QUICK FACTS:
ISAIAH 6:1 AND JOHN 12:41
DID ISAIAH REALLY SEE JESUS AS YAHWEH GOD?
QUICK FACTS:
ISAIAH 6:1 AND JOHN 12:41
DID ISAIAH REALLY SEE JESUS AS YAHWEH GOD?
PART TWO
CONTINUED FROM PART ONE
QUICK FACT 14 — JOHN 12:40 REALLY DOES QUOTE ISAIAH 6:10
This point must be acknowledged clearly.
John writes:
“He has blinded their eyes and hardened their heart, lest they should see with the eyes, and understand with the heart, and turn, and I will heal them.”
— John 12:40, BLB
This quotation comes from:
ISAIAH 6:10.
Therefore we should NOT argue that:
JOHN 12 HAS NOTHING TO DO WITH ISAIAH 6.
It clearly does.
The real question is much more precise:
WHEN JOHN THEN SAYS THAT ISAIAH:
“SAW HIS GLORY AND SPOKE CONCERNING HIM,”
DOES JOHN MEAN THAT:
JESUS HIMSELF WAS YAHWEH SITTING UPON THE THRONE?
Or can John be connecting Isaiah's prophetic ministry with:
THE GLORY
and:
THE REJECTION
OF THE COMING MESSIAH?
That is the question we must investigate.
QUICK FACT 15 — JOHN HAS JUST QUOTED ISAIAH 53 AS WELL AS ISAIAH 6
This is extremely important.
Immediately before quoting Isaiah 6:10, John quotes:
ISAIAH 53:1.
John writes:
“Lord, who has believed our report? And to whom has the arm of the Lord been revealed?”
— John 12:38, BLB
Therefore the sequence is:
JOHN 12:38
↓
ISAIAH 53:1.
THEN:
JOHN 12:40
↓
ISAIAH 6:10.
THEN John says:
“Isaiah said these things because he saw His glory and spoke concerning Him.”
— John 12:41, BLB
Notice:
John has brought together:
ISAIAH 53
AND:
ISAIAH 6.
Therefore we must not interpret John 12:41 as though the only Isaiah passage John has in view is:
ISAIAH 6:1.
QUICK FACT 16 — ISAIAH 53 CLEARLY CONCERNS THE COMING SERVANT
Isaiah 53 describes someone who:
IS DESPISED.
IS REJECTED.
SUFFERS.
IS PIERCED.
IS CUT OFF.
AND:
POURS OUT HIS LIFE TO DEATH.
The New Testament identifies this suffering servant prophecy with:
JESUS CHRIST.
Therefore when John quotes Isaiah 53:1 in the context of people refusing to believe in Jesus, the connection is powerful:
ISAIAH HAD PROPHETICALLY SPOKEN ABOUT:
THE MESSIAH.
↓
THE MESSIAH COMES.
↓
MANY:
DO NOT BELIEVE.
John sees Isaiah's prophecy being fulfilled in:
JESUS.
QUICK FACT 17 — ISAIAH 6 EXPLAINS THE HARDNESS AND UNBELIEF
John then quotes Isaiah 6:10:
“He has blinded their eyes and hardened their heart...”
— John 12:40, BLB
Why?
Because John is explaining:
WHY SO MANY PEOPLE DID NOT BELIEVE IN JESUS
despite the signs He had performed.
John begins this section by saying:
“Though He had done so many signs before them, they still were not believing in Him.”
— John 12:37, BLB
Then he uses Isaiah to explain that unbelief.
Therefore the immediate subject of John 12:37–41 is:
THE REJECTION OF JESUS.
QUICK FACT 18 — JOHN'S TWO ISAIAH QUOTATIONS WORK TOGETHER
Look at the structure carefully:
JESUS PERFORMS MANY SIGNS.
↓
THE PEOPLE:
DO NOT BELIEVE.
THEN:
ISAIAH 53:
“WHO HAS BELIEVED OUR REPORT?”
THEN:
ISAIAH 6:
THEIR EYES ARE BLINDED AND THEIR HEARTS HARDENED.
THEN:
JOHN:
“ISAIAH SAID THESE THINGS BECAUSE HE SAW HIS GLORY AND SPOKE CONCERNING HIM.”
John is therefore showing that Isaiah's prophetic writings anticipated:
THE MESSIAH.
HIS GLORY.
AND:
THE UNBELIEF THAT WOULD SURROUND HIM.
But does this necessarily mean:
THE MESSIAH IS YAHWEH?
That still has to be demonstrated.
QUICK FACT 19 — “HIS GLORY” DOES NOT BY ITSELF MEAN “HE IS YAHWEH”
Jesus undeniably possesses:
GLORY.
The New Testament repeatedly speaks about:
THE GLORY OF CHRIST.
But possessing glory does not automatically mean:
BEING THE ONE GOD.
Jesus himself says:
“The glory which You have given Me, I have given them...”
— John 17:22, BLB
Notice something remarkable:
GOD:
GIVES JESUS:
GLORY.
Then Jesus says He has given:
GLORY
to:
HIS DISCIPLES.
Therefore:
RECEIVING GLORY
or:
SHARING GLORY
does not establish identity with:
GOD HIMSELF.
QUICK FACT 20 — JESUS SAYS THE FATHER GAVE HIM GLORY
Jesus prays:
“And now glorify Me, You Father, with Yourself, with the glory that I had with You before the world existed.”
