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SOME STUDY GEMS:
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In the beginning
John 1:1,6-7 “In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God… There was a man sent from God, whose name was John. This man came for a witness, to bear witness of the Light, that all through him might believe.”
Later we read that John is quoting Isaiah 40, “I’m a voice crying out in the desert”. Go read Isaiah 40, and the Chapter is about YHWH’s creation:
“Who has measured the waters in the hollow of His hand, Measured heaven with a span And calculated the dust of the earth in a measure? Weighed the mountains in scales And the hills in a balance? Who has directed the Spirit of YHWH, Or as His counselor has taught Him? With whom did He take counsel, and who instructed Him, And taught Him in the path of justice? Who taught Him knowledge, And showed Him the way of understanding? Behold, the nations are as a drop in a bucket, ..To whom then will you liken Elohim? Or what likeness will you compare to Him? ..Have you not known? Have you not heard? Has it not been told you from the beginning? Have you not understood from the foundations of the earth? It is He who sits above the circle of the earth, And its inhabitants are like grasshoppers, Who stretches out the heavens like a curtain, And spreads them out like a tent to dwell in. ..“To whom then will you liken Me, Or to whom shall I be equal?” says the Holy One. Lift up your eyes on high, And see who has created these things, Who brings out their host by number; He calls them all by name ..Have you not known? Have you not heard? The everlasting Elohim, YHWH, The Creator of the ends of the earth, Neither faints nor is weary. His understanding is unsearchable.”
Tabernacle
John 1:14 “And the Word became flesh and dwelt among us, and we beheld His glory, the glory as of the only begotten of the Father, full of grace and truth.”
Some translations say, dwelt among us, or lived among us. But actually, when you read the original Greek manuscripts, the word used is Skenoo G4637 – skēnoō, meaning to fix one’s tabernacle, have one’s tabernacle, abide (or live) in a tabernacle (or tent), tabernacle. Yeshua literally lived out all the Appointed (Moedim) Times, the 7 Yearly Festivals that YHWH have ordered to be kept.
Click here to read from Leviticus more about the 7 Appointed Feasts/Times/Moedim. They include: Passover, Unleavened Bread, Wave Offering and First Fruits, Harvest of Word/Covenant/Laws and Spirit (Shavuot / Pentecost), Trumpets Announcements, Atonement and Tabernacle.
The Word represents the Laws of YHWH, that which He spoke and made a Covenant, the Covenant became flesh and Tabernacled with men.
Laws and Grace, Translation issues
John 1:17 “For the law was given through Moses, ‘but’ grace and truth came through Yeshua Christ.”
The word “BUT” have a big meaning in English.. it means.. opposite, a clause contrasting with what has already been mentioned. And that word is NOT in the greek manuscripts! Below is a screenshot of the translations. Thus the translators are making it sound like Yeshua is OPPOSING the Laws of Moses.
What this verse is saying, is the Laws of Moses were given, Yeshua came with the Laws with Grace and Truth. He came to Teach the Laws with Grace and Truth.
John and Elijah, The voice in the desert
John 1:21 “And they asked him, “What then? Are you Elijah?” He said, “I am not.” “Are you the Prophet?” And he answered, “No.”
We see here in John that the Pharisees are questioning John, on why is HE baptizing people.. because normally people would go baptize/cleanse themselves. But in verse 31, John says, “He should be revealed to Israel, therefore I came baptizing with water”. John was preparing the people because they were about to See and Experience Yeshua in the flesh! The Pharisees knew that something Spiritual was about to happen, because this man (John born from a family of Priesthood) is preparing thousands of people with a cleansing ritual.
