The Koine Jesus

September 28, 2014

There has been a resurgence of individuals who argue that righteousness and godliness come through obeying the law, keeping the festivals, and using the name “Yeshua” instead of the common English translation, “Jesus.” This return unto the law is a dangerous trend that the apostle Paul fought virulently against—for “salvation by grace through faith” is the message of the entire New Testament. “The Koine Jesus” examines how God purposely and deliberately chose the Koine Greek language (the language of the Gentiles) to reveal His grand Gospel in and through the New Testament. The Gospel isn’t just for the special few, but for the “common people” of this earth.

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Part One

Part Two

Part Three

sermon notes

session one

THE FIRST 39
An Introduction to the Hebrew Word

A Brief Introduction to the Bible
The First 2,447 Years – Circa 1313 BC

THE BIBLE BEGINS
The Finger of God touches tablets of stone

And the LORD said unto Moses, Come up to me into the mount, and be there: and I will give thee tables of stone, and a law, and commandments which I have written; that thou mayest teach them … And he gave unto Moses, when he had made an end of communing with him upon mount Sinai, two tables of testimony, tables of stone, written with the finger of God.
Exodus 24:12; 31:18

THE BOOK COMMISSIONED BY GOD

And the LORD said unto Moses, Write this for a memorial in a book, and rehearse it in the ears of Joshua . . . And the LORD said unto Moses, Write thou these words: for after the tenor of these words I have made a covenant with thee and with Israel . . . And Moses wrote this law, and delivered it unto the priests the sons of Levi, which bare the ark of the covenant of the LORD, and unto all the elders of Israel.
Exodus 17:14; 34:27-28

Key Point #1 – The Bible is God’s Idea
Key Point #2 – The Bible is God’s Word

A GLOSSARY

The Word of God – the revelation of God’s nature, His purpose, His promises, His plan, His Person
The Scriptures – The Word of God written down and preserved with the utmost care
The Bible, The Canon, The Old Testament and the New Testament – The 66 individual books of Scripture, organized into one grand, unchanging, timeless, living Volume Jesus – The Word of God become human, God with us, walking on two feet

THE TWO TESTAMENTS (COVENANTS)
66 Books Divided into Two Sections, Two Testaments
The Old Testament – The First 39 Books
The New Testament – The Final 27 Books

THE FIRST 39
Tested and Proven

The words of the LORD are pure words: as silver tried in a furnace of earth, purified seven times.
Psalm 12:6

ALL SCRIPTURE IS GOD-BREATHED

All Scripture is given by inspiration of God (is God-breathed – is breathed out by God), and is profitable for doctrine, for reproof, for correction, for instruction in righteousness . . .
2 Timothy 3:16

THE STORY OF THE RODS
One Rod to Rule them All
Key Point #3 – The Bible is Tested and Proven
Key Point #4 – The Bible is Divinely Authoritative
Key Point #5 – The Bible Perfectly Agrees With Itself

THE FIRST AND THE SECOND
The Bible Says the Same Message All Throughout

There is a First and there is a Second
• Cain and Abel
• Ishmael and Isaac
• Esau and Jacob
• Manasseh and Ephraim
• Saul and David
• Mount Sinai and Mount Zion
• Old Covenant and New Covenant
• Flesh and Spirit
• Adam and Jesus
The First will initially appear stronger, but, in the end, it will be proven to be the weaker
The Second, on the other hand, will at first appear weaker, but in the end, it will prove to be the stronger

THE ELDER SHALL SERVE THE YOUNGER
The First shall submit to the Second

And the LORD said unto her, Two nations are in thy womb, and two manner of people shall be separated from thy bowels; and the one people shall be stronger than the other people; and the elder shall serve the younger.
Genesis 25:23

ESAU AND JACOB
the Hairy Hunter and the Plain Man Dwelling in Tents

ADAM AND JESUS
The Man of Earth and the Man of Heaven

And so it is written, The first man Adam was made a living soul; the last Adam was made a quickening spirit. Howbeit that was not first which is spiritual, but that which is natural; and afterward that which is spiritual. The first man is of the earth, earthy: the second man is the Lord from heaven. As is the earthy, such are they also that are earthy: and as is the heavenly, such are they also that are heavenly. And as we have borne the image of the earthy, we shall also bear the image of the heavenly.
1 Corinthians 15:45-49

The Very Book That Declares this Truth . . . is supernaturally built to demonstrate this reality

This is the book of the generations of Adam. In the day that God created man, in the likeness of God made he him;
Genesis 5:1

The book of the generation of Jesus Christ, the son of David, the son of Abraham.
Matthew 1:1

Key Point #6 – The Bible Witnesses of Jesus Christ !

