Zion's Voice

Brit Hadashah Reflections      45    

Torah portion                   Deuteronomy 26 : 1  – 29 : 8

Haftarah portion           Isaiah  60 : 1 – 22

Brit Hadashah                 Acts 11 : 1  - 13 : 52

Hebraic understanding of the Gospel of Yeshua

Our reading this week opens with confirmation of the “Hebraic” nature and the true intent of God’s ‘sheet’ vision given to the Apostle Peter (and which we ‘reflected’ upon last week). It related to inclusive relationship with Gentiles. As Peter enlightened fellow Jews about his visit to, and dining with, Gentiles in Caesarea, they too became excited about the fact that God had graciously “granted to the Gentiles repentance to life”. Most of those reading this ‘reflection’ are direct beneficiaries of that grace today. Praise be to our God who does all things well.

But to emphasize the point, the ‘sheet’ vision was NOT about food!

In further emphasis, we are appraised of the fact that following the stoning death of Stephen, a great dispersion of “the ekklesia” (Messianic Jews) took place. That resulted in a situation of Messianic Jew teaching diaspora Orthodox Jew about Yeshua in Jewish Synagogues wherever they went. Additionally, there was a significant expansion of believers among Gentiles, especially in the city of Antioch (about 800Km north of Jerusalem).

When “the ekklesia” in Jerusalem heard about this Gentile awakening, they sent Barnabas there to teach truth to the Antioch “ekklesia”. He found ‘fertile ground’ because more and more people came to faith in Yeshua. Then Barnabas went off to Tarsus (about 250 Km away) to get the recently converted Sha’ul, and together, in Antioch, for the next twelve months, they joined the local “ekklesia” teaching and encouraging them. It was in Antioch that believers were first called “Christians”, but trust me when I tell you that, at that time, it was a term of derision which was coined by those who did not accept the truth about Yeshua’s deity.

Out of the Antioch “ekklesia” certain prophets arose. One of them, called Agabus, prophesied a worldwide famine. It came sometime between the mid forties and early fifties (which is when Claudius reigned in Rome). The faithful saints in Antioch determined to send relief to the brethren in Judea, which they entrusted Barnabas and Sha’ul to deliver. (Later, Rabbi Sha’ul would write “For if the Gentiles have been partakers of their spiritual things, their duty is also to minister to them in material things” Romans 15:27)  It could be that he was greatly moved by the actions of the Antioch “ekklesia” don’t you think? My mind also goes to the promise of God given to Abram in Genesis 12:3.

Before Barnabas and Sha’ul returned to Antioch, they celebrated Passover in Jerusalem. At that time King Herod was flexing his muscle against the believers. He had already killed James the brother of John, which pleased the hierarchy of the Jews. His clear intention was to deal similarly with Peter, but because it was Passover, he threw Peter in jail until Passover was ended. But God had other plans. He sent an Angel to rescue Peter. Then later, Herod overstepped the mark by exalting himself above God in the eyes of the people and he died. So it was that Barnabas and Sha’ul returned to Antioch, this time taking John Mark with them.

With the “ekklesia” at Antioch well served with teachers and prophets God spoke to them about releasing Barnabas and Sha’ul for the extensive work as itinerant evangelists. It seems that this was the point at which Rabbi Sha’ul began to be known as the Apostle Paul. (In 1 Cor 9:19-23 he takes time to explain how he presents himself as ‘becoming all things to all men’)  And so it is that we see for the first time Paul and Rabbi Sha’ul (the same person) begin to minister fearlessly and with great authority, in Synagogues and in the open air, to any and every audience he could find.

Have you ever wondered why, wherever he went, his first point of contact seemed to be the local Synagogue? And why he almost invariably was invited to speak there?  I have. Did he have some kind of ‘light’ shining on him wherever he went? I think not. The answer which occurs to me is that, even though we are never taught this in our churches, (at least I wasn’t) he was Rabbi Sha’ul. He maintained his Judaism all his life (At least until Acts 28!!) He probably dressed as a Rabbi, and of course, when he spoke, he spoke with authority and great knowledge. After all, he was trained by the Rabbi Gamaliel wasn’t he?

