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One of God’s many titles is “Jehovah” which the Israelites used when referring to Him and it is mentioned 6,519 times in the Old Testament. In the Authorised Version it is mostly translated as “Lord”. It means the unchanging, eternal, self-existent God. However is there evidence that the Jehovah of the Old Testament is the Jesus of the New Testament? (By the way we are not Jehovah’s Witnesses.)
1. The Great “I Am”
OT Prophecy
‘And God said to Moses, “I AM WHO I AM.” And He said, “Thus you shall say to the children of Israel, ‘I AM has sent me to you.’” v15 Moreover God said to Moses, “Thus you shall say to the children of Israel: ‘The LORD (Jehovah) God of your fathers, … has sent me to you. This is My name forever, and this is My memorial to all generations.’ (Exodus 3:14-15) So Jehovah is the great “I AM.”
Fulfilment by Jesus
1.1 ‘“Therefore I said to you that you will die in your sins; for if you do not believe that I am He, you will die in your sins.’” (John 8:24)
1.2 ‘Jesus said to them, “Most assuredly, I say to you, before Abraham was, I AM.” Then they (the Jews v57) took up stones to throw at Him…’ (John 8:58-59a) Jesus not only asserts His existence before Abraham but equality with the “I AM”. The Jews who heard Him clearly understood Jesus’ claim to Deity. So Jesus claims equality with Jehovah.
2. Creator of All Things
OT Prophecy
‘You alone are the LORD (Jehovah); You have made heaven, … The earth and everything on it, The seas and all that is in them, And You preserve them all’ (Nehemiah 9:6). The OT clearly teaches that only God gives life.
Fulfilment by Jesus
‘All things were made through Him (The Word v1 Who became Man v14), and without Him nothing was made that was made.’ (John 1:3) ‘For by Him all things were created that are in heaven and that are on earth, visible and invisible, whether thrones or dominions or principalities or powers’ (Colossians 1:16). The NT shows that Jesus Christ was the Creator.
3. The Messiah is God
OT Prophecy
‘For unto us a Child is born, Unto us a Son is given; … And His name will be called Wonderful, Counsellor, Mighty God, Everlasting Father, Prince of Peace.’ (Isaiah in 9:6) So the OT teaches that the coming Messiah would be God Himself.
{The Quran recognises that Jesus is the Messiah: 3:45 ‘… his name will be the Messiah Iesa (Jesus), the son of Maryam (Mary) …’}
Fulfilment by Jesus
There was a mock trial by ‘the chief priests and all the council’ of Jesus (Mark 14:57). ‘Again the high priest asked Him, saying to Him, “Are You the Christ, the Son of the Blessed?” Jesus said, “I am. And you will see the Son of Man sitting at the right hand of the Power, and coming with the clouds of heaven.”’ (Mark 14:61-62)
4. Raising the Dead and Judging All
OT Prophecy
‘“And you shall know that I am the LORD, when I open your graves, and raise you from your graves, O my people.’” (Ezekiel 37:13) God raises the dead.
‘Who has told it from that time? Have not I, the LORD (Jehovah)? And there is no other God besides Me, A just God and a Saviour; There is none besides Me’ (Isaiah 45:21). God is the final judge.
Fulfilment by Jesus
‘Then answered Jesus … “For as the Father raises the dead and gives life to them, even so the Son gives life to whom He will.”’ (John 5:19a, 21). Jesus raised the dead with: Jairus’ daughter (Matthew 9:18-19, 23-26), the widow of Nain’s son (Luke 7:11-18) and Lazarus (John 11:1-45).
‘Then answered Jesus … “For the Father judges no one, but has committed all judgment to the Son’” (John 5:19a, 22). ‘Because He (God v30) has appointed a day on which He will judge the world in righteousness by the Man whom He has ordained. He has given assurance of this to all by raising Him from the dead’ (Acts 17:31). So Jesus is the final judge.
5. Worshipping God
OT Statement
Exodus 20:1-4 ‘And God spoke all these words, saying: v2 “I am the LORD (Jehovah) your God, who brought you out of the land of Egypt, out of the house of bondage. v3 You shall have no other gods before Me. v4 You shall not make for yourself a carved image, or any likeness of anything that is in heaven above, or that is in the earth beneath, or that is in the water under the earth.’” See also Deuteronomy 5:6-9. The OT forbids worshipping anyone other than God
Men/Angels Refusing Worship
Acts 14:13-15 ‘Then the priest of Zeus, … intending to sacrifice …. v14 But when the apostles Barnabas and Paul heard this, they crying out v15 …, “Men, why are you doing these things? We also are men with the same nature as you, and preach to you that you should turn from these useless things to the living God.’” The NT agrees with the OT by showing that men refused worship as did angels: Revelation 22:8-9 ‘Now I, John, … I fell down to worship before the feet of the angel … v9 Then he said to me, “See that you do not do that. …Worship God.’
Jesus Accepted Worship
Matthew 9:18 ‘While He spoke these things to them, behold, a ruler came and worshipped Him, …’. After He stilled the storm, Matthew 14:33 ‘those who were in the boat came and worshipped Him, saying, “Truly You are the Son of God.’” Matthew 15:22, 25 ‘And behold, a woman of Canaan … v25 Then she came and worshipped Him.’ When Thomas saw the risen Christ and cried out ‘“My Lord and my God!”’ (John 20:28). Jesus accepted worship on numerous occasions which could only be done by a person who considered Himself to be God.
6. The Lord Is My Shepherd
OT Prophecy
‘The LORD (Jehovah) is my shepherd; I shall not want.’ (Psalm 23:1)
Fulfilment by Jesus
‘This parable spake Jesus … I am the good shepherd. The good shepherd gives His life for the sheep.’ (John 10:6a, 11) King David stated that Jehovah was his great Shepherd and the NT says the same about Jesus.
7. Whoever Calls On The Name Of The Lord Shall Be Saved
OT Prophecy
Compare Joel 2:32 ‘And it shall come to pass That whoever calls on the name of the LORD (Jehovah) shall be saved.’
Fulfilment by Jesus
‘That if you confess with your mouth the Lord Jesus and believe in your heart that God has raised Him from the dead, you will be saved.’ … ‘For “whoever calls on the name of the LORD shall be saved”’ (Romans 10:9, 13). So it is the Lord Jesus’ Name that sinners must call on for salvation from sins’ judgment.
Jesus made some claims about Himself, one of which is below:
8. Forgiving Sins
‘When Jesus saw their faith, He said to the paralytic, “Son, your sins are forgiven you.” And some of the scribes … “Why does this Man speak blasphemies like this? Who can forgive sins but God alone?” (Mark 2:5, 6a, 7). Jesus proved that His claim was not an empty statement by healing the man, and showed direct evidence that what He had said about forgiving sins was also the truth. Jesus claimed for Himself a right of God by forgiving the paralytic man.
Dear Reader, the question is, have you obtained God’s forgiveness and an assured place in heaven through faith in the Lord Jesus Christ as your own Saviour?