Jesus is the Key

Jesus is the key that unlocks the Hebrew Scriptures and reveals the nature and redemptive purposes of the God of Israel.

Jesus unveils the knowledge and plans of God, and he is the center of his Father’s purposes for the redemption of humanity. He is the key that opens our understanding of the Hebrew Scriptures, and only Christ is qualified to explain and demonstrate the Divine Nature. In Jesus of Nazareth, all the promises of God find their “Yea and Amen!”

The Gospel of John presents Jesus as the ‘Logos’ (λογος), the “Word” and the expression of the Living God, who made all things according to this ‘Logos’. This “Word” has been embodied in the flesh-and-blood man of Nazareth.

[Hebrew Bible by Mick Haupt (Orlando) on Unsplash]

The “Law” was given through Moses, but “grace and truth” came to be through the “only born son,” the one who dwells in the “bosom” of the Father. Only Jesus has seen the “unseen God.” Therefore, he alone is qualified to “interpret” who God is and what He does. Any man or woman who has seen the Son has also “seen the Father” - (John 1:14-18, 14:7).

As the “Son of Man,” Jesus is the “ladder” between the Earth and the “open heavens” on which angels “ascend and descend.” He is the only path by which we can “come to the Father” - (John 1:51, 2:17-22, 14:1-7).

Christ is the true and greater “Sanctuary” foreshadowed by the Tabernacle and the later Temple building. He is the Real Sanctuary, “not made with hands,” the place where God meets with men and they worship Him. The presence of God is no longer restricted by man-made structures and geographic locations:

• “The hour is coming, and now is, when the true worshippers will worship the Father in spirit and truth, for such does the Father seek to be his worshippers. God is a Spirit, and they that worship him must worship in spirit and truth” – (John 4:23-24).

Jesus came to “fulfill the Law and the Prophets.” He demonstrated this by authoritatively declaring the true intent of the Law - “You have heard it said to them of old <…> but I declare to you!” Our obedience to Christ’s words will decide whether we are accepted or rejected on the Last Day - (Matthew 5:17-20, 7:21-23).

• “Everyone, therefore, who hears my words and does them, he will be like a wise man, who built his house upon the rock. And the rain descended, and the floods came, and the winds blew, and beat upon that house, and it did not fall, for it was founded upon the rock. And everyone who hears my words and does not do them will be like a foolish man, who built his house upon the sand. And the rain descended, and the floods came, and the winds blew, and struck upon that house, and it fell. And great was its fall!” – (Matthew 7:24-27).

Jesus is the “Beginning of the Good News,” the Messiah who “baptizes in the Holy Spirit.” At the Jordan River, the heavens were “opened” and the heavenly voice identified him as “My Beloved Son.” At the Transfiguration, that same voice declared, “This is My Beloved Son. Hear him!” He has the words of life. To qualify for everlasting life, we must hear and obey him - (Mark 1:1-11, 9:7).

THE MYSTERY UNVEILED

Jesus Christ is “the mystery of God hidden for ages and generations, but now is manifested to his saints.” The proclamation of “Christ crucified” is the “Power and Wisdom of God.” This same Jesus is the one in whom “all the promises of God find their Yea and Amen.” Though crucified by his own countrymen, God made him “Lord and Messiah” and enthroned him as “the Ruler of the Kings of the Earth.” We ignore him at great personal peril - (Acts 2:25, 2 Corinthians 1:20, Ephesians 3:8-11, Revelation 1:4-6).

• “Therefore, we ought to give the more earnest heed to the things that were heard, in case at any time we drift away from them. For if the word spoken through angels proved steadfast, and every transgression and disobedience received a just recompense of reward, how will we escape if we neglect so great a salvation, which having at the first been spoken through the Lord, was confirmed for us by those who heard, God also bearing witness with them, both by signs and wonders, and by manifold powers, and by gifts of the Holy Spirit?” - (Hebrews 2:1-4).

Christ is the “image of the unseen God.” Only in him do we see God. The rituals and regulations of the Torah, the Mosaic Law, were but shadows of the reality we now have in Jesus. Only the Son of God ever “achieved the purification of sins” – (Hebrews 1:1-3):

• “For we preach not ourselves, but Christ Jesus as Lord, and ourselves as your servants for the sake of Jesus. Seeing it is God who said, Let light shine out of darkness, who has shined in our hearts to give the light of the knowledge of the glory of God in the face of Jesus Christ” - (2 Corinthians 4:5-6).

• “Let no man therefore judge you in meat, or in drink, or in respect of a feast day or a new moon or a sabbath day, which are a shadow of the things to come, but the body is of Christ” - (Colossians 1:15, 2:16-17).

It is Jesus as the sacrificial “Lamb” who is found “worthy” to open the “Sealed Scroll” in the Book of Revelation. He unveils and executes its contents.

The Lamb began to open the Scroll when he arrived before the Divine Throne following his Death and Resurrection. Because of his sacrificial death and resurrection, Jesus now lives forever and possesses “the keys of Death and Hades.” The process put into motion by the Cross will conclude with the arrival of “New Jerusalem,” and the city will be fully occupied by those men and women redeemed by the Lamb, including “the nations and the kings of the earth” - (Revelation 1:4-6, 1:17-18, 21:24).

Therefore, all creation now declares Christ “worthy” to receive power, glory, and authority, because “by your death, you redeemed men and women from every nation to become a kingdom of priests for God” - (Revelation 5:6-12).

And so, Jesus is the one who reigns and has all authority “in Heaven and on Earth.” He is the glorious “Son of Man” who “opens and no man shuts,” and the key that unlocks Scripture. He is the living one who reveals God’s mysteries, “shows us the Father,” and fulfills the promises of God. He is in every sense the “Author and Finisher” of our faith, and the key to the Heavens – (Hebrews 12:2).

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SEE ALSO:

• The Time of Revelation - (The previously hidden mysteries of God are revealed in Jesus, and especially so in his Death and Resurrection, History’s turning point)

• Seeing the Unseen God - (The fullness, grace, and truth of God are found in the Word made Flesh, Jesus of Nazareth, who alone has seen the unseen God – John 1:14-18)

• Glory Revealed - (Ever since the Word became flesh, the Divine Glory has been manifested in Jesus of Nazareth, and all who follow him behold it – John 1:14)

• Jesus é a Chave - (Jesus é a chave que abre as escrituras hebraicas e revela a natureza e os propósitos redentores do Deus de Israel)