Series - Jesus Teaches OT

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John 5:20-30 with Psalm 2:12, Daniel 12:1-2 and Deuteronomy 18:15-19

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John 5:20-30 with Psalm 2:12, Daniel 12:1-2 and Deuteronomy 18:15-19

Although a number of religions acknowledge an afterlife, mainstream Judaism was unique in its day for believing in the bodily resurrection.¹ Rabbinic Judaism demonstrates this emphasis in the daily prayer known as the Amidah – also known as the 19 (originally 18) blessings.² The second blessing reads:

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(Luke 4:16-30 with Isaiah 61:1-2)

The Spirit-empowered Anointed One

Jesus applied Isaiah 61:1-2a (below) to Himself. At first, this garnered praise from the synagogue crowd, but their praise quickly turned to scoffing. The Isaiah passage reads:

The Spirit of the Lord is upon me, because he has anointed me to proclaim good news to the poor. He has sent me to proclaim liberty to the captives and recovering of sight to the blind, to set at liberty those who are oppressed, to proclaim the year of the Lord’s favor.

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Yeshua was in His small hometown, Nazareth. He had probably read the Scriptures aloud in the local synagogue many times before, and would have been known to all. Yet this was the first time He read thusly after His ministry had been launched and His fame widespread.

Many locals wondered if He might be the Messiah—or perhaps the expected Moses-like prophet.¹ The nature of the text He read demanded comment, but Yeshua’s bold but brief commentary enraged and antagonized his listeners.

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(Numbers 28:11, Isaiah 12:3-4, and John 4:1-42)

Jesus’ meeting with the Woman at the Well is a popular text for preaching and teaching, rich with application. Space forbids me from addressing the many details about this meeting; I have chosen instead to focus upon a few questions rarely raised. I have already answered the question: “Why was Yeshua so forthright about His Messiahship with the Woman at the Well, but not others?”

Today we will ponder two more questions.

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(Isaiah 42:1-4, Matthew 12:15-21, and John 4:1-42)

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The Serpent in the Wilderness

(John 3:12-15 with Numbers 21:4-9)

Postulating that a New Testament text is a midrash of an Old Testament passage is sometimes open to challenge. In other instances, we are positive that a New Testament text is indeed a midrash of an Old Testament text because the New Testament text makes the connection. Such is the case with the dialogue between Jesus and Nicodemus, particularly John 3:12-15,¹ the comparison of the serpent in the wilderness and looking to Jesus in faith.

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(Ezekiel 18:3, 37:9-10; 1 Samuel 10:6, John 3:1-11)

As we continue on the subject of the New Birth (aka, regeneration), we can note that Jesus’ teaching about this miraculous work of the Spirit is based upon midrash from Old Testament texts. He expected Nicodemus, as a rabbi himself, to understand the concept—even before his encounter with Yeshua. Thus the concept of regeneration is not unique to the New Testament. However, Jesus’ terminology—“You must be born again”—is unique.

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(John 3:1-11 with Ezekiel 36:25-27)

The concept of the New Birth—aka, “regeneration” (Titus 3:5) or “circumcision of the heart” (Deuteronomy 30:6, 5:28-29 and 10:16)—is found throughout Scripture, but Jesus’ words to Nicodemus are perhaps the Bible’s definitive text on this subject.

Yeshua and Nicodemus

The (ESV) text of John 3:1-11 is a good place to start our investigation:

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My Father’s house

Jesus’ childhood narrative in Luke 3:41-51 records the only words spoken by Jesus while a youth. His family joined the caravan for an annual pilgrimage to Jerusalem to celebrate Passover. When they could not find Jesus in the caravan, they searched, finally returning to the temple courts in Jerusalem, where Yeshua was in dialog with the learned rabbis.