By Jonathan Ekene
Ifeanyi
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| Ojukwu |
Some years ago, I think in the year 2000 or thereabouts, Monsignor
Patrick Somide, an old Yoruba priest in Lagos State who died in 2017 at the age
of 97, told us that years ago, when Christianity was first brought to Nigeria, virtually all
the Igbo people were Catholics. Then, he said, to go to a
Protestant church or practise any other religion in Igbo land...was a
taboo...For doing so, everyone will discriminate against you...
To our doom, how rapidly things have changed (and are still changing!)
in today’s Igbo land!
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Today, there are among the Igbos a minority of practising “Jews” who believe that they are among the lost tribes of ancient Israel and therefore that they are Jews. Seeing themselves as the Israelites who, like the ancient Israelites in Egypt, are being persecuted in the evil land of Nigeria, these Igbos link Biafra struggle to their Jewish identity—something which great Ikemba Emeka Odimegwu Ojukwu, the Father of Biafra, never did. Just like the evil Jews who killed Our Lord Jesus Christ, not only do these Igbos not believe in Our Lord, some of them speak all sorts of terrible blasphemies against Him. There are, however, others who are merely ignorant, who have good intentions but can’t distinguish between the true Jews and the fake Jews. But many, as I said, are out to oppose Our Lord, to oppose Christianity. These Igbos have been receiving help from individual Israelis and American Jews who work in Nigeria, out-reach organisations like Kulanu and African-American Jewish communities in America. Jews from outside Nigeria founded two synagogues in Nigeria, which are attended and maintained by Igbo people. In fact, there are currently 26 synagogues of various sizes in Nigeria and in 2008 an estimated 30,000 Igbo people were practising some form of Judaism!
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| “Igbo-Jews” practising Judaism in Igbo land! |
There is, indeed, nothing bad
about this claim of Igbo-Jewish origin—but
about JUDAISM! From the story of creation, we learn that all human beings
are descendants of Adam and Eve, which means that all humans are actually one.
If that is true, then there is really nothing special about the Igbos being
descendants of the ancient Jews. It is possible. It is not improbable that some of the tribes of Israel
migrated to parts of Africa after the Assyrians invaded Israel’s northern
kingdom in the eighth century B.C. and forced 10 tribes of Israel into exile.
Yes, it is possible that the Igbo people were among those lost tribes, but difficult
to prove because of the massive number of years that have gone by. There is a complete absence of
literacy documents and proofs that linked the Igbo people to the Jewish
History, therefore, even though the Igbo-Jewish origin may be true, it must
always be treated as mere speculation—for
the fact is that today, God Himself has made us IGBOS and AFRICANS, not Jews. Africans should learn to be proud of what God has made them to be. That can be a good way of dealing with the scam called racism.
It is good to understand the mentality of these minority Igbo people who believe that they are Jews as well as the origin of this very Igbo-Jewish identity—which has been traced back to the eighteenth century of the Christian era. Just yesterday! Interestingly, the irony here is that the Igbo people—who are “Jews”—got to know about Jewish scripture (the Old Testament) through the European missionaries! For, before the advent of Christianity in West Africa the Igbo people were massively illiterate and knew nothing about the Bible—Old or New Testament! Olaudah Equiano (1745- 1797), a freed Igbo slave who lived in 18th century British society, seems to have been the first to begin the speculation. A “Christian-educated freed slave,” Equiano suggested a migratory origin of the Igbo Jews. He remarked in his autobiography of 1789 on:
“the strong analogy which ... appears to prevail in the
manners and customs of my countrymen and those of the Jews, before they reached
the Land of Promise, and particularly the patriarchs while they were yet in
that pastoral state which is described in Genesis—an analogy, which alone would
induce me to think that the one people had sprung from the other.”
For authoritative support, Equiano gives reference to “Dr.
Gill, who, in his commentary on Genesis, very ably deduces the pedigree of the
Africans from Afer and Afra, the descendants of Abraham...”
His essay has since been discarded as speculation—and indeed it is!
