Chapter 4. The Messianic Prophecies of Salvation
1. God’s Standards
Before beginning this section I want to repeat what was written before: the unique, Christian Messiah is not just a political ruler, but also a divine Saviour. Having viewed his powerful person in the last chapter, let’s view what the Old Testament prophesied concerning the benefits of his work for us. First we must set aside some space to establish why it is that we need a saviour.
A. Why Do We Sin?
This is a very complicated question; anthropology is perhaps the most oversimplified and underdeveloped branch in all of theology. First, it is obvious that we do have something like a “sin nature,” for we all commit ceaseless transgressions against God with our thoughts, desires, words, and actions. Yet what does a “sin nature” actually mean? Did God alter man’s DNA in Eden to have “sin genes?” Or rather does he impute to us sinful spirits? Both options seem altogether unthinkable.
Rather, it probably has everything to do with our spiritual and covenantal dispensations being changed because of Adam and Eve’s sin {although as with the fangs of nature, it’s possible the make-up of humans were changed to a small extent, yet not as being explicitly pointed to iniquity}. When they transgressed, mankind lost God’s special presence and effectual spiritual power, while gaining the enormous responsibility of having to keep the whole moral law through their own efforts. It doesn’t really matter how it happens, but due to our lust, selfishness, anger, faithlessness, fruitlessness, etc., we can all be daily assured that we are deep in transgression.
[OT] The heart is more deceitful than all else and is desperately sick; who can understand it? -- Jeremiah 17:9
[NT] If we say that we have no sin, we are deceiving ourselves and the truth is not in us. -- 1 John 1:8
B. What is the Punishment of Sin?
When the first couple transgressed, a frightful declaration was enacted: “Dying you shall die” (Genesis 2:17; [mYLT]). Most translations use the infinitive absolute in Hebrew simply to intensify another verb, so this phrase is rendered, “You shall surely die.” The infinitive absolute should be translated however. We are dealing with the Word of God, not a grammar rodeo. “Dying you shall die” is the true rendering; for note the fulfilment of these verses in the book of Revelation, where the dead die a second death:
[NT] And I saw the dead, the great and the small, standing before the throne, and books [Or scrolls] were opened; and another book [Or scroll] was opened, which is [the book] of life; and the dead were judged from the things which were written in the books [Or scrolls], according to their deeds. And the sea gave up the dead which were in it, and death and Hades gave up the dead which were in them; and they were judged, every one [of them] according to their deeds. Then death and Hades were thrown into the lake of fire. This is the second death, the lake of fire. And if anyone’s name was [Lit anyone was] not found written in the book of life, he was thrown into the lake of fire. -- Revelation 20:12-15
And we are all heading to this place of the second death, for we all, like Adam, stand condemned:
[OT] Fathers shall not be put to death for [Or with] [their] sons, nor shall sons be put to death for [Or with] [their] fathers; everyone shall be put to death for his own sin. -- Deuteronomy 24:16
[NT] …The wages of sin is death… -- Romans 6:23
It is also implicit that if we do not die then we do not have to go to the second death. This is how the Messiah’s death is able to save us from the Lake of Fire; he has set his seal upon his believers that they shall be resurrected unto eternal life {John Macarthur often points out the common New Testament designation of the death of the believer being mere sleep}, thereby overcoming the first death …
[NT] For God so loved the world, that He gave His only [Or unique, only one of His kind] begotten Son, that whoever believes in Him shall not perish, but have eternal life. -- John 3:16
C. We are Unable to Work
Many simply try hard to avoid all thoughts of judgment and Hell, but some are convicted, and will put forth an effort to render obedience and perform good works. There’s a problem however: a husband isn’t impressed by the scrambled eggs of a wife who committed adultery the night before. When we sin we are condemned, and are no longer in a place where any of our works can come before God:
[OT] “Thus says the LORD of hosts, ‘Ask now the priests [for] a ruling [Lit law]: If a man carries holy meat in the fold [Lit wing] of his garment, and touches bread with this fold [Lit his wing], or cooked food, wine, oil, or any [other] food, will it become holy?’” And the priests answered, “No.” Then Haggai said, “If one who is unclean from a corpse [Lit soul] touches any of these, will [the latter] become unclean?” And the priests answered, “It will become unclean.” -- Haggai 2:11-13
