 2 He will judge Your people with righteousness, And Your poor with justice. 3 The mountains will bring peace to the people, And the little hills, by righteousness. 4 He will bring justice to the poor of the people; He will save the children of the needy, And will break in pieces the oppressor. 5 They shall fear You As long as the sun and moon endure, Throughout all generations. 6 He shall come down like rain upon the grass before mowing, Like showers that water the earth. 7 In His days the righteous shall flourish, And abundance of peace, Until the moon is no more. 8 He shall have dominion also from sea to sea, And from the River to the ends of the earth. 9 Those who dwell in the wilderness will bow before Him, And His enemies will lick the dust. 10 The kings of Tarshish and of the isles Will bring presents; The kings of Sheba and Seba Will offer gifts. 11 Yes, all kings shall fall down before Him; All nations shall serve Him. 12 For He will deliver the needy when he cries, The poor also, and him who has no helper. 13 He will spare the poor and needy, And will save the souls of the needy. 14 He will redeem their life from oppression and violence; And precious shall be their blood in His sight. 15 And He shall live; And the gold of Sheba will be given to Him; Prayer also will be made for Him continually, And daily He shall be praised. 16 There will be an abundance of grain in the earth, On the top of the mountains; Its fruit shall wave like Lebanon; And those of the city shall flourish like grass of the earth. 17 His name shall endure forever; His name shall continue as long as the sun. And men shall be blessed in Him; All nations shall call Him blessed. 18 Blessed be the Lord God, the God of Israel, Who only does wondrous things! 19 And blessed be His glorious name forever! And let the whole earth be filled with His glory. Amen and Amen.

This Psalm is applied in the Talmud as speaking of the righteous reign of the Messiah. The Targums, the Jewish Aramaic translations and interpretations of the Hebrew Bible, make the first verse read as follows: “Give the sentence of your judgment to the King Messiah, and your justice to the son of David the King.”

The Midrash, or Rabbi commentators, on the Psalms follows suit and connects this Psalm with Isaiah 11:1, quoted previously. Furthermore, among the many different names given to the Messiah by the rabbis of the Talmud, the name Yinnon was taken from the Hebrew rendering of verse 17 in this very Psalm. So, this passage also presents a different view of the Messiah than the others discussed earlier in this study.

This, then, is a twofold picture that presents a major problem to anyone trying to formulate what the Old Testament says about the Messiah.

Other Aspects of the Person of the Messiah

Other passages dealing with the Messiah's kingship give us two other aspects of the Messiah's person. One is the Messiah's sonship with God, and the other involves the God-Man Concept. To get a complete picture of the Old Testament’s concept of the Messiah, we must discuss these two points, which we will touch on briefly.

This morning we continue our study, and now that we have examined what the Old Testament had to say about Yeshua-Jesus, we are going to turn to examine:

January 4, 2026

Good Morning:

Happy New Year

Silent Prayer - Grace Recovery

Scripture reading

Scripture Reading:

Genesis 49:10 NKJV

10 The scepter shall not depart from Judah, Nor a lawgiver from between his feet, Until Shiloh comes; And to Him shall be the obedience of the people.

2 Samuel 7:12–13 NKJV

Isaiah 7:14 NKJV

14 Therefore the Lord Himself will give you a sign: Behold, the virgin shall conceive and bear a Son, and shall call His name Immanuel.

Micah 5:2 NKJV

Isaiah 9:6–7 NKJV

I was going to skip over this study, but as we enter into the New Year, I thought what better way to begin our new year than to focus on:

What the New Testament Says About Yeshua-Jesus

Matthew 1:1 NKJV

1 The book of the genealogy of Jesus Christ, the Son of David, the Son of Abraham:

Introduction

The primary point of the New Testament is that Yeshua (Jesus) is the Jewish Messiah of the Old Testament. While each of the four biographies on the life of Jesus that have come down to us have their own unique theme, they still all make one primary point: that Yeshua-Jesus is the Messiah.

Matthew 1:1 NKJV

1 The book of the genealogy of Jesus Christ, the Son of David, the Son of Abraham:

This opening statement of the New Testament sets the stage for the entire New Testament (Mat. 1:1).

I. Messiahship Kingship Jewishness

Giving Yeshua the title of Messiah points to His Messiahship and has reference to the Messiah spoken of in the Old Testament. The word Christ is simply the Greek word for the Hebrew word Messiah.

Giving Jesus the title of son of Abraham points to Yeshua's Jewishness since, throughout biblical history and theology, Jewishness was always associated with God's covenant with Abraham.

Giving Jesus the title of son of David points to His Kingship because the kingship of the Jews was sustained through the House of David.

The entire New Testament revolves around this opening statement of Matthew 1:1. The various writers of the New Testament repeat, develop, and expand upon it, as the following Scriptures show.

Messiahship: Matthew 1:16

HIs Messiahship is seen in Matthew:

Matthew 1:16 NKJV

16 And Jacob begot Joseph the husband of Mary, of whom was born Jesus who is called Christ.

Messiahship: John 4:25–26

His Messiahship is seen in John

John 4:25–26 NKJV

25 The woman said to Him, “I know that Messiah is coming” (who is called Christ). “When He comes, He will tell us all things.” 26 Jesus said to her, “I who speak to you am He.”

