Yeshua : A Study For Holy Week in Eight Parts
“Salvation” Part One
Salvation is our most precious gift. We all have things that we cherish, and because of it we guard them so they do not get damaged or lost. But so often we take our salvation for granted. We do not hold it close in our hearts. It is more head knowledge than heartfelt. Those cherished items we take out and hold and remember how we obtained them, but our salvation is not like that. This study is about our salvation and we want to take the time to look at it and hold it and cherish it. So Salvation is only in Yeshua. Acts 4:12 says, “And there is salvation in no one else, for there is no other name under heaven given among men by which we must be saved.”
This is exactly what Yeshua’s name means, God’s Salvation. Do not think that the name Jesus means the same. First of all the letter j was not even in the alphabet till the 1500’s. Yeshua was changed to Jesus because the Word of God was put into the Greek, and since then we have had a Greek Messiah. Emperor Constantine changed the days and the dates back in the 4th Century.
Daniel 7: 25 speaks about one who will come and do just that. “And he shall speak great words against the most High, and shall wear out the saints of the most High, and think to change times and laws: and they shall be given into his hand until a time and times and the dividing of time.”
1 John 4: 2-3 says, “By this you know the Spirit of God: every spirit that confesses that Messiah Yeshua has come in the flesh is from God, and every spirit that does not confess Yeshua is not from God. This is the spirit of the antichrist, which you heard was coming and now is in the world already.”
Yes, there have been many false teachings over the years and you will see as we go on. Let’s look at one of these. We want to look at one, the Trinity. Why is this important? Because to understand our salvation we must understand it with truth. We have been taught to believe in the Trinity, three persons in one, but is this true? We could say, “Well maybe this could be.”
But the truth is, God is one and He is not a person. Maybe this belief of God being three persons started with Yeshua, because He was a person, or maybe it didn’t? We really do not know how God could have sent His Son in the form of a man except that God can do all things. First, There is only one God and so He is only one. Two, God is a spirit, He is not a man, He is not even human, and Three, how does God have a Son when God is only one? We want to take a closer look into this and see if we can come up with the right conclusion.
Let’s begin with God is one.
Yeshua says in John 10:30, “The Father and I are one.”
John 1:1-5 says, “In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. He was with God in the beginning. Through Him all things were made; without Him nothing was made that has been made. In Him was life, and that life was the light of all mankind. The light shines in the darkness, and the darkness has not overcome it”.
Yeshua and the Father are one and so is the Holy Spirit and Yeshua one.
Philippians 1:19 says, “For I know that this will turn out for my deliverance through your prayers and the provision of the Spirit of Messiah Yeshua.”
Acts 16:7 says, “and after they came to Mysia, they were trying to go into Bithynia, and the Spirit of Yeshua did not allow them.”
Galatians 4:6 says “Because you are sons, God has sent the Spirit of His Son into our hearts, crying out, “Abba! Father!”
And you can’t forget the Armor of God.
Ephesians 6:17 says this about part of our armor, “And you will need the helmet of salvation and the sword of the Spirit—which is the Word of God.”
2 Corinthians 3:4-6 says this, “Such is the confidence we have toward God through the Messiah. Not that we are adequate in ourselves so as to consider anything as having come from ourselves, but our adequacy is from God, who also made us adequate as servants of a new covenant, not of the letter but of the Spirit; for the letter kills, but the Spirit gives life.”
So we see that the Spirit gives life and Yeshua is life. John 11:25 tells us, “Yeshua said to her, “I am the resurrection and the life. He who believes in me will have life even if he dies.”
and the Father gives us life through Yeshua as Romans 6:23 tells us, “But God’s gift is real life, eternal life, delivered by Yeshua, our Master.
So we see that even Yeshua and the Holy Spirit are one with God. This belief of God being one is not only in Judaism, but Islam, and Christianity (that is, before Tertullian came along with the idea of the Trinity and it was made law at the Council of Nicea and ratified at other councils.) If you want to know more about how man changed God’s Word, see our series on our website: judeochristianclarion.com The Sins of our Forefathers.
So the question is, “How can God be a man and also the Supreme Being?”
Colossians 2:9-10 tells us this, “For all the fullness of Deity lives bodily in Him, and in Him you have been filled to fullness. He is the head over every ruler and authority.”
But is this not true about you? Does not God by His Holy Spirit live in you and yet, you are not God? Let’s take a closer look and we will start with the birth of Yeshua.
Luke records this in Luke 1:31b-35, “You will give birth to a son, and you will name Him Yeshua. He will be great, and people will call Him the Son of the Most High. The Lord God will give Him the throne of King David, His ancestor. He will rule over the people of Jacob forever. His kingdom will never end.’ Mary said to the angel, ‘How will this happen? I am a virgin!’ The angel said to Mary, ‘The Holy Spirit will come upon you, and the power of the Most High will cover you. The baby will be holy. He will be called the Son of God.”’
So was Yeshua God or man?
Philippians 2:5-11 tells us this, “Have this attitude in yourselves, which also was in Messiah Yeshua, who, though existing in the form of God, did not consider being equal to God a thing to be grasped. But He emptied Himself—taking on the form of a slave, becoming the likeness of men and being found in appearance as a man. He humbled Himself—becoming obedient to the point of death, even death on a cross. For this reason God highly exalted Him and gave Him the name that is above every name, that at the name of Yeshua every knee should bow, in heaven and on the earth and under the earth, and every tongue profess that Yeshua the Messiah is Lord— to the glory of God the Father.”
Hebrews 10:6-7 says this, “So when Messiah came into the world, He said: ‘You do not want sacrifices and offerings. But you have prepared a body for Me. You do not ask for burnt offerings and offerings to take away sins.’ Then I said, ‘Look, I have come. It is written about Me in the book. My God, I have come to do what you want.’”
We see here that Yeshua emptied Himself of His deity and came in the form of a man. God prepared a body for His Son Yeshua. Remember, God is a spirit. Well, that explains how God went from a spirit to a man. The Holy Spirit overshadowed Mary and the Word became flesh. Yes, God spoke His Word into existence. Did He not say, “Let there be Light” and there was? The part of God, His Word, is just like you and your word are one.
We read in Luke 3: 23-38 the genealogy of Mary. If Mary was not a part of all of this then Yeshua would not have been human, but she was, and so we can say without a doubt that Yeshua was flesh and blood.
Yet Yeshua is much like Melchizedek as Hebrews 7:2-3 says, “The name Melchizedek, king of Salem, has two meanings. First, Melchizedek means ‘king of justice.’ And ‘king of Salem’ (shalom) means ‘king of peace.’ No one knows who his father or mother was or where he came from. And no one knows when he was born or when he died. Melchizedek is like the Son of God in that he will always be a priest.”’
Isaiah 7:2-3 says “For to us a Child is born, to us a Son is given; and the government shall be upon His shoulder, and His name shall be called Wonderful Counselor, Mighty God, Everlasting Father, Prince of Peace.”
