Think Like a Jew - Part 2 "Walk Like a Jew"

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Think Like a Jew - Part 2 "Walk Like a Jew"

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Think Like a Jew – Part 2

Walk Like a Jew

 

Introduction

When we look for the perfect blueprint of the first person whose thoughts found the most favour with Elohim, we always look to Avraham Avinu (our father Avraham). Something you may have noticed, is that our series is entitled “Think Like a Jew,” but technically speaking Avraham was not a Jew. I’d like to attempt to explain why the term “Jew” is preferred. 

The term “Jew” in Hebrew is Y’hudi. It is derived from the name of Ya’akov’s fourth son, Judah--Yehudah, and originally applied only to Y’udah's (Judah’s) descendants, who comprised one of the twelve tribes of Israel. On his deathbed, Ya’akov assigned Y’udah the role of leader and king--a prophesy that would be fulfilled hundreds of years later when all twelve tribes submitted to the reign of King David of the tribe of Y’hudah.

The first individual to be called a Jew (Y’hudi) in the Scriptures was Mordecai. 
“There was a man, a Yehudi, in Shushan the capital, whose name was Mordecai . . . a Yemini (Benjamite)" (Esther 2:5).  

The Talmud states that according Rabbi Yochanan, “He (Mordecai) was a Benjaminite. Yet he was called a Yehudi, because he rejected idolatry--and anyone who rejects idolatry is called a Yehudi (Is called a Jew).”

So too, Sha’ul HaShliach (A.K.A. Paul the Apostle) was of the tribe of Benjamin.
“I also am an Israelite, of the seed of Avraham, of the tribe of Benjamin.” (Romans 11:1) And yet in Acts 21:39 Sha’ul says, “…I am a Jewish man of Tarsus, a city in Cilicia.” 

The word Yehuda comes from the Hebrew word lehodot, which means “to give thanks.” Indeed, upon his birth, Leah, Yehuda's mother, exclaimed hapaam odeh et Yahweh, which means “this time I thank you Yahweh.” Feelings of gratitude characterised Yehuda's birth. The commonly used word todah, meaning “thank you,” stems from the same root.

On a deeper level the term Y’hudah means “acknowledgement and submission even to the point of death.” One who acknowledges Elohim’s existence and submits to His authority--to the extent that he is willing to sacrifice his life for the sanctification of His name--he is called a Yehudi. So technically it can be said that the name Jew can mean, “I thank you…” or “ I love you to death.” 

Thus, “There is no Greater love than this: to lay down one's life for one's friends.” (John 15:13)

When Avraham was very young he smashed his father’s idols and was brought before the wicked king Nimrod. As punishment for this evil dead and addressing the king as being foolish hewas condemned and thrown into a furnace.  “And (Nimrod’s) servants took Avram and his brother, and they stripped them of all their clothes excepting their lower garments which were upon them. And they bound their hands and feet with linen cords, and the servants of the king lifted them up and cast them both into the furnace. And Adonai loved Avram and he had compassion over him, and Adonai came down and delivered Avram from the fire and he was not burned. But all the cords with which they bound him were burned, while Avram remained and walked about in the fire.” (The Book of Jasher 12:22-25)

This concept of Avraham being rejected by many Messianics as being the first Jew is detrimental. Why? Firstly, because Avraham is all in all. That is, he was the first convert and he also became like a native born near the end of his life after his circumcision. “Therefore, the promise comes by faith, so that it may be by grace and may be guaranteed to all Avraham's offspring--not only to those who are of the Torah but also to those who have the faith of Avraham. He is the father of us all.” (Romans 4:16)

Secondly, because defining a Jew by his blood linage to Ya’akov’s fourth son Y’hudah alone goes against a Nazarene’s own understanding as it is taught in the Netzarim Ketuvim. “A person is not a Jew who is one only outwardly, nor is circumcision merely outward and physical. No, a person is a Jew who is one inwardly; and circumcision is circumcision of the heart, by the Ruach, not by the written code. Such a person's praise is not from other people, but from Elohim.” (Romans 2:28-29) That outer part of us, our bodies does not define who we are, it’s our righteousness that always defines who we are. This why the word says,

 

“For not all who are descended from Israel are Israel.” (Romans 9:6)” Though the overarching term “Yisrael” is used here, in context Sha’ul is speaking about his Jewish brethren and it illustrates the defining principle that righteousness is the true key to inclusion. Inclusion into what? The commonwealth of Israel.  “Therefore, remember that formerly you who are Gentiles by birth and called ‘uncircumcised’ by those who call themselves ‘the circumcision’ (which is done in the body by human hands) remember that at that time you were separate from Messiah, excluded from citizenship in Israel and foreigners to the covenants of the promise, without hope and without Elohim in the world. (Ephesians 2:11-12)

Yochannan the Immerser tells his fellows Jews, “…do not think you can say to yourselves, 'We have Avraham as our father.' I tell you that out of these stones Elohim can raise up children for Avraham.’” (Matthew 3:9) He’s saying that physical linage is not enough, but inward intent of the heart is what defines a person’s standing before Elohim. Physical linage and observance is advantageous! Sha’ul says this, but it’s not enough! Furthermore, without physical linage or righteousness, one is without Messiah and estranged from the Covenants of Promise and without hope!

