Yahweh's Unique Son
We read in Scripture that Yahweh has sons (plural). Some of His sons (angelic, spirit beings) shouted for joy when He created the earth (Job 38:7). Yahweh Himself says (Exodus 4:22), "Israel is my firstborn son." He even calls His individual Israelite people (Hosea 1:10) "sons of the living God." The first man Adam is called "the son of God" in Luke 3:38.[1] So how can we speak of Yahweh's one and only Son? What makes Yeshua unique from all the other children of Yahweh?
To answer this question, let's turn to Luke chapter 1, which gives us a narrative of the birth of Yeshua. If we want to learn something about who Yeshua is, I think that reading and studying his birth narrative is a great place to do so. I will center in on the points in the text that directly relate to who Yeshua is.
In Luke 1:26-31, an angel named Gabriel was sent from Yahweh to a young, virgin woman named Mary. Mary was blessed in finding the favor of Yahweh. She was told that she would give birth to a son, and she was to call his name Yeshua. The more common, English name Jesus is derived from the Hebrew name Yeshua, which means "he will save."
Luke 1:32-33 He will be great, and will be called the Son of the Most High. The Lord God will give him the throne of his father, David, and he will reign over the house of Jacob forever. There will be no end to his Kingdom."
We see that Mary's child is going to be extremely important, because he is the Son of the Most High. Recognize this though: he's not the Most High. To be the Most High means that there is no one higher. Yahweh is the Most High, and Yeshua is the Son of the Most High.
Later in this chapter we read that John the Baptizer will be called a prophet of the Most High (Luke 1:76), which means he is the Most High's prophet. No one misunderstands that statement about John. The statement about Yeshua is just as easy to understand. Whereas John is a prophet of the Most High, Yeshua is the Son of the Most High. Neither man is the Most High.[2]
Even the demons realize this position of Yeshua. In Mark 5, it is recorded that an unclean spirit inside of a man cried out to Yeshua (vs. 7) saying, "What have I to do with you, Yeshua, you Son of the Most High God? I adjure you by God, don't torment me." Notice that the unclean spirit recognized who Yeshua was, and who the Most High God was. James 2:19 lets us know that the demons believe in one God. Mark 5:7 lets us know that demons believe Yeshua is the Son of that one Most High God.[3]
Gabriel also says (Luke 1:32) that the Lord God (Yahweh) shall give unto him (Yeshua) the throne of his father David. Notice that Yeshua is given the throne,[4] and that Yeshua's ancestor is king David. Yeshua is a descendant of David; he is a human being, but a unique human being because of his conception. He is both the Son of man and the Son of God.
Luke 1:34-35 :: Mary said to the angel, "How can this be, seeing I am a virgin?" The angel answered her, "The Holy Spirit will come on you, and the power of the Most High will overshadow you. Therefore also the holy one who is born from you will be called the Son of God.
Mary was a young virgin, but she was old enough to know how women get pregnant. It amazed her that the angel was saying she would birth a son, because she had never been intimate with a man. It wasn't humanly possible for such to happen.
When Gabriel answered her, he didn't say anything about Joseph becoming her husband and going in unto Mary. That's not how this conception would take place. Instead, the Spirit of Yahweh or the Power of the Highest would overshadow Mary. What happened inside of Mary's womb would be a miracle. She would become pregnant without the aid of a man. It would be a miraculous, virgin conception and birth.[5]
There had been miraculous births in Hebrew history. Sarah conceived and birthed Isaac, even though she was passed the age of child-bearing (Genesis 17:17-21). Yahweh had to perform a miracle upon old Sarah's womb in order for her to have a baby, but in that case, Abraham went in unto Sarah. He knew Sarah (sexually). In this account, Joseph did not go in unto Mary. As a matter of fact, the parallel account in Matthew tells us that Joseph knew her not, until she had brought forth her firstborn son (Matthew 1:25 KJV). Joseph did not have sexual relations with Mary to produce Yeshua. The power or Spirit of the Highest (Yahweh) is what caused Yeshua to come into existence.[6]
After Gabriel explains to Mary how the conception would happen, he says "therefore," meaning "for this reason."[7] It is because of the miracle upon the womb of Mary; it is because of how the conception of Yeshua took place; it is for this reason that he will be called the Son of God.
