IS THE

MESSIAH GOD?

by:

LABIB MIKHAIL

First Printing October 1980

Scripture Quotations Are From The King James Version

Of The Bible Unless Otherwise Noted

Printed In The United States of America

Foreword By Dr. John Gustavson

Preface 1

Introduction 7

Chapter	1	The Triune God	13
Chapter	2	The Redeemer of Mankind	27
Chapter	3	The Old Testament
		Prophecies	43
Chapter	4	The Sinless Life Of
		The Messiah	67
Chapter	5	The Testimony And The Claims Of The Messiah	75
Chapter	6	The Gallery Of Witnesses	103
Chapter	7	The Power Of His Name	141

Bibliography 163

Acknowledgement

It is my distinct privilege to express grateful thanks to Dr. John Gustavson, Pastor Annan dale Bible Church, Annandale, Virginia who read my book in its manuscript form and rendered valuable comments and shared with me his inspiration. I wish to thank him for the long-dedicated hours of hard work.

I am also deeply grateful to the elders and members of Annandale Bible Church for their generous support in publishing this book.

My sincere desire is that every reader of this book will be able to see the Messiah as the Lord of lords and King of kings through the chapters of this book, and to realize in his own experience the thrill of personal communication and fellowship with Him.

Vienna, Virginia USA Labib Mikhail Th.D.

September 16, 1980

Foreword

The day in which we live is characterized by man’s increasing frustration, cynicism and despair concerning his own ability to solve his personal and social problems. In the midst of this dilemma many persons are turning to religious faith for answers. It is vital, therefore, that the revealed truth of God found in the Scriptures be communicated as thoroughly and effectively as possible at the present time. This book by Dr. Labib Mikhail is an integral part of the body of literature published for that purpose.

Through the presentation found herein the Jewish and Moslem reader alike in the English speaking world will find answers to questions about the Christian faith that sometimes arise out of their puzzlement or objections. The reader will be brought clearly and wonderfully to the knowledge of the person and saving work of the Messiah.

In addition, this volume will no doubt prove to be a great blessing to Christians. Through the study of its contents, they will grow in their knowledge and appreciation of their Savior and what He has accomplished for them. Along with this benefit, believers in the Messiah will acquire a greater ability to engage in intelligent dialogue with, and compassionate ministry to persons from a variety of religious backgrounds as well as those having none.

It is my hope and prayer that, through an honest consideration of these chapters, you the reader “may believe that Jesus is the Messiah, the Son of God, and that believing you may have life in His name” (John 20:31).

John Gustavson Ph.D.

Pastor, Annandale Bible Church

Annandale, Virginia

Preface

This is a book concerning the Messiah. There are many books written about Him and still more will be written until He comes.

Indeed, the Messiah is the one great focal point of both Judaism and Christianity, yea, of both history and eternity.

Before writing this book, I read the writings of many of those who opposed the Messiah and challenged His cause. I read also the writings of many who loved Him, and testified of their genuine experience that the Messiah is a living reality and that He is still working in the lives and hearts of those who accept Him and believe on Him. I also read the writings of some who tried to ignore Him, claiming that the story of Jesus the Messiah is only a fairy tale, that He had never existed on the stage of history. By their claims they reveal their ignorance.

Oh, how I admire the words of Eagle son entitled (The Incomparable Christ) He wrote: «More than nineteen hundred years ago there was a Man born contrary to the laws of life. This Man lived in poverty and was reared in obscurity. He did not travel extent Sivley. Only once did He cross the boundary of the country in which He lived; that was during His exile in childhood».

He possessed neither wealth nor influence. His relatives were inconspicuous and had neither training nor formal education.

In infancy He startled a king; in childhood He puzzled doctors; in manhood He ruled the course of nature, walked upon the billows as if pavements, and hushed the sea to sleep.

He healed the multitudes without medicine and made no charge for His service.

He never wrote a book, and yet all the libraries of the country could not hold the books that have been written about Him.

He never wrote a song, and yet He has furnished the theme for more songs than all the songwriters combined.

He never founded a college, but all the schools put together cannot boast of having as many students.

He never marshalled an army, nor drafted a soldier, nor fired a gun; and yet no leader ever had more volunteers who have, under His orders, made more rebels stack arms and surrender without a shot fired.

He never practiced psychiatry, and yet He has healed more broken hearts than all the doctors far and near.

Once each week the wheels of commerce cease their turning and multitudes wend their way to worshipping assemblies to pay homage and respect to Him.

The names of the past proud statesmen of Greece and Rome have come and gone. The name of the past scientists, philosophers, and theologians have come and gone; but the name of this Man abounds more and more. Though time has spread nineteen hundred years between the people of this generation and the scene of His crucifixion, yet He still lives. Herod could not destroy Him, and the grave could not hold Him.

He stands forth upon the highest pinnacle of heavenly glory, pro-claimed of God, acknowledged by angels, adored by saints, and feared by devils, as the living, personal Christ, our Lord and Savior.

We are either going to be forever with Him, or forever without Him. It was the incomparable Christ who said: “Behold, I stand at the door, and knock if any man hears my voice, and open the door, I will come into him, and will sup with him, and he with me” (Revelation 3:20).

What Napoleon said to his physician in his exile concerning Jesus Christ stirred me deeply.

«Alexander the Great, Caesar, and the great rulers of the past and I established great empires by military force, but Jesus Christ established his kingdom on pure love, and till this day millions are willing to lay down their lives for his sake. The rigid hand of history failed to quench the flames of love to Him in their hearts after all these generations. Truly Jesus Christ is greater than a man. He is God Himself».

All these quotations stimulated my thoughts to write this book in an attempt to answer the question that has persisted over the years: Is the Messiah God?

My purpose in this book is to help the sincere Jewish inquirer, the Moslem who is searching for the truth, the agnostic, the atheist, as well as the newly born-again Christian to see Jesus Christ as He is-King of Kings and Lord of Lords.

I have attempted to present, in simple and clear language directed to the mind as well as to the heart, the One who is “THE WAY THE TRUTH, AND THE LIFE,” The One and the Only Savior of mankind. Concerning Him the apostle Peter declared: “Neither is there salvation in any other for there is none other name under heaven given among men, whereby we must be saved” (Acts 4:12).

Labib Mikhail, Th.D.

Introduction

What Do You Think

About The Messiah?

Does it matter what we believe concerning Jesus (Yeshua) the Messiah? Startling as it may seem, there is, and there will always be, great controversy concerning the true nature and office of the Messiah.

Who was this Jesus Christ who is called the Messiah? What was it that made Him special? Why was He born of a virgin?

Why do we find so many prophecies in the Old Testament concerning Him? Were these prophecies fulfilled in Jesus who is called the Messiah?

Was this man Jesus a good man? And if so why did He die on the cross as a criminal? Was the man who died on the cross the real Messiah?

Is Yeshua the Messiah God? Or was this man Jesus just an imposter ?

These are vital questions that should be faced and answered. We cannot escape Jesus the Messiah. Sometime, somewhere we must decide about Him.

The words that Jesus the Messiah spoke and the claims that He made are of the utmost importance because a person’s response to the Messiah and His words will determine his eternal destiny. John the apostle declared: “He that believeth on the Son hath everlasting life and he that believeth not the Son shall not see life; but the wrath of God abideth on him” (John 3:36).

We cannot, therefore, consider Jesus’ words and claims in a casual manner, for it is a matter of eternal life or eternal death.

Every person is confronted with the Messiah. The important questions in everyone’s life are: Who is Jesus the Messiah? What is the truth about Him? Was He a profound teacher and nothing more? Was He a courageous martyr and nothing more? Was He a great prophet and nothing more? Was He a religious genius and nothing more? Or was He God incarnated in human form? What do I personally think about Him? What shall I do with Him?

One day during His earthly ministry a group of religious leaders asked Jesus the Messiah questions through which they sought to trap Him. In response He asked them a searching question: “What think ye of Christ, whose son is he?” (Matthew 22:42).

This is the most important and serious question ever to be faced by any individual, for on the answer to this question depends one’s eternal destiny. On another occasion Jesus came to the coasts of Caesarea Philippi. There, He asked his disciples: “Who do men say I am? And they said, some say that thou art John the Baptist some Elias; and others, Jeremias, or one of the prophets. He saith unto them, But who say ye that I am? And Simon Peter answered and said, Thou art the Christ, the Son of the living God. And Jesus answered and said unto him, Blessed art thou, Simon Barjona for flesh and blood hath not revealed it unto thee, but my Father which is in heaven” (Matthew 16:13-17).

Jesus the Messiah declares: “I am the way, the truth, and the life no man cometh unto the father, but by me” (John 14:6).

Dr. Alfred Martin commented on this verse in his book, John: Life Through Believing (Twelfth printing 1978, Page 8/4): «It is He Himself who is the answer to our questions, the solution of our problems, the allaying of our anxieties. Not so much what He has given or what He has said, or even what He has done, but Christ Himself! “Jesus saith unto him, I am the way, the truth, and the life no man [no one] cometh unto the Father, but by me” (John 14:6).

Not the road marker, but the Road; not the truth teacher, but the Truth; not the life-giver, but the Life. And not a way, but the only way; not one facet of truth, but the Truth; not one way of life, but Life itself. Christ is the Source of life. There is a complete exclusiveness about Him. One of the worst mistakes of human religions is that of thinking that good parts of many faiths can be combined into one. No, it is Christ altogether or Christ not at all. His glory He will not share with another. Those who profess to have fellowship with God apart from Christ are living in the most profound self-deception».

One Moslim told a missionary that he desired to become a Christian because of what the Koran (the sacred book of Moslims) and the Moslim traditions talked about «our second greatest prophet, Jesus Christ». He explained, «It states that Jesus Christ was born of a virgin, that He did miracles, that He was taken up to heaven alive and that He is coming again to set up His kingdom on this earth. None of this is true about the prophet Mohammed. I have, therefore, come to the conclusion that Jesus Christ is superior to Mohammed so I want to become a Christian». Let us now consider in the following chapters the Biblical facts upon which is built our firm belief on the deity of Jesus the Messiah. We will explain why it is necessary for every individual to believe on his deity to be saved from his sins and to live forever with Him.

Chapter One

The Triune God

There is a false impression among Non- Christians that Christians worship three gods. This impression is based on a misunderstanding of the Christian belief in the Triune God. If you give careful consideration to the matter, you will discover that the belief in the Triune God is the very warp and woof of the writings of Moses and the prophets in the Old Testament, as well as the apostles in the New Testament.

We have to state from the beginning that the God of the Old Testament, the God of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob is the Only One and True God, and that there is none like Him. David declared: “Among the gods there is none like unto thee, Lord” (Psalms 86:8). We also read in (Isaiah 40:25) ” To whom then will ye liken me, or shall I be equal? saith the Holy ONE“. There is none like the true God. There is none equal to Him.

The only way to know this true God is by a special revelation from Him. “No man hath seen God at any time” (John 1:18). Consequently, no one may know God by mere intellectual searching. The true God revealed Himself in both the Old and the New Testaments as a Triune God.

The logical place to begin is in the very beginning, so let us turn to the book of Genesis, the first chapter and the first verse: “In the beginning God created the heaven and the earth” (Genesis 1:1). These are the very FIRST words that meet our eyes when we begin to find out WHO is God.

The Hebrew word used for (God) in (Genesis 1:1) and throughout the account of the creation is (ELOHIM) ELOHIM is a un Plural word or collective noun showing more than one person, just as the words (group) or (church) or (family) mean more than one person. The Hebrew word Elohim indicates a plurality of persons yet unity of being.

The truth suggested by the name (Elohim) is, of course, extremely difficult to grasp. We are accustomed to think of persons only as individual human beings, and we know that three human persons cannot be one being. This is not so with the Triune God. The persons of the Godhead are clearly Distinguished from one another in many passages of Scripture, yet they cannot be separated. There is but one God.

This truth is beyond complete understanding by our finite minds. Nevertheless, we must not be so arrogant as to reject that which we cannot fully understand or explain. Can you put the whole of the Atlantic Ocean in a teacup? No more can you expect to put the whole of the idea of God into a human brain. Zophar the Naama Thiet declared in the book of Job: “Canst thou by searching find out God? Canst, thou find out the Almighty unto perfection? It is as high as heaven; what canst thou do? Deeper than hell; what canst thou know? The measure thereof is longer than the earth, and broader than the sea” (Job 11:7-9).

While no man made illustration will suffice to explain the Triune God, some are helpful in pointing us to this reality. Dr. James M. Gray recorded in his book The Bible Says:

«We can perhaps get some help by trying to express the relationship mathematically. Men would ordinarily say of the Persons: one plus one plus one equals three. But it would be more accurate to say: one times one times one equals one, for each of the Persons of the Godhead is fully God in the absolute sense, and the three together are the one self-same God». (page 30).

The Old Testament is crowded with passages which declare the Triune God. Let us read together some of them: “And God said, let us make man in our image, after our likeness” (Genesis 1:26). In this passage we hear God speaking, but He was not speaking to Himself. Rather, He was revealing a PLURALITY of Persons. Again, we read concerning this PLURALITY: “And the LORD God said, Behold, the man is become as one of us, to know good and evil” (Genesis 3:22).

When we reach the book of Numbers we find a thrilling revelation of the Triune God. It is found in the account of Balak bringing Balaam to curse Israel. Three times Balaam asked Balak to build him seven altars and prepare seven oxen and seven rams. And three times God met Balaam. It is of great interest to recognize that the holy writ recorded three different names for the One God. This is how we read them:

“And God met Balaam” (Numbers 23:4).

“And the LORD met Balaam and put a word in his mouth” (Numbers 23:16).

” … and the Spirit of God came upon him”(Numbers 24:2).

Facing these passages we may ask: Why are there three names for the one God? (God), (LORD) and (The Spirit of God)? The answer is that the true God is a Triune God. Then we come to another passage in the book of Isaiah: “Hearken unto me, Jacob and Israel, my called; I am he; I am the first, I am also the last. Mine hand also hath laid the foundation of the earth, and my right hand hath spanned the heavens when I call unto them, they stand up together. I, even I, have spoken; yea, I have called him I have brought him, and he shall make his way prosperous. Come ye near unto me, hear ye this; I have not spoken in secret from the beginning; from the time it was, there am I and now the Lord God, and his Spirit, hath sent me” (Isaiah 48:12,13, 15,16).

Now, who is the first and the last? Who is the Creator of the earth and the heavens? According to (Revelation 1:17) this passage refers to Jesus Christ, for He said to John, “I am the first and the last.” Then in Colossians we find that Jesus Christ is the creator of all things. “For by him were all things created, that are in heaven, and that are in earth, visible and invisible, whether they be thrones, or dominions, or principalities, or powers: all things were created by him, and for him” (Colossians 1 :16).

If all things were created by Christ, then He must have been ONE of the Persons included in the Hebrew word Elohim recorded in (Genesis 1:1). He must have been Co-eternal with His Father.

Who is the Lord God mentioned in (Isaiah 48:16) who sent Christ? None other than the Father for He is the One who sent the Messiah when the fulness of the time was come. Paul declared, “But when the fulness of the time was come, God sent forth his Son, made of a woman, made under the law. To redeem them that were under the law, that we might receive the adoption of sons” (Galatians 4:4,5).

Jesus declared, “As my Father hath sent me, even so send I you” (John 20:21). Who is the Spirit mentioned in the same passages (Isaiah 48:16)?

None but the Holy Spirit, for we read concerning Him these words, “How much more shall the blood of Christ, who through the eternal Spirit offered himself without spot to God, purge your conscience from dead works to serve the living God?” (Hebrews 9:14).

These passages in (Isaiah 48:12,13,15,16) declare plainly the Triune God. The Eternal Son, the Eternal Father, and the Eternal Holy Spirit. The One and the Only God.

We read in (Psalm 110:1), “The LORD said unto my Lord, sit thou at my right hand, until I make thine enemies thy footstool”. The writer of this Psalm is king David. There was no one over him in his hierarchy. Who then is the one whom he called (my Lord)?

That He is the Lord Jesus Christ is very clear in the words of Jesus Himself to the Pharisees: “While the Pharisees were gathered together, Jesus asked them, Saying, what think ye of Christ? whose son is he? They say unto him, the Son of David. He saith unto them, how then doth David in spirit call him Lord, saying, the LORD said unto my Lord, sit thou on my right hand, till I make thine enemies thy footstool? If David then calls him Lord, how is he, his son? And no man was able to answer him a word, neither durst any man from that day forth ask him any more questions” (Matthew 22:41-46).

The correct answer of which the Pharisees were ignorant is that Jesus the Messiah is the Lord of David as the son of David. He is the Lord of David because He is his Creator. He is the son of David because He was made of the seed of David according to the flesh, “Jesus Christ our Lord, which was made of the seed of David according to the flesh” (Romans 1:3).

Jesus declared in the last chapter of the book of Revelation: “I Jesus have sent mine angel to testify unto you these things in the churches. I am the root and the offspring of David, and the bright and morning star” (Revelation 22:16).

We see clearly in these passages (Psalm 110:1) and (Matthew 22:41-46) The Father (The Lord), The Son. (My Lord) and The Holy Spirit who inspired David to write this Psalm (as II Samuel 23:2) says, “The spirit of the Lord Spake by me, and his word was in my tongue”. We should bear in mind that if the father is ETERNAL, so the son must be ETERNAL, for there is no Eternal Fatherhood without Eternal.

The Bible presents to us:

A Father Who is God (John 3:16; II Corinthians 1 :3; 11 Thessalonians 2:16).

A Son Who is God (Psalm 110:1; John 1 :1; Philippians 2:5-8; Hebrews 1 :8) and A Holy Spirit Who is God (Psalm 139:7-16; Acts 5:3,4).

Believing in the Triune God will solve many difficult questions, such as: With whom was God speaking before He created angels and man? Whom did He love since the Scriptures reveal that God is love? The only satisfactory answer for such questions is found in the truth of the Triune God. The Persons of the Godhead communicated in speech and love from eternity, for God is complete and perfect in Himself. He is not in need of His creatures to complete Him (read Ephesians 1 :11; John 17,24).

The Bible Doctrine of the Triune God may best be expressed in the words of Dr. Henry Heydt:

«In (Romans 1:20) Paul uses the creation of the Cosmos as demonstrating this Godhead (Theotis). The unit verse (unaus, one plus Verette, turn; turned into one, combined in one whole) is an absolute trinity of space, time, and matter. Each of these in turn is an absolute trinity. Space consists of length, breadth, and depth or height; time is future, present, and past; matter is energy, motion, and phenomena. Here we have not merely an illustration of three in one-as in the case of light, heat, and ultraviolet rays of the sunbeam, or the manifestation of H20 as liquid, ice and steam-but an absolute triunity composed of three absolute triunities». (Quoted in a secondary source.)

Someone said:

«When God (Elohim) created the world, He wanted to make absolutely clear to His creation that He is not some abstract mathematical unitarian principle with no analogy in all creation, as some philosophers tried to present Him under Aristo Talian influence. Instead, He declares: “Let us make man in our own image, after our likeness” (Genesis 1 :26). God made man, a being composed of Triunity- body, soul and spirit, in the image of God. Paul declares, “And the very God of peace sanctify you wholly; and I pray God your whole spirit and soul and body be preserved blameless unto the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ. (I Thessalonians 5:23).

Jesus declared: “God is a spirit” (John 4:24). How then is it true that man was created in His image? We find the answer in the following Scriptural passages.

The apostle Peter declared: “For as ye know that ye were not redeemed with corruptible things, as silver and gold, from your vein conversation received by tradition from your fathers; But with the precious blood of Christ, as of a lamb without blemish and without spot Who verily was foreordained before the foundation of the world but was manifest in these last times for you” (I Peter 1:18-20). Before the foundation of the world God foreordained the redemption of believers by the blood of His Son Jesus Christ the Messiah, concerning whom Paul declared that He is ” … the image of the invisible God” (Colossians 1:15).

The writer of the epistle to the Hebrews declared: “God, who at sundry times and in divers manners spake in time past unto the fathers by the prophets, Hath in these last days spoken unto us by his Son, whom he hath appointed heir of all things, by whom also he made the worlds; who being the brightness of his glory, and the express image of his person, and upholding all things by the word of his power” (Hebrews 1:1-3). In the image in which the Son of God was to be incarnated, God created man. Thus, man was Created in the image of God. This is strong evidence that the Messiah is God.

