The Beginning of the New Covenant
READ Matt 3; Mark 1:1-13; Mal 3:1-6; 4:1-3.
Matt 3: Ministry of the Baptist (more detailed account)
NET Bible, Matt 3.4:
"John’s lifestyle was in stark contrast to many of the religious leaders of Jerusalem who lived in relative ease and luxury. While his clothing and diet were indicative of someone who lived in the desert, they also depicted him in his role as God’s prophet (cf. Zech 13:4); his appearance is similar to the Prophet Elijah (2 Kgs 1:8)."
Ministry Highlights
He prepares the way for the lord Messiah, not LORD God!
He is the son of man, i.e., human Messiah, supreme, unique agent of YHWH (Mal 3.1, the way for the LORD God becomes the lord Jesus).
Jesus is greater than, will outrank John because he is made "more powerful," Mat 3.11; Mar 1.7; but not because he was "a man" who existed before him, John 1.15, 30!
Video Translators' Corruption of Scripture: "He existed before me," John 1
Matthew 3:10 "The axe is already laid at the root of the trees; therefore every tree that does not bear good fruit is cut down and thrown into the fire."
v. 12 "His winnowing fork is in His hand, and He will thoroughly clear His threshing floor; and He will gather His wheat into the barn, but He will burn up the chaff with unquenchable fire.”
REMEMBER this will happen "On that Day," i.e., "The Day of the LORD,” Isa 13:9; Zeph 1:15; 2:1-3; Mal 4:1;
vv. 10, 12 echoes one of the most used OT texts by the NT writers, Ps 21:9 (27x) “thrown in furnace, burned in fire”;
The bad news ends in joyous, good news, drawing heavily on the OT prophetic tradition, Isaiah 40:1-11;
These prophecies seem forgotten, ignored, missed by the Amill, Kingdom Now crowd.
Mark 1:Messengers of the NC
Mark applies various OT texts to both John the Baptist and Jesus.
v.2 “Look, I am sending My messenger ahead of you, who will prepare your way [Ex 23:20; Mal 3:1].
v.3b Prepare the way for the Lord, make his paths straight. [Isa 40:3];
Mark makes slight, yet important changes to some of these texts from the Hebrew and Old Greek translation.
Mark changes Mal 3:1 from “prepare the way before me” (in ref. to YHWH, the one God) to “prepare your way” (in ref. to Jesus, the messenger of the covenant).
The reason for the change was to allow for a messianic interpretation of the text as opposed to Mark using them to somehow prove Jesus was literally YHWH. That would make 1 YHWH too many according to the Shema of Deut 6:4 (which Jesus himself calls the most important of all the commandments in Mar 12.29).
J.D. Tabor in his book The Jesus Dynasty notes that “We now have a version of this very passage from Malachi found among the Dead Sea Scrolls. This scroll dates to the 1st century B.C., so it is a thousand years older than our standard Hebrew text. Notice carefully the differences in the pronouns: ‘Therefore behold I send my messenger, and he shall prepare the way before me. And they will suddenly come to his temple, the Lord whom you seek and the messenger of the covenant, whom you desire; behold he himself comes, says Yahweh of hosts, but who can endure them when they come?’ This ancient version of Malachi has two figures that are to come jointly—a messenger of the covenant who prepares the Way, but also one called "the Lord whom you seek. The word translated "Lord" ('adon) is not the Hebrew name for God, Yahweh, but a word that means a "master" or ruler of some type. It may well be that Jesus and John the Baptizer were familiar with this version of Malachi with the plural pronouns, and identified themselves accordingly. This was certainly the understanding of the Essenes who wrote the Dead Sea Scrolls.” (2007, p 147)
So the real point of Mark’s use of these OT texts was to mark the beginning of the Kingdom Gospel as preached by both the Baptist and Jesus.
And like the angel leading Israel in the desert (Ex 23:20) and the messenger who prepares the way in Mal 3:1 (later identified as the peophet Elijah in Mal 4:5), the Baptist is guided by the same spirit that inspired them.
Hence, Jesus says in Matt 11:13 For all the Prophets and the Law prophesied until John. 14 And if you are willing to accept it, he is the Elijah who was to come.
Matthew is obviously not using the word “is” in a literal way.
In other words, John is Elijah means he manifested and embodied that same Messianic, prophetic spirit of the person of Elijah.
Similarly, we can say Jesus is YHWH meaning he manifests and embodies the attributes and activities of YHWH, the God and Father of our lord Christ.
ADDENDUM: Biblical Agency
Malachi 3-4 and others show that application of OT texts about God applied to others does not they are God.
Sarah's saying: shared titles, names, attributes does not mean the same ID.
https://thehumanjesus.org/2023/02/14/biblical-agency/
https://thehumanjesus.org/2024/12/05/speaking-for-and-as-god/
Until They Came
Gal 3.23-29 “before faith came," i.e., when Christ first came preaching and teaching his New Covenant laws;
v.24 until Christ, cp. until John, Luke 16.16;
SUMMARY
2Cor 3.6 God "qualified us as ministers of a new covenant"!
Luke 16.16 and Matthew 11.13 the Law and the prophets in effect or in force until John (as some translations say).
NOTE this does not mean until Jesus finished his work, i.e., died on the cross!
John’s NC baptism-ministry marked the beginning of the end (as it were) of the Jewish Temple system as a whole.
The baptism in water for the remission of sins made you right with God, (no longer any need for Temple rituals).
As a result, displacing the Temple as the center of the sin-offering for the individual and, as a result, for the people of God as a whole.
Later, the Messiah brings the power of the holy spirit to water baptism, i.e., the Great Comission for the church.
