Teaching (no posting) The Book of Matthew

[SpiritPsalmist]

The Message from John the Immerser

2 And when John had heard in prison about the works of Christ, he sent two of his disciples 3 and said to Him, “Are You the Coming One, or do we look for another?”


4 Jesus answered and said to them, “Go and tell John the things which you hear and see: 5 The blind see and the lame walk; the lepers are cleansed and the deaf hear; the dead are raised up and the poor have the gospel preached to them. 6 And blessed is he who is not offended because of Me.” (Is 42:6-8; 61:1)


7 As they departed, Jesus began to say to the multitudes concerning John: “What did you go out into the wilderness to see? A reed shaken by the wind? 8 But what did you go out to see? A man clothed in soft garments? Indeed, those who wear soft clothing are in kings’ houses. 9 But what did you go out to see? A prophet? Yes, I say to you, and more than a prophet. 10 For this is he of whom it is written:

‘Behold, I send My messenger before Your face,
Who will prepare Your way before You.’ (Ex 23:20, Mal 3:1)


11 “Assuredly, I say to you, among those born of women there has not risen one greater than John the Baptist; but he who is least in the kingdom of heaven is greater than he. 12 And from the days of John the Baptist until now the kingdom of heaven suffers violence, and the violent take it by force. (Lk 16:16) 13 For all the prophets and the law prophesied until John. 14 And if you are willing to receive it, he is Elijah who is to come. 15 He who has ears to hear, let him hear!


16 “But to what shall I liken this generation? It is like children sitting in the marketplaces and calling to their companions, 17 and saying:

‘We played the flute for you,
And you did not dance;
We mourned to you,
And you did not lament.’


18 For John came neither eating nor drinking, and they say, ‘He has a demon.’ 19 The Son of Man came eating and drinking, and they say, ‘Look, a glutton and a winebibber, a friend of tax collectors and sinners!’ But wisdom is justified by her children.”

John, who was in prison, sent his disciples to ask Yeshua "are you the one I've been preaching about or should we be looking for another". Indirectly Yeshua said "yes". (see notes on 3 - 6 below from Jewish NT Commentary) The proof of Yeshua being Messiah was in the fact that Yeshua was doing all the things that scripture had prophesied Messiah would do.

(V 3-6) Yochanan (Hebrew for John) the Immerser, appparently discouraged by being put in prison after having announced Yeshua as the Messiah (3:11, 17, Jn 1:27, 29), asks, "Are you the one who is to come?" ---the one who will put an end to political oppression and get me out of jail? The question is in code, for the phrase, "the one who is to come," would be clear only to those acquainted with Yochanan's (John's) teaching. Had they asked, "Are you the Messiah?" it would have been more difficult for Yeshua to send an answer to Yochanan without revealing his identity, which he was not yet wanting to do (see Matt 9:4 & 9:30).

Yeshua's answer is also in code. He refers to prophecies in the boo of Isaiah of six signs which the Messiah will give when he comes: he will make the blind to see (Is 29:18, 35:5), make the lame walk (Is 35:6, 61:1), cleanse lepers (Is 61:1), make the deaf hear (Is 29:18, 35:5), raise the dead (implied in Is 11:1-2 but not made specific), and evangelize the poor (Is 61:1-2 in the light of 4:23). Since he has done all these things (chapters 8 -9), the message should be clear: Yeshua is the one; Yochanan need not look for another. See 8:1-4

But his answer avoids mentioning the Messianic sign of "proclaiming liberty to the captives" (Is 61:1). Added to his remark, "How blessed is anyone not offended by me," Yeshua seems to be saying delicately that even though he is the Messiah, Yochanan will not be set free --- as proves to be the case (14:1-12)

Another view of this passage: Yochanan had prophesied that the Coming One would be an instrument of judgement as well as compassion. But in prison he had heard nothing of judgment, only of compassionate miracles. His question thus arises from lacking insight into a first coming in mercy and a second coming for judgment. ~Jewish New Testament Commentary~