Do you think that after Mary heard these words from Gabriel, she thought she was going to give birth to the Most High? I think she believed exactly what Gabriel told her. She would give birth to the Son of the Most High (Luke 1:38). This is why Yeshua is unique. This is why John can record that he is Yahweh's only begotten Son.[8]
John 3:16 :: For God so loved the world, that he gave his one and only Son, that whoever believes in him should not perish, but have eternal life. [see also John 1:14, 18; 3:18; 1 John 4:9][9]
There is only one Son of Yahweh, in this way. He holds this position all by himself. Yahweh chose to beget a Son directly by the power of His Spirit. He caused a miracle to happen upon a virgin woman.
The first man Adam was made from the dust of the earth. Yahweh directly created him, so Adam is called God's Son (Luke 3:38). But Adam wasn't begotten by the Spirit of Yahweh in the manner that Yeshua was. Yeshua was Yahweh's word, the breath of His mouth (Psalm 33:6) made into a human being (John 1:14). That word that Yahweh spoke in the beginning (Genesis 1:3; John 1:1), coming from His intellect, mind, thought, and plan; that word took on human form in the person of Yeshua. Yeshua of Nazareth is what the word of Yahweh became.
If you sat across the dinner table from me, and asked me what my father does for a living, you'd get an answer you've probably heard before. If you sat across the dinner table from Yeshua and asked him what his Father does for a living, he could say, "My Father runs the universe. He is the Creator of the heavens and the earth." He is the only man that could say such in that manner, because he is the only man to be begotten by the Spirit of Yahweh, through the womb of a woman, without the aid of a man.[10] That is an amazing thought. Yeshua really is Yahweh's Son.
This is why Mark can begin his gospel (1:1) with: "The beginning of the gospel of Yeshua (the) Christ, the Son of God." This is why John the baptizer can say (John 1:34): "And I saw, and bare record that this is the Son of God." This is the revelation that Nathaniel had when he proclaimed to Yeshua (John 1:49): "Rabbi, thou art the Son of God; thou art the King of Israel." This is the entire reason that John wrote his gospel:
John 20:30-31 :: And many other signs truly did Yeshua in the presence of his disciples, which are not written in this book: But these are written, that ye might believe that Yeshua is the Christ, the Son of God; and that believing ye might have life through his name.
To answer this question, let's turn to Luke chapter 1, which gives us a narrative of the birth of Yeshua. If we want to learn something about who Yeshua is, I think that reading and studying his birth narrative is a great place to do so. I will center in on the points in the text that directly relate to who Yeshua is.
In Luke 1:26-31, an angel named Gabriel was sent from Yahweh to a young, virgin woman named Mary. Mary was blessed in finding the favor of Yahweh. She was told that she would give birth to a son, and she was to call his name Yeshua. The more common, English name Jesus is derived from the Hebrew name Yeshua, which means "he will save."
Luke 1:32-33 He will be great, and will be called the Son of the Most High. The Lord God will give him the throne of his father, David, and he will reign over the house of Jacob forever. There will be no end to his Kingdom."
We see that Mary's child is going to be extremely important, because he is the Son of the Most High. Recognize this though: he's not the Most High. To be the Most High means that there is no one higher. Yahweh is the Most High, and Yeshua is the Son of the Most High.
Later in this chapter we read that John the Baptizer will be called a prophet of the Most High (Luke 1:76), which means he is the Most High's prophet. No one misunderstands that statement about John. The statement about Yeshua is just as easy to understand. Whereas John is a prophet of the Most High, Yeshua is the Son of the Most High. Neither man is the Most High.[2]
Even the demons realize this position of Yeshua. In Mark 5, it is recorded that an unclean spirit inside of a man cried out to Yeshua (vs. 7) saying, "What have I to do with you, Yeshua, you Son of the Most High God? I adjure you by God, don't torment me." Notice that the unclean spirit recognized who Yeshua was, and who the Most High God was. James 2:19 lets us know that the demons believe in one God. Mark 5:7 lets us know that demons believe Yeshua is the Son of that one Most High God.[3]
Gabriel also says (Luke 1:32) that the Lord God (Yahweh) shall give unto him (Yeshua) the throne of his father David. Notice that Yeshua is given the throne,[4] and that Yeshua's ancestor is king David. Yeshua is a descendant of David; he is a human being, but a unique human being because of his conception. He is both the Son of man and the Son of God.
