by James C. Whitman
While walking the stone streets of Old Jerusalem, a friend asked me a question that no doubt eventually crosses the mind of every fervent follower of Jesus. How are we to reconcile, he asked, God's instructions to use violent force in the Hebrew Scriptures (OT) with the teaching and model of Jesus in the Apostolic Writings (NT)?
Behind this honest inquiry is the core issue of divine immutability. Does God change? And if he does, how can we be sure he won't change again? The clues are in God's Word, and he desires to make himself known more intimately and actively in your life through study as an act of worship. In this article, I want us to behold the consistent character of our great Creator across the Testaments while providing some practical suggestions that can help you read and teach the Bible for all it's worth!
Jesus of Nazareth is where we begin our study because the God of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob commands it, “This is my Son, my Chosen One; listen to him!” (Luke 9:35). We must not underestimate the importance of this first step. The picture of God that we hold deep in the center of our being determines how we see ourselves and how we act toward others. Only his Son can provide what we hunger and thirst to know. We come to the Son; the Son brings us to the Father.
The Timing of the Father
“When the fullness of time had come, God sent forth his Son” (Gal 4:4) was how our apostles understood Jesus' first coming; more specifically his life and work among us. The mindset of Messiah Jesus—ablaze with the Holy Spirit—was that of a Jewish man in the second temple period. The Chosen One's milieu included the Hebrew language, Jewish faith and practice, and the sociopolitical setting of Israel during this chosen time. His redeeming work of teaching and healing—as well as his cross, empty tomb, and Spirit outpouring—arise from and make sense within this context. The work of tuning into these historical realities is what we call cultivating a Hebraic perspective.
All this poses an obvious but easy to overlook question, how did Jesus read the Hebrew Scriptures? Again, how did Jesus understand the character of the Holy One of Israel, the one whom he called "my Father"? As the Prophet that Moses told us would come, we look to Jesus to rightly interpret the Hebrew Scriptures for us (Acts 3:22). And he does just that, “Whoever has seen me has seen the Father” (John 14:9). By way of analogy, the Master's portrait as presented in the four Gospels clearly shows that Jesus felt about the OT like we feel about the NT; that he felt about the Father the way we feel about the Son.
The Actions of the Son
Pressed by his critics, Jesus lays down an extraordinary challenge, “If I am not doing the works of my Father, then do not believe me” (John 10:37). He goes on to implore them to start with his deeds and discern in them the acts of his Father. On the one hand, ancient Jewish literature shows that this way of reasoning has precedent:
"What means the text, 'Ye shall walk after the Lord your God' (Deut. 13.4)? Is it, then, possible for a man to walk after the Shechinah of which it is written, "The Lord thy God is a devouring fire" (Deut. 4. 24)? But the meaning is to follow the attributes of the Holy One, blessed be He: as He clothed the naked (Gen. 3. 21), so do you clothe the naked; as He visited the sick (Gen. 18. 1), so do you visit the sick; as He comforted mourners (Gen. 25. 11), so do you comfort those who mourn; as He buried the dead (Deut. 34. 6), so do you bury the dead'" (Babylonian Talmud, Sotah 14a).
On the other hand, John understood that when we watch Jesus in action, he is doing more than imitating YHWH. He is—with every deed—revealing the character and intent of the God we read about on every page of the Hebrew Scriptures. Why? So that we will believe and come to him in order to live a joyous life of obedience!
The Words of the Son
“When you have lifted up the Son of Man, then you will know that I am he and that I do nothing on my own authority, but speak just as the Father taught me” (John 8:28). Jesus, the Jewish Messiah, was taught God's Word by the very God who spoke those words into time and space. The Father discipled his Son! What's more, the Son's words carry the same weight as the Father's words, “Heaven and earth will pass away, but my words will not pass away” (Mark 13:31, cf. Mat 5:18).
We must continually wrestle with the implications of this truth because we have trouble balancing justice and mercy; our tendency is to tilt to one side or the other. Not so the Father. His every word emanates from a heart of holy love and has as its ultimate goal, blessing. Once you recognize the pattern of Jesus unveiling the Father, it has a self-educating effect. But keep this in mind, Jesus plainly states that our ability to know the God of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob is a work of the Holy Spirit based on the atoning work of his crucifixion.
There is so much more to explore, but it's time to wrap this up with two practical suggestions that can help incorporate these concepts into the way we read and teach the Bible.
Tip 1: When you read or hear God in the NT, think the God of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob—Jesus did! Here's an example, "And as for the resurrection of the dead, have you not read what was said to you by God: ‘I am the God of Abraham, and the God of Isaac, and the God of Jacob’? He is not God of the dead, but of the living" (Matt 22:31, cf. Ex 3:6). Titles have their place but by necessity create distance and separation. Personal names, however, are meant to be a sign of nearness and intimacy.
Tip 2: When you read or hear the word LORD in the OT, think the Father of Jesus—or as he taught us to pray, "our Father." Translators use the convention of small caps (LORD) to convey the personal name YHWH, by which the Father revealed himself to our forefathers. We tend to read LORD as a title (like Lord in the NT, which primarily denotes someone in authority). Practicing this tip can help us return to the personal quality the Father intended. Rest assured the Father will take care of teaching us about his holiness. As a matter of fact, the above follows the pattern of Jesus, who taught us to pray "our Father" followed by "hallowed is your Name." Try reading Numbers 6:22-27 this way. Now try saying it this way to someone you love. The results are transformational.
The sum of the matter is this, when Jesus says, “Whoever has seen me has seen the Father” in John 14:9, he is not introducing a new, improved model of deity. Rather he is re-presenting YHWH as he is, was, and will forever be. Certainly, there is mystery involved as the God of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob is in Messiah reconciling the world to himself. But Jesus' statement in context is more practical than mystical—he is clarifying, even giving us a principle by which to interpret the Scriptures and discern the way forward in our present circumstances.
The Question Answered
When we keep the Testaments connected, we come into greater contact with the holy character of the One True God, who reveals himself in covenant relationship as Father. One way to answer the question with which this article opened is to point out that the text clearly shows the violence required to take Canaan was non-normative, specific, limited, and temporary while serving the purpose of purging evil and promoting good. Once the territory promised to Abraham was completely secured, Israel defended but did not seek to conquer other lands; a way of life that continues to this day. But there is more to the story.
First, let me be clear—God is not on trial here, our faith is. We need help getting free from our human-centric ways of reading the text. The dialogue-producing response that I shared with my friend that day was this—in deeply profound, mysterious ways beyond searching out—the events surrounding the children of Israel taking possession of the Promised Land arose from the Father's desire to bless. Or to sharpen the point, the cross of Jesus is the defining principle by which we interpret and begin to grasp every word and deed that proceeds from the God of Abraham, Isaac, Jacob, and Jesus. May you have ears to hear what the Spirit is saying concerning the heart of the Father, "For I the LORD do not change." (Malachi 3:6)
Read the previous article in this series, Connecting the Testaments or the next article, A Lamb, Slain.
==============
Want to study this subject in-depth? We recommend Special $3 Download: The Call of the Father.
Take me back to the library. Or if you prefer, back to the topic One, True God.