Much of the remainder of “Acts” deals with the ministry journeys and trials of the Apostle Paul, on which we will ‘reflect’ in the weeks ahead. I pray that you will come to appreciate, perhaps in a new way, the blessings which are ours resulting from the obedient, faithful, service of this Messianic Jew, Rabbi Sha’ul. (A Hebrew of the Hebrews!)

Shabbat Shalom

RS

Brit Hadashah Reflections        44     

Torah portion                   Deuteronomy 21 : 10  – 25 : 19

Haftarah portion            Isaiah  54 : 1 – 10

Brit Hadashah                 Acts 9 : 1  - 10 : 48

Hebraic understanding of the Gospel of Yeshua

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This week, two passages of Scripture which are quite misunderstood by a majority of Christians. The task here being to provide the “Hebraic” understanding of these events, which differs from the usual conventional Christian teaching on these passages.  The first, in Chapter 9 relates to coming to faith of Rabbi Sha’ul. The second, in Chapter 10 relates Peter’s vision of the sheet with all manner of food on it.

That Rabbi Sha’ul was ‘converted’ on the Damascus Road is not an issue. We know what he was ‘converted’ from. He was an ardent practitioner of Rabbinic Judaism. They were Pharisees, described by Yeshua as ‘following the traditions of men’. But what was he ‘converted’ to? If you are like me, you will have been taught that he was ‘converted’ to Christianity (a new faith set apart from Judaism) and so he is considered the father of this new faith which is centred on Yeshua. As a result, the vast majority of Christians have become disciples of Rabbi Sha’ul (through their genuine misunderstanding) rather than disciples of Yeshua.   Selah. (which means take a moment to reflect on that).

We know that Sha’ul was a fervent persecutor of believers in Yeshua. He refers to them (v.2) as “the Way”, (and later in Acts 24 he adds that they were a ‘sect’ of Judaism of which he had become part!! A most significant confession by him given our normal understanding of his “Christianity”)  His mission to Damascus was to take captive anyone he could lay his hands upon who had become a believer in Yeshua.

Suddenly a ‘light shone around him from heaven’ ! He became blinded by that light and for three days he neither ate nor drank. His companions saw nothing but heard the voice that Sha’ul heard. The story is well known. What is usually missed however is the person God sent to minister to Sha’ul. Ananias was one of the believers. Fearful of Sha’ul because of his reputation, Ananias eventually went and announced to Sha’ul that he was to receive his sight and be filled with the Holy Spirit.

It is noteworthy that Ananias and other disciples of Yeshua in Damascus spent ‘some days’ with Sha’ul, presumably teaching him about Yeshua. We also know that these men (see Acts 22:12) were ‘devout men according to the ‘Law’ (Torah). This is consistent with the statement by the Jerusalem Council in Acts 21:20 that upon coming to faith in Yeshua the believers were all ‘zealous for the Law’ (Torah).  So now we can answer the question about what was Sha’ul converted to! He was converted from Pharasaic Judaism to Messianic Judaism. And that, my dear friends, is not the same as the anti-semitic, anti Torah, Romanised Christianity, which is usually taught about the conversion experience of the highly esteemed Rabbi Sha’ul.

In Chapter 10 we have the account of Peter’s vision of the descending sheet displaying food. Again, to understand the “Hebraic” import of this vision we need to understand that ALL the early believers in Yeshua were Torah observant Jews and proselytes. They were adherents or converts to Messianic Judaism. They were “zealous for the Law” (Torah). Why? Because that was the unambiguous teaching of Yeshua. Peter, in particular, had spent three years in close company with The Master. Disciples are learners, imitators, copiers of their Master. They sought to be as much like Him as possible. He did not come to abolish Torah, but to make it full of meaning. That is the background.

Christians have been taught that this vision was given to Peter with the express purpose of superseding the dietary laws contained in the Torah (see Deuteronomy 14). That was NOT what Peter understood. Was Peter both confused and concerned by the vision? Yes he was.  Immediately after he had his ‘sheet’ vision he received a visit by men from Caesarea, sent by the gentile believer Cornelius ( on the instruction of an Angel by a vision) requesting that Peter visit him. But devout Jews did not visit with gentiles and certainly wouldn’t eat with them !!

“What God has cleansed you must not call common (or unclean)”

Those words of God in his ‘sheet’ vision slammed into his mind. Peter confirms this in verse 28. “But God has shown me that I should not call any man common or unclean.”  For Peter, the confusion of the ‘sheet’ vision was immediately resolved. It was NOT about food at all, It was about human relationships in the sight of a Holy God.

