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Jesus as the Holy One

Words are fragile things. They are easily abused. When they are misused, their meanings get twisted. Over time, perfectly “good” words become “bad” words. And words which were once seen as vulgar, dirty, or profane are elevated to everyday speech.

Some words hold onto a specific meaning regardless of how they are exploited. “Holy” is such a word. Though incorporated into the daily language of many as a word used to intensify an expletive, though trivialized in pop culture especially in the TV series “Batman, though misunderstood and undervalued by the majority of people, “holy” is a serious word with a rich significance.

On two occasions in the New Testament, Jesus is identified as “the Holy One.” In Luke 4:34, demons recognized Him and cried, “Let us alone! What have we to do with You, Jesus of Nazareth? Did You come to destroy us? I know who You are––the Holy One of God!” and in Acts3:14, after healing the lame man, Peter challenged those who questioned him with these words: “But you denied the Holy One and the Just, and asked for a murderer to be granted to you.”

When the word “holy” is applied to Jesus, we must understand it in its most exalted sense. The concept derives from its intimate association with God. We could well understand it as the essence of God. While God is described in the Bible as being “love,” his love is conditioned by his holiness, not the other way around. It brings together in one word his purity, majesty, and glory. It is concerned with the very character of God, not so much with what He does.

Holy is also the word used throughout the Bible to identify everything that belonged to God, was set apart for Him, or was associated with His worship. Utensils used in temple worship were consecrated, or set apart, for use by the priests in dealing with the offerings brought by the people. In the New Testament, holy is used to describe such simple things as the kiss of greeting between brothers and sisters in the Lord and the sacred writings or “scriptures” which are the very Word of God.

It is used of angels, prophets, apostles, and of Christians in general. In these cases, we understand that their “holiness” does not arise from anything intrinsic. All these are holy because of their association with God. They are set apart to God, speak for God, are sent by God, are redeemed by God or some such thing.

When Jesus is identified as “the Holy One” it is not because of some such association with the divine. Jesus is the Holy One because He is God. He shares that purity, majesty, and glory that is intrinsic to the godhead. Here is One, whose holiness does not derive from outside of Himself.

Exposure to that which is truly holy always evokes worship. As you read through the Bible, close encounters with God’s holiness always left people stunned, staggered and stupefied, not uncommonly flat on their faces. If we have met Jesus, the Holy One, we too will feel the compulsion to worship. This desire will spring up within us. We will want to worship alone. We will want to worship with others. We will worship with our words, our actions, and in the silence of our hearts. Any time we have a fresh experience with the Holy One, no one will need to tell us to worship, it will be as instinctive as taking our next breath.

Ron Hughes
© November 2007