The New Testament’s Theology Is the Key to Understanding the Messiah

I had a blessed Sabbath today, learning much about how secular people view modern issues.

While it saddened me, it made me realize the world needs the New Testament key to unlocking the whole Bible more than ever, especially the truths of Jesus Christ’s identity, with much emphasis on John’s viewpoint specifically.

I don’t normally post multiple times a day, but many of my posts are pre-written and only need light editing, so here’s another one to start off June now that the Sabbath is over.

One of the posts I made today will ruffle some feathers—but I care about the truth more than staying in deception. It might be seen as an “off-the-deep-end” or delusional take on some tough subjects, but my goal is transparency to the text and the spirit of Jesus, who also hated when religious leaders made up sins and stuck to traditional interpretations even if not correct.

I, personally, will never practice polygyny, as I feel I am called to want a monogamous relationship only. But I see people with brilliant insights tossed aside without a thought because they have that call. It’s a shame.

Ditto for the other parts of that post. Yet, Jesus rejected the interpretations of the people above the flock in His day, and got much flack for it, so it is what it is.

Sometimes things need to be examined and shaken up.

On another note, here’s an in-depth examination of the Jesus Christ of the New Testament through the entire narrative, with a special emphasis on John’s theology with some sprinkles of Pauline theology.

The New Testament is the source of the Christian religion, and it is a light in the darkness of a corrupted world, which brings the “good news” of salvation to those who are without hope.

The promises of God from the Old Testament narrative come to fruition in the living words of the Gospel of Jesus Christ, and the letters of the apostles enrich our understanding of the information presented within the four eyewitness accounts of the Savior.

The wisdom found within the words of the Messiah resounds through the ages to give insight to even the simplest of people.

Understanding to the least of us.

While the Old Testament is not without its merit, the shadows presented within it are to be understood with the light of New Testament theology, rather than comprehension exclusive to itself. We, as modern believers, are most fortunate due to our ability to read into both sides of the biblical text and rightly divide the word of truth found within the New Testament canon.

The Names and Titles of the Messiah

The central figure in the New Testament is called the Messiah, Jesus Christ, who is the ransom for sin that mankind so desperately needs to atone before the Creator by accepting Him. Messiah literally means “anointed one,” and the Jewish people looked forward to their military deliverer from the oppressive powers of the world. The commonly accepted idea of the Messiah was one of strength in warfare, rather than a suffering, vicarious, and divine individual.

This did not stop the apostles from seeing Jesus as their promised Deliverer and their new High Priest. According to the Book of Hebrews, Jesus Christ was a priest of a higher order, and an order which is not dependent upon bloodline and heritage.

Instead, He was the eternal priest in the heavenly realm, who offered required blood for the last time with His death on the cross. He is after the order of the Melchizedek, whose name means the phrase “king of righteousness.” The author of Hebrews certainly knew how to pull on the heartstrings of the Jewish believers by using these references to Christ.

The rulers of the pagan nations called the Messiah King of the Jews, or just gave Him the title of king in general. They understood this man was different, and that He had an authority from the heavens.

The Book of Revelation and John the Baptist (most certainly distinct from John the Revelator) give us the description of the Lamb of God, in a reference to the Passover sacrifice of the Torah, to show us how Christ is the ultimate fulfillment of the Torah’s shadows and Messianic typologies—yet co-exists with them for the purpose of full understanding on the part of the believer.

Revelation also gives us insight into His divine nature, for He calls Himself the First and the Last, and the Almighty.

Revelation 1:8 says: “‘I am the Alpha and the Omega,’ says the Lord God, ‘who is and who was, and who is to come, the Almighty’ (ESV).” This is a reference to Isaiah Chapter 44, where God Himself uses these titles.

Since Yahweh does not share His glory with another, we can see that His divinity shines through in the Book of Revelation, as well as the rest of the New Testament by statements of this kind—and the author of Revelation used these examples to convince readers of their witness to the truth.

I find that the two titles that best serve my understanding are Messiah and Lamb of God, as the former shows us the divine authority and kingship of Christ, and the latter gives us insight into His sacrificial nature and purpose.

The least helpful title (if one can have that from Scripture) would have to be King of the Jews, because He is King of Kings and Lord of Lords, meaning He is over all nations and Creation itself, this title confining Him to one specific group.

The other titles stand as a witness to all aspects of His nature, so they are the most useful in witnessing to the world. The authors of the New Testament did well in presenting Christ as a divine being, yet human enough to suffer for our own transgressions. The duality of the Son of God really stands out in the New Testament due to their use of these titles.

The Expansion of the Early Church

The Early Church movement had spread so easily due to the Messianic expectation of the era. The Roman Empire remained oppressive, yet they allowed the Jewish people to live in a second-class citizen status, rather than equality. You might call it apartheid in some ways.

