----- Original Message -----
From: wisdom hunter
To: Dave Maas
Subject: Lord of the Sabbath Trinity?
Hello Dave,
Firstly, Your articles are excellent keep up the fantastic work. Trinitarians usually quote the following
scripture to promote the erroneous trinity doctrine:
John 5:1-18 John 5:1-18John 5:1-18 'MY Father is working until now, AND I AM WORKING.' This was why the Jews were seeking all the more to kill him, because not only was he breaking the Sabbath, but he was even calling God his own Father, making himself equal with God."
Their claim is basically that Jesus claimed to be the' Lord of the
Sabbath' and therefore equal with God in His divine essence, since the Son has
the same sovereign right to work on the Sabbath day that his Father has.
"I tell you, something greater than the temple is here. And if you had known what this means, 'I
desire mercy, and not sacrifice,' you would not have condemned the guiltless.
For the Son of Man is Lord of the Sabbath." (Matthew 12:6-8).
Here’s my question:
How are we to understand what
the 'Lord of the Sabbath' means from a non-Trinitarian perspective that refutes
their interpretation?
Regards,
Wisdom
----- Original Message -----
From: Dave Maas
To: wisdom hunter
Subject: Re: Lord of the Sabbath Trinity?
Dear Wisdom,
Thanks for writing.
Christians have
become accustomed to assigning metaphysical notions to key words and
passages. As a consequence, they tend
to insist on rendering certain Greek words by specific English words, thus
intentionally or not making them into technical terms for preconceived
theological propositions.
In John 5:18 most
English versions insist on rendering the final clause as "making himself
equal with God.” From the idea of
"equality,” Trinitarians claim that Jesus is of the same substance or
essence as the Father. However, in the
Greek there is no corresponding preposition to "with," and the more
fundamental meaning of the adjective, 'isos,' is "like," hence a more
literal translation is "making himself like God.”
Similarly, in the classic Trinitarian proof text Philippians 2:6-11, Trinitarians render 'isos' as "equality with God" (and, again, there is no preposition in the Greek) rather than "like God" (what is occurring in the Philippians verse is not metaphysical speculation about the status of a preexistent Jesus, but a verbal allusion to Genesis chapter 3, where Adam attempted to become, "like God." The common translation of the clause has served to hide what Paul intended to be a clear allusion to an Old Testament passage. The contrast is not between some divine, preexisting Jesus and a human, earthly Jesus, but between Adam and Christ, who unlike Adam did not attempt to grasp at the "being like God." Unlike Adam Jesus chose instead to "pour himself out unto death" [and note here the allusion of Isaiah 53:12].)
What upset the
Pharisees was not some claim of Jesus to be God, but rather their perception
that he was making himself out to be, "like God.”
Note that in verse 19 Jesus identifies himself as the "Son,"
not as God or the Father, and even claims that he can of his own self do
nothing. The point is that whatever
Jesus is doing or will do is by the Father's authority and power, not his own.
Put another way, the Son has no inherent divine power or authority except what is delegated to him by the Father (note in John 5:26 that the "Father has granted the Son to also have life in himself," and cf. John 17:2, "even as You gave Him authority over all flesh, that to all whom You have given Him, He may give eternal life"). A key theological concept of John's gospel is that of the Son as the representative of the Father. He is God's ultimate delegated authority.
Regarding the, "Lord of the Sabbath;" first, it is noteworthy that the one who called, "Lord of the Sabbath," is designated, "the Son of Man," not 'God the Son' or some other such notion of a divine being. Jesus is called, "Lord of the Sabbath," and has authority to not only work on it but also to modify Sabbath regulations because he has been given that authority by the Father, just as also the Son of Man has been given the authority on earth to forgive sins (Matt. 9:6) and a host of other things. Throughout the gospels, the idea is that the Son has been granted such authority and power, not that they stem from his divine nature. The latter interpretation is a forced one that can be read into certain texts only by ignoring those passages that make it clear that Jesus has been given such things by his Father.
The problem is
with the Trinitarian logic: "Their claim is basically that
A.
Jesus claimed to be the' Lord of the Sabbath' and therefore equal with
God in His divine essence.
B. does not necessarily or automatically follow [A] (post hoc ergo propter hoc), as there is more than one plausible explanation for [A]. Nor is Jesus the first man to whom God has given authority and power beyond human ability (though we must admit that he has given infinitely more to Jesus than he has to any other man or woman). God gave Moses the authority to split the Red Sea, rain down plagues on Egypt and the like, but that did not make Moses divine or of the same essence as God.
I hope this is clear and that it helps. Please contact me again if it's not or if you have further questions.
Regards,
David Maas
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