The Finished Word

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 “Y ea and Amen! ”

The previously hidden mysteries of God are revealed in Jesus, and especially so in his Death and Resurrection, History’s turning point . The Bible speaks of the “ mysteries ” of God, His ways that are hidden from human wisdom and defy expectations. As Jesus declared, not everyone can understand the “ mysteries of the Kingdom .” It is God who reveals the deep and obscure things to whomever He pleases, and in His Son, He has done so for all men to see. Or at least, for those with “ eyes that can see .”

The promises of God find their fulfillment in Jesus Christ, “ IN HIM ,” they find their “ Yea ” and “ Amen .” The things formerly “hidden” are revealed in his life, words, death, resurrection, and exaltation. He is the One in whom all the shadows and types prefigured in the Hebrew Bible are actualized. All the “ mysteries ” of God are laid bare for men to see in the Nazarene, especially in his Death and Resurrection.

Fulfillment  is a key theme in the  Gospel of Matthew . With the arrival of the Messiah, the time of fulfillment began. What were the implications for the Law of Moses? In his ‘ Sermon on the Mount ’, Jesus provides clear answers. He did not come to settle the interpretive disputes between competing Jewish sects over the details of the Law but to  FULFILL  the “ Law and the Prophets .”

The introduction to  Matthew  declares that Jesus is the “ Son of Abraham .” He is the heir of the covenant promises to the Patriarch, and his identification as the son of Abraham stresses fulfillment in him. Through Jesus, the promises have become reality.

Paul links the start of the “ Last Days ” with the death and resurrection of Jesus. The time of fulfillment arrived, and all God’s promises now find their “ Yea and Amen ” in the risen Savior. Similarly, the  Letter to the Hebrews  declares that “ in these last days ,” God has “ spoken ” His definitive “ Word ” in His Son who now sits at the “ right hand of the Majesty on High .” History reached its pivotal point in the life, death, and resurrection of the Son of God.

All four gospel accounts apply the same passage from the  Book of Isaiah  to John the Baptist, the messenger who summoned men to repent “ for the remission of sins ” in preparation for the Messiah. The passage identifies John as the forerunner who was expected before the “ Day of the LORD ” - “ The voice of one crying, in the wilderness, prepare the way of the LORD ” - (Isaiah 40:3-5).

The  Book of Revelation  begins with the phrase, “ Revelation of Jesus Christ .” It is a message for his “ servants ,” the “ Seven Assemblies of Asia ,” and it concerns “ what things must come to pass soon ,” necessary information since the “ season is at hand .” Therefore, the Book pronounces the man who “ reads it, and they who heed the words of the prophecy, blessed ” – (Revelation 1:1-3).

An angel commanded Daniel “ to close the words and seal the Scroll until the season of the end ” after the last of his visions. In contrast, the Scroll is open in the  Book of Revelation , and its contents are unveiled. Daniel was told to “ seal the Scroll ,” but the angel commanded John  NOT  to seal the Scroll. The verbal parallels are deliberate, and  Revelation  informs us that the time of fulfillment has arrived, and the Book is open.