Years after him, however, another notable “authority” on the
subject was George Thomas Basden (31 October 1873–30 December 1944), the
so-called Anglican “missionary” and ethnographer. In addition to cross-cultural
comparisons which he documented, Basden went further to propose that the word
“Igbo” evolved as a corruption of the word “Hebrew”! Sounds funny?
Since then, there have been many theories advanced by some
Igbo “scholars,” some of which—like the “Eri” myth—are pure nonsense. The Eri myth, for instance, holds that Eri was
the fifth son of Gad, the seventh son of Jacob (Genesis 46:15-18 and Numbers
26:16:18 are being used to support the myth). He was said to have migrated from
Egypt with a group of companions just before the exodus of the Israelites from
Egypt thousands of years ago. Eri and his group were said to have travelled by
water and finally arrived at the confluence of Ezu and Omambala Rivers, located
in present-day Aguleri, Anambra State.
We were not told how long their voyage took to get to their
promised land, what we were told is that Eri and his group were divinely
instructed to make the confluence of Ezu and Omambala Rivers their final
destination. They would move into the hinterland and make a settlement in the
present-day Aguleri. It was here that Eri lived and died. Meanwhile, amongst
Eri's children was Agulu, the eldest son who took over from his father after
his demise. It was him who appended the name of his father, Eri, to his name
and founded Agulu-Eri (Aguleri) by calling the settlement where his father Eri
died and he (Agulu) lived AGULERI!
Now how can one verify all this? Unverifiable!
Again, some Igbo
“scholars” (in reality perfect illiterates) believe that the word “Genesis” is
a corrupted version of the Igbo phrase "jee na isi isi" which when
translated in English means "go to the very first." Now while Genesis in Greek is pronounced
"γένεσις" (“genesis”—from where the English “Genesis” is derived), meaning "Origin," in Hebrew it is “בְּרֵאשִׁית,” (pronounced "Bərēšīṯ")! So what is the connection between "Bərēšīṯ" and "jee na isi
isi"?
Again, these “scholars” claim that the word “Deuteronomy” is from
the Igbo words “detere nu umu.” That is not true because the English word
“Deuteronomy” is derived from the Latin “Deuteronomium,” which in turn is directly from the Greek “deuteros + nomos”
(“deuterosnomos” or “deuteronomion”) and is the fifth book of the
Christian Old Testament and of the Jewish Torah, where it is called
"Devarim" (Hebrew “דברים”). So, what really is the connection between “deuterosnomos”
(or even “Devarim”) and “detere nu umu”?
The assertion that makes sense to me is that which holds that Igbo people share some similar practices with the
biblical Jews. And among the Igbos, these traditional practices predate the
coming of the Christian missionaries. Yes, that is true.
Examples of shared traditional practices
between the Jews and the Igbo people include circumcising male children eight
days after birth, refraining from eating unclean or tabooed foods, mourning the
dead for seven days and celebrating the New Moon.
Supporting this belief is Daniel Lis, a
foremost researcher on Jewish Identification among the Igbo from the University
of Basel, Switzerland. Lis affirms that there has been a clear continuity of
Jewish identity among the Igbo. “It’s not just something that happened
yesterday,” he said.
In a nutshell, all human beings are from one source (or
parents) – Adam and Eve. But men from time immemorial have been migrating to
different lands. Viewed from this perspective, it makes sense to SPECULATE (not
assert!) that the Igbo people who share some striking similarities with the
Israelites might indeed be true descendants of the ancient Hebrews. From this
standpoint, Lis’ assertion that “It’s not just something that happened yesterday”
makes sense.
That said, Igbo people who today parade
themselves as "JEWS" and really try to “prove” so by practising
Judaism are excellent examples of what the Bible calls “FOOLS.” And I'm just
afraid that Nnamdi Kanu himself–who would have been an excellent leader—appears
to be the very number one among these FOOLS, since he keeps parading himself as
a "JEW," thus deceiving his followers.
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| Nnamdi Kanu identifying with those who killed Our Lord Jesus Christ. |
Igbo people are indeed Jews by virtue of their being Christians. Igbos are
predominantly CATHOLIC, Catholics are followers of Jesus Christ, Jesus Christ,
as man, was the most perfect JEW, therefore Igbos—in that sense—are indeed
Jews, in fact, more perfect Jews than
those unfortunate “Jews” located in today’s Israel who practise Judaism.