Maybe Yeshua and Melchizidek have more in common than we think, for one day Yeshua, the Prince of Peace, will also sit on David’s throne in Jerusalem and be the King of Salem. Hebrews 1:1-6, says “In the past God spoke to our ancestors through the prophets. He spoke to them many times and in many different ways. And now in these last days God has spoken to us through His Son. God has chosen His Son to own all things. And He made the world through the Son. The Son reflects the glory of God. He is an exact copy of God’s nature. He holds everything together with His powerful Word. The Son made people clean from their sins. Then He sat down at the right side of God, the Great One in heaven. The Son became much greater than the angels. And God gave Him a name that is much greater than theirs. This is because God never said to any of the angels, ‘You are my Son today I have become Your Father.’ Nor did God say of any angel, ‘I will be His Father, and He will be My Son.’ And when God brings His firstborn Son into the world, He says, ‘Let all God’s angels worship Him.’”
1 Timothy 3:16 says, “Beyond question, great is the mystery of godliness (Yeshua): He who was revealed in the flesh, was vindicated in the Spirit, seen by angels, proclaimed among the nations, believed on in the world, taken up in glory.”
Yeshua is a mystery. How can God be man and man be God? When God created heaven and the earth with all the galaxies, space itself, God had to pull back on part of Himself to do this. Yes, God is everywhere, but for man to have a free will God had to remove part of Himself. So too, with Yeshua. God took a part of Himself and emptied Himself to become man. This did not mean that God was not in Him, for just like us, we too, have God in us, but that does not make us God. No, Yeshua had to be like one of us, human, but Yeshua did not sin, because He was not born of the flesh as we are born of the flesh. He was born of God, spoken by His Word, and God was His Father. Yes, a mystery in so many ways and yet, not a mystery at all. Yeshua did all that He did, the signs and wonders and miracles just like you and I can if we have the indwelling of the Holy Spirit.
Hebrews 2:5-18 says this, “And the future world we are talking about will not be controlled by angels. No, for in the book of Psalms David says to God, ‘What is mere man that you are so concerned about him? And who is this Son of Man you honor so highly? For though you made Him lower than the angels for a little while, now you have crowned Him with glory and honor. And you have put Him in complete charge of everything there is. Nothing is left out.’ We have not yet seen all of this take place, but we do see Yeshua—who for a while was a little lower than the angels—crowned now by God with glory and honor because He suffered death for us. Yes, because of God’s great kindness, Yeshua tasted death for everyone in all the world. And it was right and proper that God, who made everything for His own glory, should allow Yeshua to suffer, for in doing this He was bringing vast multitudes of God’s people to heaven; for His suffering made Yeshua a perfect Leader, one fit to bring them into their salvation. We who have been made holy by Yeshua, now have the same Father He has. That is why Yeshua is not ashamed to call us His brothers. For He says in the book of Psalms, ‘I will talk to My brothers about God My Father, and together we will sing His praises.’ At another time He said, ‘I will put My trust in God along with My brothers.’ And at still another time, ‘See, here am I and the children God gave Me.’ Since we, God’s children, are human beings—made of flesh and blood—He became flesh and blood too by being born in human form; for only as a human being could He die and in dying break the power of the devil who had the power of death. Only in that way could He deliver those who through fear of death have been living all their lives as slaves to constant dread. We all know He did not come as an angel but as a human being—yes, a Jew. And it was necessary for Yeshua to be like us, His brothers, so that He could be our merciful and faithful High Priest before God, a Priest who would be both merciful to us and faithful to God in dealing with the sins of the people. For since He Himself has now been through suffering and temptation, He knows what it is like when we suffer and are tempted, and He is wonderfully able to help us.”
We want to now look at these days of suffering, and the redemption, for those who believe. Let’s look at Yeshua’s last days on earth and see if He was God or man. We will be using the Biblical Lunar Calendar which begins at sundown to sundown, the first month, the month of Nisan, the month of the Passover.
Let’s begin on the tenth day.
The Tenth Day: “Entering Jerusalem” Part 2
While everyone in Jerusalem were picking out their sacrificial lambs (which was done on the 10th day of Nison) Yeshua entered Jerusalem. It was on this day that the people chose Yeshua, the perfect Lamb of God, by giving their approval to Yeshua.
Matthew 21: 1-10 records this, “When they had approached Jerusalem and had come to Bethphage, at the Mount of Olives, Yeshua then sent two disciples, saying to them, ‘Go into the village opposite you, and immediately you will find a donkey tied there and a colt with it. Untie them and bring them to Me. And if anyone says anything to you, you shall say, ‘The Lord needs them’, and he will send them on immediately.’ Now this took place so that what was spoken through the prophet would be fulfilled: ‘Say to Daughter Zion, ‘See, your king comes to you, gentle and riding on a donkey, and on a colt, the foal of a donkey.’ The disciples went and did just as Yeshua had instructed them, and brought the donkey and the colt, and laid their cloaks on them; and He sat on the cloaks. Most of the crowd spread their cloaks on the road, and others were cutting branches from the trees and spreading them on the road. Now the crowds going ahead of Him, and those who followed, were shouting, ‘Hosanna to the Son of David!” “Blessed is he who comes in the name of the Lord!’ ‘Hosanna in the highest heaven!’ When He had entered Jerusalem, all the city was stirred, saying, ‘Who is this?’ And the crowds were saying, ‘This is Yeshua the prophet, from Nazareth in Galilee.”’
From there Yeshua went into the temple and cleared out those who were buying and selling in the temple by overthrowing the tables saying “My house will be a house of prayer.”
Yeshua knew His calling. He knew that He was the Son of the Most High.
He knew what was before Him and yet as a man, He knew that God’s will must be done.
The Eleventh Day: “Oh, Jerusalem” Part 3
Yeshua looked over Jerusalem and as Matthew 23:37-39 says, “He cried, ‘O Jerusalem, Jerusalem, the city that kills the prophets and stones those who are sent to it! How often would I have gathered your children together as a hen gathers her brood under her wings, and you were not willing! See, your house is left to you desolate. For I tell you, you will not see me again, until you say, ‘Blessed is he who comes in the name of the Lord.’”
Yeshua cried over Jerusalem because they did not receive Him and He knew what the future held for them.
Matthew 24:1-2 says, “Yeshua left the temple area and was going on His way when His disciples came up to point out the temple buildings to Him. But He responded and said to them, ‘Do you not see all these things? Truly I say to you, not one stone here will be left upon another, which will not be torn down.”’
In Matthew 25: 31-41 Yeshua said this, “When the Son of Man comes in His glory, and all the angels with Him, then He will sit on His glorious throne. Before Him will be gathered all the nations, and He will separate people one from another as a shepherd separates the sheep from the goats. And He will place the sheep on His right, but the goats on the left. Then the King will say to those on His right, ‘Come, you who are blessed by My Father, inherit the kingdom prepared for you from the foundation of the world. For I was hungry and you gave Me food, I was thirsty and you gave Me drink, I was a stranger and you welcomed Me, I was naked and you clothed Me, I was sick and you visited Me, I was in prison and you came to Me.’ Then the righteous will answer Him, saying, ‘Lord, when did we see You hungry and feed You, or thirsty and give You drink? And when did we see You a stranger and welcome You, or naked and clothe You? And when did we see You sick or in prison and visit You?’ And the King will answer them, ‘Truly, I say to you, as you did it to one of the least of these My brothers, you did it to Me.’ Then He will say to those on his left, ‘Depart from Me, you cursed, into the eternal fire prepared for the devil and his angels. For you did none of this.””
