A Brief Look At The Worship And Glorification of Yahshua

A friend put this to me:  "I had a friend read your page and he said that he's heard your sort of perspectives before but also suggested  wouldn't it be wrong for Yeshua to allow people to worship him if he were not divine? He was refereing to the time when Christ entered Jeruselm before the crucifixion. What is your thought?"

I love these sincere questions and thought I'd share our answer here for others to consider.

First, about divinity. This is where the concordance comes in. In the NT you'll find the word divinity means "godlike." Well, Yahshua IS like our elohim, more so than any of us, though we are also made in Yah's image and called to be just like Him. I do believe Yahshua is divine. The problem is that most people see "divine" and "deity" as the same thing. LIKE god is not the same thing as GOD. So, really what we question is the teaching that Messiah is deity. IS he Yahweh, or just LIKE Yahweh?

The issue of worship is a fun one, I think you'll like it. Again, we use the concordance:

Hebrew 7812
שׁחה
shâchâh

(pronouced) shaw-khaw'

A primitive root; to depress, that is, prostrate (especially reflexively in homage to royalty or God): - bow (self) down, crouch, fall down (flat), humbly beseech, do (make) obeisance, do reverence, make to stoop, worship.
Greek 4352
προσκυνέω
proskuneō
(pronounced) pros-koo-neh'-o

From G4314 and probably a derivative of G2965 (meaning to kiss, like a dog licking his master’s hand); to fawn or crouch to, that is, (literally or figuratively) prostrate oneself in homage (do reverence to, adore): - worship.

Nothing mysterious here. For starters, he wasn't being worshiped as elohim, but as king. And wasn't it right for Yahshua, the rightful king, the much anticipated anointed one, to receive the homage due him? Consider these verses:

Mat 2:2 "Where is He who has been born King of the Jews? For we saw His star in the east, and have come to worship Him."

Heb 1:6 And when He again brings the first-born into the world, He says, "AND LET ALL THE ANGELS OF GOD WORSHIP HIM."

Being a humble man, he never sought worship, but always pointed to the Father, and others were quick to worship Yahweh because of Yahshua.

Joh 4:21 Jesus said to her, "Woman, believe Me, an hour is coming when neither in this mountain, nor in Jerusalem, shall you worship the Father.
Joh 4:22 "You worship that which you do not know; we worship that which we know, for salvation is from the Jews.
Joh 4:23 "But an hour is coming, and now is, when the true worshipers shall worship the Father in spirit and truth; for such people the Father seeks to be His worshipers.
Joh 4:24 "Elohim is spirit, and those who worship Him must worship in spirit and truth."

A look at the word "glorified" is helpful, too.

Greek 1392
δοξάζω
doxazō
(pronounced) dox-ad'-zo
From G1391; to render (or esteem) glorious (in a wide application): - (make) glorify (-ious), full of (have) glory, honour, magnify.

Mat 9:8 But when the multitudes saw this, they were filled with awe, and glorified Elohim, who had given such authority to men.  (Note "to MEN")

Mat 15:31 so that the multitude marveled as they saw the dumb speaking, the crippled restored, and the lame walking, and the blind seeing; and they glorified the elohim of Israel

Yahweh intended to glorify Yahshua...

Joh 7:39 But this He spoke of the Spirit, whom those who believed in Him were to receive; for the Spirit was not yet given, because Yahshua was not yet glorified.

Joh 11:4 But when Yahshua heard it, He said, "This sickness is not unto death, but for the glory of Elohim, that the Son of Elohim may be glorified by it."

Joh 12:16 These things His disciples did not understand at the first; but when Yahshua was glorified, then they remembered that these things were written of Him, and that they had done these things to Him.

Joh 12:23 And Jesus answered them, saying, "The hour has come for the Son of Man to be glorified.

But always turned the glory back to his Father...

Joh 12:28 "Father, glorify Thy name." There came therefore a voice out of heaven: "I have both glorified it, and will glorify it again."

Joh 13:31 When therefore he had gone out, Yahshua said, "Now is the Son of Man glorified, and Elohim is glorified in Him;
Joh 13:32 if Elohim is glorified in Him, Elohim will also glorify Him in Himself, and will glorify Him immediately.

Joh 14:13 "And whatever you ask in My name, that will I do, that the Father may be glorified in the Son.

Joh 17:3 "And this is eternal life, that they may know Thee, the only true Elohim, and Yahshua Messiah whom Thou hast sent.
Joh 17:4 "I glorified Thee on the earth, having accomplished the work which Thou hast given Me to do.

I love this last one because it makes the whole thing abundantly clear. Especially, "that they may know thee, the ONLY true elohim, AND Yahshua Messiah whom thou hast sent." The gospel acredited to John (though  more likely written by Lazarus) is all about love and glory!

Act 3:13 "The Elohim of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob, the Elohim of our fathers, has glorified His servant Yahshua, the one whom you delivered up, and disowned in the presence of Pilate, when he had decided to release Him.

1Pe 4:11 Whoever speaks, let him speak, as it were, the utterances of Elohim; whoever serves, let him do so as by the strength which Elohim supplies; so that in all things Elohim may be glorified through Yahshua Messiah, to whom belongs the glory and dominion forever and ever. Amen.

Anyway, there's tons more, but you get the idea. Do note that there was a time that Yahshua WAS NOT glorified. His hour hadn't come yet. If he were Yahweh in the flesh, he would have been a glorified being from the beginning, wouldn't he?

Whatcha think?