However, what makes Kanu and his
followers foolish is that they don't identify with the true Jews (Jesus and His
followers) but with the very bad Jews (the very people who killed Our Lord
Jesus Christ!). This, in fact, is the very reason why Kanu's mission is DOOMED.
Biafra is what EVERY REASONABLE IGBO MAN wants at this time. Igbos are
Christians, therefore if Kanu wants to lead the Igbos in this struggle, he MUST
as well be a practising Christian—or rather he
must do the things we commonly do and must not import an evil religion into Igbo
land. (We don't practise Judaism, the religion Kanu practises, the very
religion of those who killed Our Lord Jesus Christ). Dim Chukwuemeka Odimegwu
Ojukwu, the most perfect Biafran, did not practise Judaism, no. He was a
Catholic, and he was proud of that Faith till death.
As I once wrote, “From the
biblical point of view—I mean both the Old and New Testaments, the people we
often refer to as “the Jews” or “Israelites” today are not really
true Jews—not true Israelites. St. Paul writes: “For he is not a
Jew who is one outwardly; neither is that circumcision which is
outward in the flesh: but he is a Jew who is one inwardly; and
circumcision is that of the heart, in the spirit, and not in the letter;
whose praise is not of men, but of God.” (Romans 2:29).
“The true Jews (or Israelites) are
those who obey God by following strictly the teachings of His prophets—that is,
true CHRISTIANS—the very reason why the Church of Christ is called the new
“Israel of God.” As St Paul puts it, “But far be it from me to boast, save in
the cross of our Lord Jesus Christ, through which the world hath been crucified
unto me, and I unto the world. For neither is circumcision anything, nor
uncircumcision, but a new creation. And as many as shall walk by this rule,
peace be upon them, and mercy, and upon the Israel of God.”” His very words: “ἐμοὶ δὲ μὴ γένοιτο καυχᾶσθαι εἰ μὴἐν τῷ σταυρῷ τοῦ κυρίου ἡμῶν Ἰησοῦ Χριστοῦ, δι᾽ οὗ ἐμοὶ κόσμος ἐσταύρωται κἀγὼ κόσμῳ. οὔτε γὰρ περιτομή τίἐστιν οὔτε ἀκροβυστία, ἀλλὰ καινὴ κτίσις. καὶ ὅσοι τῷ κανόνι τούτῳ στοιχήσουσιν, εἰρήνη ἐπ᾽ αὐτοὺς καὶ ἔλεος, καὶ ἐπὶτὸν Ἰσραὴλ τοῦ θεοῦ.” (Galatians 6: 14-16).
Again, St Paul, a Jewish Christian
and indeed the greatest Christian theologian in history, writes: “We are the
circumcision, who worship by the Spirit of God, and glory in Christ Jesus, and
have no confidence in the flesh” (Philippians 3:3). By “the circumcision” he
meant the Jewish people (now Christians) regarded as bound in covenant to
God—the actual rite of circumcision was abandoned by Christians. As St. Paul further explains in his Letter to the
Romans, Israel is like a tree. The Jews of Jesus’ day, as ethnic Israelites,
were all natural branches in this tree, and the Gentiles (non-Jews) who join
the Church are like branches that are cut off from other trees and grafted into
Israel. As he puts it, “Well: because of unbelief they were broken off. But
thou standest by faith...” (Romans 11: 20). On the flipside, the Jews who
rejected Jesus were cut off from their own family tree. As a result, the Church
doesn’t simply replace Israel; rather, in a very real sense, the Church is Israel.
It is the multi-ethnic and multi-national family made up of both Jews and
Gentiles that the Old Testament prophets always said Israel would one day
become. (See Zephaniah 3:9-10;
Zechariah 8:20-23, and other passages; and see the article, Catholicism: Western or Jewish religion?)