— John 17:5, BLB
Whatever interpretation is given to this verse, notice the relationship:
JESUS:
PRAYS TO:
THE FATHER.
And asks:
THE FATHER
to:
GLORIFY HIM.
Throughout John's Gospel there remains a distinction between:
THE ONE WHO GLORIFIES
and:
THE ONE WHO IS GLORIFIED.
Therefore references to:
CHRIST'S GLORY
do not automatically erase the distinction between:
JESUS
and:
HIS FATHER.
QUICK FACT 21 — JOHN SAYS GOD GLORIFIED HIS SERVANT JESUS
This distinction becomes especially clear elsewhere in the New Testament.
Peter says:
“The God of Abraham and Isaac and Jacob, the God of our fathers, glorified His servant Jesus...”
— Acts 3:13, BLB
Notice:
THE GOD OF ABRAHAM:
↓
GLORIFIED:
HIS SERVANT JESUS.
There are clearly:
TWO REFERENTS.
THE GOD WHO GLORIFIES.
AND:
JESUS WHOM GOD GLORIFIES.
Therefore the fact that Jesus possesses:
GLORY
does not by itself identify Jesus as:
THE GOD WHO GAVE HIM THAT GLORY.
QUICK FACT 22 — JESUS DISTINGUISHES HIS OWN GLORY FROM THE FATHER'S GLORY
Jesus says:
“For whoever shall have been ashamed of Me and My words, of him the Son of Man will be ashamed when He shall come in His glory, and that of the Father and of the holy angels.”
— Luke 9:26, BLB
Notice:
THE SON OF MAN'S GLORY.
THE FATHER'S GLORY.
AND:
THE GLORY OF THE HOLY ANGELS.
The fact that glory can be associated with:
JESUS.
THE FATHER.
AND:
ANGELS
shows that the word:
GLORY
does not itself establish:
IDENTITY OF BEING.
The question must always be determined from:
CONTEXT.
QUICK FACT 23 — ISAIAH CAN SEE THE GLORY OF YAHWEH AND ALSO PROPHETICALLY SEE THE GLORY OF THE MESSIAH
There is no contradiction in saying:
ISAIAH SAW:
THE GLORY OF YAHWEH.
And:
ISAIAH PROPHETICALLY SAW:
THE GLORY OF THE COMING MESSIAH.
Isaiah contains both:
VISIONS OF GOD
and:
PROPHECIES OF GOD'S SERVANT.
John can therefore draw upon Isaiah's writings and explain that Isaiah:
“SAW HIS GLORY AND SPOKE CONCERNING HIM”
without necessarily teaching that:
THE SERVANT
and:
THE GOD WHO SENT THE SERVANT
are the same person or being.
QUICK FACT 24 — ISAIAH HIMSELF DISTINGUISHES YAHWEH FROM THE ONE SENT BY YAHWEH
Consider Isaiah 61.
The speaker says:
“The Spirit of the Lord GOD is upon Me, because the LORD has anointed Me...”
— Isaiah 61:1
Jesus later applies this passage to Himself.
— Luke 4:18–21
Notice the structure:
YAHWEH:
ANOINTS.
THE MESSIAH:
IS ANOINTED.
YAHWEH'S SPIRIT:
IS UPON HIM.
Again:
THE ONE WHO ANOINTS
is distinguished from:
THE ONE WHO IS ANOINTED.
This distinction appears throughout messianic prophecy.
QUICK FACT 25 — JESUS HIMSELF SAYS HE WAS SENT BY THE FATHER
John's Gospel repeatedly records Jesus saying that:
THE FATHER SENT HIM.
Jesus says:
“My food is that I should do the will of the One having sent Me and should finish His work.”
— John 4:34, BLB
Again:
“My teaching is not Mine, but of the One having sent Me.”
— John 7:16, BLB
Again:
“I have not come of Myself, but He who sent Me is true...”
— John 7:28, BLB
Therefore John's Gospel repeatedly presents:
THE SENDER
and:
THE ONE SENT.
Any interpretation of John 12:41 should remain consistent with this repeated distinction.
QUICK FACT 26 — JESUS IDENTIFIES THE FATHER AS “THE ONLY TRUE GOD”
This statement must also remain part of the discussion.
Jesus prays to His Father:
“Now this is eternal life, that they may know You, the only true God, and Jesus Christ, whom You have sent.”
— John 17:3, BLB
Notice:
“YOU”
↓
THE FATHER:
“THE ONLY TRUE GOD.”
AND:
“JESUS CHRIST”
↓
THE ONE:
“WHOM YOU HAVE SENT.”
Therefore when interpreting John 12:41, we should not isolate one difficult statement from John's wider Gospel.
John 17:3 provides an explicit distinction between:
THE ONLY TRUE GOD
and:
JESUS CHRIST WHOM HE SENT.
CONTINUED IN:
PART THREE
In Part Three we will examine the strongest form of the Trinitarian argument:
ISAIAH 6:1 SAYS ISAIAH SAW “THE LORD.”
ISAIAH 6:5 IDENTIFIES HIM AS “YAHWEH OF HOSTS.”
JOHN 12:41 SAYS ISAIAH SAW “HIS GLORY.”
SO:
DOES THE NEAREST GRAMMATICAL CONTEXT MAKE JESUS THE YAHWEH OF ISAIAH 6?
