I Am God!
In Luke 19:9-10, Jesus says something that we cannot understand unless we have at least a minimal knowledge of Hebrew and the seven exegetical teaching techniques used by first-century Jewish rabbis.
Not only would Jesus have used a play on words at times, but he would also have used the technique known today as remez. A remez is a clue or a hint at a passage of scripture without actually reciting the passage.
As Westerners, we want people to just come out and say what they mean. We even have a phrase that we use—“Say what you mean and mean what you say.” We also say, “Don’t beat around the bush.” But rabbis would always beat around the bush. And if you don’t have a deep and thorough knowledge of the text (God's Word) you will miss the message entirely.
First, Jesus uses a word play. Jesus says to Zacchaeus, “Today salvation has come to this house…” In Hebrew the word for salvation is yeshu' ah (God’s salvation). Jesus is playing on the words “God’s salvation” when he says in Hebrew, “Today yeshu’ ah [which sounds like Jesus' Hebrew name, Yeshua] is coming to your house.” Then he says, “For the son of man has come to seek and to save what was lost.” “Son of Man” is a Hebrew way of saying, “this man” or “I.”
When all the Jews in the crowd and Zacchaeus heard Jesus say that he has come to seek and save the lost, they heard the remez that Jesus used. And what they heard was the 34th chapter of Ezekiel which records the words of God saying, “Because my shepherds have scattered my sheep and have abused them and put them in harms way, I WILL COME AND BE THE SHEPHERD, AND I WILL SEEK AND SAVE MY LOST SHEEP” (My paraphrase).
What this means is that when they heard Jesus say, “I came to seek and to save what was lost,” they heard Jesus say, “’I am God!’ And I have come just as I promised through my prophet, Ezekiel, to bring my sheep out of the trees and the fields and to rescue them from the wild animals and the dangers of the world.”
Often we hear commentators and others say that Jesus never claimed to be God. That seems to be true until we understand the technique of remez that Jesus used often. Zacchaeus and the others Jews on that day heard Jesus say it loud and clear.
Forever learning,
Johnny
11 comments:
I was taught this once before and thought it was pretty awesome. Thanks for bringing it to light.
Merry Christmas.
You are welcome, Kathy.
Walker,
First note that this is not a simile, as Jesus is not saying, "Like" a shepherd, I have come. He is making an overt reference to a scripture that many in the crowd would have known by memory.
Second, we are to recognize that Zacchaeus is a "sinner" by trade, not necessarily by acts of sin. In the first century, any person who did a job which would render him or her ritually unclean was placed in a class called "sinners." This included tax collectors, tanners, dog dung removers, and copper smelters. They may be very godly and good people, but they are ritually unclean because of their work and are called sinners.
Zacchaeus represents the sheep that have been scattered and are now outcasts (not allowed to sit at the front of the crowd, but has to find higher ground away from the other people). Jesus is calling Zacchaeus out of the tree--the tree he is in, not only because he is short, but because he can't be near the crowd lest he render them all unclean if he were to touch them.
The literal translation of Ezekiel 34:11-15 is, "For here is what Adonai Elohim says: 'I am taking over! I will search for my sheep and look after them, myself. Just as a shepherd looks after his flock when he finds himself among his scattered sheep, so I will look after my sheep. I will rescue them from all the places where they wee scattered when it was cloudy and dark. I will bring them back from those peoples, gather them from those countries and return them to their own land. Then I will let them feed on the mountains of Isra'el, by the streams and in all the livable places of the land. I will have them feed on good pastures; their grazing ground will be on the high mountains of Isra'el. They will rest in good grazing grounds and feed in rich pastures on Isra'el's mountains. Yes, I will pasture my sheep; and I will let them rest' says Adonai Elohim.
'I will seek the lost, bring back the outcasts, bandage the broken, and strengthen the sick'" (CJB).
The shepherds to whom God is referring are those religious Jews who are no longer taking care of the people of God (feeding the sheep), but are taking care of themselves.