Dear friends, when Yeshua said “Do not think that I came to destroy the Law or the Prophets” He meant it. Trust Him on that. God will bless you as you study His word with a “Hebraic” understanding.

Shabbat Shalom

RS

Brit Hadashah Reflections      43     

Torah portion                  Deuteronomy 16 : 18  – 21 : 9

Haftarah portion           Isaiah  51 : 12 – 52 : 12

Brit Hadashah                 Acts 6 : 1  - 8 : 40

 Hebraic understanding of the Gospel of Yeshua

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The number of disciples was ‘multiplying’. To put the correct “Hebraic” understanding here, we must remember that, whilst it is now commonly taught that this relates to ‘church growth’ (and we mostly,  incorrectly, relate that to the building on the corner of our local High Street), it is in fact a growth of what is known today as Messianic Judaism ( ‘ekklesia’ in Greek). It was part and parcel of the local Synagogue. (The Apostle Paul would later describe them in Acts 24:14 as a sect of Judaism known as “The Way”). That community had begun to attract Gentiles into their number. And it was still in the era of “having all things in common”. Then dispute arose about a degree of favouritism to Jews in the “daily” food distribution.

The result was the appointment of ‘deacons’, charged with the daily responsibility of ensuring that the “ekklesia” were organised in an orderly manner, and with fairness to all its members.  The Apostles, the original 11 plus Matthias, giving themselves to the most important responsibility of prayer and teaching the Word. We are also told that following the appointment of these seven deacons “the number of the disciples multiplied greatly in Jerusalem, and a great many of the priests were obedient to the faith”. Let us remind ourselves again that all this evangelism and spectacular growth took place within the boundaries of Judaism. Our foundations as believers is rooted and firmly grounded in Judaism. Gentiles were not excluded but were very much a minority group within the “ekklesia”. However, the deacons were also engaged in ministry duties and we are told that one of them, Stephen, “did great wonders and signs among the people”.

We are then introduced to the “Synagogue of the Freedmen (Libertines)” from which a small group of troublemakers arose. This Synagogue is believed to be a Greek speaking Synagogue comprising of mainly diaspora Hellenists who had made Aliya and sundry other Greek speaking proselytes. They conspired to bring false charges of blasphemy and false teaching against Stephen. They were certainly ‘anti-Christ’ by persuasion and determined to have nothing to do with Yeshua. Similar charges were later laid at the Apostle Paul’s feet. Specifically, the charge at that time being that he was teaching AGAINST the “Law of Moses”, the Torah, which, of course, he was NOT.

I find it interesting to see how much things have changed. Today the charge laid at the feet of Messianic Judaism (“the ekklesia”) is that they ARE teaching that the “law of Moses”,(the Torah), is alive and well and has never been abrogated. The REAL issue today is no different to that which was present in the days of Acts 6. It is what Yeshua described as “the traditions of men”, the teachings of Rabbinic Judaism which deny the deity of Messiah Yeshua.

As Stephen spoke in defence of his teaching, it was his charge against his accusers that they were not keeping the Torah as it had been revealed to them, by angels, and more recently by Yeshua, the living Torah, which “cut them to their heart”. In their rage they stoned Stephen to death. One of the witnesses, consenting to this action, was none other than a young Rabbi Sha’ul. He became a fervent activist in the persecution of the “ekklesia”. We are told that he “made havoc of the “ekklesia”” entering homes, and by the authority he was given by the ruling body, committed many to prison. But the hand of God was in this too, because this persecution caused the faithful to scatter across the land, and wherever they went, they preached the good news of the gospel of salvation in Yeshua.

One such was Philip. He went to the city of Samaria (not far from modern day Nablus, originally the biblical Shechem). He preached Messiah to them and using the gifts with which he was anointed he proclaimed healing to the sick and cast out demons from those possessed by unclean spirits. Thus he brought great joy to the city. One of the converts was a man, Simon, who had previously practised sorcery. BUT, Simon observed that by the laying on of hands, the apostles were able to impart supernatural gifts to others, so he sought to BUY that gift with the prospect of making money out of it! There is not enough money in the whole world to BUY anything from God. His gifting is freely preserved for those whom He chooses to anoint, but it is perfectly proper to ask God for such anointing. One is never left wondering whether or not that gift is present. Its evidence in a person’s life cannot be mistaken  ..  and neither can the counterfeit. God requires that He, and He alone, receives the glory for our gifting. By such is the Kingdom of God extended.

