Talk of JESUS .com

Tag: jewish

  • If you are the Messiah, tell us plainly

    If you are the Messiah, tell us plainly

    The Messiah at Festivals

    So what does the Messiah of Israel do at festivals and feasts? How does the Messiah lead followers to worship the Lord our God, our Father in heaven?

    It was the Feast of Hanukkah at Yerushalayim.

    John 10:22 Hebrew Names Version

    Yeshua mashiyach

    Just a reminder to Christians of this 21st century, Jesus was Jewish.

    Yeshua, from Ἰησοῦς in Greek, Iēsous from יְהוֹשׁוּעַ Hebrew meaning Yĕhowshuwa` (Joshua or Jehoshua = “Jehovah is salvation”) in English: Jesus. (The One born to a Jewish mother, a virgin betrothed to a faithful Jew, Joseph son of Jacob {Matthew 1:16}.)

    The book of the generation of Jesus Christ, the son of David, the son of Abraham.

    Gospel of Matthew 1:1 KJV

    Although we have been following Jesus through the Gospel of John, for our understanding of the Messiah and His jewish upbringing as the Son of Man, we have just left some predictions of the Prophet Amos.

    Amos - not immune from judgment pictures of 2020 gold coins
    1. Amos – Not immune from judgment
    2. For those who turn justice into wormwood
    3. Amos the Seer: “I told you so (5x) – GOD showed me

    Who better to ask about the Lord God in heaven than the one who came down from heaven, sent by God the Father?

    This is where we left off in the Good News from the Apostle John.

    above the cloudes of heaven a gate of the walled heavenly Jerusalem

    Jesus healed a man born blind, which has prompted much discussion and considerable controversy in Jerusalem.

    The Gatekeeper & the Shepherds – the Door

    John 9:35 Jesus heard that they had thrown him out, and when he found him, he said, “Do you believe in the Son of Man?”

    Is this Man a Gate and the Door to heaven?

    44:1  וַיָּשֶׁב אֹתִי דֶּרֶךְ שַׁעַר הַמִּקְדָּשׁ הַֽחִיצֹון הַפֹּנֶה קָדִים וְהוּא סָגֽוּר׃
    44:2  וַיֹּאמֶר אֵלַי יְהוָה הַשַּׁעַר הַזֶּה סָגוּר יִהְיֶה לֹא יִפָּתֵחַ וְאִישׁ לֹא־יָבֹא בֹו כִּי יְהוָה אֱלֹהֵֽי־יִשְׂרָאֵל בָּא בֹו וְהָיָה סָגֽוּר׃
     {Masoretic TextShow Cantilliation Marks OffShow Vowel Points OnMasoretic Text} http://blb.sc/00AONj

    Then He brought me back by the way of the outer gate of the sanctuary, which faces the east; and it was shut. The LORD said to me, “This gate shall be shut; it shall not be opened, and no one shall enter by it, for the LORD God of Israel has entered by it; therefore it shall be shut.

    Ezekiel 44:1-2 NASB

    “The priest shall take some of the blood from the sin offering and put it on the door posts of the house, on the four corners of the ledge of the altar and on the posts of the gate of the inner court.

    Ezekiel 45:19 NASB

    John 10:

    2 But he who enters by the door is the shepherd of the sheep. To him the doorkeeper opens, and the sheep hear his voice; and he calls his own sheep by name and leads them out.

    7 Yeshua emphasized, “I can guarantee this truth: I am the gate for the sheep.

    John 10:7 NOG

    Later Jesus will tell the Apostles to also be wary of these religious hired hands determined to devour all opposition.

    John tells us how Jerusalem’s religious leaders opposed the Messiah after Jesus healed a man blind from birth. But Jesus tells the crowds a parable against them.

    12 A hired hand isn’t a shepherd and doesn’t own the sheep. When he sees a wolf coming, he abandons the sheep and quickly runs away.

    John 10:11 NKJV

    19 Again the Jews were divided because of these words…

    After this, a most popular Messiah Jesus enters Jerusalem for a festival.

