Jesus, the Christ
The largest topical entry is also the most diffuse: nearly four thousand verses gathered under one head because the umbrella spans a person, a work, an office, and a name. The UPDV witness to this person is partial by design — Acts is excluded, Matthew survives only in the genealogy of 1:1-17, Luke 1-2 and 24:10-53 are out, and John 19:36-21:25 is treated as editorial expansion. What remains is Mark almost whole, Luke in its public-ministry middle, John from prologue through the spear-thrust, the genealogies of Mt 1 and Lu 3, the apostolic letters, the Apocalypse, and the OT seedbed in Isaiah, the Psalter, Daniel, Zechariah, and the Servant Songs. The portrait this article assembles is therefore weighted toward what UPDV actually carries: the Memra-prologue of John, the Markan confession at Caesarea Philippi, the Johannine "I am" sayings, the cross-cry from Ps 22, the high-priestly Christology of Hebrews, and the throne-room worship of Revelation.
The Branch Out of Jesse
The umbrella's first movement is genealogical. Mt 1:1 names him at the head of a line, "The Book of the Generation of Jesus Christ, Son of David, Son of Abraham," and runs the descent in three sets of fourteen, ending at Mt 1:16, "and Jacob begot Joseph; and Joseph begot Jesus, who is called Christ, from Mary." Mt 1:17 is explicit about the schema: "from Abraham to David were fourteen generations, and from David to the Babylonian Exile were fourteen generations, and from the Babylonian Exile to the Christ were fourteen generations." Luke runs the line backward instead — Lu 3:23 begins, "And Jesus was about thirty years of age. He was known as: the son of Joseph, the [son] of Eli," and the chain climbs through Zerubbabel and Shealtiel (3:27), David (3:31), Abraham (3:34), Noah (3:36), and finally to Lu 3:38, "the [son] of Adam, the [son] of God." The two genealogies converge with the Davidic king-list of 1Ch 3:1-24, where the same names — Solomon, Rehoboam, Hezekiah, Josiah, Jeconiah, Shealtiel, Zerubbabel — anchor the descent in the Chronicler's record.
The prophets had named the same line in advance. Is 11:1 said, "And there will come forth a shoot out of the stock of Jesse, and a branch out of his roots will bear fruit." Je 23:5 added, "Look, the days come, says Yahweh, that I will raise to David a righteous Branch, and he will reign as king and deal wisely, and will execute justice and righteousness in the land," and Je 33:15 doubled it. Zec 3:8 used the same name: "Look, I will bring forth my slave the Branch." Zec 6:12 said, "Look, the man whose name is the Branch: and he will grow up out of his place; and he will build the temple of Yahweh." Mi 5:2 marked the village: "But you, Beth-lehem Ephrathah, which are little to be among the thousands of Judah, out of you will one come forth to me who is to be ruler in Israel; whose goings forth are from of old, from everlasting." When Nathaniel meets him at Jn 1:45 the apostles already speak in this register: "We have found him, of whom Moses in the law, and the prophets, wrote, Jesus of Nazareth, the son of Joseph."
Names and Titles
The same person is approached under many names because no one name is sufficient. Is 9:6 piles them: "his name will be called Wonderful, Counselor, Mighty God, Everlasting Father, Prince of Peace." Is 7:14 said, "look, the young woman will be pregnant, and give birth to a son, and will call his name Immanuel," and Is 8:8 calls the land itself "O Immanuel." Da 9:24 names "the most holy" who is "anointed" — the title from which "Christ" itself comes. Ps 45:7 says, "God, your God, has anointed you / With the oil of gladness above your peers"; Lu 4:18 quoting Is 61:1 has him say, "The Spirit of Yahweh is on me, Because he anointed me to preach good news to the poor." Andrew tells Simon at Jn 1:41, "We have found the Messiah (which is, being interpreted, Christ)." The Samaritan woman draws the same word from him at Jn 4:26: "I am he who speaks to you." Martha at Jn 11:27 says, "I have believed that you are the Christ, the Son of God, [even] he who comes into the world." Peter at Mr 8:29 puts it most plainly: "You are the Christ."
He is also Son — "beloved Son" at Mr 1:11 ("a voice came out of the heavens, You are my beloved Son, in you I am well pleased"); "Son of God" at the title of Mark's gospel itself (Mr 1:1, "The beginning of the good news of Jesus Christ, the Son of God"); "Son of the Blessed" at Mr 14:61, where the high priest's question gets its plain answer at 14:62, "I am: and you⁺ will see the Son of Man sitting at the right hand of Power, and coming with the clouds of heaven." Heb 1:5 binds the title to OT covenant: "You are my Son, This day I have begotten you." 1Jn 4:14 carries it forward: "the Father has sent the Son [to be] the Savior of the world."
He is "Son of Man" — Da 7:14 standing behind the term: "And there was given to him dominion, and glory, and a kingdom, that all the peoples, nations, and languages should serve him: his dominion is an everlasting dominion, which will not pass away." Jesus uses the title himself in Lu 22:69, "But from now on, the Son of Man will be seated at the right hand of the power of God"; in Jn 5:27 the Father "gave him authority to execute judgment, because he is Son of Man"; in Jn 12:23, "The hour has come, that the Son of Man should be glorified." In Re 1:13 John sees "one like a son of man, clothed with a garment down to the foot."
He is "Lord" — Ro 10:9, "if you will confess with your mouth the Lord Jesus, and will believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead, you will be saved"; Ep 4:5, "one Lord, one faith, one baptism"; 1Co 8:6, "one Lord Jesus Christ, through whom are all things, and we through him." He is "Lord of lords, and King of kings" at Re 17:14 and again at Re 19:16, "And he has on his garment and on his thigh a name written, KING OF KINGS, AND LORD OF LORDS." He is "the Alpha and the Omega, the first and the last, the beginning and the end" (Re 22:13), and "the root and the offspring of David, the bright, the morning star" (Re 22:16). Php 2:9-11 says God "gave to him the name which is above every name; that in the name of Jesus every knee should bow." Heb 1:4 adds that he "has inherited a more excellent name than they."
He is "the Speech" of God. Jn 1:1 reads, "In the beginning was the Speech, and the Speech was with God, and the Speech was God." Jn 1:14, "And the Speech became flesh, and dwelt among us, and we saw his glory, glory as an only begotten from a father, full of grace and truth." 1Jn 1:1, "concerning the Speech of life." Re 19:13, "his name is called The Speech of God." This is the UPDV's Memra-resolution: where most English Bibles read "the Word," UPDV preserves the Aramaic-Syriac sense of memra — God's active speech identified with the person now standing in flesh. The same resolution surfaces in OT theophanies that lie behind the Christological reading: Ps 110:1, "Yahweh says [by his Speech] to my Lord, Sit at my right hand"; Is 9:7, "The [Speech] of Yahweh of hosts will perform this"; Is 41:14, "[my Speech] will help you, says Yahweh, and your Redeemer is the Holy One of Israel"; Is 44:24, "Yahweh, who makes all things; who stretches forth the heavens [by my Speech] alone."
