William Varner - Messiahs Ministry: Crises of the Christ

This volume on the ministry of Jesus is a fitting climax to Dr. Varners trilogy on Jesus the Messiah. Having written masterful works on His advent as well as His death and resurrection, Varner now writes an informative work on His life while on earth. What makes this book even more valuable are the chapters on the history and culture of the Jewish people prior to Christs advent. He discusses Josephus, the men of Qumran, Moses, and Melchizedek for instance, giving us a more well-rounded understanding of the Jewish world Jesus encountered during His life. He has also taken selected events from Christs three years of ministry and given us a snapshot of who He was and what He did. He is to be commended on the surprising depth of his work.

Thomas Halstead

The Masters University

The issues addressed by Dr. William Varner in Messiahs Ministry relate to the credibility of Jesus stunning claims concerning Himself. Throughout His ministry, Jesus claimed to be the Messiah/Christ and to be God come in the flesh (Matt 16:16; John 11:27; Matt 26:63; John 20:3031). When Paul told them about the remarkable claims and accomplishments of the Nazarene, the Bereans searched the Scriptures to see if these things were so (Acts 17:11) and thus believed. You will be blessed to walk with Dr. Varner through some of those Old Testament Messianic anticipations which God used to impact the truth-seeking Bereans so long ago.

Dr. Douglas Bookman

Shepherds Theological Seminary

The best way to describe this excellent work by Dr. Varner is to point out that these are highlight aspects of the Life and the Ministry of Yeshua (Jesus) the Messiah. There are two things which are quite unique to this work. First, he covers what many other similar books cover about the Messiah being a Prophet, Priest, and King. Some of the insights in these three categories, however, are still unique to him and are worthy of consideration and study. Second, here are some new emphases that most books on the Life of Messiah simply do not cover: backgrounds from the Hebrew Scriptures and a frame of reference from rabbinic theology prevalent in first century Israel which is what the Messiah had to interact with whether it came from the Pharisees or from the Sadducees or from the Herodians. This material provides additional perspective in understanding Messiahs person and work and points out the uniqueness of Dr. Varners work. This work is highly recommended, and I encourage all to read this volume as well as the other two volumes in the trilogy.

Arnold G. Fruchtenbaum

Director of Ariel Ministries

Messiahs Ministry

Crises of the Christ

WILLIAM VARNER

Fontes Press

Messiahs Ministry:

Crises of the Christ

Copyright 2021 by William Varner

ISBN-13: 978-1-948048-62-0 (hardback)

ISBN-13: 978-1-948048-61-3 (paperback)

All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted in any form or by any meanselectronic, mechanical, photocopy, recording, or any otherexcept for brief quotations in printed reviews, without the prior permission of the publisher. Translations are the author's own, although influenced by the Legacy Standard Bible.

Book and prayer icons at the end of each chapter are made by Freepik from www.flaticon.com.

Fontes Press

Dallas, TX

www.fontespress.com

To

Todd Bolen

Colleague, lover of Israel, Bible Lands photographer,

all around scholar and friend

Contents

Foreword

By dealing with the ministry of Jesus from His baptism to His transfiguration, Messiahs Ministry: Crises of the Christ fills a gap left in the Apostles Creed, which skips from His birth to His death without so much as a word to fill that yawning gap. As a well-established scholar, the author William Varner explains to his readership of serious-minded lay people not only the Biblical texts dealing with the middle part of Jesus ministry but also its Jewish background both in the Old Testament and in other Jewish literature of the New Testament period, such as the Dead Sea Scrolls and the writings of Josephus, a first-century Jewish historian. Accompanying this rich tapestry of explanations are stunningly magnificent color photos of Biblical sites that help readers visualize the events they are reading about. Rounding out the whole are basic bibliographies for further reading and prayers designed to lead readers into informed Christian witness and devotion and, if used in Bible study groups (as it should be), into mutual edification.

It is with confidence, then, that I recommend this bookand also with special pleasure in that William Varner teaches at my alma mater, The Masters University, which I attended 19501954 (then called Los Angeles Baptist College) and concerning which I carry the fondest of feelings. Of blessed memory, my teachers thereMilton Fish, Herbert Hotchkiss, Thomas Price, Samuel Fisk, Marchant Kingwould have heartily seconded my recommendation.

Robert H. Gundry

Professor Emeritus and Scholar-in-Residence

Westmont College

Preface

The Apostle Paul declares in Romans 10:4 that the Messiah is the goal of the Torah: For Messiah is the end of the law for righteousness to everyone who believes. In John 5:46, Jesus argues that since the religious leaders do not believe Moses, they do not accept Him as the promised Messiah. For if you believed Moses, you would believe me; for he wrote of me. Likewise, in Matthew 5:17 Jesus says, Do not think that I have come to abolish the Law or the Prophets; I have not come to abolish them but to fulfill them.

In other words, the ministry of Jesus the Messiah is rooted and grounded in the Hebrew Scriptures. If we want to understand Him and His ministry, we must view it all in light of the Old Testament Messianic promises and themes. That has been the heartbeat of the first two volumes in this Messianic Trilogy expounding the life and ministry of Jesus the Messiah from His incarnation (Anticipating the Advent) to His resurrection and ascension (Passionate about Passion Week). When my boss, Tom Halstead, was reading Advent he suggested that since I had now written on the beginning and the end of Jesus life, I should now write on the middle part of His earthly ministry and complete the whole story! Hence this third volume, which is actually the second one in terms of the chronology of Jesus life and ministry!

So what you have before you is a treatment of the events of Jesus the Messiahs ministry from His baptism to His transfiguration. Along the way are some chapters that introduce the reader to some of the Jewish background of the Messiahs ministry, such as what the Dead Sea Scrolls and Josephus wrote about Jesus or the Messiah in general. So while we will survey the Messianic context of Jesus ministry, we will explore a number of other Jewish themes that will help us appreciate the context of His Jewishness. I also have included at least one color photo of an appropriate Biblical site in each chapter (except ch. 1), courtesy of BiblePlaces.com.

Permit a brief word about the title and especially the subtitle of this book. While I prefer the title Messiah to Christ, I did use the latter term in the subtitle for a couple of reasons. First, I simply liked the ring of the alliteration in the initial Cs. Second, more importantly the expression Crises of the Christ intentionally recalls a book by that title by G. Campbell Morgan. Long out of print, that book by the British preacher inspired me long before I began writing about Jesus role as the Christ (i.e., the Messiah).

As was the case with my book Passionate about the Passion Week, I have included a number of photographs of sites in Israel. These images help the reader to see where these important events took place, as well as reading about them. Thanks to BiblePlaces.com for permission to use these high-quality photographs. Finally, I should thank my wife, Helen, for proofing the manuscript and suggesting to me some good ideas.