Who is Y’shua?

 

Have you ever wondered who Y’shua really is? In our study of Torah, we can forget who Y’shua is and what He did for us. This happened to me too. I was so busy learning Torah, that I started to wonder where Y’shua fitted in. It was almost as if He got vaguer and vaguer until I realized with a shock what has happened. I realized that I have lost that joy I had in me, I have become hard inside. I asked YHVH to reveal Y’shua again to me, and it started changing. I know now more than ever that we cannot  exist without Him Who redeemed me. It was almost as if something died inside me at that time, but it is alive again. That is the reason I want to share this with you, in order for you not to forget and to remain alive in Him.

With this study, we will come to understand a little more. You will also realize that we cannot define Y’shua, nor can we define YHVH. Our human minds cannot fully comprehend the Divine nature.

Someone once made a comment saying, it would be like asking a few blind men to describe an elephant. Each would attempt to better the other’s description, without really being accurate. That showed great understanding as to the extend of our ability to comprehend and define our Creator. Trying to understand Him would be Greek thinking anyway.

However, we can learn about Him, His nature, His character and His heart. This is what we will endeavor to do with this study. This is by no means an exhaustive study, but simply a taste of Him. That is the Hebrew way, to taste and see that YHVH is good; to experience Him through His Word.

The way we will approach this is by investigating the following:

• the divinity of Y’shua
• the humanity of Y’shua
• His Messiahship and
• who does He say He is?

What can we learn about the Divine nature of our Elohim?

Y’shua is Divine!

The Divine nature of our Elohim

The prophet Isaiah asked two very pertinent questions. “To whom will we liken YHVH, or what likeness will you compare Him with (Isa 40:18)?

When Paul spoke to the people of Athens concerning YHVH, he explained to them that the Divine nature of YHVH cannot be made into an image or a thought of man.

Acts 17:29
²⁹ “Being then the children of Elohim, we ought not to think that the Divine Nature is like gold or silver or stone, an image formed by the art and thought of man.

Although, the Divine nature cannot be made into an image or a thought, it is clearly visible through His creation.

Romans 1:20
²⁰ For since the creation of the world His invisible attributes, His eternal power and divine nature, have been clearly seen, being understood through what has been made, so that they are without excuse.

Who can look at nature and the creatures in nature and not be convinced that it was created by a Divine power? Who can study the workings of a human being in its finest detail and not see YHVH therein? These are ways in which YHVH chose to reveal Himself to us. There are many more ways! Think about the Exodus out of Egypt. There, YHVH made manifest His divine power and nature through all the miracles He performed. All this is recorded for us in His Word. YHVH reveals Himself through His word, and Y’shua is the Word made flesh. We shall study this in more detail, when we research the humanity of Y’shua.

Y’shua and YHVH are one!

Deuteronomy 6:4
⁴ “Hear, O Israel! YHVH is our Elohim, YHVH is one!

What is the meaning of the Hebrew word “echad“. If you were to do a search in a Hebrew dictionary, you will find that the word has similar but varied meanings depending on the context wherein it was used. It can mean: one, single, first, each, only, unit, same, unique or undivided oneness. This gives us a broader view as to the meaning of this word used in Deut 6:4. Once again, the meaning should be determined by the context.

In the gospel of John, Y’shua declares that He is one with the Father!

John 10:30
³⁰ “I and the Father are one.”

This is what David Stern comments on this verse:

Here are some more verses to ponder on.

James 2:19
¹⁹ You believe that Elohim is one. You do well; the demons also believe, and shudder.

Y’shua quoted Deuteronomy 6:4 in Mark 12:29, when He was asked which commandment was the most important.

Here is David Sterns commentary on Mark 12:29.

We see from these quotes that the Tanakh, and the Apostolic Scriptures are in agreement; YHVH is one! However, we also learn from Scripture about the Father, the Son and the Holy Spirit (Ruach ha Qodesh). How can we even begin to comprehend this? We do not believe in the teaching of a trinity.

We believe YHVH is unique and we as mere human beings cannot comprehend His nature fully. We will leave it at that for now…

Y’shua describes His relationship with the Father in the book of John.