The OT title "the angel of Yahweh" stands in the same neighborhood. Ge 16:7, "And the angel of Yahweh found her by a fountain of water in the wilderness." Ge 22:15, "And the angel of Yahweh called to Abraham a second time out of heaven." Ex 14:19, "And the angel of God, who went before the camp of Israel, removed and went behind them; and the pillar of cloud removed from before them." Jg 2:1, "And the angel of Yahweh came up from Gilgal to Bochim. And he said, I made you⁺ to go up out of Egypt." Jg 13:3 brings him to Manoah's wife. Is 63:9 sums the office: "the angel of his presence saved them: in his love and in his pity he redeemed them; and he bore them, and carried them all the days of old."
Other names are images. He is "the Branch" (Is 4:2, "the branch of Yahweh will be beautiful and glorious"). He is "the corner stone" (1Pe 2:6 quoting Is 28:16, "Look, I lay in Zion a chief corner stone, elect, precious"; Ep 2:20, "Christ Jesus himself being the chief corner stone"; Ps 118:22, "The stone which the builders rejected / Has become the head of the corner"). He is "a stone of stumbling, and a rock of offense" (1Pe 2:8; Is 8:14; Ro 9:32). He is "the morning star" (Nu 24:17; 2Pe 1:19; Re 2:28; Re 22:16). He is "the true vine" (Jn 15:1) and "the door of the sheep" (Jn 10:7) and "the way, and the truth, and the life" (Jn 14:6) and "the resurrection, and the life" (Jn 11:25).
Pre-existence and Heavenly Origin
The earliest layer of the umbrella refuses to begin with the genealogy. Jn 1:1 begins "in the beginning"; Jn 17:5 has him pray, "Father, glorify me with your own self with the glory which I had with you before the world was"; Jn 17:24 adds, "you loved me before the foundation of the world." Jn 8:58 puts the claim in its sharpest form: "Truly, truly, I say to you⁺, Before Abraham was born, I am." Mi 5:2's "whose goings forth are from of old, from everlasting" lies behind Heb 7:3's description: "without father, without mother, without genealogy, having neither beginning of days nor end of life."
He has come from above. Jn 3:31, "He who comes from above is above all: he who is of the earth is of the earth, and of the earth he speaks: he who comes from heaven is above all." Jn 6:38, "For I have come down from heaven, not to do my own will, but the will of him who sent me." Jn 8:23, "You⁺ are from beneath; I am from above: you⁺ are of this world; I am not of this world." Jn 8:42, "I came forth and have come from God; for neither have I come of myself, but he sent me." Jn 16:30, "Now we know that you know all things, and don't need that any man should ask you: by this we believe that you came forth from God." 1Co 15:47, "The first man is of the earth, made of dust: the second man is of heaven."
He is the agent of creation itself. Jn 1:3, "All things came into existence through him; and without him nothing came into existence." 1Co 8:6, "one Lord Jesus Christ, through whom are all things, and we through him." Cl 1:16-17, "for in him were all things created, in the heavens and on the earth, things visible and things invisible, whether thrones or dominions or principalities or powers; all things have been created through him, and to him; and he is before all things, and in him all things consist." Ep 3:9, "the dispensation of the mystery which since the [past] ages has been hid in God who created all things." Heb 1:2, "spoken to us in [his] Son, whom he appointed heir of all things, through whom also he made the ages." Heb 1:10, "You, Lord, in the beginning laid the foundation of the earth, And the heavens are the works of your hands."
Incarnation and Humanity
The Speech became flesh. Jn 1:14, "And the Speech became flesh, and dwelt among us." 1Jn 4:2, "every spirit that confesses that Jesus Christ has come in the flesh is of God." 2Jn 1:7 makes the negation a marker of antichrist: "those who do not confess that Jesus Christ came in the flesh. This is the deceiver and the antichrist." 1Ti 3:16, "He who was manifested in the flesh, Justified in the spirit, Seen of angels, Preached among the nations, Believed on in the world, Received up in glory." Php 2:7-8, "but emptied himself, taking the form of a slave, being made in the likeness of men; and being found in fashion as a man, he humbled himself, becoming obedient [even] to death, yes, the death of the cross." Ga 4:4, "but when the fullness of the time came, God sent forth his Son, born of a woman, born under the law." Heb 2:14, "Since then the children have shared in flesh and blood, he also himself in like manner partook of the same; that through death he might bring to nothing him who had the power of death, that is, the devil." Ro 1:3, "his Son, who was born of the seed of David according to the flesh." Ro 8:3, "God, sending his own Son in the likeness of sinful flesh and for sin, condemned sin in the flesh."
His humanity is shown not as theory but as habit. Jn 4:6, "Jesus therefore, being wearied with his journey, sat thus by the well." Lu 4:2, after the forty days, "he was hungry." Lu 8:23, "But as he sailed he fell asleep." Lu 9:58, "And Jesus said to him, The foxes have holes, and the birds of the heaven [have] nests; but the Son of Man has no place to lay his head." He weeps at Lazarus' tomb (Jn 11:35), groans at the grief around him (Jn 11:33), is "troubled in the spirit" before the betrayal (Jn 13:21), says "Now is my soul troubled" before the cross (Jn 12:27), sighs over the deaf man (Mr 7:34), sighs deeply over the sign-seekers (Mr 8:12), weeps over the city (Lu 19:41).
He is also the image of the invisible God in this same flesh. 2Co 4:4, "the light of the good news of the glory of Christ, who is the image of God." Cl 1:15, "who is the image of the invisible God, the firstborn of all creation." Heb 1:3, "who being the radiance of his glory, and the very image of his substance, and upholding all things by the word of his power." Php 2:6, "who, existing in the form of God, did not consider making full use of his equality with God." Cl 2:9, "for in him dwells all the fullness of Deity bodily." Jn 14:9, "He who has seen me has seen the Father." Jn 10:30, "I and the Father are one." Jn 10:38, "the Father is in me, and I in the Father." Ro 9:5, "of whom is Christ as concerning the flesh. May God, who is over all, be blessed forever. Amen."
Public Ministry: Galilee, Jordan, Wilderness
Mark opens the public ministry with no nativity. Mr 1:1 calls itself, simply, "The beginning of the good news of Jesus Christ, the Son of God." It moves through John's preparation (1:2-8), the immersion at the Jordan (1:9, "Jesus came from Nazareth of Galilee, and was baptized of John in the Jordan"; 1:10, the heavens "rent apart, and the Spirit as a dove descending on him"; 1:11, "You are my beloved Son, in you I am well pleased"), the wilderness (1:13, "tried by Satan ... and the angels were serving him"), and into the Galilean preaching (1:14-15, "preaching the good news of God ... The time is fulfilled, and the kingdom of God is at hand: repent⁺, and believe⁺ in the good news"). Lu 4:14-15 echoes the same: "Jesus returned into Galilee ... And he taught in their synagogues, being glorified by all."