Yeshua knew His time was short and in so doing He taught the people everywhere He went. He spoke in parables and then later taught His disciples who would continue His work. He had them experience things like the storm and the boat taking in water while He was asleep to teach them that He was with them and that He was who He said He was, the One that even the wind and waves obeyed. He showed them how to love one another and to do good even on the Sabbath. And soon He would show them the greatest love, to lay down your life for another.
The Twelfth Day: “The Anointing” Part 4
Matthew 26:1-2 says this on day twelve of the first month. “You know that after two days the Passover is coming, and the Son of Man will be delivered up to be crucified.”
Matthew 26: 6-10,12 goes on to record this story, “Yeshua while in Bethany went to the house of Simon, who had a harmful skin disease. While Yeshua was there, a woman came to Him. She had an alabaster jar filled with expensive perfume. She poured this perfume on Yeshua’s head while He was eating. His followers saw the woman do this and were upset. They asked, ‘Why waste that perfume? It could be sold for a great deal of money, and the money could be given to the poor.’ But Yeshua knew what happened. He said, ‘Why are you troubling this woman? She did a very beautiful thing for Me. For when she poured this perfume on My body, she did it to prepare Me for burial.”
This woman by anointing Yeshua prophetically declared Yeshua the King, the Prophet and the High Priest, because only these three were anointed and Yeshua was all three.
For even Hebrews 7:14-17,26-27 says this, “It is clear that our Lord came from the tribe of Judah. And Moses said nothing about priests belonging to that tribe. And this becomes even more clear. We see that another priest comes, who is like Melchizedek. He was not made a priest by human rules and laws. He became a priest through the power of His life, which continues forever. In the Scriptures, this is said about Him: ‘You are a priest forever, a priest like Melchizedek.’ For it was fitting for us to have such a high priest, holy, innocent, undefiled, separated from sinners, and exalted above the heavens; who has no daily need, like those high priests, to offer up sacrifices, first for His own sins and then for the sins of the people, because He did this once for all time when He offered up Himself.”’
Yes, all three of these, king, prophet, and high priest, were all anointed men, and Yeshua fulfilled all three.
The Thirteenth Day : “Preparing For The Seder” Part 5
Yeshua would have risen from sleep at least fifty to ninety minutes before sunrise. Sunrise would have been close to 6:15A.M. at this time of year. He would then say morning prayers which would have taken at least an hour. Then Yeshua would have had His time with the Father in prayer and study. He would have then eaten breakfast and continued on with His day.
Matthew 26: 14-16 tells us what was going on behind the scenes. “Then one of the twelve, named Judas Iscariot, went to the chief priests and said, ‘What are you willing to give me to betray Him to you?’ And they set out for him thirty pieces of silver. And from then on he looked for a good opportunity to betray Yeshua.”’
Yeshua would have been out teaching the people and healing them and warning them about things that would come. When afternoon came, Yeshua would have said the afternoon prayers which are called Mincha in the Temple. The Feast of Passover was nearing and much needed to be done for the Seder Meal.
Matthew 26:17-19 continues with the disciples asking Yeshua , “Where do You want us to prepare for You to eat the Passover?’ And He said, ‘Go into the city to a certain man, and say to him, ‘The Teacher says, ‘My time is near; I am keeping the Passover at your house with My disciples.’ The disciples did as Yeshua had directed them; and they prepared the Passover.”’
Now when evening came, Yeshua and His disciples would have said evening prayers. Yeshua spoke to them about many different things, knowing that His time with them was short.
John 17:6-12 tells us that Yeshua prayed for His disciples. “I have revealed Your name to the men whom You gave Me out of the world; they were Yours and You gave them to Me, and they have followed Your Word. Now they have come to know that everything which You have given Me is from You; for the words which You gave Me I have given to them; and they received them and truly understood that I came forth from You, and they believed that You sent Me. I ask on their behalf; I do not ask on behalf of the world, but on the behalf of those whom You have given Me, because they are Yours; and all things that are Mine are Yours, and Yours are Mine; and I have been glorified in them. I am no longer going to be in the world; and yet they themselves are in the world, and I am coming to You. Holy Father, keep them in Your name, the name which You have given Me, so that they may be one just as We are. While I was with them, I was keeping them in Your name, which You have given Me; and I guarded them, and not one of them perished except the son of destruction, so that the Scripture would be fulfilled.”
The Fourteenth Day: “The Passover Lamb” Part 6
At sundown the next day would have begun as Luke tells us this in Luke 22: 14-23, “When the hour came (this would have been after sundown), He reclined at the table, and the apostles with Him. And He said to them, ‘I have eagerly desired to eat this Passover with you before I suffer; for I say to you, I shall not eat it again until it is fulfilled in the kingdom of God.’”
And as Yeshua was reclining at the table with the twelve He got up from the meal, took off His outer clothing, and wrapped a towel around His waist.
John 13: 15-17 continues. “After that, He poured water into a basin and began to wash His disciples’ feet, drying them with the towel that was wrapped around Him. He came to Simon Peter, who said to Him, ‘Lord, are you going to wash my feet?’ Yeshua replied, ‘You do not realize now what I am doing, but later you will understand.’ ‘No,’ said Peter, ‘you shall never wash my feet.’ Yeshua answered, ‘Unless I wash you, you have no part with Me.’ ‘Then, Lord,’ Simon Peter replied, ‘not just my feet but my hands and my head as well!’ Yeshua answered, ‘Those who have had a bath need only to wash their feet; their whole body is clean. And you are clean, though not every one of you.’ For He knew who was going to betray Him, and that was why He said not everyone was clean. When He had finished washing their feet, He put on His clothes and returned to His place. ‘Do you understand what I have done for you?’ He asked them. ‘You call Me ‘Teacher’ and ‘Lord,’ and rightly so, for that is what I am. Now that I, your Lord and Teacher, have washed your feet, you also should wash one another’s feet. I have set you an example that you should do as I have done for you. Very truly I tell you, no servant is greater than his master, nor is a messenger greater than the one who sent him. Now that you know these things, you will be blessed if you do them.”’
Yeshua returns to the table as Matthew 26:20-25 says, “And as they were eating, He said, ‘Truly I say to you that one of you will betray Me.’ Being deeply grieved, they began saying to Him, each one: ‘Surely it is not I, Lord?’ And He answered, ‘He who dipped his hand with Me in the bowl is the one who will betray Me. The Son of Man is going away just as it is written about Him; but woe to that man by whom the Son of Man is betrayed! It would have been good for that man if he had not been born.’ And Judas, who was betraying Him, said, ‘Surely it is not I, Rabbi?’ Yeshua said to him, ‘You have said it yourself.”’
Yeshua practiced what He preached, “ love your enemy.” Yeshua prayed for Judas, washed his feet, and even gave him a chance to repent and change his mind.
Matthew 5:43-44 says, “You have heard that it hath been said, Thou shalt love thy neighbor, and hate thine enemy. ‘But I say unto you, ‘Love your enemies, bless them that curse you, do good to them that hate you, and pray for them which despitefully use you, and persecute you”’
John 13: 27-30 continues, “Then, dipping the piece of bread, He gave it to Judas, the son of Simon Iscariot. As soon as Judas took the bread, Satan entered into him. So Yeshua told him, ‘What you are about to do, do quickly.’ But no one at the meal understood why Yeshua said this to him. Since Judas had charge of the money, some thought Yeshua was telling him to buy what was needed for the festival, or to give something to the poor. As soon as Judas had taken the bread, he went out. And it was night.”
