Christendom and the Cross
Copyright 2001 Good Neighbor Ministry (yahwist).
Part one
The centerpiece of Christian theology, in all its forms, is the doctrine that the crucified Christ bore the punishment for the sins of humankind. Inasmuch as the Christian New Testament is asserted to be the fulfillment, the replacement, even the logical conclusion to everything in the Jewish Bible, one could reasonably expect the Jewish Bible (Torah, Nevi'im, Kethuvim, the Christian Old Testament) to contain numerous passages extolling the salvific value of the Messiah's Ashed blood, or at least his sacrificial death. Should we expect anything less, if indeed the Bible is entirely about Jesus Christ, from Genesis to Revelation?
Though not a single line from Genesis to Malachi says anything at all about the Messiah's blood, shed or otherwise, many people insist that there is at least one passage predicting his sacrificial death. Chapter 53 of the book of Isaiah (Hebrew: Yesha`yaahu) is the sole support for the centerpiece of Christian doctrine. It's hard to over-estimate the importance of a chapter from which such a heavy theology is suspended. Even so, without a clear understanding of the doctrine itself, we have little chance of determining how far Isaiah 53 actually supports it. Nearly everyone in Christendom admits that there is something profoundly significant in the crucifixion of Christ, and we can understand this significance in one of three ways: (1) Christ died because of us. (2) Christ died for us. Or, (3) He died instead of us. The first does nothing more than blame us for his death. The second simply states that his death will in some way benefit us. The third specifies exactly how it will benefit us: he actually died in our place. According to this opinion, He suffered the divine retribution which rightfully should have been ours, thus saving us from G-d's wrath. This, and this only, is the Christian doctrine of substitution. The first two alternatives do not express a substitutionary or vicarious concept.
Isaiah 53
Isaiah chapter 53, which is believed by Christians to be an explicit prophecy of the passion story of Christ, seems to refer to no single individual. The protagonist of the chapter is not called the Messiah but rather the Servant, and is the same character who appears intermittently throughout a large portion of the book of Isaiah, beginning in chapter 41. His name is given not as Jesus but rather Israel, since he depicts the suffering of all of YHWH's servants. These servants serve as YHWH's messengers (Isaiah 44:26) not only to the backsliders amongst their own people, but also to the nations in general. (Isaiah 49:6) Such symbolism is perfectly in keeping with the style of G-d's revelations through Isaiah. Interwoven with Isaiah's description of this Servant, are descriptions of other symbolic characters, such as the virgin daughter of Babylon (Isaiah 47:1) or the captive daughter of Zion. (Isaiah 52:2) Zion itself is even personified as a woman, a mother. -Isaiah 49:14-23; also see Isaiah 54. Similar symbolical usages appear in other prophetic and apocalyptic books as well. The messianic Son of man in Daniel chapter 7, according to the book's own commentary, is a symbol for the entire people of saints (Aramaic: qaddishin). (Dan. 7:16, 27) Thus, this son of man is no more literal than the preceding four beasts, each of which symbolized successive world empires. (Dan. 7:17, 23) In the New Testament Revelation to John, the mystic Babylon the Mother of Harlots is not any specific woman, but according to John himself represents an entire city. (Rev. 17:18) Conflating such self-evident symbolism with literal reality is of no service at all to sincere students of the Scriptures. That much being said, it should also be mentioned that Isaiah 53 is the continuation of a vision commenced in chapter 52, verse 13. Those who would like to isolate this vision out of all the rest of the Servant revelations as a specific prophecy of Jesus, must accept the burden of proof for so doing. The Bible edition I have consulted is the American Standard Version, because of its general recognition by everyone, Christian and otherwise, as a trustworthy literal translation of the Scriptures. Certain of the ASV's footnotes, which frequently contain the most literal reading, have been inserted directly into the text for comparison, as well as a few of the readings of the original text, which may not be easily accessible to many.
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Copyright 2001 Good Neighbor Ministry (yahwist).
Part one
The centerpiece of Christian theology, in all its forms, is the doctrine that the crucified Christ bore the punishment for the sins of humankind. Inasmuch as the Christian New Testament is asserted to be the fulfillment, the replacement, even the logical conclusion to everything in the Jewish Bible, one could reasonably expect the Jewish Bible (Torah, Nevi'im, Kethuvim, the Christian Old Testament) to contain numerous passages extolling the salvific value of the Messiah's Ashed blood, or at least his sacrificial death. Should we expect anything less, if indeed the Bible is entirely about Jesus Christ, from Genesis to Revelation?
Though not a single line from Genesis to Malachi says anything at all about the Messiah's blood, shed or otherwise, many people insist that there is at least one passage predicting his sacrificial death. Chapter 53 of the book of Isaiah (Hebrew: Yesha`yaahu) is the sole support for the centerpiece of Christian doctrine. It's hard to over-estimate the importance of a chapter from which such a heavy theology is suspended. Even so, without a clear understanding of the doctrine itself, we have little chance of determining how far Isaiah 53 actually supports it. Nearly everyone in Christendom admits that there is something profoundly significant in the crucifixion of Christ, and we can understand this significance in one of three ways: (1) Christ died because of us. (2) Christ died for us. Or, (3) He died instead of us. The first does nothing more than blame us for his death. The second simply states that his death will in some way benefit us. The third specifies exactly how it will benefit us: he actually died in our place. According to this opinion, He suffered the divine retribution which rightfully should have been ours, thus saving us from G-d's wrath. This, and this only, is the Christian doctrine of substitution. The first two alternatives do not express a substitutionary or vicarious concept.
Isaiah 53
Isaiah chapter 53, which is believed by Christians to be an explicit prophecy of the passion story of Christ, seems to refer to no single individual. The protagonist of the chapter is not called the Messiah but rather the Servant, and is the same character who appears intermittently throughout a large portion of the book of Isaiah, beginning in chapter 41. His name is given not as Jesus but rather Israel, since he depicts the suffering of all of YHWH's servants. These servants serve as YHWH's messengers (Isaiah 44:26) not only to the backsliders amongst their own people, but also to the nations in general. (Isaiah 49:6) Such symbolism is perfectly in keeping with the style of G-d's revelations through Isaiah. Interwoven with Isaiah's description of this Servant, are descriptions of other symbolic characters, such as the virgin daughter of Babylon (Isaiah 47:1) or the captive daughter of Zion. (Isaiah 52:2) Zion itself is even personified as a woman, a mother. -Isaiah 49:14-23; also see Isaiah 54. Similar symbolical usages appear in other prophetic and apocalyptic books as well. The messianic Son of man in Daniel chapter 7, according to the book's own commentary, is a symbol for the entire people of saints (Aramaic: qaddishin). (Dan. 7:16, 27) Thus, this son of man is no more literal than the preceding four beasts, each of which symbolized successive world empires. (Dan. 7:17, 23) In the New Testament Revelation to John, the mystic Babylon the Mother of Harlots is not any specific woman, but according to John himself represents an entire city. (Rev. 17:18) Conflating such self-evident symbolism with literal reality is of no service at all to sincere students of the Scriptures. That much being said, it should also be mentioned that Isaiah 53 is the continuation of a vision commenced in chapter 52, verse 13. Those who would like to isolate this vision out of all the rest of the Servant revelations as a specific prophecy of Jesus, must accept the burden of proof for so doing. The Bible edition I have consulted is the American Standard Version, because of its general recognition by everyone, Christian and otherwise, as a trustworthy literal translation of the Scriptures. Certain of the ASV's footnotes, which frequently contain the most literal reading, have been inserted directly into the text for comparison, as well as a few of the readings of the original text, which may not be easily accessible to many.
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