The Jewish leaders believed that only the Messiah, the returned Elijah (as prophesied in Malachi 4:5, “Behold, I will send you Elijah the prophet Before the coming of the great and dreadful day of YHWH”), or “the Prophet” (like Moses, as foretold in Deuteronomy 18:15-18, “YHWH your Elohim will raise up for you a Prophet like me from your midst, from your brethren. Him you shall hear”) would have the necessary divine authority to perform a covenant ritual. See our previous posts about Elijah (click here to read more), where Yeshua confirms that John has this same spirit as Elijah. And even though John denies that he is Elijah in John 1:21, it is because John is not the actual Elijah in physical body, but he has the same Spirit. John then even quotes Elijah in John 1:23, where he says, “I’m a voice crying out in the desert.. “
John is quoting from Isaiah 40, and what an amazing Chapter to read again with these Scriptures about John preparing the Way. It has verses like: Comfort, yes, comfort My people!” “Prepare the way of YHWH; Make straight in the desert A highway for our Elohim… The glory of YHWH shall be revealed, And all flesh shall see it together; For the mouth of YHWH has spoken… The voice said, “Cry out!” And he said, “What shall I cry?” .. The grass withers, the flower fades, But the word of our Elohim stands forever! Say to the cities of Judah, “Behold your God!”.. He will feed His flock like a shepherd; He will gather the lambs with His arm, And carry them in His bosom, And gently lead those who are with young. …But those who wait on YHWH Shall renew their strength; They shall mount up with wings like eagles, They shall run and not be weary, They shall walk and not faint.”
Baptism
John 1:26 “John answered them, saying, “I baptize with water, but there stands One among you whom you do not know.”
The greek word for Baptise is Baptiso G907 – baptizō, meaning to dip repeatedly, to immerse, to submerge, to cleanse by dipping or submerging, to wash, to make clean with water, to wash one’s self, bathe, or to be overwhelmed. In Hebrew the word is Tabal H2881 – ṭāḇal which means to immerse, or to be immersed. Baptiso.. or Tabal was nothing new, it was the cleaning ritual and still is in Jewish culture, to bath or cleanse yourself. See examples like Naaman in 2 Kings 5, that was sent by Elisha to go baptiso/tabal himself. Yeshua also commanded many to go “wash” themselves after being healed, which was a form of purification, cleansing. This ritual isn’t just to physically cleanse your body, but it is symbolic to cleanse yourself spiritually by asking forgiveness for our sins that makes us unclean, and to prepare to living a clean life going forward. See our post from Joshua 4 (click here to read more), which is way back when the Israelites had to symbolically go through waters before entering the Promised Land, and the amazing meaning of Baptism.
Water to Wine, from purification stone
John 2:6 “Now there were set there six waterpots of stone, according to the manner of purification of the Jews”
From Leviticus 14 and Numbers 19 we have examples of purification rituals according to Torah (the Laws of YHWH), where people would clean themselves after they were sick and healed, or before they would enter the Temple. They would clean, shave and wash their clothes in living water like rivers, or a cleaning ritual by the Temple basins. It wasn’t common for households to have big stone jars at their homes for cleaning, and they did not have running water, so these big stone pots were a luxury. According to Leviticus 11, the clay pots that was used for cleaning by everyone, had to be smashed after a cleansing ritual. We also know the Jewish Leaders like the Pharisees were obsessed with extra rules and extra cleanliness, like the dispute they had with Yeshua about cleaning their hands before eating (Matthew 15). Even though these large vessels were very difficult and expensive to make, since they must be carved from a single piece of stone, in the long term they are more economic because they can be used repeatedly, and well.. since the Pharisees take every meaning very literal, and Leviticus 11 only talks about clay pots being smashed, these stone pots were then allowed to be reused. Below is a picture of a Jewish Priests’ home found after the destruction and burning of Jerusalem in 70 AD. This house is known as the Burnt House Museum, and within they found these stone vessels used in adherence to purity laws.
Yeshua begins His ministry with a very prophetic miracle and sign. We have already seen all throughout Scriptures the great significance about water, from Creation, Noah, Moses drawn from the water and saving Israel through the water, and more. Click here for more on the topic of Water, as well as Baptism. Wine, represents the Blood, which also goes back to creation, where YHWH created Adam on the 6th day. Coincidence that there were six stone jars? YHWH made a covenant with Noah and with Moses as well. Later with Yeshua crucifixion we read in John 19:34, “But one of the soldiers pierced His side with a spear, and immediately blood and water came out.”
See what John also says in 1 John 5:6-8, “This is He who came by water and blood – Yeshua Christ; not only by water, but by water and blood. And it is the Spirit who bears witness, because the Spirit is truth. For there are three that bear witness in heaven: the Father, the Word, and the Holy Spirit; and these three are one. And there are three that bear witness on earth: the Spirit, the water, and the blood; and these three agree as one.“
The water and blood of Yeshua points to His Baptism and Crucifixion. Baptism for renewal and cleansing, and the Crucifixion for the covenant.