If a man was defiled then what he touched became defiled, even his good works. Now this is what God said to rebuke the former captives of Babylon who were risking their lives to build God’s Temple! How much less is he impressed when we donate a pair of old shoes! Fig leaves were the way Adam and Eve sought solace from their guilt (Genesis 3:7), and all of our efforts are of equal worth:
[OT] For all of us have become like one who is unclean, and all our righteous deeds are like a filthy garment; and all of us wither like a leaf, and our iniquities, like the wind, take us away. -- Isaiah 64:6
D. We are Unable to Continually Atone
Some religions take provision for sin; that is, they understand condemnation and the need to be forgiven and so they have certain things that can be done for propitiation if their mark is missed every once in a while. Let us look at the insufficiency of such systems by taking a glance at a popular framework found within Christian circles. Many churches across many denominations teach the exact same error: if a major sin is committed, then salvation has been forfeited, and so the transgressor needs “re-baptized” or “re-dedicated;” i.e., he or she needs fresh cleansing judicially or all is lost. But there’s a problem: no matter how much sanctification we undergo, no matter how much we pray for inner strength, no matter how much we sequester ourselves and no matter how much we strive, we still all commit “cosmic treason” [to borrow a term from R.C. Sproul] against God every single day of our lives. The general consensus is that these “serious sins” encompass most of the Ten Commandments (and some conservatives include other portions of Scripture as well). Who has gone a day without violating these precepts in heart, if not in other ways? We are never able to make enough reparation if the process of judicial scrutiny is ongoing.
And what of the Mosaic sacrificial system? Does it not offer respite apart from a slain Messiah? Read the books of Moses. You may be amazed to find that there isn’t an offer for atonement concerning real sin (apart from some forms of theft, but let’s not wrangle over exceptions). The law of the Levitical priesthood was designed to teach spiritual truths by cleansing lepers or people who touched dead insects, etc.; there isn’t any verse that says, “When you have committed murder bring two turtle-doves” (and we all commit murder every time we are angry without good cause; Matthew 5:21-22). If anyone is guilty of a real sin then Moses offers them no hope:
[OT] The priest shall make atonement before the LORD for the person who goes astray when he sins unintentionally, making atonement for him that he may [Or and he shall] be forgiven. You shall have one law for him who does [anything] unintentionally, for him who is native among the sons of Israel and for the alien who sojourns among them. But the person who does [anything] defiantly {literally, “with a high hand”}, whether he is native or an alien, that one is blaspheming the LORD; and that person shall be cut off from among his people. -- Numbers 15:28-31
Of course modern Judaism is without a Temple and has been forced to substitute prayers in its place. But if the commandments of Moses could only guard against grasshoppers, how effective are the words of a prayer-book over-against the Day of Judgment?
We need another form of atonement, one that is Biblical and one that is complete. This is offered in the Christ…
2. Regeneration through the Messiah
We all go astray; if we are to turn back, it is because God turns us back. Sometimes it happens in a matter of minutes; others search for the truth for months or years. The point is that we never seek the atonement God offers on our own. It is a gift of God (Ephesians 2:8), and it is through the Messiah. The most amazing of all Messianic prophecies proves this:
[OT] I will pour out on the house of David and on the inhabitants of Jerusalem, the Spirit [Or a spirit] of grace and of supplication, so that they will look on Me whom they have pierced; and they will mourn for Him, as one mourns for an only son, and they will weep bitterly over Him like the bitter weeping over a firstborn…In that day a fountain will be opened for the house of David and for the inhabitants of Jerusalem, for sin and for impurity. -- Zechariah 12:10, 13:1
[JPS: And I will pour upon the house of David, and upon the inhabitants of Jerusalem, the spirit of grace and of supplication; and they shall look unto Me because they [That is, the nations. See verse 9] have thrust him through; and they shall mourn for him, as one mourneth for his only son, and shall be in bitterness for him, as one that is in bitterness for his first-born…In that day there shall be a fountain opened to the house of David and to the inhabitants of Jerusalem, for purification and for sprinkling….
