May 2026

02-May-2026

Behar / Bechutotai

Brit Hadashah Reflections 29

Torah portion Leviticus 25 : 1 – 27 : 34

Haftarah portion Jeremiah 16 : 19 – 17 : 14

Hebraic understanding of the Gospel of Yeshua

The Temple in Jerusalem, in the days when Yeshua walked this earth, was a magnificent, dominant, seemingly impregnable feature of the city. It was the very centre of religious life. And like some of our mega-churches today, had also become a centre of commerce, which had drawn the ire of Yeshua as He drove the merchants out of the Temple courts. He had described what was to be “a House of prayer” (Isaiah 56) as “a den of thieves” (Jeremiah 7). Harsh words eh?

Imagine the shock when, as some of them were discussing among themselves the beauty of the place, Yeshua announced to His disciples that a day was coming when “not one stone will be left on another”. Destroyed. Finished. No longer useable. Unthinkable statement. So they asked Him when this would happen. His answer was prophetic then of the physical destruction of the Temple by Titus in 70 C.E. (less than 40 years ahead) and it is prophetic today, because His answer embraces a time when certain events would take place, which many people readily identify as events which are occurring before our very eyes in our day. Days which herald the coming return of Yeshua as King of kings to rule and reign from Jerusalem. “Look at the fig tree” He said. “When that is budding, you know that summer is near.” So it will be when Yeshau returns. You will see the signs, then “watch and pray”. The signs are all around us aren’t they?

The season of Passover was upon them. Yeshua knew that in a few short hours He would be condemned to die on a Roman cross. The Scribes and the Pharisees wanted Him out of the way for sure, and to that extent they were complicit in His death. They brought false accusations against Him, and of course, because they were false, they did not stand up to rigorous scrutiny by the Roman authorities, who openly declared that they could find no fault in Him.

But Yeshua had a few more things to teach His disciples before that appalling crime was committed. As He reclined with His close friends around the table of the Passover Seder He told them that this would be the last time He would share Passover with them in this life. Understanding the form and substance of the Hebraic Passover Seder gives us a clear insight into the sequence of events around that table. And it is vastly different to that which has been taught in our modern churches for centuries.

Passover is an annual remembrance, throughout their generations (i.e. as long as there are Jews on this earth!). The Seder (a Hebrew word which simply means “order” or “arrangement”) has been developed as a ritual remembrance which is used in Jewish families to teach the children (and anyone else present) about the miraculous salvation of the Children of Israel from slavery in Egypt about 3,500 years ago. In Leviticus 23, it is described as the first of seven annual “mo’edim” (appointed times) of the Lord. This is what Yeshua and His disciples were about in our readings today. Tradition has it that there are FIVE cups of wine at a Seder meal. Four are drunk, and the fifth (Elijah’s cup) remains untouched until he comes to herald the coming of the Messiah.

The ‘third cup’, often referred to as the ‘cup of redemption’, taken after the meal, is the cup which is recognized by Christians in celebration of ‘communion’. (Note:- From a Hebraic understanding of the Scriptures I conclude that this was always intended by Yeshua to be an ANNUAL remembrance at the Passover Seder. Unleavened bread representative of His sinless body, and His blood the guarantee of the New Covenant which is to be made with the House of Israel and the House of Judah). Regrettably, the lack of understanding of this Hebraic connection results in loss to the church, because the Lords ‘appointed time’ of Passover has been replaced by the Christianised pagan celebration of Easter.

After that Passover Seder with His disciples, He spoke to them about the betrayal which would shortly take place. He spoke about the testing which they would endure for ‘His name’s sake’. Then He went to a quiet place to pray. It is the place where He suffered great agony as He contemplated the magnitude of that which He was to bear. I do not think that agony was in regard to the physical deprivation He knew was to take place. It was the agony of the knowledge of the ‘chata’ (the sin) that He was to bear in His sinless body. The sin which would separate Him from His Father in Heaven. My sin. Your sin. Selah! If this ‘reflection’ means nothing else, it is worthy of your contemplation of the agony borne by our Saviour Yeshua on our behalf.

Shabbat Shalom