797. Sealing

From: Manners and Customs of the Bible By: James M. Freeman

• 1 min. read • grade level: 10

John 6:27²⁷Labor not for the meat which perisheth, but for that meat which endureth unto everlasting life, which the Son of man shall give unto you: for him hath God the Father sealed. (John 6:27). Him hath God the Father sealed.

Burder (Oriental Customs, No. 1120) suggests that there may be an allusion here to the sacrificial death of Christ, and cites from Herodotus an account of the ceremonies accompanying the selection of a victim for sacrifice among the ancient Egyptians. If, after careful search, the animal was found without blemish, the priest bound a label to his horns, applied wax to the label, and sealed it with his ring. This set it apart for sacrifice, and no animal could be offered unless thus sealed. We have no knowledge of any such ceremony among the Jews, though they were careful in selecting their victims; but the sacrificial customs of other nations were doubtless known to them. The meaning of the text may; therefore, be, that Jesus bad been set apart or “sealed” as a sacrifice in order that he might obtain eternal life for those who believe on him.

On the other hand, Lightfoot interprets the passage to mean that God had confirmed Jesus by his seal to be “the great Ruler both of his kingdom and family”; and he refers for illustration to a rabbinical form of instruction which declares the seal of God to be Truth, one of the names which Jesus applies to himself. See John 14:6⁶Jesus saith unto him, I am the way, the truth, and the life: no man cometh unto the Father, but by me. (John 14:6). Compare also John 3:33³³He that hath received his testimony hath set to his seal that God is true. (John 3:33).