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Old Testament

Faith Q&A › Metropolitan Youssef › Holy Scripture › Old Testament

The question

Is Jesus the God of the Old Testament? If so, why does Jesus' way of explaining who He is in the New Testament, especially in the Gospel of John and in Revelation differ so much from the speeches made by the Angel of the Lord or the Lord himself when they were confronting corruption. One example is when Jesus quoted the Old Testament Scripture, "And He answered and said, 'Have you not read that He who created them from the beginning made them male and female, and said, 'for this reason a man shall leave his father and mother and be joined to his wife, and the two shall become one flesh?' So they are no longer two, but one flesh. What therefore God has joined together, let no man separate.'" (Matthew 19:4-6 NASB). Why did Jesus not say, "What therefore 'I' have joined together let no man separate?"?

The answer

The Lord Jesus Christ often quoted the Holy Scripture as it is. The religious community at the time, the chief priests and Pharisees, should have recognized Him as God according to all the prophecies, but they had formed their own opinion of who the Messiah would be, one who would deliver them from their oppression, so that they would rule the earth. They desired an earthly ruler rather than a heavenly kingdom. They refused to accept the power of His meekness and humility. The Lord Jesus Christ came as the Son of Man and submitted to the Father as the Son of God. When He revealed Himself plainly, the priests and Pharisees warred against Him and plotted to kill Him. On occasion, He did use the pronoun, "I," but they rejected His revelation: "'I and My Father are one.' Then the Jews took up stones again to stone Him" (John 10:30-31). Ironically, when He revealed Himself to the Samaritan woman, who was disgraced as an adulteress in society, she accepted Him, and began to evangelize to her community: "The woman said to Him, 'I know that Messiah is coming' (who is called Christ). 'When He comes, He will tell us all things.' Jesus said to her, 'I who speak to you am He.'" (John 4:25-26). "The woman then left her waterpot, went her way into the city, and said to the men, 'Come, see a Man who told me all things that I ever did. Could this be the Christ?' Then they went out of the city and came to Him" (John 4:28-30). Whether He was accepted or not, He was determined to bear our cross and would not have our salvation deterred.

The Apostle Paul teaches us and explains: "Let this mind be in you which was also in Christ Jesus, who, being in the form of God, did not consider it robbery to be equal with God, but made Himself of no reputation, taking the form of a bondservant, and coming in the likeness of men. And being found in appearance as a man, He humbled Himself and became obedient to the point of death, even the death of the cross. Therefore God also has highly exalted Him and given Him the name which is above every name, that at the name of Jesus every knee should bow, of those in heaven, and of those on earth, and of those under the earth, and that every tongue should confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father" (Philippians 2:5-11).

Answered by His Eminence Metropolitan Youssef (opens in a new tab)

Related questions

Questions answered by His Eminence Metropolitan Youssef (opens in a new tab) of the Coptic Orthodox Diocese of the Southern United States. Question 2575 on the Diocese’s Q&A site. Questions and answers © Coptic Orthodox Diocese of the Southern United States. All rights reserved.