(V 12) The Greek is difficult. As rendered, it means that violent ones (demons and their human vehicles) are trying to keep God from carrying out his plan through Yeshua, e.g., through Herodd's having put Yochanan in prison (v 2). An alternative understanding, "...the Kingdom of Heaven has been advancing forcefully; and forceful people are seizing hold of it." seems inconsistent with v 25 - 30. ~Jewish New Testament Commentary~

(V 13) The Prophetic books are Joshua, Judges, 1 & 2 Samuel, 1 & 2 Kings, Isaiah through Malachi excluding Daniel, which is one of the Writings in the Tanach, the Hebrew Scriptures. ~One New Man Bible~

(V 14) He is Eliyahu (Hebrew for Elijah). Not that Yochanan was Eliyahu reincarnated; on the contrary, Hebrews 9:27 specifically teaches that reincarnation does not occur; and when asked, Yochanan himself denied that he was Eliyahu (Jn 1:210). Rather, he comes in the spirit of Eliyahu and precedes the Messiah's first coming in the same way that Eliyahu himself is to precede his second coming. Yeshua affirms this understanding at 17:11 - 12) ~Jewish New Testament Commentary~

YOU MAY REPLY TO THIS POST HERE
2278

 

[SpiritPsalmist]

Woes To Unrepentant Cities

20 Then He began to rebuke the cities in which most of His mighty works had been done, because they did not repent: 21 “Woe to you, Chorazin! Woe to you, Bethsaida! For if the mighty works which were done in you had been done in Tyre and Sidon, they would have repented long ago in sackcloth and ashes. 22 But I say to you, it will be more tolerable for Tyre and Sidon in the day of judgment than for you. 23 And you, Capernaum, who are exalted to heaven, will be brought down to Hades; for if the mighty works which were done in you had been done in Sodom, it would have remained until this day. 24 But I say to you that it shall be more tolerable for the land of Sodom in the day of judgment than for you.”

Yeshua did a lot of miracles in a lot of cities. While everyone was excited and followed him around and sought out healing, and were awed by all they saw, the cities as a whole did not repent. He said that if the works that had been done in their cities had been done in places like Sodom they would have repented and Sodom would still be there. He said that on the day of judgement the sins of Sodom would be more tolerable than the sins of those who had seen such great miracles as he had performed yet refused to repent and turn from their sins.

(v. 21) Bethsaida is the Greek spelling of Beit-Tside, which means House or Place of Fishing (literally hunting, but used for both fishing and hunting) in Hebrew. ~One New Man Bible~

(v. 23) Capernaum is the Latin spelling of the Hebrew name Kafer Nahum. Kafer means town or village and Nahum means comfort, consolation. ~One New Man Bible~

(v. 23) The Greek construction anticipates a negative answer. ~One New Man Bible~

(v. 20-24) Jesus condemns three cities (Lk 10:13-15). 21: Woe to you , a prophetic formula (Isa 5:11-17; 23:1-12; 29:15-21) Chorazin...Bethsaids, Jewish cities on the northern tip of the Sea of Galilee, near Capernaum. Tyre and Sidon, Mediterranean cities rebuked for extravagant wealth (Isa 23; Ezek 28). Sodom, (Sodom and Gomorrah, destroyed for lack of charity and hospitality according to Ezek 16:49) ~Jewish Annotated New Testament~

(v. 20-21) Miracles. Modern critics sometimes criticize Christianity for emphasizing Yeshua's miracles as a major ground for believing in him as Messiah and Son of God. They often add that while rabbinic literature frequently reports miracles, they are neither central to the content of Judaism nor taken as proof that God's Law is valid.

