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Category: 4 Gospels + Good News of the NEW Testament

What are the Gospels?

FOUR Gospels:

GOOD NEWS! (That’s what Gospel means.)

Matthew, Mark, Luke & John begin the New Testament proclaiming the Good News of Israel’s long-awaited Messiah and talk of JESUS Christ.

The four Gospels are first hand witness + proclaiming GOOD NEWS

by two Jewish Apostles of the Messiah JESUS, Matthew & John
Two gentile (non-Jewish) followers of THE WAY of Jesus Christ, Mark & Luke, who proclaim the GOSPEL recorded from witness of Peter, Paul and other Apostles and disciples of JESUS in the first century.

READ the Good News of the Messiah and Savior Jesus from accounts of His twelve Apostles & others witnessing the resurrection of the Lord Jesus from the four Gospels of the New Testament: Matthew, Mark, Luke and John.

SHARE the Gospel

with your Christian friends and those who do not yet believe in JESUS CHRIST.
Comment on a Talk of JESUS post and SHARE in your social media world.

Before Abraham was, I AM
“I am the God of your father—the God of Abraham, the God of Isaac, and the God of Jacob.” And Moses hid his face, for he was afraid to look upon God.
Exodus 3:6 KJV

13 And Moses said unto God, Behold, when I come unto the children of Israel, and shall say unto them, The God of your fathers hath sent me unto you; and they shall say to me, What is his name? what shall I say unto them?

14 And God said unto Moses, I AM THAT I AM: and he said, Thus shalt thou say unto the children of Israel, I AM hath sent me unto you.

Who sent Jesus to us?

Moses relates one of the most remarkable encounters with the LORD which results in his leading God’s chosen from slavery to the promised land. Exodus records for us not only the genealogy of Israel, Isaac and Abraham, here we learn the Lord’s own Name:

הָיָה הָיָה

I AM that I AM – that is: the LORD IS the Existing One!

As we learned previously in Who May Judge Sin?, Jesus answers questions of the religious leaders of the Temple. They asked Him to judge a woman accused of adultery, but relented from stoning her when Jesus showed her mercy and challenged their motives.

They question Jesus legitimacy as the Messiah of God. Do you?

Essentially they want to prove that Jesus is not sent from God, even though this Son of Man has given many signs of His power and Authority from God.

These rabbis will go to any length and make any false argument against the legitimacy and authority of Jesus.

So what does the Messiah Jesus claim?

Jesus spoke to them again: “I am the light of the world.
John 8:12a CSB

What does this mean? It depends if you have ears to hear.

Who sent Jesus to the world twenty-one centuries ago is a matter of faith – also our question of who to believe.

So Jesus now speaks to two groups of Jews:
1. Followers of Jesus – those called by faith, which includes some Jews who believe their Messiah; and also
2. Those who judge Jesus, refusing to believe the very Word of God! These include some but not all of the Pharisees from the Court of the Jews.
Let’s dissect Jesus’ words as heard by each group, both then and now.

John 8:

1. Followers of Jesus

Anyone who follows me will never walk in the darkness but will have the light of life.”
The promise of Jesus – John 8:12b CSB

14 … “My testimony is true, because I know where I came from and where I’m going.

I judge no one. 16 And if I do judge, my judgment is true, because it is not I alone who judge, but I and the Father who sent me.

29 The one who sent me is with me. He has not left me alone, because I always do what pleases him.”

30 As he was saying these things, many believed in him.

31 Then Jesus said to the Jews who had believed him, “If you continue in my word, you really are my disciples. 32 You will know the truth, and the truth will set you free.”

36 So if the Son sets you free, you really will be free.

42 Jesus said to them, “If God were your Father, you would love me, because I came from God and I am here. For I didn’t come on my own, but he sent me.

49 “I do not have a demon,” Jesus answered. “On the contrary, I honor my Father … 50 I do not seek my own glory; there is one who seeks it and judges. 51 Truly I tell you, if anyone keeps my word, he will never see death.”

Then the teachers of the Jews will follow with a question, the answer which divides the faithful from the deceitful.

But first let’s go back to the beginning of this testimony of the Gospel to stand beside Jerusalem’s religious elite who question the Messiah of God, determined to kill Him and preserve their own temporal glory among men.

2. Court of the Pharisees

Hear this same Messiah of Israel through ears refusing to listen to truth. These Pharisees feed the crowds of Jews they teach with their own dismissive words and questions of resentful doubt.

