The Marks of Jesus – Part 1

Does the body of Christ still bear the marks of the beatings, the crucifixion, and the spear?

To many, the assertion that the Bible is a fractal is just one more claim of the possession of impractical, esoteric knowledge. The truth is that this facet of the nature of the Scriptures is incredibly practical. Since every book, pericope, stanza and line of inspired text bears the same image, aligning them allows each to speak to and “enlighten” the other. The significance and meaning of one passage is revealed in the correspondence of its literary arrangement with the same sequencing as it appears in other passages. Thus, the answer to the question above is found in previous biblical texts. Jesus came to fulfill the Law. What does the Law say concerning the body of Christ?

As with the New Testament as a whole, the final sequence of the Gospels contains a series of “revelations” of Jesus Christ. Both of these texts — the end of the fourth Gospel and the book of Revelation — were written by the Apostle John, a son of thunder, the “last trumpet” in the Apostolic testimony before the destruction of Jerusalem. The first is a series of appearances by Jesus on earth (the itinerant Tabernacle and the camp of the saints: priesthood) and the second is a series of visions of Jesus in heaven (the established Temple and City of David: kingdom). The Old Testament sacrifices and patterns of worship were not only fulfilled in Jesus’ death, resurrection and ascension, but were also employed as literary devices in John’s recording of the events in his Gospel. He expects his readers to have some familiarity with these patterns, which help us to interpret Jesus’ actions and the order in which they occurred.

The resurrected Christ makes two appearances to the disciples in a locked room. To the modern skeptic, this ability to pass through locked doors seems a fanciful — but ultimately redundant — literary gloss. Unlike the “true” Jesus of history, this “imaginary” deified Jesus has magical powers. In context, however, the Son of God is recapitulating and fulfilling praxes established in the Torah and maintained (mostly) faithfully over centuries by the Aaronic priesthood. Because their minds are dulled by modernism and their eyes blinded by skepticism, doubters invariably neglect historical and literary context. The faithful interpreter must ask what the significance of the sign might be in the light of sacred architecture and sacrificial ministry.

John 20:19-31 Overview

The passage follows the sevenfold covenant/sacrificial pattern:

John 20:19-31 Analysis

TRANSCENDENCE (Creation / Sabbath)

• The first stanza follows the fivefold covenant pattern, alluding to foundational events in the Pentateuch. This is a new Creation in which Passover has been fulfilled, Herod’s Egyptian-hearted Israel cut off by a greater Phinehas, High Priest of a new order, with promises of a greater conquest — not the Land but the World.
• To highlight the fact that Jesus has fulfilled the Law, and that the kingdom is coming, the stanza goes one step further than other similar literary constructs that follow the pattern of the Ten Commandments according to the Jewish “scroll” division.¹See God-In-A-Box. Here, John gives us not two columns but three, that is, not only Adam and Eve but also the nations, the inheritance of the Seed.

• In terms of Tabernacle architecture, John adds Moses himself, as Prophet, to the Ten Words (Deuteronomy 18:15-19), or in terms of Temple architecture, a third column, a pillar of fire, to Jachin and Boaz, the two “trees” of Eden. Priests were anointed before Jachin and kings before Boaz. Like Noah, a faithful priest-king speaks for God as prophet. If kingdom usurps priesthood, as it did under the “Cainite” Herods, the pillar of fire stands upon the threshold and then departs (Ezekiel 9:3; 11:23) just as it did from the bloodied doorposts of Egypt. The tongues of fire of Pentecost were a message of the ultimate “peace offering” to those Jews who believed, but a prophetic warning of fire to the Temple cedars of the “city of peace” where the Lord was crucified (Zechariah 11:1; Revelation 11:8). Jesus had been given the authority of Moses and Elijah, and this flaming sword would soon be given to the Church as the testimony of Jesus.

