8th January, 2015
Hi “CP” and “D”,
I am glad that you noticed how I struggled to reconcile the New Testament with the Tanach (OT) scriptures especially on the issue of Jesus as the ‘Lamb of God’ or the ‘Passover lamb’ offered as a sacrifice for the atonement of sin, according to John. And you said in your letter it’s not “a problem” to you but “a confirmation.” Confirmation of what?
Also, Paul said ‘Jesus is our Passover lamb’ (1Cor. 5:7). You mentioned also that Paul was an Old Testament scholar, a Pharisee who knew the connection. Maybe so. Please explain, it might help me understand.
You also mentioned that payment for sin involves a blood sacrifice, a practice in many cultures, that even the Chinese have the same tradition of animal sacrifice. I have no quarrel with that. But, a human sacrifice is something else.
In the Tanach human sacrifice is an abomination to God. Why is this allowed in the New Testament, when Jesus, a man, crucified, died, on the cross was acceptable? This is just one of the problems.
Here is another one. In the New Testament John and Paul draw a connection between the Passover lamb with Jesus. However, in gospels of Matthew, Mark, and Luke, there seem to be no connection. In the gospels it would appear that the Apostles were simply celebrating the Passover by doing the Seder, as it was the practice of Jews; eating together in the manner they were instructed to do with unleavened bread, roasted bone shank of a lamb, and bitter herbs. The celebration commemorates the Exodus experience, the flight of the Israelites from Egypt (Ex. 12 & 13).
In so far as the genealogy of Jesus is concerned, I have already taken this up with you in my 1st letter of the 1st October, 2013 where I pointed out certain discrepancies in both Matthew and Luke. I would suggest to please refer to it again and tell me what you think. And maybe, you can also explain what the term “the Son of God” means as this is always used to refer to Jesus.
I might as well take this opportunity to ask, why man needs a mediator, an advocate, or a middle man to approach God? I used to tell myself, and of course others, that if you sin and have Jesus as your advocate it’s a “win-win” situation. If Jesus is your advocate and he is also God, who is the judge, for sure you will be absolved of any wrongdoing, right?
As we used to say before, “it’s not what you know but who you know,” a saying which became popular with politicians.
Looking forward to your early reply. I would certainly appreciate your helping me out in my “struggles.” I certainly also appreciate keeping this correspondence open, especially between friends, as these would help me a lot in my studies of the Scriptures, both the New Testament, as the foundation of the Christian faith, and the Tanach (OT).
May GOD (YHVH) continue to bless you, your family, and loved ones, abundantly.
VAN & BAN@S6K