Kingship: Matthew 2:1–2:

His standing as the royal son of David, the rightful King of the Jews, who would be the Messiah of Israel is seen in Matthew.

Matthew 2:1–2 NKJV

1 Now after Jesus was born in Bethlehem of Judea in the days of Herod the king, behold, wise men from the East came to Jerusalem, 2 saying, “Where is He who has been born King of the Jews? For we have seen His star in the East and have come to worship Him.”

Kingship: Matthew 27:37

The claim was well known, such that Pontious PIlate had this epithet placed over Him on the cross. Was this somehow to show that the Romans took out the rightful claimant to the throne who would overthrow both the Edomite Kings - the Herods, and the Emperor?

Matthew 27:37 NKJV

37 And they put up over His head the accusation written against Him: THIS IS JESUS THE KING OF THE JEWS

No, he was not making a political statement that Rome had eliminated the rightful Davidic king.

He was making a mocking legal charge intended to humiliate both Jesus and the Jewish leadership.

But ironically, the inscription publicly declared the very truth the Jewish leaders rejected. This was the formal legal charge for which Rome executed Him.

Rome crucified only for sedition, rebellion, or treason.

“King of the Jews” = claiming kingship without Roman authorization.

This was the only charge that would justify crucifixion under Roman law.

So the inscription is legal, not theological.

Jewishness: John 4:9

John 4:9 NKJV

9 Then the woman of Samaria said to Him, “How is it that You, being a Jew, ask a drink from me, a Samaritan woman?” For Jews have no dealings with Samaritans.

Her point being that Jesus was a Jew.

The dialogue continue with her on this issue of being Jewish and not Samaritan,

John 4:20–24 NKJV

20 Our fathers worshiped on this mountain, and you Jews say that in Jerusalem is the place where one ought to worship.” 21 Jesus said to her, “Woman, believe Me, the hour is coming when you will neither on this mountain, nor in Jerusalem, worship the Father. 22 You worship what you do not know; we know what we worship, for salvation is of the Jews. 23 But the hour is coming, and now is, when the true worshipers will worship the Father in spirit and truth; for the Father is seeking such to worship Him. 24 God is Spirit, and those who worship Him must worship in spirit and truth.”

In verse 23 Christ is indicating that with the advent of the Messiah, the time came for a new order of worship. True worshipers are those who realize that Jesus is the Truth of God (John 3:21; 14:6 )

John 3:21

John 3:21 NKJV

21 But he who does the truth comes to the light, that his deeds may be clearly seen, that they have been done in God.”

John 14:6

John 14:6 NKJV

6 Jesus said to him, “I am the way, the truth, and the life. No one comes to the Father except through Me.

and the one and only Way to the Father (Acts 4:12 ) as Peter would point out to the Sanhedrin.

Acts 4:11-12

Acts 4:11–12 NKJV

11 This is the ‘stone which was rejected by you builders, which has become the chief cornerstone.’ 12 Nor is there salvation in any other, for there is no other name under heaven given among men by which we must be saved.”

To worship in truth is to worship God through Jesus. To worship in Spirit is to worship in the new realm which God has revealed to people. The Father seeks true worshipers because He wants people to live in reality, not falsehood.

Everybody is a worshiper (Rom. 1:25), but because of sin, many are blind and constantly put their trust in worthless objects.

Romans 1:25

Romans 1:25 NKJV

25 who exchanged the truth of God for the lie, and worshiped and served the creature rather than the Creator, who is blessed forever. Amen.

4:24. This is a declaration of His invisible nature. He is not confined to one location. Worship of God can be done only through the One (Jesus), who expresses God’s invisible nature (John 1:18 ),

John 1:18

John 1:18 NKJV

18 No one has seen God at any time. The only begotten Son, who is in the bosom of the Father, He has declared Him.

and by the Holy Spirit, who opens to a believer the new realm of the kingdom

We see this throughout John, John 3:3, 5 ; 7:38–39

John 3:3

John 3:3 NKJV

3 Jesus answered and said to him, “Most assuredly, I say to you, unless one is born again, he cannot see the kingdom of God.”

John 3:5

John 3:5 NKJV

5 Jesus answered, “Most assuredly, I say to you, unless one is born of water and the Spirit, he cannot enter the kingdom of God.

John 7:38-39

John 7:38–39 NKJV

38 He who believes in Me, as the Scripture has said, out of his heart will flow rivers of living water.” 39 But this He spoke concerning the Spirit, whom those believing in Him would receive; for the Holy Spirit was not yet given, because Jesus was not yet glorified.

Jewishness: Galatians 4:4–5

Paul addresses the Jewishness of Jesus, who came redeeming the Jews

Galatians 4:4-5

Galatians 4:4–5 NKJV

4 But when the fullness of the time had come, God sent forth His Son, born of a woman, born under the law, 5 to redeem those who were under the law, that we might receive the adoption as sons.

Jewishness: Hebrews 2:16

Hebrews 2:16

Hebrews 2:16 NKJV

16 For indeed He does not give aid to angels, but He does give aid to the seed of Abraham.

The New Testament dominantly claims Yeshua's Messiahship, Kingship, and Jewishness. This is true in the Gospels, the four biographies of His life, and the rest of the writings that deal with the theology of His life. He is clearly portrayed as the Messiah of the Old Testament.