John 17:21–22
²¹ that they may all be one; even as You, Father, are in Me and I in You, that they also may be in Us, so that the world may believe that You sent Me. ²² “The glory which You have given Me I have given to them, that they may be one, just as We are one;

John 10:38
³⁸ but if I do them, though 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.”

Another interesting word to consider is “Elohim”

The word “Elohim” is the Hebrew word for God. When you look at the morphology of the word “elohim” you find it in the singular form, although it seems plural because of the “-im” suffix. It is called a plural of amplification. We see a similarity in the word for heaven “samayim” We can thus not assume plurality when the word “Elohim” is used.

Now just as you think you understand this, consider this Scripture…

Genesis 1:26
²⁶ Then Elohim said, “Let Us make man in Our image, according to Our likeness; and let them rule over the fish of the sea and over the birds of the sky and over the cattle and over all the earth, and over every creeping thing that creeps on the earth.”

This just confirms what we said earlier, we cannot define YHVH, it is just not possible. We have to accept that and believe in Him as an Eternal, Divine, Onmipresent, Omnipotent, Supernatural Being. Can YHVH be one with Y’shua and the Ruach ha Qodesh and at the same time be more than one person? Who are we to say He can’t?

We shall now look into some common characteristics between Y’shua and YHVH, thereby providing proof of Y’shua’s divinity.

YHVH does not share His glory, only YHVH can receive worship

Isaiah 42:8
⁸ “I am YHVH, that is My name; I will not give My glory to another, Nor My praise to graven images.

Isaiah 48:11
¹¹ “For My own sake, for My own sake, I will act; For how can My name be profaned? And My glory I will not give to another.

What did YHVH mean when He said “My glory I will not give to another“? What is this “glory” He is referring to?

Please take note of this part of the quote:

In the first and second commandments given at Sinai, YHVH told Israel Who He is and that they are not to worship any other gods. We also see this repeated in Deuteronomy 6:13.

Deuteronomy 6:13
¹³ “You shall fear only YHVH your Elohim; and you shall worship Him and swear by His name.

Matthew 9:18
¹⁸ While He was saying these things to them, a synagogue official came and bowed down before Him, and said, “My daughter has just died; but come and lay Your hand on her, and she will live.”

The word translated as bowed down is a specific kind of bowing down, it is specifically connected to worship. We can see this from the following definition:

When you do a detailed search and word study of this Greek word, you find that there are many more references of different people worshiping Y’shua. Y’shua never rebuked them for doing that, not once! Y’shua would not have allowed it, if He was not deserving of worship, thus divine. In the book of Revelation, we find two examples of John bowing down to an angel or messenger in worship. Each time he was told not to.

Here are some more references of people worshiping Y’shua, both before and after His resurrection: Matt2:2; Matt 2:8; Matt 2:11; Matt 8:2; Matt 9:18; Matt 14:35; Matt 15:25; Matt 18:26; Matt 28:9; John 9:38; Luk 24:52 and Mark 5:6. You can look up each verse for yourself and read it in context to gain understanding. As we said before, not once did He rebuke any of these people for worshiping Him.

Only YHVH can forgive sin

YHVH said in Isaiah that He is the One that wipes out transgressions. He is the lawmaker, the judge, He pardons sin. See also Ps130:4; Dan 9:9; Mic 7:18; Act 8:22.

Isaiah 43:25
²⁵ “I, even I, am the one who wipes out your transgressions for My own sake, And I will not remember your sins.

Yet, we see Y’shua forgiving sins. How could that be?

Mark 2:7
⁷ “Why does this man speak that way? He is blaspheming; who can forgive sins but Elohim alone?”

This is also recorded for us in Luk 5:21

Luke 7:48–49
⁴⁸Then He said to her, “Your sins have been forgiven.” ⁴⁹ Those who were reclining at the table with Him began to say to themselves, “Who is this man who even forgives sins?”

Matthew 9:2
² And they brought to Him a paralytic lying on a bed. Seeing their faith, Y’shua said to the paralytic, “Take courage, son; your sins are forgiven.”

All the fullness of diety dwells in Y’shua, He has been given all authority in heaven and on earth!

Colossians 2:9
⁹ For in Him all the fullness of Deity dwells in bodily form,

Matthew 28:18
¹⁸ And Y’shua came up and spoke to them, saying, “All authority has been given to Me in heaven and on earth.

