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Reflections
Daily Lectionary: Proverbs 5:1-23; John 12:20-36
Today’s Reading: Isaiah 6:1-7
In the year that King Uzziah died I saw the Lord sitting upon a throne, high and lifted up.
(Isaiah 6:1)
In the Name + of Jesus. Amen. According to John 1:18, nobody has ever seen God, but how can that be true? Isaiah said that he saw the Lord sitting on a throne. And what about Moses and the Israelites gathered at Sinai? What about Ezekiel and Daniel?
Before Jesus and His apostles came on the scene, the Jews studied the Old Testament and recognized a distinction. Yahweh is invisible and transcendent, dwelling in heaven. No human can see him. Nevertheless, there are visible manifestations of Yahweh— personal agents who are distinct from Yahweh, and yet are Yahweh at the same time. These visible manifestations are called the Angel of the LORD (Yahweh), the Glory of Yahweh, the Wisdom of Yahweh, and the Word of Yahweh.
Consider Genesis 15, where the Word of Yahweh came to Abram in a vision. The Word isn’t treated as a mere voice from heaven, but a Person who comes to Abram and can be seen. Or consider Ezekiel 1, where the prophet sees the Glory of Yahweh appearing as a man on a throne.
John the Evangelist picks up on this. He states that the Word existed in the beginning (John 1:1). He is God, and yet He is distinct from God. He was the One who appeared to the patriarchs and prophets. When Isaiah saw the figure of a man sitting on a throne, he was looking at the Word—the very same Word who would actually become a man, in order to reveal the Father’s love by dying in our place (John 12:41)!
The doctrine of the Trinity is rooted deeply in the Old Testament and in Jewish theology. It is also the foundation of our doctrine of salvation. We believe that God can be known, because we have a Mediator—One who is known because He is a man, and who can show us the Father, because He is One with Him. In the Name + of Jesus. Amen.
Holy, holy, holy! Lord God Almighty! All Thy works shall praise Thy name in earth and sky and sea. Holy, holy, holy, merciful and mighty! God in three persons, blessed Trinity!
(“Holy, Holy, Holy” LSB 507, st. 4)
Audio Reflections Speaker: Pastor René Castillero
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By Higher Things®Daily Lectionary: Proverbs 5:1-23; John 12:20-36
Today’s Reading: Isaiah 6:1-7
In the year that King Uzziah died I saw the Lord sitting upon a throne, high and lifted up.
(Isaiah 6:1)
In the Name + of Jesus. Amen. According to John 1:18, nobody has ever seen God, but how can that be true? Isaiah said that he saw the Lord sitting on a throne. And what about Moses and the Israelites gathered at Sinai? What about Ezekiel and Daniel?
Before Jesus and His apostles came on the scene, the Jews studied the Old Testament and recognized a distinction. Yahweh is invisible and transcendent, dwelling in heaven. No human can see him. Nevertheless, there are visible manifestations of Yahweh— personal agents who are distinct from Yahweh, and yet are Yahweh at the same time. These visible manifestations are called the Angel of the LORD (Yahweh), the Glory of Yahweh, the Wisdom of Yahweh, and the Word of Yahweh.
Consider Genesis 15, where the Word of Yahweh came to Abram in a vision. The Word isn’t treated as a mere voice from heaven, but a Person who comes to Abram and can be seen. Or consider Ezekiel 1, where the prophet sees the Glory of Yahweh appearing as a man on a throne.
John the Evangelist picks up on this. He states that the Word existed in the beginning (John 1:1). He is God, and yet He is distinct from God. He was the One who appeared to the patriarchs and prophets. When Isaiah saw the figure of a man sitting on a throne, he was looking at the Word—the very same Word who would actually become a man, in order to reveal the Father’s love by dying in our place (John 12:41)!
The doctrine of the Trinity is rooted deeply in the Old Testament and in Jewish theology. It is also the foundation of our doctrine of salvation. We believe that God can be known, because we have a Mediator—One who is known because He is a man, and who can show us the Father, because He is One with Him. In the Name + of Jesus. Amen.
Holy, holy, holy! Lord God Almighty! All Thy works shall praise Thy name in earth and sky and sea. Holy, holy, holy, merciful and mighty! God in three persons, blessed Trinity!
(“Holy, Holy, Holy” LSB 507, st. 4)
Audio Reflections Speaker: Pastor René Castillero