13 So the Pharisees said to him, “You are testifying about yourself. Your testimony is not valid.”

Jesus replied, “… But you don’t know where I come from or where I’m going. 15 You judge by human standards.

17 Even in your law it is written that the testimony of two witnesses is true. 18 I am the one who testifies about myself, and the Father who sent me testifies about me.”

19 Then they asked him, “Where is your Father?”

“You know neither me nor my Father,” Jesus answered.

21 Then he said to them again, “I’m going away; you will look for me, and you will die in your sin. Where I’m going, you cannot come.”

22 So the Jews said again, “He won’t kill himself, will he, since he says, ‘Where I’m going, you cannot come’?”

23 “You are from below,” he told them, “I am from above. You are of this world; I am not of this world. 24 Therefore I told you that you will die in your sins. For if you do not believe that I am he, you will die in your sins.”

Who are you?

25 “Who are you?” they questioned.

28 So Jesus said to them, “When you lift up the Son of Man, then you will know that I am he, and that I do nothing on my own. But just as the Father taught me, I say these things.

33 “We are descendants of Abraham,” they answered him, “and we have never been enslaved to anyone. How can you say, ‘You will become free’?”

34 Jesus responded, “Truly I tell you, everyone who commits sin is a slave of sin. 35 A slave does not remain in the household forever, but a son does remain forever.

Jesus, speaking to the Jews to whom He was sent, warns in the same manner He told many parables. The Father, His Father in heaven sent the Son to redeem them of their sins. He will become the Sacrifice God provides, just like the substitute for Isaac the Lord sent to Abraham.

A sinful man must sacrifice to the Lord because of man’s sin.

The Son remains in the Father’s house because He will inherit all that the Father owns. But a slave, even a chosen slave freed from Pharaoh, only lives freely if his sin does not shackle him to death once more.

Abraham believed God; but unbelief binds one to die as sacrifice only for yourself, a sentence of death for your own sin.

Descendents of Abraham

37 I know you are descendants of Abraham, but you are trying to kill me because my word has no place among you.

… so then, you do what you have heard from your father.”

39 “Our father is Abraham,” they replied.

“If you were Abraham’s children,” Jesus told them, “you would do what Abraham did. 40 But now you are trying to kill me, a man who has told you the truth that I heard from God. Abraham did not do this.

41 You’re doing what your father does.”

“We weren’t born of sexual immorality,” they said. “We have one Father—God.”

Your father, the Devil

43 Why don’t you understand what I say? Because you cannot listen to my word.

44 You are of your father the devil, and you want to carry out your father’s desires. He was a murderer from the beginning and does not stand in the truth, because there is no truth in him. When he tells a lie, he speaks from his own nature, because he is a liar and the father of lies. 45 Yet because I tell the truth, you do not believe me.

47 The one who is from God listens to God’s words. This is why you don’t listen, because you are not from God.”

48 The Jews responded to him, “Aren’t we right in saying that you’re a Samaritan and have a demon?”

Demons and Samaritans

Do not dismiss quickly their accusation of demons. Many will accuse Jesus of having a demon or evil spirit, even though the Messiah has done no evil.

And later, confirming the signs of the Messiah some Jews ask, “Can a demon open the eyes of the blind? ”

The Pharisees knowing from scripture that the Messiah will come from Bethlehem only know the Son of Man as ‘Jesus of Nazareth,’ and we know their contempt as Judeans for Samaritans (and Galileans as well).

49 “I do not have a demon,” Jesus answered.

51 Truly I tell you, if anyone keeps my word, he will never see death.”

[How can that be, anyone must wonder. Never see death?]

52 Then the Jews said, “Now we know you have a demon. Abraham died and so did the prophets. You say, ‘If anyone keeps my word, he will never taste death.’

A Convicting Question

53 Are you greater than our father Abraham who died? And the prophets died. Who do you claim to be?”

Who could be greater than David, King of Israel a thousand years before Jesus?

In the new traditions of the Pharisees of a rebuilt temple certainly Moses, who was given the Law and brought them out of Egypt, would be revered most.

Some prophets like Elijah might be seen as great because of great signs they performed, along with Jacob and Abraham as first fathers of the promise of the Lord to the Hebrew people.

So the question of the Pharisees to Jesus comparing Him to Abraham and the prophets is meant to convict.

Who do you claim to be?

Note that they do not ask, “who are you,” but “who do you claim to be.” Jesus’ unequivocal answer will claim His very deity!