Mark 14:22-25 says, “While they were eating, Yeshua took bread, and when He had given thanks, He broke it and gave it to His disciples, saying, ‘Take it; this is My body.’ Then He took a cup, and when He had given thanks, He gave it to them, and they all drank from it. ‘This is My blood of the covenant, which is poured out for many,’ He said to them. ‘Truly I tell you, I will not drink again from the fruit of the vine until that day when I drink it new in the kingdom of God.”’
This was not some supernatural thing that Yeshua was doing. This was a part of the Seder. The bread He broke, He broke because that is what you do at this time of the Seder. You take the matzah called the “Afikomen” and you break it in half. Yeshua was using this to symbolize His broken body. The cup He took at this time was called the “Cup of Redemption.” He took this cup and used it as symbolism because He was about to redeem all those who believe. The apostles were very familiar with the Seder and Yeshua was bringing it to life in a new way. Now the Seder was not just about Moses and the Israelites, so He said, (making a reference: when you get to this point in the Seder), “When you do this,” remember Me. Now it was about Yeshua and His death and not just about Moses and the Israelites. Now it was not just about the salvation of the Israelites but the salvation for all mankind. They ended the Seder with Yeshua telling them “I will not drink of this fruit of the vine from now on until that day when I drink it with you, new, in My Father’s kingdom.”
Afterwards they sang a hymn, and they went out to the Mount of Olives. Unless we believers keep the Passover beginning with the Seder, how are we to know this? It was all changed back in the 4th Century. The names were changed and the dates were changed.
Matthew 26: 31-35 says, “Then Yeshua said to them, ‘You will all fall away because of Me this night. For it is written, ‘I will strike the shepherd, and the sheep of the flock will be scattered.’ But after I am raised up, I will go before you to Galilee. Peter answered him, ‘Though they all fall away because of You, I will never fall away.’ Yeshua said to Him, ‘Truly, I tell you, this very night, before the rooster crows, you will deny Me three times.’ Peter said to Him, ‘Even if I must die with You, I will not deny You!’ And all the disciples said the same.”
Yeshua, in His own way, was trying to warn His disciples. This was a very stressful time for Yeshua and He wanted His disciples to pray.
Matthew 26: 36-39 continues. “Then Yeshua went with them to a place called Gethsemane, and He said to His disciples, ‘Sit here, while I go over there and pray.’ And taking with Him Peter and the two sons of Zebedee, He began to be sorrowful and troubled. Then He said to them, ‘My soul is very sorrowful, even to death; remain here, and watch with Me.’ And going a little farther He fell on His face and prayed, saying, ‘My Father, if it be possible, let this cup pass from Me; nevertheless, not as I will, but as You will.”’
Now how could Yeshua have been God at this point? First off, God could not be troubled. Yeshua was so sorrowful, He says even to death. He even asks God to remove the cup before Him that He was about to drink. Yeshua is struggling but knows that God’s will must be done.
Matthew 26: 40-41 continues, “And He came to the disciples and found them sleeping. And He said to Peter, ‘So, could you not watch with Me for one hour? Watch and pray that you may not enter into temptation. The spirit indeed is willing, but the flesh is weak.”’
At this point Yeshua is wrestling with the idea, much like Jacob who wrestled with the angel all night. Now people may think why should Yeshua be struggling? Wouldn’t you? He was a man and He was about to carry a load like none of us will ever carry.
Matthew 26:42-43 goes on, “Again, for the second time, He went away and prayed, ‘My Father, if this cannot pass unless I drink it, Your will be done.”
Yeshua wants to do God’s will. He is not backing down, but as humans we all struggle. This does not show weakness, this only shows that He was human, but through it all Yeshua tells the Father, His will must be done. We must be eternally grateful that Yeshua said “Your will be done.” He is our example. When we struggle over doing what is right we too, must say to God, “Your will be done!”
Matthew 26: 44-45 continues, “And again He came and found them sleeping, for their eyes were heavy. So, leaving them again, He went away and prayed for the third time, saying the same words again. Then He came to the disciples and said to them, ‘Sleep and take your rest later on. See, the hour is at hand, and the Son of Man is betrayed into the hands of sinners. Rise, let us be going; see, My betrayer is at hand.”
In Luke 22: 39-46, He tells the story this way. “And He came out and went, as was His custom, to the Mount of Olives, and the disciples followed Him. And when He came to the place, He said to them, ‘Pray that you may not enter into temptation.’ And He withdrew from them about a stone’s throw, and knelt down and prayed, saying, ‘Father, if you are willing, remove this cup from Me. Nevertheless, not My will, but Yours, be done.’ And there appeared to Him an angel from heaven, strengthening Him. And being in agony He prayed more earnestly; and His sweat became like great drops of blood falling down to the ground. And when He rose from prayer, He came to the disciples and found them sleeping for sorrow, and He said to them, ‘Why are you sleeping? Rise and pray that you may not enter into temptation.”’
Luke’s version tells us that angels came and strengthened Him and that He was even sweating blood. We must remember this, Yeshua was human, but Yeshua also knew the Father because He was the Word made flesh. Yeshua knew what was about to happen. He knew that by taking on the world’s sins, He would become sin, and sin separates us from God. Only Yeshua knew the agony of what it would be like to be separated from God, and it caused Him to sweat blood. It has to make us think about anyone dying in their sin and the agony of being eternally separated from God. It is believed that Yeshua had what is called the Broken Heart Syndrome, a heart condition brought about by stress situations and extreme emotions.
Judas came with all the soldiers to take Yeshua and all the disciples fled. They took Yeshua to the High Priest Caiaphas.
Matthew 26:57-68 continues. “Then those who had seized Yeshua led Him to Caiaphas the high priest, where the scribes and the elders had gathered. And Peter was following Him at a distance, as far as the courtyard of the high priest, and going inside he sat with the guards to see the end. Now the chief priests and the whole council were seeking false testimony against Yeshua that they might put Him to death, but they found none, though many false witnesses came forward. At last two came forward and said, ‘This man said, I am able to destroy the temple of God, and to rebuild it in three days.’ And the high priest stood up and said, ‘Have you no answer to make? What is it that these men testify against you?’ But Yeshua remained silent. And the high priest said to Him, ‘I will assure you by the living God, tell us if you are the Messiah, the Son of God.’ Yeshua said to him, ‘You have said so. But I tell you, from now on you will see the Son of Man seated at the right hand of Power and coming on the clouds of heaven.’ Then the high priest tore his robes and said, ‘He has uttered blasphemy. What further witnesses do we need? You have now heard His blasphemy. What is your judgment?’ They answered, ‘He deserves death.’ Then they spit in His face and struck Him. And some slapped Him, saying, ‘Prophesy to us, you Messiah! Who is it that struck you?”
While this was going on Peter was outside denying Yeshua, just as He said he would. Remember this is now the next day and Yeshua has had no sleep.
Matthew 27: 3-10, “Then when Judas, His betrayer, saw that Yeshua was condemned, he changed his mind and brought back the thirty pieces of silver to the chief priests and the elders, saying, ‘I have sinned by betraying innocent blood.’ They said, ‘What is that to us? See to it yourself.’ And throwing down the pieces of silver into the temple, he departed, and he went and hanged himself. But the chief priests, taking the pieces of silver, said, ‘It is not lawful to put them into the treasury, since it is blood money.’ So they took counsel and bought with them the potter’s field as a burial place for strangers. Therefore that field has been called the Field of Blood to this day. Then was fulfilled what had been spoken by the prophet Jeremiah, saying, ‘And they took the thirty pieces of silver, the price of him on whom a price had been set by some of the sons of Israel, and they gave them for the potter’s field, as the Lord directed me.’”