Think not that I am come to destroy the law, or the prophets: I am not come to destroy, but to fulfill.
Matthew 5:17

JESUS ON THE ROAD TO EMMAUS

Then He opened their understanding, that they might understand the scriptures.
Luke 24:45

And beginning at Moses and all the prophets, he expounded unto them in all the scriptures the things concerning Himself.
Luke 24:27

THE WITNESS OF THE 39

Search the scriptures; for in them ye think ye have eternal life: and they are they which testify of me. And ye will not come to me, that ye might have life.
John 5:39-40

For had you believed Moses, ye would have believed me: for he wrote of me.
John 5:46

THE LAW AND THE PROPHETS TESTIFY
It is He! This is the One we saw!

THE MOUNT OF TRANSFIGURATION
The Law, the Prophet, and the Booming Voice of the Father – they all agree

SESSION TWO

THE HELLINIZATION
Go Greek? Not On Your Life!

KEY TRUTH POINTS
Key Point #1 – The Bible is God’s Idea
Key Point #2 – The Bible is God’s Word
Key Point #3 – The Bible is Tested and Proven
Key Point #4 – The Bible is Divinely Authoritative
Key Point #5 – The Bible Perfectly Agrees With Itself
Key Point #6 – The Bible Witnesses of Jesus Christ

THE TWO LANGUAGES
Hebrew – the First, the Hairy
Greek – the Second, the Plain

THE OLD TESTAMENT
The Generations of Adam, the Patriarchs, The Mighty Power, The Grand Kingdom, The Glistening Temple – The Hebrew

THE NEW TESTAMENT
The Generations of a Carpenter from Nazareth, The motley band of Fishermen and Tax Collectors, the betrayal, the scourging, the reviling, the crucifixion, the death – The Greek

THE FIRST AND SECOND SOUND
Hebrew – The Uncommon Language
Koine Greek – The Common Language

FIVE COMMONS

the common folk: ordinary, normal, average, unexceptional; simple. ANTONYMS exceptional.
a very common art form: usual, ordinary, familiar, regular, frequent, recurrent, everyday; standard, typical, conventional, stock, commonplace, run-of-the-mill; informal garden variety. ANTONYMS unusual.
a common belief: widespread, general, universal, popular, mainstream, prevalent, prevailing, rife, established, well-established, conventional, traditional, orthodox, accepted. ANTONYMS hidden, rare.
the common good: collective, communal, community, public, popular, general; shared, combined. ANTONYMS individual, private, exclusive.
they are far too common: uncouth, vulgar, coarse, rough, boorish, unladylike, ungentlemanly, ill-bred, uncivilized, unrefined, unsophisticated; lowly, low-born, low-class, inferior, proletarian, plebeian, low-ranking. ANTONYMS refined.

THE HEBREW LANGUAGE
Exceptional, Unusual, Rare, Exclusive, Refined

The Language in which this grand mystery of God’s Word was captured. God wrote the words of the Ten Commandments in Hebrew – the set-apart language – a language that itself was supernatural, otherly, brilliant, profound, high, and holy. It was in this language of Hebrew, that God revealed His Holy, Holy, Holiness – His blazing perfection and righteousness, His spotless purity, and His heavenly Truthfulness. The Proper Name of God was revealed in this language, and the people of Israel would not dare speak this Awe-striking Name out loud, nor even write it for fear of blaspheming it and incurring the wrath of God. God spoke this Holy Name to His people in Hebrew. Hebrew was the chosen linguistic carrying device for His Splendor – a language befitting His majesty. It was a chosen language. A language that only the people of Israel knew. And therefore, the Word of God was kept from the nations of the Earth who lived ignorantly of its mystery, its profundity, and its awesome promises, truths, and revelations.