In the book of Zechariah, we find another passage which indicates the deity of the Messiah, “And he shewed me Joshua the high priest standing before the angel of the LORD, and Satan standing at his right hand to resist him. And the LORD said unto Satan, The LORD rebuke thee Satan; even the LORD that hath chosen Jerusalem rebuke thee”. (Zechariah 3:1,2). The passage clearly declares two LORDS, one is God the Father, and the other is God the Son.

The New Testament makes it clear that God is a Triune God. In (Luke 3:21,22) we read, “Now when all the people were baptized, it came to pass, that Jesus also being baptized, and praying, the heaven was opened, And the Holy Ghost descended in a bodily shape like a dove upon him, and a voice came from heaven, which said, thou art my beloved Son; in thee I am well pleased”. The apostle Paul declared the Triune God in his benediction to the church at Corinth: “The grace of the Lord Jesus Christ, and the love of God, and the communion of the Holy Ghost, be with you all. Amen” (II Corinthians 13:14).

Someone may object: How is the doctrine of the Triune God to be reconciled with the words of Moses recorded in the book of (Deuteronomy 6:4) “Hear, Israel the LORD our God is one LORD”? Here in the book of Deuteronomy, God laid down for His people Israel a principle of faith which is far superior to any man’s conception about God, Ina’s much as it comes from God Himself. Again, we must repeat the sacred words: “Hear YA Israel, the LORD our God, is one LORD” (Deuteronomy 6:4).

This verse stresses the sense of the phrase (ONE) The word (ONE) does not mean an absolute one. Teaching that God is an Abso lute One, is diametrically opposed to the word of God. In the Hebrew language there are two words meaning (one) (Yachid) which means an only one, or an absolute one, and (Echad) which means an united one. If one will trace these two words (Yachid) and (Echad) as they occur in the Old Testament, and in the sense they are used, he will ascertain their meaning.

In (Genesis 2:24) we read: “Therefore shall a man leave his father and his mother, and shall cleave unto his wife; and they shall be one flesh.” In this verse the word one is the translation of the Hebrew word (Echad) and it implies that two separate persons are called one, thus showing that (Echad) does not mean an absolute one, but an United One. In (Genesis 1:3-5) we read, “Then God said, ‘Let there be light’; and there was light. And God saw that light was good; and God separated the light from the darkness. And God called the light day, and the darkness He called night. And there was evening and there was morning one day” (NASV). In this verse the word one is the translation of the Hebrew word (Echad) and it implies that two separate things-light and darkness are identified as one.

In the book of (Numbers 13:23) we read, “And they came unto the brook of Eshcol, and cut down from thence a branch with one cluster of grapes, and they bare it between two upon a staff”. Here again the word one is the Hebrew word (Echad) and implies that the many grapes in the cluster are called one. Now let us see where, in the Word of God, the Hebrew word (Yachid) which means an absolute one, is found. In (Jeremiah 6:26) we read: “daughter of my people, gird thee with sackcloth, and wallow thyself in ashes make thee mourning, as for an only son”. Again in (Zechariah 12:10) we read, “And they shall look upon me whom they have pierced, and they shall mourn for him, as one mourner for his only son”. In the two former passages the Hebrew word (Yachid) which means an absolute one is used.

It is especially significant that the Hebrew word used in (Deuteronomy 6:4) for God’s oneness is (Echad) which means an united one.

It has been clearly shown that the Messiah is one of the persons of the Triune Godhead. Therefore, there is no doubt about His deity.

Chapter Two

The Redeemer of Mankind

Everywhere we turn, we find people whose lives are characterized by emptiness and confusion. Carl Jung, the noted psychologist, claimed that one-third of his cases were not people who suffered from genuine mental illness. Rather they were those who suffered from emptiness and meaninglessness in their lives.

Harold Haze lip portrays the confused life of man in the following words:

«One person attempts to be president of the bank, while another tries to rob it. One strives to prepare himself to get into school; another looks for a way to drop out. One works to build a home for the woman he loves; the other tries to love as many women as he can without having to build a home». (Quoted in a secondary source.)

The cause of the emptiness, confusion and misguided behavior in the world is sin. Sin is breaking the law of God. It is living life in disregard for one’s fellow man. It is failing to live life as God meant it to be lived.

The Bible defines sin in the following passages: “Whosoever committed sin transgress Seth also the law for sin is the transgression of the law” (I John 3:4). “All unrighteousness is sin” (I John 5:17). “For whatsoever is not of faith is sin” (Romans 14:23). “Therefore, to him that knows to do good, and doeth it not, to him it is sin” (James 4:17).

The fact of the matter is that all human beings have sinned. King David declared, “Behold, I was sharpen in iniquity; and in sin did my mother conceive me” (Psalm 51:5). Again, he said, “Cod looked down from heaven upon the children of men, to see if there were any that did understand, that did seek Cod. Every one of them is gone back they are altogether become filthy; there is none that doth good, no, not one” (Psalm 53:2,3). Again, we read, “If thou, LORD, shouldest mark iniquities, LORD, who shall stand?” (Psalm 130:3). King David beseeched God saying, “And enter not into judgement with thy servant for in thy sight shall no man living be justified” (Psalm 143:2).

Isaiah the prophet also declared: “All we like sheep have gone astray; we have turned everyone to his own way” (Isaiah 53:6). The apostle Paul declared: “For all have sinned and come short of the glory of God” (Romans 3:23). These Scriptural passages declare beyond any shadow of a doubt that man is a sinner by nature and by deeds.

The Koran declares: «Lo! the human soul enjoins Ethunto evil» (Surah Joseph 53).

Sometime ago a Moslim young man sent me these questions: «Every human being is responsible for his or her right or wrong doings. Why the saying and belief that Christ died for our sins? What sins does that include? Were my sins included while I was not yet born when Christ was crucified?»

Certainly, every human being is responsible for his or her right and wrong deeds. God declared in the book of Ezekiel: “The soul that sinned, it shall die. The son shall not bear the iniquity of the father, neither shall the father bear the iniquity of the son the righteousness of the righteous shall be upon him, and the wickedness of the wicked shall be upon him” (Ezekiel 18:22).

We have to bear in mind that when God dealt with sin on the cross of Calvary, all the past, present, and future sins of, the believers were present in His sight, for there is no past, present, or future which can be hidden from the eyes of God. King David stated this fact in (Psalm 139:1,13,15,16) “LORD, thou hast searched me, and known me … For thou hast possessed my reins thou hast covered me in my mother’s womb … My substance was not hidden from thee, when I was made in secret, and curiously wrought in the lowest parts of the earth. Thine eyes did see my substance yet being unperfect ; and in thy book all my members were written, which in continuance were fashioned, when as yet there was none of them”. So, the sins of the born and the unborn human beings were all known to God when Christ was crucified. Thus, He bare all the sins of the believers in his body on the cross. Peter declared, “Who his own self bares our sins in his own body on the tree” (I Peter 2:14).

It is well known that the stumbling-block with the Moslim mind concerning Christianity is the crucifixion of the Messiah Jesus. The Koran declares: «And because of their saying: We slew the Messiah Jesus son of Mary, Allah’s Messenger. They slew him not nor crucified, but it appeared so unto them; and lo! those who disagree concerning it are in doubt thereof; they have no knowledge thereof save pursuit of a conjecture; they slew him not for certain. But Allah took him up unto Himself. Allah was ever mighty, wise». (Surah IV Women 157,158).

The central fact of Christianity is Jesus the Messiah and Him crucified. The crucified Messiah is the one and only answer for the justification of the guilty sinner. The Messiah revealed to His disciples that He must be killed “From that time forth began Jesus to shew unto his disciples, how that he must go unto Jerusalem, and suffer many things of the elders and chief priests and scribes, and be killed, and be raised again the third day”. (Matthew 16:21). The apostle Paul declared, “But we preach Christ crucified, unto the Jews a stumbling-block, and unto the Greeks foolishness; But unto them which are called, both Jews and Greeks, Christ the power of God, and the wisdom of God”. (I Corinthians 1:23,24). Again, he said, “For I determined not to know anything among you, save Jesus Christ, and him crucified” (I Corinthians 2:2). Roman crucifixion was intended to destroy both life and reputation. It was the death of a criminal. But the cross today stands as the focal point of Biblical Christianity. It is no more a shame but a glory since Christ was crucified on it. Paul declared, “But God forbid that I should glory, save in the cross of our Lord Jesus Christ, by whom the world is crucified unto me, and I unto the world” (Galatians 6:14). The cross is central because, as we mentioned before, the power and the wisdom of God were manifested in it.

Moreover, the cross is crucial because it is there that the Justice and Mercy of God are united, and there that righteousness and peace have converged. The psalmist recorded, “Surely his salvation is nigh them that fear him; that glory may dwell in our land. Mercy and truth are met together; righteousness and peace have kissed each other” (Psalm 85:9,10). The apostle Paul spoke clearly concerning this vital issue in these words: “For all have sinned, and come short of the glory of God; Being justified freely by his grace through the redemption that is in Christ Jesus Whom Cod hath set forth to be a propitiation through faith in his blood, to declare his righteousness for the remission of sins that are past, through the forbearance of God; To declare, I say, at this time his righteousness that he might be just, and the justifies of him which believe in Jesus” (Romans 3:23-26).

God is a perfect God “God is light, and in him is no darkness at all” (I John 1:15). He cannot forgive sin without retribution, for this is against His justice. He revealed His attributes to Moses saying: “And the LORD passed by before him, and proclaimed, The LORD, The LORD God, merciful and gracious, long-suffering, and abundant in goodness and truth, keeping mercy for thousands, forgiving iniquity and transgression and sin, and that will by no means clear the guilty” (Exodus 34:6,7). The prophet Nahum declared, “The LORD is slow in anger, and great in power, and will not at all acquit the wicked” (Nahum 1:3).

It is clear that the one and only way of divine forgiveness is by redemption through the blood. The principle of redemption is agreed upon by Judaism, Christianity, and Islam. In the book of Leviticus in the Jewish Torah we read: “For the life of the flesh is in the blood: and I have given it to you upon the alter to make an atonement for your souls for it is the blood that maketh an atonement for the soul” (Leviticus 17:11). In the book of Hebrews in the New Testament we read: ” … and without shedding of the blood is no remission” (Hebrews 9:22).

In the Koran, the sacred book of the Moslims, we read concerning Ishmael: «Then we ransomed him with a tremendous victim» (Surah As- Saffat 107). The tremendous victim cannot be a lamb, for how much is a man better than a sheep?!

It is not possible that man can be redeemed by the blood of animals or by gold and silver. The writer of the book of Hebrews declared: “For it is not possible that the blood of bulls and of goats should take away sins” (Hebrews 10:4).

The Koran declares: “Lo! those who dist. believe, and die in disbelief, the (whole) earth full of gold would not be accepted from such a one if it were offered as a ransom (for his soul). There will be painful doom and they will have no helpers” (Surah the Family of Imran 91).

Again, the Koran declares: “And though those who do wrong possess all that is in the earth, and therewith as much again, they verily will seek to ransom themselves there with on the Day of Resurrection from the awful doom; and there will appear unto them, from their Lord, that wherewith they never reckoned. And the evils that they earned will appear unto them, and that whereat they used to scoff will surround them” (Surah the Troops 47,48).

Who then can redeem the guilty but God Himself?

In the ancient day Micah the prophet asked these questions: “Wherewith shall I come before the LORD, and bow myself before the high God? shall I come before him with burnt offerings, with calves of a year old? Will the LORD be pleased with thousands of rams, or with ten thousands of rivers of oil? shall I give my firstborn for my transgression, the fruit of my body for the sin of my soul?” (Micah 6:6,7).

The Psalmist answered these questions in his words “They that trust in their wealth and boast themselves in the multitude of their riches; None of them can by any means redeem his brother, nor give to Cod a ransom for him For the redemption of their soul is precious, and it ceases forever” (Psalm 49:6-8).

These words simply mean that God cannot be bought off. The ransom of a man’s life is not only costly but also beyond all price and human powers. Any thought of paying a ransom to God will prove to be futile.

We must remember that the penalty for sin is death. Paul declared: “For the wages of sin is death” (Romans 6:23). However, a sinful man cannot redeem sinners. God alone can. But God cannot die! Therefore, for there to be any hope for man, it would be necessary for God to be incarnated in the likeness of men, to take upon Himself real humanity, so that He might give His Human Life to redeem the guilty man. Thus, He might be the Just and the Justifies (read Romans 3:24-26).

The truth is that this necessity has been fulfilled. In the Person of Jesus, the Messiah, our very Creator became our Savior and Redeemer. Christ is at once our Maker, and a member of the Triune God. Therefore, His life which He gave for us is of far greater value than the sum total of all living, breathing human beings.

In order to pay the penalty for our sins, which penalty is death-eternal death or eternal separation from God-it was absolutely necessary that the Messiah be both divine and human. The necessity that He be DIVINE involves the necessity that His life be worth more than all our human lives put together! At the same time, He must be HUMAN in order to be able to sacrifice His life for us.

This awe-inspiring mystery of God is not fully grasped in its overwhelming significance by the human mind. This is why Paul declared: “And without controversy great is the mystery of godliness God was manifest in the flesh, justified in the Spirit, seen of angels, preached unto the Gentiles, believed on in the world, received up into glory” (I Timothy 3:16).

The Divine Being who created all things took on Himself the form of human flesh in order to redeem us. This is the heart of the Christian message, which was stated in the first chapter of the Gospel of John. Through John, the Holy Spirit revealed a God who has acted in a loving way from the beginning of time. At the perfect moment in history, He acted in a very special way, revealing His love (in the flesh) in Jesus the Messiah. The Creator of the universe who has been operative in history from all eternity has now acted in a decisive and definitive way, “becoming flesh” to dwell among us, that we may acknowledge Him and experience His love towards us.

John declared in his Gospel “In the beginning was the Word”. (John 1 :1). The (Word) that plays such a central role in this passage is a translation of the Greek word (logos) left undefined by John. Unfortunately, many persons think of logos as a complicated philosophical idea borrowed from the Greeks. John, to the contrary, is using the term in a typically Hebrew manner, thinking primarily of the revealing activity of God throughout all history. This revealing activity of the loving God has reached its sublime climax in Jesus the Messiah.

We have to keep in mind that all the sacrifices of the Old Testament were only symbolic of the Divine Redeemer, who alone can redeem man, for the redeemer of mankind must be the LORD.

This truth is very clear from many passages in the Old Testament. In (Psalm 49:15) we read: “But God will redeem my soul from the power of the grave for he shall receive me” In (Psalm 34:22) we read: “The LORD redeemeth the soul of his servants and none of them that trust in him shall be desolate”.

In( Isaiah 47:4) we read: “As for our redeemer, the LORD of hosts is his name, the Holy One of Israel” Again in (Isaiah 43:11) we read: “I, Even I, am the LORD; and beside me there is no savior” Furthermore in (Isaiah 45:22) God declares: “Look unto me, and be ye saved, all the ends of the earth for I am God, and there is none else”.

We know from many passages in the New Testament that this redeemer is Jesus the Messiah. John the Baptizer with outstretched hand, pointing to Jesus declared: “Behold the lamb of God, which take away the sin of the world” (John 1:29).

The apostle Peter declared: “For as much as ye know that ye were not redeemed with corruptible things, as silver and gold … But with the precious blood of Christ, as of a lamb without blemish and without spot.” (I Peter 1:18,19).

The apostle Paul declared: “In whom we have redemption through his blood, the forgiveness of sins, according to the riches of his grace” (Ephesians 1:7).

The apostle John declared: “And yet know that he was manifested to take away our sins; and in him is no sin” (I John 3:5).

Here we have to read with great interest the words of Isaiah: “Behold, God is my salvation; I will trust, and not be afraid: for the LORD JEHOVAH is my strength and my song; he also is become my salvation” (Isaiah 12:2). The words “my salvation” in the original Hebrew is (my Jesus) (my Yeshua). The secret of the full confidence of Isaiah is that the LORD JEHOVAH has become his salvation. This goes hand in hand with the words of the angel of the Lord to Joseph: “And she shall bring forth a son, and thou shalt call his name Jesus (Yeshua) for he shall save his people from their sins. Now all this was done, that it might be fulfilled which was spoken of the Lord by the prophet, saying, Behold, a virgin shall be with child, and shall bring forth a son, and they shall call his name Emmanuel, which being interpreted is, God with us” (Matthew 1:21-23).

Believing in the principle of redemption leads us to the truth that the Messiah is God, for the Redeemer must be the LORD.

The failure to understand and appropriate this Biblical truth is the reason for the widespread meaninglessness in our society. People are searching desperately for answers. They want very much to know the purpose for their existence. They are anxious to find an answer to the inner disquietude in their souls. They are looking for a core of belief, something around which they can build their lives, something that will give them value as a human being and touch the inner person. CHRIST IS THE ANSWER! Once they find the Messiah, they have found it all. Their faith in the Messiah gives them a value system, inner strength, and goals that carry beyond this life. They want something and someone to believe in, and they feel restless until Christ gives them rest and peace. Paul recorded concerning the Messiah: “… our Savior Jesus Christ, who hath abolished death, and hath brought life and immortality to light through the gospel” (II Timothy 1:10).

Someone wrote:

«My favorite among Jesus’ parables is His classic picture of unconditional love the story of the prodigal son. The boy wasted his share of the father’s wealth, living for pleasure. But when he returned home, ashamed of his wrongdoing, his father received him back freely and completely, in spite of his guilt. This kind of love radiates from the cross. P. T. Forsythia has suggested that since Jesus told this story before the cross, it was left incomplete in one sense. The death of Christ shows God Himself going into the “far country” where we, the disobedient sons, were living our lives of pleasure. In the cross, the Son of God took death upon Himself in order to give life to those of us who were losers-condemned to death».

Job cried in his distress: “for he is not a man, as I am, that I should answer him, and we should come together in Judgment. Neither is there days man (arbitrator, mediator) betwixt us, that might lay his hand upon us both” (Job 9:32,33). The concept of (days man) includes two emphases. First, there is the idea of arbitrator-the one who settles the dispute or deals with that which is at the center of the conflict. Second, there is the idea of mediator or reconciles the one who restores fellowship between the two parties. The desire of Job was answered in the Messiah as it is clear in the words of Paul: “And all things are of God, who hath reconciled us to himself by Jesus Christ, and hath given to us the ministry of reconciliation; To wit, that God was in Christ, reconciling the world unto himself, not imputing their trespasses unto them; and hath committed unto us the word of reconciliation”. (II Corinthians 5:18,19). “For there is one God, and one mediator between God and men, the man Christ Jesus, who gave himself a ransom for all” (I Timothy 2:5,6). The Messiah is the Redeemer of man kind. Therefore, He must be God, since, as we have shown, the redeemer of man must be the LORD.

Chapter Three

The Old Testament

Prophecies

In June 1979 we as a family received an invitation from a Jewish doctor to attend her wedding. In her invitation she recorded:

«With our hearts full of joy, we and our families invite you to share in the Simcha which unites us-Ellen and Paul. Our wedding will take place on Sunday the 24th of June 1979, the 29th of Sivan 5739, in the 32nd year of the State of Israel, in the Holy City of Jerusalem. But should the Messiah tarry, our Chupa and celebration will be at Beth Torah Congregation».

The words that captured my eyes in this beautiful invitation were: «But should the Messiah tarry». They indicate that there is a renewed interest in the hearts of the Jewish people concerning the coming of the Messiah.

A young lady asked a Jewish doctor in a course of discussion: How can you acknowledge the true Messiah when He comes? There was no answer from the Jewish doctor. The early disciples acknowledged Him when they applied the Old Testament prophecies to Him. “Philip found Nathanael, and saith unto him, we have found him, of Whom Moses in the law, and the prophets, did write, Jesus of Nazareth, the son of Joseph”. (John 1:45). The only way to recognize the true Messiah is to search the Scriptures. Any other way will lead to deception. The Messiah advised the Jewish people when He was on earth saying: “Search the Scriptures; for in them ye think ye have eternal life and they are they which testify of me” (John 5:39).