So why don’t we use the title “Hebrew” and call this series “Think Like a Hebrew”? The term “Hebrew” (Ivri) means “one who has gone to the other side,” a term defining the initial process of our relationship and the term “Yisrael,” which means “one who wrestles with Elohim and prevails” describes the process of deliverance, but it is the term Y’hudi (Jew) that means “acknowledgement and submission even to the point of death” which is the ultimate goal. 

In the current climate, we are referred to as Nazarene Israelites so as to define who we presently, but on a deeper level we all become worthy of being called Jews, because we like the Jews reject idolatry. Just as the Jews enveloped the tribe of Benjamin who can interchangeably be called Jews, Messiah Yahshua who is a Jew and enveloped the nations who accept him are also worthy of being called Jews. 

Therefore, this series is called “Think Like a Jew” and not “Think Like a Hebrew” or “Think Like an Israelite.” Ironically it is the most controversial term that should be our anchor. Likewise, the most accurate term to define Yahshua is not as a Hebrew or as an Israelite, but as a Jew. “…this is Yahshua, the king of the Jews.” (Matthew 27:37) In other words, Yahshua is the king of those who reject idolatry! The word Y’hudim is more than just a nationalistic term! It’s more than that!

There are chiefly three overarching terms we can use, Hebrew, Israelite or Jew. Normally we do not refer to ourselves as Jews because we are wild olive shoots. It is the Jew who is the cultivated olive shoot. And at this time, while we are still significantly different in our level of observance from a Jew (which is not through want of trying) But ultimately, we are grafted in to the same tree. 

In the beginning the nation was called Israel, then they thinned out to Judah after the Northern Tribes disappeared, but eventually they (us) will be Israel again, because what is wedged in the beginning, is wedged in the end. 

Why Judah?

But before we continue there should be another nagging question. Why did Judah merit the position of royalty and carrying the linage of Moshiach? “The sceptre will not depart from Judah, nor the ruler's staff from between his feet, until he to whom it belongs shall come and the obedience of the nations shall be his.” (Genesis 49:10)

Y’hudah, the fourth son of Ya’akov, the progenitor of the tribe of Y’udah, did some very bad things! Why did his offspring gain so much merit? Let’s look at his track record:

“Judah departed from his brothers and…met the daughter of a Canaanite man named Shua. He married her and made love to her.” (Genesis 38:1,2)

“When Judah saw (Tamar), he thought she was a harlot, because she had covered her face. Then he turned to her by the way, and said, ‘Please let me come in to you.’” (Genesis 38:15)

After secretly laying with his daughter-in-law Tamar, she falls pregnant and when this is made known Y’hudah is the first to have her killed by fire. “Bring her out and let her be burned(Genesis 38:24b)

So what is it that gave Y’hudah the standing to take on the role of lawgiver?  He had broken faith with his family by marrying a Canaanite (Genesis 38:2), had raised such wicked sons that Yahweh put two of them to death (Genesis 38:7,10), had treated his daughter-in-law as a prostitute (Genesis 38:24) and had hatched the plan to sell his own brother (Yoseph) as a slave (Genesis 37:27)

Y’hudah was quick to acknowledge his sin with his daughter-in-law, after finding out who she was, declaring, “(Tamar) is more righteous than I.” (Genesis 38:26)

But ultimately, he spoke up for When Yoseph demanded that his brothers return home to Yitzhak without Benjamin (Genesis 44:17) Y’hudah emerged as the group’s spokesman, putting his own life on the line for his brothers and father’s well-being, finally fulfilling his name “I will love you to death.”

Why Avraham? 

So, the blueprint of the first Jew is Avraham. Why? Why isn’t it Adam or even Noach? Why is Avraham singled out?

Putting it frankly, Avraham pushed the envelope. Unlike his predecessors, who also acknowledged Yahweh, he understood the need to go out and share this revelation with others. The Midrash likens spiritual knowledge to a bottle of perfume. If you leave the bottle of perfume corked and sitting in a corner, what good is it? Shem was like a closed bottle of perfume, off studying in a corner somewhere. But Avraham went out and taught people about monotheism. He pitched his tent, which was open on all four sides, in the middle of an inter-city highway.

The Three Walks

There are three ways we can walk with the Almighty. We can walk “with,” “before” or “after!” Where do we get this teaching from? 