A. The Son of Joseph

Most of what the Gospels say places Yeshua precisely into the mold of the Old Testament Messiah. He would be the One to whom the rabbis referred as the “Messiah, the Son of Joseph,” meaning Joseph, the Patriarch, who was characterized by suffering.

This is seen in John 1:45:

John 1:45

John 1:45 NKJV

45 Philip found Nathanael and said to him, “We have found Him of whom Moses in the law, and also the prophets, wrote—Jesus of Nazareth, the son of Joseph.”

B. The Son of David

But the four biographies also portray Him as the Messiah whom the rabbis referred to as “Messiah, the Son of David.”

This is found in Luke 1:31c–33:

Luke 1:31-33

Luke 1:31–33 NKJV

31 And behold, you will conceive in your womb and bring forth a Son, and shall call His name Jesus. 32 He will be great, and will be called the Son of the Highest; and the Lord God will give Him the throne of His father David. 33 And He will reign over the house of Jacob forever, and of His kingdom there will be no end.”

II. An Alternative to the Two Messiahs Theory

How could both aspects be true in the same person? The answer of the Talmudic rabbis was to declare that it could not be. Hence, they adopted the Two Messiahs Theory, making one as the Suffering Messiah and the other the Conquering and Reigning Messiah.

The New Testament, however, declares that there is an alternative to the two-Messiahs view and shows how the two aspects can indeed be true of the same person.

A. The Uniqueness of His Birth

First, as has already been stated, the primary point of the Gospels is to portray Yeshua as the Messiah who came to suffer and die for sin. He was the One the rabbis would have called “Messiah, the Son of Joseph.”

Jesus was the Messiah who came into the world in both a normal and a miraculous way; normal, in that He came into the world by birth as do all other human beings; miraculous, in that He was given birth by a virgin.

This is recorded by Luke 1:30–31 and 34–35:

Luke 1:30-31 and 34-35

Luke 1:30–31 NKJV

30 Then the angel said to her, “Do not be afraid, Mary, for you have found favor with God. 31 And behold, you will conceive in your womb and bring forth a Son, and shall call His name Jesus.

Verses 34–35 state:

Luke 1:34–35 NKJV

34 Then Mary said to the angel, “How can this be, since I do not know a man?” 35 And the angel answered and said to her, “The Holy Spirit will come upon you, and the power of the Highest will overshadow you; therefore, also, that Holy One who is to be born will be called the Son of God.

And in Matthew 1:21–23:

Matthew 1:21-23

Matthew 1:21–23 NKJV

21 And she will bring forth a Son, and you shall call His name Jesus, for He will save His people from their sins.” 22 So all this was done that it might be fulfilled which was spoken by the Lord through the prophet, saying: 23 “Behold, the virgin shall be with child, and bear a Son, and they shall call His name Immanuel,” which is translated, “God with us.”

The Gospels view the Virgin Birth of the Messiah, first hinted at in Genesis 3:15 and later developed by Isaiah 7:14, as being fulfilled in the birth of Yeshua.

His Davidic lineage is established by the fact that both Mary, His mother, and Joseph, His stepfather, were descendants of King David. So on His mother’s side, Yeshua was a descendant of David by blood, and on His stepfather’s side by adoption.

B. The Place of His Birth

Furthermore, His birthplace was in Bethlehem, although His parents lived in Nazareth. This is recorded in Luke 2:3–7:

C. His Suffering and Death

1 — Isaiah 53

More than anything else, the sufferings and death of Yeshua fit into the mold developed by Isaiah 53.

a — The Historical Personality

He is portrayed as the historical, individual personality fulfilling, to the letter, the content of Isaiah 53.

b — The Innocent Sufferer—Isaiah 53:4–6, 8b, 9b

Isaiah 53:4–6 NKJV

4 Surely He has borne our griefs And carried our sorrows; Yet we esteemed Him stricken, Smitten by God, and afflicted. 5 But He was wounded for our transgressions, He was bruised for our iniquities; The chastisement for our peace was upon Him, And by His stripes we are healed. 6 All we like sheep have gone astray; We have turned, every one, to his own way; And the Lord has laid on Him the iniquity of us all.

Isaiah 53:8 NKJV

8 He was taken from prison and from judgment, And who will declare His generation? For He was cut off from the land of the living; For the transgressions of My people He was stricken.

Isaiah 53:9 NKJV

9 And they made His grave with the wicked— But with the rich at His death, Because He had done no violence, Nor was any deceit in His mouth.

He was innocent of any sin and so suffered innocently, as we see in 2 Corinthians 5:21:

2 Corinthians 5:21

2 Corinthians 5:21 NKJV

21 For He made Him who knew no sin to be sin for us, that we might become the righteousness of God in Him.

c — The Voluntary and Willing Sufferer

He was a voluntary sufferer and willingly allowed Himself to be mistreated by those who took Him captive, according to John 10:17b–18a:

John 10:17-18

John 10:17–18 NKJV

17 “Therefore My Father loves Me, because I lay down My life that I may take it again. 18 No one takes it from Me, but I lay it down of Myself. I have power to lay it down, and I have power to take it again. This command I have received from My Father.”