The question is: Who is this Messiah, who is the focal point of all books of the Bible from Genesis to Revelation? Can this Messiah be a mere human being? Or is He just a great prophet? Do the prophecies in the Old Testament concerning Him declare that He is God? It is amazing that the whole Bible centers in the Messiah and His cross. There is a church in Europe that is circular in shape, and in the center stands a cross. Around the walls of the church are carved statues of the prophets and apostles, and each one is shown without stretched hand, pointing to the central cross. The figure of Isaiah is there and under-neath him are carved the words, “All we like sheep have gone astray; we have turned everyone to his own way; and the LORD hath laid on him the iniquity of us all” (Isaiah 53:6).

Jeremiah is there, and under him are the words, “Is it nothing to you, all ye that pass by? Behold, and see if there be any sorrow like unto my sorrow, which is done unto me, wherewith the LORD hath afflicted me in the day of his fierce anger” (The Lamentation of Jeremiah 1:12).

John the Baptist is there with outstretched hand, saying,“Behold the Lamb of God, which take away the sin of the world” (John 1:29).

Peter is represented also, and under him is written,“Redeemed with the precious blood of Christ, as of a lamb without blemish and without spot” (I Peter 1 :18,19).

The statue of Paul stands in the circle, and he is depicted as saying, “The Son of God, who loved me, and gave himself for me” (Galatians 2:20).

John the apostle, likewise, points to the central cross: “Unto Him that loved us and washed us from our sins in his own blood” (Revelation 1:5).

The whole Bible, as evidenced wherever we turn, centers in the Messiah and His cross.

In the book of Genesis, He is the (Seed of the woman) (Genesis 3:15).

In the book of Exodus, He is the (Passover Lamb) (Exodus 12:3-13).

In the book of Leviticus, He is the (High Priest) (Leviticus 9:7,8,22-24).

In the book of Numbers, He is (The Brazen Serpent) (Numbers 21:8,9).

In the book of Deuteronomy, He is the (Prophet like unto Moses) (Deuteronomy 18:15-19).

In the book of Joshua, He is the (Captain of the host of the LORD) (Joshua 5:14).

In the book of Judges, He is the (Wonder fuel) (Judges 13:18-22).

In the book of Ruth, He is the (Kinsman the Redeemer) (Ruth 4:1-5).

In the book of I Samuel, He is the (Anointed King) (I Samuel 16:12,13).

In the book of II Samuel, He is the (Sinner’s Substitute) (II Samuel 12:13).

In the book of I Kings, He is the one (In whom are hid all the treasures of wisdom and knowledge) (I Kings 10:1-9).

In the book of II Kings, He is the one (Who clean Seth us from all sin) (II Kings 5:14).

In the book of I Chronicles, He is the one (Who had done many acts) (I Chronicles 11:22,23).

In the book of II Chronicles, He is the one (Greater than the Temple) (II Chronicles 7:1-3).

In the book of Ezra, He is the (Deliverer) (Ezra 8:31).

In the book of Nehemiah, He is the “Zealous of the city of God, and the Re builder of the broken walls” (Nehemiah 1:4 & 2:17).

In the book of Esther, He is the one (Who laid His life for His people) (Esther 4:16).

In the book of Job, He is the (Living Redeemer) (Job 19:25).

In the book of Psalms, He is the (Crucified) (Psalm 22:16), (The Shepherd) (Psalm 80:1), (The King) (Psalm 45:1,2), and (The Lord) (Psalm 110:1).

In the book of Proverbs, He is the (Wisdom) (Proverbs 8:12).

In the book of Ecclesiastes, He is our (Satisfaction) (Ecclesiastes 12:13).

In the book of Song of Solomon, He is (All fair, there is no spot in Him) (Song of Solomon 4:7).

In the book of Isaiah, He is the (Son of God) (Isaiah 9:6,7), (The Sin Bearer) (Isaiah 53:4-6), (The Coming Lord) (Isaiah 40:10), (The Prince of Peace) (Isaiah 9:6).

In the book of Jeremiah, He is the (Righteous King) (Jeremiah 23:5).

In the Lamentations of Jeremiah, He is the (Afflicted One) (Lamentations 1 :12).

In the book of Ezekiel, He is the (One who has the right to rule) (Ezekiel 21:27).

In the book of Daniel, He is the (Messiah the Prince) (Daniel 9:25).

In the book of Hosea, He is the (First Husband of Israel) (Hosea 2:7), and the (Healer of their backsliding) (Hosea 14:4).

In the book of Joel, He is the (Commander of the day of the Lord) (Joel 2:1), “The One who will pour out the Holy Spirit” (Joel 2:28). In the book of Amos, He is the (One who will raise up the tabernacle of David) (Amos 9:11).

In the book of Obadiah, He is the (Victorious King) (Obadiah:21).

In the book of Jonah, He is the (Buried and the Resurrected Redeemer) (Jonah 1:17, 2:10). In the book of Micah, He is the (Everlasting Ruler born in Bethlehem) (Micah 5:2).

In the book of Nahum, He is the (Strong hold in the day of Trouble) (Nahum 1:7).

In the book of Habakkuk, He is the (Source of joy and strength) (Habakkuk 3:18,19).

In the book of Zephaniah, He is the (Mighty to save) (Zephaniah 3:17).

In the book of Haggai, He is the (Desire of all nations) (Haggai 2:7).

In the book of Zechariah, He is the (Lowly King) (Zechariah 9:9).

In the book of Malachi, He is the (Sun of Righteousness) (Malachi 4:2).

The entire New Testament is a direct witness to the life and works of the Messiah. He is the theme and the center of it. That could not be said about any prophet or a mere human being.

In the Gospel of Matthew, He is the (Sovereign King) (Matthew 2:2, 21:5).

In the Gospel of Mark, He is the (Servant) (Mark 10:45).

In the Gospel of Luke, He is the (Son of Man) (Luke 19:10).

In the Gospel of John, He is the (Son of God) (John 20:31).

In the book of Acts, He is the (Exalted Redeemer) (Acts 2:33).

In Romans, He is the (Peace Maker) (Romans 5:1).

In I Corinthians, He is the (Sanctified) (I Corinthians 6:11).

In II Corinthians, He is the (One who reconciled the world to God) (II Corinthians 5:18,19).

In Galatians, He is the (Redeemer from the curse of the law) (Galatians 3:13).

In Ephesians, He is (Our Peace) (Ephesians 2:14).

In Philippians, He is (Our Joy) (Philippians 4:4).

In Colossians, He is (Our Life) (Colossians 3:4).

In I Thessalonians, He is (Our Hope) (I Thessalonians 2:16,17).

In II Thessalonians, He is (Our Comfort) (11 Thessalonians 2:16,17).

In I Timothy, He is the (Only Mediator between God and men) (I Timothy 2:5).

In II Timothy, He is the (Judge of the quick and the dead) (II Timothy 4:1).

In Titus, He is the (Great God and Savior) (Titus 2:13).

In Philemon, He is the (One who payed our debts) (Philemon: 18,19).

In Hebrews, He is the (One and Only Sacrifice for sins) (Hebrews 10:12).

In James, He is the (One who’s coming Wreathing) (James 5:7,8).

In I Peter, He is the (Chief Shepherd) (I Peter 5:4).

In II Peter, He is the (One of whom we should grow in knowledge) (II Peter 3:18).

In I John, He is the (Foundation of Our Assurance) (I John 5:20).

In II John, He is the (Son of the Father in truth and love) (II John:3).

In 111 John, He is (The Truth) (Ill John 3,4).

In Jude, He is the (One who is able to keep the believers from falling) (Jude: 24).

In Revelation, He is the “KING OF KINGS, AND LORD OF LORDS” (Revelation 19:16).

Let us consider some specific prophecies written in the Old Testament concerning the Messiah, which were fulfilled literally in the Person of Jesus Christ. We have to realize that some of these prophecies were umbered several thousand years before the birth of Christ.

1. He Is the Seed of the Woman

God said to Satan, the old serpent “And I will put enmity between thee and the woman, and between thy seed and her seed: it shall bruise thy head, and thou shalt bruise his heel” (Genesis 3:15). This prophecy was fulfilled in Jesus as we read in Galatians “But when the fullness of the time was come, God sent forth his Son, made of a woman, made under the law” (Galatians 4:4). John recorded “For this purpose the Son of God was manifested, that he might destroy the works of the devil” (I John 3:8).

2. He Is the Eternal Who Must

Be Born in Bethlehem, Judea

This was foretold by the prophet Micah: “But thou Bethlehem Ephratah, though thou be little among the thousands of Judah, yet out of thee shall come forth unto me that is to be ruler in Israel; whose goings forth have been from of old, from everlasting” (Micah 5:2).

In this prophecy we have the place of birth of the Messiah (Bethlehem of Judea) Not New Delhi in India. Not Athens in Greece. Not Mecca in Saudi Arabia, but Bethlehem of Judea. Jesus was born in Bethlehem, Judea. This fact was recorded in the Gospel of Matthew “Now when Jesus was born in Bethlehem of Judea in the days of Herod the king” (Matthew 2:1). Micah recorded in his prophecy one of the attributes of the Messiah “whose goings forth have been from of old, from everlasting” These words indicate the He is Eternal. Eternity is among those attributes ascribed to God alone. He has no beginning and no end. The prophecy of Micah declares that the Messiah would come to the human scene not only to be born of a virgin but emerging from the regions of eternity where He always existed with the Father.

3. He Is Emmanuel Who Must

Be Born of a Virgin

It was the prophet Isaiah who wrote of Him: “Therefore the lord himself shall give you a sign; Behold, a virgin shall conceive, and bear a son, and shall call his name Emmanuel” (Isaiah 7:14).

This prophecy indicates that the miraculous birth of the Messiah is a sign from God Himself. The miracle is that the virgin shall conceive without a man and bear a son, and this son shall be called (Emmanuel) which means (God with us). The attempt to weaken this prophecy by saying that the word translated (virgin) can be rendered (young woman) fails because, in that case, there would be no miracle and, thus, no sign! This prophecy clearly shows that the one who was born of the Virgin Mary is God incarnated in human form.

This prophecy was fulfilled in Jesus as we read in the book of (Matthew 1:18,22,23) ” … Mary was espoused to Joseph, before they came together, she was found with child of the Holy Ghost. Now all this was done, that it might be fulfilled which was spoken of the Lord by the prophet, saying, Behold, a virgin shall be with child, and shall bring forth a son, and they shall call his name Emmanuel, which being interpreted is, God with us”.

4. tie Is the Mighty God

Who Must Be Born to Rule

This was foretold by Isaiah: “For unto us a child is born, unto us a son is given: and the government shall be upon his shoulder and his name shall be called Wonderful, Counsellor, The mighty God, The Prince of Peace (Isaiah 9:6).

Here we see ELOHIM, the Triune God, saying, « … unto us a child is born, unto us a son is given».

The late Dr. H. A. Ir onside commented on this verse in his book, Expository Notes on The Prophet Isaiah:

«Unto us a Child is born, unto us a Son is given in these two expressions we see the humanity and the deity of our Savior. The Child born refers to His humanity …. He was to come into the world as the virgin’s Son. He was a true Man, spirit, soul, and body, as born of Mary, but without a human father. He was also the eternal Son of the Father who had come from the glory that He had with the Father from all the past eternity, given in grace for our redemption, who linked His deity with our humanity apart from its sin, and, thus was God and Man in one blessed adorable Person». (page 59,60)

Isaiah told us that the Child who would be born is the One upon whose shoulder the government will rest, and who will bring to the earth justice, peace and righteousness. He will be called (Wonderful) Under this name He appeared of old to the parents of Samson (Judges 13:18). Let us listen to the words of Dr. Ir onside:

As we read the divinely inspired; records of His lowly birth, His sin less life, His vicarious death and his glorious resurrection, we find our heart exclaiming again and again, Is He not wonderful! (page 60)

He is also to be called (Counsellor) This suggests His deity, for we read concerning God in (Romans 11:34) “For who hath known the mind of the Lord? or who hath been his Counsellor? And again, we read in (Ephesians 1 :11) “In whom we have obtained an inheritance, being predesignated according to the purpose of him who works all things after the counsel of his own will”.

He is also to be called (The mighty God) That goes hand in hand with the words of the Messiah to His disciples: “All power is given unto me in heaven and in earth” (Matthew 28:18), and the words of Paul, ” … and of whom as concerning the flesh Christ came, who is over all, God blessed forever. Amen”. (Romans 9:5). Also, in the words of John, “And we know that the Son of God is come, and has given us an understanding, that we may know him that is true, and we are in him that is true, even in his Son Jesus Christ. This is the true God, and eternal life” (I John 5:20). He is to be called (The everlasting Father) The Amplified Bible renders these words, (The everlasting Father of Eternity) The Son is not to be confounded with the Father, though He and the Father are one (John 10:30). But He is (The Father of the Ages) or the One who created the ages of time, in whom all the ages meet.

Moreover, He is the (Prince of Peace) “. . . and He shall speak peace unto the heathen: and his dominion shall be from sea even to sea, and from the river even to the ends of the earth” (Zechariah 9:10).

In one word He is God the Son.

5. He Is The One Who Must

Be Of The Tribe of Judah

This is the prophecy of Jacob to his son Judah. “The scepter shall not depart from Judah, nor a lawgiver from between his feet, until Shiloh come; and unto him shall the gathering of the people be” (Genesis 49:10). A better rendering for the words, (gathering of the people be) would be (the obedience of the people) For the Messiah is the one who should be obeyed.

This prophecy was fulfilled in Jesus for He is the “Lion of the tribe of Judah” (Revelation 5:5).

It is interesting to notice that the scepter which is the symbol of government was taken away at the time of the birth of the Messiah and Judea paid her first taxes to Rome. Then, in Bethlehem of Judea, Jesus was born (Luke 2:1-7; Matthew 2:1), Shiloh had come.

6. He Must Be Of The Seed Of David

The word of the LORD came unto Nathan the prophet saying: “Go and tell my servant David … I will set up thy seed after thee … and I will establish the throne of his kingdom for ever” (II Samuel 7:5,12,13). Jeremiah recorded: “Behold, the days come saith the LORD, and I will raise unto David a righteous Branch, and a King shall reign and prosper, and shall execute judgment and justice in the earth” (Jeremiah 23:5).

These prophecies were fulfilled in part in Jesus in His first coming. The rest shall be fulfilled in Him in His second coming. We read in the book of Acts, “… he raised up unto them David to be their king … of this man’s seed hath God raised unto Israel a Savior, Jesus” (Acts 13:22,23). Again we read in Romans: “Concerning his son Jesus Christ our Lord, which was made of the seed of David according to the flesh” (Romans 1:3).

7- He Must Be A Prophet Like Unto Moses

The Messiah is a Prophet, a Priest and a King. As a Prophet He must be like He must be a Jew and He must come to the Jewish people. Moses Spoke to Israel, saying: “And the LORD said unto me … I will raise them up a Prophet from among their brethren, like unto thee, and will put my words in his mouth; and he shall speak unto them all that I shall command him. And it shall come to pass, that whosoever will not hearken unto my words which he shall speak in my name, I will require it of him” (Deuteronomy 18:17- 19). Peter declared that this prophecy was fulfilled in Jesus the Messiah. He said to the Jews: “For Moses truly said unto the fathers, A prophet shall the Lord your God raise up unto you of your brethren, like unto me; him shall ye hear in all things whatsoever he shall say unto you. And it shall come to pass, that every soul, which will not hear that prophet, shall be destroyed…. Unto you first God, having raised up his Son Jesus, sent him to bless you, in turning away every one of you from his iniquities” (Acts 3:22,23,26).

8. He Must Be Betrayed By A Friend

And Sold For Thirty Pieces Of Silver

These events were foretold by both David and Zechariah. David recorded, “Yea, mine own familiar friend, in whom I trusted, which did eat of my bread, hath lifted his heel against me” (Psalms 41:9). Zechariah recorded: “And I said unto them, if ye think good give me my price; and if not forbear. So they weighed for my price thirty pieces of silver” (Zechariah 11:12). Matthew declared that these prophecies were fulfilled when Judas Iscariot betrayed Him. “Then one of the twelve, called Judas Iscariot, went unto the chief priests, And said unto them, What will ye give me, and I will deliver him unto you? And they covenanted with him for thirty pieces of silver” (Matthew 26:14,15).

It is an amazing fact that all the prophecies concerning the sufferings and the crucifixion of the Messiah were fulfilled in Jesus Christ. This is a final proof that the one who was crucified was the true Messiah.

Let us continue to follow the prophecies written concerning Him.

9. He Must Be Smitten On The

Cheek, Spit Upon And Scourged

The prophet Micah recorded ” .. they shall smite the judge of Israel with a rod upon the cheek.” (Micah 5:1). Isaiah recorded: “I gave my back to the smiters, and my cheeks to them that plucked of the hair: I hid not my face from shame and spitting” (Isaiah 50:6). All these prophecies were fulfilled in the day the Messiah was crucified. Matthew wrote “And they spit upon him, and took the reed, and smote him on the head” (Matthew 27:30). John who was an eye witness recorded: “Then Pilate therefore took Jesus, and scourged him” (John 19:1).

10. He Must Be Crucified.

King David declared: “For dogs have compassed me the assembly of the wicked have in closed me they pierced my hands and my feet” (Psalm 22:16). It is an historical fact that king David died a natural death, and that these words were a prophecy concerning the Messiah who had to be born of the seed of David, and it was fulfilled literally in Jesus when He was crucified. John declared: “And he bearing his cross went forth into a place called the place of a skull, which is called in the Hebrew Golgotha. Where they crucified him” (John 19:17,18).

11. His Garments Must Be Parted

And Lots Cast For His Vesture

King David recorded: “They part my garments among them, and cast lots upon my vesture” (Psalm 22:18). Matthew declared the fulfilment of this prophecy, saying: “And they crucified him, and parted his garments, casting lots: that it might be fulfilled which was spoken by the prophet, They parted my garments among them, and upon my vesture did they cast lots” (Matthew 27:35).

12. He Must Be Pierced

The prophet Zechariah recorded: ” … and they shall look upon me whom they have pierced” (Zechariah 12:10). John who was an eye witness testified: “But one of the soldiers with a spear pierced his side, and forth-with came there out blood and water” (John 19:34).

13. He Must Die A Physical Death

Isaiah prophesied: ” … he hath poured out his soul unto death” (Isaiah 53:12). John recorded : “When Jesus therefore had received the vinegar, he said, it is finished: and he bowed his head, and gave up the ghost” (John 19:30). The writer of the epistle to the Hebrews recorded: “But we see Jesus, who was made a little lower than the angels for the suffering of death, crowned with glory and honour; that he by the grace of God should taste death for every man” (Hebrews 2:9).

14. Not A Bone Of Him

Should Be Broken

Concerning the Passover lamb which was a symbol of the Messiah (Read I Corinthians 5:7) we read: “… neither shall ye break a bone thereof” (Exodus 12:46). David recorded: “He keeper all his bones; not one of them is broken” (Psalm 34:20). John recorded: “Then came the soldiers, and brake the legs of the first and of the other which was crucified with him. But when they came to Jesus, and saw that he was dead already, they break not his legs, and he that saw it bare record, and his record is true: and he knoweth that he saith true, that ye might believe. For these things were done, that the scripture should be fulfilled, A bone of him shall not be broken” (John 19:32-36).

15. He Must Be Buried With The Rich

Isaiah prophesied: “And he made his grave with the wicked, and with the rich in his death” (Isaiah 53:9). Matthew recorded the fulfilment of this prophecy in his words: “When the even was come, there came a rich man of Arimathaea, named Joseph, who also himself was Jesus’ disciple He went to Pilate, and begged the body of Jesus. Then Pilate commanded the body to be delivered. And when Joseph had taken the body, he wrapped it in a clean linen cloth, and laid it in his own new tomb, which he had hewn out in the rock and he rolled a great stone to the door of the sepulchre, and departed” (Matthew 27:57-60).