Regarding Noach, the Torah states that he “walked with Elohim” (Genesis 6:9) and regarding Avraham, he “Walk before Me” (Genesis 17:1)

And the Torah itself charges us to “walk after Yahweh, your Elohim” (Deuteronomy 13:5). 

Not all tzaddikim (righteous) are equal. Different individuals attain different levels of holiness and righteousness. The Torah calls our attention to these distinctions.

But what does it mean “to walk?” After Adam and Hava sinned and the natural order of creation underwent a drastic shift, Elohim did not seek to correct the world instantaneously. The acting of walking symbolises a slow but steady moral progression. It’s literally an act of walking out the repair. No-one rushes a repair. That’s why we don’t run, we walk. 

Prophecy is not revealed to the world all at once, but in a measured fashion, according to our ability to receive and assimilate it (Vayikra Rabbah 15:2)

The Torah tells us that Noach ‘walked with Elohim’ Noah was just and good according to the standards ordained for his time. For this reason, the Torah emphasizes that Noach was “faultless in his generation.” His level of righteousness corresponded to the moral expectations for his generation. 

Avraham, on the other hand, sought to awaken the entire world to integrity and holiness. Avraham ‘walked before Elohim,’ preparing the world to be ready for the greatest enlightenment, the Torah. Since Avraham helped ready the world for the Torah, the Sages wrote that he fulfilled the Torah before it was given (Yoma 28b). 

So which way should we walk? Answer: All three!

In Judaism there is an expression called “Halacha” which essentially means “the way one should walk.” Sha’ul HaShliach mentions this expression in every one of his letters. This expression means the best execution of a task according to the Torah. Now the Torah does not cover every single minute aspect and detail of life. This is why the Torah appointed judges within communities to rule and adjudicate on such matters. The almost limited number of variables that can affect a correct course of action could in no way be encapsulated in any written code. (Slide) “The words of the wise are like goads, their collected sayings like firmly embedded nails--given by one shepherd. Be warned, my son, of anything in addition to them. Of making many books there is no end, and much study wearies the body.” (Ecclesiastes 12:11-12)

Ultimately, our walk should be as closely as we can get it to the perfect Jew. Who is the perfect Jew? None other than King Messiah Yahshua. Sha’ul says, “You are to imitate me, just as I imitate Messiah.” (1 Corinthians 11:1) And in Philippians 3:17 it states, “Join one another in following my example, brothers, and carefully observe those who live according to the pattern we set for you.”

“And you became imitators of us and of Adonai when you welcomed the message with the joy of the Holy Spirit, in spite of your great suffering.” (1 Thessalonians 1:6) 

(Ministry of Silly Walks Slide)


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Reclaiming the Original Faith - Part 6 The Covenant Debate

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Reclaiming the Original Faith - Part 6 The Covenant Debate

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The Covenant Debate

 

Introduction: In our last teaching we discovered that the purpose of the “Good News” message was to sift Yisrael out of the Nations but also to draw all those whom YHWH was calling unto himself. We also came to understand how the Priesthood was changed and how Torah played an important role within the early Nazarene Assemblies. The message expressed to the early Assemblies was therefore that Salvation was by faith in Yahshua and that the Works of Torah according to Ya’acov were the evidence of that Salvation working in the lives of believers producing Character & good deeds.

There is however an even graver concept that is causing division among believers whether they are Christian or Yahudim (Jews) including Netzarim or Messianic & Hebrew Roots. It is therefore my desire to gain some understanding in the area of Covenant in what is commonly called the New Covenant or the Renewed Covenant & how these different groups may seek to understand it. Since we seek to establish the truth of Torah it is most important that the concept of Covenant & what has been revealed through Yahshua be explored therefore we need to become Bereans who search the scriptures to see if what is said is compliant to the Eternal Word of YHWH. Through these studies it is important that we know how to reason in a way that explains our stance and that is compliant with the Word of Elohim and does not bend to the whims of Doctrine.

What Truly is a Covenant:

 

 Many today confuse the word Covenant with Testament. A testament as in last will & testament from a Greek perception always gives maximum weight to the most recent therefore a new Testament makes null and void any previous. We could say a Testament is an agreement between parties that do not trust each other since they relate to disposal of property after death. From this understanding I hope we can begin to understand why many take this sort of approach to the Scriptures since they are suspiciously called the Old & New Testament but is this warranted. 

Covenant however from a Hebrew perspective is far different. It is best defined as an ongoing relationship with no appointed end. Rather than being a legal document, a covenant is a commitment to develop a certain kind of continuing relationship. A Covenant being such an endless relationship & agreement relies on trust even after one party dies. 

 

It was actually Marcion a post-Apostolic church founder who was considered even by the Christian Church as a Heretic that coined the term Old & New Testament suggesting that the New replaced the Old since he thought the Elohim of the Yahudim (Jews) was an evil Elohim (God) of wrath, judgement and terror. The consequence of using these terms has resulted in an anti-Torah deception and a permissiveness of Covenant breaking that is commonplace.  