My response:
(1) The Tanukh itself grounds the Israelite's faith in God on one of his most awesome miracles. Exo 14:31 reports that after the Egyptians had been drowned in the Red Sea, "When Israel saw the great power Adonai displayed against the Egyptians, they feared Adonai and put their trust in him and in his servant Moshe." Yeshua, showing forth God's power, is only asking from his fellow Jews the same response to God and his servant the Messiah which their mutual ancestors gave.
(2) We have already seen (9:34, 10:25) and will see again (12:24-32; Yochanan 9, 11) that Yeshua's miracles were acknowledged as such even by those who opposed him. To avoid having to decide whether to trust him as God's man, they attributed the miracles to demonic powers. Unlike the modern critics they recognized that miracles require a response, a decision; they just made the wrong one.
(3) Why should it be less noble or sophisticated to predicate faith initially on God's miracles rather than on his law? Both are from God. One who truly trusts God will acknowledge both his Law and his miracles; can one who witholds belief in either be described as trusting God? ~Jewish New Testament Commentary~
​

(v. 21) Tzor and Tzidon. The wickedness of Tyre and Sidon and the predictions of judgment against them are detailed in Is 23:1-8, Ezek 26-28, Joel 3:4-8, Ams 1:9-10 and Zech 9:2-4. ~Jewish New Testament Commentary~

(v. 23) Sh'ol. Usually brought into English as "Sheol"; Greek ades (Hades), the place of the dead. In the Tanakh Sh'ol is a dim vague state where dead souls wait. Sometimes English versions use "Hell" to translate "ades"; this can be confusing, because "Hell" also translates "gehenna," a place of torment for the dead. ~Jewish New Testament Commentary~

YOU MAY RESPOND TO THIS POST HERE

​

 

[SpiritPsalmist]

Come To Me And Rest

25 At that time Jesus answered and said, “I thank You, Father, Lord of heaven and earth, that You have hidden these things from the wise and prudent and have revealed them to babes. 26 Even so, Father, for so it seemed good in Your sight. 27 All things have been delivered to Me by My Father, and no one knows the Son except the Father. Nor does anyone know the Father except the Son, and the one to whom the Son wills to reveal Him. 28 Come to Me, all you who labor and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest. 29 Take My yoke upon you and learn from Me, for I am gentle and lowly in heart, and you will find rest for your souls. 30 For My yoke is easy and My burden is light.”

The things of God are hidden from those who think they are intelligent and learned. The things of God are not hidden from those who are humble, who neither think to highly or too low of themselves. In this setting with Yeshua and his disciples non of them were especially learned men. Their families had not been able to send them off to seminary for deeper study of Torah. What they learned had been in their regular studies on the Sabbath learning from the local Rabbi or older family members who were repeating over and over, as God had instructed them the things that God had given to Moses. They were not fancy men. They were hard workers. Yeshua thanked God that He had revealed His ways to such.

Yeshua looks at them and tells them to "come to me. Spend time with me him. Take rest in learning from me. Do what I do. Think the way I think. Know as I know". The Father reveals it all to those who seek Him. Those who are willing to listen and follow. In him we find the rest that we need to go on.


(v.25) 'Master of Heaven and Earth' was in Y'shua's day is is today a frequent reference to God in the opening salutation of a Jewish prayer. ~One New Man Bible~

(v.27) Apparently Y'shua chose not to reveal Himself to some major Jewish teachers, such as Gamaliel under who Paul studied, Acts 22:3. See Acts 5:33. ~One New Man Bible~

(v.29) This rest and the one in v.29 are temporary rests, just a break from work.

There are three Greek words translated rest. One, epanapauomai, means to lean upon, to trust in something and is used only twice in the NT, in Lk 10:6 and Rom 2:17. The other two are used much more often, and there is a major difference between those two.

Katapausis is the permanent rest of the eternal kingdom, used in Heb 3:11, 18; 4:1, 3, 5, 10-11. It is also used in Acts 7:49, in reference to the eternal kingdom. Katapauo is the verb form and is used in Heb 4:4, 8, 10. It is used one other time, in Acts 14:18 regarding restraining a crowd.