Luke 23:1-5 continues, “Then the whole company of them arose and brought Him before Pilate. And they began to accuse Him, saying, ‘We found this man misleading our nation and forbidding us to give tribute to Caesar, and saying that He Himself is Messiah, a king.’ And Pilate asked Him, ‘Are You the King of the Jews?’ And He answered him, ‘You have said so.’ Then Pilate said to the chief priests and the crowds, ‘I find no guilt in this man.’ But they were urgent, saying, ‘He stirs up the people, teaching throughout all Judea, from Galilee even to this place.’’’
Luke 23: 6-12 continues, “When Pilate heard this, he asked whether the man was a Galilean. And when he learned that He belonged to Herod’s jurisdiction, he sent Him over to Herod, who was himself in Jerusalem at that time. When Herod saw Yeshua, he was very glad, for he had long desired to see Him, because he had heard about Him, and he was hoping to see some sign done by Him. So he questioned Him at some length, but He made no answer. The chief priests and the scribes stood by, vehemently accusing Him. And Herod with his soldiers treated Him with contempt and mocked Him. Then, arraying Him in splendid clothing, he sent Him back to Pilate. And Herod and Pilate became friends with each other that very day, for before this they had been at enmity with each other.”
As you can see this back and forth and without sleep Yeshua did not even speak. But Pilate, who once thought Yeshua to be not guilty, caves into the pressure of the people.
Luke 23: 13-25 goes on. “Pilate then called together the chief priests and the rulers and the people, and said to them, ‘You brought me this man as one who was misleading the people. And after examining Him before you, behold, I did not find this man guilty of any of your charges against Him. Neither did Herod, for he sent Him back to us. Look, nothing deserving death has been done by Him. I will therefore punish and release him.’ But they all cried out together, ‘Away with this man, and release to us Barabbas’— a man who had been thrown into prison for an insurrection started in the city and for murder. Pilate addressed them once more, desiring to release Yeshua, but they kept shouting, ‘Crucify, crucify Him!’ A third time he said to them, ‘Why? What evil has He done? I have found in Him no guilt deserving death. I will therefore punish and release him.’ But they were urgent, demanding with loud cries that He should be crucified. And their voices prevailed. So Pilate decided that their demand should be granted. He released the man who had been thrown into prison for insurrection and murder, for whom they asked, but he delivered Yeshua over to their will.”
Now let’s be clear, the chief priests and rulers were afraid of Yeshua because the people loved Him so. They had their reputations and their power that they had to protect. The crowd of people were people brought in by the chief priests, like paid protesters. They got what they wanted. Yeshua was declared guilty and the punishment was death on a cross.
Yeshua the perfect Lamb of God as Isaiah 53:7 says, “He was oppressed and afflicted, yet He did not open His mouth; like a lamb that is led to slaughter, and like a sheep that is silent before its shearers, So He did not open His mouth.”
Matthew 27: 27-31 continues. “Then the soldiers of the governor took Yeshua into the governor’s headquarters, and they gathered the whole battalion before Him. And they stripped Him and put a scarlet robe on Him, and twisting together a crown of thorns, they put it on His head and put a reed in His right hand. And kneeling before Him, they mocked Him, saying, ‘Hail, King of the Jews!’ And they spit on Him and took the reed and struck Him on the head. And when they had mocked Him, they stripped Him of the robe and put His own clothes on Him and led Him away to crucify Him.”
Even though it was a mockery, Yeshua was hailed as the King of the Jews. By now Yeshua was beyond strength. If Yeshua was doing all of this as God, He would not have weakened.
Luke 23:26, “And as they led Him away, they seized one Simon of Cyrene, who was coming in from the country, and laid on him the cross, to carry it behind Yeshua.”
Yeshua was in a weakened condition due to a lack of sleep and food and water. From the crown of thorns to the whipping, He lost a lot of blood. So Simon from Cyrene was a God sent. We typically think of Yeshua dying on a cross, but in reality Simon was carrying a crossbeam that would be nailed to a tree. Adam and Eve sinned by eating off of the Tree of Knowledge and Yeshua died on a tree to bring redemption.
Luke 23:27-31 continues, “A large crowd of people was following Yeshua. Some of the women were sad and crying. But Yeshua turned and said to them, ‘Women of Jerusalem, don’t cry for Me. Cry for yourselves and for your children too! The time is coming when people will say, ‘Happy are the women who cannot have children! Happy are the women who have no babies to nurse.’ Then people will say to the mountains, ‘Fall on us!’ And they will say to the hills, ‘Cover us!’ If they act like this now when life is good, what will happen when bad times come?”’
What follows is our redemption. Yeshua’s name means God’s Salvation and He was just that!
Isaiah 53 tells us about the crucifixion. “Who has believed what he has heard from us? And to whom has the arm of the Lord been revealed? For He grew up before Him like a young plant, and like a root out of dry ground; He had no form or majesty that we should look at Him, and no beauty that we should desire Him. He was despised and rejected by men, a man of sorrows and acquainted with grief; and as one from whom men hide their faces He was despised, and we esteemed Him not. Surely He has borne our griefs and carried our sorrows; yet we esteemed Him stricken, smitten by God, and afflicted. But He was pierced for our transgressions; He was crushed for our iniquities; upon Him was the chastisement that brought us peace, and with His wounds we are healed. All we like sheep have gone astray; we have turned—every one—to his own way; and the Lord has laid on Him the iniquity of us all. He was oppressed, and He was afflicted, yet He opened not His mouth; like a lamb that is led to the slaughter, and like a sheep that before its shearers is silent, so He opened not his mouth. By oppression and judgment He was taken away; and as for His generation, who considered that He was cut off out of the land of the living, stricken for the transgression of My people? And they made His grave with the wicked and with a rich man in His death, although He had done no violence, and there was no deceit in His mouth. Yet it was the will of the Lord to crush Him; He has put Him to grief; when His soul makes an offering for guilt, He shall see his offspring; He shall prolong His days; the will of the Lord shall prosper in His hand. Out of the anguish of His soul He shall see and be satisfied; by His knowledge shall the Righteous One, My servant, make many to be accounted righteous, and He shall bear their iniquities. Therefore I will divide Him a portion with the many, and He shall divide the spoil with the strong, because He poured out His soul to death and was numbered with the transgressors; yet He bore the sin of many, and makes intercession for the transgressors.”
Matthew 27:33-37 continues. “When they came to a place called Golgotha, which means The Place of the Skull, they gave Him sour wine mingled with gall to drink. But when He tasted it, He would not drink it. When they crucified Him, they divided His garments by casting lots to fulfill what was spoken by the prophet, ‘They divided My garments among themselves and for My clothing they cast lots.’ And sitting down, they kept watch over Him there. They put His accusation over His head, which read: THIS IS YESHUA THE KING OF THE JEWS.”
