(Continued: Chapter I-How to Interpret Prophecy)

Matthew states that in the coming of Joseph, Mary, and Jesus back to the land of Israel, the prophecy of Hosea was fulfilled. They came back "that it might be fulfilled which was spoken by the Lord through the prophet, saying, Out of Egypt did I call my Son" (Matt. 2:15). This quotation is from Hosea 11:1: "When Israel was a child, then I loved him, and called my son out of Egypt." From the context of this verse, one sees that it refers primarily to the Hebrew people who dwelt in Egypt and who came out of it under the leadership of Moses. This passage harks back to Exodus 4:22,23: "And thou shalt say unto Pharaoh, Thus saith Jehovah, Israel is my son, my first-born: 23 and I have said unto thee, Let my son go, that he may serve me; and thou hast refused to let him go: behold, I will slay thy son, thy first-born."

In Psalm 89:25-28 God also calls Messiah His first-born: "I also will make him my first-born. The highest of the kings of the earth" (v. 27). From these and related passages one sees that both Israel and the Messiah are called God's first-born. It is certain, therefore, that the Hebrew people, in a peculiar way, typify the Messiah. On the basis of this fact Matthew could and did quote Hosea 11:1, which speaks of literal Israel's departure from literal Egypt for the literal land of Israel, and which applies it to the departure of the holy family from literal Egypt to the literal land of Israel. Thus the prophecy is to be taken literally. But, as just seen, there is added to the literal meaning of the prophecy a typical significance. This passage is, therefore, an illustration of that type of prophecy recognized by Bible students as literal plus a typical significance.

When Herod saw that he had been mocked by the Wise Men, he was filled with anger and slew the babes of Bethlehem two years old and under. In Matthew 2:17,18, the writer says of this slaughter: "17 Then was fulfilled that which was spoken through Jeremiah the prophet, saying, 18 A voice was heard in Ramah, Weeping and great mourning, Rachel weeping for her children; And she would not be comforted, because they are not." Upon an examination of the context of Jeremiah 31:15, which Matthew quotes, one sees that this verse primarily refers to the Hebrew captives in the concentration camps at Ramah, who were deported to Babylon by Nebuchadnezzar. The mothers of those captives realized that they would never see their sons again. Therefore, they wept bitterly. But Matthew interprets the weeping of the mothers of the babes of Bethlehem as being a fulfillment of Jeremiah's statement.

Everything concerning the soldiers in the concentration camp and their being deported to Babylon, together with the weeping of their mothers, is literal. The facts stated by Matthew concerning the destruction of the babes of Bethlehem are literal. Jeremiah's oracle, therefore, is to be taken literally. But Matthew explains the sorrow of the mothers of the babes of Bethlehem in terms of the grief of the mothers of the deported captives. Jeremiah 31:15 is an illustration of that type of prophecy which may be designated as a literal prediction plus an application.

5. Matthew 2:23

When Herod died, Joseph was instructed by the Lord to take the baby Jesus and his mother back to the land of Israel. Upon arriving in the land of Israel, he learned that "Archelaus was reigning over Judaea in the room of his father Herod" (Matt. 2:22). Being fearful of this ruler, and being warned of God in a dream, he withdrew into Galilee and settled in Nazareth. He went to Nazareth, Matthew informs us, "that it might be fulfilled which was spoken through the prophets, that he should be called a Nazarene" (Matt. 2:23). There is no literal statement by any of the prophets that the Messiah should be called a Nazarene.

One must examine the facts. The word Nazarene in the first century was a term of reproach. When Philip learned that Jesus was the Messiah, he found Nathanael and said, "We have found him, of whom Moses in the law, and the prophets, wrote, Jesus of Nazareth, the son of Joseph. 46 And Nathanael said unto him, Can any good thing come out of Nazareth? Philip saith unto him, Come and see" (John 1:45,46). According to this question, it is certain that the city of Nazareth had a very bad reputation.

On account of this fact the people of Israel in general looked down upon the inhabitants of Nazareth, considering them as the off scouring of the earth, since there is no prophecy saying that He would be called literally a Nazarene, since the term Nazarene was one of reproach, and since there are prophecies which foretell that He would be literally despised and hated, one may conclude that Matthew summarizes all such prophecies by the use of the word Nazarene. Figuratively speaking, he gathers into a bundle the prophecies which show that the Messiah would be hated and despised and labels it by the outstanding term which indicates this attitude—Nazarene. This interpretation is confirmed by the fact that he does not quote any specific prophecy to support his contention, but simply states that the prophets say that the Messiah shall be called a Nazarene. The word Nazarene, therefore, summarizes that type of prophecy which speaks of the hatred and the attitude that the people in general would assume toward the Messiah. Matthew 2:23, therefore, presents that type of prophecy which is literal, and which may be designated as literal plus a summation.