Shabbat Shalom

RS

Brit Hadashah Reflections      42     

Torah portion                  Deuteronomy 11 : 26  – 16 : 17

Haftarah portion           Isaiah  54 : 11 – 55 : 5

Brit Hadashah                Acts 3 : 1  - 5 : 42

 Hebraic understanding of the Gospel of Yeshua

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Possibly the most exciting and certainly a most challenging passage of Scripture this week as we begin to learn of the extraordinary ministry of the disciples of Yeshua in the early days of their empowered lives. Talk about boldness? Fearless in their exploits. The prophet Daniel said “they that know their God shall be strong, and do great exploits” (Daniel 11:32) And the ‘Preacher’ said “whatever your hands find to do, do it with your might.” (Ecclesiastes 10:9) Well these men became living proof of the life of faith. Why? Because they KNEW their God.

A man, lame from birth, carried to the same spot each day to beg alms of those entering the Temple. Can you hear him? “Spare a mite sir?” How many times each day would those words have passed his lips? Eyes cast down not wanting to look at the faces of those who rejected him. How many people (like me!) hurried on without a glance? But on this day, Peter and John stopped. “look at us” Peter demanded. And a short time later, this elated man walked with them, leaping and praising God, into the Temple. They were soon surrounded by a large crowd. Only a short few weeks earlier Peter had denied even knowing Yeshua. Now, filled with the power of the Holy Spirit, he preached a message of repentance to the expectant crowd. What a change. It often amazes me, but it ought not to, that we barely recognize that his audience was entirely Jewish. For that reason Peter was able to show them, from the Scriptures how Yeshua was the fulfilment of God’s promise to raise up for them “a prophet like Moses”. He was, and He still is, the fulfilment of that promise. (“To the Jew first, and also to the Greek”)

If that were the end of their day witnessing to the love of Yeshua they would have thought they had a good day, wouldn’t they? But it was not. Because as they spoke to the large crowd assembled in Solomon’s Porch, the Captain of the Temple, no less, together some priests and Sadducees turned up. (Note here that the Sadducees do not believe in ‘resurrection’) They were incensed and threw Peter and John into jail!  Who says God is not in control? Most of us would say “How terrible”. But God WAS in control then, and He is in control now.

The very next day “their rulers, elders, scribes, Annas the High Priest, Caiaphas John, Alexander and all the family of the High Priest gathered to see ‘justice done’.”  But what they heard was the gospel of Yeshua, preached boldly, clearly and without compromise, and that in the presence of the man, now walking, who only one day earlier was crippled, begging in the Temple. The outcome was staggering in its manifestation. The text makes clear that they all ‘marvelled’ at what they heard. They were truly convinced that Peter and John had been with Yeshua in His resurrected form. BUT they thought their standing in the community was being threatened if they made that confession. So they chose their rank and status above the truth. Dear friends, can you see, as I can, that the same obstinacy prevails today? And that not only in the hierarchical community of Judaism. It is costly, in this life, to confess Yeshua as Lord. It cost these Apostles their very life later on, but it did not stop them from being fervent witnesses to the saving grace of God which was wrought by the death and resurrection of Yeshua.

The work of the Kingdom continued and those who were now enjoined to the “ekklesia” shared things in common. Several decided to sell such land possessions as they had and present the proceeds as gifts to their community. It was a voluntary act of love. There was no pressure upon anyone. BUT, we are told of a couple, Ananias and his wife Sapphira who also sold a land possession but only gave a portion of the proceeds to the community. There was nothing wrong in doing that, except that their offering was presented in a manner which portrayed that they were giving ALL the proceeds, as others had done. It was a devious, insincere, act on their part and the Apostle Peter was aware of their deception. He pronounced it to be “lying to God”. Ananias fell down dead, on the spot, before Peter.  Sapphira, his wife, unaware of this, turned up three hours later and she too confirmed by her declaration that she had co-conspired with Ananias to hold back part of the proceeds of the sale. She too dropped dead at the Apostle’s feet.