We will examine this argument fairly rather than avoiding it.
We will also compare:
JOHN 12:41
with:
JOHN 17:3.
ACTS 3:13.
ISAIAH 42:1.
ISAIAH 53.
ISAIAH 61:1.
AND:
THE NEW TESTAMENT PICTURE OF JESUS AT:
THE RIGHT HAND OF GOD.
The question remains:
DID JOHN INTEND TO IDENTIFY JESUS HIMSELF AS YAHWEH—
OR:
IS JOHN SAYING THAT ISAIAH'S PROPHETIC VISIONS AND WORDS ANTICIPATED THE GLORY, SUFFERING AND REJECTION OF GOD'S MESSIAH?
SEARCH THE SCRIPTURES.
COMPARE THE TRANSLATIONS.
READ THE WHOLE CONTEXT.
TEST EVERY INTERPRETATION.
FOLLOW THE BIBLICAL EVIDENCE WHEREVER IT LEADS.
QUICK FACTS:
ISAIAH 6:1 AND JOHN 12:41
DID ISAIAH REALLY SEE JESUS AS YAHWEH GOD?
PART THREE
CONTINUED FROM PART TWO
QUICK FACT 27 — LET US STATE THE STRONGEST TRINITARIAN ARGUMENT FAIRLY
The strongest Trinitarian argument from John 12:41 can be summarized like this:
ISAIAH 6:1:
ISAIAH SEES THE LORD SITTING UPON A THRONE.
↓
ISAIAH 6:3:
THE SERAPHIM DECLARE:
“HOLY, HOLY, HOLY”
concerning:
YAHWEH OF HOSTS.
↓
ISAIAH 6:5:
ISAIAH SAYS HIS EYES HAVE SEEN:
“THE KING, YAHWEH OF HOSTS.”
↓
JOHN 12:40:
JOHN QUOTES:
ISAIAH 6:10.
↓
JOHN 12:41:
JOHN SAYS ISAIAH:
“SAW HIS GLORY AND SPOKE CONCERNING HIM.”
↓
THE IMMEDIATE CONTEXT OF JOHN 12 CONCERNS:
JESUS.
Therefore the Trinitarian conclusion is:
ISAIAH SAW:
JESUS' GLORY.
↓
THE ONE ISAIAH SAW WAS:
YAHWEH.
↓
THEREFORE:
JESUS IS YAHWEH.
This is a serious argument.
We should not dismiss it.
We should:
TEST IT.
QUICK FACT 28 — JOHN 12:41 CAN INDEED REFER TO THE GLORY OF JESUS
We should acknowledge another important point.
The most natural antecedent of:
“HIS”
and:
“HIM”
in John 12:41 can reasonably be understood as:
JESUS.
John has been discussing the people's unbelief in:
JESUS.
Therefore we do not need to argue that:
“HIS GLORY”
cannot possibly mean:
THE GLORY OF JESUS.
It very well can.
But this still leaves the crucial question:
IF ISAIAH SAW THE GLORY OF JESUS PROPHETICALLY,
DOES THAT NECESSARILY MEAN THAT JESUS WAS THE PERSON SITTING UPON YAHWEH'S THRONE IN ISAIAH 6?
That is a further conclusion.
And it must be demonstrated.
QUICK FACT 29 — JOHN SAYS ISAIAH “SAW HIS GLORY AND SPOKE CONCERNING HIM”
Look carefully at John's wording:
“Isaiah said these things because he saw His glory and spoke concerning Him.”
— John 12:41, BLB
John does NOT explicitly say:
THE LORD WHOM ISAIAH SAW SITTING UPON THE THRONE WAS JESUS.
Nor does John explicitly say:
JESUS IS YAHWEH OF HOSTS.
Instead John says Isaiah:
SAW HIS GLORY.
AND:
SPOKE CONCERNING HIM.
That wording can describe:
PROPHETIC VISION
and:
PROPHETIC TESTIMONY
concerning the coming Messiah.
Therefore we must distinguish between:
WHAT JOHN ACTUALLY SAYS
and:
THE THEOLOGICAL CONCLUSION DRAWN FROM WHAT JOHN SAYS.
QUICK FACT 30 — JOHN HAS JUST CONNECTED TWO DIFFERENT ISAIAH PROPHECIES TO JESUS
Remember the structure of the passage.
John does not quote only:
ISAIAH 6.
He first quotes:
ISAIAH 53:1.
“Lord, who has believed our report?”
— John 12:38, BLB
Then he quotes:
ISAIAH 6:10.
Therefore when John says:
“ISAIAH SAID THESE THINGS...”
the plural:
“THESE THINGS”
naturally looks back upon:
THE ISAIAH MATERIAL JOHN HAS JUST QUOTED.
That includes:
ISAIAH 53
AND:
ISAIAH 6.
Isaiah prophetically spoke about:
THE MESSIAH'S REJECTION.
THE UNBELIEF OF THE PEOPLE.
AND:
THE GLORY ASSOCIATED WITH GOD'S SAVING PURPOSE THROUGH THE MESSIAH.
Therefore John 12:41 should be interpreted within:
THE WHOLE PARAGRAPH,
not merely by jumping directly from:
JOHN 12:41
to:
ISAIAH 6:1.
QUICK FACT 31 — ISAIAH 53 DISTINGUISHES YAHWEH FROM HIS SERVANT
This creates an important problem for an overly simple identification.