Before saying a word about the mammoth line of who is being pierced, let’s look at the last word, rendered “impurity” in the NASB and “sprinkling” in the JPS. Both renderings are good Christianity. The term however is “nidah,” meaning “impurity.”
As for who’s being pierced, here’s the Hebrew…
vav [and] hibeetu [they have looked/(with vav, “they shall look”); see Numbers 21:9 below] aylai [to/towards + me] aleph-tav [direct object marker] asher [that/which/who] dakaru [they pierced/ran through]
“Me” was pierced. Hashem was pierced.]
The Jews are God’s eternal people, yet they have been treated no differently than any other nation (apart from order of presentation) regarding the Gospel; there have been remnants who have believed among all the different people groups. Yet one day at the end, God will pour forth his Holy Spirit upon the Israelites in a special way, and they will all call upon the Messiah and be saved from massive hoards of haters (see Psalm 18 and Zechariah 14). And here’s when they shall call: when they recognize their slain Messiah, and look to him for cleansing. They shall not call however until they receive the spirit to call; they shall not look for grace until the spirit of grace is poured out upon them. He who was pierced in their midst is the same one who shall enlighten their eyes to recognize his salvation. This is just like one of the greatest Gospel pictures in the books of Moses:
[OT] The people spoke against God and Moses, “Why have you brought us up out of Egypt to die in the wilderness? For there is no food [Lit bread] and no water, and we loathe [Lit our soul loathes] this miserable food.” The LORD sent fiery serpents among the people and they bit the people, so that many people of Israel died. So the people came to Moses and said, “We have sinned, because we have spoken against the LORD and you; intercede with the LORD, that He may remove the serpents from us.” And Moses interceded for the people. Then the LORD said to Moses, “Make [Lit Make for yourself] a fiery [serpent,] and set it on a standard {i.e., a “pole”}; and it shall come about, that everyone who is bitten, when he looks at it, he will live.” And Moses made a bronze serpent and set it on the standard; and it came about, that if a serpent bit any man, when he looked to the bronze serpent, he lived. -- Numbers 21:5-9
[JPS: And the people spoke against God, and against Moses: “Wherefore have ye brought us up out of Egypt to die in the wilderness? For there is no bread, and there is no water; and our soul loatheth this light bread.” And the LORD sent fiery serpents among the people, and they bit the people; and much people of Israel died. And the people came to Moses, and said: “We have sinned, because we have spoken against the LORD, and against thee; pray unto the LORD, that He take away the serpents from us.” And Moses prayed for the people. And the LORD said unto Moses: “Make thee a fiery serpent, and set it upon a pole; and it shall come to pass, that every one that is bitten, when he seeth it, shall live.” And Moses made a serpent of brass, and set it upon the pole; and it came to pass, that if a serpent had bitten any man, when he looked unto the serpent of brass, he lived.
The NASB has the manna being called “miserable,” while the JPS has “light.” The BDB defines “k’lokayl,” the term in question, as “contemptible/worthless.” This word is derived from “kalal” which means “to be slight/trifling;” so thus both versions are accurate from different vantage points.]
Those made to feel the punishment of death by the hand of God were to look at the likeness of the inflicting serpents hanging on a pole, thereby receiving health and life from God…
[NT] He made Him who knew no sin [to be] sin on our behalf, so that we might become the righteousness of God in Him. -- 2 Corinthians 5:21
The Messiah was the first cause of creation, and he must also be the first cause of our redemption. He was slain not only to give us salvation from sins, but also to give our repentance which leads to such forgiveness…
[NT] The God of our fathers raised up Jesus, whom you had put to death [Or on whom you had laid violent hands] by hanging Him on a cross [Lit wood]. He is the one whom God exalted to [Or by] His right hand as a Prince [Or Leader] and a Savior, to grant repentance to Israel, and forgiveness of sins. -- Acts 5:30-31
3. Messiah the Substitute
So if we do repent of being sinners and look to the finished work of Christ as being the sole way of forgiveness, just what really happens? In this section we are going to review the passages that describe the simple yet vital transaction that comes immediately upon our exercising saving faith: the completely perfect life of Christ becomes ours while the fullness of our sins are actually placed on him through the veil of time.
