This episode unpacks John 5:22-24, in which all judgment has been given to the Son by God the Father. And verse 23 specifically says that God sent the Son. Jews who reject Christ as God's Son and Messiah therefore reject the Father's sending of the Son. The consequences couldn't be more dire, since God the Father has given all judgment to the Son. According to John 3:36, "whoever rejects the Son will not see life, for God's wrath remains on them." This rejecting of the Father's sending of the Son invalidates any Jew's claim that he has the Father as his God: "No one who denies the Son, has the Father.." (1 John 5:23) Moreover, the wrath and judgment of the Son remain on all who reject the Son: "Do homage to the Son, that He not become angry, and you perish in the way, for His wrath may soon be kindled.." (Psalm 2:12) Jews and Christians therefore do not believe in the same God.
Messiah and Jewish Misinterpretation of THE Son
This episode addresses the common Jewish interpretation of Psalm 2, in which "son" refers to Israel, not the unique Son of God. Jews commonly appeal to other passages in Scripture that identify Israel as God's "son," like Exodus 4:22, "Israel is My son, My firstborn." Coupled with 2 Samuel 7:14, where every new Jewish king becomes a "son," Jewish interpreters have some Scriptural basis to pose that "the son" of Psalm 2 refers to Israel or the personification of Israel in a new monarch. The qualifying comments of psalm 2 shatter this interpretation. The new king is God's Messiah, his "anointed one," (v.2) and his inheritance are the all the nations, "the very ends of the earth," a ridiculous claim, even at the height of Israel's power under Solomon. The Messiah of Psalm 2 must refer to a unique Son, for His installation as king in Zion will result in worldwide "shattering" of the nations (v.9) Jesus would later correct Pharisees' interpretations that made the Messiah a mere son of David, According to Psalm 110:1, the Messiah, a distant biological son of David, was also the Lord of David, "the Lord says to my Lord, sit at My right hand until I make Your enemies a footstool for Your feet." Christ dismissed the Pharisees' claim that the primary identity of the Messiah was that of a son, "If David then calls Him 'Lord", how is He his son." (Matthew 22:45) The best explanation of THE SON in Psalm 2 and Psalm 110 is that it refers to the unique Son of God, the Messiah King Who is now seated at God the Father's right hand, waiting till till all His enemies are subdued.
God the ‘Son’ in the Old Testament?
Most of us know that the distinctive difference between Christians and Jews is that Christians believe in the deity of Christ whereas Jews do not, some contending that the deity of Christ, God the Son and the trinity were doctrines not revealed till the New Testament. This program begins a series of episodes explicating common questions surrounding these doctrines, highlighting the pertinent Old Testament Scriptures that point to the fuller revelation of the godhead in the Christian faith. This episode begins with Psalm 2, noting that the Messiah is called "my Son," and is "begotten" in time, "today I have begotten you." If Christ is the ETERNAL son of God, how can He be begotten "today?" This episode demonstrates from several Scriptures that God the Father "begat" God the Son upon Christ's accession as king. Luke cites the resurrection as the fulfillment of Psalm 2: "God has fulfilled this promise to our children in that He raised up Jesus, as it also written in the second Psalm, 'You are my Son; today I have begotten you.'" (Acts 13:33) While the average Jew living prior to Christ probably did not consider God's future Messiah as "God the Son," much less one of the three persons comprising the Trinity, he nevertheless hoped in the future absolute rule of God's Messiah, as Christ's final entry into Jerusalem suggests. Together with the distinctive elements of Judaism introduced in the last 2 lessons (justifying faith in God's provision and God's dealing with man through a perfect representative), hope in God's Messiah, make up the core of Old Testament Judaism, which naturally carried over into New Testament Christianity.