Isaiah 53 says:
“YAHWEH has laid on Him the iniquity of us all.”
— Isaiah 53:6
The structure is:
YAHWEH:
ACTS UPON:
THE SERVANT.
Again the servant is described as:
“stricken, smitten by God...”
— Isaiah 53:4
Therefore Isaiah's own prophecy distinguishes:
GOD
from:
THE SUFFERING SERVANT.
And this is the very chapter John quotes immediately before John 12:41.
QUICK FACT 32 — JOHN'S PURPOSE IS TO EXPLAIN WHY PEOPLE REJECTED JESUS
We should not lose sight of John's actual subject.
John says:
“Though He had done so many signs before them, they still were not believing in Him.”
— John 12:37, BLB
The problem John is explaining is:
UNBELIEF.
Then Isaiah 53 asks:
“WHO HAS BELIEVED OUR REPORT?”
And Isaiah 6 speaks about:
BLINDED EYES
and:
HARDENED HEARTS.
Therefore John's point is strongly connected with:
THE PROPHETIC REJECTION OF THE MESSIAH.
The passage is not introduced as a discussion answering:
IS JESUS YAHWEH?
That theological question arises from:
AN INFERENCE
made from John's words.
QUICK FACT 33 — JESUS CAN REVEAL GOD'S GLORY WITHOUT BEING THE GOD WHO SENT HIM
John's Gospel repeatedly presents Jesus as:
THE REVELATION OF GOD.
Jesus reveals:
THE FATHER.
He performs:
THE FATHER'S WORKS.
He speaks:
THE FATHER'S WORDS.
And God's glory is revealed:
THROUGH HIM.
John writes concerning Jesus' first sign:
“He thus revealed His glory, and His disciples believed in Him.”
— John 2:11, BLB
Jesus unquestionably possesses:
MESSIANIC GLORY.
But Jesus also says:
“My teaching is not Mine, but of the One having sent Me.”
— John 7:16, BLB
And:
“The Father having sent Me, He has given Me commandment what I should say and what I should speak.”
— John 12:49, BLB
Therefore John simultaneously presents:
THE GLORY OF JESUS
and:
JESUS' DEPENDENCE UPON AND COMMISSION FROM THE FATHER.
QUICK FACT 34 — JOHN 12 ITSELF DISTINGUISHES JESUS FROM THE FATHER
This is especially important because we do not even need to leave:
JOHN 12.
Jesus says:
“The one believing in Me, does not believe in Me, but in the One having sent Me.”
— John 12:44, BLB
Then:
“And the one beholding Me, beholds the One having sent Me.”
— John 12:45, BLB
Notice:
JESUS:
WAS SENT.
THE FATHER:
SENT HIM.
Jesus perfectly represents:
THE ONE WHO SENT HIM.
Therefore seeing Jesus can mean seeing:
THE ONE JESUS REPRESENTS.
But representation does not automatically mean:
THE SENDER AND THE SENT ONE ARE THE SAME PERSON.
CONTINUED IN:
PART FOUR
In Part Four we will continue with:
QUICK FACT 35 — JESUS EXPLAINS WHY SEEING HIM REVEALS THE FATHER.
We will examine:
JOHN 14:9–10.
JOHN 17:22.
ACTS 3:13.
ACTS 7:55–56.
ACTS 2:33.
PHILIPPIANS 2:9.
AND:
JOHN 17:3.
We will ask:
CAN JESUS POSSESS AND REVEAL GOD'S GLORY WITHOUT BEING THE GOD WHO GAVE HIM THAT GLORY?
And then:
PART FIVE
will give our:
FINAL CONCLUSION.
SEARCH THE SCRIPTURES.
COMPARE THE TRANSLATIONS.
READ THE WHOLE CONTEXT.
DISTINGUISH WHAT THE TEXT ACTUALLY SAYS FROM WHAT IS INFERRED FROM IT.
TEST EVERY INTERPRETATION.
FOLLOW THE BIBLICAL EVIDENCE WHEREVER IT LEADS.
QUICK FACTS:
ISAIAH 6:1 AND JOHN 12:41
DID ISAIAH REALLY SEE JESUS AS YAHWEH GOD?
PART FOUR
CONTINUED FROM PART THREE
QUICK FACT 35 — JESUS EXPLAINS WHY SEEING HIM REVEALS THE FATHER
Jesus says:
“The one having seen Me has seen the Father.”
— John 14:9, BLB
This statement is sometimes understood to mean:
JESUS IS THE FATHER
or:
JESUS IS THE SAME GOD WHOM HE CALLS THE FATHER.
But Jesus immediately explains His words:
“Do you not believe that I am in the Father, and the Father is in Me? The words that I speak to you, I do not speak from Myself; but the Father dwelling in Me does His works.”
— John 14:10, BLB
Notice:
JESUS DOES NOT SPEAK:
FROM HIMSELF.
↓
THE FATHER:
DWELLS IN JESUS.
↓
THE FATHER:
DOES HIS WORKS THROUGH JESUS.
Therefore Jesus perfectly:
REVEALS.
REPRESENTS.
AND:
MAKES KNOWN
the Father who sent Him.
Seeing Jesus therefore reveals:
THE FATHER.
But this does not require Jesus and the Father to be:
THE SAME PERSON.
