CYPRESSWOOD CHURCH OF CHRIST
September 13, 2009
25424 Aldine-Westfield, Spring, TX. 77373
www.blakehart.com/cypresswoodbulletin.htm
www.cypresswoodchurchofchrist.com
PRAYERS AND THANKSGIVINGS:
God’s will for our congregation Various friends, relatives and co-workers
Our nation, military and leaders Peace
THE OLD IN THE NEW
“In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God” (John 1:1).
The New Testament writers based much of their theology on scripture, which in their case was the Old Testament. As we have seen, the authors of the Gospels of Matthew, Mark and Luke quote or echo the Old Testament many times, and in particular Isaiah. Using those texts, they show us that the Messiah was to come and suffer and die and would be raised from the dead. Jesus explained this to them, especially after the resurrection (see Luke 24).
John also spent time in the Old Testament. In reading John, we must keep in mind Moses, or to say it another way, to open up the Torah, the first five books of the Hebrew scriptures. Why would this be important for John, especially since he writes in the 80s A.D.? Randy Harris suggests one reason, among any number of reasons that have been given for John to write (1). The gospel was written to second generation Christians, Jewish Christians in particular, who were facing difficult times for a variety of reasons in Asia Minor, where John was based (2). Using John 9, he saw that the healed blind man who was cast out of the synagogue for his belief in Jesus was similar to situations in the 80s, where some have been cast out of synagogues for becoming believers in Jesus. If true, it helps explain why John used Moses so much in his gospel. Let’s look at some of the texts.
John begins immediately in his introduction to refer to Moses. “In the beginning God created the heavens and the earth” (Genesis 1:1) with “In the beginning was the Word…” (John 1:1). Keep in mind that one of John’s themes is the deity of Jesus. This connection between Moses and John shows that. There is also an echo of Moses later in this text. “The Word became flesh and made his dwelling among us” (1:14). The word “dwelling” means to tabernacle. He came to live among us as seen in the tabernacle in the wilderness when God came among His people. It is at least a remind that this is what God wants with His people; to be their God and to live among them.
Another idea that connects Moses and John is found in John 8. Jesus is having a discussion with the religious leaders of the Jews who oppose Him. One of their appeals is to Abraham. Jesus said that if they were Abraham’s children, they would do what Abraham did. Then He says that they follow their real father, the Devil, who was a liar from the beginning (echoing Genesis 3). Jesus goes on to speak about eternal life and Abraham rejoiced to see his day (8:56). Mockingly they ask if He had seen Abraham, long dead. Jesus reply would cause a very violent response. “Very truly I tell you, before Abraham was born, I am.”
For the Jewish leaders, this was blasphemy. Jesus just declared Himself God! The connection was immediate. In Exodus 3, God comes to Moses to send him back to Egypt to rescue His people, the Israelites, from slavery. Moses wasn’t dumb. If he was going to go and tell them to follow him, he asked God, who should I tell them sent me? God replies, “I am who I am. This is what you are to say to the Israelites: ‘I am has sent me to you’” (Exodus 3:14). We need to understand this background to grasp what John is writing to the church in 80 A.D. We assume, since the Old Testament was their scriptures, that they caught this immediately. The phrase, “I am” is found throughout John and echoes Moses. “I am the light of the world” (8:12 and Genesis 1 - light and darkness being contrasted in the gospel). “I am the bread of life” (6:35 and the manna in the wilderness). “I am the way, the truth, and the life” (14:6 with echoes of the Exodus and the covenant of Moses). You can look at these are other texts for themes from the Torah.
There are other references to Moses in John. In John 3, Jesus refers to the snake that was lifted up in the wilderness and connected it with His death (3). Jacob’s well is found in John 4 with the background information found in Genesis 35. Jesus uses Moses as a witness to who He is in John 5:45. John is the only Gospel writer who refers to all three of the Passovers of Jesus’ ministry. Nicodemus attemped to defend Jesus using the Law of Moses (7:50-51). When reading John keep Moses in mind.
John does use other Old Testament texts as well. The Samaritans are identified in 2 Kings 17 as foreigners who were brought to Israel by the Assyrians and then were taught by priests about the God of Israel. There theology developed over seven centuries. The Jews were hostile to them because they saw them as corrupted if not outsiders and would have nothing to do with them. There was also the connection with the rebellious house of Israel under Jeroboam and the northern kings who reigned in Samaria, a city at that time. This background is important in understanding John 4.
John uses various prophets like Isaiah and Zechariah as well as the Psalms, but it appears that Moses is the bases for much of his argument. Likewise the Holy Spirit has important Old Testament backgrounds. Genesis 1:2 shows the Spirit’s involvement with creation. Isaiah makes use of the Spirit in a number of texts that the New Testament writers allude to or echo. John has a number of things to say about the Spirit especially in John 14-16. I am sure we could refer to many other echoes in John to various Old Testament books.
Our theology that has tended to ignore the Hebrew scriptures because we have emphasize New Testament Christianity. In doing so however, we have missed a very important aspect of this; that the Bible of the first century church was the Old Testament. We need to understand the Hebrew scriptures in order to help us understand the New. May your study be fruitful in this area.
George B. Mearns
(1) Randy Harris in a lecture at Lipscomb’s Summer Celebration, 2009.
(2) See Revelation in particular but also 1, 2, 3 John. I also think that Gnostic teachings were developing at this time in Asia Minor (modern day Turkey) and were beginning to affect the church.
(3) See the bulletin from 4/17/2009 for comments on this.