Lesson Six
Messiah's Titles
And one portion of them shall look on the other, and they shall be terrified, and they shall be downcast of countenance, and pain shall seize them, when they see that Son of Man sitting on the throne of his glory. And the kings and the mighty and all who possess the earth shall bless and glorify and extol him who rules over all, who was hidden. For from the beginning the Son of Man was hidden, and the Most High preserved him in the presence of His might, and revealed him to the elect. and the congregation of the elect and holy shall be sown, and all the elect shall stand before him on that day. And all the kings and the mighty and the exalted and those who rule the earth shall fall down before him on their faces, and worship and set their hope upon that Son of Man, and petition him and supplicate for mercy at his hands.
Enoch 62:5-9
Introduction
- Last week we saw not only how technical and Hebraic the first two chapters of the book are, but we also observed how the ancients did Bible study.
- By following the key words that link the passages, we are able to reconstruct the writer’s thinking and why he uses the cross references that he does. His point is not so much about ‘angels’ – as it is about making the case that Messiah is not merely a ‘messenger’ (i.e. ‘angel’) – that He is the One that sent messengers.
Titles For Messiah
- Heb 1:4-5 xref Ps 2:Son, King Messiah, Heir
- Heb 1:4-5 xref 2Sam 7: Son, King, Son of David, Son of G-d.
Son of G-d [Ben Elokim]
- This title is NOT an ontological description. This is a grave error on the part of all western interpretation of Who Yeshua is. From it spring all manner of false doctrine (such as ‘Mary worship etc.). ‘Son of G-d’ is a Messianic title.
- It was specifically understood by First Century Jews as a title for Messiah. It is tied directly to the title ‘Son of David’. Watch the progression in the final week of Yeshua’s earthly teaching:
- Matt 20:29-21:9: The crowds begin to declare Him to be ‘Son of David’. They use part of the Messianic portion of the Great Hallel from Ps 118:25-26: Hoshiana ben David! Hoshiana HaShem!
- Matt 21:14-16: Some of the leaders were furious because they understood this was an outright acceptance by the crowds that Yeshua was Messiah.
- Matt 22:23-32: Yeshua teaches about the resurrection of the dead, and alienates the Sadducees.
- Matt 22:33-40: Yeshua teaches the summation of Torah, further siding with the Pharisees theologically – and thus thwarting what some of them wanted to do: to distance themselves from Him.
- Matt 22:41: Yeshua proposes a riddle. It was an open declaration that He was Messiah, and as Messiah could lay claim to the title ‘Son of David’ – and more importantly ‘Son of G-d’. He was not merely a temporal ‘messiah’ – He was the Mashiach. (Mark 12:36; Luke 20:42)
- Matt 16:16: Repeatedly in the Gospels, the titles of Mashiach and Ben Elokim are equated.
- Matt 26:62-65: The Kohen Gadol equates the two titles: Mashiach and Ben Elokim [Messiah, Son of G-d].
- The Kohen Gadol would not have uttered ‘Ben Elokim’ if it were blasphemous in his mind. What he considers blasphemy is the idea that ‘Ben Adam’ [Son of Man] is described as sitting on G-d’s right hand. This is the Divine claim. And it is the claim that Yeshua was making.
Titles For Messiah
- Heb 1:6 xref Deut 32: Worshipped by Angels
- Avenger
- Judge
- Heb 1:8-9 xref Ps 45: Seated at G-d’s Throne
- Eternal King
- G-d.
- Ps 102: Afflicted Man
- Olam V’aed
- Ps 104: Creator
- Heb :13-14 xref Ps 110: My L-rd
- A Priest in the Order of Malki-Tzedek
- At the ‘Right Hand’ (the Kohen Gadol said: “Blasphemy!”)
- Lifter of the Head
- Heb 2:12 xref Ps 22:22: Brother
- Heb2:13, 16 xref 41:8: Seed of Abraham
- Is 8: Father
- Is 8; Ps 102, Is 41
Summary
- The simple Christological statement offered by most traditional commentators on Heb 1 and 2 is insufficient. It is merely, “The Son is better than angels”.
- A look at the writer’s real in intent reveals far more. Certainly, He is better than angels… but that is only a starting point. He is seated at the Right Hand…