    Jewish festivals

    22 Then the Festival of Dedication took place in Jerusalem, and it was winter.

    A brief overview:

    The Hebrew Civil Year began with Tishri [October]. At the Exodus the Ecclesiastical Year was made to begin with Abib [April], which, after the Captivity, was called also Nisan.- Hitchcock’s Topical Commentary

    “Three times in a year all your males shall appear before the LORD your God in the place which He chooses, at the Feast of Unleavened Bread and at the Feast of Weeks and at the Feast of Booths, and they shall not appear before the LORD empty-handed.

    Deuteronomy 16:16 NASB

    But this minor feast (we now call the festival of lights) held importance to a Jerusalem which presumed to have purified and rededicated the Temple. In commemoration of the cleansing and re-dedication of the Temple after its pollution by Antiochus Epiphanes. –H.

    The Story Behind the Feast of Dedication

    Prior to the year 165 BC, the Jewish people in Judea were living under the rule of the Greek kings of Damascus. During this time Seleucid King Antiochus Epiphanes, the Greco-Syrian king, took control of the Temple in Jerusalem and forced the Jewish people to abandon their worship of God, their holy customs, and reading of the Torah. He made them bow down to the Greek gods. According to ancient records, King Antiochus IV defiled the Temple by sacrificing a pig on the altar and spilling its blood on the holy scrolls of Scripture.

    Source:

    Jerusalem’s crowed festival

    23 Jesus was walking in the temple in Solomon’s Colonnade. The Jews surrounded him and asked,

    “How long are you going to keep us in suspense? If you are the Messiah, tell us plainly.”

    25 “I did tell you and you don’t believe,” Jesus answered them.

    Do you believe His signs?

    Even in this day some will believe and come to faith through the Messiah, He IS the gate to salvation and the door to heaven. Others remain blind to truth.

    Jesus has already given several signs, proofs in various places of miracles only God could do. The most recent of these, of course, was giving a blind man sight right there in Jerusalem.

    “The works that I do in my Father’s name testify about me. But you don’t believe because you are not of my sheep.

    Who do you follow?

    Some preacher, a rabbi or teacher?

    None are the Son of God, the Shepherd of the chosen ones of God our Father.

    The Way to heaven

    27 My sheep hear my voice, I know them, and they follow me.

    28 I give them eternal life, and they will never perish. No one will snatch them out of my hand.

    Why would you doubt the authoritative gentle voice of the Shepherd at the door?

    If you believe in God Almighty our God and Father, do you not see His power and compassion in the Only Son, Shepherd of the chosen to enter into His Glory?

    Is Jesus your Lord and Shepherd?

    For His love and anointing must be clear to those who are no longer blind.

    Would you humbly turn from your sin to hear His gentle voice?

    “Follow Me.” “I am the way the truth and the life.” *

    29 My Father, who has given them to me, is greater than all. No one is able to snatch them out of the Father’s hand.

    A decision of life or death

    How many times can you recall that the LORD strikes down the one who sins?

    More times in scripture than we can recall.

    The LORD GOD IS ALMIGHTY! Fear only him, the LORD, the Existing One.

    • John the Baptist had testified of the Holy Spirit of God descending upon Jesus.
    • The Lord Jesus raised the dead, healed the sick, gave sight to the blind. A Man of God thought to be from Nazareth asked men and women to follow Him.
    • Jesus, Son of Man as He referred to himself, showed signs and wonders to many.

    What is left for the Messiah to tell us?

    If we must follow Jesus, is He God in Person? – a “Son of Man” the very human Image of God (as a Son of His Father born to a woman)?

    For the LORD God is One and our decision to obey the LORD is a matter of eternal life or judgment and punishment of our soul in death.

    “I and My Father are one.”

    John 10:30 KJV

    Truth? or Blasphemy?

    31 Again the Jews picked up rocks to stone him.

     32 Jesus replied, “I have shown you many good works from the Father. For which of these works are you stoning me?”

     33 “We aren’t stoning you for a good work,” the Jews answered, “but for blasphemy, because you—being a man—make yourself God.”

     34 Jesus answered them, “Isn’t it written in your law, I said, you are gods? If he called those whom the word of God came to ‘gods’—and the Scripture cannot be broken— do you say, ‘You are blaspheming’ to the one the Father set apart and sent into the world, because I said: I am the Son of God?

