John or Jesus?

[Craig]

Hi Ray,
I've been reading/listening to your material for many months and have been incredibly challenged in my thinking. It is a slow process reading through the many articles and listening to your audio posts but I have committed myself to doing so.
I have also been reading emails to you on the forum and have a question about one of your responses

Here is where Jesus was during the so-called missing years, the twelve years before His public ministry:
        "And the Child [Jesus] GREW, and became STRONG IN SPIRIT [is that what the Rabbi's did in Jesus' day? They became "strong in spirit" in RABBINICAL SCHOOL? I think not], and WAS IN THE  D-E-S-E-R-T-S  TILL THE DAY OF HIS SHOWING UNTO ISRAEL" (Scripture: Luke 1:80).
        Now then, where was Jesus during those twelve years? In Rabbinical school being taught by the hypocrites? Or IN THE DESERT GROWING STRONG IN SPIRIT BEING TAUGHT OF GOD?

I thought that this Scripture (Lk 1:80) was about John and not Jesus. Have I misinterpreted something?

Mick (from Australia)


Dear Mick:  It has reference to both John and Jesus.

Verse 67--Zacharias (Father of John Baptist)

Verse 68--The Lord God of Israel is decidedly NOT John, and He redeems His people through JESUS.

Verse 69--The "Horn of Salvation" is Jesus, certainly not John (Psalm 132:17-18).

Verse 70--His "holy prophets" is plural, and includes John and Jesus who were both "prophets."

Verses 71-75 do not refer to Jesus or John, but rather the work of God.

Verse 76--"the prophet of the Highest" refers to John, for it was John who "went before the Lord."

Verse 77--"to give KNOWLEDGE of salvation unto the people" This is primarily John.

Verse 78--"The DAYSPRING from on high has visited us" This is Jesus, not John. My center margin even states that this "dayspring" is Jesus the Messiah, not John. The Greek means "dawn." Jesus is the light of the dawn, the morning, the MORNING STAR.

Verse 79--To give LIGHT to them that are in darkness" This is Jesus and Jesus only as John plainly concedes: "There was a man sent from God whose name was John. The same came for a witness to bear witness of the LIGHT [Jesus not John] that all men through Him [Jesus] might believe. He [John{ WAS NOT THAT LIGHT, but was sent to bear witness of that Light [Jesus]"  (John 2-6-8).

Verse 80--"The child grew and waxed strong in spirit" (Refers to John) and "The child grew and waxed strong" (John 2:40, Refers to Jesus). "and was in the desert till the day of his showing unto Israel" refers to John AND JESUS. Jesus was in the desert prior to His ministry. We are not told how long John was in the desert, neither are we told how long Jesus was in the desert. Only that Jesus fasted for forty days at some point in his stay in the desert (Matt. 4:1). The Scriptures do not tell us when Jesus or John went into the desert or how long they were there. We only know that as Moses also went into the desert before he lead Israel, so did John and Jesus.

God be with you,

Ray