UNDERSTANDING TERMS

Circa 2348 BC – Noah Enters the Ark and Shuts the Door, along with his three sons (Japheth, Shem, and Ham) and their wives
Shem – father of the Shemites (Semites)
Abraham – Called “The Hebrew” (the one from the other side)
Isaac – a Hebrew man
Jacob became Israel (the one who wrestles with God and overcomes) – His name became the name of lineage of the Hebrew people
Jacob’s Twelve Sons (one of which is named Judah) – known as the Israelites
Joshua – The Nation of Israel
Saul – The first King of Israel
David – The King of Judah, The King of Israel
Solomon – The King of Israel
The Kingdom Splits
Rehoboam – The King of Judah
Jeroboam – The King of Israel
The Assyrians Take the Kingdom of Israel Prisoners – Israel (the northern Kingdom) is no more
The Babylonians take the Kingdom of Judah Prisoners – the Jews are carted away to Babylon
The Jews (Those of Jew-dah) that practice Judiasm
The New Testament
Jesus Christ – a descendent of Judah and The King of Judah (David) – known as the King of the Jews
Christians (Those of Jesus) that practice Christianity
Gentiles – non-Jews
A Jew isn’t saved by being a Jew. A Jew is saved by believing in Christ Jesus, the same way every Gentile is saved.

THE HEBREW WORD
With all its brilliance, it still remained a mystery to the Jews – it needed a Key to unlock it

And the angel of the Lord spake unto Philip, saying, Arise, and go toward the south unto the way that goeth down from Jerusalem unto Gaza, which is desert. And he arose and went: and, behold, a man of Ethiopia, an eunuch of great authority under Candace queen of the Ethiopians, who had the charge of all her treasure, and had come to Jerusalem for to worship, Was returning, and sitting in his chariot read Isaiah the prophet. Then the Spirit said unto Philip, Go near, and join thyself to this chariot. And Philip ran thither to him, and heard him read the prophet Isaiah, and said, Do you understand what you read? And he said, How can I, except some man should guide me? And he desired Philip that he would come up and sit with him. The place of the scripture which he read was this, He was led as a sheep to the slaughter; and like a lamb dumb before his shearer, so opened he not his mouth: In his humiliation his judgment was taken away: and who shall declare his generation? for his life is taken from the earth. And the eunuch answered Philip, and said, I pray thee, of whom speaks the prophet this? of himself, or of some other man? Then Philip opened his mouth, and began at the same scripture, and preached unto him Jesus.
Acts 8:26-35

The Old Testament (The Law and the Prophets) – The First 39 Books – written in Hebrew (and some Aramaic)

THE MAKE-UP OF THE 66 BOOKS

Wherefore the law was our schoolmaster to bring us unto Christ, that we might be justified by faith.
Galatians 3:24

That which proves the power of Sin, demonstrates the weakness of the Flesh, and the inability of man to save himself. The Law is a schoolmaster which showcases the need for a saving help from God. The law, in and of itself, cannot save; it can only lead to the One who can – God Himself.

The New Testament (The Covenant of Jesus Christ – Grace) – The Final 27 Books – written in Koine Greek
That which proves the defeat of Sin, demonstrates the power of the Spirit, and the ability of God to save man from His lifelong subservience to the control of the Flesh. The New Testament is the message of the Good News of Jesus Christ.

THE SCHOOLMASTER’S 1,000 YEARS
The Old Testament writings cover a stretch of time from Moses to the return of the Israelites from their captivity in Babylon. This is a span of approximately 1,000 years in which the nation of Israel demonstrated failure upon failure upon failure. They beg for God to intervene and save them from this cyclical pattern of apostasy (turning away from the true God and going after false gods).

FOUR CENTURIES OF SILENCE
400 years from Ezra’s Histories and Malachi’s Prophecies until John the Baptist

THE HELLENIZATION OF THE WORLD

To Hellenize: The attempt to make someone Greek in thought, lifestyle, and speech !

