PART 4 — THE NAMES AND WORKS OF YEHOVAH
The previous part showed that the Word became flesh and dwelt among mankind.
The question now becomes:
What did the apostles believe about Him?
They were Jews.
They knew the Scriptures.
They recited the Shema:
"Hear, O Israel: Yehovah our God is one Yehovah."
Deuteronomy 6:4
They knew that worship belonged to God alone.
They knew there was only one Savior.
Only one Redeemer.
Only one Shepherd.
Yet when they wrote about Yeshua, they repeatedly applied to Him things the Scriptures had already said about Yehovah.
Yehovah Is Savior
Yehovah declared:
"I, even I, am Yehovah; and beside Me there is no saviour."
Isaiah 43:11
Yet the angel announced concerning Yeshua:
"Thou shalt call His name Yeshua: for He shall save His people from their sins."
Matthew 1:21
Even His name points to this truth.
Yeshua means:
"Yehovah is salvation."
The apostles did not believe salvation came from someone other than Yehovah.
They believed Yehovah had come to save His people.
Yehovah Is Redeemer
Isaiah says:
"For your Maker is your husband, Yehovah of hosts is His name; and your Redeemer is the Holy One of Israel; He is called the God of the whole earth."
Isaiah 54:5
Yet throughout the New Testament, redemption comes through Messiah.
His blood redeems.
His sacrifice redeems.
His resurrection secures redemption.
The work Scripture attributes to Yehovah is accomplished through Yeshua.
The First And The Last
"Thus saith Yehovah the King of Israel... I am the first, and I am the last; and beside Me there is no God."
Isaiah 44:6
Yet Yeshua said:
"Fear not; I am the first and the last."
Revelation 1:17
And again:
"I am Alpha and Omega, the beginning and the end, the first and the last."
Revelation 22:13
The same title used by Yehovah in Isaiah is later used by Yeshua in Revelation.
Yehovah Is the Shepherd
Through Ezekiel, Yehovah declared:
"Behold, I, even I, will both search My sheep, and seek them out."
Ezekiel 34:11
And:
"I will feed My flock."
Ezekiel 34:15
Yet Yeshua said:
"I am the good shepherd."
John 10:11
The promise was not that Yehovah would send a shepherd.
The promise was that Yehovah Himself would shepherd His people.
Yehovah Forgives Sins
Yehovah said:
"I, even I, am He that blotteth out thy transgressions."
Isaiah 43:25
Yet Yeshua said to the paralytic:
"Son, thy sins be forgiven thee."
Mark 2:5
The scribes immediately understood the significance.
They asked:
"Who can forgive sins but God only?"
Mark 2:7
Their question reveals the truth of the scripture (though they themselves couldn't see who He was/is).
The authority to forgive sins belongs to God.
Yet Yeshua exercised that authority openly.
Yehovah Will Come
The prophets repeatedly spoke of Yehovah coming to save His people.
Isaiah wrote:
"Behold, your God will come... He will come and save you."
Isaiah 35:4
When Messiah was born, Matthew pointed to the prophecy:
"They shall call His name Emmanuel."
Matthew 1:23
Which means:
"God with us."
The expectation was not merely that God would send help.
The expectation was that God would come.
Every Knee Shall Bow
Yehovah declared:
"Unto Me every knee shall bow, every tongue shall swear."
Isaiah 45:23
Paul applies these words to Yeshua:
"That at the name of Yeshua every knee should bow."
Philippians 2:10
The worship and honor belonging to Yehovah are directed toward Messiah.
The apostles saw no contradiction.
The Pattern
Any one of these examples could be dismissed on its own.
But taken together they form a consistent pattern.
Yehovah is Savior.
Yeshua saves.
Yehovah is Redeemer.
Yeshua redeems.
Yehovah is Shepherd.
Yeshua shepherds.
Yehovah forgives sins.
Yeshua forgives sins.
Yehovah says every knee will bow to Him.
Every knee bows to Yeshua.
The apostles were not introducing another god.
They were proclaiming in Yeshua what they believed the Scriptures had been pointing toward all along.
The God of Abraham.
The God of Isaac.
The God of Jacob.
The God who spoke through the prophets.
The God who promised to come and save His people.
In the next part we will look more closely at the glory and worship that Scripture attributes to both Yehovah and Messiah.