16. His Flesh Must Not See Corruption

And He Must Be Resurrected

And Ascended To Heaven

King David recorded: “For thou wilt not leave my soul in hell; neither wilt thou suffer thine Holy One to see corruption” (Psalm 16:10). Peter lifted up his voice in the day of Pentecost and said to the men of Israel: “Ye men of Israel, hear these words; Jesus of Nazareth, a man approved of God among you by miracles and wonders and signs, which God did by him in the midst of you, as ye yourselves also know Him, being delivered by the determinate counsel and foreknowledge of God, ye have taken, and by wicked hands have crucified and slain: Whom God hath raised up, having loosed the pains of death: because it was not possible that he should be Holden of it. For David speaketh concerning him, I foresaw the Lord always before my face, for he is on my right hand, that I should not be moved: Therefore did my heart rejoice, and my tongue was glad; more over also my flesh shall rest in hope Because thou wilt not leave my soul in hell, neither wilt thou suffer thine Holy One to see corruption. Thou hast made known to me the ways of life; thou shalt make me full of joy with thy countenance. Men and brethren, let me freely speak unto you of the patriarch David, that he is both dead and buried, and his sepulchre is with us unto this day. Therefore being a prophet, and knowing that God had sworn with an oath to him, that of the fruit of his loins, according to the flesh, he would raise up Christ to sit on his throne; He seeing this before spake of the resurrection of Christ, that his soul was not left in hell, neither his flesh did see corruption. This Jesus hath God raised up, whereof we all are witnesses. Therefore being by the right hand of God exalted, and having received of the Father the promise of the Holy Ghost, he hath shed forth this, which ye now see and hear. For David is not ascended into the heavens: but he saith himself, The LORD said unto my Lord, Sit thou on my right hand, Until I make thy foes thy footstool. Therefore let all the House of Israel know assuredly, that God hath made that same Jesus, whom ye have crucified, both Lord and Christ” (Acts 2: 22-36).

Yes, Christ arose. The two angels said to the women who went to the sepulchre, “Why seek ye the living among the dead? He is not here, but is risen: remember how he spake unto you when he was yet in Galilee, Saying, The Son of man must be delivered into the hands of sinful men, and be crucified, and the third day rise again. And they remembered his words” (Luke 24:5-8). He also ascended into heaven. Luke recorded: “And it came to pass, while he blessed them, he was parted from them, and carried up into heaven” (Luke 24:51).

17. He Must Be The True Object Of Trust

David made this clear in the second Psalm. He identified the Messiah as the Son of God. “I will declare the decree: the LORD hath said unto me, Thou art my Son; this day have I begotten thee” (Psalm 2:7). He then instructed that this (Son) is to be trusted. “Kiss the Son, lest he be angry, and ye perish from the way, when his wrath is kindled but a little. Blessed are they that trust in him” (Psalm 2:12).

In Jeremiah we read, “Thus saith the LORD; Cursed be the man that trusteth in man, and makes flesh his arm, and whose heart departeth from the LORD … Blessed is the man that trusteth in the LORD, and whose hope the LORD is” (Jeremiah 17:5,7).

God the Father makes it very clear that His Son, the Messiah, is entitled to be trusted, and He (the Messiah) therefore is God. Someone said:

«If this were not the case, the only alternative would be to believe that God, who warns us not to trust in man, is contradicting Himself by telling us to do so. Of course, God is not contradicting Himself, but is driving home the point once more: The Messiah is God»

Actually, the Messiah has already come. More than nineteen hundred years ago, Jesus the Messiah was born in a manger at Bethlehem. His mother Mary was a virgin. He was mighty in his deeds, for He performed many miracles, as He said to the disciples of John the Baptist, “Go and shew John again those things which ye do hear and see The blind receive their sight, and the lame walk, the lepers are cleansed, and the deaf hear, the dead are raised up, and the poor have the gospel preached to them. And blessed is he, whosoever shall not be offended in me” (Matthew 11:4-6). Christ proved Himself to be God by His words and by His works.

He was born of the tribe of Judah and of the house of David. he was betrayed by Judas Iscariot. He was sold for thirty pieces of silver. He was crucified on the cross at Calvary as the true Passover Lamb. Israel expected Him to come as a conquering militarist. Instead He came in lowly grace. He shed His blood on the cross that men might have forgiveness of sins.

He was buried and after three days He rose from among the dead. he was seen after His resurrection, over a period of forty days, by His disciples and apostles and by more than five hundred brethren. He ascended to heaven to His Father’s right hand. He should be trusted as the Only Saviour by every one who wants to be saved from his sins.

One day the Messiah will return to the earth to set up His kingdom. he will be known by the print of the nails in His hands (Zechariah 13:6). Those who are fully committed to Him will reign with Him.

No wonder then, that we hear Nathanael, who was an Israelite indeed, in whom was no guile, saying to Him: “Rabbi, thou art the Son of God; thou art the King of Israel” (John 1:49).

Chapter Four

The Sinless Life

Of The Messiah

It is a fact of human experience as well as of the Bible that “… all have sinned, and come short of the glory of God” (Romans 3:23). The words (come short of the glory of God) become plainer still when we recognize that to (come short) is to lack, and that (glory) has to do with esteem. For example, the esteem in which we hold a person is the glory we will give to him. If we esteem him to be honor able, upright and honest, this is the glory we will give him when the occasion arises for us to speak concerning him. Thus Paul’s statement in his letter to the Romans literally tells us that there is no difference (for all have sinned) and are lacking the esteem of God. While we may be highly esteemed by our friends, family, and fellowmen, yet because we are sinners we are lacking the esteem of God according to His holy standard.

Yes, according to God’s measure all have sinned. The prophets of the Old Testament as well as the apostles of the New Testament have sinned.

Abram lied because of fear. “And it came to pass, when he was come near to enter into Egypt, that he said unto Sarai his wife, Behold now, I know that thou art a fair woman to look upon Therefore it shall come to pass, when the Egyptians shall see thee, that they shall say this is his wife: and they will kill me, but they will save thee alive. Say, I pray thee, thou art my sister: that it may be well with me for thy sake; and my soul shall live because of thee” (Genesis 12:11-13).

Moses disobeyed God at Meribah, and smote the rock twice, instead of speaking to it as God ordered him. (Read Numbers 20:7-13, 23,24).

David committed adultery and killed Uriah the Hittite (read II Samuel 11,12).

Solomon with all his wisdom did evil in the sight of the LORD. “For it came to pass, when Solomon was old, that his wives turned away his heart after other gods: and his heart was not perfect with the LORD his God, as was the heart of David his father. For Solomon went after Ashtoreth the goddess of the Zidonians, and after Mi/com the abomination of the Ammonites. And Solomon did evil in the sight of the LORD, and went not fully after the LORD” (I Kings 11:4-6).

Job in his youth committed iniquities. “For thou writest bitter things against me, and makest me to possess the iniquities of my youth” (Job 13:26).

Daniel confessed his sins before the LORD (Read Daniel 9:20).

The prophet Isaiah cried: “Woe is me! for I am undone; because I am a man of unclean lips, and I dwell in the midst of a people of unclean lips for mine eyes have seen the King, the LORD of hosts” (Isaiah 6:5).

Peter confessed that he was a sinner. He said to the Messiah, “Depart from me; for I am a sinful man, Lord.” (Luke 5:8).

Paul declared that he was the chief of sinners. “This is a faithful saying, and worthy of all acceptation, that Christ Jesus came into the world to save sinners; of whom I am chief” (I Timothy 1:15).

The Koran records that Muhammed sinned and was forgiven by God. It says: “Lo! We have given thee ( Muhammed) a signal victory, That Allah (God) may forgive thee of thy sin that which is past and that which is to come” (Surah Al-Fath 1,2). The Koran also states that he was wandering and God directed him “Did He not find thee wandering and direct (thee)” (Surah Ad-Duha 7).

According to the Koran God ordered Muhammed to shun pollution. ” thou enveloped in thy cloak, Arise and warn! Thy Lord magnify, Thy raiment purify, pollution shun! And show not favour, seeking worldly gain!” (Surah AI-Mudath-thir 1-6).

In contrast to all other persons who ever lived on earth Jesus the Messiah never expressed any misgivings in regard to his own conduct and righteousness. He never attempted any form of repentance or made any confession that He had sinned.

It is significant that we read concerning Muhammed in the Koran: “He frowned and turned away. Because the blind man came unto him” (Surah Abasa 1,2). However we read concerning Jesus: “And they came to Jericho: and as he went out of Jericho with his disciples and a great number of people, blind· Bartimaeus, the son of Timaeus, sat by the highway side begging. And when he heard that it was Jesus of Nazareth, he began to cry out, and say, Jesus, thou son of David have mercy on me. And many charged him that he should hold his peace: but he cried the more a great deal, Thou son of David, have mercy on me. And Jesus stood still, and commanded him to be called. And they call the blind man, saying unto him, Be of good comfort, rise, he callth thee. And he, casting away his garment, rose, and came to Jesus. And Jesus answered and said unto him, What wilt thou that I should do unto thee? The blind man said unto him, Lord, that I might receive my sight. And Jesus said unto him, Go thy way; thy faith hath made thee whole. And immediately he received his sight, and followed Jesus in the way” (Mark 10:46-52).

The Bible declares that every human being is born with a sinful nature. David said: “Behold, I was shapen in iniquity; and in sin did my mother conceive me” (Psalm 51:5). Again he recorded: “The wicked are estranged from the womb: they go astray as soon as they be born, speaking lies” (Psalm 58:3). Isaiah declared: “All we like sheep have gone astray; we have turned every one to his own way” (Isaiah 53:6). But concerning Jesus the Messiah the apostle John declared: “And ye know that he was manifested to take away our sins; and in him is no sin” (I John 3:5).

The apostle Paul declared: “For he hath made him to be sin for us, who knew no sin; that we might be made the righteousness of God in him” (II Corinthians 5:21).

The a posted Peter declared: “for even I hereunto were ye called: because Christ also suffered for us, leaving us an example, that ye should follow his steps: Who did no sin, neither was guile found in his mouth” (I Peter 2:21,22).

Isaiah said about Him: ” … He was cut off out of the land of the living for the transgression of my people was he stricken. And he made his grave with the wicked, and with the rich in his death; because he had done no violence, neither was any deceit in his mouth” (Isaiah 53:8,9).

Yes, the Messiah lived a sinless life. He spoke strong words of warning to the religious leaders and others of His day (Read Matthew 23), but on no occasion did he ever hint that He needed anyone’s forgiveness, whether it be God’s or man’s.

In chapter eight of the Gospel of John, we are confronted with the challenge of the Messiah in an encounter with His critics. The chapter begins with a story of the Scribes and the Pharisees bringing to Jesus a woman taken in adultery. They asked Him: «Moses in the law commanded us to stone such women; what then do you say? They were saying this, testing Him, in order that they might have grounds for accusing Him». But Jesus stooped down, and with His finger wrote on the ground. But when they persisted in asking Him, He straightened up, and said to them: “He that is without sin among you, Let him first cast a stone at her” (John 8:7). And when they heard it, being convicted by their conscience, they began to go out one by one, beginning with the older ones, even unto the last. Not one of those Scribes and Pharisees was without sin.

It must not be overlooked that in the same chapter the Messiah challenged His critics, saying to them, “Which one of you convicts me of sin?” (John 8:46 NASV). This was their chance to accuse Him, but they made no accusation of sin.

On another occasion a rich young ruler came to Jesus and asked Him: “Good Master, what shall I do that I may inherit eternal life?” (Mark 10:17). Jesus said to him, “Why callest thou me good? there is none good but one, that is God” (Mark 10:18).

The meaning of these words of Jesus is this: If you recognize and confess that I am good; then you should also know that I am God. For there is none good except God alone. And because Jesus the Messiah is God He advised the rich young ruler to sell all that he possessed and distribute it to the poor, and follow Him.

The sinless life of the Messiah is concrete proof that He is God.

Chapter Five

The Testimony And The

Claims Of The Messiah

In the previous chapter, we have clearly seen that Jesus the Messiah is sinless. Therefore, His testimony and claims concerning Himself are absolutely true.

The man who came almost 2000 years ago and was taken to a place outside Jerusalem where He was brutally whipped, repeatedly insulted and tortured and finally crucified was the Son of God and the expected Messiah. This is confirmed by His precious and blessed words.

Jesus Testified Concerning His Pres-Existence

Jesus the Messiah claimed an existence before His life on this earth. He claimed that He was with God the Father before He was born into this world, and that He was present with the Father before the foundation of the world.

Once He said to the Jews: “Your father Abraham rejoiced to see my day: and he saw it, and was glad” (John 8:56). Then said the Jews to Him: “Thou art not yet fifty years old, and hast thou seen Abraham?” And He answered them: “Verily, verily, I say unto you, Before Abraham was, I am” (John 8:58). He used in His answer to the Jews the words, (I AM) The same words Jehovah used when He spoke to Moses. “And God said to Moses . . . Thus shalt thou say unto the children of Israel, I AM hath sent me unto you” (Exodus 3:14). By using the Old Testament name of God (I AM) Jesus claimed to be God.

In Jesus high priestly prayer recorded in the Gospel of John, chapter 17, He prayed: “And now, 0 Father, glorify thou me with thine own self with the glory which I had with thee before the world was” (John 17:5). Later in the same prayer, He said, “Father, I will that they also, whom thou hast given me, be with me where I am; that they may behold my glory, which thou hast given me for thou lovest me before the foundation of the world” (John 17:24).

On another occasion He said: “What and if ye shall see the Son of man ascend up where he was before”? (John 6:62). “Ye are from beneath; I am from above: ye are of this world; I am not of this world” (John 8:23). Again, it is recorded_that Jesus said: “I came forth from the Father, and am come into the world: again I leave the world, and go to the Father” (John 16:28).

Jesus Testified That While He Is On Earth

He Is Also In Heaven

He said to Nicodemus: “And no man hath ascended up to heaven, but he that come down from heaven, even the Son of man which is in heaven” (John 3:13). This declares His omnipresence which is without question one of the attributes of the one and only God. Before His ascension He assured His disciples of His continuous presence with them saying, ” … and, lo, I am with you always, even unto the end of the world” (Matthew 28:20).

Jesus Testified That He Can Give Rest To

All Who Are Weary And Heavy-Laden

He called them who are heavy-laden to come to Him with all their burdens, and promised them complete rest. “Come unto me, all ye that labour and are heavy-laden, and I will give you rest” (Matthew 11:28). No one can grant rest to all the weary and the heavy-laden except God.

Once the commissioners and governors of King Darius of old Persia persuaded him to establish a statute and enforce an injunction that anyone who made a petition to any god or man besides him, for thirty days, would be cast into the lion’s den. Their purpose was to get rid of Daniel because of his extraordinary spirit. King Darius signed the document, that is, the injunction. When Daniel learned that the document was signed, he entered his house where he had windows open in his upper chamber toward Jerusalem, and he knelt three times a day, praying and giving thanks before his God, as he had been doing previously. The commissioners and governors reported the case to the king. When the king discovered that he had been deceived, he was deeply distressed and set his mind on delivering Daniel. However he failed. He was unable to rescue Daniel because he was a mere human being.

In contrast, Jesus the Messiah promised rest to all the weary and heavy-laden, and fulfilled his promise. “And Jesus went about all the cities and villages . . . healing every sickness and every disease among the people” (Matthew 9:35). He is able to fulfill his promise because He is God. He performed many miracles, but not one for his own benefit. All his miracles were to give rest and comfort to the heavy-laden.

Jesus Testified That He Can Set Free

Those Who Trust In Him From

Stereotyped Thinking, From The Power

Of Sin And From The Power Of The Clan

Some religions have a conception of God which has formed a peculiar way of thinking in their followers. The followers of such religions have to cancel their intellectual reasoning when they approach their gods or read their sacred books. It is forbidden for them, out of reverence for their sacred books, to examine or discuss their contents critically. No man is able to fathom or judge the words of their sacred books. They can only be received passively and obeyed unquestioningly, but never scrutinized honestly and openly. No man has the right to interpret their sacred books in unclear matters with his own intellect or to apply them to current or new situations. There is no independent thinking allowed in such religions.

Jesus the Messiah, on the other hand, claimed that He is the source of freedom in all the areas of life. He said to the Jews, “And ye shall know the truth, and the truth shall make you free” (John 8:32). Very much a part of this is intellectual freedom, the freedom to think and decide for oneself without the fear of oppression.

Again He said to them, “Verily, verily, I say unto you, Whosoever committeth sin is the servant of sin . . . If the Son therefore shall make you free, ye shall be free indeed” (John 8:34,36). Jesus the Messiah offers freedom from sin. He freed many persons from the power of sin while He was on earth. He is still setting free millions of people all over the world!

Jesus acknowledges that believing on Him as the Messiah and Only Saviour of mankind may mean the severance of the believer from his father, uncle, brothers, sisters, and even his wife and children. In other words, the believer is no longer bound to the (WE) mentality in which he was rooted and anchored with every strand of his soul. Jesus has promised the believer freedom from the clan, for He will be His new and true friend and companion. We read his precious words in the book of Luke: “And there went great multitudes with him: and he turned, and said unto them, If any man come to me, and hate not his father, and mother, and wife, and children, and brethren, and sisters, yea, and his own life also, he cannot be my disciple. And whosoever doth not bear his cross, and come after me, cannot be my disciple” (Luke 14:25-27). On another occasion He said: “Think not that I am come to send peace, but a sword. For I am come to set a man at variance against his father, and the daughter against her mother, and the daughter in law against her mother in law. And a man’s foes shall be they of his own household. He that loveth father or mother more than me is not worthy of me: and he that loveth son or daughter more than me is not worthy of me. And he that taketh not his cross, and followeth after me, is not worthy of me. He that finder his life shall lose it and he that loseth his life for my sake shall find it” (Matthew 10:34-39).

This does not mean that the one who believes on the Messiah will become solitary, and that this will lead him to despair, or depression and thoughts of suicide. Not by any means. The believer has the promise of the presence of the Messiah with him all the days of his life, “… and, lo, I am with you always, even unto the end of the world” (Matthew 28:20). The believer can sing:

«What a friend we have in Jesus, All our sins and griefs to bear.

What a privilege to carry Everything to God in prayer».

Jesus Testified That He Is The

Expected And Long-Awaited Messiah

There is a remarkable story recorded in the fourth chapter of the book of John. It tells of an accidental meeting of a weary stranger, seated at a village well, and a woman who had come to draw water. But there is nothing accidental in the plans of God. That weary stranger was the Messiah. He directed the conversation to help the woman to discover herself, her sin, and her saviour. That is the glory of Jesus, the great physician. He not only opens our eyes to see ourselves, our sins, and our needs, but He also reveals Himself as the ONLY answer to these needs.

As Jesus led the woman step by step to see that she had made a mess out of her life, He revealed Himself at the same time. First she saw Him as a very strange Jew, who would ask a Samaritan woman for a drink. Then she was made aware that He could give her living water. He talked to her about her intimate life, and drove the truth of her guilty past and sinful present home to her soul.

She stood there, greatly moved in the presence of this stranger who was able to put his finger upon the black spot in her life. He looked so kind and considerate, and yet He had done the very thing that stirred her conscience to the very depth. In this moment she recognized Him as a prophet. Feeling her need of salvation she raised the question of where she should go to meet God with a sin offering? Jesus answered her that God had not left this important matter to her to seek Him first. Rather, He had been seeking her, and she could find Him if her spirit would be turned honestly toward Him. In this connection she mentioned the Messiah, and Jesus acknowledged that He was indeed the promised Messiah.

Let us read carefully these words: “The woman saith unto him, I know that Messiah cometh, which is called Christ when he is come, he will tell us all things. Jesus saith unto her, I that speak unto thee am he” (John 4:25,26). Therefore, she rushed into the city to witness. She had found the Messiah the Savior of the world.

During the trial of Jesus, the high priest asked him: “Art thou the Christ, (the Messiah), the Son of the blessed? And Jesus said, I am: and ye shall see the son of man sitting on the right hand of power, and coming in the clouds of heaven” (Mark 14:61,62).