ALEXANDER THE GREAT
335 BC – 323 BC – the 12 years that changed the world and set the stage for the Gentiles to hear the Word of God

After his father (King Philip of Macedon) was killed in 336 BC, Alexander took the throne of Macedon at the age of twenty. In 335 he headed out on an unprecedented military campaign through Asia and northeast Africa, until by the age of thirty he had created one of the largest empires of the ancient world, stretching from Greece to Egypt and into present-day Pakistan. In his twelve years of conquest, he was undefeated in battle. And after his death at the age of 33, in 323 BC, he had completely altered the known world, and the Hellenization began

THE STAGE IS SET
The first time since Babel, one language had become common over most of the known world

For all the prophets and the law prophesied until John.
Matthew 11:13

LINGUA FRANCA
A bridge language used to make communication possible between persons not sharing a native language

KOINE GREEK
The Bridge Language

THE ALEXANDRIAN JEWS IN EGYPT

PTOLEMY’S CONFESSION

THE SEPTUAGINT
LXX – The Seventy – from circa 300 BC to 132 BC

CIRCA 132 BC, IT HAPPENS
For the first time the Word of God is expressed in the language of the Koine (The Common, The Greeks, The Gentiles)

THE GREAT CONDESCENSION
That which is Holy, Untouchable, Mysterious, Exclusive becomes … um … ahem … Human, Approachable, Touchable, and Available to . . . uh . . . everyone . . . including the Gentiles.

What Does God Think of the Septuagint?
Well, The Holy Spirit, when carrying along the writers of the New Testament books, quotes from it around 340 times in the New Testament Canon, as opposed to 33 times from the Masoretic (Hebrew) Text.

It would appear that God is unashamed to speak in the Koine Greek.

Key Point #7: The Bible Wasn’t Written Accidentally – but very much on Purpose
Key Point #8 – The Bible is for All People
Key Point #9 – The Bible is meant to be Understood by All
Key Point #10 – The Bible is Translatable

HERE’S THE TWIST
God’s Word becoming Koine is utterly Blasphemous to a Good Jew. But this is exactly what God’s Word made Flesh (Jesus Christ) did. And to a Christian – the fact that God’s Word became Koine, is the essence of the Gospel.

• The Old Testament Began around 1313 BC – When the Word of God was written on a tablet of Stone
• The New Testament Began around 0 AD – When the Word of God was conceived in the womb of a young girl, and written on tablets of Human Life
• The Old Testament Begins with the Story of Creation
• The New Testament Begins with the Story of the New Creation !
• The Old Testament is about the Generations of Adam, the First Born – The Dead in Trespasses
• The New Testament is about the Generations of Jesus, the Twice Born – The Resurrected !
• The Tablets of God-Written Stone Were Laid in an Ark Plated with Gold
• The Word of God in Flesh was Laid in a Feeding Trough !
• The Giving of the Law took place on the very first Pentecost, and the great promulgation of the Law of Moses began
• The Giving of the Spirit took place on the same Day, nearly 1350 years later, and the great promulgation of the Gospel of Grace began
• The Giving of the Old Covenant was on the untouchable, unapproachable mountain, presented in the language of Hebrew and for the Hebrew alone
• The Giving of the New Covenant was in the midst of the crowded city, available to everyone, the world over, in their own tongue

JESUS THE LIVING WORD
Christianity, the Living Epistle

When God Writes On Human Hearts

SESSION THREE

Wrapped in Swaddling Clothes
Attempting to Comprehend the Divine Condescension

THE LANGUAGE OF GOD
Humility

KEY TRUTH POINTS
Key Point #1 – The Bible is God’s Idea
Key Point #2 – The Bible is God’s Word
Key Point #3 – The Bible is Tested and Proven
Key Point #4 – The Bible is Divinely Authoritative
Key Point #5 – The Bible Perfectly Agrees With Itself
Key Point #6 – The Bible Witnesses of Jesus Christ
Key Point #7: The Bible Wasn’t Written Accidentally – but very much on Purpose
Key Point #8 – The Bible is for All People
Key Point #9 – The Bible is meant to be Understood by All
Key Point #10 – The Bible is Translatable
Key Point #11 – The Bible Answers All the Hebrew Questions, In Koine Greek

Who is this one who will be born of a virgin in the town of Bethlehem, whose goings forth are from of old and everlasting, and who will be Immanuel, God with us? Who is this one who will be betrayed by a friend, who will bear our iniquities, whose garments will be parted, whose hands and feet will be pierced?