Sadly the western mind is programmed to think linear therefore from one point to another but the Hebrew Mindset is rather cyclical therefore the word “Chadashah” as in the Brit Chadashah is best understood as a cycle of restoration or return to a previous state and therefore can be rendered as “renewed”. A more accurate Title for the supposed New Testament would be the “Renewed Covenant” or the “Restored Relationship”. 

 

We saw in our “Day of Atonement” Yom Kippur message that the teaching highlighted man’s desire to return to the state that Adam was in at the time that Yahweh walked with him in the Garden of Eden before man sinned. This was hoped to be achieved through the Sacrifices and this hope was revealed through the images such as trees on the walls of the Beyth Ha Mikdash (Solomon’s Temple) and the images of the Cherubim (Angels) guarding the Most Kadosh place (The Holy of Holies). 

 

This is in effect the same truth that is revealed in Hitgalut (Revelations) when Elohim will once again fellowship with Mankind when the New Yerushalayim descends to the Earth.  

The Scriptural Covenants:  

Based on the definition of an ongoing relationship we could conclude that all Scripture is one Covenant beginning from Bereshith (Genesis) & concluding with Hitgalut (Revelations). However within this ongoing relationship there are Covenants with each one adding to the previous and not nullifying the previous as the following states:

 

Galatians 3:17 Now this I say, the Torah that came four hundred and thirty years later, does not annul a Covenant previously confirmed by Elohim in Messiah, so as to do away with the promise.

By definition Covenant means an ongoing relationship agreement with each addition adding to the Revelation until the final revelation is achieved. 

 

As it stands today we have the following Covenants:

  1. The Edenic Covenant.
  2. The Adamic Covenant.
  3. The Noahide Covenant.
  4. The Abrahamic Covenant.
  5. The Sinai Covenant.
  6. The Davidic Covenant.
  7. The Renewed Covenant.

The Prophetic Picture in the Covenants:

The major truth hidden within the Covenants is the picture of Yahshua so we will consider the Covenant YHWH made with Abram to see how it reveals Yahshua and the Favour of Yahweh:

 

Bereshith (Genesis) 15:9-12 So He said to him, “Bring Me a three-year-old heifer, a three-year-old female goat, a three-year-old ram, a turtledove, and a young pigeon.”  10 Then he brought all these to Him and cut them in two, down the middle, and placed each piece opposite the other; but he did not cut the birds in two.  11 And when the vultures came down on the carcasses, Abram drove them away. 12 And it came to be when the Sun was going down and a deep sleep fell upon Abram, that see, a frightening great darkness fell upon him.

What is most important is to understand the process of cutting a Covenant. There would be two participants, the sacrificial animals and the Agreement. What is remarkable in the Covenant with Abram is how it reveals a Covenant of Favour (Grace) & trust in the following verses:

 

Bereshith (Genesis) 15:17 And it came to pass, when the sun went down and it was dark, that behold, there appeared a smoking oven and a burning torch that passed between those pieces.  

What we come to understand by this verse is that Abram did not participate by walking between the slaughtered animals which was the customary means of cutting a Covenant, but as it tells us in verse 12 Abram fell into a deep sleep and a burning torch, the picture of YHWH passed between the slaughtered animals. What this is revealing is that YHWH was declaring that if he or Abram broke the Covenant then he would pay the price, which was death like that of the slaughtered animals and so we see the divine picture of a loving relationship between YHWH and Abram and a beautiful image of the Covenant of Favour (Grace) which saw its fulfilment in Yahshua giving his life on the Tree. 

Understanding “the New” verses “the Renewed Covenant”:

To begin to appreciate the way people have understood what translators have termed the New Covenant we need to step back & look at the Theology:

 

Christian Quote:

“Christ’s work on the Cross is the New Covenant by which man is reconciled to G_d. The New Covenant is the “Law of Christ” which includes the commands of his Apostles. Thus, the New Covenant is a gracious covenant. Those included in the covenant are reconciled to G_d by grace alone, apart from anything they do. Jesus purchased a people by his death on the cross so that all those for whom he died receive full forgiveness of sins and become incurable God-lovers by the Holy Spirit. They have thus become his new creation. 

This sounds so wonderful but we now need to look to the parts of Scripture that are often quoted:

  1. The Problem of the New Covenant

 

Luke 22:20 In the same way, after the supper he took the cup, saying, “This cup is the new covenant in my blood, which is poured out for you.

The problem with this quote is that the components of cutting a Covenant are not present. Yahshua is declaring himself to be the sacrificial slaughtering but the conditions of the Covenant are not established and no participants are confirming their acceptance to it. The result is that Theologians simply conclude that whatever was taught during Yahshua’s ministry and the Apostles are the conditions but conveniently ignore all those parts that clearly teach faithfulness to the Torah. What is interesting is that the Brit Chadashah (the New Testament) contains 1,050 commands based on the Tanakh (Old Testament). 

