"You are gods" - What did Jesus mean?

in the original text of the Bible the first word that is used for God is the Hebrew word Elohim the first sentence in the Bible says in the beginning God created the heavens and the earth in the original Hebrew Bereshit bara Elohim etosha mine there are seven words the third word is the word for God Elohim it's an interesting word the word is plural in form but singular in meaning there are many places in the Hebrew text where this word Elohim means God with a small G plural the hewed mem ending on the word is the plural form of a masculine noun but in Genesis 1:1 Elohim means God singular because the form of the verb bar are created dictates that singular in meaning but plural in form scripture is hinting at something as New Testament believers in Jesus we believe in a god head God who is three in one Father Son and Holy Spirit this thinking is not easy for Jews to handle a foundational scripture for Jews is Deuteronomy chapter 6 verse 4 Sh'ma Yisrael Adonai Eloheinu Adonai Akkad here o Israel the Lord our God the Lord is one God is one but in Scripture it's possible to be more than one but in absolute unity Genesis chapter 2 verse 24 says a man shall leave his father and his mother and be joined to his wife and they shall become one flesh in Hebrew the high you'll ever saw Assad had one to become one to separate human beings in God site one inseparable this is an important principle however it's not easy for Jews to think of God in this way in the Gospel of John we read that certain Jews wanted to stone Jesus for saying that he was one with the father he also said he wanted them to know and understand that the father is in me and I in the father the Jews said he was blaspheming making himself out to be God Jesus said it is written you are gods Jesus used that cruise to justify a title for himself the son of God we don't have any problem accepting that Jesus is the Son of God but what about the statement you are God's the verse that Jesus was quoting in in Psalm 82 I said you are gods and all of you are sons of the Most High God small G plural in the Hebrew text is Elohim the same word for God singular in Genesis 1:1 some 82 was speaking to Jews to the people of Israel Israel was a chosen nation in the book of Deuteronomy Moses summed up God's call on Israel you are the sons of the Lord your God you are a holy people to the Lord your God and the Lord has chosen you to be a people for his own possession out of all the peoples who are on the face of the earth it is this chosen Nisour the Jewish people that apparently places them in the category of gods but the Jews were very human not at all godlike what does this mean you are gods it refers to their destiny that God has in mind for those who are called and chosen the question was would they believe that if they did believe that God has a glorious future for his people then it should affect their thinking and behavior now individuals within Israel has to respond they had to choose to believe God the Bible records that most Jews didn't respond well they didn't trust God and because they didn't believe God those people in the chosen nation of Israel were set aside they had it called to be God's special people to inherit an eternal blessing but they excluded themselves when they didn't believe when a person chooses to believe God then faith brings the power of God to work in their life faith produces fruit the personal faith becomes sweeter that's how we know they have faith there is evidence instead of hardness and bitterness we see gentleness kindness and love starting to come forth when people don't trust God then self will and selfishness reign people individuals without faith are rejected that's the context of John chapter 10 and some 82 in John 10 Jesus was dealing with Jews people in the chosen nation Israel people to whom God had said you are gods you are all sons of the Most High but most didn't believe God the religious leaders turned simple trust into a system of rituals and a way to control people they were offended by Jesus they couldn't control him he was demonstrating the love and heart God but the leaders wanted to kill him Psalm 82 also deals with Israel at a time of widespread national unbelief the opening verse of Psalm 82 reads God takes his stand in his own congregation he judges in the midst of the gods the word for God in the Hebrew text is Elohim and the word for gods is also Elohim God is assessing his chosen people how they are behaving now indicates whether they are living in faith in Him verses 3 & 4 indicate they should have been concerned for the week verse 5 says they weren't verse 6 is the declaration I said you are gods and all of you are sons of the Most High but the 7 gives the verdict you will die like mere men most Jews in that generation of Israel were not living in faith they lost their status as Elohim they would not live forever they would die like everyone else Isaiah proclaimed though the number of the sons of Israel be like the sand by the sea only the remnant will be saved it's possible for a chosen person to have their name in the book of life but to have it blotted out the imperative is to believe and go on believing God faith produces fruit good works don't substitute for faith but faith without appropriate response he is dead if faith dies eternal life cannot be expected God chose Israel and set them apart because he was preparing a people through whom he could reveal the Messiah but God's choice of Israel didn't mean that he was unmindful of non-jews God promised Abraham that through him all the nations would be blessed it's a promise that was made 430 years before the giving of the law to Israel through the prophet Isaiah God promised that the Messiah would restore a remnant of Israel and he would also bring salvation to the Gentiles even though they studied the Scriptures most religious Jews were so blinded by the thought that they were the chosen people and possibly by the thought that it was because they were more worthy than others that they missed God's heart for all people Jews stumbled over the Gentiles is it possible that some Gentile believers may stumble over the Jews Jesus was a Jew the apostles and writers of the New Testament were Jews the first church was comprised entirely of Jewish believers in Jesus in Acts