Yes, God used Pilate by placing this above Yeshua’s head. It was the Father who wanted it recorded for all the world to see that Yeshua is King and will be King forever. This is what the people chose when He came riding on a donkey on the tenth day. At this same time that Yeshua hung on the cross the sacrificial lambs were being slaughtered. He hung on the cross outside of the camp but He could see those lambs being slaughtered.
Paul tells us this in 1 Corinthians 5:7 “Clean out the old leaven so that you may be a new lump, just as you are in fact unleavened. For Messiah our Passover also has been sacrificed. Therefore let’s celebrate the feast, not with old leaven, nor with the leaven of malice and wickedness, but with the unleavened bread of sincerity and truth.”
Remember when Yeshua said to His disciples at the Seder, “When you do this, do this in memory of Me.” Paul knew, and so did our Forefathers know, that we are to keep Passover in remembrance of Yeshua. If you are interested you can find the Seder on our website: judeochristianclarion.com.
As the people went by they mocked Yeshua (again these were not the people who sat on the hills to hear Yeshua speak). But one man saw the truth as He was dying and repented.
Luke 23: 39-43 records this, “One of the criminals who were hanged there was hurling abuse at Him, saying, ‘Are You not the Christ? Save Yourself and us!’ But the other responded, and rebuking him, said, ‘Do you not even fear God, since you are under the same sentence of condemnation? And we indeed are suffering justly, for we are receiving what we deserve for our crimes; but this Man has done nothing wrong.’ And he was saying, ‘Yeshua, remember me when You come into Your kingdom!’ And He said to him, ‘Truly I say to you, today you will be with Me in Paradise.”’
Matthew 27:50-56 continues, “And Yeshua, when He had cried out again with a loud voice, released His spirit. At that moment the curtain of the temple was torn in two, from the top to the bottom. And the ground shook, and the rocks split apart. The graves also were opened, and many bodies of the saints who had died were raised, and coming out of the graves after His resurrection, they went into the Holy City and appeared to many. When the centurion and those with him, keeping watch over Yeshua, saw the earthquake and what took place, they feared greatly and said, ‘Truly He was the Son of God!’ Many women who were there watching from afar followed Yeshua from Galilee, serving Him, among whom was Mary Magdalene, and Mary the mother of James and Joseph, and the mother of Zebedee’s sons.”
Yeshua hung on the cross for three hours. These three hours most likely represent the three day journey that Abraham took with his son Isaac to sacrifice him on the same mount on which Yeshua the Son of God died. Yeshua died a man because God can not be sin. He is holy and set apart, and because of that, even when we sin we are separated from God. But thank God for the shed blood of Yeshua. He bore our sins. He emptied Himself and became a man and He suffered like you and me would suffer if we went through what He went through except for one thing. We only carry our sin…He carried everyone’s sin who ever lived or will live. We ought not take it lightly. We must be like the man on the cross who said that we are deserving of this, but He (Yeshua) is innocent. What a precious gift Yeshua gave us.
John 15: 13-17 says, “Greater love has no one than this, that a person will lay down his life for his friends. You are My friends if you do what I command you. No longer do I call you slaves, for the slave does not know what his master is doing; but I have called you friends, because all things that I have heard from My Father I have made known to you. You did not choose Me but I chose you, and appointed you that you would go and bear fruit, and that your fruit would remain, so that whatever you ask of the Father in My name He may give to you. This I command you, that you love one another.”
Loving one another can be taken so out of context. We must die to ourselves and pick up our cross (like the Cyrene, named Simon) and deny ourselves, and we must die to the world and its ways. This is what God’s Word tells us. Then and only then, can we follow in Yeshua’s footsteps, and if we do not follow in His footsteps, then we are not following Yeshua. We are enemies to this world, for our home is not here but with God. This means that while we live, our hearts must be with God. Loving one another is the fulfilment of the commandments. Do unto to others as you would have them do unto you. This does not mean write out a check or stand for those in need. No, this means that you give of yourselves, you die to your wants, you die to this world, so others may live. Go out and do good, even sell your possessions and follow Yeshua. This is what the Bible tells us. We can not live for ourselves. Maybe that vacation you wanted to take, instead, give the money to someone in need. This is a hard thing to do because we have not died to ourselves and yet, Yeshua is our example. We too, may wrestle with this idea, but we must be like Yeshua who said, “ Not My will be done, but Yours.”
So did the people experience an earthquake that day or was it just the power of God? It is strongly believed that forty years after Yeshua’s death the Temple was destroyed. That would put the year of Yeshua’s death at 30 Common Era and yet, there was an earthquake in Israel in the year 33 Common Era at the time of Passover. We know that the earth shook at Mt Sinai and on the day of Pentecost.
Luke 23: 50- 56 goes on to say, “And a man named Joseph, who was a member of the Council, a good and righteous man (he had not consented to their plan and action), a man from Arimathea, a city of the Jews, who was waiting for the kingdom of God— this man went to Pilate and asked for the body of Yeshua. And he took it down and wrapped it in a linen cloth, and laid Him in a tomb cut into the rock, where no one had ever lain. It was a preparation day, and a Sabbath was about to begin. Now the women who had come with Him from Galilee followed, and they saw the tomb and how His body was laid. And then they returned and prepared spices and perfumes after the Sabbath.”
The Sabbath that was about to begin was not only the regular Sabbath but also the Feast of Unleavened Bread. We must remember the Exodus story. The death of the first born, the last plague, brought about Pharaoh letting the Jews go. Yeshua was the first born of Mary and the Only Son of God. Yeshua was the sacrificial Lamb of God. The blood on the doorposts was the blood of the lamb and Yeshua’s blood, who was also the Lamb, is now upon our hearts.
Exodus 12: 33-34 says this, “The Egyptians urged the people to send them out of the land in a hurry, for they said, ‘We will all be dead.’ So the people took their dough before it was leavened, with their kneading bowls bound up in the clothes on their shoulders.”
We must keep remembering that the day is over at sundown on the Biblical calendar and now the Sabbath has begun. We must always remember that the Passover does not fall on the same day every year, but it does fall on the same date. If we read through the crucifixion story without feeling or pause, then we take our salvation for granted. If we ourselves do not agonize over what took place, then we just take our salvation as a matter of fact. Yeshua willingly said to the Father, “Not My will be done but Yours.” If we do not say this to our Father also, then we are not following in the footsteps of Yeshua. Yeshua was obedient unto death.
Philippians 2:8 says, “And being found in human form, He humbled Himself by becoming obedient to the point of death, even death on a cross.”
When we pray, we must begin by coming in the name of Yeshua. He is the one who sends us to the Father.
John 16: 23 says, “In that day you will ask nothing of Me. Truly, truly, I say to you, whatever you ask of the Father in My name, He will give it to you.”
The Precious Blood
Next we must come eternally grateful for the shed blood of Yeshua that covers us. Yes, we must repent before a Holy God, for sin separates us from Him. Remember in the Garden, God slaughtered an animal in Genesis 3:21 to cover them? This is true with the shed blood of the Messiah, His blood is our covering, and also on the day of Passover the shed blood of the lamb covered the doorpost so the death angel would pass them by. Exodus 12:21-24.