 

Secondly there is a problem with the Word New as it is “Chadash” Strong’s Number H2318 in Hebrew that can mean New or Renewed with the Geek word in the Brit Chadashah (New Testament) being “Kainos” Strong’s Number G2537 also denoting “New” or “Renewed” or to make fresh again: 

I will also site a few verses as examples to demonstrate its usage:

 

• Tehillah (Psalm) 51:10 “Create in me a clean heart, O Elohim; and renew (chadash) a right spirit within me."

• Tehillah (Psalm) 103: 4 “Who satisfies your mouth with good things; so that your youth is renewed (chadash) like the eagle's." 

•MattithYahu (Matthew) 26:29“I will not drink of this fruit of the vine from now on until that day when I drink it anew (Chadashah) with you in My Father’s kingdom.”

• Yochanan (John) 13:34 A (Chadashah) new commandment I give to you, that you love one another; as I have loved you, that you also love one another.

• Yochanan Aleph (1 John) 2:7 Brethren, I write no (Chadashah) new commandment to you, but an old commandment which you have had from the beginning.

Yochanan (John) here seems to be Schizophrenic as both verses are about loving the brethren but one appears to contradict the other until we realize he is saying that Yahshua was refreshing or making like new an old Commandment. 

Accordingly, the Word used is the same in all cases and according to the Blue letter Bible the Greek rendering of it can mean new, fresh, unused, and new especially in freshness. 

Therefore the understanding of a Renewal of the Covenant makes perfect sense.

  1. The Conditions of the Covenant

Ibrim (Hebrews) 8:10 This is the covenant I will establish with the people of Israel after that time, declares YHWH (the Lord). I will put my laws in their minds and write them on their hearts.  

We know that this quote is from YermeYahu (Jeremiah) but when it says that YHWH will put his Laws in their minds & on their hearts what Laws is he talking about. Surely they are not those derived by willy-nilly picking through the Nazarene Writings and allowing each person to selectively decide by themselves what basic moral commands to adhere to since all now are supposedly led by the Ruach (Spirit) of YHWH though failing in many areas to obey his word which is supposed to be Eternal as we read in:

Tehillah (Psalm) 111:7-8 All His precepts are sure. 8 They stand fast forever and ever, and are done in truth and uprightness. 9 He has sent redemption to His people; He has commanded His covenant forever: Set-apart and awesome is His name.

At the time of this writing the Nazarene writings were not fully established or canonised so the reading in Hebrews clearly points to the Torah of Mosheh since the writer possibly Sha’ul (Paul) is quoting YermeYahu (Jeremiah) when the only Torah or Law was that as written by Mosheh as dictated to him by YHWH. When Yahudim come into Messiah then they wonderfully sense that in Messiah the Covenant is truly written on their heart in all its fullness.

 

CorintYah Beyth (2 Corinthians) 3:6 Our competence is from Elohim who has made us competent as servants of a renewed Covenant not of the letter but of the Ruach (the Spirit), for the letter kills but the Ruach (Spirit) gives life. 

From this reading we need to understand that Sha’ul (Paul) is referring to the means by which the Torah was transmitted. With Mosheh it was engraved on stone Tablets which worked death in that it declared people guilty as it did not have in itself the life-giving power of the Ruach (Spirit) that the Renewed Covenant promised. Sha’ul (Paul) therefore is comparing how the Covenant is now written on hearts purified through the blood of Yahshua & empowered by the Ruach Ha Kodesh to create people who are righteous. What Sha’ul (Paul) said would have shocked Yahudim (Jews) as they regarded Torah as an instrument of life: 

Shemoth Rabbah 41:1 Elohim sat on high engraving for them tablets which would give life.  

The statement of Sha’ul (Paul) is in no way disrespecting Torah but rather revealing the nature of man whose heart required a dramatic renewal which is what the Renewed Covenant is all about.  

 

  1. The Better Covenant

Ibrim (Hebrews) 8:6-8 But now He has obtained a more excellent ministry, inasmuch as He is also Mediator of a better covenant, which was established on better promises. 7 For if that first covenant had been faultless, then no place would have been sought for a second. 8 Because finding fault with them, 

The question now arises as to how the Covenant is better:

  1. A better Ministry: We have now a High Priest who is seated at the right hand of the throne of Majesty, a minister of the Sanctuary and of the true tabernacle which YHWH erected and not man & whose ministry is eternal.
  2. A better Sacrifice: Ibrim (Hebrews) 9:12 Not with the blood of goats and calves, but with His own blood He entered the Most Holy Place once for all, having obtained eternal redemption. 
  3. His Death Perfects the Sanctified: For by one offering He has perfected forever those who are being sanctified. 