Jesus’ Glorious Answer

Even before Mosheh (Moses)

Returning to Scripture as these rabbis would well know as background:

וַיִּשְׁכֹּ֤ן כְּבֹוד־יְהוָה֙ עַל־הַ֣ר סִינַ֔י וַיְכַסֵּ֥הוּ הֶעָנָ֖ן שֵׁ֣שֶׁת יָמִ֑ים וַיִּקְרָ֧א אֶל־מֹשֶׁ֛ה בַּיֹּ֥ום הַשְּׁבִיעִ֖י מִתֹּ֥וךְ הֶעָנָֽן׃
The glory of the LORD rested on Mount Sinai, and the cloud covered it for six days; and on the seventh day He called to Moses from the midst of the cloud.
Exodus 24:16 WLC; NASB

The context of the hearers, fellow Jews like Jesus, connects their question to Jesus’ answer. (You must know scripture (Old Testament) as they knew scripture. The Torah of Moses includes the Lord’s promise to Abraham’s descendants.

And to the eyes of the sons of Israel the appearance of the glory of the LORD was like a consuming fire on the mountain top. Moses entered the midst of the cloud as he went up to the mountain; and Moses was on the mountain forty days and forty nights.
Exodus 24:17-18 NASB

Their Hebrew forefathers witnessed the glory of the LORD more than once.

John 8:

Now, returning to the Gospel, Jesus gives witness to a glory which preceded Moses who received the Law directly from the LORD.

54 “If I glorify myself,” Jesus answered, “my glory is nothing. My Father—about whom you say, ‘He is our God’—he is the one who glorifies me. 55 You do not know him, but I know him…”

And now the Son of Man, who must say only truth, does so even though the depth of Jesus’ words do not immediately sink in.

“… If I were to say I don’t know him, I would be a liar like you. But I do know him, and I keep his word…”

Jesus the Son knows the Father unlike ANY son of man, even the Prophets, any of the fathers of Israel or Moses.

“… Your father Abraham rejoiced to see my day; he saw it and was glad.”
The Messiah Jesus to Rabbis of Judah – John 8:56 CSB

Think of the context of Jesus’ witness of Abraham in the timeline of centuries before the Son of God – the Word – coming to a manger in Bethlehem of Judea.

57 The Jews replied, “You aren’t fifty years old yet, and you’ve seen Abraham?”

Jesus said to them, “Truly I tell you, before Abraham was, I am.”
Witness of the Messiah – John 8:58 CSB

“before Abraham was, I am

59 Then they took up stones to throw at Him; but Jesus hid Himself and went out of the temple, going[b] through the midst of them, and so passed by.

Other places in the Gospel add explanation to this.

Why did religious officials determined to kill this man claiming to be God not successfully seize the Lord Jesus and stone Him to death?

For his time had not come.
- So then they tried to seize Jesus, but no one laid a hand on him, because his time had not yet come. – John 7:20 NET
- (Jesus spoke these words near the offering box while he was teaching in the temple courts. No one seized him because his time had not yet come.) – John 8:20 – a small detail of the Gospel we have just read
When, then, would the time for Sacrifice of the Messiah for sin occur?

Do you see the significance of the substitution of the acceptable sacrifice to the Father?

For the LORD provided a sacrifice in the place of Isaac for Abraham, an early sign of what must take place to fulfill God’s plan of redemption of sinful man.

No man can come to me, except the Father which hath sent me draw him: and I will raise him up at the last day.
I am the living bread which came down from heaven: if any man eat of this bread, he shall live for ever: and the bread that I will give is my flesh, which I will give for the life of the world.
John 6:44,51 KJV
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NEXT: More Signs  
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February 17, 2020
Who May Judge SIN?
Continuing in the Gospel of John

‘Who made you judge and jury,’ some ask the Christian who applies the Law? “Don’t judge sin,” some even preach deceptively. Many a sinner will quote Jesus to you: “Judge not, that you be not judged. – Matthew 7:1

We have been following the Good News of the Messiah Jesus told by John, only surviving disciple after all others had died for their witness of Truth, rather than recant the only Way to heaven, Christ Jesus. His Good News is explanation and not necessarily chronological.

Previously in John 7 at the Jewish Festival of Booths Jesus shouted out an invitation to the crowds:

“He who believes in Me, as the Scripture has said, out of his heart will flow rivers of living water.”

Now we move on to a discussion the following day about authority in the Law. Religious authorities who love to judge sin confront the Messiah with one of their favorites, adultery.

John 8:

2 At dawn he went to the temple again, and all the people were coming to him. He sat down and began to teach them.

Let’s not miss that Jesus had been teaching on the Holy Spirit of God the previous day.