In the Nazareth synagogue at Lu 4:16-21 he reads Is 61:1 — "The Spirit of Yahweh is on me, Because he anointed me to preach good news to the poor: He has sent me to proclaim release to the captives, And recovering of sight to the blind, To set at liberty those who are bruised, To proclaim the acceptable year of Yahweh" — and turns it on himself: "Today has this Scripture been fulfilled in your⁺ ears." The reception is the first foretaste of the cross: 4:28-29, "And they were all filled with wrath in the synagogue ... and they rose up, and cast him forth out of the city, and led him to the brow of the hill on which their city was built, that they might throw him down headlong." But "he passing through among them went his way" (4:30).
The unclean spirits know him before the disciples do. Mr 1:24, the demoniac at Capernaum: "What do we have to do with you, Jesus you Nazarene? Have you come to destroy us? I know you who you are, the Holy One of God." Mr 1:34, "he didn't allow the demons to speak, because they knew him." Mr 3:11, "And the unclean spirits, whenever they looked at him, fell down before him, and cried, saying, You are the Son of God." Mr 5:7, the Gerasene: "What have I to do with you, Jesus, you Son of the Most High God? I adjure you by God, don't torment me." Lu 4:41, "demons also came out from many, crying out, and saying, You are the Son of God ... they knew that he was the Christ."
He preaches in parables (Mr 4:2, "And he taught them many things in parables, and said to them in his teaching"; Mr 4:34, "and without a parable he did not speak to them: but privately to his own disciples he expounded all things"). His teaching draws crowds (Mr 6:34, "he had compassion on them, because they were as sheep not having a shepherd: and he began to teach them many things"). Lu 4:32, "they were astonished at his teaching; for his word was with authority." Mr 1:27, "What is this? A new teaching! With authority he commands even the unclean spirits, and they obey him." Jn 7:46, the temple guards report: "Never did man so speak."
The Words and the Works
His teaching is not of his own. Jn 7:16, "My teaching is not mine, but his that sent me." Jn 12:48-49, "the speech that I spoke, the same will judge him in the last day." Jn 14:24, "the speech which you⁺ hear is not mine, but the Father's who sent me." Jn 14:10, "The words that I say to you⁺ I don't speak from myself: but the Father staying in me does his works." Jn 6:63, "the words that I have spoken to you⁺ are spirit, and are life." Jn 6:68, Peter answers him: "Lord, to whom shall we go? you have the word of eternal life." Mr 13:31, "Heaven and earth will pass away: but my words will definitely not pass away."
To keep his speech is the ground of staying in him. Jn 8:51, "If a man keeps my speech, he will never see death." Jn 14:15, "If you⁺ love me, you⁺ will keep my commandments." Jn 14:23, "If a man loves me, he will keep my speech: and my Father will love him, and we will come to him, and make a place to stay with him." Jn 17:6, "they have kept your speech." Re 3:8, "you have a little power, and kept my speech, and did not deny my name." 2Pe 3:2, "remember the words which were spoken before by the holy prophets, and the commandment of the Lord and Savior through your⁺ apostles." 1Ti 6:3, "the words of our Lord Jesus Christ, and to the doctrine which is according to godliness." 2Jn 1:9, "Whoever goes onward and doesn't stay in the teaching of Christ, doesn't have God."
The works are the second witness alongside the words. Jn 5:36, "the works which the Father has given me to accomplish, the very works that I do, bear witness of me, that the Father has sent me." Jn 9:4, "We must work the works of him who sent me while it is day." Jn 10:25, "the works that I do in my Father's name, these bear witness of me." Jn 10:38, "though you⁺ don't believe me, believe the works." Jn 14:11, "Believe me that I am in the Father, and the Father in me: otherwise believe for the very works' sake." Jn 15:24, "If I had not done among them the works which none other did, they had not had sin." Jn 2:11, "This beginning of his signs Jesus did in Cana of Galilee, and manifested his glory; and his disciples believed on him." Jn 3:2, Nicodemus: "Rabbi, we know that you are a teacher come from God; for no one can do these signs that you do, except God be with him." Jn 7:31, "When the Christ will come, will he do more signs than those which this man has done?"
Power emanates from his person. Lu 6:19, "all the multitude sought to touch him; for power came forth from him, and healed [them] all." Lu 8:46, the woman with the flow of blood: "Someone did touch me; for I perceived that power had gone forth from me." Mr 6:56, "as many as touched him were made whole." Lu 19:37, the disciples "began to rejoice and praise God with a loud voice for all the mighty works which they had seen." Mr 6:2, "From where has this man these things? And, What [is] the wisdom that is given to this man, and [what is the meaning of] such mighty works being done by his hands?" Even Herod's court has heard: Mr 6:14, "John the Baptist is risen from the dead, and therefore do these powers work in him."
The bread miracle stands behind several memories — Mr 6:52, "for they didn't understand concerning the loaves, but their heart was hardened"; Lu 9:16, "he took the five loaves and the two fish, and looking up to heaven, he blessed them"; Jn 6:11, "Jesus therefore took the loaves; and having given thanks, he distributed to those who were set down" — and gathers up the OT precedent at 2Ki 4:43 ("Give the people, that they may eat; for thus says Yahweh, They will eat, and will have some left") and Ex 16:13 / Nu 11:31's quail.
He draws people. Jn 12:32, "And I, if I am lifted up from the earth, will draw all men to myself." Mr 5:21, "a great multitude was gathered to him." Mr 5:6, the demoniac "ran and worshiped him." Lu 9:37, "a great multitude met him." And he seeks before he draws. Jn 1:43, "Jesus says to him, Follow me." Jn 5:14, "After these things Jesus finds him in the temple." Jn 9:35, "Jesus heard that they had cast him out; and finding him, he said, Do you believe in the Son of Man?" Lu 15:4, the parable of the lost sheep: "What man of you⁺, having a hundred sheep, and having lost one of them, does not leave the ninety and nine in the wilderness, and go after that which is lost, until he finds it?" Lu 19:10, "For the Son of Man came to seek and to save that which was lost."
I Am
The "I am" sayings cluster in John. He is the bread of life (the long discourse around Jn 6 stands behind Jn 6:38, "I have come down from heaven"). He is the light of the world (Jn 1:9, "the true light, which lights every man, coming into the world"). He is the door (Jn 10:7, "I am the door of the sheep"; Jn 10:9, "I am the door; by me if any man enters in, he will live, and will go in and go out, and will find pasture"). He is the good shepherd (Jn 10:11, "I am the good shepherd: the good shepherd lays down his soul for the sheep"; 10:14-15, "I know my own, and my own know me, even as the Father knows me, and I know the Father; and I lay down my soul for the sheep"; 10:16, "And other sheep I have, which are not of this fold ... they will become one flock, one shepherd"). He is the resurrection and the life (Jn 11:25, "Jesus said to her, I am the resurrection, and the life: he who believes on me, though he dies, yet he will live"). He is the way and the truth and the life (Jn 14:6, "I am the way, and the truth, and the life: no one comes to the Father, but by me"). He is the true vine (Jn 15:1-5, "I am the true vine, and my Father is the husbandman ... I am the vine, you⁺ are the branches: He who stays in me, and I in him, the same bears much fruit: for apart from me you⁺ can do nothing").
