Oh - I love this!


The Bible book of John 8 is interesting.  It begins with the story of Jesus and the woman caught in adultery.  Then, there is a second story in which Jesus calls out the religious leaders by saying, “You do not know me or my Father, if you knew me, you would know my Father also.” Next, Jesus predicts His death, causing the crowd wonder if He was going to kill Himself.  And then finally, because they still did not understand, Jesus said, “When you have lifted up the Son of Man, then you will know that I am he and that I do nothing on my own but speak just what the Father has taught me.” - John 8:28

Today, I learned something that makes that sentence all the more interesting.

We know that the religious leaders of Jesus’ day were the ones who championed His crucifixion.  Maybe because they were religious zealots fanatical about the law - who honestly believed what Jesus was saying was blasphemy.  Maybe they were worried that His words would be upsetting to the Romans and their way of life (one in which they were held in high regard and esteem).  Or maybe it was it was a bit of both…but when Jesus claimed to be the Son of Man, it made them furious and they demanded his death.

After He was arrested, Pilate asked Jesus, “Are you the King of the Jews?” and Jesus replied, “You have said so…”  And although Pilate could not find any reason that warranted Jesus’ death, he succumbed to the request of the crowds.

Now it was customary for the Romans to hang a sign above thoLse they crucified, noting their crime.  John 19:19 says, “Pilate wrote a title, and put it on the cross.  And the writing was, Jesus of Nazareth, the King of the Jews.”  This further angered the chief priests who demanded of Pilate, “Do not write, ‘The King of the Jews,’ but, ‘He said, “I am the King of the Jews.” (John 19:21).  Pilate responded with, “What I have written, I have written” (John 19:22), and He refused to change it.

The Hebrew Language is read from right to left, so the sign would have been written to say: 

The Jews…The King…The Nazarene…Jesus – or in Hebrew:

HaYehudim…V Melech…HaNazarei…Yeshua

Now here is where things get interesting…an acrostic is a form of writing in which the first letters of each word, line or paragraph are strung together to form a word.  Acrostics are found throughout Hebrew writings including in the books of Lamentations, Esther, Leviticus, Proverbs, and numerous Psalms. 

The acrostic here, reading the way the Hebrew people saw it – would be YHVH… which is how they would have written Yahweh, or Jehovah – the covenant name of God. 

Thus, when Jesus spoke those words in John 8:28, He was telling the people that when they saw Him raised up on the cross, they would know the truth about who He is…

Pretty cool.

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