You see the shed blood of Messiah covers us like a robe, it is His righteousness so that when God sees us, He sees the shed blood and then there is peace between you and Him as 2 Corinthians 5:18-21 says, “This is from God. Through Messiah, God made peace between us and Himself. And God gave us the work of bringing everyone into peace with Him. I mean that God was in Messiah, making peace between the world and Himself. In Messiah, God did not hold the world guilty of its sins. And He gave us this message of peace. So we have been sent to speak for Messiah. It is as if God is calling to you through us. We speak for Messiah when we beg you to be at peace with God. The Messiah had no sin. But God made Him become sin. God did this for us so that in Messiah we could become right with God.”
Ephesians 2: 13-17 says, “But now in Messiah Yeshua you who once were far off have been brought near by the blood of Messiah. For He Himself is our peace, who has made us both one and has broken down in his flesh the dividing wall of hostility (between Jew and Gentile) by abolishing the law of commandments expressed in ordinances (referring to conversion), that He might create in Himself one new man in place of the two, so making peace, and might reconcile us both to God in one body through the cross, thereby killing the hostility. And He came and preached peace to you who were far off and peace to those who were near. For through Him we both have access in one Spirit to the Father.”
The blood of the Messiah is so precious that Hebrews 10:26-31 says, “If we decide to continue sinning after we have learned the truth, then there is no other sacrifice that will take away sins. If we continue sinning, all that is left for us is a fearful time of waiting for the judgment and the angry fire that will destroy those who live against God. Whoever refused to obey the Law of Moses was found guilty from the testimony given by two or three witnesses. Such people were not forgiven. They were killed. So think how much more punishment people deserve who show their hate for the Son of God—people who show they have no respect for the blood sacrifice that began the new agreement and once made them holy or who insult the Spirit of God’s grace. We know that God said, ‘I will punish people for the wrongs they do; I will repay them.’ And He also said, ‘The Lord will judge His people.’ It is a terrible thing to face punishment from the living God.”’
Now every time we enter into prayer we must first come in the name of Yeshua, for He is the One who sends us to the Father, and then we must draw near by Yeshua’s blood. This means that we must examine ourselves and repent of our sins.
The Fifteenth Day: “Unleavened Bread” Part 7
Exodus 14: 1-9 says, “Now the Lord spoke to Moses, saying, ‘Tell the sons of Israel to turn back and camp in front of Pi-hahiroth, between Migdol and the sea; you shall camp in front of Baal-zephon, opposite it, by the sea. For Pharaoh will say of the sons of Israel, ‘They are wandering aimlessly in the land; the wilderness has shut them in.’ And I will harden Pharaoh’s heart, and he will chase after them; and I will be honored through Pharaoh and all his army, and the Egyptians will know that I am the Lord.’ And they did so. When the king of Egypt was told that the people had fled, Pharaoh and his servants had a change of heart toward the people, and they said, ‘What is this that we have done, that we have let Israel go from serving us?’ So he had horses harnessed to his chariot and took his people with him; and he took six hundred select chariots, and all the other chariots of Egypt with officers over all of them. So the Lord hardened the heart of Pharaoh, king of Egypt, and he chased after the sons of Israel as the sons of Israel were going out boldly. Then the Egyptians chased after them with all the horses and chariots of Pharaoh, his horsemen and his army, and they overtook them camping by the sea, beside Pi-hahiroth, in front of Baal-zephon.”
The Sabbath of Unleavened Bread is represented here when the people camped by the sea. All they had to eat was their unleavened dough that they brought with them. Because Yeshua died for our sins we should now be unleavened or free from sin as leaven represents sin. As Paul tells us that we must now be unleavened.
1 Corinthians 5:6-8 says, “Your boasting is not good. Do you not know that a little leaven leavens the whole lump? Cleanse out the old leaven that you may be a new lump, as you really are unleavened. For Messiah, our Passover Lamb, has been sacrificed. Let us therefore celebrate the festival, not with the old leaven, the leaven of malice and evil, but with the unleavened bread of sincerity and truth.”
I guess the thing to remember here is that we must repent with sincerity of heart and truth.
It was at this time after the Sabbath that Yeshua rose from the dead. So when the daylight of morning came, so did the women to embalm Yeshua.
The Sixteenth Day: “The Resurrection” Part 8
Matthew 28: 1-10 says, “At the end of the Sabbath, as it began to dawn on the first day of the week, Mary Magdalene and the other Mary went to see the tomb. And then there was a great earthquake. For the angel of the Lord descended from heaven and came and rolled back the stone from the door and sat on it. His countenance was like lightning, and his garments white as snow. The soldiers shook for fear of him and became like dead men. The angel said to the women, ‘Do not be afraid. For I know that you are looking for Yeshua who was crucified. He is not here. For He has risen, as He said. Come, see the place where the Lord lay. Then go quickly and tell His disciples that He has risen from the dead, and indeed, He is going before you to Galilee. There you will see Him. Listen, I have told you.’ So they departed quickly from the tomb with fear and great joy, and ran to bring His disciples word. As they went to tell His disciples, suddenly Yeshua met them, saying, ‘Greetings!’ They came and took hold of His feet and worshipped Him. Then Yeshua said to them, ‘Do not be afraid. Go tell My brothers to go to Galilee, and there they will see Me.’”
Yeshua was a man and yet He did not see decay. Yeshua was in the grave only from the fourteenth day right before evening to the fifteenth day right after the sunset, which is considered the sixteenth day on the Lunar Calendar. It does not matter what day this was, because what does matter is that we must remember Yeshua died for us on the day of Passover.
We see another earthquake that took place. Because this was only two days from tha last earthquake this could have been aftershocks or it just could have been the power of the resurrection. Remember at Mt Sinai how the Earth shook and at Pentecost. God is a mighty God and when the power of God is upon you even the houses shake as Acts 4:31 tells us this, “As they prayed, the place where they were gathered shook, and they were all filled with the Holy Spirit and continued to speak the word of God with boldness.”
Let’s go back to see what was happening at the time of Moses.
The people who camped by the sea saw Pharaoh and his army coming for them as Exodus 14:13-14 tells us. “But Moses said to the people, ‘Do not fear! Stand by and see the salvation of the Lord, which He will perform for you today; for the Egyptians whom you have seen today, you will never see them again, ever. The Lord will fight for you, while you keep silent.”’
Israel was about to see the salvation of the Lord. Exodus 14:21-25 tells us this, “Then Moses reached out with his hand over the sea; and the Lord swept the sea back by a strong east wind all night, and turned the sea into dry land, and the waters were divided. So the sons of Israel went through the midst of the sea on the dry land, and the waters were like a wall to them on their right and on their left. Then the Egyptians took up the pursuit, and all Pharaoh’s horses, his chariots, and his horsemen went in after them into the midst of the sea. But at the morning watch, the Lord looked down on the army of the Egyptians through the pillar of fire and cloud, and brought the army of the Egyptians into confusion. He caused their chariot wheels to swerve, and He made them drive with difficulty; so the Egyptians each said, ‘Let me flee from Israel, for the Lord is fighting for them against the Egyptians.”’
Exodus 14: 26-31 continues, “Then the Lord said to Moses, ‘Reach out with your hand over the sea so that the waters may come back over the Egyptians, over their chariots and their horsemen.’ Moses reached out with his hand over the sea, and the sea returned to its normal state at daybreak, while the Egyptians were fleeing right into it; then the Lord overthrew the Egyptians in the midst of the sea. The waters returned and covered the chariots and the horsemen, Pharaoh’s entire army that had gone into the sea after them; not even one of them remained. But the sons of Israel walked on dry land through the midst of the sea, and the waters were like a wall to them on their right and on their left. So the Lord saved Israel that day from the hand of the Egyptians, and Israel saw the Egyptians dead on the seashore. When Israel saw the great power which the Lord had used against the Egyptians, the people feared the Lord , and they believed in the Lord and in His servant Moses.