In this discussion of the four types of prophecy presented in Matthew, chapter 2, one sees that each prediction is to be taken at its literal face value. The first one, however, Matthew 2:6 together with Matthew 1:23 is pre-eminently literal and must be interpreted as such. The second type is a literal prophecy plus a typical significance (Matt. 2:15). The third class (Matt. 2:17,18) is purely literal plus an application. The fourth and last one (Matt. 2:23) is literal prophecy plus a summation of the teachings of the prophets.

The next prophecy in the Book of Matthew quoted from the Old Testament is Matthew 3:3: "For this is he that was spoken of through Isaiah the prophet, saying, The voice of one crying in the wilderness, Make ye ready the way of the Lord, Make his paths straight." This quotation is from Isaiah 40:3. An examination of the context shows positively that in this prediction Isaiah is foretelling the Second Coming of the Messiah. The Prophet calls upon a certain group of people and tells them that their God commands them to give a message of comfort to His people who are in need of it. There are, therefore, two groups whom God recognizes as being His people: the ones who have the message of comfort needed, and the ones who need the message of comfort: "Comfort ye, comfort ye my people, saith your God. 2 Speak ye comfortably to Jerusalem; and cry unto her, that her warfare is accomplished, that her iniquity is pardoned, that she hath received of Jehovah's hand double for all her sins" (Isa. 40:1,2). A careful study of this passage shows that the ones having the message of comfort are the believers in Christ, for only they have such a message; those needing it are the people of Jerusalem, the Hebrew people.

The gist of the message of comfort is "that her [Jerusalem's] warfare is accomplished, that her iniquity is pardoned, that she hath received of Jehovah's hand double for all her sins." Jerusalem's warfare will be accomplished only when the Messiah returns, champions the cause of Israel, and stops all wars.

He maketh wars to cease unto the end of the earth;
He breaketh the bow, and cutteth the spear in sunder;
He burneth the chariots in the fire (Ps. 46:9).

10 And I will cut off the chariot from Ephraim, and the horse from Jerusalem; and the battle bow shall be cut off; and he shall speak peace unto the nations: and his dominion shall be from sea to sea, and from the River to the ends of the earth (Zech. 9:10).

When the Messiah returns to earth, stops all wars, and delivers His people from all their foes, they will not need any message of comfort. But the Prophet sees a time when they will need it, and he can bid those having the message to tell the people of Israel that their warfare is accomplished. This language is used relatively, a type of language common to all peoples. The warfare which the people of Israel will yet suffer after being given the message is practically nil in comparison with the warfare and the bloodshed that they have suffered in the centuries of the past. In view of all these facts, one can be certain that Isaiah the Prophet is carried forward in vision by the Spirit of God across the centuries to the time immediately preceding the Messiah's return to earth and urges those who have the message of comfort—the Christians of the end time—to give this message to the Jews. When one takes all the facts into consideration, he may be certain that Isaiah the Prophet spoke to the Christians of the present generation, urging them to give this message of comfort to the Jews. Can the average Christian give this message to them intelligently? I fear not. Only those Christians who have a fairly accurate and thorough knowledge of the prophetic word, especially of Israel's place in the plan of God, can carry out this command. To tell Israel "that her warfare is accomplished" involves a thorough and accurate knowledge of prophecy—something that very few people have, but something that all Christians should have.

After exhorting the believers of this day to give this message of comfort to Israel (Isa. 40:1,2), Isaiah in vision sees and hears a herald announcing the coming of the Messiah and establishing the kingdom of God here upon earth:

3 The voice of one that crieth, Prepare ye in the wilderness the way of Jehovah; make level in the desert a highway for our God. 4 Every valley shall be exalted, and every mountain and hill shall be made low; and the uneven shall be made level, and the rough places a plain: 5 and the glory of Jehovah shall be revealed, and all flesh shall see it together; for the mouth of Jehovah hath spoken it (Isa. 40:3-5).