Anapausis is a temporary rest, like a coffee break at work. This is the type of rest we are to have in this life to keep us from getting stressed. This rest is what we find in Matt 11:29; 12:43, Lk 11:24, and Rev 4:8; 14:11. The verb anapauo is used in Matt 11:28 when Y'shua says, I shall give you rest. For all of us are to take breaks, to be sure we do not overextend ourselves to our physical and, especially, spiritual detriment. If you are too busy to spend time with God you need to change your priorities so you do not break communication with God and become stressed. Anapauo is used another eleven times in the NT, Matt 26:45, Mk 6:31; 14:41, Lk 12:19, 1 Cor 16:18, 2 Cor 7:13, Phile 7:20, and Rev 6:11; 14:13. In 1 & 2 Cor and Philemon it is translated refresh or refreshed. The use of anapauo in Revelation is interesting because it indicates that we will have work to do, that the rest promised in both those verses is temporary. When we enter God's eternal rest we will still have assignments. ~One New Man Bible~​

(v.30) This could be stated "light as a feather" because it is a weight that is not detectable when you bear it. ~One New Man Bible~

(v.25-27) Yeshua makes known his unique role in history and in establishing mankind's proper relationship with God. The Gospel is spiritually perceived and does not depend on being sophisticated and educated. ~Jewish New Testament Commentary~

(v.28-30) Judaism speaks of the "yoke of Heaven," the commitment any Jew must make to trust in God, and the "yoke of the Torah," the concomitant commitment an observant Jew makes to keep the generalities and details of halakhah. Yeshua speaks of his own easy yoke and light burden. These two are sometimes contrasted in a way implying that in comparison with Judaism, Christianity offers "cheap grace." But this saying of Yeshua's must be put alongside remarks such as at 10:38 (Lk 9:23-24). The easy yoke consists in a total commitment to godliness through the power of the Holy Spirit. It at once requires both no effort and maximal effort -- no effort, in that the necessary moment-to-moment faith can not be worked up from within but is a gift of God (Eph 2:8-9); and maximal effort, in that there is no predeterminable level of holiness and obedience sufficient to satisfy God and let us rest on our laurels.

I am...humble. Can a genuinely humble person even say this about himself? Moses could (Num 12:3). True humility implies having neither a higher nor a lower opinion of oneself than one should, and knowing when and when not to speak about oneself at all. ~Jewish New Testament Commentary~
​

YOU MAY REPLY TO THIS POST HERE

 

[SpiritPsalmist]

Plucking Grain on the Sabbath

At that time Jesus went through the grain fields on the Sabbath. And His disciples were hungry, and began to pluck heads of grain and to eat. 2 And when the Pharisees saw it, they said to Him, “Look, Your disciples are doing what is not lawful to do on the Sabbath!”

3 But He said to them, “Have you not read what David did when he was hungry, he and those who were with him: 4 how he entered the house of God and ate the showbread which was not lawful for him to eat, nor for those who were with him, but only for the priests? 5 Or have you not read in the law that on the Sabbath the priests in the temple profane the Sabbath, and are blameless? 6 Yet I say to you that in this place there is One greater than the temple. 7 But if you had known what this means, ‘I desire mercy and not sacrifice,’ you would not have condemned the guiltless. 8 For the Son of Man is Lord even of the Sabbath.”

So as they were walking through the fields the disciples were hungry and began to pluck the grain and eat. The Pharisees, always on the lookout for something to charge Yeshua with accused them of working. As noted in the commentator notes below we see that what they were doing was allowed and they were not working. Besides that, there are situations, such as hunger, where the law was trumped. Yeshua gave two examples. Then Yeshua points out their quickness to condemn those who picked only what they needed to eat for the moment and were guiltless of their accusations. His desire towards us is mercy.

(v. 1) The One New Man Bible has the word Sabbath as plural "Sabbaths" This could well be during the Feast of Weeks, because the plural of Sabbath was used for "weeks" and the Feast of Weeks was the season of the wheat harvest. To harvest a crop is work and is not to be done on a Sabbath, but plucking a handful of grain is not work. During the Sabbath year people could gather a day's needs.