QUICK FACT 36 — GOD GAVE JESUS GLORY
Jesus says to His Father:
“The glory which You have given Me, I have given them...”
— John 17:22, BLB
Notice the direction:
THE FATHER:
↓
GIVES GLORY TO:
JESUS.
Then:
JESUS:
↓
GIVES GLORY TO:
HIS DISCIPLES.
This is extremely important for John 12:41.
If:
POSSESSING GOD-GIVEN GLORY
automatically meant:
BEING YAHWEH,
then the disciples receiving glory would create an obvious problem.
Therefore:
GLORY CAN BE GIVEN.
GLORY CAN BE SHARED.
GLORY CAN BE REVEALED.
And:
GLORY CAN BE RECEIVED.
Consequently, the statement that Isaiah:
“SAW HIS GLORY”
does not by itself prove:
JESUS IS YAHWEH.
QUICK FACT 37 — THE GOD OF ABRAHAM GLORIFIED JESUS
Peter gives us an especially clear statement:
“The God of Abraham and Isaac and Jacob, the God of our fathers, glorified His servant Jesus...”
— Acts 3:13, BLB
Notice carefully:
THE GOD OF ABRAHAM, ISAAC AND JACOB:
↓
GLORIFIED:
HIS SERVANT JESUS.
This passage identifies:
THE ONE WHO GLORIFIES
and:
THE ONE WHO IS GLORIFIED.
Jesus unquestionably possesses:
GLORY.
But according to Peter:
GOD:
GLORIFIED JESUS.
Therefore Christ's glory does not automatically identify Him as:
THE GOD WHO GLORIFIED HIM.
QUICK FACT 38 — STEPHEN SAW THE GLORY OF GOD AND JESUS AT GOD'S RIGHT HAND
Acts gives us another remarkable vision.
Stephen:
“being full of the Holy Spirit, having looked intently into heaven, saw the glory of God, and Jesus standing at the right hand of God.”
— Acts 7:55, BLB
Then Stephen says:
“Behold, I see the heavens having been opened, and the Son of Man standing at the right hand of God.”
— Acts 7:56, BLB
Notice what Stephen sees:
THE GLORY OF:
GOD.
AND:
JESUS:
AT THE RIGHT HAND OF GOD.
This is a very important distinction.
Jesus is:
GLORIFIED.
EXALTED.
AND:
STANDING IN HEAVENLY AUTHORITY.
Yet He remains:
THE SON OF MAN
standing:
AT THE RIGHT HAND OF GOD.
QUICK FACT 39 — GOD EXALTED JESUS TO HIS RIGHT HAND
Peter says concerning Jesus:
“Therefore having been exalted to the right hand of God...”
— Acts 2:33, BLB
Notice:
JESUS DID NOT EXALT HIMSELF.
He was:
“EXALTED.”
And His position is:
“AT THE RIGHT HAND OF GOD.”
Again we have:
GOD:
AND:
THE EXALTED MESSIAH.
This agrees with the famous messianic prophecy:
“Yahweh says to my Lord: Sit at My right hand...”
— Psalm 110:1
One speaks.
The other is invited to sit:
AT HIS RIGHT HAND.
QUICK FACT 40 — GOD “HIGHLY EXALTED” JESUS
Paul likewise says:
“Therefore God also highly exalted Him, and granted to Him the name above every name...”
— Philippians 2:9, BLB
Notice the direction once again:
GOD:
↓
HIGHLY EXALTS:
JESUS.
GOD:
↓
GRANTS SOMETHING TO:
JESUS.
Therefore the extraordinary exaltation and glory of Jesus do not require us to identify Jesus as:
THE GOD WHO EXALTED HIM.
Instead the New Testament repeatedly presents Jesus as:
GOD'S EXALTED MESSIAH.
QUICK FACT 41 — JESUS' GLORY CAN THEREFORE BE THE GLORY OF GOD'S EXALTED MESSIAH
Now return to John 12:41:
“Isaiah said these things because he saw His glory and spoke concerning Him.”
— John 12:41, BLB
Suppose:
“HIS GLORY”
does refer to:
JESUS.
Does that prove:
JESUS IS YAHWEH?
Not necessarily.
The New Testament tells us:
GOD GLORIFIED JESUS.
↓
GOD EXALTED JESUS.
↓
GOD SEATED JESUS AT HIS RIGHT HAND.
↓
JESUS RECEIVED GLORY.
↓
JESUS WILL COME IN GLORY.
Therefore Isaiah could prophetically:
SEE THE GLORY OF THE COMING MESSIAH
without John necessarily identifying that Messiah as:
YAHWEH HIMSELF.
QUICK FACT 42 — JESUS DISTINGUISHES HIMSELF FROM “THE ONLY TRUE GOD”
This is one of the clearest statements in John's Gospel.
Jesus raises His eyes toward heaven and speaks to:
THE FATHER.
Then He says:
“Now this is eternal life, that they may know You, the only true God, and Jesus Christ, whom You have sent.”
— John 17:3, BLB
Notice the structure:
THE FATHER:
↓
“YOU”
↓
“THE ONLY TRUE GOD.”
AND:
JESUS CHRIST:
↓
THE ONE:
“WHOM YOU HAVE SENT.”
This is not an inference from a pronoun.
It is an:
EXPLICIT STATEMENT
from Jesus Himself.
Therefore John 12:41 should be interpreted in harmony with:
JOHN 17:3.