Not only did He submit Himself to the mistreatment resulting in suffering and death, but He did so silently, without any real protest.

d — The Silent Sufferer—Isaiah 53:7

One of the very things that surprised and amazed men at His trial was His total silence, never vocalizing protest against the injustice of the false accusations.

Isaiah 53:7 NKJV

7 He was oppressed and He was afflicted, Yet He opened not His mouth; He was led as a lamb to the slaughter, And as a sheep before its shearers is silent, So He opened not His mouth.

In Matthew 27:12–14, we read:

Matthew 27:12-14

Matthew 27:12–14 NKJV

12 And while He was being accused by the chief priests and elders, He answered nothing. 13 Then Pilate said to Him, “Do You not hear how many things they testify against You?” 14 But He answered him not one word, so that the governor marveled greatly.

e — The Vicarious Sufferer—Isaiah 53:4–6, 8, 10, 12

All His sufferings, however, were vicarious; that is, He was suffering for the sins of others rather than His own.

Isaiah 53:4–6 NKJV

Isaiah 53:8 NKJV

8 He was taken from prison and from judgment, And who will declare His generation? For He was cut off from the land of the living; For the transgressions of My people He was stricken.

Isaiah 53:10 NKJV

Isaiah 53:12 NKJV

12 Therefore I will divide Him a portion with the great, And He shall divide the spoil with the strong, Because He poured out His soul unto death, And He was numbered with the transgressors, And He bore the sin of many, And made intercession for the transgressors.

This is recorded in 1 Peter 2:21–24:

1 Peter 2:21-24

1 Peter 2:21–24 NKJV

21 For to this you were called, because Christ also suffered for us, leaving us an example, that you should follow His steps: 22 “Who committed no sin, Nor was deceit found in His mouth”; 23 who, when He was reviled, did not revile in return; when He suffered, He did not threaten, but committed Himself to Him who judges righteously; 24 who Himself bore our sins in His own body on the tree, that we, having died to sins, might live for righteousness—by whose stripes you were healed.

f — The Death of the Messiah—Isaiah 53:8, 12

Isaiah 53:8 NKJV

8 He was taken from prison and from judgment, And who will declare His generation? For He was cut off from the land of the living; For the transgressions of My people He was stricken.

Isaiah 53:12 NKJV

The New Testament writers see the death of the Messiah to be the fulfillment of all the factors regarding the death of the Suffering Servant in Isaiah 53. Just as the suffering of the Servant ended in death, after scourging, mockery, and crucifixion, so too Yeshua died. Just as the Suffering Servant was treated as a criminal and died a criminal’s death, so Jesus, by dying a death through crucifixion, died a criminal’s death along with two other criminals. The death of the Suffering Servant was a result of a judicial sentencing and a judicial judgment.

Yeshua underwent two trials.

The first was a religious one in which He was condemned on false charges of blasphemy and sentenced to death;

the second was a political trial by the Romans on false charges of fomenting rebellion against Caesar.

Again, He was sentenced to death and underwent the Roman type of tortuous death.

Although, like the Suffering Servant, He was assigned a criminal’s grave, He was, nevertheless, buried in a rich man’s tomb, according to Matthew 27:57–60:

Matthew 27:57-60

Matthew 27:57–60 NKJV

57 Now when evening had come, there came a rich man from Arimathea, named Joseph, who himself had also become a disciple of Jesus. 58 This man went to Pilate and asked for the body of Jesus. Then Pilate commanded the body to be given to him. 59 When Joseph had taken the body, he wrapped it in a clean linen cloth, 60 and laid it in his new tomb which he had hewn out of the rock; and he rolled a large stone against the door of the tomb, and departed.

g — The Resurrection of the Messiah—Isaiah 53:10–11a

Isaiah 53:10–11 NKJV

10 Yet it pleased the Lord to bruise Him; He has put Him to grief. When You make His soul an offering for sin, He shall see His seed, He shall prolong His days, And the pleasure of the Lord shall prosper in His hand. 11 He shall see the labor of His soul, and be satisfied. By His knowledge My righteous Servant shall justify many, For He shall bear their iniquities.

In the Isaiah passage, the Suffering Servant does not stay dead but is resurrected to see the results of His sufferings and death. Three days after the body of Yeshua was buried in a rich man’s tomb, His death gave way to resurrection. The Gospels record that forty days after the Resurrection, He ascended into Heaven and now sits at the right hand of God, just as the Suffering Servant was to be: exalted and lifted up, and shall be very high (Is. 52:13).

Isaiah 52:13 NKJV

13 Behold, My Servant shall deal prudently; He shall be exalted and extolled and be very high.

h — Justification and Reconciliation—Isaiah 53:5–6, 11b

Finally, the Isaiah passage concluded that the Suffering Servant would bring justification and spiritual healing to those who would accept His substitutionary death on their behalf. He would bring justification, redemption, and reconciliation to many. Whether or not Jesus had done this will be discussed later.

Isaiah 53:5–6 NKJV

5 But He was wounded for our transgressions, He was bruised for our iniquities; The chastisement for our peace was upon Him, And by His stripes we are healed. 6 All we like sheep have gone astray; We have turned, every one, to his own way; And the Lord has laid on Him the iniquity of us all.