    Jesus, Son of Man filled with the Holy Spirit of Almighty God! Once again the Lord confronts the hired hands of Herod, wolves luring the faithful away from the Shepherd, with Scripture and Truth.

    How can they refute what everyone has seen with their own eyes?

    37 “If I am not doing my Father’s works, don’t believe me…”

    You too have seen many signs and miracles. Those in addition to Jesus’ compassion and love for the lost who have sinned.

    A few repent seeking return to the safety of the Shepherd.

    38 “… But if I am doing them and you don’t believe me, believe the works. This way you will know and understand that the Father is in me and I in the Father.”

    Jesus and God the Father are One! Jesus and the Holy Spirit of God are One!

    What was it Jesus told the Pharisee Nicodemus?

    “Truly, truly, I say to you, unless one is born of water and the Spirit he cannot enter into the kingdom of God.

    John 3:21 NASB

    Jesus IS Spirit; Jesus IS Flesh!

    But those who will not bow down to the LORD God accuse the Son of Man of blasphemy. (Let the casual 21st c. reader understand the significance of blasphemy – a sin against God requiring death of the offender.)

    39 Then they were trying again to seize him, but he eluded their grasp.

    A return to the wilderness

    40 He went back across the Jordan River and stayed in the place where John first baptized people.

    41 Many people went to Yeshua. They said, “John didn’t perform any miracles, but everything John said about this man is true.” 42 Many people there believed in Yeshua.

    Truth

    The Apostle John has already revealed the Good News of the Messiah proven by many signs in many places.

    • And the Word became flesh, and dwelt among us, and we saw His glory, glory as of the only begotten from the Father, full of grace and truth.
    • For the Law was given through Moses; grace and truth were realized through Jesus Christ.
    • “But he who practices the truth comes to the Light, so that his deeds may be manifested as having been wrought in God.”
    • “But an hour is coming, and now is, when the true worshipers will worship the Father in spirit and truth; for such people the Father seeks to be His worshipers.
    • “You have sent to John [the baptist], and he has testified to the truth.
    • “If you continue in My word, then you are truly disciples of Mine; and you will know the truth, and the truth will make you free.”
    • “Which one of you convicts Me of sin? If I speak truth, why do you not believe Me?

    The One Truth & nothing but The Truth

    “I and the Father are One!”

    John 10:30 – Strong’s: b) metaphorically, “union” and “concord,” e.g., Jhn 10:30; 11:52; 17:11, 21, 22; Rom 12:4, 5; Phl 1:27

    The Apostle John concludes his Gospel as follows:

    21:24 Οὗτός ἐστιν ὁ μαθητὴς ὁ μαρτυρῶν περὶ τούτων καὶ γράψας ταῦτα καὶ οἴδαμεν ὅτι ἀληθὴς ἐστίν ἡ μαρτυρία αὐτοῦ

    This is the disciple who is testifying to these things and wrote these things, and we know that his testimony is true.

    And there are also many other things which Jesus did, which if they were written in detail, I suppose that even the world itself would not contain the books that would be written.

    What other sign do you need to open your eyes to what Jesus plainly has said?

    I and the Father are One!

    NEXT: The Resurrection of Lazarus ... God-willing...

  • Hebrews – 2 – Pioneer of Perfect Salvation

    In bringing many sons and daughters to glory, it was fitting that God, for whom and through whom everything exists, should make the pioneer of their salvation perfect through what he suffered.

    Hebrews 2:10 NIV

    But we see Jesus… Hebrews 2:9a

    The author begins his letter to his Jewish brothers stating that G_d’s final word is through the Son, not angels or prophets.

    Previously the author of Hebrews has made a case through scripture that Jesus, the Son of God, is higher than the angels.

    Heir of all things

    Who has ascended into heaven and descended?
    Who has gathered the wind in His fists?
    Who has wrapped the waters in His garment?
    Who has established all the ends of the earth?
    What is His name or His son’s name?
    Surely you know!

    Proverbs 30:4 NASB

    Continuing in our study of Hebrews, a letter authored to first century Jews, we now continue the second chapter after what we covered previously in the beginning verses 1-9 in Hebrew 2 – Pay Attention.

    Fitting and proper perfection

    Are you a perfect Jew?

    Or more to a personal point, am I a perfect Christian?

    Of course not.