All authority has been given Y’shua, in heaven and on the earth. We have now seen that Y’shua received worship and forgave sin. These are characteristics of YHVH. There are many scriptures that show us common characteristics between YHVH and Y’shua, characteristics that can only belong to a deity, thus confirming Y’shua’s oneness with YHVH and His deity.

Other common characteristics between YHVH and Y’shua

 

Characteristic	YHVH	Y’shua
The source of living water	Jeremiah 2:13 13 “For My people have committed two evils: They have forsaken Me, The fountain of living waters, To hew for themselves cisterns, Broken cisterns That can hold no water.This is repeated in Jer 17:13	John 4:10,14 10 Y’shua answered and said to her, “If you knew the gift of Elohim, and who it is who says to you, ‘Give Me a drink,’ you would have asked Him, and He would have given you living water.” 14 but whoever drinks of the water that I will give him shall never thirst; but the water that I will give him will become in him a well of water springing up to eternal life.”Also John 7:37 and Rev 21:6
The first and the last, the beginning and the end. The alpha and the omega in Greek are the first and the last letters of the alphabet.	Isaiah 41:4 4 “Who has performed and accomplished it, Calling forth the generations from the beginning? ‘I, YHVH, am the first, and with the last. I am He.’ ”Isaiah 44:6 6 “Thus says YHVH, the King of Israel and his Redeemer, Elohim of hosts: ‘I am the first and I am the last, And there is no god besides Me.	Revelation 1:8 8 “I am the Alpha and the Omega,” says YHVH Elohim, “who is and who was and who is to come, the Almighty.”Revelation 21:6 6 Then He said to me, “It is done. I am the Alpha and the Omega, the beginning and the end. I will give to the one who thirsts from the spring of the water of life without cost.Revelation 22:13 13 “I am the Alpha and the Omega, the first and the last, the beginning and the end.”
Almighty Elohim	Deuteronomy 10:17 17 “For YHVH your Elohim is the God of gods and the Lord of lords, the great, the mighty, and the awesome Elohim who does not show partiality nor take a bribe.	John 20:28 28 Thomas answered him, “My Master and my Elohim!”Revelation 1:8 8 “I am the Alpha and the Omega,” says YHVH Elohim, “who is and who was and who is to come, the Almighty.”John 1:1 1 In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with Elohim, and the Word was Elohim. Also Isa 9:6
Eternal Father	Isaiah 63:16 16 For You are our Father, though Abraham does not know us And Israel does not recognize us. You, O YHVH, are our Father, Our Redeemer from of old is Your name.	Isaiah 9:6 6 For a child will be born to us, a son will be given to us; And the government will rest on His shoulders; And His name will be called Wonderful Counselor, Mighty Elohim, Eternal Father, Prince of Peace.
Wonderful counselor	Isaiah 28:29 29 This also comes from YHVH of hosts, Who has made His counsel wonderful and His wisdom great.	Isaiah 9:6 6 For a child will be born to us, a son will be given to us; And the government will rest on His shoulders; And His name will be called Wonderful Counselor, Mighty Elohim, Eternal Father, Prince of Peace.
Savior and Redeemer	Isaiah 63:8–9 8 For He said, “Surely, they are My people, Sons who will not deal falsely.” So He became their Savior. 9 In all their affliction He was afflicted, And the angel of His presence saved them; In His love and in His mercy He redeemed them, And He lifted them and carried them all the days of old.Isaiah 41:14 14 “Do not fear, you worm Jacob, you men of Israel; I will help you,” declares YHVH, “and your Redeemer is the Holy One of Israel.	Matthew 1:21 21 “She will bear a Son; and you shall call His name Y’shua, for He will save His people from their sins.”Matthew 20:28 28just as the Son of Man did not come to be served, but to serve, and to give His life a ransom for many.”Romans 3:24 24 being justified as a gift by His grace through the redemption which is in Messiah Y’shua;
Salvation in His name	Joel 2:32 32 “And it will come about that whoever calls on the name of YHVH Will be delivered; For on Mount Zion and in Jerusalem There will be those who escape, As the YHVH has said, Even among the survivors whom YHVH calls.	John 20:31 31 but these have been written so that you may believe that Y’shua is the Messiah, the Son of Elohim; and that believing you may have life in His name.
The good shepherd	Ezekiel 34:11–12 11 For thus says YHVH Elohim, “Behold, I Myself will search for My sheep and seek them out. 12 “As a shepherd cares for his herd in the day when he is among his scattered sheep, so I will care for My sheep and will deliver them from all the places to which they were scattered on a cloudy and gloomy day.	John 10:11 11 “I am the good shepherd; the good shepherd lays down His life for the sheep.