Luke 1:34-35 :: Mary said to the angel, "How can this be, seeing I am a virgin?" The angel answered her, "The Holy Spirit will come on you, and the power of the Most High will overshadow you. Therefore also the holy one who is born from you will be called the Son of God.
Mary was a young virgin, but she was old enough to know how women get pregnant. It amazed her that the angel was saying she would birth a son, because she had never been intimate with a man. It wasn't humanly possible for such to happen.
When Gabriel answered her, he didn't say anything about Joseph becoming her husband and going in unto Mary. That's not how this conception would take place. Instead, the Spirit of Yahweh or the Power of the Highest would overshadow Mary. What happened inside of Mary's womb would be a miracle. She would become pregnant without the aid of a man. It would be a miraculous, virgin conception and birth.[5]
There had been miraculous births in Hebrew history. Sarah conceived and birthed Isaac, even though she was passed the age of child-bearing (Genesis 17:17-21). Yahweh had to perform a miracle upon old Sarah's womb in order for her to have a baby, but in that case, Abraham went in unto Sarah. He knew Sarah (sexually). In this account, Joseph did not go in unto Mary. As a matter of fact, the parallel account in Matthew tells us that Joseph knew her not, until she had brought forth her firstborn son (Matthew 1:25 KJV). Joseph did not have sexual relations with Mary to produce Yeshua. The power or Spirit of the Highest (Yahweh) is what caused Yeshua to come into existence.[6]
After Gabriel explains to Mary how the conception would happen, he says "therefore," meaning "for this reason."[7] It is because of the miracle upon the womb of Mary; it is because of how the conception of Yeshua took place; it is for this reason that he will be called the Son of God.
Do you think that after Mary heard these words from Gabriel, she thought she was going to give birth to the Most High? I think she believed exactly what Gabriel told her. She would give birth to the Son of the Most High (Luke 1:38). This is why Yeshua is unique. This is why John can record that he is Yahweh's only begotten Son.[8]
John 3:16 :: For God so loved the world, that he gave his one and only Son, that whoever believes in him should not perish, but have eternal life. [see also John 1:14, 18; 3:18; 1 John 4:9][9]
There is only one Son of Yahweh, in this way. He holds this position all by himself. Yahweh chose to beget a Son directly by the power of His Spirit. He caused a miracle to happen upon a virgin woman.
The first man Adam was made from the dust of the earth. Yahweh directly created him, so Adam is called God's Son (Luke 3:38). But Adam wasn't begotten by the Spirit of Yahweh in the manner that Yeshua was. Yeshua was Yahweh's word, the breath of His mouth (Psalm 33:6) made into a human being (John 1:14). That word that Yahweh spoke in the beginning (Genesis 1:3; John 1:1), coming from His intellect, mind, thought, and plan; that word took on human form in the person of Yeshua. Yeshua of Nazareth is what the word of Yahweh became.
If you sat across the dinner table from me, and asked me what my father does for a living, you'd get an answer you've probably heard before. If you sat across the dinner table from Yeshua and asked him what his Father does for a living, he could say, "My Father runs the universe. He is the Creator of the heavens and the earth." He is the only man that could say such in that manner, because he is the only man to be begotten by the Spirit of Yahweh, through the womb of a woman, without the aid of a man.[10] That is an amazing thought. Yeshua really is Yahweh's Son.
This is why Mark can begin his gospel (1:1) with: "The beginning of the gospel of Yeshua (the) Christ, the Son of God." This is why John the baptizer can say (John 1:34): "And I saw, and bare record that this is the Son of God." This is the revelation that Nathaniel had when he proclaimed to Yeshua (John 1:49): "Rabbi, thou art the Son of God; thou art the King of Israel." This is the entire reason that John wrote his gospel:
John 20:30-31 :: And many other signs truly did Yeshua in the presence of his disciples, which are not written in this book: But these are written, that ye might believe that Yeshua is the Christ, the Son of God; and that believing ye might have life through his name.