These are the two olive trees and the two lampstands that stand before the Lord of the earth. And if anyone would harm them, fire pours from their mouth and consumes their foes. If anyone would harm them, this is how he is doomed to be killed. (Revelation 11:4)

• The sequence also works vertically through the Pentateuch. The reference to the evening at Transcendence alludes to the Creation (Genesis). The day after the Sabbath (the commandment which appears at this point in the Ten Words construct — Exodus) indicates that Adam’s work is done. The disciples fear the “king-priests” or false Levites at Leviticus. At Numbers, Jesus is the holy Mediator who stands in the gap, no longer a serpent on a pole but Phinehas with a spear. Finally, He speaks the first of two witnesses of peace at Deuteronomy, the “second Law.”

HIERARCHY (Division / Passover)

• The second stanza follows the same pattern, but the focus shifts from the presence of Jesus to His ministry for the disciples and their reaction to Him. The allusions to Passover become more apparent, but they demonstrate that the house of Israel has been superseded by the household of faith. Jesus is the Lamb whose blood covers the posts and lintel of the closed door as the disciples’ protection from judgment with the Israelite “Pharaohs,” the Herods. However, having risen from the dead, He now possesses the keys of death and the grave (Revelation 1:18). This means that while He is the miraculous “firstborn from the dead” (Colossians 1:18) to those who believe, He is also the angel of death who enters the house to execute judgment. In the Revelation, Jesus wears His Old Covenant guise as a mighty angel in relation to the disobedient Jews. But to those who believe, He enters the house in order to speak peace as the Lamb at the center of the true City of Peace, Jerusalem which is above. In Revelation 2-3, He stands in the midst of the seven pastors (a decentralized menorah) as a faithful judge who prepares them to testify as shining lights against the apostate city.
• Since the second witness of peace no appears as a Covenant Sanction, the final line of the Hierarchy (Delegation) stanza is free for a commission. Its dual coordinates here (Hierarchy x Succession) indicate that the disciples are being sent out as lambs to the slaughter. Those in Israel who refused to allow the disciples to enter their houses as holy angels (evangelists) would suffer the curses of the Law as pronounced in Deuteronomy 28.

• The Circumcision cut “Adam” in half: priestly Jews and kingly Gentiles, after the diverse ministries of Abel and Cain, or the Hebrew shepherds dwelling separately from the Egyptians in Goshen. Unlike the Aaronic priests, Jesus was bloodied on both sides, uniting Jew and Gentile in one new “Adam” (Ephesians 2:15).²For more discussion and a helpful diagram, see “Cutting Off Canaan” in Dark Sayings: Essays for the Eyes of the Heart. Once united, the history of Israel’s priesthood and kingdom led to an era of prophecy throughout the empire via the ministry of the synagogues — the third pillar, the third tree. Jesus was flanked by Moses and Elijah and then nailed to one of three crosses, three trees. The pattern is also found in the three elements in the Holy Place: Table (forming), Lampstand (filling), and Incense Altar (future). The third “tablet” is the Law, the character of God, written — engraved, marked — in flesh. The disciples would be sealed by the Spirit, sent out as living epistles, “little books” whose seals would be broken in their thunderous testimonies and dreadful martyrdoms. Their ministry is the focus of the book of Revelation.
• Notice the careful placement of the mark in Jesus’ side in the “Eve” column, alluding to Genesis 2:21-23.

ETHICS: Priesthood (Ascension / Firstfruits)

• The Levitical stanza corresponds to the ascension of Christ in Revelation 4-5, after which He opens the seven-sealed New Covenant scroll and sends His Spirit in the Gospels.