    So how do we have any chutzpah outside of the Messiah Jesus to say that we may be accepted into eternal life by the Lord? This is the issue of salvation the writer of Hebrews takes on here.

    Hebrews 2:

    For it was bekavod (fitting, proper) for him, for whom are all things and through whom are all things, in bringing banim rabbim (many sons) to kavod, to bring to shleimut (perfection, completion) the Rosh (Head) and Mekhonen (Founder) of their Yeshua’at Hashem through yissurim (suffering).

    Hebrews 2:10 Orthodox Jewish Bible

    Most Christians lack a full understanding of many terms of Hebrew origin like perfection, author, purification and redemption. I am neither a Torah trained Rabbi nor Messianic Jew, but further readings of Paul‘s letters will help you to understand an academic Jewish approach to some of these terms.

    10 – It was fitting for Him

    Various translations of πρέπω read: it became Him, it was bekavod, it was fitting, it was entirely appropriate – the concept that God does what is right and perfect. Jews and Christians must agree that man has a tendency to weigh perfection incorrectly.

    כָּֽל־דֶּרֶךְ־אִישׁ יָשָׁר בְּעֵינָיו וְתֹכֵן לִבֹּות יְהוָֽה׃

    עֲשֹׂה צְדָקָה וּמִשְׁפָּט נִבְחָר לַיהוָה מִזָּֽבַח׃

    Proverbs 21:2,3

    in bringing many sons

    “Many sons – πολύς υἱός speaks of multitudes and not specifically men (as opposed to women) or of a specific son. Think of the beneficiary as humanity, rather than all creation or even the Creator Himself. And what is the benefit – what is our reward?

    unto glory

    “εἰςδόξα – eis doxa – To glory or toward glory.

    Gloria Patri

    Now glory means many things to different people, so let’s be clear in our completed understanding of doxa, as in ‘doxology.’ Yes, praise of God or of a man.

    Glory becomes a Biblical description of the brightness of God, or of the sun, moon, stars, angels or an object; implying magnificence, excellence, preeminence, dignity, grace and majesty.

    God is unsurpassed glory! A higher indescribable brightness. Yet the glory of God has a contrasting glory of which we seldom speak.

    Doxa in Greek translates as an opinion, judgment, view; therefore our human opinion or estimate of someone or something, whether good or bad, is a glory or judgement – Biblically of God, a Most High Glory.

    to perfect

    τελειόω – to complete (perfect), to bring to the end (goal) proposed, to accomplish or bring to a close, a fulfillment by event of the prophecies of the scriptures.

    לָכֵן אֲחַלֶּק־לֹו בָרַבִּים וְאֶת־עֲצוּמִים יְחַלֵּק שָׁלָל תַּחַת אֲשֶׁר הֶעֱרָה לַמָּוֶת נַפְשֹׁו וְאֶת־פֹּשְׁעִים נִמְנָה וְהוּא חֵטְא־רַבִּים נָשָׂא וְלַפֹּשְׁעִים יַפְגִּֽיעַ׃ ס

    Isaiah 53:12

    their head and founder

    We must, at some point in our lives, confess that some have authority over us. (This is assumed in a Biblical-based Hebrew culture.) Current authority, previous authority and a succession of authority all come into play.

    Abraham, Israel, Moses, David and family patriarchs may all be mentioned as a head or founding father of Jews. The Lord granted both His Authority and succession through them. Here the author of Hebrews points to their Higher Authority.

    ἀρχηγός – archēgos implies one that takes the lead in any thing and thus affords an example, a predecessor in a matter, pioneer. Jesus, therefore, becomes a captain or founder, a chief leader or Prince over these who followed.

    Within the same verse His origin was established as ‘Him, for whom are all things, and through whom are all things’… or other translations read: ‘God—for whom and through whom all things exist—...’ Clearly, the Son of God IS God! Jesus IS before all founders and over all authority.

    of their salvation

    Two questions come immediately to mind:

    1. What is salvation?
    2. Whose salvation? (Or who can be saved?)

    σωτηρία sōtēria –Salvation, in Greek, the common language of first century Judea and much of the Roman Empire, refers to deliverance, preservation, safety, even from molestation by one’s enemies. A Roman understanding of sōtēria could have viewed a “savior” as a threat to their own authority.

