Blog 2023-01-03
▸ ± Joh 1:14 And the Word was made flesh, and dwelt among us, (and we beheld his glory, the glory as of the only begotten of the Father,) full of grace and truth. 15 ¶ John bare witness of him, and cried, saying, This was he of whom I spake, He that cometh after me is preferred before me: for he was before me. 16 And of his fulness have all we received, and grace for grace. 17 For the law was given by Moses, [but] grace and truth came by Jesus Christ.
As early as Mark and Matthew, the apostles had discerned that the letters have meaning. This is the character of notarikon. They used the mem מ and final mem ם to represent the Father and the Son when teaching about moving the mountain to the sea.
By the letter:
- ayin ע - he became flesh
By formation:
- Shin - ש increase of the word, the bride returning with the groom
- Word - 'amar' אמר, 'Light אר with the promise of the Father מ in it's heart' א(מ)ר
- Word - 'bar-a' בר-א 'The Son בר who created א'
- Light - 'ayer' אר, 'Johovah א revealed ר'
- son - 'bar' בר
- flesh - 'basar' בשר, 'son בר with a marriage ש in his heart' ב(ש)ר or 'The creator-son ברא was made flesh בר to obtain a bride.
The Word was made flesh, or the Son looking for a bride.
The alphabet tells much about him dwelling with us.
- gimal ג - he pursued us
- zayin ז - we were chosen as a bride
- tet ט - he taught us
- yod י - he made us new
- ayin ע - he became flesh
...more
▸ ± Pr 25:2 [It is] the glory of God to conceal a thing: but the honour of kings [is] to search out a matter.
The OT mystery conceals Christ in prophetic riddle. We had the honor of discovering the riddles and seeing that his glory is that he has been involved in all the details of creation from the beginning. John is displaying the mystery and glorifying God through his book. Previously men could only recount the visible actions of God. Now we can recount the unfathomable riches contained in his mystery revealed.
Only begotten of the Father [∞]
- Begotten 'yalad' ילד - reference to a birth.
The Greek's had many half-god-half-men who were produced by relations of mythical gods and human females. John eliminates all such myths and speculations from the discussion.
Jesus was born.
- grace - 'chen' חן 'understanding ח the death of the son of man ן.
- truth - 'emeth' אמת, 'mother אמ of the life created by the revelation ת.
The formation of truth is interesting and locks with a different approach.
- revelation - 'rosh' ר
- revelation complete with a new life - 'tov' ת
- word - 'amar' אמר
- truth - 'emet' אמת or the word finished with a new life.
Grace is the expression of love in the flesh. Truth is the expression of Love in the spirit. Jesus represented the Father by grace and truth, while the Holy Spirit represent the Father as Holy and just.
He that cometh after me is preferred before me [∞]
This is one part of the motif of "the Last shall be first". Jesus came after John as the last, but he is the first, having no beginning. The First and Second Son motif is part of this.
The witness [∞]
𝐓𝐡𝐞 𝐖𝐢𝐭𝐧𝐞𝐬𝐬
Joh 1:6 There was a man sent from God, whose name [was] John. 7 The same came for a witness, to bear witness of the Light, that all [men] through him might believe. 8 He was not that Light, but [was sent] to bear witness of that Light. 9 [That] was the true Light, which lighteth every man that cometh into the world. 10 He was in the world, and the world was made by him, and the world knew him not. 11 He came unto his own, and his own received him not. 12 But as many as received him, to them gave he power to become the sons of God, [even] to them that believe on his name: 13 Which were born, not of blood, nor of the will of the flesh, nor of the will of man, but of God.
The doctrinal pattern of Two has been well established in the previous gospels. Notice that John is the only one not to call John the Baptist 'the Baptist'. If anyone needed to distinguish himself from the Baptist, it would be John. John the Baptist did not testify that Jesus was the Light, or the Holiness of God. He testified that he was the Word and the Lamb of God. The purpose of John's gospel is to declare that Jesus is the Holy God. The Baptist testified to Christ in the flesh, and John testified to Christ in the mystery. Christ is the 'Elohim'. John is the only gospel author who identifies Jesus as the Light.
Neither John is the light. This is an important declaration in the context of a growing Gnostic contingent which understands Light to represent knowledge. John's writings have been mistakenly considered to be Gnostic by some. Up front he separates himself from such things. Though he will reveal many mysteries, he is not the light.
