The Forbidden Chapter

GodWords Newsletter #94

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Growing up, John the Baptist undoubtedly knew Jesus. They were cousins. What he didn’t know was that Jesus was the Messiah that Israel had been waiting for… that is, he didn’t know it until he baptized his cousin:

And I myself did not know him, but the one who sent me to baptize with water told me, ‘The man on whom you see the Spirit come down and remain is the one who will baptize with the Holy Spirit.’ John 1:33

Later - see the picture above - John pointed out Jesus to a couple of his disciples. He called Jesus “the lamb of God,” referring to the final sacrifice in the old covenant. Because John knew the Scriptures, he knew Jesus’ true identity: He is the Messiah, sent to die for the sins of the world.

While a lot of Jews in the first century believed, most did not. The same is true today: a lot of Jewish people are followers of Jesus, the Messiah… but most are not.

More Jews would follow Jesus if they knew what’s in “the forbidden chapter.”

You see, portions of the Tanakh (the Hebrew Bible) are read, on a regular basis, in Jewish synagogues… but: there’s one chapter that modern Jews don’t read. They just skip over it entirely. They read the chapter before it, and the chapter after, but they don’t read “the forbidden chapter.” For this reason, many Jews alive today have never read one of the most important chapters in their Bible.

They don’t know their Messiah has come because they don’t know how to identify the one they’ve been waiting for. The chapter is Isaiah 53.

You probably know some of it:

We all, like sheep, have gone astray,
each of us has turned to our own way;
and the Lord has laid on him
the iniquity of us all.

One of my all-time favorite videos is below. Watch it, and pray for the salvation of those who don’t know what we know: that Jesus - Yeshua in Hebrew - is God, come in the flesh. They don’t know that they can stop waiting. They don’t know that salvation has come. They don’t have a temple, so they can’t perform the ritual sacrifices. As a result, they see no remedy for sin.

Jesus is the remedy. Jesus is God, the Messiah, the Lamb of God… and He came to save His people - the Jews - and He came to save the rest of us, too. That was God’s promise to Abraham: the whole world would be blessed through him and his descendants. Jesus is God’s blessing for the whole world, including the Jews.

I love you all.
❤️

Swearing Is Stupid, Selfish, and Pointless
I remember being confronted by strangers in public. I remember having my mouth washed out with soap. I still know all the words, and I still sometimes blurt one or two, especially when I’m frustrated.

Seven Schmaltzy Takes: Empathy and Wonder Edition
This particular edition isn’t necessarily what I want to point to… I simply enjoy reading Anne’s newsletter, and thought you might as well.

The Date of John's Gospel: Are We Witnessing a Paradigm Shift?
There are lots of theories about exactly when each book of the Bible was written. As for the New Testament, I’ve always advocated early dates. What’s fascinating here is that scholars who formerly put John’s gospel in the 200s may now consider it written as early as Mark.

GodWords: What I Believe
I got some criticism about my Statement of Faith today, and thought I might as well get a little more, while I’m at it. No SoF is perfect. Feel free to weigh in!

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You are not your own; you were bought at a price.
Therefore honor God with your body.
- 1 Corinthians 6:19-20

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Born Again: Austin French

Nominated for Best New Artist in 2019, Austin was the runner-up on ABC’s Shining Star competition. Since then he’s been busy leading worship, writing songs, and touring with folks like We Are Messengers and Big Daddy Weave. I love this song!
Lyrics and links at Awesome Christian Music.

I was down on my luck, I was stuck
I was running 'round broken-hearted
I was sinking so fast
I couldn't last falling apart, and

You could've run away
Leaving me there in my shame
Leaving me fighting my pain
But You made a better way

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