Sabbath, Shabbat in Hebrew, can have different meanings when it is plural. The plural is Shabbatot in Hebrew and can refer to a feast day Shabbat, multiple Sabbaths, or weeks. The feast day Shabbat does not have the prohibition of all work. On those days it is permissible to cook and do chores, but not to go to a regular job.

The plural can also mean that something happened regularly on the Sabbath, as when Y'shua taught in the synagogues on the Sabbaths. When the plural is used it is not always clear which meaning to apply. For instance in Mk 2:23 the disciples were plucking grain on a particular day but the Pharisees called that to Y'shua's attention using the plural, Sabbaths. This could have been Shavuot, which is the time of the wheat harvest. This would not have been against the Scripture admonitions in Lev 23, but just against the Pharisees' code. In the Sabbath year it was permissible to pick a day's need, but not to harvest.

It is important to remember that for all the Jewish people the day starts at sundown. The Sabbath starts at sundown one day and ends at sundown the following day. Two hours after sundown ends a Sabbath there is a service called Havdalah which returns the congregation to the secular world from the holy day that is completely dedicated to the Lord. After this service money can be discussed and handles, but during the Sabbath money cannot be used or discussed.

There is nothing in the New Testament to indicate that the Sabbath was changed from the Jewish day of Friday sundown. Understanding the Havdalah is key to proper understanding of the New Testament.

Y'shua was criticized for doing things that should not be done on the Sabbath, but He never did anything on a Sabbath that is prohibited in Scripture. The fourth commandment, given in Exod. 20:8, says to keep the Sabbath holy and to do no work on it. This prohibition against work was taken by the Pharisees and others to include healing in the definition of work, but to heal on the Sabbath is not prohibited in Scripture. Jer 17:21 includes the admonition, Thus says the Lord, Take heed for yourselves! Do not bear a burden on the Sabbath or bring it in by the gates of Jerusalem! 22. Do not carry a burden out of your houses on the Sabbath, or do any work, but sanctify the Sabbath, as I commanded your fathers. Y'shua gave some indication of what constitutes a large load in Jn 5:10-11 when He told the lame man to carry his pallet. Carrying things at some point becomes work, which is forbidden. Some legalists have defined "burden" as something as small as a handkerchief. We are not to set arbitrary rules to define such things, but go by the spirit. The purpose for not carrying burdens on the Sabbath is related to buying and selling, but obviously work enters the equation because a large load is definitely work. Each of these definitions is to be an individual decision, made in an attitude of prayer. Scriptures giving the prohibitions for the Sabbath are: Exod 20:8-11; 35:3, Jer 17:21, Neh 10:32; 13:15.

Isa 58:13-14 says, If you turn away your foot from the Sabbath, from doing your pleasure on My holy day, and will call the Sabbath a delight, the holy of the LORD honorable, and will honor Him, not doing your own ways, or finding your own pleasure, or speaking your own words, 14, then you will delight yourself in the LORD and I shall cause you to ride upon the high places of the earth, and will feed you with the heritage of Jacob your father; for the mouth of the LORD has spoken. ~One New Man Bible~

Reminder:
Matt 5:18 For assuredly, I say to you, till heaven and earth pass away, one jot or one tittle will by no means pass from the law till all is fulfilled.

Matt 24:35 Heaven and earth will pass away, but My words will by no means pass away.