QUICK FACT 43 — ISAIAH'S OWN LANGUAGE ABOUT YAHWEH IS ALSO EXPLICIT
Isaiah says:
“O LORD our God... all the kingdoms of the earth may know that You alone are the LORD.”
— Isaiah 37:20
Yahweh says:
“I am the LORD, and there is no other; besides Me there is no God.”
— Isaiah 45:5
Again:
“I am God, and there is no other.”
— Isaiah 46:9
Therefore Isaiah's repeated testimony concerning God is:
ONE YAHWEH.
ONE GOD.
NO OTHER GOD BESIDES HIM.
At the same time Isaiah speaks of:
HIS SERVANT.
HIS CHOSEN ONE.
HIS ANOINTED ONE.
THE ONE UPON WHOM HE PUTS HIS SPIRIT.
AND:
THE SUFFERING SERVANT UPON WHOM YAHWEH LAYS THE INIQUITY OF US ALL.
These distinctions should not disappear when we reach:
JOHN 12:41.
QUICK FACT 44 — THE SERVANT IS SENT AND EMPOWERED BY YAHWEH
Isaiah says:
“Behold My Servant, whom I uphold, My Chosen One in whom My soul delights. I have put My Spirit upon Him...”
— Isaiah 42:1
Notice:
YAHWEH:
HAS A SERVANT.
YAHWEH:
UPHOLDS HIM.
YAHWEH:
CHOSES HIM.
YAHWEH:
DELIGHTS IN HIM.
YAHWEH:
PUTS HIS SPIRIT UPON HIM.
This prophetic pattern is fulfilled in the New Testament Messiah.
Therefore Isaiah itself gives us a distinction between:
YAHWEH
and:
HIS CHOSEN SERVANT.
QUICK FACT 45 — ISAIAH 53 MAKES THE DISTINCTION ESPECIALLY CLEAR
Isaiah says:
“Yahweh has laid on Him the iniquity of us all.”
— Isaiah 53:6
Ask the simple question:
WHO LAYS THE INIQUITY?
YAHWEH.
ON WHOM DOES HE LAY IT?
THE SUFFERING SERVANT.
Again:
THE ONE ACTING
is distinguished from:
THE ONE UPON WHOM HE ACTS.
And remember:
JOHN 12 ITSELF QUOTES THIS VERY CHAPTER.
John 12:38 quotes:
ISAIAH 53:1.
Therefore John's immediate context includes a prophecy in which:
YAHWEH
and:
THE SUFFERING SERVANT
are distinguished.
QUICK FACT 46 — JOHN 12:41 SHOULD NOT BE MADE TO SAY MORE THAN JOHN ACTUALLY WROTE
We can now make a very important distinction.
WHAT JOHN ACTUALLY SAYS:
ISAIAH:
“SAW HIS GLORY”
AND:
“SPOKE CONCERNING HIM.”
WHAT JOHN DOES NOT EXPLICITLY SAY:
“JESUS IS YAHWEH.”
John does not write:
“JESUS WAS THE YAHWEH WHOM ISAIAH SAW SITTING UPON THE THRONE.”
That conclusion comes from:
INTERPRETING
John's reference to:
“HIS GLORY.”
It may be presented as a theological argument.
But it should not be presented as though John explicitly wrote the sentence:
JESUS IS YAHWEH.
He did not.
QUICK FACT 47 — THE REAL ISSUE IS THE DIFFERENCE BETWEEN REVELATION AND IDENTITY
This may be the key to understanding the entire question.
JESUS REVEALS:
GOD.
JESUS SPEAKS:
GOD'S WORDS.
JESUS PERFORMS:
GOD'S WORKS.
JESUS RECEIVES:
GOD-GIVEN GLORY.
JESUS IS:
GOD'S IMAGE.
JESUS IS:
GOD'S MESSIAH.
JESUS IS:
GOD'S SON.
JESUS IS:
GOD'S EXALTED SERVANT.
Therefore seeing the glory of Jesus can reveal:
THE GLORY OF GOD WORKING THROUGH HIS MESSIAH.
But:
REVEALING GOD
does not automatically mean:
BEING THE SAME GOD WHO IS REVEALED.
That distinction must remain central to our interpretation.
CONTINUED IN:
PART FIVE — FINAL CONCLUSION
We now have all the principal evidence before us.
In the final part we will answer directly:
DID ISAIAH SEE JESUS AS YAHWEH GOD?
We will bring together:
ISAIAH 6.
ISAIAH 42.
ISAIAH 53.
JOHN 12:37–41.
JOHN 17:3.
ACTS 3:13.
ACTS 7:55–56.
AND:
THE GLORY OF THE EXALTED MESSIAH.
We will also clearly distinguish:
WHAT JOHN 12:41 ACTUALLY PROVES
from:
WHAT IS THEOLOGICALLY INFERRED FROM IT.
Then we will finish the article.
SEARCH THE SCRIPTURES.
COMPARE THE TRANSLATIONS.
READ THE WHOLE CONTEXT.
DISTINGUISH EXPLICIT STATEMENTS FROM THEOLOGICAL INFERENCES.
TEST EVERY INTERPRETATION.
FOLLOW THE BIBLICAL EVIDENCE WHEREVER IT LEADS.
QUICK FACTS:
ISAIAH 6:1 AND JOHN 12:41
DID ISAIAH REALLY SEE JESUS AS YAHWEH GOD?