chapter 10 we read about Cornelius and his family who were the first non-jews to come to faith the Jerusalem Council of Jewish believers were surprised that God would have a place for the Gentiles in the book of Ephesians we learn that we non Jewish believers in Jesus are also chosen we are all purified by faith in Jesus the good news is that everyone who believes in Jesus will be saved everyone who trusts in Jesus and goes on believing in him has the promise of eternal life there was a spiritual war between Jews and Gentiles in Jesus the wall is broken down God has made the way for the tooth to become one jesus prayed that we would be one united even as he and the father are one and he went on that they may all be one even as you Father are in me and I in you that they also may be in us Israel was chosen by God he said to them you are God's you are all sons of the Most High now Gentile believers in Jesus are found to be also chosen we are said to be in Christ in Christ we are adopted as sons in Christ we have every spiritual blessing in the heavenlies it's stated as if we are already there it's a status like the gods it's our inheritance eternal spiritual blessings do we believe it do we fix our eyes on Jesus he is our example even though he existed in the form of God he did not regard equality with God something to be grasped he emptied himself he humbled himself most Jews thought it was enough to be chosen they didn't take God seriously they thought it was enough to say they would obey Him they elevated themselves in their own thinking they thought being chosen set them above others they failed to understand that being United with God was a call to humility a setting aside of their rights in the light of the glory that is to come there are Christians who think that it is enough to be chosen they don't take God seriously they allow themselves to think that they are chosen because they are special more deserving than others they fail to understand that Jesus modeled a life of humility he gave up the glory of heaven to show us that if we will believe and let go of our rights in this life then great glory will follow in eternity yielding to God allows the Holy Spirit to work in our lives we need him we need help we all need help we need his power to endure to run the race of this life staying in faith in Jesus to the end here is something the Holy Spirit has given to build faith there is an underlying watermark of God in the original text of the Hebrew of the Old Testament and the Greek of the New Testament every letter in the Hebrew alphabet has a numeric value and every letter in the Greek alphabet has a numeric value apply the numeric value to each letter and we come up with a value for each word in Scripture the word for God in Genesis chapter 1 verse 1 is Elohim the numeric value of Elohim is 86 in some 80 to verse 6 in Hebrew the expression you are God is Elohim Atem Elohim God's small G plural is value 86 the same as Elohim the word for God singular in Genesis 1:1 the rest of the verse in Psalm 82 verse 6 says and you are all sons of the Most High in Hebrew or venir Elyon call hem apply the numeric value to each letter and we get a total for the three words of 344 which is 86 times 2 times 2 there's the number 86 the value of Elohim again now of course Jesus quotes this phrase you are gods in the passage in John chapter 10 here it is in context jesus answered them has it not been written in your law I said you are gods if he called them gods to whom the Word of God came and scripture cannot be broken do you save him whom the father sanctified and sent into the world you are blaspheming because I said I am the son of God if I do not do the works of my father do not believe me but if I do then so you do not believe me believe the works so that you may know and understand that the father is in me and I in the father this is a translation into English from the original Greek in the Greek text there are exactly 86 words we've been seeing her scripture states plainly and hints in its mathematical symmetry at the fact that Jesus is in the father and the father is in him and we are in Jesus and he is in us our destiny in faith in Jesus is eternal life a future as God's one with the God who created everything what a promise God redeemed us in love through the sacrifice of Jesus on the cross and after a brief period of testing we shall enter into an endless life there is one more piece to the puzzle Israel God started with Israel set apart for himself and although most Jews didn't trust him God has promised to complete what he began a circle will be completed in Christ God paused in his dealings with Israel to bring in a people for himself from among the Gentiles he is going to make Jew and Gentile one nothing is staged by chance the declaration that Jesus is the Messiah the son of the Living God was made at Caesarea Philippi at the foot of Mount Hermon the headwaters of the Jordan River Jordan in Hebrew is yata Ben it means descender to go down living water flows down Hula Valley to the Sea of Galilee the see takes in fresh water and gives up the river flows down down to the lowest place on earth to the Dead Sea here is where you make a sharp right hand turn to go up to Jerusalem God is bringing each of us to an end of ourselves this life is a walk in the spirit led by the spirit to where our legal right standing of being crucified with Christ is matched in our life experience the path down flows through the Galilee Jesus started his ministry in the Galilee Jesus was drew into Galilee to fulfill what was spoken through Isaiah the prophet the land of Zebulun and the land of Naphtali by way of the sea beyond the Jordan Galilee of the nations the people who were sitting in darkness saw a great light and those who were sitting in the land of the shadow of death upon them a light as dawned galilee of the nations in the original greek text is galilee to an ethnic Galilee has a numeric value of 86 the whole phrase has a numeric value of 2150 which is 86 times 5 times 5 that is not an accident verses 15 and 16 are quoting Isaiah chapter 9 verses 1 & 2 in Hebrew Bibles the words are found in the last verse of chapter 8 and the first verse of chapter 9 the total value of the two verses in Hebrew is seven thousand three hundred and ninety six which is 86 times 86 that is