This verse in no way suggests what some might suggest that once saved always saved but rather reveals that his sacrifice is sufficient for all time for those whom he is calling and are walking on the path of sanctification and obedience to the will of YHWH. 

 

Since we read in the above verses that the covenant was found to have fault because of them the Yisraelites therefore the perfect sacrifice was needed to purify hearts that now the Torah of YHWH could be written on the hearts of the Sanctified. 

 

From the understanding of Covenant we should now be aware that the Change in the Covenant was to purify those receiving the Torah towrite it on hearts that were purified therefore removing the enmity to Torah through the work of the perfect Kohen Ha Gadol (High Priest) Yahshua who offered the perfect Sacrifice being his own blood with the only part of the Covenant unchanged being the eternal Torah of YHWH which is now written on hearts and not on Stoney hearts as promised by YHWH through Ezekiel.

 

The Summary of the Matter

Just as the Menorah has seven branches with the “Shamash” the central branch being the source of light so the roots to the tree being Yisrael has seven Covenants being its root system with the central root being the Renewed Covenant of Yahshua the one that gives life or purpose to the other roots that the tree may remain strong and be itself full of life and bear much fruit.

When considering the Covenants it is good to see what Sha’ul (Paul) says when he is talking to the gentiles:

Romans 11: 18 Do not boast against the branches. And if you boast remember you do not support the root but the root supports you.

It is the Yahudi (Jewish) scriptures & the promises of Messiah that support you. All the Torah & the Covenants point to Yahshua and are the roots of our faith so you do not want to cut them off. Sha’ul uses the Metaphor of the Olive tree that we are all now grafted into. Sha’ul equates this family tree of Yahudim (Jew) & Gentile with Yisrael and the roots as the Covenants that reveal Yahshua since he is the Torah in the flesh.

The holistic vision of YHWH never changes so if we neglect all the wonderful heritage of the Covenants we lose the context. Yahshua as the Messiah fulfils all the promises originally given to Yisrael into which we are all now grafted & receiving the benefits.  

Amein!


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Think Like A Jew - Part 1

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Think Like A Jew - Part 1

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Think Like a Jew

When a Christian mind comes to an understanding of the Name, the Sabbath and the Torah, an enormous transition takes place. The Greco-Roman mindset gradually dissipates and a Hebraic mindset emerges. This is often a frightening and yet wonderful experience that carries with it highs and lows. 

The highs come from the freshness of the revelation that begin to flow and the lows usually from the failure of old friends and acquaintances to share in these same blessings. What was once a haven of religious freedom of expression becomes a constricting force that eventually causes one to leave their former place of worship and go to a place not yet fully understood.

 

“Yahweh … said to Avram, ‘Go from your country, your people and your father's household to the land I will show you.’” (Genesis 12:1) Every convert goes through the Avrahamic process to a greater or a lesser extent. Yahweh didn’t usher Avraham to a life of luxury and paradise, but to a life of uncertainty, disharmony, trials and tests. In the end Avraham didn’t even see the full manifestation of the Promise he was given. His blessing would outlive him and his sons. Right up to the very end, Elohim commanded Avraham to remove a portion of his own flesh from a very critical and delicate part of his anatomy. He even finished his life estranged from his wife and buried her. 

Even before this, the trauma of having to kill his only son should have been his tipping point. What sane person would leave early to go to a place and kill, disembowel and incinerate his own son? 

We often forget to count the cost of the path we have chosen?

And whoever does not carry their execution stake and follow me cannot be my Talmid. Suppose one of you wants to build a tower. Won't you first sit down and estimate the cost to see if you have enough money to complete it? For if you lay the foundation and are not able to finish it, everyone who sees it will ridicule you, saying, 'This person began to build and wasn't able to finish. Or, suppose there is a king who is going to war with another king, doesn’t he sit down first and consider whether he can engage the twenty thousand of the other king with his own ten thousand? And if he decides he can’t, then, while the other king is still a long way off, he sends messengers to him to ask for conditions of peace. In the same way, any of you who does not give up everything he has cannot be My Talmid.” (Luke 14:27-33)

But isn’t his yoke meant to be easy? “For my yoke is easy and my burden is light.” (Matthew 11:30) How do we reconcile this? Is it like carrying our own execution stake or is it like carrying a light yoke? Very easily. How do you think Avraham felt after he passed the test of The Akedah (The offering up of Yitzach)? He would have felt such triumph at knowing He did the Father’s will to the letter. After each successfully navigated peril, regardless of its earthly consequence, nothing in the world supersedes the feeling of knowing beyond any shadow of a doubt that Yahweh is with you 100% and He is pleased with you. The burden one feels when he knows he failed, because he lacked trust, especially near the end of his life, when his body is failing him and he can’t change the past, is heavy. Years of basking in one’s wealth and success means nothing when one realises he is going with nothing to the next world. That burden is truly heavy. 