The shepherd-image is older than John. Ps 23:1-2, "Yahweh is my shepherd; I will not want. He makes me to lie down in green pastures." Is 40:11, "Like a shepherd, he will shepherd his flock; he will gather the lambs in his arm, and carry them in his bosom." Ps 74:1 and Ps 79:13 call God's people "the sheep of your pasture." Eze 34:6 grieves over the scattered: "My sheep wandered through all the mountains." Je 50:6, "My people have been lost sheep: their shepherds have caused them to go astray." 1Pe 2:25 binds it to Christ: "For you⁺ were like sheep that go astray; but have now been returned to the Shepherd and Overseer of your⁺ souls." 1Pe 5:4, "And when the chief Shepherd will be manifested, you⁺ will receive the crown of glory that does not fade away." Heb 13:20, "the great shepherd of the sheep with the blood of an eternal covenant, [even] our Lord Jesus." Re 7:17, "the Lamb that is in the midst of the throne will be their shepherd, and will guide them to fountains of waters of life: and God will wipe away every tear from their eyes."
The way-image binds the door-saying to the priestly access of Hebrews. Heb 10:19-20, "Having therefore, brothers, boldness to enter into the holy place by the blood of Jesus, by the way which he dedicated for us, a new and living way, through the veil, that is to say, his flesh." Ep 2:18, "for through him we both have our access in one Spirit to the Father." Ro 5:2, "through whom also we have had our access by faith into this grace in which we stand."
Composure
The man who speaks in absolutes does not flinch. Mr 4:39, in the storm, "he awoke, and rebuked the wind, and said to the sea, Peace, be still. And the wind ceased, and there was a great calm." Jn 19:11, before Pilate: "You would have no power against me, except it were given you from above: therefore he who delivered me to you has greater sin." When the cohort comes for him in the garden, Jn 18:6, "When therefore he said to them, I am [he], they went backward, and fell to the ground." 2Th 2:8, of the lawless one at the end, "whom the Lord Jesus will slay with the breath of his mouth, and bring to nothing by the manifestation of his coming." Re 1:17, John on Patmos: "And when I saw him, I fell at his feet as one dead. And he laid his right hand on me, saying, Don't be afraid; I am the first and the last."
His task he holds before him. Jn 4:34, "My meat is to do the will of him who sent me, and to accomplish his work." Jn 5:36, "the very works that I do, bear witness of me, that the Father has sent me." Jn 9:4, "the night comes, when no man can work." Jn 17:4, "I glorified you on the earth, having accomplished the work which you have given me to do." Jn 19:30, the last word from the cross: "It is finished." The hour is set. Jn 7:30, "no man laid his hand on him, because his hour was not yet come." Jn 12:23, when the Greeks ask to see him: "The hour has come, that the Son of Man should be glorified." Jn 13:1, before the meal: "Jesus knowing that his hour came that he should depart out of this world to the Father." Jn 17:1, the high-priestly prayer: "Father, the hour has come; glorify your Son, that the Son may glorify you."
The Approach to Jerusalem
Caesarea Philippi is the hinge in Mark. Mr 8:27-29, "Who do men say that I am? ... But who do you⁺ say that I am? Peter answers and says to him, You are the Christ." From there the predictions begin. Mr 8:31, "the Son of Man must suffer many things, and be rejected by the elders, and the chief priests, and the scribes, and be killed, and after three days rise again." Lu 9:22 has the same. Lu 22:37, "this which is written must be fulfilled in me, And he was reckoned with transgressors." Mr 10:33-34, "the Son of Man will be delivered to the chief priests and the scribes; and they will condemn him to death, and will deliver him to the Gentiles: and they will mock him, and will spit on him, and will scourge him, and will kill him; and after three days he will rise again." Jn 3:14, "And as Moses lifted up the serpent in the wilderness, even so must the Son of Man be lifted up." Lu 12:50, "I have a baptism to be baptized with; and how I am straitened until it is accomplished!"
The transfiguration accompanies the prediction. Mr 9:2, "after six days Jesus takes with him Peter, and James, and John, and brings them up into a high mountain apart by themselves: and he was transfigured before them"; Mr 9:3, "and his garments became glistering, exceedingly white, so as no fuller on earth can whiten them." Lu 9:29, "the fashion of his countenance was altered, and his raiment [became] white [and] dazzling." Lu 9:32, "they saw his glory, and the two men who stood with him." 2Pe 1:18, the apostle remembers: "this voice we [ourselves] heard borne out of heaven, when we were with him in the holy mount."
The triumphal entry comes in Mark's record. Mr 11:7-10, "they bring the colt to Jesus, and cast on him their garments; and he sat on him ... And those who went before, and those who followed, cried, Hosanna; Blessed [is] he who comes in the name of Yahweh: Blessed [is] the kingdom that comes, [the kingdom] of our father David: Hosanna in the highest." Mr 11:11, "he entered into Jerusalem, into the temple."
Gethsemane and the Cup
Mr 14:32, "they come to a place which was named Gethsemane: and he says to his disciples, Sit⁺ here, while I pray." Lu 22:39, "he came out, and went, as his custom was, to the mount of Olives." Jn 18:1, "he went forth with his disciples over the brook Kidron, where a garden was, into which he entered." The prayer is at Lu 22:42, "Father, if you are willing, remove this cup from me: nevertheless not my will, but yours, be done." Lu 22:43-44, "And an angel appeared to him, strengthening him. And he was in great distress, and was praying urgently, and his sweat became like drops of blood falling upon the ground." This is the same cup he had asked the sons of Zebedee about: Mr 10:38, "Are you⁺ able to drink the cup that I drink?" The cup is the cross (Mr 14:36 stands behind 14:32, the same prayer in Mark; Lu 22:42 here is its fullest UPDV form).
Trial, Indignities, Cross
Mr 14:60-62 records the central exchange before the high priest. "Are you the Christ, the Son of the Blessed?" "And Jesus said, I am: and you⁺ will see the Son of Man sitting at the right hand of Power, and coming with the clouds of heaven." Mr 14:63-65, the rending of clothes, the verdict, the spitting and buffeting, "Prophesy: and the attendants received him with blows of their hands." Jn 18:22, an officer "struck Jesus with his hand, saying, Do you answer the high priest so?" The Pharisees had already tried him with questions throughout the ministry — Lu 10:25, the lawyer who "made trial of him"; Lu 11:16, "trying [him], sought of him a sign from heaven"; Lu 20:23, "But he perceived their craftiness"; Mr 10:2, the divorce question, "trying him." Jn 7:20, "You have a demon: who seeks to kill you?" Jn 10:20, "He has demon, and is insane; why do you⁺ hear him?"
Pilate produces him to the crowd. Jn 19:14, "And he says to the Jews, Look, your⁺ King!" Jn 19:15, "We have no king but Caesar." Jn 19:17, "and he went out, bearing the cross for himself, to the place called The Place of a Skull, which is called in Hebrew Golgotha." Jn 19:19, "And there was written, JESUS OF NAZARETH, THE KING OF THE JEWS." Mr 15:24, "they crucify him, and part his garments among them, casting lots on them, what each should take." Jn 19:23-24, the seamless coat, "that the Scripture might be fulfilled, which says, They parted my garments among them, And on my vesture they cast lots." This is Ps 22:18 to the letter.
