{"id":261,"date":"2025-08-30T00:35:38","date_gmt":"2025-08-30T00:35:38","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/jgov.org\/en\/?p=253"},"modified":"2025-08-30T00:35:38","modified_gmt":"2025-08-30T00:35:38","slug":"the-witness-of-john-john-119-27","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/assemblyofjerusalem.org\/english\/brit-chadasha\/the-witness-of-john-john-119-27\/","title":{"rendered":"The Witness of John – John 1:19\u201327"},"content":{"rendered":"

The priests and Levites from Jerusalem question John: \u201cWho are you?\u201d He confesses plainly, \u201cI am not Mshikha\u201d (v. 20). He identifies himself as \u201cthe voice of one crying in the wilderness, Make straight the way of Mar-Yah, as said the prophet Isaiah\u201d (v. 23).<\/p>\n

This passages echoes Deuteronomy 18:15\u201319, where Mar-Yah promised a Prophet like Mosheh. The leaders of Jerusalem sought to discern whether John was that Prophet. John denies this for himself, pointing instead to the One \u201cstanding among you, whom you know not\u201d (v. 26).<\/p>\n

The significance is twofold. 1) True Authority is recognised by humility. John does not usurp the title of Mshikha, but bears witness to Him. This humility reflects the principle of Shoftim<\/a>\u2014that rulers and prophets must serve Aurayta, not exalt themselves. 2) Yeshua as the Prophet like unto Mosheh. John\u2019s role is preparatory, a herald, whereas Yeshua is the fulfilment of Deuteronomy\u2019s prophecy. He embodies the righteous Judge, King, and Prophet anticipated in Aurayta.
\n<\/p>\n

Thus, John 1 situates the arrival of Yeshua within the framework of Shoftim, that is, Israel is searching for the true authority, and John points to Him who alone bears it.<\/p>\n

Matthew 26:47\u201327:26 \u2014 The Trial of Yeshua<\/strong>
\nOur passage records the betrayal, arrest, and trial of Yeshua before Caiaphas, the Sanhedrin, and Pontius Pilate. It is the Gospel\u2019s darkest depiction of corrupted justice.<\/p>\n

The Sanhedrin sought \u201cfalse witness against Yeshua, to put him to death\u201d (Matthew 26:59). This directly violates the statutes of Deuteronomy 17, which require two or three true witnesses and forbid false testimony. The very body entrusted with upholding justice perverts it, showing the collapse warned against in Shoftim when leaders turn from Mar-Yah.<\/p>\n

Pilate himself said, \u201cI am innocent of the blood of this just person\u201d (27:24). Yet he delivers Yeshua to be crucified. This recalls Deuteronomy 21:1\u20139, where the elders sought atonement for unsolved murder lest innocent blood pollute the land. In Yeshua\u2019s case, the innocent blood is knowingly shed. The rite of the heifer foreshadowed this moment, where only the Mshikha\u2019s blood could truly cleanse the land from defilement.<\/p>\n

The people cry, \u201cWe have no king but Caesar,\u201d rejecting the Davidic Messiah foretold in Deuteronomy 17. The Aurayta commanded that the king of Israel be one who fears Mar-Yah and meditates on His Aurayta daily. Yeshua alone fulfilled this perfectly, yet He is mocked with a crown of thorns and a reed sceptre. The irony is stark indeed; the true King is enthroned upon the Cross.<\/p>\n

Correlations in our Aurayta and Haftara Readings<\/strong><\/p>\n

a) Shoftim commands justice; Matthew reveals injustice done to the Righteous One.<\/p>\n

b) Shoftim calls for a king humble under Torah; Matthew shows that king rejected by His own people.<\/p>\n

c) Shoftim promises a prophet like Moses; John 1 identifies Yeshua as that Prophet.<\/p>\n

d) Isaiah 51\u201352 proclaims comfort, deliverance, and good tidings; the Gospels show how this comes through the suffering and vindication of Yeshua.<\/p>\n

Thus, Aurayta, Prophets, and the New Covenant Scriptures converge. Israel\u2019s judges, priests, and kings are found wanting, but the true Judge, Priest, King, and Prophet stands revealed in Yeshua, the Son of David, the Son of Man, and the Son of Mar-Yah.<\/p>\n

The Brit Chadasha readings illuminate Shoftim in very deep ways. John the Baptiser, humbly bears witness to Yeshua, the fulfilment of Deuteronomy\u2019s promise. Matthew\u2019s Gospel shows the depth of Israel\u2019s failure to uphold justice, culminating in the unjust condemnation of the only Innocent One. Yet in this very act of injustice, Mar-Yah\u2019s justice is revealed…through His blood, the world is redeemed. Parashat Shoftim therefore becomes not only a call to earthly justice but a proclamation of the heavenly justice manifested in our Messiah.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

The priests and Levites from Jerusalem question John: \u201cWho are you?\u201d He confesses plainly, \u201cI am not Mshikha\u201d (v. 20). He identifies himself as \u201cthe voice of one crying in the wilderness, Make straight the way of Mar-Yah, as said the prophet Isaiah\u201d (v. 23). This passages echoes Deuteronomy 18:15\u201319, where Mar-Yah promised a Prophet […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":3,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[3],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-261","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-brit-chadasha"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/assemblyofjerusalem.org\/english\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/261","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/assemblyofjerusalem.org\/english\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/assemblyofjerusalem.org\/english\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/assemblyofjerusalem.org\/english\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/3"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/assemblyofjerusalem.org\/english\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=261"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/assemblyofjerusalem.org\/english\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/261\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/assemblyofjerusalem.org\/english\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=261"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/assemblyofjerusalem.org\/english\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=261"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/assemblyofjerusalem.org\/english\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=261"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}