    In an ethical sense, that which concludes to the soul’s safety, of Messianic salvation.

    יָשַׁע – yasha` is the Hebrew concept. Isaiah asks,

    פָּגַ֤עְתָּ אֶת־שָׂשׂ֙ וְעֹ֣שֵׂה צֶ֔דֶק בִּדְרָכֶ֖יךָ יִזְכְּר֑וּךָ הֵן־אַתָּ֤ה קָצַ֨פְתָּ֙ וַֽנֶּחֱטָ֔א בָּהֶ֥ם עֹולָ֖ם וְנִוָּשֵֽׁעַ׃

    How can we be saved if we remain in our sins?

    Isaiah 64:5 CSB

    The question of who can be saved is one of some debate, which we will not take on today. Since the writer of Hebrews refers to the Son, the Messiah, as God in this introductory passage, we will briefly examine His own answer to this question.

    When the disciples heard this, they were utterly astonished and asked, “Then who can be saved? ”

    Matthew 19:25 CSB

    The Jewish Apostle and tax collector relates consecutive stories about money, the rich and salvation, asking the Messiah who can be saved. Hear His answer:

    26 Jesus looked at them and said, “With man this is impossible, but with God all things are possible.”

    Matthew 19:26 CSB

    Not even an Apostle or rich ruler can earn salvation or buy perfection. Yet God the Father has made a way for the completion of sinful man.

    through sufferings.

    διά dia πάθημα pathēma

    We hesitate here, even that the Messiah must suffer, let alone that we must in death. Yet the meaning is clear: that which one suffers or has suffered. We shrink from some of the descriptions of sufferings: misfortune, calamity, evil, affliction.

    Many of us have experienced some of the afflictions which Christians must undergo. And we know we cannot endure that with the Messiah suffered for our sins as a Sacrifice painfully crucified on the Cross.

    Hebrews and gentiles know that in perfection a price must be paid for sin.

    Sanctification – ἁγιάζω

    To sanctify is to purify, separating from the profane and dedicating or consecrating to a Holy God.

    How can a sinner be consecrated to the Lord God?

    The author of Hebrews continues by assuring us that the Messiah Jesus completed our sanctification and He, the crucified Son of Man calls us brothers (or sisters). What undue grace and love of those of the world. And grace for both Jew and gentile, grace for those of the first century and sinners of this twenty-first century.

    Once again the writer of Hebrews quotes familiar scripture, even the very song
    from Psalm 22 יְהוֹשׁוּעַ Yĕhowshuwa` cried out from the cross! He also quotes the historical record of Samuel and the prophet Isaiah.

    Again, I will trust in him. And again, Here I am with the children God gave me.

    Hebrews 2:13 CSB

    The Lord God has become a personal God on the Cross!

    וְה֥וּא כֹהֵ֖ן לְאֵ֥ל עֶלְיֹֽון׃

    a Priest of G_d Most High

    The writer of Hebrews closes this section about Jesus becoming our Pioneer of Perfection with explanation why the Son of Man became a High Priest for us.

    17 Therefore, he had to be like his brothers and sisters in every way, so that he could become a merciful and faithful high priest in matters pertaining to God, to make atonement for the sins of the people.

    More about atonement and our need for this Priest in Hebrews 3.

    To be continued...

  • Give Thanks to the Lord – Psalm 136 & Psalm 95

    Give Thanks to the Lord – Psalm 136 & Psalm 95


    His faithful love endures forever.

    Psalm 136

    I don’t know about you, but once again Thanksgiving seems to be upon us as a prerequisite observance preceding the rush of the Christmas holidays. Some would observe in political correctness, ‘the holiday season,’ which promoted for lights in darkness and gifts seemingly endures forever.

    menorah Knesset

    I have previously mentioned this hustle and bustle of black Friday having overtaken the archaic imagery of worshiping pilgrims. Yet each year’s commercial focus on a relatively minor Jewish holiday and formerly insignificant Christian observance grows more and more into a worship of our prosperity (for which we give thanks).


    Puritans forbade Christmas, considering it too pagan. Governor Bradford actually threatened New Englanders with work, jail or fines if they were caught observing Christmas.