So many pursue the path of least resistance, forgetting that nothing beautiful is born without toil. The prosperity doctrine collapses if we were to ask the following people the six-million-dollar question. Is this walk simply a meal ticket to a good life? If we ask Noach if his life was easy, what do you think he’d say? I think he’d say no! It wasn’t easy, but it was worth every effort in the end, because the path I chose saved the whole world. Ask Sha’ul HaMelech if his life was easy, ask Shmu’el (Samuel) if his life was easy, in fact ask any prophet of Israel if their lives were easy. Ask David HaMelech, ask Shlomo HaMelech, ask Esther, ask everyone of Yahshua’s very own talmidim if their lives were easy. Were Yahshua’s parents lives easy? What about Ya’akov HaTzadik (James the just)? What about Sha’ul (the Apostle Paul)? He was denied sleep, starved, beaten with rods, stoned, flogged, shipwrecked, imprisoned and threatened by bandits, his own countrymen, Gentiles and even fellow Netzarim.

What got everyone of these righteous men through? The martyr Stephen would almost certainly answer, trust! And he’d be right! But how is that trust correctly arrived at? 

Knowing the religion and nationality of King Messiah Yahshua is the key to understanding him in his most accurate context. It’s about stepping into the mind of a Jew and listening to his words within a purely Hebraic framework.  

Did Yahshua himself think his own countrymen were a lost cause? Let’s see.

 

You Samaritans (in other words you foreigners) worship what you do not know; we worship what we do know, for salvation is from the Jews.” (John 4:22)” And when he said, “For I tell you that unless your righteousness surpasses that of the Pharisees and the teachers of the law, you will certainly not enter the kingdom of heaven.” (Matthew 5:20) And when he said, “The teachers of the law and the Pharisees sit in Moshe’s seat. So you must be careful to do everything they tell you…” (Matthew 23:2-3a)

Did he consider the Pharisees and the Scribes of the Torah a lost cause? His harsh language and rebukes toward them testify alone to the answer being a resounding no!” “Do not speak to fools, for they will scorn your prudent words.” (Proverbs 23:9) “Do not rebuke mockers or they will hate you; rebuke the wise and they will love you.” (Proverbs 9:8) Yahshua and Yochannan used their harshest language against the Pharisees.  Yahshua accused them of hypocrisy and pretentiousness, and pronounced upon them a succession of woes (seven in all) culminating in this terrible, climactic statement: “Therefore you are witnesses against yourselves that you are sons of those who murdered the prophets. Fill up, then, the measure of your fathers' guilt. Serpents, brood of vipers! How can you escape the condemnation of hell?” (Matthew 23:31-33)

It’s interesting to note that the most standout or righteous members among the Pharisees carried views toward Yahshua and his talmidim that ranged from optimism to full-blown support. 

The great Sage Gamaliel said this to his fellow Jews about the Netzarim: “Leave these men alone! Let them go! (Acts 5:38)” (Click) And Nicodemus said to Yahshua, "Rabbi, we know that you are a teacher who has come from Elohim… (John 3:2)” (Click) And Joseph of Arimathea a “…prominent member of the (Sanhedrin) Council… (who) went boldly to Pilate and asked for Yahshua‘s body…And being granted it bought some linen cloth, took down the body, wrapped it in linen, and placed it in a tomb. (Mark 15:43,46)” 

(Click) And Sha’ul himself maintained his identity as a Pharisee when he declared, “My brothers, I am a Pharisee, descended from Pharisees. (Acts 23:6)” And well that he should because this word, Perushim in Hebrew meant, “Holiness Ones.” 

What would Sha’ul say about the Jews, his fellow countrymen?

“What advantage, then, is there in being a Jew, or what value is there in circumcision? Much in every way! First of all, the Jews have been entrusted with the very words of Elohim.” (Romans 3:1-2)

“Has Elohim cast away his people? Elohim forbid...Elohim has not cast away his people which he foreknew” (Romans 11:1-2).

"Brethren, my heart’s desire and prayer to Elohim for Israel is, that they might be saved" (Romans 10:1). He further testified, “I have great heaviness and continual sorrow in my heart. For I could wish that myself were accursed from Messiah for my brethren, my kinsmen according to the flesh" (Romans 9:2-3). 

Sha’ul like the Prophet Yonah was willing to die and be forsaken if it would mean that all Israel would be saved. Yonah avoided Nineveh, because he knew the Ninevite’s t’shuvah would eclipse the conduct of his brethren at that time. 

Avraham’s son Yitzchak was willing to give up his own life if it meant Yahweh would accept his descendants even though that in the natural there would be none if he was to be killed. 

Moshe carried the same conviction. He himself was willing to have his own name erased from the Torah if all Israel would be saved.

“But now, please forgive their sin--but if not, then blot me out of the book you have written.” (Exodus 32:32)

Queen Esther felt the same way, risking her own life if it meant that all the Jews would be saved. 