If we were to search more, we would find even more. However, we can say for sure that the Scripture proves without a doubt that Y’shua is Elohim.

Y’shua was man!

Colossians 2:9
⁹ For in Him all the fullness of Deity dwells in bodily form,

We read in the Epistle to the Colossians that all the fullness of Deity dwells in bodily form. The “bodily form” refers to Y’shua’s humanity. He was born of a woman in human form. Satan tried to tempt Him, like he does any human, only He did not sin. He was righteous and obedient to YHVH instructions, doing YHVH’s will. Y’shua was the Word made flesh.

That is such a stunning phrase! Think about how His disciples experienced Him, a walking, talking Torah scroll! Never again were they confused as to how to interpret a specific commandment. That is what Y’shua was for us. He came to show us how we are to conduct our lives in accordance with YHVHs will and commandments. He said that He did not come to take away, but to fulfill (Matt 5:17-19). Fulfillment does not take away; it fills up with meaning. Y’shua did not come to make us lawless; He came to show us how we are to live in obedience!

John 14:31
31 but so that the world may know that I love the Father, I do exactly as the Father commanded Me….

Y’shua is the Word made flesh

Y’shua is the living Torah; He is the Word made flesh. We see that Y’shua was from the beginning. That is confirmed by Scripture (Gen 1:26).

John 1:1–3
¹ In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with Elohim, and the Word was Elohim. ² He was in the beginning with Elohim. ³ All things came into being through Him, and apart from Him nothing came into being that has come into being.

Then Y’shua became flesh, born through a woman.

John 1:14
¹⁴ And the Word became flesh, and dwelt among us, and we saw His glory, glory as of the only begotten from the Father, full of grace and truth.

Y’shua is called the Word of Elohim in the book of Revelation.

Revelation 19:13
¹³ He is clothed with a robe dipped in blood, and His name is called The Word of Elohim.

Y’shua is the Word made flesh. The word “flesh” points to His human form. He experienced temptation, He experienced grief and suffering, yet He was righteous, without any sin. He submitted Himself to YHVH’s will, for the purpose of redeeming us from sin.

Y’shua is the Messiah

How do we prove that Y’shua was the Messiah using only the Tanakh?

1. Messiah’s humanity

Genesis 3:15
¹⁵ And I will put enmity Between you and the woman, And between your seed and her seed; He shall bruise you on the head, And you shall bruise him on the heel.”

The Messiah, a man, would be born of a woman

2. Messiah’s Jewishness

Genesis 12:3
³ And I will bless those who bless you, And the one who curses you I will curse. And in you all the families of the earth will be blessed.”

Abraham is promised that in him all the nations of the earth would be blessed. This promise was repeated to Jacob.

Genesis 28:14
¹⁴ “Your descendants will also be like the dust of the earth, and you will spread out to the west and to the east and to the north and to the south; and in you and in your descendants shall all the families of the earth be blessed.

3. Messiah’s tribe

Genesis 49:10
¹⁰ “The scepter shall not depart from Judah, Nor the ruler’s staff from between his feet, Until Shiloh comes, And to him shall be the obedience of the peoples.

Jacob is here on His deathbed, blessing his sons. This here is the blessing he gave Judah. The reference to Shilo is to Y’shua. He would come out of the tribe of Judah. For a better understanding of this, you can read “Defining the keys of the kingdom of heaven”

4. Messiah’s family

In 2 Samuel, YHVH speaks to King David through the prophet Nathan. This is confirmed by Jeremiah!

2 Samuel 7:16
¹⁶ “Your house and your kingdom shall endure before Me forever; your throne shall be established forever.” ’ ”

Jeremiah 23:5
⁵ “Behold, the days are coming,” declares YHVH, “When I will raise up for David a righteous Branch; And He will reign as king and act wisely And do justice and righteousness in the land.