He said this about the Spirit. Those who believed in Jesus were going to receive the Spirit, for the Spirit had not yet been given because Jesus had not yet been glorified.
John 7:39 CSB

Jesus said this about the Holy Spirit as witness to Himself as the Messiah of the Living God!

Wouldn’t you want to know more about this Man claiming the very power of the One Lord and God? So the crowds came, along with those who claimed earthly authority over the Law of Moses.

How do YOU judge sin?

3 Then the scribes and the Pharisees brought a woman caught in adultery, making her stand in the center. 4 “Teacher,” they said to him, “this woman was caught in the act of committing adultery.

Now, dear christian in this twenty-first century crowd, you think very little of the seriousness of her first century indiscretion with a man to whom she was not married. In fact, in all likelihood many of you commited a different and similar sin when you first loved the significant other of your own life. We are oh so ready to condemn any man who claims the authority of God over our own less severe way to judge sin.

5 In the law Moses commanded us to stone such women. So what do you say?”

So does Jesus believe in capital punishment?

How dare she sleep with another man! After all, she is married.

6 They asked this to trap him, in order that they might have evidence to accuse him.

You know the old (not so funny, really) question of the lawyer: “When did you stop beating your wife?” No right answer to the prosecuting question as stated. There’s more to her story than the evidence presented.

By the way, have you already answered without having had additional evidence presented – facts which perhaps only God may know?

Is accusation not guilty until proven innocent in these last days?

So here we look to the Messiah confronted an accusation of adultery in a court having already judged sin of the accused woman.

Jesus as Judge

The crowds look on. Religious officials have stated the Law clearly and ask for sentence confirming their judgment of this accused violator. Surly the Messiah who claims that every jot and tiddle of the Law must be fulfilled will not show mercy to this woman who sinned.

Yet Jesus does not speak a sentence to judge sin clearly accused of this woman.

7 When they persisted in questioning him, he stood up and said to them,

“The one without sin among you should be the first to throw a stone at her.”

8 Then he stooped down again and continued writing on the ground.

How does the Messiah of God judge sin?

Jesus has already witnessed the standard by which the Lord will judge sin.

“I can do nothing on my own. I judge only as I hear, and my judgment is just, because I do not seek my own will, but the will of him who sent me.
John 5:30

“Stop judging according to outward appearances; rather judge according to righteous judgment.”
John 7:24

One reason the Pharisees confront Jesus rather than having arrested Him at that time is continuation from a previous confrontation.

John 7:50 Nicodemus—the one who came to him previously and who was one of them [the Pharisees] —said to them,

51 “Our law doesn’t judge a man before it hears from him and knows what he’s doing, does it?”

Neither does the Lord Jesus judge this woman accused of adultery without full evidence of what she has done. In His judgment Jesus shows mercy.

God is Light and Life – Sin is Darkness & Death

Do you, man or woman of flesh, judge sin?

Jesus stood to render His decision as Judge:

“He that is without sin among you, let him first cast a stone at her.
John 8:7b KJV

8 Then he stooped down again and continued writing on the ground. 9 When they heard this, they left one by one, starting with the older men. Only he was left, with the woman in the center.

Justice?

Was the full justice of the Law served here? Certainly not.

Did Jesus grant mercy to the woman who sinned against her husband and the Law of the land? Yes, mercy and grace where penalty could have been demanded.

Would He judge sin at a later time? (Perhaps you had not thought of His temporary grace calling this sinner to repentance.)

Will Jesus judge sin – adultery, dishonesty, failure to show mercy to the poor or unjustly accused, victims of hateful vengeance?
- “Put boundaries for the people all around the mountain and say: Be careful that you don’t go up on the mountain or touch its base. Anyone who touches the mountain must be put to death. – Exodus 19:12
- “Whoever strikes a person so that he dies must be put to death. – Exodus 21:12
- “If a person schemes and willfully acts against his neighbor to murder him, you must take him from my altar to be put to death. – Exodus 21:14
- “Whoever strikes his father or his mother must be put to death. – Exodus 21:15
- “Whoever kidnaps a person must be put to death, whether he sells him or the person is found in his possession. – Exodus 21:16
- “Whoever curses his father or his mother must be put to death. – Exodus 21:17
- “Whoever has sexual intercourse with an animal must be put to death. Exodus 22:19
“Observe the Sabbath, for it is holy to you. Whoever profanes it must be put to death. If anyone does work on it, that person must be cut off from his people. Work may be done for six days, but on the seventh day there must be a Sabbath of complete rest, holy to the LORD. Anyone who does work on the Sabbath day must be put to death.
Exodus 31:14-15

His Merciful Sentence

“He who is without sin among you, let him be the first to throw a stone at her.” –
Jesus’ question to accusers who would judge sin – John 8:7 NASB

“I am the light of the world.