Heaven and earth are still here so that ought to show us that Yeshua did NOT undo the law. He fulfilled it. Meaning He lived it to the fullest. He did not sin. Therefore he could rightfully shed his blood to cover our sins, but he did not undo what God had instructed for a happy and fruitful life. The only Law that Paul said he was free from was the law of sin and death. The whole of God's instructions to us is not just about sin and death. There are a lot of blessings in there too. Ps 1:2 David said we are to "delight in the law of the Lord". Ps 119:105 David said His "laws are a light for our path". Ps 19:8 He says "the law of the Lord is perfect, converting the soul. The commandments of the Lord are pure, enlightening the eyes". Hebrews 4:12 says, "For the word of God is alive and active. Sharper than any double-edged sword, it penetrates even to dividing soul and spirit, joints and marrow; it judges the thoughts and attitudes of the heart".
​

(v. 1) Oral law permits breaking commandments for humanitarian reasons, such as hunger. ~One New Man Bible~

(v. 5) This means that on every Sabbath priests desecrated the Sabbath in carrying out their priestly duties. ~One New Man Bible~

(v. 1) Shabbat. The Hebrew word has entered English as "Sabbath.' The biblical concept of a weekly day for resting from work day purposes has no close parellel in the ancient world. The fourth commandment (Ex 20:8-11, Deut 5:12-14) connects Shabbat with the fact that God rested after the six days of creation (Gen 2:1-3; makes it a day of equality in which all, high and low alike, are entitled to rest; and sets it aside as a day which is holy, on which God is to be honored.

(v. 2) Violating Shabbat. The Greek text says, literally, "doing what is unlawful on Shabbat", that is, doing something the P'rushim considered to be against the Torah. The argument was not over whether it was permitted to pick grain by hand from someone else's field, for that is expressly allowed by Deut 23:25-26, but whether it could be done on Shabbat. At issue behind this seemingly minor matter is whether the Pharisaic tradition -- which evolved into what rabbinic Judaism calls the Oral Torah, later committed to writing in the Mishna, Gemara and other works -- is God's revelation to man and binding on all Jews. According to the Oral Torah as we have it now in the Mishna (Shabbat 7:2) thirty-nine categories of m'lakhah (work) are prohibited on Shabbat, while the Tabernacle was being built. One of these was reaping, another thresthing. At v 1 we are told the talmidim were reaping; in the parallel passage at Lk 6:1 they were also rubbing the heads of grain together in their hands, which would be defined as threshing. This is the content of the accusation the P'rushim were making against them and by implication against Yeshua, responsible as their teacher for their behavior. ~Jewish New Testament Commentary~

(v. 3-4) Though Lev 24:5-9 allows only cohanim to eat the bread of the Presence set aside for display before the ark in the house of God (Tabernacle), 1 Sam 21:1-6 (2-7) recounts how King David and the priest Achimelekh violated this mitzvah of the Written Torah -- which the P'rushim would accept as more authoritative than a rule in the Oral Torah. A kal v'chomer argument is implied. ~Jewish New Testament Commentary~

(v. 5) The Torah itself specifies that some mitzvot are more important than others (see John 5:22-23 and Gal 2:12) Keeping Shabbat is important, but the animal sacrifices required by Num 28:1-10 are more so, so that the cohanim work on Shabbat in order to offer them. (Temple service takes precedence over Shabbat," Shabbat 132b.)

(v. 8) For the Son of Man is Lord of Shabbat. In the Talmud
"Rabbi Yonatan ben-Yosef said: 'For it [Shabbat] is holy unto you' (Exo 31:14). That is, it is committed into your hands, not you into its hands!(Yoma 85b)

A similar passage appears in the Mekhilta, Shabbata 1:1 on Ex 31:12-17, where the saying is attributed to Rabbi Shim' on Ben-Menasya.

​

It may be, therefore, that Yeshua's comment "the Son of Man is Lord of Shabbat, does not refer only to himself but to everyone, since Hebrew ben-adam (literally, "son of man") can mean simply "man, person," with no Messianic overtone: "people control Shabbat" and not the other way round. ~Jewish New Testament Commentary~

YOU MAY RESPOND TO THIS POST HERE

​

 

[SpiritPsalmist]

The Man with a Withered Hand

9 Leaving from there, He went into their synagogue. 10 A man with a withered hand was there. And so that they might accuse Him, they questioned Yeshua, saying, “Is it permitted to heal on Shabbat?”