End Notes
[1] The first man Adam helps us to understand how there are many sons in Yahweh's family, yet some of them are unique. Luke 3 lists Yeshua's genealogy, tracing backwards all the way to Adam. Sons and their fathers are mentioned throughout. Towards the end, Enos is mentioned as son of Seth and Seth is mentioned as son of Adam. But who is Adam the son of? Adam had no earthly father (or mother). Yahweh directly created Adam from the dust of the earth (and breathed into his nostrils the breath of life), thus Adam is mentioned in this genealogy as the son of God. Adam is a unique being. While Seth may be termed a son of God (one of Yahweh's children), he is not a son of God like Adam. This helps us to see that when Yeshua is called "Son of God" there is yet another uniqueness applied to that phrase. Yeshua is much more special than Adam.
[2] According to Luke 2:1-14, when Yeshua was born, they wrapped him in a snug cloth and laid him in a feeding trough. Angels spoke from heaven that night, announcing that a Savior had been born. These same angels then praised, saying, "Glory to God in the highest." So while the baby Yeshua was in the feeding trough, God was in the highest.
[3] When the Devil himself tempted Yeshua, he knew full well who he was tempting. He told Yeshua (Matthew 4:3), " If you are the Son of God, command that these stones become bread." Satan knows who Yahweh is. Satan knew he wasn't tempting God there in the wilderness. He was tempting, or at least trying to tempt, God's Son.
[4] This reminds me of Matthew 28:18 where Yeshua says, "All authority has been given to me in heaven and earth." People are usually quick to point out that Yeshua has all authority, and I agree, but they fail to see that it is a given authority. An example of given authority can be found in the relationship between Pharaoh and Joseph. In Genesis 41:37-45 we are told that (1) Joseph was placed over Pharaoh's house, (2) all people would obey the commands of Joseph, (3) Joseph was placed over all the land of Egypt, and (4) the very signet ring upon Pharaoh's hand was taken off and placed upon Joseph's hand. Pharaoh said to Joseph (Genesis 41:40), "Only in the throne I will be greater than you." When Pharaoh gave Joseph this authority in Egypt, it did not mean that Pharaoh ceased to have authority. As he says, he was still greater than Joseph in the throne. It rather meant that Pharaoh took the authority that he had, and invested it in a vice-regent over Egypt.
[5] We are not told exactly how the virgin conception of Mary took place. We do know that many of the false, pagan religions of antiquity had stories of "virgin conceptions," but these stories all included a sexual act between one of their gods and a virgin woman, producing a demi-god upon the earth (half-man and half-god). Satan tries his best to mimic the truth, seeing that he was once a beautiful, angelic creature before God in heaven (Isaiah 14; Ezekiel 28). A great difference between the pagan religions and what happened with Mary is that in the accounts of the virgin conception in Matthew and Luke, there is nothing ever said about any sexual activity between Yahweh and Mary. The child produced in Mary would not be half-God and half-man, but complete man, with the fullness of the Spirit of the Highest living inside of him. Mary's conception would be miraculous. When Yahweh steps in to miraculously make conception happen, He is not tampering with the woman in any way. He is performing a miracle for the woman.
[6] In brief, the Holy Spirit is Yahweh's operational power and presence. The first mention of the Spirit in scripture is in Genesis 1:3 where God's Spirit is hovering over the face of the waters. Yahweh's Spirit (Exodus 31:3) is not a separate person from Yahweh, no more than the spirit of Elijah is a separate person from Elijah (2 Kings 2:15).
[7] The NASB and ISR98 both read "for that reason."
[8] In the next chapter, Luke continues to record for us what took place after the birth of Yeshua. Luke 2:21-23 reads "When eight days were fulfilled for the circumcision of the child, his name was called Yeshua, which was given by the angel before he was conceived in the womb. When the days of their purification according to the law of Moses were fulfilled, they brought him up to Jerusalem, to present him to the Lord (as it is written in the law of the Lord, Every male who opens the womb shall be called holy to the Lord.)" They presented Yeshua to Yahweh, as the law required. They weren't presenting Yahweh to Yahweh.
[9] The Greek word translated "only begotten" in the KJV is monogenes. I've found it used 9 times in the Greek New Testament. 5 of these times it is used of Yeshua. The other times it is used of a parent's only child (Luke 7:12; 8:42; 9:38), and of Abraham's unique son Isaac, his only son through the promised wife Sarah (Hebrews 11:17).