You judge by human standards. I judge no one. And if I do judge, my judgment is true, because it is not I alone who judge, but I and the Father who sent me.
Jesus’ standard to judge sin – John 8:15-16 CSB

Is Jesus the Messiah?

If Jesus was, IS, and will always be the Lord God, the Messiah, then He IS Light itself. Jesus is the very image of Light of the Father God our Creator, sustainer and Judge.

12 Jesus spoke to them again: “I am the light of the world. Anyone who follows me will never walk in the darkness but will have the light of life.”

13 So the Pharisees said to him, “You are testifying about yourself. Your testimony is not valid.”

14 “Even if I testify about myself,” Jesus replied, “My testimony is true, because I know where I came from and where I’m going. But you don’t know where I come from or where I’m going. 15 You judge by human standards…

Is this not true of every man or woman who must judge another man or woman?

Therefore what is our standard of temporal justice, prior to the judgment of our souls?

Leviticus 19: Laws of Holiness – Separation to the LORD

לֹא־תַעֲשׂ֥וּ עָ֨וֶל֙ בַּמִּשְׁפָּ֔ט לֹא־תִשָּׂ֣א פְנֵי־דָ֔ל וְלֹ֥א תֶהְדַּ֖ר פְּנֵ֣י גָדֹ֑ול בְּצֶ֖דֶק תִּשְׁפֹּ֥ט עֲמִיתֶֽךָ׃

John does not present every proof of witness that Jesus is the Messiah of Israel, but closes his Gospel written after many proofs of the resurrection of Jesus with this:

But these are written so that you may believe that Jesus is the Messiah, the Son of God, and that by believing you may have life in his name.
John 20:31 CSB

Light of Life from beyond the grave

12 Jesus spoke to them again: “I am the light of the world. Anyone who follows me will never walk in the darkness but will have the light of life.”

… “You know neither me nor my Father,” Jesus answered. “If you knew me, you would also know my Father.”

20 He spoke these words by the treasury, while teaching in the temple. But no one seized him, because his hour had not yet come.

… and you will die in your sin. Where I’m going, you cannot come.”

… You are of this world; I am not of this world. 24 Therefore I told you that you will die in your sins. For if you do not believe that I am he, you will die in your sins.”

25 “Who are you?” they questioned.

“Exactly what I’ve been telling you from the very beginning,” Jesus told them.

Do you believe the Light or hide in the darkness of death?

26 “I have many things to say and to judge about you, but the one who sent me is true, and what I have heard from him—these things I tell the world.”
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To be continued...
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February 14, 2020
About the Author John – a story from Zebedee
We have again been working through the Gospel of John with specific focus on the Trinity of God the Father, Son and Holy Spirit. Before moving on to more signs of Jesus as the Messiah, I thought it appropriate to take a brief look at the Gospel’s author John.

About the Author John

In a larger sense the Author of Scripture is always the Lord God and specifically the Gospel author John refers to Jesus as, “the Word,” in effect crediting the Lord Jesus for Scripture.

The Good News of the author John and three other Gospel writers is that Jesus IS the Messiah of God, fulfillment of the Lord’s promise to redeem Israel.

John’s Gospel differs some from those of the Apostle Matthew, another Jewish author, and that of two gentile author’s, John Mark and Luke. (God-willing I may share more about these Gospel authors at a later time in separate posts.)

a First century story

I would like to relate a story to you which involves the author John, who wrote not only the Gospel, but three letters and the Revelation (or Apocalypse) of the New Testament. But first let’s consider the genre of my story to follow.

Fiction or Nonfiction?

Although we step away from the Bible and specifically the Gospel for a moment, I have crafted the following “biography” to make you think.

You might ask of any story, a classic novel, Scripture or a television script: ‘Is it true?’ That is, does this story I’m reading, hearing or seeing represent reliable truth? Is it nonfiction or is it (at least in part) fiction?

“Fiction or nonfiction,” we may ask thoughtfully?

If Scripture is true, then our only conclusion must be that the Bible is ‘nonfiction;’ therefore our compelling question must address God’s will, “How should I apply these truths?”
Roger Harned – talkofJesus.com

I caution however of entertainment which claims ‘authoritative’ speculation that misleads the masses into false and dangerous applications. Just one example would be “The History Channel.”