Jesus Testified That He Is The Son Of God

When Jesus healed the man born blind, the Pharisees cast him out of the synagogue. “Jesus heard that they had cast him out; and when he had found him, he said unto him, Dost thou believe on the Son of God? He answered and said, Who is he, Lord, that I might believe on him? And Jesus said unto him, Thou hast both seen him, and it is he that talker with thee” (John 9:35-37). Again He said to the Jews: “Then Jesus said unto them, Verily verily, I say unto you, Moses gave you not that bread from heaven; but my Father gives you the true bread from heaven … For I came down from heaven” (John 6:32,38). “From that time many of his disciples went back, and walked no more with him. Then said Jesus unto the twelve, Will ye also go away? Then Simon Peter answered him, Lord, to whom shall we go? thou hast the words of eternal life. And we believe and are sure that thou art that Christ, the Son of the living God” (John 6:66-69). In His priestly prayer recorded in (John 17) the Messiah talked to God the Father, saying, “Father, the hour is come; glorify thy Son, that thy Son also may glorify thee” (John 17:1).

In the book of Matthew, Jesus revealed a great truth, saying that the relation between Himself and the Father is beyond the comprehension of any man. He declared: “All things are delivered unto me of my Father and no man knows the Son, but the Father; neither knows any man the Father, save the Son, and he to whomsoever the Son will reveal him” (Matthew 11:27).

Jesus Testified That He And

The Father Are One

He clearly said: “I and my Father are one” (John 10:30). The Jews to whom He was speaking understood from his words that He claimed to be God. “Then the Jews took up stones again to stone him. Jesus answered them, Many good works have I shewed you from my Father; for which of those do ye stone me? The Jews answered him saying, For good work we stone thee not; but for blasphemy; and because that thou, being a man, makest thyself God” (John 10:31-33).

When Jesus healed the man who had an infirmity thirty-eight years on the sabbath day, the Jews persecuted Jesus, and sought to slay Him. “But Jesus answered them, My Father work hitherto, and I work. Therefore the Jews sought the more to kill him, because he not only had broken the sabbath, but said also that God was his Father, making himself equal with God” (John 5:17,18).

Jesus confirmed His deity when He answered them saying: “Verily, verily, I say unto you, The Son can do nothing of himself, but what he sees the Father do for what things soever he does, these also does the Son likewise. For the Father loves the Son, and shewed him all things that himself does and he will shew him greater works than these, that ye may marvel. For as the Father raises up the dead, and quickenes them; even so the Son quickenes whom he will. For the Father judges no man, but has committed all judgment unto the Son: That all men should honor the Son, even as they honor the Father. He that honor not the Son honor not the Father which has sent him” (John 5:19-23).

By claiming that He is equal with God the Father and should be honored like Him, Jesus equates a man’s attitude toward Himself (Jesus) with a man’s attitude toward God. Therefore, if anyone knows Jesus the Messiah he would know God the Father. ” … if ye had known me, ye should have known my Father also” (John 8:19). If anyone believes in Him he would believe in God,“He that believe on me, believe not on me, but on him that sent me” (John 12:44). If anyone sees Him, he would be seeing God.“And he that seeing me seeing him that sent me” (John 12:45).

On one occasion the disciple Philip said to Jesus: “lord, shew us the Father, and it suffice us” (John 14:8). Jesus replied: “Have I been so long with you, and yet hast thou not known me, Philip? he that hath seen me hath seen the Father; and how say thou then, shew us the Father? Believe thou not that I am in the Father, and the Father in me? the words that I speak unto you I speak not of myself but the Father that dwell in me, he doing the works. Believe me that I am in the Father, and the Father in me: or else believe me for the very work’s sake” (John 14:9-11). It is quite significant to notice that Jesus received worship. After He healed the man born blind, He revealed Himself to him as the Son of God. The man said to Him: “Lord, I believe. And he worshiped him” (John 9:38). Jesus received worship because He is God.

Jesus Testified By His Seven Great

Declarations In The Gospel of John

That He is God

Throughout the Gospel of John we are confronted with the claims of Jesus the Messiah, claims which cannot be ignored, and which absolutely confirm His deity.

S. Lewis in his book, The Case For Christianity, mentioned a person who said to him, “I’m ready to accept Jesus as a great moral teacher, but I don’t accept his claim to be God.” C.S. Lewis contends:

«That’s the one thing we must not say. A man who was merely a man and said the sort of things Jesus said wouldn’t be a great moral teacher. He’d either be a lunatic-on a level with the man who says he’s a poached egg-or else he’d be the devil of hell. You must make your choice. Either this man was, and is, the Son of God, or else a madman or something worse. You can shut him up for a fool, you can spit at him and kill him as a demon, or you can fall at his feet and call him Lord and God. But don’t let us come with any patronizing nonsense about his being a great human teacher. He hasn’t left that open to us. He didn’t intend».

Dr. Alfred Martin, in his book, John: Life Through Believing, said:

«The logic is very clear. Either the Lord Jesus was good or He was not good. Most admit that He was a good man. But He claimed to be God and demanded that all men should honor Him exactly as they honor the Father (John 5:23). If He were not God and therefore not deserving of this honor, then his claim would be preposterous and blasphemous, and He would not be a good man. If He is what He claimed to be, then how can anyone refuse to accept Him?» (page 4/3).

Let us listen to His seven great declarations:

1.“I Am The Bread Of Life” (John 6:35)

The only one who can fully satisfy the hunger of the spirit and the soul of man is God. David said: “I shall be satisfied, when I awake, with thy likeness” (Psalm 17:15).

2.“I Am The Light Of The World” (John 8:12)

The light of the world is God. The prophet Micah said: “When I sit in the darkness, the LORD shall be a light unto me” (Micah 7:8).

The apostle John said: “Cod is light, and in him is no darkness at all” (I John 1:5). When Jesus declared that He is the light of the world, He was saying that He is God. Jesus is the light of the world because “In him was life, and the life was the light of men. And the light shine in darkness, and the darkness comprehended it not” (John I:4,5).

Light under certain conditions is germicidal. It gets rid of organisms that are hurtful and destructive. Christ as the light of the world is the soul’s germicide. This fact was revealed by the words of the apostle John, “For this purpose the Son of God was manifested, that he might destroy the works of the devil” (I John 3:8).

Surely, Jesus, the light of the world, liberates from the fetters of fear, the grip of greed, the hold of hatred, the bond of bitterness, the prison of pride, the tyranny of temper-the whole plaguing, handcuffing lot. He shines in every heart of those who accept him as Savior and Lord because He is God.

3.”I Am The Door” (John 10:9)

He is not a door, but the only door. By Him, if any man enter in, he shall be saved, and shall go in and out, and find pastures. Going in and out means freedom. Finding pastures means that a person will be spiritually fed and nourished.

We have to keep in mind that the only way to God is God Himself.

4.”I Am The Good Shepherd” (John 10:11)

Dr. Alfred Martin commented on these words:

«In the Old Testament, if God’s people are sheep, then naturally God Himself is the shepherd “The LORD is my shepherd” (Psalm 23:1). Consequently, the Lord Jesus, speaking deliberately and with a perfect knowledge of all the implications and ramifications of His words, was again claiming to be God when He said, “I am the good shepherd” (John 10:11). His hearers presumably knew the Old Testament; therefore, He was saying in effect, “Those passages in the Scripture which call God the Shepherd refer to Me-I am the One described» (John: Life Through Believing page 6/3).

5. “I Am The Resurrection And The Life” (John 11:25)

In the Old Testament we read: “The LORD kills, and makes alive: he brings down to the grave, and brings up” (I Samuel 2:6). In the New Testament we read: “God which raises the dead” (II Corinthians 1:9). Again we read concerning Abraham: “By faith Abraham when he was tried, offered up Isaac. … Accounting that God was able to raise him up, even from the dead” (Hebrews 11:17,19).

The Messiah is the Resurrection and the Life because He is God. These claims were proved when Jesus called the dead back to life. At the city of Nain, He touched the coffin of a dead young man and said: “Young man, I say unto thee, Arise. And he that was dead sat up, and began to speak. And he delivered him to his mother” (Luke 7:14,15). He took the dead daughter of Jairus by the hand, and said to her: “Maid, arise. And her spirit came again, and she arose straightway and he commanded to give her meat” (Luke 8:54,55). Jesus is the (Resurrection and the Life) That means that when He comes onto the scene death is at an end. The raising of Lazarus was a sample of the fulfillment of His own word, “The hour come, and now is, when the dead shall hear the voice of the Son of God; and they that hear shall live” (John 5:25). Jesus came to the grave of Lazarus and said: “Take ye away the stone” (John 11:39). Martha, the sister of Lazarus said: “Lord, by this time he stinke for he hath been dead four days” (John 11:39). “He (Jesus) cried with a loud voice, Lazarus, come forth. And he that was dead came forth” (John 11:43,44). Thus, we can clearly see that the Messiah is God.

6.”I Am The Way, The Truth, And The Life” (John 14:6)

Jesus uttered these words when He revealed Judas Iscariot as traitor, and told Peter that he would deny Him. No wonder that the small company of disciples was plunged in gloom at these words. We would imagine that they were thinking: “One of us is a traitor. We cannot trust even Peter the spokesman of the group, because he will deny the Lord. Whom then can we trust? At that point Jesus comforted their hearts by His words, “Let not your heart be troubled ye believe in God, Believe also in me” (John 14:1) “I am the way, the truth, and the life” (John 14:6). He is the only way to God (… no man cometh unto the Father, but by me). There is a gulf between the sinful man and the righteous God deems unbridgeable. The Messiah said,(I am the way) for through Him man is brought back to God, and achieves his true destiny.He is the truth. People nowadays are saying that everything is relative and that there is no absolute truth. The philosophers in every age have searched for the truth, none have attained it by their speculation. Truth is both the ethic and the reality expressed in a person. Where can we find a man who is unchanging and consistent? Christ alone is the one who can say with final authority, (I am the truth,) because He alone is God. He said to Pilate the Roman governor: «To this end was I born, and for this cause came I into the world, that I should bear witness unto the truth. Every one that is of the truth hearth my voice» (John 18:37). Pilate asked Jesus, “What is the truth?,” not knowing that the Truth was standing in his presence in the person of Jesus Christ.

He is the Life. The way is the means by which we can come to the Father. The truth is the real expression of the righteous standards of the way. The life is the power by which we can live according to the righteous standards. Someone said, «Without the way there is no going, without the truth there is no knowing, without the life there is no living». There is no man made system which can bridge the gap between man and God. The Messiah is the Only way to God. “Neither is there salvation in any other for there is none other name under heaven given among men, whereby we must be saved” (Acts 4:12).

7.”I Am The True Vine” (John 15:1)

The emphasis in this assertion is on the word, (true) For Jesus is the Only Source of Life. “In him was life; and the life was the light of men” (John 1:4). To His disciples He said in the context “… for without me ye can do nothing” (John 15:5). Jesus claimed to be the one true vine. He alone is the source of spiritual life for His disciples. Those who abide in Him shall bear fruit, more fruit, and much fruit. This indicates that the Messiah is God because He is the source of life to His people. As David said in his psalm: “God, thou art my God; early will I seek thee: my soul thirsty for thee my flesh longe for thee in a dry and thirsty land, where no water is; My soul shall be satisfied as with marrow and fatness; and my mouth shall praise thee with joyful lips” (Psalm 63:1,5). I was very much impressed by what someone said about Christ as the believer’s life: «A Christian is a mind through which Christ thinks, a heart through which Christ loves, a voice through which Christ speaks, a hand through which Christ helps».

What Jesus said of Himself in these seven declarations no other man has ever said or would dare to say. For the simple reason that He was God incarnated in human form.

Jesus The Messiah Testified

That He Could Forgive Sins

No one has the right to forgive sins but God. The Psalmist declared: “But there is forgiveness with thee, that thou mayest be feared” (Psalm 130:4). Daniel the Prophet declared, “To the Lord our God belong mercies and forgiveness” (Daniel 9:9). Micah recorded: “Who is a God like unto thee, that pardoneth iniquity” (Micah 7:18).

When Jesus the Messiah came, He forgave the sins of men and women, not simply in the name of God, but by His own authority, because He is God.

To a paralytic man who was lowered through a roof by his four friends that he might be healed, Jesus said: “Son, thy sins be forgiven thee” (Mark 2:5). The scribes who were sitting there, reasoned in their hearts, “Why doth this man thus speak blasphemies? Who can forgive sins but God only?” (Mark 2:7). Jesus knew the thoughts of their hearts, for He is Omniscient, and turned to them and said: “Why reason ye these things in your hearts? Whether is it easier to say to the sick of the palsy, Thy sins be forgiven thee; or to say, Arise and take up thy bed, and walk? But that ye may know that the Son of man hath power on earth to forgive sins, he saith to the sick of palsy, I say unto thee, Arise, and take up thy bed, and go thy way into thine house” (Mark 2:8-11).

On another occasion Jesus visited the home of a Pharisee named Simon, and a sinful woman had come there to see Him, that she might find rest for her troubled soul. She stood behind Jesus at His feet, wet His feet with her tears, wiped them with her long hair, kissed them and anointed them with perfume she brought in an alabaster jar. To this sinful woman Jesus said: “Thy sins are forgiven” (Luke 7:48). Those who were reclining at the table with Him began to say to themselves, “Who is this that forgiveth sins also?” (Luke 7:49). Jesus did not apologize, but confirmed His authority to forgive sins by saying to the woman, “Thy faith hath saved thee; go in peace” (Luke 7:50).

To the woman who was caught in adultery, He said, “Neither do I condemn thee go, and sin no more” (John 8:11).

Jesus The Messiah Testified That He

Is The Central Theme and The Fulfillment

Of The Old Testament Books and Prophecies

In speaking to the Jewish people in His day Jesus said: “Search the scriptures; for in them ye think ye have eternal life and they are they which testify of me” (John 5:39).

Jesus was talking to the religious leaders in Israel. Zealous application to the law was a duty for them, and in this occupation they felt that they would achieve eternal life. Jesus was attempting to point out the inconsistency of professing to study the law while at the same time rejecting Him as the true Messiah, since the law spoke of Him.

He made a definite claim to be the object of prophecy in the Old Testament and declared that without coming to Him and believing that He is the Messiah they could not have eternal life. Jesus said to them: “Ye search the Scriptures, believing that in them ye have eternal life” (John 5:39). That is, you take it for granted that you are going to have eternal life by becoming familiar with, and obeying the Scriptures, but unless you trust the One of whom the Scriptures speak, you will not have eternal life. “And ye will not come to me that ye might have eternal life” (John 5:40).

Paul wrote to Timothy: “And that from a child thou known the Holy Scriptures, which are able to make thee wise unto salvation through faith which is in Christ Jesus” (II Timothy 3:15).

All the Levitical offerings spoke of Jesus the Messiah and His atonement.

He was the “Burnt offering” (Leviticus 1:3) who satisfied all the demands of the Holiness of His Father. Concerning this truth Paul declared, “And walk in love, as Christ also has loved us, and has given himself for us an offering and sacrifice to God for a sweet smelling savour” (Ephesians 5:2).

He was the “Meat (or grain) offering” (Leviticus 2:1-3) which was made of fine flour to represent the sinless and harmonious life of the Messiah.

He was the (Peace offering) (Leviticus 3:1- 17) who was offered to make peace with God for those who believe in Him, and to be the only foundation for their communion with God and their joy.

«My hope is built on nothing less Than Jesus’ blood and righteousness I dare not trust the sweetest frame, But wholly lean on Jesus’ name».

Isaiah declared, “But he was woulded for our transgressions, he was bruised for our iniquities the chastisement of our peace was upon him; and with his stripes we are healed”. (Isaiah 53:5).

He was the “Sin offering” (Leviticus 4:1-32)

who was offered on the cross of Calvary to pay for the original sin. John the Baptizer pointed to Him and said: “Behold the lamb of God, which taketh away the sin of the world” (John 1:29).

He was the “Trespass offering” (Leviticus 5:6) who sacrificed His life for our sins. This is clear in many passages of the Scriptures.

Isaiah declared: “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 53:6).

Peter said: “Who his own self bare our sins in his own body on the tree, that we being dead to sins, should live unto righteousness by whose stripes ye were healed” (I Peter 2:24). Paul declared: “In whom we have redemption through his blood, the forgiveness of sins, according to the riches of his grace” (Ephesians 1 :7).

One may ask: Why the saying and belief that Christ died for our sins while we were not yet born? The answer is, that all our sins were known to God before we were born. God knows the end from the beginning. “Known unto god are all his works from the beginning of the world” (Acts 15:18).

God said to Jeremiah: “Before I formed thee in the belly I knew thee” (Jeremiah 1:5). David recorded: “My substance was not hid from thee, when I was made in secret, and curiously wrought in the lowest parts of the earth. Thine eyes did see my substance, yet being unperfect; and in thy book all my members were written, which in continuance were fashioned, when as yet there was none of them” (Psalm 139:15,16). Because God knew our sins before we were born He laid them all on Jesus when He died on the cross of Calvary. Those who accept the Messiah as their Saviour and Lord will be completely forgiven. “For God so loved the world, that he gave his only begotten Son, that whoso ever believeth in him should not perish, but have everlasting life” (John 3:16).

The Messiah firmly taught that His whote life was rooted in the Old Testament prophecy. In the beginning of His ministry He went to the synagogue in Nazareth and stood up to read. They handed Him the book of the prophet Isaiah. And He opened the book, and turned to the following passage, and read it: “The Spirit of the lord is upon me, because he hath anointed me to preach the gospel to the poor; he hath sent me to heal the broken hearted, to preach deliverance to the captives, and recovering of sight to the blind, to set at liberty them that are bruised, To preach the acceptable year of the lord” (Luke 4:18,19). Then He closed the book, and gave it back to the attendant, and sat down. The eyes of everyone in the synagogue were fixed upon Him. Then He said to them: “This day is this scripture fulfilled in your ears” (Luke 4:21). In other words, Jesus said, «Isaiah was writing about me».

Again Jesus said to the leaders of the Jews: “For had ye believed Moses, ye would have believed me for he wrote of me” (John 5:46). Yes, Jesus the Messiah is the fulfillment of all the types mentioned in the books of Moses. He is the ladder which Jacob saw in his dream (compare Genesis 28:12 and John 1:51). He is the ram offered as a substitute of Isaac (Genesis 22:13). He is the Passover lamb (compare Exodus 12:1-14 and I Corinthians 5:7). He is the manna from heaven (compare Exodus 16:31 and John 6:31-35). He is the smitten rock (compare Exodus 25:17-22 and I Corinthians 10:4). He is the mercy seat (Exodus 25:17-22). He is the brazen serpent lifted up in the wilderness (compare Numbers 21:6-9 and John 3:14).

Adam, Isaac, Joseph, Moses, David, Solomon and many other Old Testament characters, were but types of the Messiah.

After His resurrection the Messiah traveled with two men who were discussing His miracles, His death and His resurrection with great amazement. And He said to them: ” fools, and slow of heart to believe all that the prophets have spoken Ought not Christ to have suffered these things, and to enter into his glory? And beginning at Moses and all the prophets, He expounded unto them in all the scriptures the things concerning himself” (Luke 24:25-27).

In His last appearance to His disciples He said to them: “These are the words which I spake unto you, that all things must be fulfilled, which were written in the law of Moses, and in the prophets, and in the psalms, concerning me. Then opened he their understanding, that they might understand the scriptures, and said unto them, Thus it is written, and thus it behoved Christ to suffer, and to rise from the dead the third day And that repentance and remission of sins should be preached in his name among all nations, beginning at Jerusalem” (Luke 24:44-47).

No wonder then that Peter proclaimed to the house of Cornelius saying, “To him give all the prophets witness, that through his name whosoever believeth in him shall receive remission of sins” (Acts 10:43).

Chapter Six

The Gallery Of Witnesses

In every legal issue, there must be two or three witnesses to establish the case ” … that in the mouth of two or three witnesses every word may be established” (Matthew 18:16).

In this chapter we shall hear the testimony of God the Father concerning the Messiah. We shall hear the testimony of the miracles ‘of the Messiah. We shall hear also the testimony of many witnesses who met the Messiah personally and expressed their belief in Him. And with all these witnesses we shall hear the testimony of those who have experienced the power of the living Messiah in their own lives.