In Ezekiel 34 God is prophesying about a time when he will come himself and be the shepherd because those He has appointed are not doing the job. Jesus is saying, “Here I am to shepherd my sheep and take them out of the places you have forced them into by your legalistic traditions.”
Grace and peace,
Johnny
Walker,
God is saying that "He will be" the shepherd to His people becuase the shepherds have failed to do the shepherding. In other words, they will be fired and God himself will take over their roles. God will not be "like" a shepherd; He will be the shepherd when the day comes that the shepherds are no longer feeding the sheep.
Jesus' words are the fulfillment of that prophesy in Ezekiel, as God has come to be the shepherd of His people. He then teaches new shepherds, which are the 11 disciples and they are all to teach Jesus' yoke to more disciples.
And here we are today.
Grace and peace,
Johnny
I think it is important to realize that Jesus claimed that He was an extension of God, just as he expects us to be. He was the imago deo, image of God and his desire was that we imitate him so that we could claim the same thing. In the Eastern Orthodox Church they never used the word holiness, they chose diefication. We are to be God-like, just like Jesus. His claim may not have been exclusive, but inclusive.
Hello Purple,
Thanks for your wonderful and encouraging words.
I want to wish you a Merry Christmas too.
You can email me at captain_gainey@yahoo.com
Grace and peace,
Johnny
John,
Your comment is very interesting and important for thinking more deeply on the subject of Jesus' divinity. This goes right along with Walker's comments and I want to address this subject more thoroughly.
I would also appreciate the insights of others and have this topic fully engaged by all of us.
John,
Your comment brings to the forefront the idea that Jesus was a representative of God who was chosen to show the world how to effectively imitate God and do the will of God.
There is a very important and controversial statement by one theologian (I read so much that the exact writer escapes me at the moment) that makes the claim that the word "begotten" means "favored." This writer goes on to say that all of the “begottens” mentioned in the Bible are those children who were favored by their father's and given special tasks by God. In other words, Jacob was the second born of Isaac, but he was the "begotten" of Isaac, even though Esau was older.
With this thinking, Jesus is the "favored" son of God among all His children who was given a special task by the Father. As we carry out this line of thought, this writer goes on to point out that when we consider Jesus the "one and only son" of God, that we are mistaken as God created all of mankind to be His sons and daughters. If Jesus is the "only" son, as the phrase "only begotten" is often relayed by teachers, then none of us can be His son or daughter.
The argument of those who oppose this view will suggest that all others are adopted and Jesus is the only who was conceived of God himself.
I have my own view of which I'm not afraid to speak. And I'd like to have the view of others during this very Jesus' divinity focused season of Christmas.
In His dust,
Johnny
In the spirit of Christmas, perhaps you should post something about the virgin birth not being legit...that'll get people's blood boiling!
HAHAHAHA! Just kidding. My effort to once again ruin the seriousness of a debate.
I miss the Gainey's. They are my favorite Gainey's in the whole world.
Merry Christmas.
Kathy,
Don't tempt me. I've got some pretty great stuff on that very subject that really could get some blood boiling.
We miss you too. Please have an incredible Christmas with your amazing family.
Your friend for eternity,
Johnny
Hey Walker,
Great stuff.
I wasn't aware that you were an iconoclast. So am I. If there's one thing that really disturbs me, it's the American picture of Jesus that is hung so proudly in old, traditional, white churches.
It's an 1800-year-old fight, but I think that we need to be very careful with what and how we represent God and the Messiah.
Thanks.
Johnny
great site! I have always been interested in the cultural context of Biblical passages. Needless to say, I was floored when I heard Rob Bell's CD called "Dust". That sparked an interest in learning about the remezs in the New Testament. Is there a book you would recommend that specifically details the remezs in the New Testament? I would like to learn more...
Hello Lee,
I can't tell you a book right away, but I can tell you to go to Ray Vander Laan's sight, www.followtherabbi.com, click on "Articles," and then type "Remez" in the search block, then click on the article titled "Remez." That should get you started.
Thanks for commenting and for your encouraging words.
Bless God today,
Johnny
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