not an accident the Holy Spirit is tying the Greek of the New Testament to the Hebrew of the Old Testament he's shining a light on this number 86 the numeric value of Elohim the first word in the Bible for God and the word that is used to describe the future destiny of all who are in faith in Jesus God's he is linking this to a place the Galilee to a place of flowing living water an area where Jews largely inhabited one side in the promised land and Gentiles the other side Jesus crossed the sea and crossed the Jordan many times he fed people did miracles and delivered people out of demonic oppression on both sides he brought the light of his presence to Jews and Gentiles Jesus didn't start his ministry in Jerusalem the headquarters of religious leadership he started his ministry among the people the leadership despised the poor and the uneducated and the Gentiles Jesus was demonstrating he is going to have a people for himself from among the Jews and from among the Gentiles a people who are not highly regarded but who will unite and find their identity only in him Galilee in Hebrew is Galan Galil means a circle God has unfinished business he's going to complete the circle Jesus came down from heaven and ascended to heaven he's going to come down again to fetch his people so that we can ascend to be with him forever he started with the jews with israel he paused his dealings with them to bring in a people from among the gentiles now he is going to complete what he began with Israel all Israel the is going to come to salvation in the land of Israel scripture states this plainly and scripture hints in many places at what is still to come has God finished with unbelieving Israel the Bible says emphatically no God set them aside because of transgressions and that allowed the gospel to come to us non-jews but when God restores them it will release greater riches for the world material and spiritual blessings it will be life from the dead for Israel and for the church God has promised to regather all the Jews from all over the world he says he will not leave any behind the Bible says it is there in the promised land that he will save the remnant of Israel Romans chapter 11 verse 26 says that all Israel will be saved all Jews who are alive in that day will turn to God they will recognize their Messiah it is not only in these plain statements that we understand what God intends to do it is in the spiritual insights that we glean from many stories in the Bible we read about Joseph in the book of Genesis Joseph was one of the twelve sons of Jacob his brothers were jealous of him just as the religious leaders of Israel were jealous of Jesus Joseph was sent as a slave to Egypt the Jews thought that Jesus was dead but he rose from the grave and the message of salvation through faith in Him was carried into the Gentile world Joseph became the second in charge over all Egypt Jesus took his place at the right hand of the Father Joseph revealed himself to his brothers when all of them were gathered together Jesus will reveal himself to his brothers the Jews when all of them are regathered Israel had been enduring a famine and Joseph rescued his family Jesus will rescue his brothers in the Gospels we read about Jesus being asked to come and heal a twelve-year-old child who was dying people said the child was dead Jesus said she was asleep the world today thinks the church is dead but Jesus is on the way to stir the church into life while Jesus was on the way to raise the child a woman who had had an issue of blood for 12 years approached Jesus and bent low to touch the hem of His garment when she did her bleeding stopped the child is also a picture of the church and the woman is also a picture of unbelieving Israel when the child was born the women started bleeding her life started to ever weigh when the church was birthed most Jews refused to accept Jesus spiritually Israel has been drained of life but when Israel humbles herself and turns to her Messiah the bleeding will be stopped life will return the woman was healed and right away the child came alive the destiny of the church is linked to the redemption of Israel in the third verse of the New Testament in Matthew chapter 1 there is a mention of Zara it's an unusual mention the line to Jesus came through his brother Paris in the New Testament genealogy of Jesus this is the only brother who is mentioned why Paris and Zahra were born to Judah and Tamar they were twins Vera's hand came out first Vera was the first warm Zehra should have had the rights of the first born the Midwife tied a scarlet thread to his wrist but he drew his hand back and then teres was born Israel drew back the Gentiles took prominence for 2,000 years when the Israelites conquered Jericho Rahab had to hang a scarlet cord from her window that symbol was the sign to preserve her life together with her family Zahra who had ex-college thread tied to his wrist who was born first but drew back who is mentioned in the New Testament is a symbol of the fact that Jesus is going to return for Israel we started the study with an examination of the passage in John chapter 10 where Jesus says to the Jews you are gods the Jews wanted to kill Jesus but he escaped he went away beyond the Jordan and he stayed there many came to him and many believed in him there it's a picture of Jesus going to the Gentiles and Gentiles coming to faith in him immediately after this passage we get the story of Lazarus being raised from the dead when it was reported to Jesus that Lazarus was dead jesus said he wasn't beyond recovery he had fallen asleep Jesus waited two days a day is like a thousand years in God's sight it was two days before Jesus went to raise Lazarus hence Jesus has been away from his people for two thousand years Jesus called out with a loud voice and Lazarus came up from the grave Jesus is coming again Israel is going to be raised from the dead the circle will be complete faithful trusting keep trusting in Jesus and you will take your place United among those who will live forever in the world to come you

Channel: thelivingword

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Keywords: Biblical Hebrew, Psalm 82, Galilee, Israel, Christianity, Bible study, Old Testament, New Testament

Id: 7OP0nS7VJVo

Length: 29min 54sec (1794 seconds)

Published: Fri Feb 10 2017