Our Igbo-Jews who practise Judaism
are indeed Antichrist, pure and simple, and must be avoided. Their error is just
the same as that of “Pope” Francis who, quite contrary to the teaching of the Catholic Church, in
paragraph 247 of his heretical Evangelii Gaudium teaches that
the “covenant” God made with the Jews “has never been revoked,” and blatantly
misquotes the Scripture (Romans 11:29) to support his teaching—a text which
is filled with heresy and error, failing to distinguish today’s religion of
“Judaism” with the Judaism of the Old Covenant (the one practised by Our Lord
Himself), which ceased with the establishment of the Catholic
Church on Pentecost Sunday. It is in the coming of the Messiah and the founding
of the One True Catholic Church that God has remained faithful to His promises,
so Francis’ misuse of Sacred Scripture—already perpetrated by John Paul II—to bolster
his position is nothing short of sickening.
Many years
before Christ was born into this world, Prophet Isaiah prophesied about Him in
the Old Testament as follows:
“For
a child is born to us, and a son is given to us, and the government is upon his
shoulder: and his name shall be called, Wonderful, Councillor, God the Mighty,
the Father of the world to come, the Prince of Peace." (Isaiah 9:6).
In the same Old Testament, Jeremiah
prophesied as follows:
“Behold, the days
are coming, says the Lord, when I will make a new covenant with the house of
Israel and the house of Judah, not like the covenant which I made with their
fathers, when I took them by the hand...But this is the covenant which I will
make with the house of Israel after those days, says the Lord: I will put my
law within them; and I will write it upon their hearts; and I will be their God
and they shall be my people...for I will forgive their iniquity and I will
remember their sin no more.” (Jer. 31:31-34). Ezekiel also prophesied: “I will sprinkle clean water upon you, and
you shall be clean from all your uncleanliness, and from all your idols I will
cleanse you. A new heart I will give you, and a new spirit I will put within
you: and I will take out of your flesh the heart of stone and give you a heart
of flesh.” (Ezekiel 36: 25-26).
Jesus Christ is the manifestation
of this new covenant. The new covenant was made for all the nations of the
world and not for Israel alone—hence the Church founded by Christ is a Catholic
(meaning universal) Church. When Israel rejected and crucified Christ, the
Jewish people renounced the covenant and were rejected by God as the chosen
people. God then transferred, at the same time, the privileges and
responsibilities of the covenant relationship to His new chosen people, the
Catholic Church. Christ’s activities fulfilled God’s covenant with Abraham and
Israel. By the Sacrament of Holy Communion, Jesus instituted the new covenant
during the Last Super when He said: “This is the chalice, the new covenant in
my blood, which shall be shed for you.” “Hic
est calix in novum testamentum in sanguine meo, qui pro vobis fundetur.”
(Luke 22: 20). Therefore, the blood of Jesus, shed on the cross, is the
fulfilment of the new covenant. The Old Covenant was “revoked” and New Covenant made when
Christ opened the kingdom to the gentiles and offered His Body, Blood, Soul, and
Divinity for the redemption of humanity.
Today’s Jews—who do not believe in
Christ but believe that the Messiah is yet to come!—are not “the
people of the covenant.” Their religion, in fact, did not originate from the
Judaism of the Old Covenant but was established by Annas and Caiaphas in 33 AD,
and hence is indeed a “foreign religion.” It is not the
faith of the Catholic Church in any way, nor that of Abraham. St. Paul, himself
a Jew, writes: “Know ye therefore, that they who are of Faith, the same are
children of Abraham. And the scripture, foreseeing, that God justifieth the
Gentiles by faith, told unto Abraham before: In thee shall all the nations be blessed. ...For you are all the
children of God by faith, in Christ Jesus. For as many of you as have been
baptised in Christ, have put on Christ. There is neither Jew nor Greek...For
you are all one in Christ Jesus. And if you be Christ’s, then are you the seed
of Abraham, heirs according to the promise.” (Gal 3:7-8; 26-29).
Today’s Jews who do not believe in
Christ are not among these heirs of Abraham. As Our Lord told the Jews of His
day: “...you shall die in your sins. For
if you believe not that I am he, you shall die in your sin.” “Dixi ergo vobis quia moriemini in peccatis
vestris: si enim non credideritis quia ego sum, moriemini in peccato vestro.”
(Cf. John 8: 24). Worshipping a god that
is not the Most Holy Trinity, today’s Jews must turn and
convert to the worship of the One True God, otherwise, says
Our Lord, they will die in their sin.