    Christianity.com

    Perhaps our 17th century Puritan forefathers, who celebrated on this uniquely American Thanksgiving holiday, weren’t so far from the truth of this holiday season. For these brief days provide little rest and even less thanks.

    Thanks giving in two Psalms

    Set aside your devices and distractions for a moment as you gather together with family and you will see much bounty, a recurring theme for America and also Israel of the Psalms and Scripture.

    Who will you thank?

    Your host and hostess? Sure. Or maybe family who have made this gathering possible? Perhaps. Yet the thanks giving of those faithful to the Lord is always to God.

    No book better expresses our worship, our praises, and singing with joy to the LORD than Psalms, which is the hymnal of Jewish and Christian worship.

    One simple form of praising God for the worshipers is to simply repeat a single phrase, when the worship leader praises the LORD. One example of several with thanksgiving of the worshipers for God is Psalm 136.

    You could give thanksgiving to God right now simply by repeating your response out loud after reading every praise of the Psalm [linked below].

    Psalm 136

    Give thanks to the Lord, for he is good. [136:1 הֹודוּ לַיהוָה כִּי־טֹוב כִּי לְעֹולָם חַסְדֹּֽו׃]

    His faithful love endures forever. OR 

    For His mercy endures forever. OR

    For His lovingkindness is everlasting.

    Different translations all reinforce God’s love in our response of worship to the LORD. The Psalmist praises God in many ways:

    v.4 He alone does great wonders.

    v.7 He made the great lights

    v.23 He remembered us in our humiliation

    25 Who giveth food to all flesh:

    for his mercy endureth for ever.

    26 O give thanks unto the God of heaven:

    for his mercy endureth for ever.


    King James Version (KJV)

    This is giving thanks as the Pilgrims of America’s founding would have given to God – not only on this holiday, but also in other worship.

    Thanks is often a theme of worship, therefore thanking God is the first fruits of harvest for believers of all faiths who landed in this new world.

    Yet we have forgotten the lessons of the Lord — He who has preserved us for bounty and blessings of a new land.

    Are we so unlike those who worshiped the Lord before, yet then neglected to thank their Provider?

    Psalm 95

    Worship 

    1 Come, let us shout joyfully to the Lord,
    shout triumphantly to the rock of our salvation!

    2 Let us enter his presence with thanksgiving;
    let us shout triumphantly to him in song.

    Psalm 95 CSB

    3 For the Lord is a great God,
    a great King above all gods.

    If the LORD is God, then as worshipers giving God thanks, what must we do?

    Hear this caution from the Psalm, that we might not give our thanks lightly, forgetting the worship of Almighty God our Creator.

    6 Come, let us worship and bow down;
    let us kneel before the Lord our Maker.
    7 For he is our God,
    and we are the people of his pasture,
    the sheep under his care.

    The Psalmist then reminds worshipers of those who had previously turned from the Lord.

    Warning

    Today, if you hear his voice:
    8 Do not harden your hearts as at Meribah,
    as on that day at Massah in the wilderness
    9 where your fathers tested me;
    they tried me, though they had seen what I did.

    Psalm 95, referring to exodus 17:17

    Wilderness of the Negev 

    Meribah מְרִיבָה means testing and is the place where the Hebrews escaping Egypt tested the Lord, rather than giving thanks to the Lord. And Massah מַסָּה means quarreling, the politics of an ungrateful saved people in the wilderness.

    The Lord saved many who had fled to the New World from persecution and death in the seventeenth century. The Pilgrims and others gave God thanks for this. Yet the Psalmist reminds worshipers to not harden our hearts.

    Those escaping to a new land had far to go and much to learn of community, about authority and of thankfulness. Because of their testing and quarreling, the promise of the Lord would not be fulfilled in their generation.

    Therefore let us heed these cautions of the Psalmist in our attitude of thanks to the Lord. Even today, if you hear His voice, do not harden your hearts.

    10 For forty years I was disgusted with that generation;
    I said, “They are a people whose hearts go astray;
    they do not know my ways.”
    11 So I swore in my anger,
    “They will not enter my rest.”

     Would you enter the eternal rest of the Lord? Do you thank the Lord this day?

    We will have more to say of this rest in our Lord after this holiday of Thanks giving.