Everyone who knows anything about the prophetic Word is confident that this quotation is a prediction in the most glowing terms of the Messiah's return and the establishment of the Kingdom of God upon earth. Who is the herald announcing the coming of the Messiah in this passage? Undoubtedly my Jewish friends are correct in believing that this messenger is none other than Elijah the Prophet. Their reason for believing thus is found in Malachi 4:5: "Behold, I will send you Elijah the prophet before the great and terrible day of Jehovah come." I am, therefore, of the profound conviction that God will fulfill this promise by sending Elijah to engage in a special ministry in the State of Israel.

Isaiah 40:1-5 refers primarily to the glorious Second Coming of Christ. The herald announcing his coming is Elijah the Prophet, whom the Lord will send from heaven at the proper time. In Matthew 3:3, Isaiah 40:3 is quoted and is interpreted as a prophecy of John the Baptist, the herald of Christ's first coming. Like the other gospel writers, Matthew sees in John the Baptist—the herald of Christ's first coming—a fulfillment of what obviously is primarily a prediction of Elijah, the forerunner of the Messiah at His Second Coming. This prophecy of Isaiah, therefore, is an example of the third type of prophecy, the literal plus an application. Some students call this passage an illustration of a double or manifold fulfillment of prophecy. There may be several partial, limited, incomplete fulfillments of a prophecy, but there can be only one full and complete fulfillment of a given prediction. John the Baptist is a partial and limited fulfillment of Isaiah's prediction, but Elijah will be the complete fulfillment of this prophecy at the Second Coming of Messiah.

7. Matthew 4:4

The next Old Testament passage quoted by Matthew is found in Matthew 4:4, which is quoted from Deuteronomy 8:3: Moses said that "man doth not live by bread only, but by everything that proceedeth out of the mouth of Jehovah doth man live." According to Matthew 4:1-11, the devil appeared to Jesus in the wilderness and tempted him three times on this occasion. The Lord had fasted forty days and forty nights. Then hunger seemed to begin, to gnaw at His very vitals. At that time the tempter said: "If thou art the Son of God, command that these stones become bread." Jesus replied, saying, "It is written, Man shall not live by bread alone, but by every word that proceedeth out of the mouth of God" (Matt. 4:4). At the baptism of Jesus, God spoke audibly from heaven saying, "This is my beloved Son, in whom I am well pleased" (Matt. 3:17). The devil knew and believed that Jesus was the Son of God in a special sense, the sense in which God meant it when He said, "This is my beloved Son." "In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God" (John 1:1). The devil, therefore, did not imply that he doubted that Christ was the Son of God in a special manner. On the contrary, he used that form of the Greek verb in the conditional clause which affirmed his belief regarding Christ's being the Son of God. Let me illustrate the point this way: One man could say to another, "If you are a gentleman, act like one." In making this statement, the speaker does not imply that he doubts that the man is a gentleman. On the contrary, he assumes that the man is a gentleman and urges him to act accordingly. I could reword the conditional clause by saying, "Since you are a gentleman, act like one." The devil said to the Lord Jesus, "If you are the Son of God [since you are the Son of God], command that these stones become bread." Moreover, the devil assumed that Jesus had the power to make bread out of stones. If Jesus, the God-man, had acted upon Satan's suggestion, He would have been taking into His own hands the prerogatives and authority¹ which belonged to the Father only: "Every good gift and every perfect gift is from above, coming down from the Father of lights, with whom can be no variation, neither shadow that is cast by turning" (James 1:17). All that is said concerning Christ's turning the stones into bread is to be taken literally. Stones were stones and bread was bread.

8. Matthew 4:5,6

The second temptation mentioned by Matthew is found in Matthew 4:5,6.

5 Then the devil taketh him into the holy city; and he set him on the pinnacle of the temple, 6 and saith unto him, If thou art the Son of God, cast thyself down: for it is written,

He shall give his angels charge concerning thee:
and, On their hands they shall bear thee up,
Lest haply thou dash thy foot against a stone.

The devil took Jesus into Jerusalem, the Holy City, and set him on the pinnacle, or wing, of the Temple. From this position Jesus could look downward toward the East and see the deep Kidron Valley far below. Then the devil said: "If thou art the Son of God [since you are the Son of God], cast thyself down: for it is written, He shall give his angels charge concerning thee."