• Literally, the words “breathed into” mean to blow in, on, or among. At Transcendence, the reference is to the Spirit of God at the Creation of the World by the Word. Adam received physical life from God but failed to receive the heavenly “breath” from God. As a better Adam, Jesus signified that the disciples would indeed receive the same Spirit that hovered over the abyss, and appeared as a flaming sword, and strove with men before the Great Flood. This wind would culminate in “the breath of his coming” against the false Adam enthroned in Jerusalem’s Temple, just as the “wind” of the day had come against Adam in the Garden (2 Thessalonians 2:8).
• “If of any” in the priestly column alludes to the practice of selecting the perfect animals from the herd or flock. In this case, rather than a selection according to tribe it is a selection according to faith. These are those who are “numbered” or sealed as holy sacrifices in Revelation 7, and those who are “numbered” with the mark or brand of the beast (Herodian worship) as unclean animals in Revelation 13.
• Since the entirety of the first century history follows the biblical covenant pattern, the Ethics line in this Priesthood stanza corresponds to the Day of Pentecost, where 3,000 Jews believed and were forgiven, in contrast to the 3,000 who were slain by the Levitical sword at the first Pentecost (Exodus 32:28). These believers had been led astray by their leaders, and thus were forgiven (Numbers 15:22-29; Luke 23:34).
• However, the tongues of fire also served as a warning against those who did not believe the testimony. The same sword was in the mouth of Jesus when He came against the covenant-breakers (Revelation 19:15), the Saviour as our true Oath ministering the Sanctions against the entire empire, the Jews who conspired with Rome against His Bride. These rebels had not only led others astray, the blind leading the blind, but like Pharaoh had rejected every offer of mercy (Romans 9:17-18). Those who rejected the voice which spoke on earth were condemned. Those who now rejected the voice of a greater Moses from heaven, having rejected the Spirit of God, and proceeding to murder the saints, were far more guilty, being fully conscious of their sin. “Father, do not forgive them, for they know exactly what they are doing.”

But the person who does anything with a high hand, whether he is native or a sojourner, reviles the Lord, and that person shall be cut off from among his people. Because he has despised the word of the Lord and has broken his commandment, that person shall be utterly cut off; his iniquity shall be on him. (Numbers 15:30-31)

• Aptly, the Succession line of this “Levitical” stanza is missing, just as the book of Leviticus ends with Oath/Sanctions. As mediators between heaven and earth, the inheritance of the Levites was a heavenly country if faithful, but “consumption” by God above (like the sons of Aaron) or the Land beneath (like the sons of Korah) if unfaithful.

ETHICS: Kingdom (Testing / Pentecost)

• At Testing, Thomas is the doubting brother who is called to believe a testimony concerning the Lord from those who have seen the Lord. This is a microcosm of the Apostolic ministry to the Jews and Gentiles throughout the empire.
• The stanza cleverly uses the covenant structure to put a spin on each line. At Transcendence, Thomas is the Adamic initiator, and he is set apart at Hierarchy just as he was set apart from his twin at birth. The allusion here might be to Jacob and Esau, the theme of duality (often as a rivalry between priesthood and kingdom) running consistently throughout the Bible. Indeed, Revelation alludes to the battle between Israel and Amalek (Edom) at Mount Sinai to describe the spiritual war between the Church and the Herods. At Ethics, Thomas is like those who later did not witness the Day of Pentecost. The disciples speak with the tongue of Christ at Oath/Sanctions and are His legal representatives at Succession.

• The Triune office construct continues, with subtle allusions to the characteristics of the three roles.

ETHICS: Prophecy (Maturity / Trumpets)

• The name Thomas is derived from Hebrew, and it begins with the letter tav. That is possibly an allusion to the tav with which the angel with the ink horn was to mark those in Jerusalem who would be set apart by God due to their repentance and faith. This event occurs at the Atonement step of that particular literary sequence in Ezekiel and is an allusion to the twin goats. The question is, would Thomas identify with the ascension goat or the azal goat? Was his king Jesus or Herod? Judgment begins at the house of God.

Now the glory of the God of Israel had gone up from the cherub on which it rested to the threshold of the house. And he called to the man clothed in linen, who had the writing case at his waist. And the Lord said to him, “Pass through the city, through Jerusalem, and put a tav on the foreheads of the men who sigh and groan over all the abominations that are committed in it.” And to the others he said in my hearing, “Pass through the city after him, and strike. Your eye shall not spare, and you shall show no pity. Kill old men outright, young men and maidens, little children and women, but touch no one on whom is the tav. And begin at my sanctuary.” So they began with the elders who were before the house. (Ezekiel 9:3-6).

