“The feeding of the 5000” (the only “miracle”1 mentioned in all four canonical Gospels – see Matthew 14:13-21, Mark 6:30-44, Luke 9:10-19, & John 6:1-14) and “the feeding of the 4000” (mentioned only in Matthew 15:32-38 & Mark 8:1-10) directly reflect other seemingly miraculous feedings mentioned in the Old Testament (see 1 Kings 17:1-16, 1 […]
“The Transfiguration of Christ” (see Matthew 17:1-13, Mark 9:2-13, Luke 9:28-36 – also 2 Peter 1:16-181) is another Jesus-based New Testament incident that intentionally summons forth a vivid remembrance of a specific Old Testament recounting – specifically the return of Elijah mentioned in the book of Micah.2 In this tale, Jesus and three of his […]
Throughout the texts of the Hebrew Bible the “cup” functioned as a powerful metaphor for every individual’s chosen fate (“The LORD is my chosen portion and the cup of my inheritance” ~ Psalm 16:5) – either the “cup of wrath” for those who are disobedient towards the Law by being selfish towards others1 or the […]
Another dynamic reference to “the prophets” made by Jesus is his mention of “the stone that the builders rejected” (see Matthew 21:42, Mark 12:10-11, & Luke 20:17) – the stone mentioned in Psalm 118:22-231 – the stone that “has become the cornerstone”2 – the stone, rejected by the “builders” of the Law, upon which the […]
In a direct reference to the “feast for all peoples” mentioned in Isaiah 25:6-81 (see also Isaiah 55:1-2, Isaiah 61:10, Jeremiah 31:31-342, Nehemiah 8:9-123, & Psalm 63:5 – along with the Banquet mentioned in the proclamations of Talmud Pesachim 119 & Midrash Rabbah Exodus 25:8), Jesus likens the Kingdom of God to the “wedding banquet” […]
On more than one occasion in the Gospels, Jesus is seen clearly recalling “the prophets” when he boldly cites Daniel 7:13-14 while proclaiming, “then they will see the Son of Man1 coming in clouds with power and great glory” – initially doing so after having predicted “the desolating abomination”2 that would overtake the people of […]
One of the more misunderstood (and also one of the more important) statements Jesus makes in the Bible is the one he utters near the very end of his ministry – when he is hanging from the cross on Golgotha after being crucified and loudly exclaims “Eli, Eli, lama sabachthani?” – the Aramaic equivalent of […]
Though there are admittedly a number of claimed prophecies in the Old Testament’s “Law & prophets” that supposedly foretell and even announce Jesus as one who becomes the embodiment of the long longed-for Messiah – “a prophet like [Moses]” (see Deuteronomy 18:151) who was summoned “to bring good news to the oppressed, to bind up […]
As an additional point of intrigue, Isaiah 35:5-6 in truth seemingly predicted that the Messiah would perform healing miracles upon his arrival (specifically, returning sight to the blind, granting hearing to the deaf, providing mobility to the lame, and giving speech to the mute1). Full disclosure also bears noting that Jesus does in fact seem […]
While many cite Jesus’ crucifixion and supposed resurrection as proof that he was the Davidian Messiah, the verses seemingly prophesying the same were well known at the time, and thus actually prove far more convincingly that Jesus purposefully orchestrated the entire event – that he enlisted the help of a small-yet-dedicated cadre of accomplices to […]
In closing, while there are many additional references Jesus makes to “the prophets” in the Gospels (references that just as clearly illustrate his ministry’s primary goal of expanding the Jewish people’s adherence to the edicts of the Old Testament scriptures)1, the case has been soundly made that Jesus did not blindly support the texts of […]
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