Again, Our Lord warned the Jews
who would reject Him: “Therefore I say to you, the kingdom of God will be taken
away from you and given to a people yielding its fruit.” “ideo dico vobis, quia auferetur a vobis regnum Dei, et dabitur genti
facienti fructus eius.” (Matt. 21:43). St. John, an apostle of Christ—and
also a Jew—writes: “Who is the liar but he who denies that Jesus is the Christ.
He is the Antichrist who denies the Father and the Son.” “Quis est mendax, nisi is, qui negat quoniam Jesus est Christus? Hic
est Antichristus, qui negat Patrem, et Filium.” (1 John 2:22).
The doctrine of the supersession of the Old Testament by the
New is a universal and perpetual doctrine of the Catholic Church. It is a
defined article of the Catholic Faith—i.e. a solemn, dogmatic definition. The
solemn Profession of Faith of the Ecumenical Council of Florence under Pope
Eugene IV, says the following:
“The sacrosanct Roman Church ... firmly believes, professes, and teaches that the matter pertaining to the Old Testament, of the Mosaic law, which are divided into ceremonies, sacred rites, sacrifices, and sacraments, because they were established to signify something in the future, although they were suited to the divine worship at that time, after Our Lord’s coming had been signified by them, ceased, and the sacraments of the New Testament began; ... All, therefore, who after that time observe circumcision and the Sabbath and the other requirements of the law, it (the Roman Church) declares alien to the Christian faith and not in the least fit to participate in eternal salvation, unless someday they recover from these errors.”
The major problem (among Christians and non-Christians alike)
in today’s world is that many people don’t know who Jesus Christ is. Many think
He’s just a man—and a man “who was killed by the Jews” for that matter! But
they senselessly don’t consider that this “man” after being killed and buried
rose from the dead on the third day. They don’t consider what this “man” said
about Himself and what the scriptures (both the Old and New Testaments) said
about Him. In short, they don’t consider—to their doom—the fact that this “man”
is actually God.
For instance, sometime last year one Alex Temisan Agbedetse asked: “If
Jesus claims He is the Son of God, how then can He claim equality with God? I
am a son of my dad does not make me equal to him.”
I responded:
Similar to yet another foolish question by one Adeniran Adeyinka Hammed Iyalabaki: “How could Jesus be the Son of God? Can God Take a Wife?” To which I responded:
Funny! The question only betrays a very shallow mind! Jesus’ being the Son of God means that from eternity to eternity He has always been the Son of God.
You are guilty of now judging God in human standard (with which, of course, you are only familiar!) lacking the understanding that the son-ship of man (which in fact has a beginning) is only a mere reflection of the son-ship of the Son of God (which is eternal). Get the point: Jesus had been the Son of God before the fatherhood and son-ship of man was created. The son-ship of man (with which you are familiar) is only a mere imitation of the eternal Son-ship of Christ.”
One Kalep Manasseh, while trying to counter Hammed, even sounded like Alex: “In his heavenly place he is God but when he took the earthly form of human being he is son to God.”
To which I equally responded:
FALSE. He is rather eternally begotten by God. Being the Son of God means that He is God—just as you being the son of your human father means that you are human. Hence, in fact, it was Jesus' “claim” to be the Son of God that led the Jews to demand His death (because the Jews of Jesus’ days, unlike those of today who are theologically inept, understood perfectly well that Jesus’ saying that He is the Son of God means He was claiming to be equal to God): As we read:
“But Jesus answered them: “My father worketh until now; and I work. Hereupon therefore the Jews sought the more to kill him, because he did not only break the Sabbath, but also said God was his father, thereby making himself equal to God.” (John 5: 17-18).
Being the Son of God means being God Himself. Hence, in his Holy Gospel, St. John presents Jesus as simply God the Son who had been with God the Father right from the beginning. As we read:
“In the beginning was the Word (Christ), and the Word (Christ) was with God, and the Word (Christ) was God.” (John. 1:1-3). St John also tells us that “All things were made through Him, and without Him was not anything made that was made.” (Ibid).