Now, this may seem like a heresy to those who are indoctrinated by the Nicolaitans. In one sense, Jesus in the flesh was not the greatest teacher, John was. Jesus taught a lot but no one understood him. He died alone, abandoned by his best students. John revealed the hidden mysteries of Christ. Jesus did not come to be a great teacher and model. By his perfect life (his holiness represented by light) he condemned us, having faced the same temptations without sin. He removed our excuses. Jesus came to be the culmination of all revelation, joining Holiness a Love in a perfect display of the character of the Father on the cross. But the apostles, and WE are his teachers. Jesus did not "Teach the World to Sing". We, now being made in his likeness in the flesh, are now the 'word' of God as he is the 'Word' of God.
The Baptist, is part of the First and Second Son Theme. The first son represents the flesh, the second the Spirit. The first loses his inheritance, the second gains it. Haran and Abram, Abram and Abraham. Ishmael and Isaac. Esau and Jacob. Jacob and Israel, Saul and David, Elijah and Elisha... it is a long list which includes John and Jesus, Adam and Jesus. The first son is not the light. The second son is made Holy and obtains the inheritance.
"The world knew him not" sounds redundant to "his own received him not" but they are opposite sayings. The world did not 'know' Jesus in 'marriage'. The Hebrew word for marriage is also 'doctrine'. Jesus was untouched by the teaching of the world though he was in the world. He is the untaught teacher, the unleavened bread. His own did not receive his teaching, they did not receive him.
Those who were his own did not receive him... but they were still his own. Those the Father gave to him eventually come to him, but not until after the cross. 'As many as received him; these are not ones given to him by the Father. Jesus said he only came for the Jews, but then also saved Gentiles. In the flesh he chose to save the Jews and not judge them at the Wedding in Cana. Later he chose to save the Gentiles when a woman wanted the crumbs from the table.
John is properly using the male gender... 'sons of God' as those who understand. There are no 'daughters of God, nor female angels because all the males in the Bible represent Christ (remember the coffee drinkers?) and all the women represent the church, his bride, those who are taught by Christ. The woman was deceived. The woman is taught by her husband. The silly oath of a woman can be cancelled by her husband. He gave us power to be sons who understand God.
We can become sons "IF" we believe on his name. There is nothing magic in that. His name is not a mantra or secret passsword. In Hebrew 'name' also means reputation. Do we believe in his reputation? Do we believe in the finished work of the cross? When we pray in his name, we are praying in his reputation. We don't pray for vengeance, but for mercy and love for our enemies. We don't pray for junk. We pray that we can be free from junk to follow him. And though we may pray to remove the cup of suffering, we are content to be in the will of the Father.
All of the desolate women of the Bible who have a child by the Spirit of God paint the virgin birth motif. The end of this is not the virgin birth of Christ, but it is our birth by the Spirit and that which is not of the flesh. We are 'born of a virgin' figuratively when we are born of the Spirit. The physical birth of Christ has been covered well by Matthew and Luke; John need not repeat it. Matthew and Luke had not yet recognized that we are included in that prophetic motif.
▸ ± Joh 1:1 In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. 2 The same was in the beginning with God. 3 All things were made by him; and without him was not any thing made that was made. 4 In him was life; and the life was the light of men. 5 ¶ And the light shineth in darkness; and the darkness comprehended it not.
John obtained his doctrine from the word-play and notarikon of the first three words of Geensis 1:2.
In the beginning was the Word [∞]
- beginning בראשית
- Word ברא *
- 'Bara' ברא is translated 'created'. In Hebrew, by way of interpretation, if five guys had coffee and one had it hot, they all had it hot, since they are five pictures of one man, even though literally they may be five different men. Whenever God created, he spoke, so 'bara', by interpretation is 'the Word which created.
Observe that 'bara' ברא is in 'the beginning' בראשית. In bereshit was the bara, and in the beginning was the Word.
▸ ± Ge 1:1 בראשית ברא אלהים...
- Word - 'bara' ברא
- God - 'elohim' אלהים
Bara is next to Elohim, so the Word was with God.
- Word - 'bara' ברא
- Son - 'bar' בר
- Spoke and created the heavens and the earth - א
The Word is the 'bar-a' בר-א; the son בר who spoke and created the heavens and the earth א. So the Word was the Son and creator, therefor he was God.
The same was in the beginning with God [∞]
Ge 1:1 בראשית
- In the beginning
- Word - 'bara' ברא
- Son - 'bar' בר
- create - א or ברא
- God - the Son בר who created א
- Revelation to man - ב (Christ)
All of these are in the beginning בראשית.