That the Messiah had come in their time was surely good news, so the gospel message had spread like wildfire. The people expected deliverance by a mighty king, so their witness to the triumphal entry and fulfillment of the prophecy of the colt of a donkey would have rattled them to the point of excitement and pure jubilance. The arrival of the Son of David allowed those expecting deliverance to have genuine hope instead of being under pagan authority.

The single biggest contributing factor to the rise of Christianity had to be the miraculous healings and signs of the Messiah, as they attested to the divine nature and power of God Almighty.

Who would not be eager about these things? A man who could literally break the laws of physics and walk on water was surely an incredible witness to the truth of the Old Testament’s promises of deliverance and restoration through the supernatural power of God.

They were signals to those who were to follow Him and grabbed their attention.

Signs.

And while signs are available to us even today, if we’re listening, this does not replace reading the Scriptures and having faith that has not seen the full glory of the LORD.

 The Christian message was distinct, and proposes Christ as the only means to salvation, and this idea was new to the pagan nations and their multiple gods and goddesses. Perhaps the reason they flocked to Christianity was they tired of their false gods and wanted something more real?

Who can say?

But it was a work of God.

Zeroing in on the Letters of John and Broader New Testament Theology

Being a student of the New Testament requires us to study from the perspective of the authors, and using the letters of the canon can give us a glimpse into their thoughts on the events surrounding the Messiah. The first letter gives us the wisdom of knowing sin and walking in faith, so that we don’t deceive ourselves into thinking that we have no sin.

We are given explanations on the righteousness of God by the blood of the Messiah, and the relationship to our obedience after obtaining grace.

The second letter of John warns us to treat false teachers as we would any other immoral deceiver and is focused on love and truth predominantly more than anything else.

We are all one family, rather than simply individuals called elect and chosen by God for good works and witnessing to the truth—with John explaining these ideas in detail, but with brevity enough to ingrain the ideas into our minds.

We as believers must keep in mind the author of these letters walked with the Messiah, so to have this type of wisdom presented before us is like finding a rare treasure. They tie into the writing style of the Gospel of John, too, as the New Testament is purely cohesive.

It’s the same author who presents a different perspective than other New Testament writers. The insight and wisdom of John is useful for understanding the divine attributes versus the physical acts of Jesus.

John even focuses less on eschatology to emphasize the work of the time.

Christ as the Son of God

The most significant attribute of the Messiah is that He is both God and man concurrently, which is a puzzling thought to our limited understanding. How can God be a man, and how can a man be God? In Hebraic thinking, when a reference to being the son of another is made, it is implied that the one who is being referred to is the very embodiment of the former figure. Lineage was significant to the legacy of the families in the biblical narratives, so references are often made to their fathers and ancestors.

As a horse begets another horse, or a cat can only give birth to a cat, God can only beget God (credit to Chris White Ministries for this analogy).

Therefore, the Pharisees and teachers of the Law were infuriated when He said He was the Son of God. He was literally saying that He was God Himself! Colossians 2:9 says that “For in Christ all the fullness of the Deity lives in bodily form,” and we can be sure that God does not share His glory with another.

That the New Testament figures who are faithful to the Messiah do not take these things as blasphemy is a witness in and of itself that the claims of Jesus being the Son of God are true. Peter states Christ is the Son of the Living God at Caesarea Philippi, and Jesus reciprocates the understanding by praising Him.

In the Gospel of John, we are given the revelation that the Word of God became flesh and made His dwelling with men. We are told this very Word of God is, in fact, God, substantiating the claims Jesus made when He said He was before Abraham.

Paul informs us Jesus is equal to God in the letter to the Philippians, so the idea of the Messiah being the Son of God is plain throughout the New Testament. There is essentially no actual difference between the two incarnations of God, as God is simply one with Himself.

Atheists like to harp on this point, thinking Jesus never claimed to be God, yet the New Testament narrative shows this line of thinking as false.

The New Testament Ties Everything Together

New Testament literature gives the world—and believers in Christ specifically—a solid foundation in understanding the character of God.

God Himself dwelt among men in bodily form, and the men and women of the New Testament are witnesses to the truth of the Holy Bible.

The very origin of the Christian religion is found within the pages of these twenty-seven books, and they cover every aspect of the Messiah.

He is both King and Priest, and both God and a descendant of Adam.

The authors of the New Testament go to great lengths to connect the dots on the relationship between faith, grace, and obedience—while emulating the Messiah seems to be the central message of all the canon.

In the years since the coming of the Messiah, New Testament theology has blossomed into the prime gateway to understanding God as a relatable figure rather than a distant Creator, and the words of Christ and the Apostles continue to shine their light on a broken world in need of salvation.

May that always be the case as we await His final restoration of all things.