This quotation is from Psalm 91. Some people think that the devil misquoted this Scripture. He did not, but simply omitted the words, "to keep thee in all thy ways." He knows how to use Scripture. Sometimes he may misuse it when it suits his purpose, but he correctly interpreted the passage in Psalm 91:11,12 on this occasion. In Psalm 91:1 the writer affirms his own personal faith in God as his refuge. In verses 3-8 he speaks to someone present, saying "thee" (vv. 3,4), "thou" (vv. 4,5), "thy" and "thee" (v. 7), and "thine" and "thou" (v. 8).

In verses 3-8 the Psalmist is carried forward in vision and sees the remnant of Israel in the midst of the Tribulation. According to verse 5, there will be wars; according to verse 6, there will be special plagues afflicting the wicked, and destruction will be stalking abroad at noonday. A thousand of the wicked will fall at the side of the one who trusts God, and ten thousand at his right hand will likewise fall, but death will not come near the trustful believer. Proof of this interpretation is found in verse 8. It envisages the destruction of the wicked from the face of the globe and the protection and preservation of those who trust in Jehovah. When will the wicked be destroyed from the earth? During the Tribulation. In this time of Jacob's trouble, God will be a shield to the remnant of Israel.

As already seen, verses 3-8, addressed to someone seen by the Psalmist in vision, give a vivid description of the destructive war and devastating pestilences and plagues. In sharp contrast with these verses are 9-13:

9 For thou, 0 Jehovah, art my refuge!
Thou hast made the Most High thy habitation;
10 There shall no evil befall thee,
Neither shall any plague come nigh thy tent.
11 For he will give his angels charge over thee,
To keep thee in all thy ways.
12 They shall bear thee up in their hands,
Lest thou dash thy foot against a stone.
13 Thou shalt tread upon the lion and adder:
The young lion and the serpent shalt thou trample under foot.

These verses are addressed directly to Jehovah: "For thou, 0 Jehovah, art my refuge!" This divine personality also has made the Most High His habitation. In this verse we see two persons of the Holy Trinity: Jehovah the Son—the Messiah of Israel—in whom anyone who trusts may take refuge, and who makes the Most High—God the Father—His habitation. Why is it necessary for Jehovah the Son to make Jehovah the Father his habitation since He is equal with God the Father, as the Apostle Paul asserts?² The answer is that Jehovah the Son enters the world by miraculous conception and virgin birth, thus becoming the God-man. As the God-man, He voluntarily takes certain human limitations during His sojourn among men.

Having assumed these human limitations, the God-man at times needs supernatural assistance which is promised Him in Psalm 91:10-12, quoted above. The devil correctly interpreted and applied this passage to the Lord Jesus who likewise knew that Satan was correct in his interpretation. Obviously, Satan was simply asking Jesus to avail Himself of the assistance promised in the passage; but Jesus positively refused, saying, "Again it is written, Thou shalt not make trial of the Lord thy God" (Matt. 4:7). His asking God on this occasion for the assistance promised in the written Word would be His making trial of the Lord His God. How could His simply asking for the thing promised be sinful? If leaping from the wing of the Temple into the gorge below had been in the path of duty, in which Jesus always walked, He would not have hesitated for one second, but would have leaped forth, depending upon God to fulfill the promise of help. But the path of duty did not lead in that direction on this occasion. He, therefore, would have been making trial of God the Father if He had leaped into the abyss below.

Jesus knew that the Scriptures are God's infallibly inspired Word. Moreover, He knew that God meant what He said and said what He meant. For him, a "thus saith the Lord" was final on any issue. He pointed the devil to the written Word, saying, 'Thou shalt not make trial of the Lord thy God.' He said it in such a way that the devil knew that His statement was final.

The third and last temptation of Jesus by the devil is found in Matthew 4:8-11:
8 Again, the devil taketh him unto an exceeding high mountain, and showeth him all the kingdoms of the world, and the glory of them; 9 and he said unto him, All these things will I give thee, if thou wilt fall down and worship me. 10 Then saith Jesus unto him, Get thee hence, Satan: for it Is written, Thou shalt worship the Lord thy God, and him only shalt thou serve. 11 Then the devil leaveth him; and behold, angels came and ministered unto him.

The parallel to this passage is found in Luke 4:5-9, which adds a few details not mentioned by Matthew.