All things were made by him [∞]
- In the beginning - 'bereshit' בראשית
- All creation - yod י
Without him there was nothing made [∞]
- All things - yod י
- Him - 'yah' י a name of God.
He made all things by his own being. ▸ ± Col 1:17 And he is before all things, and by him all things consist.
- God - 'elohim' אלהים
- God's life - 'el chaim' אלחים (a pun to Elohim)
The life was the light of men [∞]
- God's life - 'el chaim' אלחים
- not dark (light) - 'lo chuwm' ( a pun to life )
- man - 'ish' אש. Woman is the female ה man אש, or אשה.
- in the beginning - 'bereshit' בראשית there was a covenant 'barit' ברית with man at the center אש or בר(אש)ית.
The life of Christ was the expression of Holiness (light) to men, according to the covenant from the beginning.
The light shined in the darkness [∞]
- God - 'elohim' אלהים
- not dark (light) - 'lo chuwm' ( a pun to life )(a pun to God)
Before God created light, there was darkness. But the light was hidden in his name as a pun.
The darkness did not comprehend the light [∞]
- light - an expression of holiness
- darkness - 'chasak' חשך means 'hold back, keep in check, a covering
Darkness, by definition, expresses attributes of love. It covers a multitude of sins. It holds back the wrath of God produced by his holiness. Grace does not understand Holiness. Love is together and Holiness is separate. We only understand that God is both through the perfect expression of his nature through the cross.
𝐏𝐫𝐨𝐥𝐨𝐠𝐮𝐞𝐬
𝐌𝐚𝐫𝐤'𝐬 𝐩𝐫𝐨𝐥𝐨𝐠𝐮𝐞
Mr 1:1 The beginning of the gospel of Jesus Christ, the Son of God;
Mark is recording the gospel according to Peter. the gospel records Peter's recollection of the life of Christ shortly after the resurrection. References to scripture are likely from the memory of Jesus teaching either in the upper room or memory correlations with scripture he had learned. There is not a lot of evidence of understanding the deep things of the mystery, but a cursory understanding that what Jesus did was prophesied. This is a relative statement comparing him the the later gospels.
He states that he is starting at the beginning of the gospel and will go on to tell of the preaching of John the Baptist. This is when he became aware of the redemptive mission of Christ, and relies on his memory and looks to scripture to validate his memory.
𝐌𝐚𝐭𝐭𝐡𝐞𝐰'𝐬 𝐩𝐫𝐨𝐥𝐨𝐠𝐮𝐞
Mt 1:1 The book of the generation of Jesus Christ, the son of David, the son of Abraham.
𝐆𝐞𝐧𝐞𝐫𝐚𝐭𝐢𝐨𝐧 𝐨𝐟 𝐉𝐞𝐬𝐮𝐬 𝐂𝐡𝐫𝐢𝐬𝐭
Matthew starts his gospel with the answer to his riddle. He will list forty-one generations in the genealogy of Jesus, then say there are forty-two. Where is the last one? The mystery generation are those whom he will call brother, sister and mother. Though Mark has the saying that those who do his will shall be called such, he could not include it as a riddle since he did not yet see that the literal history of Israel was itself a parable and riddle.
Matthew will use the literal history as prophecy and show how Israel acted out the parable of Christ in many ways. This is the book of the spiritual family of Jesus as he lived among them and taught them.
𝐒𝐨𝐧 𝐨𝐟 𝐃𝐚𝐯𝐢𝐝
The theme of Matthews's book is the Kingdom of Heaven. He has chosen this part of the prologue as a callback to Ecclesiastes 1:1 The words of the Preacher, the son of David, king in Jerusalem.
Compare 'word's of the preacher' with 'book of the generation of Jesus Christ'. Jesus is the Preacher, being the incarnate Word of God. Ecclesiastes contains wisdom of the earthly kingdom and Matthew contains wisdom of the heavenly kingdom adding to the prophetic pattern of Two. David is a type of Christ, and so both books refer to Jesus as king in Jerusalem, though Matthew does so at the end of his book with the sign posted on the cross.
𝐒𝐨𝐧 𝐨𝐟 𝐀𝐛𝐫𝐚𝐡𝐚𝐦
During the time between Mark's gospel and Matthew's, the Hebrew church has come to realize that their history is a parable of Jesus. This is in fulfillment of what God had told them: De 28:37 And thou shalt become an astonishment, a proverb [parable], and a byword, among all nations whither the LORD shall lead thee.