The mockery fulfills more of Ps 22. Ps 22:6-8, "I am a worm, and not a man; A reproach of man, and despised of the people. All those who see me laugh me to scorn: They shoot out the lip, they shake the head ... Commit [yourself] to Yahweh; Let him deliver him." Mr 15:29-32, "those who passed by railed on him, wagging their heads ... Let the Christ, the King of Israel, now come down from the cross, that we may see and believe. And those who were crucified with him reproached him." Lu 23:36, "the soldiers also mocked him, coming to him, offering him vinegar." Lu 22:63, "the men who held [Jesus] mocked him, and beat him." Is 50:6, the servant's voice from beforehand: "I gave my back to the strikers, and my cheeks to those who plucked off the hair; I did not hide my face from shame and spitting." Ps 69:20, "Reproach has broken my heart; and I am full of heaviness: And I looked for some to take pity, but there was none."
The cry from the cross is Ps 22:1 in its UPDV form. Mr 15:34, "And at the ninth hour Jesus cried with a loud voice, Eloi, Eloi, lema sabachthani? Which is, being interpreted, My God, my God, why have you forsaken me?" The same cry appears, with the same Aramaic, in UPDV's Lu 23:46, which gathers the Markan utterance into Luke's narrative: "And Jesus uttered a loud voice, and breathed his last. And the veil of the temple was rent in two from the top to the bottom." Mr 15:38 has the veil-tearing on its own; Mr 15:39, the centurion: "Truly this man was the Son of God." Jn 19:28, "After this Jesus, knowing that all things are now finished, that the Scripture might be accomplished, says, I thirst." Jn 19:30, "It is finished: and he bowed his head, and delivered up his spirit." Php 2:8 calls this "obedient [even] to death, yes, the death of the cross." Heb 12:2, "looking to Jesus the author and perfecter of [our] faith, who for the joy that was set before him endured the cross, despising shame, and has sat down at the right hand of the throne of God." Ga 6:14, "But far be it from me to glory, except in the cross of our Lord Jesus Christ." 1Co 1:17, "lest the cross of Christ should be made void." Cl 2:14, "having blotted out the bond written in ordinances that was against us ... and he has taken it out from between [him and us], nailing it to the cross." Php 3:18, "the enemies of the cross of Christ."
After the death the spear comes. Jn 19:33, "but when they came to Jesus, and saw that he was dead already, they did not break his legs"; Jn 19:34, "nevertheless one of the soldiers with a spear pierced his side, and immediately there came out blood and water"; Jn 19:35, "And he who has seen has borne witness, and his witness is true: and he knows that he says true, that you⁺ also may believe." UPDV ends the gospel here, treating Jn 19:36-21:25 as editorial expansion. Zec 13:6 stands behind the wounding: "What are these wounds between your arms? Then he will answer, Those with which I was wounded in the house of my friends."
The Servant Song of Is 53 holds the whole sequence in advance. Is 53:3, "He was despised, and rejected of men; a man of sorrows, and acquainted with grief." Is 53:5, "But he was wounded for our transgressions, he was bruised for our iniquities; the chastisement of our peace was on him; and with his stripes we are healed." Is 53:6, "All of us like sheep have gone astray; we have turned every one to his own way; and Yahweh has laid on him the iniquity of us all." Is 53:7, "as a lamb that is led to the slaughter." Is 53:9, "And they made his grave with the wicked, and his tomb with the rich; although he had done no violence." Is 53:10, "If his soul makes an offering for sin, [then] he will see [his] seed." Is 53:12, "he poured out his soul to death, and was numbered with the transgressors: yet he bore the sins of many, and made intercession for their sins." Heb 13:12, "Therefore Jesus also, that he might sanctify the people through his own blood, suffered outside the gate." Heb 5:8, "though he was a Son, yet learned obedience by the things which he suffered." 1Pe 1:11 calls this "the sufferings of Christ, and the glories that should follow them." 1Pe 2:21, "Christ also suffered for you⁺, leaving you⁺ an example, that you⁺ should follow his steps." 1Pe 3:18, "Because Christ also suffered for sins once, the righteous for the unrighteous, that he might bring you⁺ to God; being put to death in the flesh, but made alive in the spirit." Heb 2:10, "to make the author of their salvation perfect through sufferings." 2Co 8:9, "though he was rich, yet for your⁺ sakes he became poor, that you⁺ through his poverty might become rich."
Atonement, Ransom, Reconciliation
The death has a name in Israel's vocabulary already. The Levitical sin-offerings build the grammar — Le 4:20, "the priest will make atonement for them, and they will be forgiven"; Le 16:6, the bull "for himself"; Le 16:10, the goat for Azazel; Le 16:30, "for on this day atonement will be made for you⁺, to cleanse you⁺; from all your⁺ sins you⁺ will be clean before Yahweh"; Le 17:11, "the soul of the flesh is in the blood; and I have given it to you⁺ on the altar to make atonement for your⁺ souls: for it is the blood that makes atonement by reason of the soul"; Ex 30:10, "Aaron will make atonement on the horns of it once in the year." Da 9:24 widens the term: "to make reconciliation for iniquity, and to bring in everlasting righteousness." The sacrificial echoes from Sirach (Sir 3:3, Sir 45:16, Sir 45:23) belong in the same vocabulary even as they apply it to Israel's priests.
Hebrews binds the OT pattern to Christ's once-for-all offering. Heb 9:7, the high priest "alone, once in the year, not without blood, which he offers for himself, and for the sins of the people committed in ignorance" — but Heb 9:11-12, "Christ having come [as] high priest of the good things that have come, through the greater and more perfect tabernacle, not made with hands ... nor yet through the blood of goats and calves, but through his own blood, entered in once for all into the holy place, having obtained eternal redemption." Heb 9:14, "how much more will the blood of Christ, who through the eternal Spirit offered himself without blemish to God, cleanse our conscience from dead works to serve the living God?" Heb 9:15, "for this cause he is the mediator of a new covenant, that a death having taken place for the redemption of the transgressions that were under the first covenant, those who have been called may receive the promise of the eternal inheritance." Heb 2:17 calls him "a merciful and faithful high priest in things pertaining to God, to make propitiation for the sins of the people."
The blood is named again and again. 1Jn 1:7, "the blood of Jesus his Son cleanses us from all sin." 1Pe 1:18-19, "you⁺ were redeemed from your⁺ useless manner of life ... but with precious blood, as of a lamb without blemish and without spot, [even the blood] of Christ." Re 1:5, "loosed us from our sins by his blood." Re 5:9, "you were slain, and purchased to God with your blood out of every tribe, and tongue, and people, and nation." Re 7:14, "they washed their robes, and made them white in the blood of the Lamb." Re 12:11, "they overcame him because of the blood of the Lamb." Cl 1:20, "and through him to reconcile all things to himself, having made peace through the blood of his cross." Ro 5:9, "being now justified by his blood, shall we be saved from the wrath [of God] through him."