From Jerusalem, where the second temptation took place, the devil took Jesus to a very high mountain and miraculously caused all the kingdoms of the world and the glories thereof to pass in vision before Him. Knowing that Jesus had come into the world to purchase human redemption by his vicarious suffering on the Cross and eventually to set up a reign of righteousness from sea to sea and from the River unto the ends of the earth, the devil, the god of this world, made his final attempt to circumvent the Lord Jesus and by all means to prevent His going to the Cross. Satan knew that the plan of God outlined in the Scriptures involves not only the redemption of the souls of men, but also his being divested of all authority and power, and his being banished from the presence of God and the glory of His might forever and ever. To prevent Jesus' going to the Cross was, consequently, the number one item on Satan's agenda. All other matters were of little significance in comparison with this major objective. Satan was willing, therefore, to give up all claims and authority over the nations in order to prevent Calvary. If he could only entice Christ to take a step that would make null and void His going to the Cross, the whole scheme of redemption would collapse; there would be salvation for none. In that event, Satan would be victorious over the Lord.

But in supposing that Christ, the God-man, could fall into Satan's trap, one is dealing with impossibilities. Though Satan is cunning and wise above all the rest of God's creatures, he is no match for Christ, from the standpoint of understanding and wisdom.

Satan is the god of this world who blinds the eyes of people so that they cannot ordinarily see the truth (II Cor. 4:4). The Lord Jesus calls him the "prince of the world" and asserts, "He hath nothing in me" (John 14:30). From these passages and others that could be quoted, it is clear that Satan was in possession of the world, and that he could make to Christ the offer of all the kingdoms of the world if the Lord Jesus would only bow to him one time. There can be no doubt that Satan made a bona fide offer to Christ on this occasion. Without doubt Satan knew that eventually Christ would snatch the kingdoms of the world out of his grasp. He, therefore, offered to Jesus a short cut. From all the facts, we probably can reconstruct Satan's thinking and the suggestions which he made to Jesus.

"According to the scheme of redemption outlined in the writings of Moses and the Prophets," reasoned Satan, "Messiah will engage in a personal ministry to the nation of Israel and will be misunderstood and rebuffed on many occasions. He will terminate His earthly career by an ignominious and cruel death on a Roman cross in the midst of shouts of derision and ridicule on the part of His opponents. He will suffer these mental and physical tortures in order to wrest from my grip all the kingdoms of the world."

"Now you, Jesus," suggested Satan, "instead of choosing voluntarily a life of hardships, terminating in the most excruciating agony of death known to man, in order to reach your objective—wresting the kingdoms out of my grip, as outlined in the Scriptures—I will here and now surrender to you all claims upon the world and my prerogatives over the nations, if you will simply one time bow the knee before me. Why take the hard, tortuous, and almost unbearable journey by way of the Cross to reach your objective? I will tell you the sensible, practical, and wise thing for you to do—bow the knee to me in worship. Immediately, I will surrender all rights and claims of authority to you."

For Jesus to worship Satan by bowing the knee only once would be doing what God said not to do. He again quoted the written Word, showing that, if He should bow the knee and worship Satan, He would be violating that which is written: "Then saith Jesus unto him, Get thee hence, Satan: for it is written, Thou shalt worship the Lord thy God, and him only shalt thou serve. 11 Then the devil leaveth him; and behold, angels came and ministered unto him" (Matt. 4:10,11).

The next prophecy which Matthew gives as being fulfilled by Christ's leaving Nazareth and making Capernaum His headquarters is found in Matthew 4:12-16:

12 Now when he heard that John was delivered up, he withdrew into Galilee; 13 and leaving Nazareth, he came and dwelt in Capernaum, which is by the sea, in the borders of Zebulun and Naphtali: 14 that it might be fulfilled which was spoken through Isaiah the prophet, saying,

15 The land of Zebulun and the land of Naphtali,
Toward the sea, beyond the Jordan,
Galilee of the Gentiles,
16 The people that sat in darkness
Saw a great light,
And to them that sat in the region and shadow of death,
To them did light spring up.

An examination of this passage shows that each word must be taken at its primary, ordinary, usual, literal meaning. The Prophet Isaiah had spoken of the people in a certain region and of their seeing a great light (Isa. 9:1,2). It is clear from the context of the original passage that the light of which Isaiah spoke was spiritual and not literal. Matthew confirms this fact, saying that the prophecy was fulfilled in Christ's moving from Nazareth and locating in Capernaum. Thus this prophecy is a literal statement of a fact.