Isaiah 53:11 NKJV

11 He shall see the labor of His soul, and be satisfied. By His knowledge My righteous Servant shall justify many, For He shall bear their iniquities.

2 — Psalm 22

Not only is the life of Yeshua portrayed as fitting the mold of Isaiah 53, but it is also portrayed as fitting the mold of Psalm 22.

a — Psalm 22:1

Psalm 22:1 NKJV

1 My God, My God, why have You forsaken Me? Why are You so far from helping Me, And from the words of My groaning?

While dying on the cross, Jesus cried out the first verse of the psalm in Matthew 27:46:

Matthew 27:46

Matthew 27:46 NKJV

46 And about the ninth hour Jesus cried out with a loud voice, saying, “Eli, Eli, lama sabachthani?” that is, “My God, My God, why have You forsaken Me?”

b — Psalm 22:18

Psalm 22:18

The Roman soldiers gambled for His clothes, according to Matthew 27:35:

Matthew 27:35

Matthew 27:35 NKJV

35 Then they crucified Him, and divided His garments, casting lots, that it might be fulfilled which was spoken by the prophet: “They divided My garments among them, And for My clothing they cast lots.”

And John 19:23–24:

John 19:23-24

John 19:23–24 NKJV

23 Then the soldiers, when they had crucified Jesus, took His garments and made four parts, to each soldier a part, and also the tunic. Now the tunic was without seam, woven from the top in one piece. 24 They said therefore among themselves, “Let us not tear it, but cast lots for it, whose it shall be,” that the Scripture might be fulfilled which says: “They divided My garments among them, And for My clothing they cast lots.” Therefore the soldiers did these things.

c — Psalm 22:6–8

While Yeshua hangs on the cross, the people ridicule, using almost the very same words found in Psalm 22:8.

Psalm 22:6–8 NKJV

6 But I am a worm, and no man; A reproach of men, and despised by the people. 7 All those who see Me ridicule Me; They shoot out the lip, they shake the head, saying, 8 “He trusted in the Lord, let Him rescue Him; Let Him deliver Him, since He delights in Him!”

Matthew 27:43 states:

Matthew 27:43

Matthew 27:43 NKJV

43 He trusted in God; let Him deliver Him now if He will have Him; for He said, ‘I am the Son of God.’ ”

d — Psalm 22:14–15

As in Psalm 22, when a spear pierced His side, a mixture of blood clots and water serum poured out, which is the sign of death, the natural post-mortem state of the body.

Psalm 22:14–15 NKJV

14 I am poured out like water, And all My bones are out of joint; My heart is like wax; It has melted within Me. 15 My strength is dried up like a potsherd, And My tongue clings to My jaws; You have brought Me to the dust of death.

e — Psalm 22:16b

Finally, His hands and feet, having been nailed to the cross, were pierced just as those of the person in Psalm 22 were pierced.

Psalm 22:16 NKJV

16 For dogs have surrounded Me; The congregation of the wicked has enclosed Me. They pierced My hands and My feet;

Summary: The Jesus of the New Testament is portrayed as the Messiah of the Old Testament regarding His suffering and death. In all, Jesus fulfilled about three hundred prophecies dealing with the coming of the Messiah by His life, suffering, death, and Resurrection. According to the New Testament, He fulfilled all the rabbis expected of the Messiah, the Son of Joseph.

End of

We continue our review of

Acts in the Flow of Historic Thought

When Western civilization rediscovered the original-language manuscripts of the Bible, it led to a study of the original. And at the same time—late 1400s—the combination of the printing press and the ability to mass produce Bibles in Greek texts, plus the invasion into Europe of the Muslim hordes, caused the monasteries that were in the areas which had the treasures of ancient MSS and scrolls to gather them up and flee into Europe. Things that had been hidden away in monastic libraries for literally a thousand years or so suddenly came to light. This was part of the Renaissance. In southern Europe, the Renaissance drove scholars to consult the sources of Aristotle and Plato through the Greek and Roman writers. But in central and northern Europe, especially Germany, Switzerland, and France, it drove them to the sources of the Scripture. That is what caused genuine revival; that is what brought light into darkness. But it also brought about the overthrow of the authority of the Roman Catholic Church.

Once the authority that had really dominated everybody and kept everything under control for over a thousand years in Western Europe began to be questioned and thrown off, some really weren’t interested in being under God's authority either, so they became independent. They were the forerunners of modern secular humanists. They became Enlightenment thinkers seeking absolute truth, paying no attention to the Bible and rejecting any external authority. That led to a questioning of Biblical accuracy. So, starting in the late 100s and early 1700s, there were these Enlightenment thinkers who assumed that God certainly couldn’t communicate with people. That took root and eventually flowered in the early nineteenth century, giving birth to what has become known as nineteenth-century European Protestant liberalism. It has affected everything, so that today, when we think of Presbyterian theology, Methodist theology, or even Judaism, we see its influence. Presbyterian and Methodist theology is not today what it was 130 years ago. Everything changed in the late 19th and early 20th centuries, and among Protestants, that was called the fundamentalist-modernist movement. Modernists, for those who rejected Biblical authority, rejected miracles, rejected Pauline authorship as much as they could, rejected the deity of Christ, rejected the literal resurrection of Christ, all on the presupposition that the Bible is just a fallible human book written by fallible human beings. There is no such thing as God inspiring an inerrant and infallible Scripture. Part of that was an attack on both the Gospel of Luke and the book of Acts for being historically inaccurate in various places.