The same death is a ransom. Mr 10:45, "For the Son of Man also did not come to be served, but to serve, and to give his soul a ransom for many." 1Ti 2:5-6, "For there is [only] one God, and [only] one mediator between God and men, [the] man Christ Jesus, who gave himself a ransom for all; the testimony [to be borne] in its own times." The Greek-fathers paragraph in the wiki at GR 9:2 captures the same sense in older words: "He himself gave his own Son a ransom for us — the holy for the lawless, the harmless for the evil, the righteous for the unrighteous, the incorruptible for the corruptible, the immortal for the mortal."
Reconciliation is the relational name for the same act. 2Co 5:18, "all things are of God, who reconciled us to himself through Christ, and gave to us the service of reconciliation." Ep 2:16, "and might reconcile them both in one body to God through the cross, having slain the enmity in himself." Ro 5:6-11 carries the whole logic at one breath: "while we were yet weak, in due season Christ died for the ungodly ... while we were yet sinners, Christ died for us ... being now justified by his blood, shall we be saved from the wrath [of God] through him ... while we were enemies, we were reconciled to God through the death of his Son ... we also rejoice in God through our Lord Jesus Christ, through whom we have now received the reconciliation."
Liberation runs alongside reconciliation. Ga 5:1, "For freedom Christ set us free: stand fast therefore, and don't be entangled again in a yoke of slavery." Ro 8:2, "For the law of the Spirit of life in Christ Jesus made you free from the law of sin and of death." Lu 11:14, the demoniac whose mouth was unstopped. Cl 1:13, "who delivered us out of the power of darkness, and translated us into the kingdom of the Son of his love."
This is the love. 1Jn 4:9, "In this was the love of God manifested in us, that God has sent his only begotten Son into the world that we might live through him." 1Jn 4:10, "not that we loved God, but that he loved us and sent his Son [to be] the propitiation for our sins." Ro 5:8, "But God commends his own love toward us, in that, while we were yet sinners, Christ died for us." Jn 15:13, "Greater love has no man than this, that a man lay down his life for his friends."
The Mediator and High Priest
There is one mediator. 1Ti 2:5, again: "[only] one God, and [only] one mediator between God and men, [the] man Christ Jesus." Heb 8:6, "he has obtained a more excellent ministry, by so much as he is also the mediator of a better covenant, which has been enacted on better promises." Heb 9:15, "for this cause he is the mediator of a new covenant." The OT mediator-image runs back to Moses (De 5:5, "I stood between Yahweh and you⁺ at that time"; De 5:27, "You go near, and hear all that Yahweh our God will say"; Ex 20:19, "You speak with us, and we will hear; but don't let [the Speech of] God speak with us, or else we will die"; De 9:18, "I fell down before Yahweh ... forty days and forty nights"; Nu 16:48, Aaron between the dead and the living).
The mediation is priestly. Ps 110:4 sets the order: "Yahweh has sworn, and will not repent: You are a priest forever after the order of Melchizedek." Heb 5:5, "Christ also did not glorify himself to be made a high priest, but he who spoke to him, You are my Son, This day I have begotten you." Heb 6:20, "where as a forerunner Jesus entered for us, having become a high priest forever after the order of Melchizedek." Heb 7:3, of Melchizedek as type, "without father, without mother, without genealogy, having neither beginning of days nor end of life, but made like the Son of God), stays a priest continually." Heb 7:23-25, "they indeed have been made priests many in number, because by death they are hindered from staying [as priest]: but he, because he stays forever, has his priesthood unchangeable. Therefore also he is able to save to the uttermost those who draw near to God through him, seeing he ever lives to make intercession for them." Heb 7:26, "holy, blameless, undefiled, separated from sinners, and made higher than the heavens." Heb 7:27, "for this he did once for all, when he offered up himself." Heb 8:1, "We have such a high priest, who sat down at the right hand of the throne of the Majesty in the heavens." Heb 10:21, "[having] a great priest over the house of God." Heb 3:1, "consider the Apostle and High Priest of our confession, [even] Jesus."
Heb 4:14-16 makes the office personal: "Having then a great high priest, who has passed through the heavens, Jesus the Son of God, let us hold fast our confession. For we do not have a high priest who can't be touched with the feeling of our infirmities; but one who has been in all points tried like [we are, yet] without sin. Let us therefore draw near with boldness to the throne of grace, that we may receive mercy, and may find grace to help [us] in time of need."
Believers themselves become a priesthood through him. Ex 19:6, "you⁺ will be to me a kingdom of priests, and a holy nation." Is 61:6, "you⁺ will be named the priests of Yahweh." Re 1:6, "he made us [to be] a kingdom, [to be] priests to his God and Father." Re 5:10, "made them [to be] to our God a kingdom and priests; and they will reign on the earth." Re 20:6, "they will be priests of God and of Christ, and will reign with him [for] the thousand years."
The King and the Kingdom
His kingship is announced before he is born. Is 9:6-7, "the government will be on his shoulder ... Of the increase of his government and of peace there will be no end, on the throne of David, and on his kingdom, to establish it, and to uphold it with justice and with righteousness from now on even forever." Da 2:44, "in the days of those kings will the God of heaven set up a kingdom which will never be destroyed, nor will its sovereignty be left to another people." Da 7:14, "And there was given to him dominion, and glory, and a kingdom, that all the peoples, nations, and languages should serve him." Zec 9:10, "his dominion will be from sea to sea, and from the River to the ends of the earth." Heb 1:8, "Your throne, O God, is forever and ever; And the scepter of uprightness is the scepter of your kingdom." Re 11:15, "The kingdom of the world has become [the kingdom] of our Lord, and of his Christ: and he will reign forever and ever."
But the kingdom does not come in the way of empires. Jn 18:36, "My kingdom is not of this world: if my kingdom were of this world, then my attendants would fight, that I should not be delivered to the Jews: but now my kingdom is not from here." Jn 18:37, before Pilate, "You say that I am a king. To this end I have been born, and to this end I have come into the world, that I should bear witness to the truth. Everyone who is of the truth hears my voice." It is preached as good news. Mr 1:14-15, "Jesus came into Galilee, preaching the good news of God, and saying, The time is fulfilled, and the kingdom of God is at hand." Lu 4:43, "I must preach the good news of the kingdom of God to the other cities also: for therefore I was sent." Lu 8:1, "he went about through cities and villages, proclaiming and preaching [the good news about] the kingdom of God." Lu 9:2, "And he sent them forth to preach the kingdom of God."
The conditions of entry are not what was expected. Jn 3:3, "Except one be born anew, he can't see the kingdom of God." Jn 3:5, "Except one be born of water and spirit, he cannot enter into the kingdom of God." Lu 6:20, "Blessed [are] you⁺ poor: For yours⁺ is the kingdom of God." Lu 9:62, "No man, having put his hand to the plow, and looking back, is fit for the kingdom of God." Jas 2:5, "did not God choose those who are poor as to the world [to be] rich in faith, and heirs of the kingdom which he promised to those who love him?" 1Co 4:20, "the kingdom of God is not in word, but in power." Ro 14:17, "for the kingdom of God is not eating and drinking, but righteousness and peace and joy in the Holy Spirit." 1Co 15:50, "flesh and blood can't inherit the kingdom of God." 2Th 1:5, the suffering of saints is "a manifest token of the righteous judgment of God; to the end that you⁺ may be counted worthy of the kingdom of God."