A. The Called Volunteer
[OT] My son, if you have become surety for your neighbor, have given a pledge [Lit clapped your palms] for a stranger, [if] you have been snared with the words of your mouth, have been caught with the words of your mouth, do this then, my son, and deliver yourself; since you have come into the hand [Lit palm] of your neighbor, go, humble yourself, and importune your neighbor. Give no sleep to your eyes, nor slumber to your eyelids; deliver yourself like a gazelle from [the hunter’s] hand and like a bird from the hand of the fowler. -- Proverbs 6:1-5
[JPS: My son, if thou art become surety for thy neighbour, if thou hast struck thy hands for a stranger -- thou art snared by the words of thy mouth, thou art caught by the words of thy mouth -- do this now, my son, and deliver thyself, seeing thou art come into the hand of thy neighbour; go, humble thyself, and urge thy neighbour. Give not sleep to thine eyes, nor slumber to thine eyelids. Deliver thyself as a gazelle from the hand [of the hunter], and as a bird from the hand of the fowler.]
[NT] Then Jesus *came with them to a place called Gethsemane, and *said to His disciples, “Sit here while I go over there and pray.” And He took with Him Peter and the two sons of Zebedee, and began to be grieved and distressed. Then He *said to them, “My soul is deeply grieved, to the point of death; remain here and keep watch with Me.” And He went a little beyond [them,] {some manuscripts have instead, “approached [God] a little”} and fell on His face and prayed, saying, “My Father, if it is possible, let this cup pass from Me; yet not as I will, but as You will.” And He *came to the disciples and *found them sleeping, and *said to Peter, “So, you [men] could not keep watch with Me for one hour? Keep watching and praying that you may not enter into temptation; the spirit is willing, but the flesh is weak.” He went away again a second time and prayed, saying, “My Father, if this cannot pass away unless I drink it, Your will be done.” Again He came and found them sleeping, for their eyes were heavy. And He left them again, and went away and prayed a third time, saying the same thing once more. -- Matthew 26:36-44
The book of Proverbs speaks in several places about the danger of committing yourself to someone. Becoming someone’s “guarantor” is risky business, and the Bible’s book of wisdom smartly says to avoid it if possible. Even before the foundation of the world however the Messiah volunteered to put up a pledge for his people regarding righteousness with God, and in the Garden of Gethsemane this oath came to a head.
A marauding band from the chief priests were soon to ransack the small group of disciples and so the Messiah did all he humanly could to encourage his friends to be awake and vigilant; but his attempts were in vain. He alone had the strength to face the trial. Just so, he alone has the moral potency to have a perfect righteousness with God, and so he must give himself on our behalf, as we cannot pay the price of complete obedience. He agreed with the Father to be our surety; had we been obedient he would have lived, but because of our languid morals he had to die. He had to stand in the gap for our redemption if he was to fulfil his task of bringing us home to Heaven:
[NT] For Christ, while we were still weak, at the right time, died on behalf of the impious [or, ungodly]. For scarcely [or, only rarely] will anyone die on behalf of a righteous [person]; for perhaps someone even dares [or, might be prepared] to die on behalf of the good [person]. But God demonstrates His own love to [or, for] us, [in] that us still being sinful [people] [fig., while we were still sinners], Christ died on our behalf! -- Romans 5:6-8; [ALT3]
Though we were sinfully without strength, God sent to us the only one who had the power of the Almighty within him to overcome sin in the flesh:
[NT] No one who is born [Or begotten] of God practices sin, because His seed abides in him; and he cannot sin, because he is born [Or begotten] of God. -- 1 John 3:9
[OT] Let Your hand be upon the man of Your right hand, upon the son of man whom You made strong for Yourself. -- Psalm 80:17
[JPS: Let Thy hand be upon the man of Thy right hand, upon the son of man whom Thou madest strong for Thyself.]