But those attacks made in the late 1700s and the early 1800s, even though they gave rise to an anti-Biblical theological system, had their foundational ideas disproved by historical and archaeological discoveries in the late 19th century and into the 20th century. Nevertheless, those liberal ideas had taken hold, and people still would teach them. There was the documentary hypothesis about the multiple documents behind the Pentateuch, which was clearly disproved by archeology and the discovery and analysis of many ancient documents in the early 20th century. Yet you can still go to university and be taught this as fact by many historians.

Luke’s accuracy as a historian was challenged throughout the 1700s and 1800s. But there was a scholar by the name of William Ramsey who was one of the early archeologists and historians and theologians who did a tremendous amount of work, especially in the area of Greece and what is now Turkey, to validate the history that we have in Luke and Acts, and to validate the fact that Luke was exactly right in the way he wrote things. For example, when he refers to certain provinces in Asia Minor, he uses the correct terms and those appropriate to his period. The terms for leaders, government officials, and similar positions would change. Those who were rulers in Thessalonica used different terms than those that were used in Athens, and those were different from the terms that were used in Corinth. Maybe 100 years earlier, they were different, and 200 years later, they were different, but the terms Luke uses in Acts were accurately correct for that time period. His geography is correct. All of the things that he refers to just as an aside reflect the culture, the history, the geography, the politics, and the administration of this period of time, and have clearly been demonstrated to be accurate, so that no legitimate scholar today doubts or questions the historicity of either the Gospel or the book of Acts. Luke has it right, and it has been demonstrated.

The author of Acts was acquainted with the various political arrangements in the provinces covered in the narration of Paul’s missionary journeys. When Paul was in Cyprus, the proconsul was in charge, and although there had been many changes in a brief period, Luke used the correct title when describing the proconsul. Philippi is accurately described as a Roman colony in Acts. This was when Paul was thrown into prison, and the next day, he emphasized that he was a Roman citizen. If that city was a Roman colony and he was a Roman citizen, then how they treated him was entirely outside the law, and that meant they could be brought up on charges and executed for treating a Roman citizen in such a manner. In Thessalonica, the unusual term politarches [politarxej] is used. That term was not used anywhere else in the entire Roman empire, but evidence now shows that that is what the rulers in Thessalonica were called. In Malta, the ruler is called “chief man,” but the Greek term used is accurate for that period. Also, at Ephesus, there are correct references to the local government organization. All of this is to show that when Luke talked about the rulers, the different terms he used, and the ways he described the geography and travels, accurately reflect what we have learned about that time through archaeology, scriptural evidence, and historical writings. Luke shows that he genuinely is a man of that era. Luke could not have been written in the second century after Christ, because conditions were very different then, so it must have been written in the middle of the first century.

The Herods: The trouble is that the term “Herod,” like Caesar, came to be applied to all of his sons, those of the family, and so it can get a little confusing. Herod the Great, in his youth, really was an incredible, accomplished, educated individual. He had a passion for architecture, and the projects he worked on were just incredible. But he was a man who, as time went by, became erratic, neurotic, psychotic, and paranoid. He believed, with some good reason in some cases, that his sons were all out to kill him so that they could take over the kingdom. To forestall their conspiratorial attempts to overthrow or kill him, he had them executed. Reading the life and times of Herod the Great and his family, as he marries one woman and divorces, and then marries another, would outdo any soap opera on television.

Herod ruled from 37 BC to 4 BC. When he died, his kingdom was divided among his sons. Herod Archelaus, who ruled from 6 BC, is called an ethnarch. Another son, Herod Antipas, is called a tetrarch and is significant in the book of Acts because he reigned until 39 AD. Herod Philip, then tetrarch, is barely involved in the period of Acts and rules only until 34. When Antipas died, he was succeeded by Herod Agrippa I, who ruled from 39-44, and he is specifically mentioned in Acts 12. Herod Agrippa II succeeded him.

Herod the Great was an Idumite, i.e., a descendant of Esau. The territory of the Idumites is in the south of Judea. In 47 BC, he was appointed governor of Galilee. At the time of his appointment, he got into trouble with the Jewish authorities on several occasions. He was stirring up too much trouble, so the Romans appointed him to be the governor of Syria within a couple of years. In 41 BC, Mark Anthony appointed Herod and his brother to be tetrarchs of Judea. Then, in 40 BC, the Parthians invaded and gained control of Jerusalem. They worked with various rebellious elements among the Jews and caused a revolt to take place. The Parthians came from the area of Persia and Iraq, which was the same area as the old Babylonian empire, made up of the Medes and the Persians. The Parthians were the inheritors of the Medes and the Persians, and one of the Medes' tribes was called the Magi. They had an extensive background in various types of magic, astronomy, and astrology, and it is believed that, because of the use of that term in the Aramaic text of Daniel, Daniel, because of his ability to interpret Nebuchadnezzar's dreams, was made a member of this Magi caste. Later, this caste became so powerful within the basic structure of the Parthian empire that they determined the succession to kingship. So the Magi actually played a significant role in appointing the successive kings in the Parthian empire.