[10] It is my belief that this is how Yeshua could say "I came down from heaven (John 6:38, 51)." While it is true that every good and perfect gift comes from the Father above (James 1:17), I believe Yeshua is claiming something unique of himself. Seeing that he was begotten by the Spirit of Yahweh - from heaven - he could say that he came down from heaven.
[2] According to Luke 2:1-14, when Yeshua was born, they wrapped him in a snug cloth and laid him in a feeding trough. Angels spoke from heaven that night, announcing that a Savior had been born. These same angels then praised, saying, "Glory to God in the highest." So while the baby Yeshua was in the feeding trough, God was in the highest.
[3] When the Devil himself tempted Yeshua, he knew full well who he was tempting. He told Yeshua (Matthew 4:3), " If you are the Son of God, command that these stones become bread." Satan knows who Yahweh is. Satan knew he wasn't tempting God there in the wilderness. He was tempting, or at least trying to tempt, God's Son.
[4] This reminds me of Matthew 28:18 where Yeshua says, "All authority has been given to me in heaven and earth." People are usually quick to point out that Yeshua has all authority, and I agree, but they fail to see that it is a given authority. An example of given authority can be found in the relationship between Pharaoh and Joseph. In Genesis 41:37-45 we are told that (1) Joseph was placed over Pharaoh's house, (2) all people would obey the commands of Joseph, (3) Joseph was placed over all the land of Egypt, and (4) the very signet ring upon Pharaoh's hand was taken off and placed upon Joseph's hand. Pharaoh said to Joseph (Genesis 41:40), "Only in the throne I will be greater than you." When Pharaoh gave Joseph this authority in Egypt, it did not mean that Pharaoh ceased to have authority. As he says, he was still greater than Joseph in the throne. It rather meant that Pharaoh took the authority that he had, and invested it in a vice-regent over Egypt.
[5] We are not told exactly how the virgin conception of Mary took place. We do know that many of the false, pagan religions of antiquity had stories of "virgin conceptions," but these stories all included a sexual act between one of their gods and a virgin woman, producing a demi-god upon the earth (half-man and half-god). Satan tries his best to mimic the truth, seeing that he was once a beautiful, angelic creature before God in heaven (Isaiah 14; Ezekiel 28). A great difference between the pagan religions and what happened with Mary is that in the accounts of the virgin conception in Matthew and Luke, there is nothing ever said about any sexual activity between Yahweh and Mary. The child produced in Mary would not be half-God and half-man, but complete man, with the fullness of the Spirit of the Highest living inside of him. Mary's conception would be miraculous. When Yahweh steps in to miraculously make conception happen, He is not tampering with the woman in any way. He is performing a miracle for the woman.
[6] In brief, the Holy Spirit is Yahweh's operational power and presence. The first mention of the Spirit in scripture is in Genesis 1:3 where God's Spirit is hovering over the face of the waters. Yahweh's Spirit (Exodus 31:3) is not a separate person from Yahweh, no more than the spirit of Elijah is a separate person from Elijah (2 Kings 2:15).
[7] The NASB and ISR98 both read "for that reason."
[8] In the next chapter, Luke continues to record for us what took place after the birth of Yeshua. Luke 2:21-23 reads "When eight days were fulfilled for the circumcision of the child, his name was called Yeshua, which was given by the angel before he was conceived in the womb. When the days of their purification according to the law of Moses were fulfilled, they brought him up to Jerusalem, to present him to the Lord (as it is written in the law of the Lord, Every male who opens the womb shall be called holy to the Lord.)" They presented Yeshua to Yahweh, as the law required. They weren't presenting Yahweh to Yahweh.
[9] The Greek word translated "only begotten" in the KJV is monogenes. I've found it used 9 times in the Greek New Testament. 5 of these times it is used of Yeshua. The other times it is used of a parent's only child (Luke 7:12; 8:42; 9:38), and of Abraham's unique son Isaac, his only son through the promised wife Sarah (Hebrews 11:17).
[10] It is my belief that this is how Yeshua could say "I came down from heaven (John 6:38, 51)." While it is true that every good and perfect gift comes from the Father above (James 1:17), I believe Yeshua is claiming something unique of himself. Seeing that he was begotten by the Spirit of Yahweh - from heaven - he could say that he came down from heaven.