The Boundaries Israel Never Crossed
The same LORD revealed in the Old Testament is the One unveiled in Jesus Christ. Within Israel’s Scriptures, certain lines are never crossed. They define the difference between Creator and creature, between the LORD and all that is not the LORD. Among these boundaries, two stand with particular clarity. Only the LORD forgives sins. Only the LORD receives worship without rebuke.
When David confesses his sin, he acknowledges that his transgression is ultimately against God (Psalm 51:4). When Solomon dedicates the temple, he appeals to the LORD as the One who alone knows the hearts of men and forgives (1 Kings 8:39). The prophets repeatedly declare that it is God who blots out transgressions for His own sake (Isaiah 43:25). Forgiveness is not mechanical. It is not priestly invention. It belongs to the covenant God alone.
The same exclusivity governs worship. The first commandment tolerates no rival (Exodus 20:3). The LORD declares that He will not give His glory to another (Isaiah 42:8). When human beings attempt to worship angels or apostles, they are corrected immediately (Acts 10:25–26; Revelation 22:8–9). The line between honoring a servant and worshiping God is sharply guarded.
These are not minor doctrinal details. They are structural to Israel’s faith.
It is against this backdrop that the actions of Jesus must be understood.
The Authority to Forgive
In Mark 2, when a paralytic is lowered before Jesus, He does not begin with healing. He declares the man’s sins forgiven. The scribes present immediately recognize the theological implication. They reason that only God can forgive sins. Their conclusion is correct.
What follows is decisive. Jesus does not deny the premise. He does not clarify that He is announcing forgiveness granted elsewhere. Instead, He demonstrates that the Son of Man has authority on earth to forgive sins. The miracle that follows confirms the claim.
If forgiveness belongs uniquely to the LORD, and if Jesus exercises that authority without appeal to another, then the conclusion aligns with the pattern already established. He is not stepping beyond His place. He is revealing it. This revelation of Christ as the fullness of deity is central to the mystery of the Trinity.
The same pattern appears throughout His ministry. He speaks not as a prophet declaring what the LORD has said, but as the source of authority. He contrasts His word with prior commands and presents His teaching as definitive (Matthew 5:21–22). He claims authority over the Sabbath, the covenant sign between the LORD and Israel (Mark 2:28). These are not the gestures of a reformer within Israel’s tradition. They are the claims of the One who established it.
The Reception of Worship
The matter of worship intensifies the issue. When the disciples witness Jesus walking upon the sea, they worship Him (Matthew 14:33). After the resurrection, the women take hold of His feet and worship Him (Matthew 28:9). Thomas addresses Him directly as Lord and God (John 20:28). At no point does Jesus deflect this worship.
This silence is theologically weighty. In Scripture, acceptance of worship signals divine identity. Angels refuse it. Apostles refuse it. The LORD alone receives it. If Jesus were merely a representative, His acceptance of worship would violate the very commandments He affirms.
Instead, His acceptance confirms what His words imply. The honor given to Him is not misplaced devotion. It is rightful recognition.
John 5 presses this further. Jesus declares that the Father has entrusted all judgment to the Son so that all may honor the Son just as they honor the Father. The comparison does not permit degrees. Equal honor is required. To refuse the Son is to refuse the Father.
This is not delegated dignity. It is shared identity.
The Confession of One God
At this point, the question naturally arises whether such claims fracture Israel’s confession of one God. The New Testament anticipates this concern. In 1 Corinthians 8, Paul affirms that there is no God but one. Yet he immediately speaks of one God, the Father, and one Lord, Jesus Christ.
The structure of Paul’s statement echoes Deuteronomy 6:4, Israel’s central confession. He does not abandon monotheism. He includes Jesus within it. The divine identity is not divided between competing beings. It is revealed as shared between Father and Son.
Philippians 2 reinforces this unity. Paul applies Isaiah 45, where every knee bows to YHWH, directly to Jesus. The universal homage reserved for the LORD is rendered to Christ, and this is said to be to the glory of God the Father. The worship of Jesus does not detract from the Father. It manifests Him.
The New Testament does not weaken the oneness of God. It unveils its depth.
The Character of the LORD Unchanged
A persistent misunderstanding suggests that the God of the Old Testament is severe, while Jesus embodies mercy. This contrast dissolves under scrutiny. The LORD in Israel’s history delivers from Egypt and judges unbelief in the wilderness (Exodus 14; Numbers 14). Mercy and judgment are intertwined.
The Gospels present Jesus in the same fullness. He forgives sinners and warns of destruction. He weeps over Jerusalem and foretells its fall (Luke 19:41–44). The risen Christ in Revelation judges the nations with authority (Revelation 19).
There is no shift in divine character between covenants. The same LORD who revealed Himself in fire and cloud reveals Himself in flesh and blood. The cross itself demonstrates both justice and mercy. It is not a contradiction of Old Testament severity. It is its fulfillment.
Fulfillment Rather Than Replacement
The language of replacement fails to capture what Scripture presents. The New Testament does not depict Jesus as superseding the God of Israel. It reveals Him as the substance toward which Israel’s history moved. The law, the temple, the sacrifices, and the priesthood find their completion in Him (Hebrews 8–10; Colossians 2:17). The promises of God find their Yes in Him (2 Corinthians 1:20).
The same logic applies to divine revelation. The LORD who appeared in shadow now appears in clarity. The partial gives way to the full, not because the earlier revelation was false, but because it was preparatory.
When Jesus declares that Moses wrote of Him (John 5:46) and interprets the Scriptures as speaking concerning Himself (Luke 24:27), He is not inserting Himself into a narrative that lacked Him. He is unveiling the same LORD revealed through every covenant and promise. This principle of fulfillment rather than replacement is the foundation of fulfillment theology.
The Recognition That Divides
The dividing line in the Gospels is not between those who believe in God and those who do not. It is between those who recognize the LORD unveiled in Christ and those who refuse that recognition. The Scriptures were searched, the temple was revered, the name was honored. Yet when the LORD stood present in flesh, many did not know Him.
This is why worship that rejects the Son is described as vain (Isaiah 29:13; Matthew 15:9). To honor God while refusing His self-revelation is not faithfulness. It is blindness. The relationship between Israel and Christ is explored in our article on the mystery of Israel.
The question that began with visible encounters in the Old Testament and moved through the divine name, prophetic glory, and wilderness provision now reaches its unavoidable conclusion.
The LORD who forgives sins, receives worship, judges nations, and declares His glory has not changed. He has been revealed.
The One Israel encountered in temple, wilderness, and covenant history is the same LORD who walked the roads of Galilee, who bore the cross, and who rose in glory.
This is not another God.
It is the same LORD.
And His name is Jesus Christ.
