The word “lord” is used so often in the Bible I’d need a calculator to count the number of times, but there is a difference between “lord” and “The Lord”.
The problem is so many people don’t know what that difference is.
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In John 13:13, Yeshua says to his Talmudim (disciples) (CJB):
“You call me `Rabbi’ and `Lord,’ and you are right, because I am.”
But is he saying he is THE Lord, God, or just that he is their lord, as in a person with legal authority over others?
The Greek word for “lord” used in the Septuagint is “Kyrios“, and there it is used to refer to God, the God of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob. And that makes sense, doesn’t it? The Septuagint was written sometime between the 3rd and 1st Century B.C., so the only “Lord” Jews knew at that time was God; Yeshua wasn’t even born yet!
Coming forward in time, some of the earlier gospels were written in either Hebrew or Aramaic, but by the time we get to John’s gospel (which, I have often said, is not a “real” gospel) which (according to the Internet) was written between 90-110 A.D., it was most likely originally written in Greek, the Lingua Franca of that time. And as such, since by then Christians were already starting to separate themselves from their Jewish roots, the use of Kyrios was assigned, so to speak, to Yeshua instead of the proper word for him, which in Greek was Christos (the Hebrew word being “Mashiach“).
The difference between “lord” (small case ‘l’) and “The Lord” (capital ‘L’) is that the former is a title representing some level of legal authority or birthright, and the other is a reference to the one and only God of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob.
Of course, “Lord” is also the translation of the name Ba’al, and (I am sure) of other gods, as well, but that doesn’t mean Ba’al is THE Lord. For so many “Holy Namers” who refuse to use the word “lord” because they say when you pray to the lord, you are praying to Ba’al, well…really? I mean, what can you say to someone that far off the mark?
This may be another reason why so many people get confused- someone can be a lord but there is only one Lord.
When Yeshua said it was correct to call him Rabbi and Lord, he wasn’t claiming to be God- he was claiming his authority given to him by God, as he was born to be the Messiah. And as we read further, the context in which he used those titles was to demonstrate that he was washing their feet, humbly, and so they (when they have their own level of authority) should also maintain their humility.
Yeshua was the Messiah, and in traditional Judaism the Messiah is also the king. That is one of the reasons the power elite in Jerusalem wanted Yeshua dead, because as king he would have deposed them all from the Sanhedrin and taken his place as the ultimate authority over the people, which at that time was held by the Pharisees. So, when we see the word “lord” referring to Yeshua, it is the political, legal, and authoritative meaning of that word, and NOT to identify him as the God of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob.
Going forward, please be sure when, reading the Bible and you come to the word ‘lord’, that you are understanding it in its proper context.
Here’s a final thought: If the word ‘lord’ always means God, then we should never be disrespectful to England because they have an entire house full of lords!
Thank you for being here and please remember to share these messages with everyone you know, even non-believers. Hey, after all, you never know how fertile the soil is until you plant a seed in it.
That’s it for this week, so l’hitraot and (an early) Shabbat Shalom!