Its location is internal as well as future. Lu 17:21, "neither will they say, Look, here! Or, There! For look, the kingdom of God is inside you⁺." Lu 21:31, "when you⁺ see these things coming to pass, know⁺ that the kingdom of God is near." Mr 9:1, "There are some here of those who stand, who will in no way taste of death, until they see the kingdom of God come with power." Lu 22:30, the promise to the Twelve, "that you⁺ may eat and drink at my table in my kingdom; and you⁺ will sit on thrones judging the twelve tribes of Israel."
He is the head of the powers behind the powers. Cl 1:16, "thrones or dominions or principalities or powers; all things have been created through him, and to him." Cl 2:10, "in him you⁺ are made full, who is the head of all principality and power." Ep 1:21, "far above all rule, and authority, and power, and dominion, and every name that is named, not only in this age, but also in that which is to come." Ep 1:22, "and he put all things in subjection under his feet, and gave him to be head over all things to the church." 1Pe 3:22, "who is at the right hand of God, having gone into heaven; angels and authorities and powers being made subject to him."
Resurrection and Exaltation
UPDV truncates the resurrection appearances heavily — the Lukan appearances of 24:10-53 and the Johannine epilogue beyond 19:35 are excluded as editorial — but the empty tomb stands. Mr 16:1, "Mary Magdalene, and Mary the [mother] of James, and Salome, bought spices, that they might come and anoint him." Mr 16:5-7, the young man at the tomb: "Don't be amazed: you⁺ seek Jesus, the Nazarene, who has been crucified: he is risen; he is not here: look, the place where they laid him! But go, tell his disciples and Peter, Remember what he told you⁺ while he was still in Galilee." Mr 16:8, "they went out, and fled from the tomb; for trembling and astonishment had come upon them. And they said nothing to anyone; for they were afraid." Lu 24:1-9 carries the same record in slightly different sequence, and ends at v. 9 in UPDV.
That he was raised is the apostolic confession. 2Ti 2:8, "Remember Jesus Christ, risen from the dead, of the seed of David, according to my good news." Ro 1:4, "who was declared the Son of God with power according to the spirit of holiness, by the resurrection from the dead, Jesus Christ our Lord." Ro 10:9, "if you will confess with your mouth the Lord Jesus, and will believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead, you will be saved." Ro 14:9, "For to this end Christ died and lived [again], that he might be Lord of both the dead and the living." Cl 1:18, "the firstborn from the dead; that in all things he might have the preeminence." Re 1:5, "the firstborn of the dead, and the ruler of the kings of the earth." Heb 13:20 calls God "who brought again from the dead the great shepherd of the sheep with the blood of an eternal covenant." Job 19:25 stood waiting for it: "But as for me I know that my Redeemer lives, And at last he will stand up on the earth."
The exaltation follows. Php 2:9-11, "Therefore God also highly exalted him, and gave to him the name which is above every name; that in the name of Jesus every knee should bow, of [those] in heaven and [those] on earth and [those] under the earth, and that every tongue should confess, The Lord Jesus Christ, to the glory of God the Father." Ep 1:20, "which he worked in Christ, when he raised him from the dead, and made him to sit at his right hand in the heavenly [places]." Heb 1:3, "when he had made purification of sins, sat down at the right hand of the Majesty on high." Heb 1:13, the standing question, "of which of the angels has he said at any time, Sit at my right hand, Until I make your enemies the footstool of your feet?" Ps 110:1, "Yahweh says [by his Speech] to my Lord, Sit at my right hand, until I make your enemies a stool for your feet." Lu 22:69, "from now on, the Son of Man will be seated at the right hand of the power of God." 1Pe 3:22, "who is at the right hand of God, having gone into heaven; angels and authorities and powers being made subject to him." Heb 4:14, "Having then a great high priest, who has passed through the heavens, Jesus the Son of God." Heb 9:24, "For Christ didn't enter into a holy place made with hands, like in pattern to the true; but into heaven itself, now to appear before the face of God for us." Ep 4:8 quoting Ps 68:18, "When he ascended on high, he led captivity captive, he gave gifts to men." Jn 6:62, his own anticipation, "[What] then if you⁺ should see the Son of Man ascending where he was before?"
Glory
The glory is shown before it is given. Jn 1:14, "we saw his glory, glory as an only begotten from a father, full of grace and truth." Jn 17:5, "glorify me with your own self with the glory which I had with you before the world was." Jn 17:24, "they may see my glory, which you have given me: for you loved me before the foundation of the world." Heb 3:3, "he has been counted worthy of more glory than Moses, by so much as he who built the house has more honor than the house." Re 5:12, "Worthy is the Lamb that has been slain to receive the power, and riches, and wisdom, and might, and honor, and glory, and blessing." Lu 9:32, on the mountain, "they saw his glory."
He appears glorified to John. Jn 1:51, "You⁺ will see the heaven opened, and the angels of God ascending and descending on the Son of Man." Re 1:13-16, "one like a son of man, clothed with a garment down to the foot, and girded about at the breasts with a golden belt. And his head and his hair were white as white wool, [white] as snow; and his eyes were as a flame of fire; and his feet like burnished bronze, as if it had been refined in a furnace; and his voice as the voice of many waters. And he had in his right hand seven stars: and out of his mouth proceeded a sharp two-edged sword: and his countenance was as the sun shines in his strength." Re 14:14, "one sitting like a son of man, having on his head a golden crown." Re 19:11-12, "a white horse, and he who sat on it called Faithful and True; and in righteousness he judges and makes war. And his eyes [are] a flame of fire, and on his head [are] many diadems; and he has a name written which no one knows but he himself." Re 19:13, "his name is called The Speech of God." Re 19:16, "KING OF KINGS, AND LORD OF LORDS." Da 7:9 stands behind the imagery: "his raiment was white as snow, and the hair of his head like pure wool; his throne was fiery flames, [and] its wheels burning fire."
Worship
The throne-room scene. Re 5:9-14: "Worthy are you to take the book, and to open its seals: for you were slain, and purchased to God with your blood out of every tribe, and tongue, and people, and nation ... Worthy is the Lamb that has been slain to receive the power, and riches, and wisdom, and might, and honor, and glory, and blessing ... To him who sits on the throne, and to the Lamb, [be] the blessing, and the honor, and the glory, and the dominion, forever and ever ... And the four living creatures said, Amen. And the elders fell down and worshiped." Re 5:5, "look, the Lion that is of the tribe of Judah, the Root of David, has overcome to open the book and its seven seals." Re 7:9, the multitude "out of every nation and of [all] tribes and peoples and tongues, standing before the throne and before the Lamb, arrayed in white robes, and palms in their hands." Re 14:4, "These [are] those who follow the Lamb wherever he may go." Heb 1:6, "let all the angels of God worship him."
The cry to him below echoes the worship above. Mr 10:47, the blind beggar at Jericho: "Jesus, son of David, have mercy on me." Lu 17:12-13, the ten lepers: "they lifted up their voices, saying, Jesus, Master, have mercy on us." The same cries are addressed in prayer in his name. Jn 14:13, "And whatever you⁺ will ask in my name, that I will do, that the Father may be glorified in the Son." Jn 14:14, "If you⁺ will ask me anything in my name, I will do [it]." Jn 15:16, "that whatever you⁺ will ask of the Father in my name, he may give it you⁺." Jn 16:26, "In that day you⁺ will ask in my name." Ep 5:20, "giving thanks always for all things in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ to God, even the Father."