Like in the day of Moses, Yeshua disarmed the Devil and his cohorts.
Colossians 4:14-15 says, “He wiped out the handwritten record of debts with the decrees against us, which was hostile to us. He took it away by nailing it to the cross. After disarming the principalities and powers, He made a public spectacle of them, triumphing over them in the cross.”
Israel was now truly free from Egypt and the Pharaoh. They were no longer slaves but free. Israel going through the water has a connotation of baptism. While the Jewish people submerge in a mikvah for their ceremonial washings, Christians have baptism.
1 Corinthians 10:1-4 “For I do not want you to be unaware, brothers and sisters, that our fathers were all under the cloud and they all passed through the sea; and they all were baptized into Moses in the cloud and in the sea; and they all ate the same spiritual food, and all drank the same spiritual drink, for they were drinking from a spiritual rock which followed them; and the Rock was Messiah.”
Romans 6:1-7 also says, “What shall we say then? Are we to continue in sin so that grace may increase? Far from it! How shall we who died to sin still live in it? Or do you not know that all of us who have been baptized into Messiah Yeshua have been baptized into His death? Therefore we have been buried with Him through baptism into death, so that, just as Messiah was raised from the dead through the glory of the Father, so we too may walk in newness of life. For if we have become united with Him in the likeness of His death, certainly we shall also be in the likeness of His resurrection, knowing this, that our old self was crucified with Him, in order that our body of sin might be done away with, so that we would no longer be slaves to sin; for the one who has died is freed from sin.”
1 Peter 1: 19-20, “You were bought with the precious blood of the death of Messiah, who was like a pure and perfect lamb. Messiah was chosen before the world was made. But He was shown to the world in these last times for you.”
Romans 6:8-11 says, “Now if we have died with Messiah, we believe that we shall also live with Him, knowing that Messiah, having been raised from the dead, is never to die again; death no longer is master over Him. For the death that He died, He died to sin once for all time; but the life that He lives, He lives to God. So you too, consider yourselves to be dead to sin, but alive to God in Messiah Yeshua.”
If we get anything from the Scriptures, we need to get this, that Yeshua emptied Himself and became a man and as a man He suffered, taking upon Himself our sin, shedding His blood and being separated totally from God when He died, He went to hell. This may seem so simple but the blood of Yeshua is not to be taken lightly. It is the righteousness of Yeshua and He is our righteousness and our lives are complete in Him.
Hebrews 10:26-27 says, “If we decide to go on sinning after we have learned the truth, there is no longer any sacrifice for sins. There is nothing but fear in waiting for the judgment and the angry fire that will destroy all those who live against God.”
We must know this, the blood of Yeshua is priceless and we must be eternally grateful, not with our head but with our heart. Yeshua’s name and His blood must be upon us for eternity because His blood is our covering. When God sees us He sees the blood, and when He sees the blood, then there is peace between us and God.
Philippians 3: 7-11 tells us this, “But whatever gain I had, I counted as loss for the sake of Messiah. Indeed, I count everything as loss because of the surpassing worth of knowing Messiah Yeshua my Lord. For His sake I have suffered the loss of all things and count them as rubbish, in order that I may gain Messiah and be found in Him, not having a righteousness of my own that comes from the law, but that which comes through faith in Messiah, the righteousness from God that depends on faith— that I may know Him and the power of His resurrection, and may share His sufferings, becoming like Him in His death, that by any means possible I may attain the resurrection from the dead.”
The Resurrection is not about eggs and rabbits and the holy week is not about not eating meat. It’s about us dying to ourselves and picking up our cross and crucifying our flesh by following in the footsteps of our Messiah. We must let go of the world and all of its trappings and we must be like our Savior who emptied Himself for us. He is our example. We must know Him in His sufferings and in His crucifixion so that we too, may rise one day victorious from the dead to eternal life.
Let’s look at Philippians 2: 5-11 once again, “Adopt the attitude that was in Messiah Yeshua: Though He was in the form of God, He did not consider being equal with God something to exploit. But He emptied Himself by taking the form of a slave and by becoming like human beings. When He found Himself in the form of a human, He humbled Himself by becoming obedient to the point of death, even death on a cross. Therefore, God highly honored Him and gave Him a name above all names, so that at the name of Yeshua everyone in heaven, on earth, and under the earth might bow and every tongue confess that Messiah Yeshua is Lord, to the glory of God the Father.”
So was Yeshua a man or God? Yeshua was the Word at the time of Creation. He then became the Word made flesh and as a man He died for us and gave us the victory over the grave. He now sits at the right hand of the Father.
Revelation 3:20-21 says, “Behold, I stand at the door and knock. If anyone hears My voice and opens the door, I will come in to him and will dine with him, and he with Me. To the one who overcomes I will grant the right to sit with Me on My throne, just as I myself overcame and sat down with My Father on His throne.”
Yeshua, the mystery, the One who sits on His throne with His Father. Remember God is one and yet, Yeshua came as a man, but now He rules and reigns with His Father as God and King for eternity. Yeshua the Word, Yeshua the Savior, Yeshua the King, the part of God that became man. We too, are a part of God when we accept the sacrifice of Yeshua and we too, die to ourselves and this world and live for God. This has to be in your heart, the only part of you that can actually feel God. Every day we must contemplate the shed blood of Yeshua, and we must be thankful for our salvation. If we hold these things to be precious and dear to us, we will keep them before us and if it is in our hearts then we will die each day to ourselves and we will pick up our cross and follow God. And everyday we will rise in the morning and say “May I do Your will not mine.”
At this time of Passover and the resurrection let us make that commitment to live in Truth and Light and to do that we must follow Yeshua who is the Truth, the Light and the Way. If we live for Him, we will live like Him, and if we live like Him then we too will suffer, and if so, we will also rise like Him and be with Him forever.
1 Peter 2: 21-25 says, “For you have been called for this purpose, because Messiah also suffered for you, leaving you an example, so that you would follow in His steps, He who committed no sin, nor was any deceit found in His mouth; and while being abusively insulted, He did not insult in return; while suffering, He did not threaten, but kept entrusting Himself to Him who judges righteously; and He Himself brought our sins in His body up on the cross, so that we might die to sin and live for righteousness; by His wounds you were healed. For you were continually straying like sheep, but now you have returned to the Shepherd and Guardian of your souls.”
We are so blessed that God sent His Son as a man to die for us, and we will be eternally grateful if we live like Him, and show such love like Him.
1 John 3:1-3 tells us this, “See how great a love the Father has given us, that we would be called children of God; and in fact we are. For this reason the world does not know us: because it did not know Him. Beloved, now we are children of God, and it has not appeared as yet what we will be. We know that when He appears, we will be like Him, because we will see Him just as He is. And everyone who has this hope set on Him purifies himself, just as He is pure.”
Because of God’s great love for us He sent His only begotten Son to die for us, and because His Son said, “Your will be done, not mine” He shed His blood for our sins, and because of this, His shed blood brings us salvation.
Yeshua, (God’s Salvation), what a treasured gift from the Father.
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