B. The Transaction of Iniquity
The above section from Matthew, when the Messiah wrestles in prayer with the shadow of Golgotha upon him, may seem disturbing at first glance. Many martyrs have died valiantly; if Jesus was truly the LORD of Glory, would he have behaved in this way? One has to understand that more was upon him that night than the shadow of the valley of death; the sins of his people were also upon him, not figuratively, but actually….
[OT] Sacrifice [I.e. Blood sacrifice] and meal offering You have not desired; my ears You have opened [Lit dug; or possibly pierced]; burnt offering and sin offering You have not required. Then I said, “Behold, I come; in the scroll of the book it is written of [Or prescribed for] me. I delight to do Your will, O my God; Your Law is within my heart”…Evils beyond number have surrounded me; my iniquities have overtaken me, so that I am not able to see; they are more numerous than the hairs of my head, and my heart has failed [Lit forsaken] me. -- Psalm 40:6-12; portions
[JPS: Sacrifice and meal-offering Thou hast no delight in; mine ears hast Thou opened; burnt-offering and sin-offering hast Thou not required. Then said I: “Lo, I am come with the roll of a book which is prescribed for me; I delight to do Thy will, O my God; yea, Thy law is in my inmost parts”…Innumerable evils have compassed me about, mine iniquities have overtaken me, so that I am not able to look up; they are more than the hairs of my head, and my heart hath failed me.
The big difference comes with the line about the roll. Both begin with “I have come,” and then deviate sharply from each other. Let’s look at what the Hebrew says after “I have come…”
bet [in/with/on] m’gilat sayfer [roll of a book] katuv [literally “written,” although idiomatically the idea of prescription is possible] alai [upon/on the ground of/according to/on account of/on behalf of/concerning + me]
As one can see, the language is vague enough to allow for either version.]
The book of Hebrews contains an enlightening exposition on the first half of this quote:
[NT] After saying above, “SACRIFICES AND OFFERINGS AND WHOLE BURNT OFFERINGS AND [sacrifices] FOR SIN YOU HAVE NOT DESIRED, NOR HAVE YOU TAKEN PLEASURE [in them]” (which are offered according to the Law), then He said [Lit has said], “BEHOLD, I HAVE COME TO DO YOUR WILL {some manuscripts add, ‘O God’}.” He takes away the first in order to establish the second. By this [Lit which] will we have been sanctified through the offering of the body of Jesus Christ once for all. -- 10:8-10
But it is the second part that speaks of Gethsemane. Sampson was a Nazarene from birth who styled his hair into seven long locks (see Judges 16:13). They were cut at the same time his eyes were blinded, and this man of amazing strength found himself to be the object of ridicule and violence at the hand of his venomous enemies.
The Messiah in Gethsemane actually had the sins of his people placed upon him; no longer as a promise, but a present reality. The Lord didn’t waver that night because he was afraid to die; he wavered that night because he had become his people and therefore the glory of the seven-partitioned Spirit [which we will review later] was momentarily eclipsed. In the blink of an eye he found himself to be the greatest of all sinners before the throne of his Holy Father. This is also why he spoke the most doleful of all words upon the Cross: My God, my God, why have you forsaken me? He wasn’t play-acting, but rather was truly being forsaken, that he might open for us the pearly gates…
Now Samson lay until midnight, and at midnight he arose and took hold of the doors of the city gate and the two posts and pulled them up along with the bars; then he put them on his shoulders and carried them up to the top of the mountain… -- Judges 16:3
[JPS: And Samson lay till midnight, and arose at midnight, and laid hold of the doors of the gate of the city, and the two posts, and plucked them up, bar and all, and put them upon his shoulders, and carried them up to the top of the mountain…]
C. The Taken Cup
Adam at the instigation of Eve took the forbidden fruit and set in motion the ruin of us all. The Messiah wasn’t compelled to take the cup, but he took it because he loved us and knew it was the only way it could be drained; and because his Father is so perfectly just, he knew that it had to be drained. When Adam and Eve sinned in Eden, God shortly thereafter “preached” the first “Gospel sermon”:
[OT] And Hashem God says unto the serpent, “Because you have done this, cursed [are] you above all the cattle, and above every beast of the field: on your belly do you go, and dust you do eat, all days of your life. And enmity I put between you and the woman, and between your seed and her seed; he does bruise {or, “crush”} you -- [the] head, and you do bruise {or, “crush”} him -- [the] heel.” -- Genesis 3:14-15; [mYLT]
[JPS: And the LORD God said unto the serpent: “Because thou hast done this, cursed art thou from among all cattle, and from among all beasts of the field; upon thy belly shalt thou go, and dust shalt thou eat all the days of thy life. And I will put enmity between thee and the woman, and between thy seed and her seed; they shall bruise thy head, and thou shalt bruise their heel.”