In 40, with Herod in power, this insurrection occurs in Judea, fomented by the Parthians, and he has to flee. They installed Antigonus, one of the leaders of the Maccabean dynasty, as a puppet ruler in Jerusalem. His brother was captured, and before he could be tortured, he committed suicide. Herod took his family to Masada, where he was protected in a fortification, and then he went to Rome for help against the Parthians. He approached Mark Anthony and Octavian Augustus, and they appointed him king of the Jews. They sent him back with the appropriate Roman support, and he eventually succeeded in expelling the Parthians from Judea and Galilee. In the process, thousands of Jews are slaughtered. They are fighting against Herod with the Parthians because they don’t want Rome to dominate them. So this does not make Herod very popular among the Jews.

The succession to Herod was a mess. His sons Alexander and Aristobulus, the sons of Mariamne I, were his favorites. He dotes on them, but as they come to adulthood and have been spoiled, they become a little impatient for his death, so that they could inherit the kingdom, and decide to help nature along a little bit, maybe. They are found guilty of conspiracy to kill him and are executed by strangulation in 7 BC. Antipater is then the one, the son of his first wife Doris, who is brought back from exile, but he grows impatient as well and attempts to poison Herod. But it didn’t go well, and instead, Herod’s other brother drank the poison. Antipater was imprisoned. Herod had to wait for Caesar's permission to execute him. In the meantime, he designated Archelaus as king in his place, then appointed his next son, Antipas, as the tetrarch of Galilee and Perea, and Philip as the tetrarch of the area of Eritrea.

Herod died miserably in 4 BC. He had Antipater executed just a few days before his death. Archelaus and Antipas then go to Rome to dispute the inheritance line. Augustus compromised by making Archelaus the ethnarch—ruler of Idumea, Judea, and Samaria. Antipas is made tetrarch over Galilee and Perea.

Archelaus doesn’t last very long, but he is the worst of Herod’s sons. Before going to Rome to dispute the inheritance with Antipas, he had 3000 killed by putting down a revolution that was led by people who were avenging those his father had killed. He was so brutal that the Jewish authorities sent a delegation to Rome to protest his being appointed as the ethnarch. He further angers the Jews by marrying his half-brother, Alexander’s, widow. And he is so repressive and intolerable that finally, he is removed by the emperor. The birth of Jesus occurred just before 4 BC, and the death of Herod the Great. So, Jesus had to have been born about a year before Herod died.

Herod Antipas, the ruler of Galilee and Perea, is the ruler through the first nine chapters of the book of Acts. He is the Herod who imprisoned and executed John the Baptist, Mark 6:14-28.

Jesus refers to him as the fox, Luke 13:32.

Luke 13:32

Luke 13:32 NKJV

32 And He said to them, “Go, tell that fox, ‘Behold, I cast out demons and perform cures today and tomorrow, and the third day I shall be perfected.’

Like his father, he is a gifted architect and administrator. He built the city of Tiberius, which he named for the emperor. His family life and marriages are just about as confusing as his father’s. Initially, he married the daughter of the Nabatean king. Then he divorced her to marry Herodius, the wife of his half-brother Herod Philip. This is the marriage John the Baptist announced as unlawful. This is what eventually led to John losing his head. The Nabatean king wasn’t happy that his daughter had been divorced. He took it as an affront, so he attacked Antipas in AD 36. Antipas was defeated, and this is viewed as divine judgment for the execution of John the Baptist. In AD 39, his nephew Herod Agrippa informed the emperor Caligula that Antipas was plotting against him, and so Antipas was deposed and exiled until his death.

The last significant figure in Acts is Herod Agrippa, also referred to as Herod the king in Acts 12. He is the son of Aristobulus, the grandson of Herod the Great, and following the execution of his father in 7 BC, he grew up in Rome with extremely close ties to the emperor’s family. There was a messianic thought about him. That is important to understand. A lot was going on behind the scenes. There was a sort of messianic aura about Herod Agrippa, and so when he came to take his place as ruler of the kingdom, he was idolized by the people. Acts doesn’t go into much detail on this. Still, it is thought that this is one of the reasons that when the people in Caesarea are idolizing him, and they are shouting that he is like a god, God took him out of the picture at that point because a sort of messiah cult could have developed around him. This is another way God protects the infant church. He had a son, Herod Agrippa II, and two daughters, Berenice (Acts 25:13) and Drusilla. It was to Herod Agrippa that Paul explained the gospel.

There are seven progress reports in the book of Acts. In Acts 2:47, we are told that the people who heard Peter’s first sermon on the day of Pentecost were praising God, having favor with all the people, and the Lord added to the church daily those who were being saved. In Acts chapter seven, the Word of God spread, and the number of the disciples multiplied greatly in Jerusalem, and a great many of the priests were obedient to the faith. So there were many who trusted Jesus as the Messiah.

In Acts 9:31 NASB

Acts 9:31

Acts 9:31 NKJV

31 Then the churches throughout all Judea, Galilee, and Samaria had peace and were edified. And walking in the fear of the Lord and in the comfort of the Holy Spirit, they were multiplied.