The Saviour and the Sinner's Friend
He is named for what he came to do. Mt 1:21 (the angel-saying) is excluded as part of the Matthean infancy outside 1:1-17, but the title "Savior" is preserved in the apostolic letters. 1Jn 4:14, "the Father has sent the Son [to be] the Savior of the world." 1Ti 2:3, "in the sight of God our Savior." 1Ti 1:15, "Faithful is the saying, and worthy of all acceptance, that Christ Jesus came into the world to save sinners; of whom I am chief." Lu 19:10, "For the Son of Man came to seek and to save that which was lost." Jn 3:17, "For God did not send the Son into the world to judge the world; but that the world should be saved through him." Jn 12:47, "for I didn't come to judge the world, but to save the world." Jn 9:39 holds the other side: "For judgment I came into this world, that those who don't see may see; and that those who see may become blind."
He is the friend of sinners. Lu 7:39, the Pharisee complains, "This man, if he were a prophet, would have perceived who and what manner of woman this is who touches him, that she's a sinner." Lu 19:7, of Zacchaeus: "He has gone in to lodge with a man who is a sinner." Ro 5:8, "while we were yet sinners, Christ died for us." 1Co 1:30, "But of him are you⁺ in Christ Jesus, who was made to us wisdom from God, and righteousness and sanctification, and redemption." 1Co 1:23, "but we preach Christ crucified, to Jews a stumbling block, and to Gentiles foolishness." Php 3:9, "and be found in him, not having a righteousness of my own, [even] that which is of the law, but that which is through faith in Christ, the righteousness which is from God by faith." Ro 10:4, "For Christ is the end of the law to righteousness to everyone who believes."
He is also the redeemer in the older OT register. Is 41:14, "[my Speech] will help you, says Yahweh, and your Redeemer is the Holy One of Israel." Is 43:14, "Thus says Yahweh, your⁺ Redeemer, the Holy One of Israel." Is 44:24, "Yahweh, your Redeemer, and he who formed you from the womb." Is 47:4, "Our Redeemer, Yahweh of hosts is his name, the Holy One of Israel." Is 59:20, "And a Redeemer will come to Zion, and to those who turn from transgression in Jacob, says Yahweh." Je 50:34, "Their Redeemer is strong; Yahweh of hosts is his name." Pr 23:11, "For their Redeemer is strong; He will plead their cause against you." Ps 130:8, "And he will redeem Israel From all his iniquities." Job 19:25, again, "But as for me I know that my Redeemer lives." The redeemed are the ones he buys. Re 5:9, "purchased to God with your blood." Re 14:4, "purchased from among men, [to be] the first fruits to God and to the Lamb." Is 35:9, "but the redeemed will walk [there]." Is 51:11, "And the ransomed of Yahweh will return, and come with singing to Zion."
Identification with Believers
The "I" of his life and the "us" of his people are bound. Lu 10:16, "He who hears you⁺ hears me; and he who rejects you⁺ rejects him who sent me." 1Co 8:12, "And thus, sinning against the brothers, and wounding their conscience when it is weak, you⁺ sin against Christ." Jn 15:5, the vine-image, "I am the vine, you⁺ are the branches: He who stays in me, and I in him, the same bears much fruit: for apart from me you⁺ can do nothing." Jn 15:9, "Even as the Father has loved me, I also have loved you⁺: stay⁺ in my love." Jn 15:14-15, "You⁺ are my friends, if you⁺ do the things which I command you⁺. No longer do I call you⁺ slaves ... but I have called you⁺ friends."
To take his mind is the disciple's work. Php 2:5, "Have this mind in you⁺, which was also in Christ Jesus." 1Co 2:16, "But we have the mind of Christ." 1Pe 4:1, "Forasmuch then as Christ suffered in the flesh, you⁺ arm yourselves also with the same mind." 1Pe 2:21, "Christ also suffered for you⁺, leaving you⁺ an example, that you⁺ should follow his steps."
But the warning is real. Lu 13:27, "I don't know you⁺ or where you⁺ are from; depart from me, all you⁺ workers of iniquity." Mr 8:38, "For whoever will be ashamed of me and of my words in this adulterous and sinful generation, the Son of Man also will be ashamed of him, when he comes in the glory of his Father with the holy angels."
The Good News
The same message is the gospel. Mr 1:1, "The beginning of the good news of Jesus Christ, the Son of God." Mr 1:14-15, "preaching the good news of God, and saying, The time is fulfilled, and the kingdom of God is at hand: repent⁺, and believe⁺ in the good news." Mr 13:10, "And the good news must first be preached to all the nations." Lu 4:18 quoting Is 61:1, "He has sent me ... to preach good news to the poor." Lu 8:1, "proclaiming and preaching [the good news about] the kingdom of God." Lu 16:16, "from that time the good news of the kingdom of God is preached." Is 52:7, "How beautiful on the mountains are the feet of him who brings good news, who publishes peace, who brings good news of good [things], who publishes salvation, who says to Zion, Your God reigns!" Is 2:3, "for out of Zion will go forth the law, and the word of Yahweh from Jerusalem." Is 29:18, "in that day the deaf will hear the words of the book." 1Th 1:5, "our good news did not come to you⁺ in word only, but also in power, and in the Holy Spirit, and in much assurance." 2Co 4:3, "And even if our good news is veiled, it is veiled in those who perish." 2Th 1:8, "rendering vengeance to those who do not know God, and to those who do not obey the good news of our Lord Jesus." Cl 1:23, "if indeed you⁺ continue in the faith, grounded and steadfast, and not moved away from the hope of the good news which you⁺ heard, which was preached in all creation under heaven; of which I Paul was made a servant." 1Co 9:12, "we did not use this right; but we bear all things, that we may cause no hindrance to the good news of Christ." Php 1:27, "Only live⁺ as citizens worthy of the good news of Christ." Re 14:6, "another angel flying in mid heaven, having eternal good news to proclaim to those who dwell on the earth, and to every nation and tribe and tongue and people."
The First and the Last
The final word is his self-naming. Re 22:12-13, "Look, I come quickly; and my reward is with me, to render to each man according to as his work is. I am the Alpha and the Omega, the first and the last, the beginning and the end." Re 22:16, "I Jesus have sent my angel to testify to you⁺ these things for the churches. I am the root and the offspring of David, the bright, the morning star." The Davidic genealogy of Mt 1 and Lu 3 and the Branch of Is 11 and Je 23 close the loop in Christ's own mouth: he is what the line was for. The genealogy that ran down to him in the flesh runs back up to him in glory. The same "I am" who spoke to Moses (Ex 4:15, "[my Speech] will be with your mouth"), the same Speech of Yahweh by which the heavens were stretched (Is 44:24), the same servant who poured out his soul to death (Is 53:12), the same Lamb that was slain (Re 5:12), is the one who says, "I come quickly."