In the first verse the YLT says that the serpent will be cursed “above” the rest of the animals, while the JPS says that it will be cursed “from among” them. This is because of the many different ways the prefix “mem/min” can be used in Hebrew. Both of the usages employed here are very common. It’s possible that the JPS intended the same meaning as the YLT.
The second verse provides one of the more significant differences. Let’s set the scene. God created the world and all things in it, made a special garden, placed man (and later woman) in it, and told them to obey the one law of not eating from the Tree of Knowledge of Good and Evil. The serpent comes along (Christians believe this snake to be Satan, as in Revelation 12:9, while the Jews do not universally hold this view) and tempts Eve to eat of the tree, who in turn tempts Adam. God comes, and the time of reckoning is at hand. Adam blames Eve for the sin, who in turn blames the serpent.
God begins levying punishments for the transgression, starting with the serpent. He promises that there will come a “zera,” and that this zera will crush the serpent, while also being crushed by the serpent. The problem is that the term “zera” has a double meaning. It can refer to a single child or to progeny in general, much like the term “offspring” which can mean one or many. The YLT says “he” shall bruise the snake and that the snake shall bruise “him,” while the JPS says, “they shall bruise thy head, and thou shalt bruise their heel.”
The YLT takes “zera” to refer to one child and the JPS to many children. The YLT is without a doubt the literal translation, for the terms translated “he” and “him” (as opposed to “they” and “their” in the JPS) are indeed 3rd person masculine singular. The JPS translators could easily answer back however and show examples from the Hebrew Bible where collective nouns that are meant to be taken in a plural way are commonly paired with pronouns that do not strictly agree in number.
Therefore, this argument cannot be completely settled in a linguistic manner, although the YLT is truly the literal version here. Besides, Eve, Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob, all sought to crown one of their children with the blessing, not all of them (of course with Jacob the blessing was split between Joseph and Judah, hence the minority-Jewish idea of two Messiahs).]
The heel shall be hurt by crushing the head of the snake; this is the sense of the verse. They heard this promise and then were sent out of Eden, the way to eternal life being guarded by powerful angels:
[OT] So He drove the man out; and at the east of the garden of Eden He stationed the cherubim and the flaming sword which turned every direction to guard the way to the tree of life. -- Genesis 3:24
[JPS: So He drove out the man; and He placed at the east of the garden of Eden the cherubim, and the flaming sword which turned every way, to keep the way to the tree of life.]
Later in Genesis the Akedah occurs, the binding of Isaac, a story highly significant to Jews and Christians. It is in the morning service of the Jewish prayer-book, and of course it is one of the greatest pictures of Mt. Calvary in the Old Testament…
[OT] Now it came about after these things, that God tested Abraham, and said to him, “Abraham!” And he said, “Here I am.” He said, “Take now your son, your only son, whom you love, Isaac, and go to the land of Moriah, and offer him there as a burnt offering on one of the mountains of which I will tell you”…Abraham took the wood of the burnt offering and laid it on Isaac his son, and he took in his hand the fire and the knife. So the two of them walked on together. Isaac spoke to Abraham his father…“Behold, the fire and the wood, but where is the lamb for the burnt offering?” Abraham said, “God will provide [Lit see] for Himself the lamb for the burnt offering, my son”…Abraham built the altar there and arranged the wood, and bound his son Isaac and laid him on the altar, on top of the wood. Abraham stretched out his hand and took the knife to slay his son. -- Genesis 22:1-10; portions
[JPS: And it came to pass after these things, that God did prove Abraham, and said unto him: “Abraham;