We naturally assume anything claiming history or science to be a reliable true source of researched fact. Yet what about a fantastical speculation proclaiming possibility of “Ancient Aliens,” which invades our thinking as pure fiction with no basis in fact?

Many writers of supposed ‘scientific fact’ place such nonsensical fiction in the same speculative category as they do the Bible. Their heretical premise implies that God does not exist anymore than ancient aliens do (therefore both are fiction). These authors create gods of their own making, denying the glory of the Living God.

Of course not all fiction denies the truth and historicity of Christ. Thankfully some fiction pursues a higher calling to give us insight into the historical men and women of the Bible, or even the true nature of faith following the Lord Jesus as a true Christian. Perhaps one of the best of these would be John Bunyan’s “The Pilgrim’s Progress.”

Historical Fiction

If a story, i.e. nonfiction, doesn’t qualify as fact, then what kind of fiction is it?

Some stories illustrate imagined or actual characteristics of historical characters who actually existed. One example might be the story of George Washington chopping down the cherry tree. (Certainly you can think of others.)

I would caution that many such stories have hidden agendas often opposed to the Lord God. So a story may pose as historical fiction when in fact it is not historical in any way (other than taking the name of its lead character in vain).

Some so-called ‘christian’ cults would have you believe that Jesus was nothing more than a character in the historical fiction of the New Testament of the Bible. It’s also important here to point out that the Gospel of Jesus Christ is NOT a “historical fiction,” acknowledging that Jesus was real and did exist in the first century, while denying Christ’s deity.

No deception of the devil will lead your soul astray more than this lie against the saving Son of the Most High! Many will concede and even preach the existence of Jesus, without worshiping Him as Lord.

A Father of Thunder

The following story hopefully will illustrate a helpful perspective as historical fiction from the first century A.D.

Although based on the characters discussed, including the author John, this fictional account is not intended to provide evidence for John’s Gospel, but to provide circumstance into its writing by the author John.

Israel & Sea of Galilee – crossroads of cultures and trade

And what nation is there so great, that hath statutes and judgments so righteous as all this law, which I set before you this day?

Only take heed to thyself, and keep thy soul diligently, lest thou forget the things which thine eyes have seen, and lest they depart from thy heart all the days of thy life:

but teach them thy sons, and thy sons’ sons…
Deuteronomy 4:8-9 KJV

Introduction

Men call me Bonerges for my thunderous commands they hear ‘mongst my fleet on the Galilee.

Sea of Galilee at inlet of Jordan River in the north

I thank the LORD for my blessings and that of my boisterous leadership, but mostly I call out for the supply of my business. Though faithful to the LORD in every area of my life as a Jew, I am no hammer upon the anvil of Israel’s hard-forged apostasy.

Now that my double blessing of sons join my fleet as young men of God, I must teach them not only of fishing but of the leading of men.

The LORD made me a man of modest means, so now I may send them to any man of God of my choosing to learn more of the LORD’s will for their lives. It’s not so simple though; for our life as Jews in the land which was once Israel had never been simple since Solomon.

Whether here in Bethsaida or on journeys to Jerusalem (also never the same again) all we seem to argue is how the LORD wants us to follow in a strange land which was once our own.

I should even say it was once HIS, but is no more. God help us.

Ahh, who would have thought that Israel could become a land which is not ours or the Lord’s?

(the second Law) דברים

We are sons of Moses; I have been praying on this Scripture.

Where shall I send my sons to learn the faith of our fathers?
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“Give ear, O heavens, and let me speak;
 And let the earth hear the words of my mouth.
“For I proclaim the name of the LORD;
 Ascribe greatness to our God!
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וַיֹּ֗אמֶר אַסְתִּ֤ירָה פָנַי֙ מֵהֶ֔ם אֶרְאֶ֖ה מָ֣ה אַחֲרִיתָ֑ם כִּ֣י דֹ֤ור תַּהְפֻּכֹת֙ הֵ֔מָּה בָּנִ֖ים לֹא־אֵמֻ֥ן בָּֽם׃

“Then He said, ‘I will hide My face from them,
I will see what their end shall be;
For they are a perverse generation,
Sons in whom is no faithfulness.
from the song of Moses – Deuteronomy 32:(1,3,)20 WLC;NASB

What is the will of the Lord God for my sons James and John?
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To be continued...
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January 28, 2020