• Notice the symmetry in hands — finger — hands. And also the asymmetry in If I do not see — and put — and put, and marks — marks — side. The movement is an inversion of the process of faith, beginning with a desire to see through the veil at Hierarchy. The finger is a reference to the finger of God that engraved the Ten Words (the “do nots”) into the tablets of the Law, but perhaps is also related to Paul’s summary of the entire Levitical Law: “Do not handle! Do not taste! Do not touch!” (Colossians 2:21). If a Jew touched a corpse, he was unclean, and everything he touched was rendered unclean. If he failed to observe the laws for purification, he was to be cut off from among his people (Numbers 19:11-22). Thomas is deliberately flouting the Law in the faces of the disciples, which demonstrates his faithfulness as a Jew. If I do not contravene the Law of Moses, I will not believe in the Christ. But Jesus had already given the disciples the authority to forgive sins, that is, to render people clean apart from the Law.

OATH / SANCTIONS (Conquest / Atonement)

Oath (priesthood)

• The Oath/Sanctions section gives a stanza to each aspect of this point in the covenant sequence, one for Oath (submission to heaven) and one for Sanctions (dominion on earth). This reflects the notion of holy duality and highlights not only the various doubles in this narrative but also its position in the latter part of the Gospel itself. On the Day of Atonement, the High Priest made twin approaches to the Most Holy to offer blood, firstly for the priesthood (the blood of a bull for the rulers, Greater Adam) and again for the people (with the blood of the first goat for the people, Greater Eve). Jesus entered through the locked door twice, a picture of His entry into the court of God in heaven at His coming ascension, and also of the ascension of the Firstfruits Church just before the destruction of Jerusalem. This is what is described in Daniel 7, and the pattern is also seen in the ascension offering in Leviticus 1, where the head of the sacrifice is offered first, followed by the washing and offering of the body. In the light of sacred architecture, the disciples were not only in the court of God, they were safe from judgment, just like the elders who dined on Mount Sinai in Exodus 24.

“And he did not lay his hand on the chief men of the people of Israel; they beheld God, and ate and drank.” (Exodus 24:11)

• In that passage, the Lord did not lay his hand upon them in judgment. Here, the Lord invites Thomas to lay his hand upon Him as a judge. Ultimately, it is God Himself who has always offered the rite of sacrifice as a means of mercy, because He takes no pleasure in the death of the wicked (Ezekiel 18:23-32; 33:11).

Sanctions (kingdom)

• At the ascension of Christ, the disciples were told that Jesus would come again “in like manner,” (Acts 1:11) that is, in the clouds of glory, the chariot of God, approaching the throne once again but this time with the saints in His train. We simply cannot make sense of the New Testament without first inscribing the symbols and sequences of the Torah into our hearts. In that sense at least, Thomas was way ahead of us.

For since we believe that Jesus died and rose again, even so, through Jesus, God will bring (carry) with him those who have fallen asleep. (1 Thessalonians 4:14)

• This stanza works through the books of the Pentateuch, with a new Israel in the final line. This also corresponds with Israel’s annual harvest calendar (Leviticus 23) in which every step concerned the purity and maturity of Israel except the final feast, Sukkot, Tabernacles or Booths. In that festival, a purified and wise priestly nation threw a party for the surrounding Gentiles. This annual pattern prefigured the entire history of the nation. It also corresponds to the fivefold offerings at the beginning of Leviticus, the last one of which concerned the loosing of the Levite from priestly vows, the personal work of sacrifice having been finished. In the final step of this stanza, Thomas believes and becomes a legal representative of Jesus, a priest-king in a new order, one willing to be broken like bread and poured out like wine and enthroned in the heavenly court as a judge over Jerusalem (Matthew 19:28; Revelation 20:2). Those who humbled themselves (Oath) would be exalted beyond any measure they could currently comprehend (Sanctions). After the tribulation of the saints as the ascension goat, it would be the Apostolic Church which sent Jerusalem into outer darkness as the azal goat.³For more discussion, see Moses and the Revelation: Why the End of the World is not in Your Future.

SUCCESSION (Glorification / Booths)

• The final stanza concerns the nations who would believe without seeing the resurrected Christ, due to the power of the Spirit who had been promised but not yet given. What is interesting about the Triune construct here is what is missing.

Read Part 2.

If you are new to this method of interpretation, please visit the Welcome page for some help to get you up to speed.