And the eunuch answered Philip, and said, I pray thee, of whom speaks the prophet this? of himself, or of some other man? Then Philip opened his mouth, and began at the same scripture, and preached unto him Jesus.
Acts 8:34-35

HIGHNESS MEETS LOWNESS
Highness

Thine, O LORD, is the greatness, and the power, and the glory, and the victory, and the majesty: for all that is in the heaven and in the earth is thine; thine is the kingdom, O LORD, and thou art exalted as head above all.
1 Chronicles 29:11

LOWNESS

God looks down from heaven upon the children of men, To see if there are any who understand, who seek God. Every one of them has turned aside; They have together become corrupt; There is none who does good, No, not one.
Psalm 53:2-3

Sparganoō [Spär-gä-no’-ō] – to wrap in swaddling clothes
Omnipotence wrapped in weakness

For unto you is born this day in the city of David a Savior, which is Christ the Lord. And this shall be a sign unto you; Ye shall find the babe wrapped in swaddling clothes, lying in a manger.
Luke 2:11-12

GOD COME TO EARTH … AS A LITTLE LAMB?
Where the highness of God and weakness of Humanity Intersect

• God setting aside His Almighty Godness
• God forsaking His Fiery Presence and His cloud of Glory
• God relinquishing the continual worship of the angelic multitudes
• God purposely trading His Almighty Lion’s mane for a Lamb’s wooly stature
• God, who still was 100% God, and knew He was God, and was unabashed by the fact that He was God, gave up His reputation as the GREAT I AM and became one of no reputation
• God, the Master of Worlds, the King of Kings, the Lord of Lords, took on the form of a bond- servant, and allowed His ear to be pierced by His Father in Heaven, that He would be bound to do nothing of His own will
• God, condescended to take on the swaddling clothes of humanity and is laid in a feeding trough as food for the starving multitudes
• God, functioning in the capacity of a mere man, unrecognizable as God, but God nonetheless, humbled himself even further by becoming obedient to the point of death, even the horrifying and gruesome death of the cross
• God, tasted the penalty of Sin, the wrath of God, and the dreadful judgment of Almighty Righteousness

Key Point #12 – Jesus, like the Bible, was wrapped in swaddling clothes and laid in a feeding trough

The Arnion – [är-nē’-on] – The Little Lamb

Behold the Lamb of God, which taketh away the sin of the world.
John 1:29

Behold the Little Lamb of God, which taketh away the sin of the world.
John 1:29 (Amplified)

THREE USES OF THE LITTLE LAMB

SACRIFICE
And they sacrificed sacrifices unto the LORD . . . even a thousand lambs . . .
1 Chronicles 29:21

CLOTHING
The lambs are for thy clothing . . .
Proverbs 27:26

FOOD
. . . They shall take to them every man a lamb . . . a lamb for an house . . . And they shall take of the blood, and strike it on the two side posts and on the upper door post of the houses, wherein they shall eat it . . . And thus shall ye eat it; with your loins girded, your shoes on your feet, and your staff in your hand; and ye shall eat it in haste: it is the LORD’S passover.
Exodus 12:3,7,11

ALMIGHTY STRENGTH DISCOVERED IN WEAKNESS

And He said unto me, My grace is sufficient for thee: for my strength is made perfect in weakness. Most gladly therefore will I rather glory in my infirmities, that the power of Christ may rest upon me. Therefore I take pleasure in infirmities, in reproaches, in necessities, in persecutions, in distresses for Christ’s sake: for when I am weak, then am I strong.
2 Corinthians 12:9-10

LAMBNESS PROVES OMNIPOTENCE
Dependence proves that it is Grace that Truly Saves
• Gentle
• Meek
• Guileless, Innocent, Spotless
• Prepared as an Offering
• Obedient unto Death, even Death on a Cross, Silent unto Slaughter

EVEN AS A LAMB HE WINS

These will make war with the Lamb, and the Lamb will overcome them, for He is Lord of lords and King of kings; and those who are with Him are called, chosen, and faithful.
Revelation 17:14

CLOTHED IN THE LAMB, INDWELLED BY THE LAMB
• Gentle?
• Meek?
• Guileless, Innocent, Spotless?
• Prepared as an Offering?
• Obedient unto Death, even Death on a Cross? Silent unto Slaughter?

Key Point #13 – The Bible Reveals to us a Koine Jesus

A Man, who though He was equal with God, humbled Himself and took the form of a servant, became obedient unto death on a Cross, that He might be our common rescuer
A Savior of all peoples, nations, tribes, and tongues
A Redeemer of the lowly, the humble, the childlike
One willing to become the sacrifice, the food, and the clothing of a dying world