Thursday, July 30, 2026
Why think Hebrews is canonical?
Cameron Bertuzzi recently posted a video asking Protestants a few questions about Hebrews. I've addressed the questions before, but I'll summarize my answers here and provide links to some of my older material on the issues involved and more recent updates.
Tuesday, July 28, 2026
Setting His Face To Go To Jerusalem
There's a prominent theme in the gospel of Luke about Jesus' determination to go to Jerusalem to complete what he came to earth to do. There's a verse that highlights what's referred to in other places in Luke as well:
"When the days drew near for him to be taken up, he set his face to go to Jerusalem." (9:51)
The third Servant Song in Isaiah uses similar language, about the setting of the face, when discussing the suffering Jesus was to undergo in Jerusalem:
"I have set my face like flint" (50:7)
Some of Jesus' fulfillments of the Servant Songs in the gospels are more explicit (e.g., Luke 22:37). There are some that are more subtle, though. Noticing the more subtle ones and the cumulative effect of all of the evidence is important.
"When the days drew near for him to be taken up, he set his face to go to Jerusalem." (9:51)
The third Servant Song in Isaiah uses similar language, about the setting of the face, when discussing the suffering Jesus was to undergo in Jerusalem:
"I have set my face like flint" (50:7)
Some of Jesus' fulfillments of the Servant Songs in the gospels are more explicit (e.g., Luke 22:37). There are some that are more subtle, though. Noticing the more subtle ones and the cumulative effect of all of the evidence is important.
Sunday, July 26, 2026
Isaiah's Greater Servant
I've written a lot over the years about Isaiah's Messianic prophecies. See here on Isaiah 9:1-7 and here on the Servant Songs, for example.
One of the most common objections to a traditional Christian view of the latter, the Servant Songs, is that Israel or a remnant in Israel could be the Servant or is referred to as the Servant elsewhere in Isaiah. Why not interpret the Servant Songs that way? Why think they're about Jesus or have any kind of significant secondary application to him?
One answer is to highlight something in the objection that's being raised. Why refer to Israel or a remnant within Israel? Partly because different Servant passages seem to be referring to different entities. So, the idea that there's one entity the other Servant passages are consistently referring to, and we therefore should assume the passages Christians apply to Jesus are also about that one other entity, is false. A good way of illustrating that fact is to cite the reference to Isaiah as "my [God's] servant" in 20:3 (or the reference to David in that manner in 37:35, etc.). The Servant theme is prominent in Isaiah (which is more evidence for the unity of the book), and it's undeniably applied to at least a few different entities.
I've argued for Jesus' fulfillment of the passages often referred to as the Servant Songs elsewhere, like in the posts linked above. I won't repeat all of the details here, but something I want to highlight is how stark the differences are between the Servant Songs, on the one hand, and, on the other hand, the Servant passages immediately surrounding the Servant Songs. Notice the plural "men" in 41:14, the plural "people" in 42:22 and "we" in 42:24, the references to the sinfulness of the Servant in 42:18-25, the same characteristics in 43:8-28, 44:21-23, 45:4-5, etc. In fact, the Servant Songs refer to some other Servant who will redeem the Servant referred to earlier (e.g., 49:5-7), as I've argued in posts like the ones linked earlier.
The title of this post is meant to allude to the concept of the Messiah as David's greater son. Isaiah has a concept of a Servant who's greater than the others.
One of the most common objections to a traditional Christian view of the latter, the Servant Songs, is that Israel or a remnant in Israel could be the Servant or is referred to as the Servant elsewhere in Isaiah. Why not interpret the Servant Songs that way? Why think they're about Jesus or have any kind of significant secondary application to him?
One answer is to highlight something in the objection that's being raised. Why refer to Israel or a remnant within Israel? Partly because different Servant passages seem to be referring to different entities. So, the idea that there's one entity the other Servant passages are consistently referring to, and we therefore should assume the passages Christians apply to Jesus are also about that one other entity, is false. A good way of illustrating that fact is to cite the reference to Isaiah as "my [God's] servant" in 20:3 (or the reference to David in that manner in 37:35, etc.). The Servant theme is prominent in Isaiah (which is more evidence for the unity of the book), and it's undeniably applied to at least a few different entities.
I've argued for Jesus' fulfillment of the passages often referred to as the Servant Songs elsewhere, like in the posts linked above. I won't repeat all of the details here, but something I want to highlight is how stark the differences are between the Servant Songs, on the one hand, and, on the other hand, the Servant passages immediately surrounding the Servant Songs. Notice the plural "men" in 41:14, the plural "people" in 42:22 and "we" in 42:24, the references to the sinfulness of the Servant in 42:18-25, the same characteristics in 43:8-28, 44:21-23, 45:4-5, etc. In fact, the Servant Songs refer to some other Servant who will redeem the Servant referred to earlier (e.g., 49:5-7), as I've argued in posts like the ones linked earlier.
The title of this post is meant to allude to the concept of the Messiah as David's greater son. Isaiah has a concept of a Servant who's greater than the others.
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