God The Father Testified That Jesus

The Messiah Is His Beloved Son

Jesus said to the Jews: “And the Father himself, which hath sent me, hath borne witness of me” (John 5:37). Matthew recorded the testimony of the Father concerning the Messiah at the time of His baptism: “And Jesus, when he was baptized, went up straight way out of the water and, lo, the heavens were opened unto him, and he saw the Spirit of God descending like a dove, and lighting upon him: And lo a voice from heaven saying, This is my beloved Son, in whom I am well pleased” (Matthew 3:16,17).

John The Baptist Testified That The

Messiah Is The Son Of God

Listen to his words: “And I knew him not but he that sent me to baptize with water, the same said unto me, Upon whom thou shalt see the Spirit descending, and remaining on him, the same is he which baptizeth with the Holy Ghost. And I saw, and bore record that this is the Son of God” (John 1:33,34). Again he pointed to the Messiah saying: “Behold the Lamb of God, which taketh away the sin of the world” (John 1:29).

The Miracles Of The Messiah Testified

That He Is The Son Of God

The Messiah said to the Jews: “But I have greater witness than that of John for the works which the Father hath given me to finish, the same works that I do, bear witness of me, that the Father hath sent me” (John 5:36). That is the reason for the miracles of the Messiah. He wrought those miracles in order that He might prove that He was the Sent One of the Father. But we have to realize that Jesus never wrought a miracle simply to magnify Himself. They were performed to alleviate human suffering and help mankind.

The Apostle Peter Testified

That The Messiah Is The Son Of God

Once the Messiah was in the coasts of Caesarea Philippi. There He asked His disciples : “Whom do men say that I the Son of man am?” His disciples answered: “Some say that thou art John the Baptist some, Elias; and others Jeremias, or one of the prophets” (Matthew 16:14). The Messiah was not satisfied with this answer. For He is more courageous than John the Baptist or Elias. He is more compassionate than Jeremias. He is surely greater than all the prophets. So, He asked His disciples: “But whom say ye that I am? And Simon Peter answered and said, Thou art the Christ, the Son of the living God” (Matthew 16:15,16). This answer satisfied the Messiah. He answered Peter and said : “Blessed art thou, Simon Barjona for flesh and blood hath not revealed it unto thee, but my father which is in heaven” (Matthew 16:17).

On another occasion Peter said to the Messiah: “Lord, to whom shall we go? thou hast the words of eternal life. And we believe and are sure that thou art that Christ, the Son of the living God” (John 6:68,69). It is a Biblical fact “… that no man can say that Jesus is Lord, but by the Holy Ghost” (I Corinthians 12:3).

In the day of Pentecost the Apostle Peter said to the multitude of Jews who gathered after the coming of the Holy Spirit : “Ye men of Israel, hear these words; Jesus of Nazareth, a man approved of God among you by miracles and wonders and signs, which God did by him in the midst of you, as ye your selves also know Him, being delivered by the determinate counsel and fore knowledge of God, ye have taken, and by wicked hands have crucified and slain” (Acts 2:22,23). On another occasion Peter told the Jews who were greatly wondering because of the healing of the lame man: “Ye men of Israel, why marvel ye at this? or why look ye so earnestly on us, as though by our own power or holiness we had made this man to walk? The God of Abraham, and of Isaac, and of Jacob, the God of our fathers, hath glorified his Son Jesus; whom ye delivered up, and denied him in the presence of Pilate, when he was determined to let him go, But ye denied the Holy One and the Just, and desired a murderer to be granted unto you; And killed the prince of life, whom God hath raised from the dead; whereof we are witnesses” (Acts 3:12-15).

There are four facts in these passages.

First: The miracles of the Messiah prove His claim to be the real Messiah and the Son of God.

Second: The Messiah was crucified on the cross at Calvary.

Third: The Messiah was raised from the dead.

Fourth: The crucifixion and resurrection of the Messiah were seen by many witnesses.

It is rather strange that after more than six hundred years, and with all those witnesses who saw the Messiah crucified, who testified about this fact and who, for the most part, sealed their testimony with their martyr death, that the Koran denies the crucifixion in its words:

«And because of their saying we slew the Messiah Jesus son of Mary, Allah’s messenger. They slew him not nor crucified, but it appeared so unto them; and lo! those who disagree concerning it are in doubt thereof; they have no knowledge thereof save pursuit of a conjecture; they slew him not for certain But Allah took him unto Himself. Allah was ever mighty, wise» (Surah IV Women 157,158).

If the Messiah was not crucified, who was crucified? And how could we believe that God, who was ever mighty and wise, would deceive people and leave them in this awful and terrible deception for more than six hundred years?! How could we believe that the disciples, who declared openly His crucifixion, would die a martyr death for a deception?

How could someone else but the real Messiah utter the seven words on the cross: the prayer for forgiveness for His persecutors, “Father, forgive them; for they know not what they do” (Luke 23:34); the offer of fellowship in paradise to the repentant thief, “Verily I say unto thee, Today shalt thou be with me in paradise” (Luke 23:43); the desolate cry which showed that He suffered the full burden of the sin He had come to bear, “My God, my God, why hast thou forsaken me?” (Matthew 27:46); the cry which showed the intensity of thirst in death by crucifixion, showing His true humanity, “I thirst” (John 19:28); the word directed to His mother Mary, who was standing with the beloved disciple, John, which declared that the strong concern of Jesus for others never diminished through the ordeal of the crucifixion, “Woman, behold thy son!,” and the word to the disciple,“Behold thy mother!” (John 19:26,27); the word of supreme fulfillment which declared He had finished the work which the Father gave Him, namely the work of redemption, “It is finished” (John 19:30); the word of triumph, “Father, into thy hands I commend my spirit” (Luke 23:46).

In these seven words we notice that the Messiah started His words by calling God (FATHER) and ended them by the same calling. He surely was the true Messiah in whom all the prophecies were fulfilled, the one who was crucified in our behalf.

At the time of the crucifixion there was a Roman centurion and a number of soldiers watching the scene. Unusual phenomena took place. “And it was about the sixth hour (Jewish time), and there was a darkness over all the earth until the ninth hour And the sun was darkened” (Luke 23:44,45). “And, behold, the veil of the temple was rent in twain from the top to the bottom; and the earth did quake, and the rocks rent Now when the centurion, and they that were with him, watching Jesus, saw the earthquake, and those things that were done, they feared greatly, saying, Truly this was the Son of God” (Matthew 27:51,54).

The appearance of the Messiah after His resurrection with “many infallible proofs” (Acts 1:3) demonstrate beyond question that the one who was crucified is the true Messiah. Let us look at some of these appearances according to eye witnesses:

(1) After His resurrection He appeared first to_Mary Magdalene (John 20:11-18).

(2) He appeared to the women returning from the sepulcher (Matthew 28:5-10).

(3) He appeared to Peter (Luke 24:34).

(4) He appeared to the Emmaus disciples (Luke 24:36-43).

(5) He appeared to the apostles, Thomas not being with them (Luke 24:36-43; John 20:24).

(6) Again He appeared to the apostles, while Thomas was with them (John 20:24-29).

(7) He appeared to the seven by the Sea of Tiberias (John 21:1-23).

(8) He appeared to over five hundred brethren (I Corinthians 15:6).

(9) He was seen of James (I Corinthians 15:7).

(10)He was seen again by the eleven apostles (Matthew 28:16-20; Acts 1:3-12).

After His ascension He was seen of Stephen, the first martyr (Acts 7:55). He was seen of Paul on his way to Damascus (Acts 9:3-6; I Corinthians 15:8).

The amazing change which was seen in the lives of the disciples from cowardice and fear to courage and joy is a strong evidence that the one who was crucified and resurrected was the true Messiah. They talked with Him, saw the print of the nails in His hands and feet (John 20:24-27; Luke 24:39), touched Him (I John 1:1) and ate with Him. Then they preached Him crucified and resurrected and chose to die for His sake rather than to deny their faith in Him.

The Apostle Paul Testified That The

Messiah Is God Blessed For Ever

Let us listen to the testimony of this great apostle who suffered great things for the name of the Messiah and who testified concerning his conduct before he met the Messiah saying: “And I thank Christ Jesus our Lord, who hath enabled me, for that he counted me faithful, putting me into the ministry; who was before a blasphemer, and a persecutor, and injurious” (I Timothy 1:12,13). After His ascension to heaven the Messiah appeared to this persecutor near Damascus and spoke to him in Hebrew saying: “Saul, Saul, why persecutest thou me? And he said, Who art thou Lord? And the Lord said, I am Jesus whom thou persecutest it is hard for thee to kick against the pricks” (Acts 9:4,5). And the blasphemer and persecutor confessed that the Messiah is the Lord, for he answered Him saying: “Lord, what wilt thou have me to do?” (Acts 9:6). Then he recorded in his letters concerning Him:

“Christ … who over all, God blessed for ever. Amen” (Romans 9:5).

” … for had they known it, they would not have crucified the Lord of Glory” (I Corinthians 2:8).

“For in him dwelleth all the fulness of the Godhead bodily” (Colossians 2:9).

“And without controversy great is the mystery of godliness God was manifest in flesh, justified in the spirit, seen of angels, preached unto the Gentiles, believed on in the world, received up into glory” (I Timothy 3:16).

“Who is the image of the invisible God, the firstborn of every creature For by him were all things created, that are in heaven, and that are in earth, visible and invisible, whether they be thrones, or dominions, or principalities, or powers all things were created by him, and for him” (Colossians 1:15,16).

Paul was so absorbed by the love of Christ and the meaning of His cross that he proclaimed to the Corinthians “For I determined not to know any thing among you save Jesus Christ, and him crucified” (I Corinthians 2:2). He saw in the cross that God declared that He is the “just, and the justifier” (Romans 3:26).

Paul’s understanding of the cross is explained in a helpful way by D. M. Lloyd-Jones in his sermon “The Cross: The Vindication of God” in the following words:

«That is the amazing thing about the Christ of Calvary-He died ‘once and for all.’ It is the great argument of the Epistle to the Hebrews, you remember. Those other sacrifices, it says, had to be offered day by day. There was a succession of priests, and they had to go on making their fresh sacrifices. ‘But this man’ has made a sacrifice for sins ‘once and for ever.’ He has dealt with all sins there. There is no need for anything further. There is no need for a fresh sacrifice. It has been done once and for ever. God laid them all on Him there-the sins you have not yet committed have already been dealt with. There, is the means of forgiveness: and there alone. Time past, sins committed formerly, sins committed now, all times-here is the justification of God for forgiving ANY sins whenever committed».

That is what the Apostle is saying here. All sin is forgiven on these grounds, and on these grounds alone. The cross declares that God ‘is just and the justifier of him which believeth in Jesus.’ Let me put it in this way. The cross of Calvary does not merely declare that God forgives us. It does that, thank God, but it does not stop at that. If it only declared that, the Apostle could have finished verse 25 in chapter 3 in his letter to the Romans at the word ‘blood’. There was no need for more. But he does not stop there, he goes on. He goes on in verse 25 and adds verse 26. Why? Because the Cross is not merely the declaration that God is ready to forgive us.

Another way I can put it is this. The Cross is not merely meant to influence us. But that is what the popular teaching tells us. It says that the trouble with mankind is that it does not know that God is love, it does not know that God has already forgiven every-body. What is the meaning of the Cross? Well, they say, it is God telling us that He has forgiven us; and so, when we see Christ dying, it should break our hearts and bring us to see that. The Cross according to them is directed to us solely. It does speak to us; but it has a grander object than that; it does this other thing also.

Our forgiveness is only one thing; there is something infinitely more important. What is that? It is the character of God. So the Cross goes on to tell me that this God’s way of making forgiveness possible. Forgiveness is not an easy thing for God. I speak with reverence. Why is forgiveness not an easy thing for God? Because God is not only love, God is also just and righteous and holy. He is ‘Light, and in him is no darkness at all.’ He is as much righteousness and justice as He is love. I do not put these attributes against one another. I say God is all these things together, and you must not leave out the one or the other.

So the Cross does not merely tell us that God forgives, it tells us that that is God’s way of making forgiveness possible. It is the way in which we understand how God forgives. I will go further: how can God forgive and still remain God? that is the question. The Cross is the vindication of God. The Cross is the vindication of the character of God. The Cross not only shows the love of God more gloriously than anything else, it shows His righteousness, His justice, His holiness, and all the glory of His eternal attributes. They are all to be seen shining together there. If you do not see them all you have not seen the Cross. That is why we must totally reject the so-called ‘moral influence theory’ of the Atonement, … the theory which says that all the Cross has to do is to break our hearts and to bring us to see the love of God.

Above and beyond all that, Paul says, He is ‘declaring his righteousness for the remission of sins that are past.’ Why this, if it is merely a declaration of His love? No, says Paul, it is more than that. If it merely proclaimed His forgiveness we would be entitled to ask whether we can depend on God’s word, and whether He is righteous and just. It would be a fair question because God has repeatedly stated in the Old Testament that He hates sin and that He will punish sin, and that the wages of sin is death. The character of God is involved. God is not as men. We think sometimes that it is wonderful for people to say one thing and then do another. The parent says to the child, ‘If you do this thing you shall not have that sixpence to buy your sweets.’ Then the boy does that thing, but the father says, ‘Well, it is all right,’ and gives him the six pence. That, we think, is love, and true forgiveness. But God does not behave in that manner. God, if I may so put it, is eternally consistent with Himself. There is never a contradiction. He is ‘the Father of lights, with whom is no variableness, neither shadow of turning.’ All these glorious attributes are to be seen shining like diamonds in His eternal character. And all of them must be manifest. In the cross they are all manifested.

How can God be just and justify the ungodly? The answer is that He can, because He has punished the sins of the ungodly sinners in His own Son. He has poured His wrath upon Him. ‘He bore our chastisement.’ ‘By his stripes we are healed.’ God has done what He said He would do; He has punished sin. He proclaimed this through the Old Testament everywhere; and He has done what He said He would do. He has shown that He is righteous. He has made a public declaration of it. He is just and can justify, because having punished Another in our stead, He can forgive us freely. And He does so. That is the message of (Romans 3:24) ‘Being justified (being regarded, declared, pronounced righteous) freely by his grace through the redemption (the ransoming) that is in Christ Jesus; whom God hath set forth as a propitiation through faith in his blood.’ Thus He declares His righteousness for having passed over those sins in His time of self restraint. To declare, I say, ‘His righteousness then, and now, and always, in forgiving sins.’ Thus He is, at one and the same time, just and the justifier of him that believe in Jesus.

Though Paul was of the stock of Israel, an Hebrew of the Hebrews, a Pharisee who knew well (Deuteronomy 6:4). He declared that Christ Jesus is his Lord, “Yea doubtless, and I count all things but loss for the excellency of the knowledge of Christ Jesus my Lord for whom I have suffered the loss of all things, and do count them but dung, that I may win Christ” (Philippians 3:8).

Three Of The Apostles Testified

Concerning the Sinless Life Of The Messiah

John declared: ( . . . in him is no sin) (I John 3:5).

Peter declared: (Who did no sin) (I Peter 2:22).

Paul declared: (Who knew no sin) (II Corinthians 5:21).

Perfection is the attribute of God, and only of Him: “… there is none good but one, that is, God” (Mark 10:18). The Messiah is perfect and good. Therefore He is God. Openly He had challenged the religious leaders of His time saying: “Which of you convinceth me of sin?” (John 8:46). Actual sin as we call it, was foreign to Him. When he was brought to trial the only crime of which He was accused was blasphemy. But there is no blasphemy for God to claim to be God. The writer of the Epistle to the Hebrews recorded concerning Him: “Seeing then that we have a great high priest, that is passed into the heavens, Jesus the Son of God, let us hold fast our profession. For we have not an high priest which cannot be touched with the feeling of our infirmities; but was in all points tempted like as we are, yet without sin” (Hebrews 4:14,15). “For such an high priest became us, who is holy, harmless, undefiled, separate from sinners, and made higher than the heavens” (Hebrews 7:26).

The Messiah was born of the virgin Mary. Someone may ask: Is not original sin transmitted from one human being to another through the act of generation? The answer is: Yes, it is. However, there was no act of generation in the conception of the Messiah. When the angel Gabriel was sent from God to the virgin Mary for the annunciation, she asked,“How shall this be, seeing I know not a man?” (Luke 1:34). “And the angel answered and said unto her, The Holy Ghost shall come upon thee, and the power of the Highest shall overshadow thee therefore also that holy thing which shall be born of thee shall be called the Son of God” (Luke 1:35).

The Apostle John In His Gospel And

Epistles Testified That The Messiah Is God

In the first chapter of his Gospel John recorded that the Messiah was:

1. THE WORD (John 1:1).

This means that He expressed the mind of God.

1. GOD (John 1:1).
2. THE CREATOR OF ALL THINGS (John1 :3).

1. THE ONE IN WHOM WAS LIFE (John1:4).

1. THE TRUE LIGHT (John 1:4,8).
2. THE WORD INCARNATED IN HUMAN FLESH (John 1:18).
3. THE ONE WHO IS THE REVELATION OF GOD (John 1:18).

John recorded seven of the miracles of the Messiah. These were:

1-Water made from wine (John 2:1-11). This miracle teaches that salvation is by the word of the Messiah.

2- The healing of the nobleman’s son (John 4:46-54). This miracle teaches that salvation is by faith in the word of the Messiah.

3- The healing of the man at the pool of Bethesda (John 5:5-15). This miracle teaches that salvation is by the grace of the Messiah.

4- The five thousand fed (John 6:1-14). This miracle teaches that the bread of life should be distributed to the hungry world by the disciples of the Messiah.

5- The walking on the water (John 6:16-21). This miracle teaches that the first result of salvation is peace and tranquillity.

6- The healing of the man blind from birth (John 9:1-11). This miracle teaches that the second result of salvation is light.

7- The raises of Lazarus (John 11:1-44). This miracle teaches that the third result of salvation is life.

John declared concerning these miracles, “And many other signs truly did Jesus in the presence of his disciples, which are not written in this book But these are written, that ye might believe that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of God; And that believing ye might have life through his name” (John 20:30,31).

In his first epistle John recorded: “If we receive the witness of men, the witness of God is greater: for this is the witness of God which he hath testified of his Son. He That believeth on the Son of God hath the witness in himself he that believeth not God hath made him a liar, because he believeth not the record that God gave of his Son. And this is the record that God hath given to us eternal life, and this life is in his Son. He that hath the Son hath life; and he that hath not the Son of God hath not life” (I John 5:9-12). In this passage we see clearly the assurance of salvation of those who have the Son. This assurance is the unique privilege of real Christians only. It is the result of accepting the Messiah as one’s personal Saviour and consequently being born again by His power.

Eternity magazine in its April 1980 issue (p. 47) recorded a report found in the Australian Christian magazine called On Being.

On Being noted that:

«It is necessary to understand that conversion to Islam does not involve what is involved in conversion from Islam to Christianity. A man becomes a Moslem simply by publicly reciting the creed: ‘I testify that there is no deity but Allah and that Muhammed is the Apostle of Allah.’ There is no demand for repentance and a change of life-it is simply a publicly declared allegiance to Islam»

An ex-Moslem, Erol Ozer, now an Anglican ministering to immigrant turks in Sydney, asks, (Is Allah God?) and answers (No) This is a disputable point among missions authorities, since most Moslem converts feel some continuity with their earlier faith upon becoming Christians.

Ozer quotes a former Moslem: «There is not one word about assurance of salvation in the Koran .. As a Moslem I never had the confidence that my sins were forgiven, for Allah may or may not forgive on the last day. I lived in dread of that day of Judgment».

Now let us read what John the Apostle recorded in the book of Revelation concerning the Messiah.

1- Jesus the Messiah is the one who loved us and washed us from our sins in His own blood (Revelation 1:5).

2- He is the one who shall come in the clouds and every eye shall see Him (Revelation 1:7).

3-He is Alpha and Omega, the beginning and the ending (Revelation 1:8,11).

4- He is the one who was dead and is alive evermore (Revelation 1:18).

5- He is the one that holds the seven stars in His right hand, who walks in the midst of the seven churches (Revelation 2:1).

6- He is the one who has the sharp sword with two edges (Revelation 2:12).

7- He is the Son of God whose eyes are like a flame of fire, and His feet are like fine brass (Revelation 2:18).

8- He is the one that has the seven Spirits of God (Revelation 3:1).