PART FIVE — FINAL CONCLUSION
CONTINUED FROM PART FOUR
QUICK FACT 48 — LET US BEGIN WITH WHAT WE CAN SAY WITH CONFIDENCE
After examining the whole context, several facts are clear.
ISAIAH 6:
DESCRIBES A VISION OF YAHWEH'S GLORY.
ISAIAH 53:
DESCRIBES YAHWEH'S SUFFERING SERVANT.
JOHN 12:38:
QUOTES ISAIAH 53:1.
JOHN 12:40:
QUOTES ISAIAH 6:10.
JOHN 12:41:
SAYS ISAIAH:
“SAW HIS GLORY AND SPOKE CONCERNING HIM.”
And the surrounding context concerns:
JESUS CHRIST.
These facts should all be acknowledged.
The question is not whether John connects Isaiah's prophecies with:
JESUS.
He clearly does.
The question is:
DOES THAT CONNECTION PROVE THAT JESUS HIMSELF IS YAHWEH?
QUICK FACT 49 — JOHN 12:41 CAN REFER TO JESUS WITHOUT SAYING “JESUS IS YAHWEH”
This distinction is extremely important.
We do not need to deny that:
“HIS GLORY”
and:
“CONCERNING HIM”
refer to:
JESUS.
They very reasonably can.
But John still does not write:
JESUS IS YAHWEH.
Nor does he explicitly write:
JESUS WAS THE PERSON ISAIAH SAW SITTING UPON THE THRONE.
John says Isaiah:
SAW HIS GLORY
and:
SPOKE CONCERNING HIM.
Therefore the conclusion:
“JESUS IS YAHWEH”
requires an additional interpretive step.
QUICK FACT 50 — ISAIAH'S PROPHECIES THEMSELVES DISTINGUISH YAHWEH FROM HIS MESSIANIC SERVANT
This evidence cannot simply be ignored.
Isaiah says:
“Behold My Servant, whom I uphold, My Chosen One in whom My soul delights. I have put My Spirit upon Him...”
— Isaiah 42:1
The pattern is:
YAHWEH:
↓
HAS A SERVANT.
↓
CHOSES HIM.
↓
DELIGHTS IN HIM.
↓
PUTS HIS SPIRIT UPON HIM.
Then Isaiah 53 says:
“Yahweh has laid on Him the iniquity of us all.”
— Isaiah 53:6
Again:
YAHWEH:
↓
ACTS UPON:
THE SERVANT.
This distinction runs directly through the very messianic material John applies to:
JESUS.
QUICK FACT 51 — JESUS HIMSELF IDENTIFIES THE FATHER AS “THE ONLY TRUE GOD”
Now compare John 12:41 with one of the clearest statements in the same Gospel.
Jesus prays to:
THE FATHER.
And says:
“Now this is eternal life, that they may know You, the only true God, and Jesus Christ, whom You have sent.”
— John 17:3, BLB
The structure is unmistakable:
THE FATHER:
↓
“THE ONLY TRUE GOD.”
AND:
JESUS CHRIST:
↓
THE ONE:
“WHOM YOU HAVE SENT.”
Therefore our interpretation of the more difficult:
JOHN 12:41
should be tested against the explicit statement of:
JOHN 17:3.
QUICK FACT 52 — THE APOSTLES CONTINUE THE SAME DISTINCTION AFTER THE RESURRECTION
The distinction does not disappear after Jesus is raised and glorified.
Peter says:
“The God of Abraham and Isaac and Jacob, the God of our fathers, glorified His servant Jesus...”
— Acts 3:13, BLB
Notice:
THE GOD OF ABRAHAM:
↓
GLORIFIED:
JESUS.
Stephen later sees:
“the glory of God, and Jesus standing at the right hand of God.”
— Acts 7:55, BLB
Again:
GOD.
AND:
JESUS AT GOD'S RIGHT HAND.
Therefore the glorification of Jesus does not erase the distinction between:
GOD
and:
HIS EXALTED MESSIAH.
QUICK FACT 53 — SEEING THE GLORY OF JESUS DOES NOT REQUIRE JESUS TO BE THE GOD WHO GLORIFIED HIM
This is the central point.
Jesus possesses extraordinary:
GLORY.
But Scripture also says:
GOD GLORIFIED JESUS.
GOD EXALTED JESUS.
GOD GAVE JESUS AUTHORITY.
GOD SEATED JESUS AT HIS RIGHT HAND.
Therefore:
THE GLORY OF JESUS
can be understood as:
THE GLORY OF GOD'S CHOSEN AND EXALTED MESSIAH.
John can therefore say Isaiah:
“SAW HIS GLORY”
without necessarily saying:
JESUS IS YAHWEH.
QUICK FACT 54 — JOHN'S PURPOSE IS MESSIANIC, NOT TO GIVE A TRINITY FORMULA
Why does John quote Isaiah in this passage?
John has just told us:
“Though He had done so many signs before them, they still were not believing in Him.”
— John 12:37, BLB
Then comes:
ISAIAH 53:
“WHO HAS BELIEVED OUR REPORT?”
Then:
ISAIAH 6:
BLINDED EYES.
HARDENED HEARTS.
John is explaining:
THE UNBELIEF AND REJECTION OF JESUS.