“It is a fearful thing to fall into the hands of the living God” Hebrews 10:31

May you find peace and joy in faithfully serving Him who alone is worthy of our praise. To Him be all the glory.

Shabbat Shalom

RS

Brit Hadashah Reflections         41     

Torah portion                        Deuteronomy 7 : 12  – 11 : 25

Haftarah portion                 Isaiah  49 : 14 – 51 : 3

Brit Hadashah                      Acts 1 : 1  - 2 : 47

Hebraic understanding of the Gospel of Yeshua

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We now ‘reflect’ on the account of events in the days following the ascension of Yeshua into heaven to be seated at the right hand of the Father. Luke tells us that this is “Volume 2” of that historical account, written for Theophilus. (Please refer to my Brit Hadashah ‘reflection’ Number 21 for more information on this matter). Luke begins with the dramatic scene, forty days after His crucifixion, as Yeshua ascends into heaven, watched by His disciples, up into the clouds and out of their sight. What an awesome and probably an even sad sight that must have been for them. Alone again, Yeshua gone from them for a second time.

But with their faith strengthened by the post resurrection encounters with Him, they had two more promises to encourage them. Firstly they were promised that they would receive “the power of the Holy Spirit”. And secondly that “this same Yeshua, who was taken up from you into heaven, will so come in like manner as you have seen Him go into heaven”. That first promise was a mere ten days away. The second promise has been the bedrock of the hope of all believers from that day to this.

Six weeks earlier, Judas Iscariot had committed suicide. Using Psalm 109:8 as their guide, they decided that Judas’ place, as an overseer with them, should be filled by another. Then by means of the quite ordinary action of ‘casting lots’, Matthias was selected as his replacement. However, we should carefully note that this was no haphazard selection. They were diligent in seeking God in prayer, trusting His guidance. I suggest to you that this was not a ‘majority’ verdict. I believe it would have been a unanimous selection. And here is a lesson for us. Too often, in my experience, church groups are ‘democratic’ in their practices and ‘majority’ decisions are commonplace. Invariably this leads to elements of discontent, even division. When God is in control there will always be unanimity!! I respectfully counsel that it is better to wait until there is unanimity, rather than to proceed with major issues on split opinion!!

Ten days after Yeshua ascended into heaven brought them to one of God’s ‘appointed times’. Shavuot, Feast of Weeks, Pentecost. It is one of three ‘pilgrimage’ festivals, when all Jewish males were required to go up to Jerusalem (the other two being Passover and Tabernacles). Shavuot is always on ‘the first day of the week’, Sunday to gentiles (see Leviticus 23:16). Judaism traditionally considers this to be the exact date when God met Moses on the mountain to give him His Torah. (Exodus 19). It is certainly the time when God provided His disciples with the promised “power when the Holy Spirit comes upon you”. Since this was a pilgrimage festival, God’s timing was, as always impeccable. The city was filled with Jews from all over the diaspora (see list in verses 9-11). Now we should take note of some interesting parallels between the two ‘gifts’ which God visited upon these Jewish men.

In Exodus, God gave the people His Torah. His ‘instructions about living together in righteousness’. About living in a manner which was quite different to the nations around them when they would enter the land of promise several years later. In Acts 2, we see the gift of the Holy Spirit poured out, all the nationalities hearing the words of salvation in their own language. So powerful was the message Peter preached, that 3000 were added to their number in one day. And many more followed in days ahead. That is amazing. But we should take care not to diminish the message. It was not one of promised prosperity, of enhanced circumstances, of reduced hardship, of better living conditions. It was a message of the sacrificial death and miraculous resurrection of Yeshua. They spoke confidently because they had spent time with Him after that resurrection. They had, just ten days earlier, watched as He ascended into heaven. It was a bold message. It was a message of REPENTANCE. It was a message of baptism. It was a message of living righteously with each other. It was a message of living differently to how they had become accustomed. And it showed.

“And they continued steadfastly in the apostles doctrine and fellowship”.  Less than 150 years ago, a new document (Didache .. means teaching) was discovered. Its full title is “The teachings of the twelve Jewish Apostles to the Gentiles”. It dates from the first century C.E. I commend it to you as an ancient resource. It is an expansion of the Acts 15 letter to the gentiles. But be warned, it may provide quite a challenge for a ‘traditional’ Christian believer today!                

Shabbat Shalom 

RS