5. Messiah’s birthplace

Micah 5:2
² “But as for you, Bethlehem Ephrathah, Too little to be among the clans of Judah, From you One will go forth for Me to be ruler in Israel. His goings forth are from long ago, From the days of eternity.”

This prophecy in Micah is clearly about the Messiah.

6. Messiah’s life and death

Isaiah 53:3
³ He was despised and forsaken of men, A man of sorrows and acquainted with grief; And like one from whom men hide their face He was despised, and we did not esteem Him.

Isaiah 53:5
⁵ But He was pierced through for our transgressions, He was crushed for our iniquities; The chastening for our well-being fell upon Him, And by His scourging we are healed.

Isaiah 53:7
⁷ He was oppressed and He was afflicted, Yet He did not open His mouth; Like a lamb that is led to slaughter, And like a sheep that is silent before its shearers, So He did not open His mouth.

Isaiah 53:9
⁹ His grave was assigned with wicked men, Yet He was with a rich man in His death, Because He had done no violence, Nor was there any deceit in His mouth.

7. Messiah’s Resurrection

Psalm 16:10
¹⁰ For You will not abandon my soul to Sheol; Nor will You allow Your Holy One to undergo decay.

We know that this Psalm is not about David, but the Messiah, for David did die and undergo decay.

We have made a table for your ease of reference with the Apostolic scripture references to show the fulfillment of these prophecies.

The seven circles	Tanakh	Apostolic Scriptures
1. Messiah’s humanity	Gen3:15	Gal 4:4
2. Messiah’s Jewishness	Gen 12:3; Gen 28:14	Matt 1:1
3. Messiah’s tribe	Gen 49:10	Matt 1:2
4. Messiah’s family	2 Sam 7:16 Jer 23:5	Matt 1:1
5. Messiah’s birthplace	Mic 5:2	Matt 2:4–5
6. Messiah’s life and death	Isa 53:3 Isa 53:5 Isa 53:7 Isa 53:9 Isa 53:12	John 7:5 John 19:1 Matt 27:12 Matt 27:57–60 Matt 27:38
7. Resurrection	Ps 16:10	Matt 28:6

Y’shua asked His disciples “But who do you say that I am?” Peter answered that He is the Messiah. Take notice of Y’shua’s response, He blessed Peter and said that this was revealed to him by YHVH.

Matthew 16:16–17
¹⁶ Simon Peter answered, “You are the Messiah, the Son of the living Elohim.” ¹⁷ And Y’shua said to him, “Blessed are you, Simon Barjona, because flesh and blood did not reveal this to you, but My Father who is in heaven.

The Hebrew word for messiah means anointed and was translated to Greek as “christos.” When the translations refer to “Jesus Christ” it refers to Y’shua the Messiah or the anointed. This is a very fitting title for Y’shua as He is YHVH’s anointed King and High Priest.

Y’shua is without a doubt the promised Messiah, prophesied to come as the Redeemer of all people!

Y’shua, our atonement,our Kinsman Redeemer, High Priest and King

We have learned in Redemption – Part 3 – What does it mean to be redeemed? that Y’shua was our atonement by way of giving His life as payment for our sin. We have also learned in Redemption – Part 2 – The Kinsman Redeemer that He paid the full price to redeem us from the slavery of sin.

We have, in another previous article learned, about Y’shua’s role as our High Priest  and also about His Kingship in “Defining the keys of the kingdom of heaven”

We shall not go into the detail again. Please click on the hyperlinks and read the articles if you want to learn more.

You can see that we will be able to write volumes on Y’shua and what He did for us. This is only a taste of it. We will now look at who Y’shua said He was.

Who did Y’shua say He was?

Y’shua made seven “I am” statements in the gospel of John. These are confirmed and expanded upon throughout the Apostolic writings. He also said on more than one occasion that He is “the Son of Elohim“(John 5:18; John 10:36) and “the Son of man“(Mark14:62). What is quite striking about these statements is that He starts with “I am.” This may sound insignificant, but please consider this carefully when you read through all these Scriptures.

John 6:48
⁴⁸ “I am the bread of life.

