Saturday, August 27, 2016

John 13:13 - Jesus is Teacher and Lord

You call me, 'Teacher' and 'Lord.' You say so correctly, for so I am. -- John 13:13, World English.

This scripture is often presented as proof that Jesus is the God of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob. (Exodus 3:14,15) Obviously, since there is nothing in Jesus' words that would mean that he was claiming to the God of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob, what many trinitarians do is imagine beyond what is written so as "see" such an idea in what Jesus stated.

Actually, all that Jesus was claiming is that he is indeed Teacher and Lord. Jesus came to teach us the things which he had heard from his God and Father (John 8:28), whom he declared to be "the only true God." (John 17:1,3) This was part of his commission as the foretold prophet like Moses, of whom Jehovah stated: "I will put my words in his mouth, and he shall speak to them all that I shall command him." (Deuteronomy 18:15-19) Thus, what Jesus taught was the words of Jehovah, the God of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob. This does not mean that he is the God of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob.

Some misuse the KJV by crossing John 3:13 with Old Testament verses in which the KJV renders the Holy Name as "the LORD" (such as Psalm 118:27 and 1 Kings 18:39), and claim that since Jesus expressed that he is "Lord" in John 13:13, that this means that Jesus is the God of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob. Of course, this would seem to rely either on the ignorance of the readers regarding God's Holy Name as it has been changed in the King James Version, and/or else rely on the false assumption that in the New Testament, the word transliterated as KURIOS (meaning lord, sir, master, etc.) must always refer to the God of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob. Actually, as has been shown elsewhere, KURIOS, when applied to Jesus, does not mean Jehovah (Yahweh) of the Old Testament. Although it is obvious that in the extant New Testament manuscripts in many cases the Holy Name has indeed been changed to forms of KURIOS, this does not mean that KURIOS always means Jehovah.

Jesus, of course, is the only way to his God and Father, Jehovah. (John 14:6) 

Jesus is the one who is foretold that Jehovah has put in charge of Jehovah's sheep, and thus, he is "lord" or "master" of Jehovah's sheep. (Ezekiel 34:23,24; John 10:11,14,29) It is Jehovah who anointed Jesus (Isaiah 61:1,2) and who has made Jesus to be both "Lord' and "Christ." (Acts 2:36)  God has exalted Jesus to the highest position in the universe, next to God Himself. (Acts 2:33,36; 5:31; Philippians 2:9; Ephesians 1:3,17-23; 1 Corinthians 15:27; Hebrews 1:4,6; 1 Peter 3:22) Nothing in any of this means that Jesus is Jehovah, the God of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob.

Some point to the usage of "I am" at the end of Jesus' statement, evidently with the thought that Jesus was claiming to be "I am" of Exodus 3:14,15. This would seem to separate Jesus' statement that affirms that he is a teacher and lord so to take it totally out of context in order to make it appear that Jesus was claiming that his name is EHJEH of Exodus 3:14. Taken in context, we see that Jesus, in stating "I am" in John 13:13, was simply affirming that he is teacher and lord, not that he is EHJEH of Exodus 3:14.






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