And King Messiah Yahshua himself perfected this mindset, this desire to sacrifice himself so that many would be saved. “There is no greater love than to lay down one's life for one's friends.” (John 15:13) The correct mindset of anyone, whether he came from the Gentiles or from the Jews is to have a heart for the salvation of others over themselves. This is the correct and rightly divided mindset of a true Jew. 

It’s the mindset of the first Hebrew, Avraham, who’s kindness and selflessness knew no bounds. No other individual in history would eclipse the enormity of this man’s standout traits accept of course the Messiah. From the beginning and traced through the path of the remnant to the very end is the trait of sacrificial, I would die for you love, that is the hallmark of Jewish thinking, which completely aligns with Messiah’s thinking. There is no distinction! But we are assured that not all Jews would be lost. There has always been an unsevered line of righteous Jews existing in some part of the world! How do I know that? Because the earth hasn’t yet spun off its axis and exploded into dust. But more than that. The Word says, “In the same way also at this time there is a remnant left in The Election of kindness.” (Romans 11:5) Whenever Jews get slaughtered en-mass the world hovers close to destruction. 

For too long we’ve painted the Jews with the same tarred brushed. Sure, there were detractors. The Word said that Messiah would come to his own and they would reject Him.  “He came to that which was his own, but his own did not receive him.” (John 1:11)

Does rejection of Messiah by Jews or anyone else not nullify his power. Not in the least. “What if some were unfaithful? Will their unfaithfulness nullify Elohim's faithfulness? Not at all! Let Elohim be true, and every human being a liar.” (Romans 3:3-4a)

When is the Ger T’shav going to realise that the authors of the Bible were recruited from an exclusively Jewish genepool! When are we going to realise it was by their blood being spilled that the Torah made it from Sinai to here?

Enmity still divides us and it robs us of perfect vision. The jealousy and rivalry over both houses causes both houses (Israel and Yehuda) to have their share of stumbling. 

Too often comes up the cry, ‘Why is the term “Jews” used in many Orthodox publications and not “Israel”? The answer is that the term Jews or Yahudim is a retrospective term, given to the dominant tribe that despite its sins maintained the working of the Torah while all others abandoned it. This is why Jews use the term “Jew” instead of “Israel” in many places where they had not yet been divided from their brethren, because of the Northern Tribes desertion under Yereboam. 

Is the term Jew considered a redundant one in this era of returning lost sheep? Not at all? Why is that? Well there is an interesting verse in The Book of Revelation that says,

 

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“I will make those who are of the synagogue of HaSatan, who claim to be Jews though they are not, but are liars--I will make them come and fall down at your feet and acknowledge that I have loved you.” (Revelation 3:9) Now many read this verse and wrongly equate synagogues with being dens of wickedness and in so doing, they overlook an amazing declaration in this passage. Why would the so-called New Testament care who is a real Jew and who isn’t if the term Jew is now redundant? The term “Jew” became an overarching title when this royal tribe remained in Yehudah with Benyamin and the tribe of Levi, while the Northern Tribes adopted the collective name Yisrael and left.  Sure the Ten Northern Tribes grievances against Shlomo HaMelek (King Solomon) were valid, but a full departure and the setting up of a competing faith was over the top. 

In a time to come both factions will reunite as brothers and the progeny names of all the Tribes will be restored. Nothing that was elaborately set up by the Almighty will be lost forever. In fact, the scattering, which began as a curse will end as a blessing as all nations will host a remnant to the very four corners of the world so the ingathering may be proclaimed to all. 

This is may wish! That this congregation not join in the mindset that we are better than the Jews because of our faith in Messiah. But rather show them love and work on our on righteousness, knowing that without it will not even assure our salvation. 

I’ll ask you this question: You walk into any given Orthodox Synagogue in NSWs and watch those in attendance and then come to Netzarim Antoecie and see those in attendance here and then ask yourself who looks more serious about their religion. I tell you it will be any other Synagogue every time. Most Nazarene shuls have less punctuality and consistency of attendance than members in outlaw motorcycle clubs.  You don’t dare to miss or call in late to a clubhouse meeting at the Gypsy Jokers or the Comancheros. 

What do we have to do? 

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 “This is My commandment, that you love one another as I loved you. Greater love has no one than this: to lay down one's life for one's friends.” (John 15:12-13) When we internalise this love we want to always be doing our very best. The true Jewish mindset is to have a heart for others over ourselves. To think like a true Jew is to think of the wellbeing of our neighbour over our own. 

Don’t polarize Yahshua from his forerunners. They, though being nothing more than ordinary men and women, all participated in mankind’s salvation, though it was orchestrated by Yahweh. 

Did Avraham leave his home for his own benefit? No, he left to save the world and he surely did, just like you. 

End of Lecture One.


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