Comments on: Who said, “See, I am sending my messenger ahead of you, who will prepare your way”? http://www.errancy.com/who-said-i-am-sending-my-messenger-ahead-of-you/ Does the Bible contain contradictions or errors? Biblical inerrancy examined. Tue, 07 Sep 2010 20:32:59 +0200 http://wordpress.org/?v=2.8.4 hourly 1 By: Errancy http://www.errancy.com/who-said-i-am-sending-my-messenger-ahead-of-you/comment-page-1/#comment-453 Errancy Sun, 11 Oct 2009 09:02:34 +0000 http://www.errancy.com/?p=1149#comment-453 I agree: This isn't a big problem. Whatever the literary conventions concerning quotations were, they weren't the same as ours. It would be both anachronistic and uncharitable to insist that everything after "As it is written in the prophet Isaiah" has to come from Isaiah. I agree: This isn’t a big problem. Whatever the literary conventions concerning quotations were, they weren’t the same as ours. It would be both anachronistic and uncharitable to insist that everything after “As it is written in the prophet Isaiah” has to come from Isaiah.

]]> By: WisdomLover http://www.errancy.com/who-said-i-am-sending-my-messenger-ahead-of-you/comment-page-1/#comment-452 WisdomLover Sat, 10 Oct 2009 13:26:53 +0000 http://www.errancy.com/?p=1149#comment-452 I think this allegation of error is an example of applying a 20th century standard to 1st century writing. Mark mentions Isaiah here because he wants to call attention to the part of the quotation from Isaiah. Today, we might not think much of some one who cited his sources like this. But this was written in the first century. The fact that there is any citation at all is the more interesting point. Mark really wants his reader to pay attention to what Isaiah said. The part from Malachi is <em>Messianic</em>. What could be so important about the part from Isaiah? Well, Mark is clearly identifying John the Baptizer as the voice calling. The voice is calling to prepare the way in the wilderness for the Lord. In the subsequent passages, Mark makes it crystal clear that the Lord whose way is to be prepared in the wilderness is Jesus. So, Mark is saying, in essence, that John is calling to prepare the way in the wilderness for Jesus. But when you look at Isaiah, the voice is calling to prepare the way in the wilderness for YHWH. Mark is saying, through the reference to Isaiah, that Jesus is YHWH! If, as many scholars today believe, Mark is the earliest Gospel. This then shows that the full deity of Christ was a belief of the earliest Christians. BTW - None of the other Gospels waste any time affirming the full deity of Christ either, three of them have an identification of Jesus as God in Chapter 1. All of them use the reference to Isaiah 40:3 within the first three chapters. So, for the full deity of Christ, it doesn't really matter who wrote first. I think this allegation of error is an example of applying a 20th century standard to 1st century writing. Mark mentions Isaiah here because he wants to call attention to the part of the quotation from Isaiah.

Today, we might not think much of some one who cited his sources like this. But this was written in the first century. The fact that there is any citation at all is the more interesting point. Mark really wants his reader to pay attention to what Isaiah said.

The part from Malachi is Messianic. What could be so important about the part from Isaiah?

Well, Mark is clearly identifying John the Baptizer as the voice calling. The voice is calling to prepare the way in the wilderness for the Lord. In the subsequent passages, Mark makes it crystal clear that the Lord whose way is to be prepared in the wilderness is Jesus. So, Mark is saying, in essence, that John is calling to prepare the way in the wilderness for Jesus. But when you look at Isaiah, the voice is calling to prepare the way in the wilderness for YHWH.

Mark is saying, through the reference to Isaiah, that Jesus is YHWH!

If, as many scholars today believe, Mark is the earliest Gospel. This then shows that the full deity of Christ was a belief of the earliest Christians.

BTW – None of the other Gospels waste any time affirming the full deity of Christ either, three of them have an identification of Jesus as God in Chapter 1. All of them use the reference to Isaiah 40:3 within the first three chapters. So, for the full deity of Christ, it doesn’t really matter who wrote first.

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