9- He is the holy, the true who has the key of David, who opens and no man shut, and shut and no man opens (Revelation 3:7).

10- He is the faithful and true witness, the beginning of the creation of God (Revelation 3:14). This statement does not mean that Christ was the first of God’s created beings, for He is certainly the creator of all things (John 1:3; Colossians 1 :16). What is the meaning of the phrase, “the beginning of the creation of God”? Let us turn to the book of Genesis to read the words: “And Cod said let us make man in our image, after our likeness. . . . So Cod created man in his own image, in the image of Cod created he him” (Genesis 1:26,27). “Cod is a Spirit” (John 4:24) “A spirit has not flesh and bones” (Luke 24:39). But we read concerning Jesus the Messiah “Who is the image of the invisible God” (Colossians 1 :15). So when God created man, He created him in the image which His Son would take when He would come in the flesh to redeem man. Thus the Messiah in His human form is the beginning of the creation of God. It is very clear that the plan of redemption was made by God before the foundation of the world: “For as much as ye know that ye were not redeemed with corruptible things, as silver and gold, from your vain conversation received by tradition from your fathers; But with the precious blood of Christ, as of a lamb without blemish and without spot Who verily was foreordained before the foundation of the world, but was manifest in these last times for you” (I Peter 1 :18-20).

11- He is the Lion from the tribe of Judah and the Root of David (Revelation 5:5).

12- He is the Lamb slain (Revelation 5:6).

13- He is the object of worship in heaven (Revelation 5:11-14).

14- He is the one who prevailed and has the right to open the book sealed with seven seals (Revelation 5:1,5).

15- He is the one who shall pour His wrath on the wicked during the great tribulation (Revelation 6:16,17).

16- He is the one whose book is the book of life (Revelation 13:8).

17- He is the one seen on Mount Sion in heaven (Revelation 14:1).

18- He is the one that will make war with the wicked nations and conquer them at Armageddon (Revelation 16:13-16; 19:11-16).

19- He is the Re warder of the faithful believers (Revelation 22:12).

20- He is-with His Father-the Temple of the New Jerusalem (Revelation 21:22).

21- He is the Light of the New Jerusalem (Revelation 21:23).

22- He is the one on whose head are many crowns (Revelation 19:12). Yes, on His head we can see:

(A) The crown of creation (Colossians 1:16).

(B) The crown of redemption (Ephesians 1:7).

(D) The crown of power (Matthew 28:18).

(E) The crown of wisdom (Colossians 2:3).

(F) The crown of peace (Isaiah 9:6).

(G) The crown of love (Revelation 1:5).

23- “He is the KING OF KINGS AND LORD OF LORDS” (Revelation 19:16).

Before leaving the testimony of John the apostle two special passages in his gospel need to be dealt with.

The first is (John 1:19-21) which tells of certain questions asked of John the Baptist. «And this is the record of John, when the Jews sent priests and Levites from Jerusalem to ask him, Who art thou? And he confessed, and denied not; but confessed, I am not the Christ. And they asked him, What then? Art thou Elias? And he saith, I am not. Art thou that prophet? And he answered, No».When John the Baptist replied that he was not the Christ (that is, the Messiah) he was stating that he was not the one mentioned in (Daniel 9:26) “And after threescore and two weeks shall Messiah be cut off, but not for himself “. for the real Messiah is the anointed Deliverer who will be cut off for the sins of his people. John the Baptist denied also that he was Elias. They asked him a third question: (Art thou that prophet?) By this question they revealed their ignorance of the real meaning of the Old Testament Scriptures. For the prophet they asked about is one and the same Messiah! Their question implied that they drew a distinction between the unnamed prophet and the Messiah. What Moses recorded was a prediction of the Christ, though it emphasized His prophetic calling. This is plain from what Moses said in (Deuteronomy 18:18) “I will raise them up a Prophet from among their brethren, like unto thee, and will put my words in his mouth; and he shall speak unto them all that I shall command him” That the Prophet spoken of by Moses is the Messiah is confirmed both by Peter, in (Acts 3:22,23) and by Stephen, in (Acts 7:37). Therefore, the prophet about whom the priests and the Levites asked John the Baptist could b.e no one other than the Messiah, Jesus, for he is the last prophet to come! Since the beginning of Christianity true believers have never expected the coming of any other prophet, for their hope is in the second coming of their Messiah.

The second passage in John’s gospel which must be explained is (John 14:28)“… for my Father is greater than I” In order to interpret the Bible correctly each text must be understood in relation to its context. An examination of contention of this verse brings us to these words of the Messiah: “He that loveth me not keepeth not my sayings and the word which ye hear is not mine, but the Father’s which sent me” (John 14:24). The words to which we should give careful attention in this verse are: (the Father which sent me) These words describe the relation between the Father and the Son, which is the relation between the sender and the one who is sent. The position of the Son described here is the position of the messenger. In (John 13:16) we read these words of the Messiah: “Verily, verily, I say unto you, The servant is not greater than his lord; neither he that is sent greater than he that sent him” The greatness of the Father set forth here is the greatness of the sender in relation to the one sent. The Father is spoken of here as being Greater than the Son because He is the sender of the Son. (Read John 3:17).

The Father did not come in human form,but the Son did! In his incarnation the Son is not only made lower than the Father, but He was made lower than the angels “But we see Jesus, who was made a little lower than the angels for the suffering of death crowned with glory and honour ; that he by the grace of God should taste death for every man” (Hebrews 2:9). (Read also Philippians 2:5-10). The Messiah, by His incarnation, became a little lower than the Father and the angels and in this case He said, “My Father is greater than I” (John 14:28).

In the same chapter we realize that the Messiah emphasized his equality with the Father saying, ” … he that hath seen me hath seen the Father” (John 14:9). He also emphasized the unity and equality within the Triune God saying, “If a man love me, he will keep my words and my Father will love him, and we will come unto him, and make our abode with him” (John 14:23). In the book of Revelation we see that the Messiah is the object of glorification and worship. “And every creature which is in heaven, and on the earth, and under the earth, and such as are in the sea, and all that are in them, heard I saying, Blessing, and honour, and glory, and power, be unto him that sits upon the throne, and unto the Lamb for ever and ever” (Revelation 5:13). Thus we see the equality between the Father and the Son which was declared clearly in the words of Jesus, the Messiah, “I and my Father are one” (John 10:30).

The Writer Of The Epistle To The Hebrews

Testified That The Messiah Is God The Son

He recorded: “God, Who at sundry times and in divers manners spake in time past unto the fathers by the prophets, Hath in these last days spoken unto us by his Son, whom he hath appointed heir of all things, by whom also he made the worlds. And again, when he bring in the first begotten into the world, he saith, and let all the angels of God worship him And of the angels he saith, Who make his angels spirits, and his ministers a flame of fire. But unto the Son he saith, Thy throne God, is for ever and ever: a sceptre of righteousness is the sceptre of thy kingdom…. And, Thou, Lord, in the beginning hast laid the foundation of the earth; and the heavens are the works of thine hands” (Hebrews 1:1,2,6-8,10).

In this passage we see that the Messiah is the Son of God, that He is worshipped by the angels, that He is called God and that He is the creator of the earth and the heavens.

Hassan Kamara, a Moslem student in Northern Virginia Community College, once asked: «I consider every human being as sons and daughters of God. Why is it that Christ is always specifically called the Son of God?» The answer to this question is that by nature all human beings are dead in trespasses and sins. They are not the sons and daughters of God but the children of wrath and of the devil (Ephesians 2:1-3; John 8:44). They become children of God by adoption through believing on the Messiah as their Savior, as it is written: “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. Which were born, not of blood, nor of the will of the flesh, nor of the will of man, but of God” (John 1:12,13) (read also Ephesians 1 :5). In this connection, we should remember that the Messiah is the eternal Son of God, coequal and coexistent with God the Father.

He is the Only begotten Son. He is the Son of the Father in truth and in love (II John 3).

Concerning Him Agur the son of Jakeh asked: “Who hath ascended up into heaven, or descended? who hath gathered the wind in his fists? who hath bound the waters in a garment? who hath established all the ends of the earth? what is his name, and what is his son’s name if thou canst tell?” (Proverbs 30:4). The son ship of the Messiah is unique, as the Messiah declared, “all things are delivered unto me of my Father and no man knoweth the Son, but the Father; neither knoweth any man the Father, save the Son, and he to whomsoever the Son will reveal him” (Matthew 11:27).

Thomas The Apostle Testified That The

Messiah, Jesus, Is His Lord And His God

After the resurrection of the Messiah, He appeared to His disciples. But Thomas, one of the twelve, was not with them. “The other disciples therefore said unto him, We have seen the Lord. But he said unto them, Except I shall see in his hands the print of the nails, and put my finger into the print of the nails, and thrust my hand into his side, I will not believe. And after eight days again his disciples were within, and Thomas with them: then came Jesus, the doors being shut, and stood in the midst, and said, Peace be unto you. Then saith he to Thomas, Reach hither thy finger, and behold my hands; and reach hither thy hand, and thrust it into my side: and be not faithless, but believing. And Thomas answered and said unto him, My Lord and my God” (John 20:25-28).

Because the Messiah is God, He knew what Thomas had said to the other disciples. The print of the nails in His hands were proof that the one who was crucified was the real Messiah. Even though Thomas was Jewish and well informed on (Deuteronomy 6:4) he testified openly that the Messiah was his Lord and his God.

An extremely significant fact to note in the account of Thomas’ encounter with the Risen Messiah and his confession of faith is the continual presence of the Messiah with His people. The following illustration emphasizes this fact in a dramatic fashion:

«One night a man had a dream. He dreamed he was walking along the beach with the Lord. Across the sky flashed scenes from his life. For each scene, he noticed two sets of footprints in the sand, one belonging to him, the other to the Lord. When the last scene of his life flashed before him, he looked back at the footprints in the sand. He noticed that many times along the path of his life there was only one set of footprints. He also noticed that it happened at the very lowest and saddest times in his life. This really bothered him and he questioned the lord about it. Lord, you said that once I decided to follow you, you’d walk with me all the way. But I have noticed that during the most troublesome times in my life, there is only one set of footprints. I don’t understand why in times when I needed you most you would leave me».

The Lord replied, “My precious, precious child! I love you and I would never leave you. During your times of trial and suffering, when you see only one set of footprints, it was then I carried you!”

The Christian History Is Full Of

Witnesses Concerning The Deity

Of The Messiah

It is necessary now to hear from others in Christian history who are part of the gallery of witnesses.

Someone wrote concerning Jesus, the Messiah these wonderful words:

«He was born in an obscure village, the son of humble people. He grew up in that small town and worked with Joseph in a carpenter shop until He was thirty. Then for three years He was an intinerant preacher. He was only thirty-three when the oprn1on of tyrants and ill wishers turned against Him. Some of his friends deserted Him. He was turned over to His enemies and went through the mockery of a trial. He was nailed to a cross between two thieves. While He was dying His executioners gambled for his clothing. When He was dead He was laid in a borrowed grave through the pity of a friend. Nineteen centuries have come and gone and He is the worshipped figure of the human race and the leader of mankind’s progress.

All the armies that ever marched. All the navies that ever sailed. All the parliaments that ever met. All the kings and rulers that have ever reigned put together, have not affected the life of man on this earth as much as that ONE SOLITARY LIFE».

Because of persecution from Roman pagan governments, Christians were forced to worship secretly in Roman catacombs. They regarded suffering for Christ’s sake to be normal. The gospel of prosperity had no place during this era. People did not go to the Christian meetings expecting security and easy life. They knew that they had to take up the Cross and follow the crucified and risen Saviour. It is of great interest to notice that they chose the sign of the fish and placed it outside their homes and on their graves in the Roman catacombs.

Why was the fish meaningful to the early Christians? Someone said,

«First, because the resurrected Lord served a meal of fish and bread to his disciples at the sea of Tiberias. Early Christians saw fish as a symbol of continuing fellowship with their resurrected Messiah. To them He was more than a sentimental or philosophical memory. He was a living, present reality. Second, the word fish had a special meaning to the early Christians. The Greek letters for ICHTHUS (fish) became an acronym: I-Jesus, CH-Christ, TH- God’s, U-Son, S-Saviour ».

This was the clear expression of the early Christians’ belief in the Messiah. To them, He was no mere prophet or teacher. He was no mere social or political hero. He was certainly no misguided master of a cult or of a human religion. The early Christians declared by this symbol that the Messiah is the Son of God who laid aside His equality with God the Father and took the form of a man. This incarnated God lived sinlessly and died on the Cross of Calvary as a substitute for mankind. He expressed the unlimited love of God in spite of man’s rebellion against God’s moral law. For there is no difficulty that the love of God will not conquer; No gulf that the love of God will not bridge; No wall that the love of God will not throw down; No sin that the love of God will not redeem.

A story is told in Moody Monthly magazine, the December 1977 issue (p. 114) which explains the meaning of incarnation.

«Many years ago a great monarch, Shah Abbis, reigned in Persia. The Shah loved his people, so much so that he mingled with them in various disguises.

One day, dressed as a poor man, he went to the public baths and sat beside a common man. He shared the commoner’s coarse food-and his good and bad moods. The Shah came back again and again, and the commoner grew to love him.

Later, the Shah revealed his identity. As he waited, expecting the man to ask for a gift or favour, the commoner simply gazed in wonder. Overcome, the commoner finally said: «You left your palace to sit with me in this humble place, to partake of my coarse food, to care whether my heart was glad or heavy. On others you may bestow great riches, but to me you have given a priceless gift-yourself. I pray that you will never withdraw that gift».

The late Dr. H. A. Ir onside recorded the following true story which was told to him by a messianic Jew.

«I was born in Palestine, nearly seventy years ago. As a child I was taught to read the Law, the Psalms, and the prophets. I early attended the synagogue and learned Hebrew from the Rabbis. As I grew older and studied the Law more intently I was struck by the place the blood had in all the ceremonies outlined there, and very much disturbed by its utter absence in our holiday services. Again and again I read (Exodus 12 and Leviticus 16,17). The latter chapters especially made me tremble as I thought of the great day of Atonement and the place the blood had there. Day and night one verse would ring in my ears. (It is the blood that maketh an atonement for the soul!) I knew I had broken the Law. I needed atonement. Year after year, on that day, I beat my breast as I confessed my need of it; but it was to be made by blood, and there was no blood!

In my distress, I opened my heart to a learned and venerable Rabbi. He told me that God was angry with His people; that Jerusalem was in the hands of the Gentiles; that the temple was destroyed and Mohammedan mosque was reared up in its place. The only spot on earth where we dare shed the blood of sacrifice in accordance with Deuteronomy 12 and Leviticus 17 was desecrated and our nation scattered. That, he said, was why there was no blood. God had Himself closed the way to carry out solemn services of the Great Day of Atonement. Now, he said, we must turn to the Torah (The Five Books of Moses which contains Jewish Laws) and Rabbinical interpretations of these Laws and follow their instructions and trust in the mercy of God and the merits of the fathers and our mitzvos (our good deeds).

I tried to accept his answer but could find no rest in it. Something kept saying that God’s Laws cannot be altered even if the temple was destroyed. I was sure that nothing but the required blood could atone for sin and save my soul. I felt sure that God had not left us without an atonement but I did not know where to find it. I became filled with terror and consulted other Rabbis but could find no answer to this one question, «Where can I find the blood atonement?».

I was over thirty years of age when I left Palestine and came to Constantinople with my still unanswered question ever before my mind, and my soul exceedingly troubled about my sins. One night I was walking down one of the narrow streets of that city, when I saw a sign telling of a meeting for Jews. Curiosity led me to open the door and I went in. As I took seat I heard a man say, «The blood of Jesus Christ His Son cleanseth us from all sin». I listened breathlessly as the speaker told how God declared that without shedding of blood is no remission of sin; and all who trusted in the Messiah’s shed blood were forgiven all their iniquities. I found the blood atonement at last. Peace flooded into my soul and a great rest came upon me.

That night I accepted the atoning sacrifice of my Messiah Yeshua and through faith in His blood I have entered into my heritage-even the free gift of God which is everlasting life.

What Messiah Jesus has done for me, He has done for you also. Will you accept Him today?.

The moving testimony just quoted reminds us of these precious passages from the Word of God:

(Leviticus 17:11) “The life of the flesh is in the blood; and I have given it to you upon the altar to make atonement for your souls; for it is the blood that maketh an atonement for the soul!”

(Isaiah 12:2) “Behold, God is my salvation; I will trust and not be afraid; for the Lord Jehovah is my strength and my song; he also become my salvation”

(Acts 20:28) “Take heed therefore unto your selves, and to all the flock, over which the Holy Ghost hath made you overseers, to feed the church of God, which he hath purchased with his own blood”

Hearing all these witnesses we should shout: THE MESSIAH IS GOD.

Chapter Seven

The Power Of His Name

«Jesus, Jesus, Jesus, there is something about that name.

Master, Saviour, Jesus, like the fragrance after the rain.

Jesus, Jesus, Jesus, let all heaven and earth proclaim.

Kings and kingdoms will all pass away.

But there’s something about that name».

Every time I listen to this song by the Gaithers my heart leaps with joy in me because every word of it expresses a Biblical truth.

Someone wrote the following words concerning the Name of Jesus the Messiah:

«Jesus, the mere mention of His name can calm the storm, heal the broken, raise the dead. At the name of Jesus I have seen sin-hardened men melted, derelicts transformed, the lights of hope put back into the eyes of a hopeless child. At the name of Jesus, hatred and bitterness turn to love and forgiveness, arguments cease.

I have heard a mother softly breathe His name at the bedside of a child delirious from fever, and I have watched that little body grow quiet and the fevered brow cool.

I have sat beside a dying saint, her body racked with pain, who in those final fleeting seconds summoned her last ounce of ebbing strength to whisper earth’s sweetest name Jesus, Jesus Emperors have tried to destroy it; Philosophies have tried to stamp it out. Tyrants have tried to wash it from the face of the earth with the very blood of those who claimed it. Yet still it stands.

And there shall be that final day when every voice that has ever uttered a sound-every voice of Adam’s race shall raise in one great mighty chorus to proclaim the name of Jesus-for in that day». every knee shall bow and every tongue shall confess that Jesus Christ is Lord!!”

The names of the prophets who lived and died have no effect but the name of Jesus, the Messiah stands eternal in its authority and saving power, because the Messiah is the Living God rather than a mere human being or a dead prophet.

His Name Cast Out Devils

When the Messiah was on earth He appointed seventy persons in addition to the twelve apostles and sent them two by two ahead of Him to every city and place where He Himself was planning to go. He ordered them to heal those who were sick in any house that would accept them. “And the seventy returned again with Joy, saying, Lord, even the devils are subject unto us through thy name” (Luke 10:17).

The mere mention of the name of the Messiah was sufficient to rebuke and cast out devils. None of the prophets claimed to have this power and authority in their own name. All of them were mere human beings.

After His resurrection, the Messiah commanded His disciples: “Go ye into all the world, and preach the Gospel to every creature. He that believeth and is baptized shall be saved; but he that believeth shall be damned. And these signs shall follow them that believe; In my name shall they cast out devils” (Mark 16:15-17).

His Name Heals The Sick

The name of the Messiah represents Himself and His authority.

After the ascension of the Messiah, Peter and John went up to the temple. There a certain man who had been lame from birth was being carried along, whom they used to set down every day at the gate of the temple in order to beg alms of those who were entering the temple. When this lame man saw Peter and John about to go into the temple, he began asking to receive alms. And Peter looked directly at him and said, ”Look at us!’ And he began to give them his attention, expecting to receive something from them. Then Peter said, Silver and gold have I none; but such as I have give I thee In the name of Jesus Christ of Nazareth rise up and walk. And he took him by the right hand, and lifted him up and immediately his feet and ankle bones received strength. And he leaping up stood, and walked, and entered with them into the temple, walking, and leaping, and praising God And they knew that it was he which sat for alms at the Beautiful gate of the temple And they were filled with wonder and amazement at that which had happened unto him” (Acts 3:6-10). And while the lame man who was healed was clinging to Peter and John, all the people ran to them. When Peter saw this he replied to the people. “Ye men of Israel, why marvel ye at this? or why look ye so earnestly on us, as though by our own power or holiness we had this man to walk? The God of Abraham, and of Isaac and of Jacob, the God of our fathers, hath glorified his Son Jesus; whom ye delivered up, and denied him in the presence of Pilate, when he was determined to let him go. But ye denied the Holy One and the Just, and desired a murderer to be granted unto you; And killed the Prince of life, whom God hath raised from the dead; whereof we are witnesses. And his name through faith in his name hath made this man strong, whom ye see and know: yea, the faith which is by him hath given him this perfect soundness in the presence of you all” (Acts 3:12-16).