John 8:12
¹² Then Y’shua again spoke to them, saying, “I am the Light of the world; he who follows Me will not walk in the darkness, but will have the Light of life.”

John 10:9
⁹ “I am the door; if anyone enters through Me, he will be saved, and will go in and out and find pasture.

John 10:11
¹¹ “I am the good shepherd; the good shepherd lays down His life for the sheep.

John 11:25
²⁵Y’shua said to her, “I am the resurrection and the life; he who believes in Me will live even if he dies,

John 14:6
⁶ Y’shua said to him, “I am the way, and the truth, and the life; no one comes to the Father but through Me.

John 15:1
¹ “I am the true vine, and My Father is the vine-dresser.

Do you know what is quite amazing about these statements by Y’shua? YHVH, when He spoke to Moses at the burning bush said to Moses: “Thus you shall say to the sons of Israel, ‘I AM has sent me to you.’ ”

Exodus 3:14
¹⁴ YHVH said to Moses, “I AM WHO I AM”; and He said, “Thus you shall say to the sons of Israel, ‘I AM has sent me to you.’ ”

It just so happens that this phrase “I am” was translated into Greek in the Septuagint in the exact same way it appears in all these statements in the Apostolic Scriptures. Here is a screenshot of how the words “I am” were translated into Greek. I have compared it with other “I am” phrases said by other people, and those were mostly translated differently. Let us first look at Exo 3:14

Here we have a screenshot of the NASB interlinear to show you what “I am” looks like in the Greek text of John 6:48.

It is exactly the same! Do you think this is significant? Consider this verse also, keeping in mind that the “He” was inserted both times by the translator.

John 18:5–6
5 They answered Him, “Y’shua the Nazarene.” He said to them, “I am He.” And Judas also, who was betraying Him, was standing with them. 6 So when He said to them, “I am He,” they drew back and fell to the ground.

How do we know that we know Y’shua?

We have now learned about Y’shua, but how do we know that we know Y’shua?

We come to know Y’shua by keeping the commandments. He kept the commandments perfectly to show us how it is to be done. We are to walk in the same manner as He walked.

1 John 2:3–6
³ By this we know that we have come to know Him, if we keep His commandments. ⁴ The one who says, “I have come to know Him,” and does not keep His commandments, is a liar, and the truth is not in him; ⁵ but whoever keeps His word, in him the love of Elohim has truly been perfected. By this we know that we are in Him: ⁶ the one who says he abides in Him ought himself to walk in the same manner as He walked.

Y’shua walked in perfect obedience to YHVH’s commandments. His disciples walked as He walked. A disciple is someone who walks in the footsteps of His teacher. If we want to be disciples of Y’shua we ought to walk as He walked.

John 14:31
31 but so that the world may know that I love the Father, I do exactly as the Father commanded Me. Get up, let us go from here.

How are you experiencing Y’shua now that you keep Torah? Has your relationship with Him changed? Please share your experiences with us.

References

1. Stern, D. H. (1996). Jewish New Testament Commentary : A companion volume to the Jewish New Testament (electronic ed.) (Jn 10:30). Clarksville: Jewish New Testament Publications.
2. Stern, D. H. (1996). Jewish New Testament Commentary : A companion volume to the Jewish New Testament (electronic ed.) (Mk 12:29). Clarksville: Jewish New Testament Publications.
3. http://en.wikisource.org/wiki/Gesenius%27_Hebrew_Grammar/124._The_Various_Uses_of_the_Plural-form
4. Glory. (2003). In C. Brand, C. Draper, A. England, S. Bond, E. R. Clendenen & T. C. Butler (Eds.), Holman Illustrated Bible Dictionary. 2003 (C. Brand, C. Draper, A. England, S. Bond, E. R. Clendenen & T. C. Butler, Ed.) (655–656). Nashville, TN: Holman Bible Publishers.
5. Louw, J. P., & Nida, E. A. (1996). Vol. 1: Greek-English lexicon of the New Testament: Based on semantic domains (electronic ed. of the 2nd edition.) (539). New York: United Bible Societies.
6. Jonge, M. d. (1992). Christ. In D. N. Freedman (Ed.), . Vol. 1: The Anchor Yale Bible Dictionary (D. N. Freedman, Ed.) (914). New York: Doubleday.