Again, being God means that He is indeed the Almighty God. Hence the same John, in the Revelation, presents Jesus as simply identifying Himself as the Almighty God. In the Revelation, he quotes Jesus as saying, ‘‘I am the Alpha and the Omega...who is and who was and who is to come, the Almighty.”
Alpha (α) is the first letter of the Greek alphabet, while Omega (ω) is the last of the letters—just like A and Z in the English alphabet. In fact, the very English word ‘‘alphabet’’ is derived from the Greek first and second letters—Alpha (α) and Beta (β). Thus here Jesus tells us that He is the First and the Last, the Beginning and the End—the Almighty God. The text reads: “‘I am the Alpha and the Omega’, says the Lord God, ‘who is and who was and who is to come, the Almighty’ ”(Cf. Rev.1:8).
The word ‘Almighty’ in Greek is "ὁ παντοκράτωρ" ("Pantokrator"). The Greek text reads: "ἐγώ εἰμι τὸ ἄλφα καὶ τὸ ὦ, λέγει κύριος ὁ θεός, ὁ ὢν καὶ ὁ ἦν καὶ ὁ ἐρχόμενος, ὁ παντοκράτωρ’—‘I am the Alpha and the Omega,’ says the Lord God, ‘who is and who was and who is to come, the Almighty."
Misguided people like Alex often think that Jesus is a mere man simply because of Jesus’ humility manifested in the way He often talks about God (as if He Himself is not also God). Do they know that God the Father—just like the Son—also humbly addresses Christ as God? For instance, in the Letter to the Hebrews (1: 8) we see God the Father also addressing Jesus as God, as we read:
“But to the Son He says: ‘‘Your throne, O God, is forever and ever; a sceptre of righteousness is the sceptre of Your kingdom. You have loved righteousness and hated lawlessness...”
God the Father also makes us know, in the following passage, that it was Christ who created the heaven and the earth right from the beginning, as we read:
“You, Lord, in the beginning laid the
foundation of the earth, and the heavens are the work of Your hands. They will
perish, but You remain; and they will all grow old like a garment; like a cloak
You will fold them up, and they will be changed, but You are the same, and Your
years will not fail.” (Cf. Heb. 1: 8-12).
Also, we see God the Holy Spirit, in the same Letter to the Hebrews, warning us against unbelief in God the Son, as we read:
“Therefore, as the Holy Spirit says, ‘‘Today, if you hear His voice, harden not your heart as in the rebellion, as on the day of testing in the wilderness, where your ancestors put Me to the test, though they had seen My works for forty years. Therefore I was angry with that generation, and I said, ‘They always go astray in their hearts, and they have not known My ways.’ As in My anger I swore, ‘They will not enter My rest.’”
Again, one pervert named Peggy Lee Livermore asked (on face-book): “Why
would God pray to himself? Why would Jesus say “no man is good except God”? Mark
10:18 (KJV). And Jesus said unto him, Why callest thou me good? [There is] none
good but one, [that is], God. Luke 18:19 (KJV).”
Bobbie Anderson, another pervert, rejoiced and added: “Except God didn't die when He took the form of a man in those encounters. Jesus did die.”
And I responded:
Yet another demonstration of profound ignorance of scripture. Jesus addresses people according to their level of understanding. (To those who saw Him as a mere man but yet called Him “good,” He responded: “Why callest thou me good? none [is] good, save one, [that is], God.”).
But He is indeed that God who alone is good. There are two natures in Jesus Christ—the nature of God and the nature of man. The nature of God He has possessed for all eternity, but the nature of man He took at the incarnation. He is, as Catholicism rightly teaches, “truly God and truly man.” As man, He speaks exactly like a man. Example: “No man is good except God.” (Luke 18:19). Again, “The Father is greater than I” (John 14:28).
But as God, He also speaks exactly like God. Example: “I and the Father are one.” (John 10:30). Again, “Everything the Father has is mine, that is why I said, all he (the Holy Spirit) tells you will be taken from what is mine.” (John 16:15).
Again, when we read the following statement, “He who believes in Me, believes not in Me but in Him who sent Me” (John 12:44), it sounds as though He is merely representing the Father, but Jesus clarifies immediately, “And he who sees Me sees Him who sent Me” (Ibid. verse 45).