So, there are literally tens of thousands of Jewish people being converted. The church was primarily Jewish until the period of the sixties, so for the first thirty years, it was Jewish, and then the gospel went to the Gentile nations via Paul.

Acts 12:24 is the fourth marker.

Acts 12:24

Acts 12:24 NKJV

24 But the word of God grew and multiplied.

The next is in Acts 16:5

Acts 16:5

Acts 16:5 NKJV

5 So the churches were strengthened in the faith, and increased in number daily.

Next, Acts 19:20

Acts 19:20

Acts 19:20 NKJV

20 So the word of the Lord grew mightily and prevailed.

Finally, in Acts 28:31,

Acts 28:31

Acts 28:31 NKJV

31 preaching the kingdom of God and teaching the things which concern the Lord Jesus Christ with all confidence, no one forbidding him.

Remember Acts 28:31. This is near the end of Acts and is a sort of summary, talking about what is going on. They were preaching the kingdom of God. What does that mean? We must think about that because this idea of the kingdom of God, as we will see, is present from the very beginning.

The key verse in Acts is 1:8 NASB “but you will receive power when the Holy Spirit has come upon you; and you shall be My witnesses both in Jerusalem, and in all Judea and Samaria, and even to the remotest part of the earth.” Those three divisions are Jerusalem, 1:1-6:7; Judea and Samaria, 6:8-12:25; to the end of the earth, 9:32-28:31.

In the first section, God the Holy Spirit authenticates, empowers, and directs the apostles’ witness in Jerusalem. God always authenticates what He is doing. Nothing happens in private; God always authenticates with some public validation, the greatest of which is the resurrection.

In Acts 1:3 we are told NASB

Acts 1:3

Acts 1:3 NKJV

3 to whom He also presented Himself alive after His suffering by many infallible proofs, being seen by them during forty days and speaking of the things pertaining to the kingdom of God.

There is validation. Jesus gives them confirming empirical evidence that He is alive.

“… appearing to them over {a period of} forty days and speaking of the things concerning the kingdom of God.”

So during those forty days from the resurrection until ten days before the day of Pentecost, Jesus is teaching them about the kingdom of God. Then the last verse in the book of Acts says that, as the church expands, it is teaching about the kingdom of God. So what does that mean? It is very important to understand.

So, God through the Holy Spirit authenticates what He is doing, validates it. He empowers the church through the coming of the Holy Spirit. Jesus promised that not many days from then, they would receive power when the Holy Spirit had come upon them. So, the growth of the church is not a natural phenomenon; it is the result of the work of God the Holy Spirit within the church. The Holy Spirit empowers and directs their witness initially in Jerusalem, as described in the first five chapters. The division in the first two chapters is the birth of the new spiritual entity, the church. At the very beginning is the prologue in the first three verses. Jesus provided convincing evidence of His resurrection and taught the disciples about the kingdom of God.

Acts 1:1

Acts 1:1 NKJV

1 The former account I made, O Theophilus, of all that Jesus began both to do and teach,

Here, Luke is just starting a second volume of something he has already started. He is continuing the record of all that had taken place, initially with Jesus in His public ministry up to the resurrection, and now he is going to continue with what happened after the resurrection. In Greek, the second word, which is untranslated, is men [men]. It is often untranslated and is put into a narrative because it is one of those words that, in Greek writing and storytelling, creates an expectation in the reader’s mind that something else is coming. As soon as you see the word, you know that there is more to come; it raises the expectation of ongoing action.

He writes this to Theophilus. This is the same Theophilus that is mentioned in Luke 1:3 – NASB

Luke 1:3

Luke 1:3 NKJV

3 it seemed good to me also, having had perfect understanding of all things from the very first, to write to you an orderly account, most excellent Theophilus,

He investigated carefully. This is how Luke was; he was a historian. The name Theophilus literally means—Theo from Theos/God; philus from phileo/love—someone who is dear to God or loved by God. Some people think this was a pseudonym for someone high up in Caesar's household. Others think this was just an idealized name for someone, not a particular individual, but for anyone who was a lover of God. But none of this is really necessary. Theophilus was a common name, as attested by documents from the first century. This also fits the style typical of how someone would address a patron, someone who perhaps helped finance them so they could carry on their research and write this kind of book. We see this with Josephus’ writings. At the beginning of his first volume of Against Apion, he addresses the volume to Epaphroditus, whom he refers to as “the most excellent of men.” The second volume of Against Apion is introduced by the words “by means of the former volume, my most honored Epaphroditus, I have demonstrated our antiquities.” So we see that the way Luke begins the book of Acts is very typical of the way things were written at that time. He is going to write about the things that Jesus began both to do and to teach. That was what was in the former account: the beginning of Jesus’ earthly ministry, the miracles He performed, and what He taught.

Acts 1:2

Acts 1:2 NKJV

2 until the day in which He was taken up, after He through the Holy Spirit had given commandments to the apostles whom He had chosen,

In this verse, to make good sense, it is necessary to rearrange all of the clauses in the Greek. So, to retranslate:

“Until which day He was taken up, He had already [aorist participle] given orders to the apostles whom He had chosen through the Holy Spirit.”

This introduces us to the doctrine of apostleship.

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