Again we read in Acts chapter four the prayer of the early Christians when they were threatened by the authorities at Jerusalem not to speak or teach at all in the name of Jesus. They prayed, “And now, Lord, behold their threatenings and grant unto thy servants that with all boldness they may speak thy word, By stretching forth thine hand to heal; and that signs and wonders may be done by the name of thy holy child Jesus. And when they had prayed, the place was shaken where they were assembled together; and they were all filled with the Holy Ghost, and they spake the word of God with boldness.” (Acts 4: 29-31).

In the book of Psalms we read “And they that know thy name will put their trust in thee” (Psalms 9:10). We read also in the book of Proverbs: “The name of the LORD is a strong tower: the righteous runneth into it, and is safe” (Proverbs 18:10).

On another occasion Peter came to the saints who lived at Lydda, “And there he found a certain man named Aeneas, which had kept his bed eight years, and was sick of the palsy. And Peter said unto him, Aeneas, Jesus Christ maketh thee whole: arise and make thy bed. And he arose immediately. And all that dwelt at Lydda and Saron saw him and turned to the Lord” (Acts 9:32-35).

His Name Has Authority And Power

The name of the Messiah is so powerful. He has authority over devils and demons. When the Apostle Paul and his friends came to Philippi on their missionary journey, there was a certain slave-girl having a spirit of divination. She was bringing her masters such profit by fortune-telling. “The same followed Paul and us, and cried saying, These men are the servants of the most high God, which shew unto us the way of salvation. And this did she many days. But Paul, being grieved, turned and said to the spirit, I command thee in the name of Jesus Christ to come out of her. And he came out the same hour” (Acts 16:17,18). We have to realize that evil spirits can discern between the genuine and the false usage of this Holy and Mighty name. Once some of the Jewish exorcists, who saw the power of the Messiah’s name, attempted to use the name of the Lord Jesus Christ over those who had evil spirits, saying, “We adjure you by Jesus whom Paul preaches … And there were seven sons of one Sceva, a Jew, and chief of the priests, which did so. And the evil spirit answered and said, Jesus I know, and Paul I know; but who are ye? And the man in whom the evil spirit was leaped on them, and overcame them, and prevailed against them, so that they fled out of that house naked and wounded. And this was known to all the Jews and Greeks also dwelling at Ephesus; and fear fell on them all, and the name of the Lord Jesus was magnified” (Acts 19:14-17).

The Name Of The Messiah Is Wonderful

Isaiah prophesied concerning the name of the Messiah saying, “For unto us a child is born, unto us a son is given: and the government shall be upon his shoulder and his name shall be called Wonderful, Counsellor, The mighty God, The everlasting Father, The Prince of Peace” (Isaiah 9:6).

The Name Of The Messiah

Is Above Every Name

Paul declared concerning Him, “Let this mind be in you, which was also in Christ Jesus Who, being in the form of God, thought it not robbery to be equal with God But made himself of no reputation, and took upon him the form of a servant, and was made in the likeness of men And being found in fashion as a man, he humbled himself, and became obedient unto death, even the death of the cross. Wherefore God also hath highly exalted him, and given him a name which is above every name: That at the name of Jesus every knee should bow, of things in heaven, and things in earth, and things under the earth; And that every tongue should confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father” (Philippians 2:5-11). These words indicate that the Lord Jesus Christ left the form of equality with God to take the form of a servant. He left one status to take another status. How did He do that? By being born in the likeness of men. But He was always God. He was identified with humanity but not identical to it. Jesus left the majesty and the glory of equality with God and took the loneliness and the servitude of the servant. He took human form. But only those without the eyes of faith thought that this was all He was. Those who were enlightened by faith knew that He is God in human form. He became obedient unto death even death on the cross. The Romans would not like that death on the cross. This was the death of the lowest group of criminals. The Messiah died this kind of death to redeem us. Then we read, «Wherefore God also hath highly exalted him, and given him a name which is above every name: That at the name of Jesus every knee should bow» We read in (Isaiah 45:22,23) “Look unto me, and be ye saved, all the ends of the earth: for I am God, and there is none else. I have sworn by myself the word is gone out of my mouth in righteousness, and shall not return, That unto me every knee shall bow” Now Paul says, «To Jesus the Messiah, every knee shall bow» Surely the Messiah is God.

The Name Of The Messiah

Is A Saving Name

The Apostle Peter declared, “Neither is there salvation in any other for there is none other name under heaven given among men, whereby we must be saved” (Acts 4:12).

The person who lives an aimless, wandered life, with no hope in his soul, who is like a vessel with no pilot’s hand, with no haven or goal, will certainly find salvation, hope and peace of mind in the name of Jesus the Messiah. This is why the faithful preachers are calling everyone, (Come to Christ the Lord) “For whosoever shall call upon the name of the Lord shall be saved” (Romans 10:13). To come to Christ is to trust Him as your Saviour and accept Him as your Lord.

Upon my visit to England on November 1972, I visited St. Paul’s Cathedral. There I saw the picture of (THE LIGHT Of THE WORLD) by Holman Hunt. Ruskin wrote in 1854 concerning this picture:

“Behold I stand at the door, and knock if any man hear my voice, and open the door, I will come in to him, and will sup with him, and he with me” (Revelation 3:20). On the left-hand side of the picture is seen this door of the human soul. It is fast barred, its bars and nails are rusty; it is knitted and bound to its stanchions by creeping tendrils of ivy, showing that it has never been opened, Christ approaches it in the night-time, in His everlasting offices of Prophet, Priest, and King. He wears the white robe, representing the power of the Spirit upon Him; the Jewel ed robe and breastplate representing the sacerdotal investiture; the rayed crown of gold, inter woven with the crown of thorns, but bearing soft leaves for the healing of the nations. He bears with Him a twofold light: first, the light of conscience, which displays past sin, and afterwards the light of peace, the hope of salvation.

In The Name Of The Messiah

Jesus the Messiah promised His disciples, “For where two or three are gathered in my name, there am I in the midst of them” (Matthew 18:20). The only one who can be present in all the gatherings of the believers is the Messiah because He is omnipresent, He is God.

Paul commanded the believers saying, “And whatsoever ye do in word or deed, do all in the name of the Lord Jesus, giving thanks to God and the Father by him” (Colossians 3:17). Again he wrote, “Let every one that nameth the name of Christ depart from iniquity” (II Timothy 2:19).

Robert Peterson recorded in his book, Roaring Lion, a true story which shows that the name of Jesus the Messiah is still working to liberate men and women from the power of Satan and sin. This is his story:

«If only you had come earlier! Honestly we didn’t think of you and now it is too late!» said Chrysanthemum’s mother to her niece, Pearl. With these words ringing in her ears, Pearl returned home dejectedly. At the prayer meeting the same evening she reported that her cousin Chrysanthemum had that very day become possessed. Her family had immediately consulted the master sorcerer of the district without a thought for their Christian relative.

Chrysanthemum had been weeding in the rice fields when suddenly with a cry of pain she toppled over in a dead faint. When she came to, the strange things she said made it clear to all the family and neighbour that demons had taken possession of her body. The news spread quickly, and before evening large crowds had arrived to derive what advantage they could from the girl’s supposed magic powers. The parents were concerned, however, to have the demons exorcised, and lost no time in calling in a master sorcerer for this purpose. (Fu-Ya,) an evil and much feared man, soon arrived and put up his idolatrous paraphernalia inside and outside the home. After consulting his demons, he declared that they wanted the girl to become a sorceress. Seeing no way out and influenced, no doubt, by an avaricious desire for the money she could earn as a sorceress, the parents gave their consent. The superstitious heathen neighbour were excited over the prospect of having a new sorceress in the area, though they expressed some sympathy that a girl of only seventeen should be chosen. Special clothes of red, yellow and white linen were prepared for Chrysanthemum.

After hearing Pearl’s report we discussed what should be done. It was of utmost importance that the parents themselves should invite the Christians to help. It would be folly to take any action without invitation. The girl had been “sold” to the sorcerer and thousands of rupiahs would be required to buy the girl back. The problems were so many that, humanly speaking, there was nothing we could do. But the resources of God are beyond human calculation and available to those who pray. And pray we did. Even as we prayed God was working, Fu-Ya’s defeat soon followed.

That very night Chrysanthemum became restless and began to demand her release. She threatened to strip the walls of his temple bare and to pull up the flowers in his garden if he refused to yield to her demands. Without knowing of my presence in the vicinity or of her cousin Pearl’s interest in her affairs, she said:

«I have a cousin in T japkala who is helping a Great Teacher and they want me to seek the true God for help».

At this Fu-Ya became very angry and abused her freely. In the middle of the night, as the sorcerer slept, the girl silently crept out of the temple and made off on a bicycle she found handy. Then she saw what appeared to be a tall person dressed in white, who told her that she would soon be free to believe in the Lord, but she must first return to the temple. Back at the temple she told Fu-Ya of her encounter with the “man in white” and, probably for the first time in his life, the sorcerer was really frightened. Nothing upsets these priests so quickly as a sign or omen. He quickly released the girl and sent one of his minions to remove the idolatrous objects he had put up in her home. This was to save his own face because he knew that if he didn’t do this, we would.

The (apparition) was God’s way to bring about the girl’s release in answer to our prayers. Had she run away without the consent of the sorcerer, she would have been forced to return. God’s way is perfect, no matter how strange at times. After Chrysanthemum’s return home, the family invited the Christians’ help. We responded with fullness of joy, for we were seeing prayer answered in a wonderful way.

Over two hundred unbelievers, hearing of our purpose, followed us to our destination. On arrival, Chrysanthemum came out to greet us and, much to my consternation and surprise, knelt down as if to give me worship. Somewhat brusquely I ordered her to stand up and to lead us into the house. It would seem that the demonic powers, knowing that they were defeated, were doing their utmost to turn attention from the true and living God to man. ·If the heathen watching should think of me as some kind of superior (god), their defeat would be turned into victory.

The last time I was called was about three in the afternoon. This time I first gathered the Christians together for a time of heart serching and prayer and we studied what the Word of God said about demon power and the conditions that had to be met before the girl could be delivered. We were powerless if any one of us harboured sin in our lives, so we confessed sin and asked God to cleanse our hearts. We also knew that we needed to banish all fear if we were to expect a victory over evil spirits and we all confessed a certain sense of fear which was perhaps the clue to our lack of power. We finally asked God to take away all doubt, and together we stood on the promise, “Greater is he that is in you, than he that is in the world” (I John 4:4). With renewed courage and strength we returned to the girl’s room for the battle. We all felt that the power we had lacked previously was now present and in the NAME OF CHRIST WE COMMANDED THE DEMONS TO COME OUT.

They tried to choke her as they left, and artificial respiration had to be used to restore normal breathing. It was now clear to all that it was Almighty God and not feeble man who had forced the demons to leave. (Pages 60-67).

“magnify the LORD with me, and let us exalt his name together” (Psalms 34:3).

The name of the Messiah has power and authority. He promised His disciples to answer their prayers if they pray in His name.

“And whatsoever ye shall ask in my name, that will I do, that the Father may be glorified in the Son. If ye shall ask any thing in my name, I will do it” (John 14:13,14).

“Ye have not chosen me, but I have chosen you, and ordained you, that ye should go and bring forth fruit, and your fruit should remain that whatsoever ye shall ask of the Father in my name, he may give it you” (John 15:16).

“Verily, verily, I say unto you, Whatsoever ye shall ask the Father in my name, he will give it you” (John 16:23).

In the previous chapters we have seen Jesus the Messiah, the Good Shepherd, the Prince of Peace, the Light of the World, the Word of God, the Lord. But He is more than that. He will be our Judge in the Day of Judgement. And He judges us by compelling us to judge ourselves. How does He do that? He makes us take sides, for Him or against Him. Sooner or later we have to make up our minds about Him. And in the end we are found either among His faithful followers or among the crowd that shouts, “Crucify Him!” He will judge us according to our decision “For the Father judgeth no man, but hath committed all judgement unto the Son: That all men should honour the Son, even as they honour the Father which hath sent him. Verily, verily, I say unto you, He that heareth my word, and believeth on him that sent me, hath everlasting life, and shall not come into condemnation; but is passed from death unto life” (John 5:22-24).

An unknown author wrote an article by the title “HOW CAN GOD JUDGE US?.” He recorded:

«At the end of time, millions of people stood before God’s throne. Many of them spoke in anger and belligerence. Their cry was, “How can God Judge us?»

«How can He know about suffering?» snapped a dark haired young woman. She jerked back a sleeve to reveal a tatooed number from a Nazi concentration camp. (We en du red terror, beatings, torture, death!)

In another group, a black man lowered his collar. (What about this?) he demanded, showing an ugly rope burn. «Hung for no crime but being black! We have suffocated in slave ships, been wrenched from loved ones, toiled till only death gave release».

There were hundreds of such groups. Each had a complaint against God for the evil and suffering He permitted in the world. How fortunate, they thought, was God to live in heaven where all was sweetness and light, where there was no weeping, no fear, no hunger, no hatred. Indeed, they asked, what did God know about what man had been forced to endure in this world? How could He judge human beings or their behavior in the midst of such awful circumstances as they had to face?

So each group sent out a leader, chosen because he or she had suffered the most. There was a Jew, a black, an untouchable from India, an illegitimate, a person from Hiroshima, one from a Liberian slave camp, and many, many others. They consulted with each other. At last they were ready to present their case. It was rather simple: before they would regard God as qualified to be their judge, He must endure what they had endured. Their demand was that God should be sentenced to live on earth-as a man! Furthermore, they wanted certain safeguards so that, when God came to live on earth, He would not use His divine powers to help Himself and would experience all that they had experienced. Let Him be born a Jew. Let the legitimacy of His birth be doubted. Let Him live a life so holy, so righteous, yet so radically different that it brings down upon Him the hate, condemnation, and violence of every secular and religious authority. Let Him try to describe what no man has ever known by his natural senses, that is, let him try to communicate the reality of God to skeptical man. Let Him try to make known the love of God to selfish man.

In addition to these things, let Him be betrayed by His dearest friends. Let Him be indicted on false charges, tried before a prejudiced jury, and convicted by a cowardly judge. Let Him see what it is to be terribly alone completely abandoned by every living thing. Let Him be tortured. Let Him die the most humil- iating death possible-in the midst of common criminals.

When the last of the protesters had finished pronouncing his part of the sentence, there was a long silence. No one uttered another word. No one moved. For suddenly ALL knew. God HAD already fulfilled this sentence!.

Dear Reader: Did you ever ask yourself the question which was asked by Pilate the Roman governor: “What shall I do then with Jesus which is called Christ?” (Matthew 27:22).

Is Jesus, the Messiah your Lord? Does He indeed occupy the throne of your heart? Is He actually the King and Master over your life? By nature “We have turned every one to his own way” (Isaiah 53:6). Before the New Birth every soul lives to please self. It was written concerning those who lived in the days of the Judges ” … every man did that which was right in his own eyes.” And why? “In those days there was no king in Israel” (Judges 21:25). Until the Messiah becomes your King and Lord your life will continue to experience the confusion and ruin resulting from selfishness and sin.

May God enlighten your heart and mind by His Spirit to see the reality of the Messiah as revealed in the Bible, and to accept Him as your Saviour and your Lord. Knowing that “He that believeth on the Son hath everlasting life and he that believeth not the Son shall not see life; but the wrath of God abideth on him” (John 3:36).

There is only one way to have eternal life, and that is when you say to Jesus the Messiah: «Lord, come into my heart, I trust you as my only Saviour. Come and be my King. Come and rule me. Give me my orders, and then give me faith and courage to obey them without question. Give me power to love thee and to live for thee and in full submission to your authority let me confess with Thomas publicly:

“MY LORD AND MY GOD”

(John 20:28)

Bibliography

1- Bickersteth, Edward, The Trinity, MacDonald Publishing Company, 87 pp.

2- Cocks, H. F. Lovell, Behold, Thy King Cometh, London Independent Press Ltd., 1957, 16.

3- Gray, James M., The Bible Says, Moody Press, 1977, 136.

4- DeHaan, R., 7Steps in Salvation, Radio Bible Class, 32 pp.

5- Guthrie, Donald, Jesus The Messiah, Zon dervan Publishing House, 1972, 386.

6- Ironside, A., Expository Notes On The Prophet Isaiah, Loizeaux Brothers, 369 pp.

7- Ironside, A., Addresses On The Gospel Of John, Loizeaux Brothers, Inc., 1973, 892 pp.

8- Lloyd-Jones, M., The Cross: The Vindication of God, The Banner of Truth Trust, London, 20 pp.

9- Martin, Alfred, John Life Through Believing, Moody Press, 1962.

10- Meyer, F. , Gospel of John, Christian Literature Crusade 1973, 384 pp.

11- Mikhail, Labib, Is Christ God? Commercial Press, Cairo, Egypt, Arabic Second Edition, 1972, 260.

12- Peterson, Robert, Roaring lion, London Overseas Missionary Fellowship, 1971, 136 pp.

13- Rosenthal, Stanley, One Cod Or Three?

The Spearhead Press, 1978.

14- Tenney, Merrill C., John: The Gospel Of Belief, B. Eerdmans Publishing Company, 1948, 321 pp.

Table of Contents

Acknowledgement

Foreword

What Do You Think

About The Messiah?

The Triune God

The Redeemer of Mankind

The Old Testament

Prophecies

1. He Is the Seed of the Woman

2. He Is the Eternal Who Must

Be Born in Bethlehem, Judea

3. He Is Emmanuel Who Must

Be Born of a Virgin

4. tie Is the Mighty God

Who Must Be Born to Rule

5. He Is The One Who Must

Be Of The Tribe of Judah

6. He Must Be Of The Seed Of David

8. He Must Be Betrayed By A Friend

And Sold For Thirty Pieces Of Silver

9. He Must Be Smitten On The

Cheek, Spit Upon And Scourged

10. He Must Be Crucified.

11. His Garments Must Be Parted

And Lots Cast For His Vesture

12. He Must Be Pierced

13. He Must Die A Physical Death

14. Not A Bone Of Him

Should Be Broken

15. He Must Be Buried With The Rich

16. His Flesh Must Not See Corruption

And He Must Be Resurrected

And Ascended To Heaven

17. He Must Be The True Object Of Trust

The Sinless Life

Of The Messiah

The Testimony And The

Claims Of The Messiah

Jesus Testified That While He Is On Earth

He Is Also In Heaven

Jesus Testified That He Can Give Rest To

All Who Are Weary And Heavy-Laden

Jesus Testified That He Can Set Free

Those Who Trust In Him From

Stereotyped Thinking, From The Power

Jesus Testified That He Is The

Expected And Long-Awaited Messiah

Jesus Testified That He Is The Son Of God

Jesus Testified That He And

The Father Are One

Jesus Testified By His Seven Great

Declarations In The Gospel of John

That He is God

5. “I Am The Resurrection And The Life” (John 11:25)

Jesus The Messiah Testified

That He Could Forgive Sins

Jesus The Messiah Testified That He

Is The Central Theme and The Fulfillment

The Gallery Of Witnesses

God The Father Testified That Jesus

The Messiah Is His Beloved Son

John The Baptist Testified That The

Messiah Is The Son Of God

The Miracles Of The Messiah Testified

That He Is The Son Of God

The Apostle Peter Testified

That The Messiah Is The Son Of God

The Apostle Paul Testified That The

Messiah Is God Blessed For Ever

Three Of The Apostles Testified

The Apostle John In His Gospel And

Epistles Testified That The Messiah Is God

Thomas The Apostle Testified That The

Messiah, Jesus, Is His Lord And His God

The Christian History Is Full Of

Witnesses Concerning The Deity

Of The Messiah

The Power Of His Name

His Name Cast Out Devils