In fact, Jesus was once ‘trapped’ by the Jews for speaking always in this way. While trying to convince them that His doctrine came from God the Father, He had earlier told them that “He who speaks from himself seeks his own glory; but He who seeks the glory of the One who sent Him is true, and no unrighteousness is in Him.” (John 7:18). By this statement Christ meant that He was not bearing witness of Himself, nor seeking His own glory, but that of God the Father. He was only speaking as the man Jesus. Now, as God He says, “I am the light of the world. He who follows Me shall not walk in darkness, but have the light of life.” (John 8:12). On hearing these words, the Pharisees accused Jesus of bearing witness of Himself, that is, of contradicting His earlier statement that He was not seeking His own glory. Christ then said something remarkable, as we read:
“The Pharisees therefore said to
Him, ‘‘You bear witness of Yourself; Your witness is not true.’’ Jesus answered
and said to them, ‘‘Even if I bear witness of Myself, My witness is true, for I
know where I came from and where I am going; but you do not know where I came
from and where I am going.” (John 8: 13-14).
In the first statement, (just like the passage in Luke) He was only speaking as the man Jesus: “He who speaks from himself seeks his own glory;” but in the second statement He speaks as the Divine Christ, as God who appeared in this world hidden in human flesh, whose true identity no one knew: “Even if I bear witness of Myself, My witness is true, for I know where I came from and where I am going; but you do not know where I came from and where I am going.” (John. 8: 13-14).
In the first statement, (just like the passage in Luke) He was only speaking as the man Jesus: “He who speaks from himself seeks his own glory;” but in the second statement He speaks as the Divine Christ, as God who appeared in this world hidden in human flesh, whose true identity no one knew: “Even if I bear witness of Myself, My witness is true, for I know where I came from and where I am going; but you do not know where I came from and where I am going.” (John. 8: 13-14).
Again, as God, He asked the Sadducees and those who did not believe in the resurrection and, perhaps in His divinity, but believed that Christ is David’s son and nothing more: “How can they say that Christ is David’s son? For David himself says in the book of Psalm, ‘‘The Lord said to my Lord, sit at My right hand until I make Your enemies a stool for Your feet. David thus calls Him Lord, so how is He his son?” (Luke 20: 41-44; Psalm 110:1).
Everything about Christ’s divinity was to be kept secret until the appointed time—to be exposed gradually. That was why when Peter professed that He was the Son of the living God, Jesus said to him: “Blessed art thou Simon Bar-Jona! Because flesh and blood had not revealed it to thee but My Father who art in heaven.” (Matt. 16:17). In verse 20 we read: “Then charged He His disciples that they should tell no one that He was Jesus the Christ.”
As God, He worked on the sea without sinking (cf. Matt. 14: 22-27). As God, He took with Him Peter, James and John, and led them up a high mountain, where He was transfigured before them, His garments becoming “glistening, intensely white, like snow, such as no launderer on earth could bleach them,” and Moses and Elijah talked with Him (Cf. Mark 9: 2-4). And after this, “He commanded them that they should tell no one the things they had seen, till the Son of Man had risen from the dead.” And His disciples “...kept this word to themselves, questioning what rising from the dead meant.” (Cf. verses 9 and 10).
As God, with a single voice He called Lazarus out of the grave. (Cf. John 11:38-40). As man, He cried on the cross but as God He promised heaven to a thief—on the same cross. (Cf. Luke 23:43). As man, He was crucified, He died and was buried, but as God He tore the grave and rose from the dead—three days later. (Cf. Luke 24:1-6).
As God the Father Himself said to Christ:
“Your throne, O God, is forever and ever; a sceptre of righteousness is the sceptre of Your kingdom. You have loved righteousness and hated lawlessness...You, Lord, in the beginning laid the foundation of the earth, and the heavens are the work of Your hands. They will perish, but You remain; and they will all grow old like a garment; like a cloak You will fold them up, and they will be changed, but You are the same, and Your years will not fail.” ((Hebrews 1:8-12).
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| Our Lord |
Let the Igbo people be warned!