Isaiah had prophetically spoken concerning:
THE COMING MESSIAH
and:
THE REJECTION ASSOCIATED WITH HIM.
John sees those prophecies reaching their fulfillment in:
JESUS CHRIST.
QUICK FACT 55 — WE SHOULD DISTINGUISH WHAT THE TEXT SAYS FROM WHAT THEOLOGY INFERS
This is essential in careful Bible study.
THE TEXT SAYS:
ISAIAH SAW:
“HIS GLORY.”
THE TEXT SAYS:
ISAIAH:
“SPOKE CONCERNING HIM.”
THE TEXT DOES NOT SAY:
“JESUS IS YAHWEH.”
THE TEXT DOES NOT SAY:
“JESUS IS GOD THE SON.”
THE TEXT DOES NOT SAY:
“YAHWEH IS THREE PERSONS.”
THE TEXT DOES NOT SAY:
“THE PERSON UPON THE THRONE IN ISAIAH 6 WAS JESUS.”
Those conclusions belong to:
THEOLOGICAL INTERPRETATION.
They should therefore be:
TESTED
rather than simply:
ASSUMED.
QUICK FACT 56 — THIS DOES NOT DIMINISH THE GLORY OF JESUS
Rejecting the conclusion that John 12:41 necessarily identifies Jesus as Yahweh does not require diminishing:
JESUS CHRIST.
The New Testament presents Him as:
THE SON OF GOD.
THE CHRIST.
THE LORD MESSIAH.
THE SAVIOUR.
THE ONE SENT BY GOD.
THE IMAGE OF GOD.
THE ONE THROUGH WHOM GOD WORKS.
THE ONE GOD RAISED FROM THE DEAD.
THE ONE GOD EXALTED.
THE ONE GIVEN AUTHORITY.
AND:
THE ONE SEATED AT GOD'S RIGHT HAND.
Jesus has extraordinary glory precisely because:
GOD HAS EXALTED HIS MESSIAH.
QUICK FACT 57 — THE QUESTION SHOULD FINALLY BE ANSWERED FROM THE WHOLE CONTEXT
So:
DID ISAIAH REALLY SEE JESUS AS YAHWEH GOD?
John 12:41 certainly connects:
ISAIAH'S PROPHETIC VISION AND WORDS
with:
JESUS CHRIST.
It is also reasonable to understand:
“HIS GLORY”
as referring to:
JESUS.
But that does not by itself prove:
JESUS IS YAHWEH.
Why?
Because the wider biblical evidence repeatedly distinguishes:
YAHWEH
from:
HIS SERVANT.
GOD
from:
THE MESSIAH.
THE ONE WHO SENDS
from:
THE ONE SENT.
THE ONE WHO GLORIFIES
from:
THE ONE GLORIFIED.
AND:
GOD
from:
JESUS AT HIS RIGHT HAND.
FINAL CONCLUSION
John 12:41 is undoubtedly an important verse.
It deserves serious consideration.
And we should not weaken our case by denying the genuine connection between:
JOHN 12:40
and:
ISAIAH 6:10.
There is a connection.
But the claim:
“JOHN 12:41 PROVES JESUS IS YAHWEH”
goes further than John's explicit words.
John tells us:
ISAIAH SAW CHRIST'S GLORY
and:
SPOKE CONCERNING CHRIST.
But Isaiah also explicitly distinguishes:
YAHWEH
from:
HIS SERVANT.
And John records Jesus distinguishing Himself from:
THE FATHER
whom He calls:
“THE ONLY TRUE GOD.”
— John 17:3
Therefore John 12:41 should not be isolated from:
ISAIAH'S OWN THEOLOGY
or:
JOHN'S OWN GOSPEL.
The complete biblical picture is:
YAHWEH:
THE ONE GOD.
↓
YAHWEH PROMISES:
HIS SERVANT.
↓
THE SERVANT:
IS SENT.
↓
THE SERVANT:
SUFFERS.
↓
THE SERVANT:
IS REJECTED.
↓
GOD:
RAISES HIM.
↓
GOD:
GLORIFIES HIM.
↓
GOD:
EXALTS HIM.
↓
JESUS CHRIST:
SITS AT THE RIGHT HAND OF GOD.
Therefore Isaiah's prophetic vision of:
THE GLORY OF THE COMING MESSIAH
does not require us to redefine the Messiah as:
YAHWEH HIMSELF.
Rather, it reveals the extraordinary glory God would give to:
HIS CHOSEN MESSIAH,
JESUS CHRIST.
So when someone says:
“JOHN 12:41 PROVES THAT JESUS IS YAHWEH,”
ask:
DOES JOHN ACTUALLY SAY THAT?
Then read:
ISAIAH 6.
ISAIAH 42.
ISAIAH 53.
JOHN 12:37–41.
JOHN 17:3.
ACTS 3:13.
AND:
ACTS 7:55–56.
Read them together.
Distinguish:
WHAT THE TEXT EXPLICITLY SAYS
from:
WHAT IS INFERRED FROM IT.
SEARCH THE SCRIPTURES.
COMPARE THE TRANSLATIONS.
READ THE CONTEXT.
EXAMINE THE ORIGINAL LANGUAGES WHERE NECESSARY.
TEST EVERY INTERPRETATION.
AND:
FOLLOW THE BIBLICAL EVIDENCE WHEREVER IT LEADS.
END OF QUICK FACTS STUDY
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