The next prophecy to be examined is Matthew 8:14-17:
14 And when Jesus was come into Peter's house, he saw his wife's mother lying sick of a fever. 15 And he touched her hand, and the fever left her and she arose, and ministered unto him. 16 And when even was come, they brought unto him many possessed with demons: and he cast out the spirits with a word, and healed all that were sick: 17 that it might be fulfilled which was spoken through Isaiah the prophet, saying, Himself took our infirmities, and bare our diseases.

Here is an account of the healing ministry of the Lord Jesus on a given occasion. Matthew states that He performed these cures in fulfillment of a prophecy found in Isaiah 53:4: "Surely he hath borne our griefs, and carried our sorrows ..." The word rendered griefs in the text is translated sicknesses in the footnote. Every word should be rendered literally unless the facts of the immediate context or related passages indicate a departure from the literal meaning and require a secondary significance. Under the inspiration of the Spirit, Matthew interprets Isaiah literally. Beyond dispute the inspired historian understood Isaiah 53:4 to refer to literal healing.

According to Isaiah and Matthew, healing of the body is part of the ministry of the Lord Jesus. Light is thrown upon this subject in Colossians 1:19,20: "For it was the good pleasure of the Father that in him should all the fulness dwell; 20 and through him to reconcile all things unto himself, having made peace through the blood of his cross; through him, I say, whether things upon the earth, or things in the heavens."

In the light of Paul's utterance, physical healing is in the Atonement. Then why does God still allow sickness? Sometimes it is brought on by ignorance of the laws of hygiene and health; sometimes by sin, wrongdoing, and overindulgence. In answer to prayer God does at times heal people; but the healing which is effected by the Atonement of Christ is not to be general now. It will become universal at the return of Christ when the curse is lifted from the earth, according to Romans 8:18-25. In other words, the full and complete effects of the Atonement of Christ in every sphere of life will become universal in the Millennium.³

The next passage to be considered is Matthew 11:10: "This is he, of whom it is written, Behold, I send my messenger before thy face Who shall prepare thy way before thee." This prophecy quoted from Malachi 3:1 is very much like Isaiah 40:1-5 already discussed. An examination of this passage makes clear that the principles of interpretation are the same as those in Isaiah's prediction.

The next passage to be examined is Matthew 12:15-21.
15 And Jesus perceiving it withdrew from thence: and many followed him; and he healed them all, 16 and charged them that they should not make him known: 17 that it might be fulfilled which was spoken through Isaiah the prophet, saying,

18 Behold, my servant whom I have chosen;
My beloved in whom my soul is well pleased:
I will put my Spirit upon him,
And he shall declare judgment to the Gentiles.
19 He shall not strive, nor cry aloud;
Neither shall any one hear his voice in the streets.
20 A bruised reed shall he not break,
And smoking flax shall he not quench,
Till he send forth judgment unto victory.
21 And in his name shall the Gentiles hope.

On this occasion the Pharisees took counsel against Jesus to destroy Him. Sensing the situation, Jesus withdrew from the community. Nevertheless, many followed Him, and He healed them all and charged them that they should not make Him known—that the prophecy in Isaiah 42:1-4 might be fulfilled which declares that the Messiah will not strive nor cry aloud, nor lift up His voice in the streets. Jesus was not opposed to preaching the truth anywhere, in a quiet and orderly manner; but the Prophet declares that the Messiah would not be a rabble-rouser, haranguing the people with inflammatory propaganda. Thus Matthew quotes this prophecy to show why Jesus retired quietly from the scene of excitement.



Footnotes:

¹ Christ imposed certain limitations upon Himself when He entered the world and became the God-man. When He was raised from the dead, He was given His glorified body, which had no limitations.

² 5 Have this mind in you, which was also in Christ Jesus: 6 who, existing in the form of God, counted not the being on an equality with God a thing to be grasped, 7 but emptied himself, taking the form of a servant, being made in the likeness of men; 8 and being found in fashion as a man, he humbled himself, becoming obedient even unto death, yea, the death of the cross. 9 Wherefore also God highly exalted him, and gave unto him the name which is above every name; 10 that in the name of Jesus every knee should bow, of things in heaven and things on earth and things under the earth, 11 and that every tongue should confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father (Phil. 2:5-11).

³ For a further exposition on this point, see my forthcoming volume, Messiah: His Final Call to Israel.

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