As Matthew continues with the genealogy, he establishes four titles of Jesus from the genealogy. Even the record of his kin is a prophetic riddles to which Matthew eludes. He does not write a scholarly work crossing all of his t's and dotting his i's but the messenger delivering the gospel to churches can preach through it, since Hebrew boys were taught the scripture well.
𝐌𝐚𝐫𝐤 𝐢𝐧𝐜𝐥𝐮𝐝𝐞𝐝
There are very few teachings in Mark that are not included in Matthew. Effectively Matthew could be seen as Mark (edition 2) with new material added. As we run into these we will discuss plausible reasons from the theme and purpose why they may have been left out. This does not intimate that they are not true, but that at the time of Matthew, they were no longer the focus of teaching within the church.
𝐋𝐮𝐤𝐞'𝐬 𝐩𝐫𝐨𝐥𝐨𝐠𝐮𝐞
Lu 1:1-4 Forasmuch as many have taken in hand to set forth in order a declaration of those things which are most surely believed among us, 2 Even as they delivered them unto us, which from the beginning were eyewitnesses, and ministers of the word; 3 It seemed good to me also, having had perfect understanding of all things from the very first, to write unto thee in order, most excellent Theophilus, 4 That thou mightest know the certainty of those things, wherein thou hast been instructed.
Luke declares that he is making a systematic record of the testimony of eyewitnesses to the life of Christ. He had access to both Mark and Matthew, as well as people who were still alive from the time of Christ. There are a few things missing in Luke that are in Matthew. Of particular note are some of the parables. Since both Mark and Matthew were still in circulation, there was no compelling reason to be fastidious in recapitulation. His choice to include material from Matthew and Mark, therefor, has to do with and editorial choice to fit his agenda. Particular differences in the handling of material can be attributed to the more mature proficiency in unpacking riddle.
Notice that Theophilus had been instructed in things not yet contained in scripture. one of Luke's motivations is to validate the oral teaching that was being spread and stave off errors introduced by oral tradition. He is perhaps one of the first 'sola scriptura' proponents.
The church, by this time had begun to play with words as found in the OT. All of the OT names have meaning which is significant to unpacking God's intended meaning. Luke knows that he is writing the third edition of "The Life of Christ" not merely a letter for one man. He uses the man's name to address the larger audience. 'Theophilus' means 'God lover'. He wrote the book for all who love God. Matthew intentionally use word-play when explaining 'Yeshua' and it is inconceivable that Luke would not have recognized it in his use of Theophilus.
Luke has learned from the previous books that a bit of intellectual humility is in order in declaring the beginning of the gospel. Mark identified it at the preaching of John the Baptist; Matthew as the calling of Abraham. Though he now understands that the record of Adam to Abraham is also a parable of Christ, he is content to place the genealogy in a logical flow in the life of Christ, rather than at the beginning of his book.
It may seem undignified to paint the NT authors in a friendly competition in teaching the cool things they have been discovering in scripture. But these are some of the same guys who were in a not-so-friendly competition for a seat next to Christ in the kingdom. They are goaded in friendly theological banter not only by the nature of childish word-play, but by the proverb "iron sharpens iron" making it a good thing to encourage one another to dive deeper in scripture and communicate the mystery better.
𝐉𝐨𝐡𝐧'𝐬 𝐩𝐫𝐨𝐥𝐨𝐠𝐮𝐞
Joh 1:1 In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God.
John jumps into the book writing business with Mark, Matthew and Luke in front of him. These books are in wide circulation and he sees no reason to merely restate what they have said. His motivation is to capture the latest theological discoveries in the mystery.
He pushes the beginning of the gospel to the very beginning of God's revelation, and later demonstrates the fullness of the plan of God within the alphabet itself, to say that the beginning of the gospel occurred before the beginning.
The doctrine of John's first sentence is derived from the word-play and notarikon of the first three words of Genesis 1:1.
𝐅𝐨𝐮𝐫 𝐠𝐨𝐬𝐩𝐞𝐥𝐬
Mark presents Jesus as the prophet; he fulfills prophecy. Matthew speaks of Jesus as the king of the kingdom of heaven. Luke explains to a largely Greek church that unlike the Roman Ceasars who were men claiming to be gods to be served, Jesus was God who made himself man to serve, as the priest and sacrifice. John declares Jesus to be the creator of all heaven and earth.