11 He said to them, “What man among you will not grab his sheep and lift it out, if it falls into a pit on Shabbat? 12 How much more valuable then is a man than a sheep! Therefore it is permitted to do good on Shabbat.”


13 Then He said to the man, “Stretch out your hand.” And he stretched it out and it was restored, as healthy as the other. 14 But the Pharisees went out and plotted against Him, how they might destroy Him.

(v. 9) In the first century synagogues were primarily house synagogues.

Snagogues in ancient Israel were mostly in homes. Most of the large first century synagogues excavated so far in Israel are in Herods palaces, but a number of synagogues have been found in private homes or formerly private homes. What was originally thought to be a first century formal synagogue in Capernaum has been found to have been built in the fourth century AD. There the building called Peter's House was a private home that had been used as a synagogue. The current museum over the site looks upon the ruins of a fifth century building, but there is a house under that structure that was used as both a home and a synagogue in the first century. Whether Peter lived there is not certain, but archeologist have discovered evidence of its being used as a synagogue. ~One New Man Bible~
​

(v.10) Is it permitted to heal on Shabbat? Mattiyahu 12:10 reports the question as: "Is healing permitted on Shabbat?" The answer of modern halakhah is threefold:

1. On Shabbat, healing to save life is not only permitted but a duty.
2. Caring for the seriously ill (e.g., those with a high fever or pain affecting the whole body) is allowed, within certain constraints.
3. Treating minor ailments is prohibited by g'zerah (rabbinical decree) -- the reason being that most treatments require grinding to prepare medicine, and grinding is a prohibited form of work.

Since a shriveled hand is neither life-threatening nor "serious," this healing on the face of it, violates today's halakhah concerning Shabbat.

However, since Yeshua did not use medicine and hence no grinding was done, a case could have been made --in the fluid halakhic environment of the first century -- that no violation had taken place.

Presumably the Mishna reflects the halakhic situation among the P'rushim. It prohibits healing on Shabbat through medical means but allows healing which comes as a byproduct of some other activity:

"They may not set a fracture. If someone's hand or foot is dislocated, he may not pour cold water over it; but he may wash it in the usual way; and if it heals it heals."​

(v.10) the man holds out his shriveled hand, and it is restored to soundness. This is in no sense a medical cure, but clearly he held out his hand in response to Yeshua's instruction for no other reason than to be healed, so that by the logic inplicit in the Mishna the cure was not a byproduct and was therefore a violation of Shabbat.

Actually, Yeshua brings five arguments against the way in which the P'rushim us their halakhah:

1. In the parallel passage at Mt 12:11-12 Yeshua attacks the premise underlying the Oral Torah as understood by the P'rushim with an argument about priorities: "doing good deeds" is more important than observing the details of the Shabbat work rules. Determination of priorities is a legitimated form of halakhic ruling.
2. He strengthens his case with a kal v'chomer argument: if it is permitted to rescue a sheep on Shabbat, how much more is it permitted to heal a man on Shabbat!
3. In the parallel passage in Mark he adds that "Shabbat was made for man, not man for Shabbat" -- which is to say that God's rules are to serve man and enable him better to glorify God, not to enslave man and require him to glorify the rules.
4. At Yn 5:17-18 he says, "My Father has been working until now, and I too am working," which his hears correctly interpreted as Yeshua's claim to divinity and thus his need and right to work on Shabbat.
5. Finally, at Yn 7:22-23, where he has just healed a man on Shabbat, he brings another kal v'chomer argument: if his opponents allow circumcision on Shabbat, how much more should they allow healing.

The common thread in these five arguments is that the rules of the P'rushim for Shabbat are generally good guides to behavior, but they must not be allowed to become oppressive -- there are circumstances when one should break them in order to obey God's will and be an active participant in his Kingdom. "Breaking the rules" for the right reasons is an essential element in Messianic halakhah! ~Jewish New Testament Commentary~

YOU MAY REPLY TO THIS POST HERE

 

[SpiritPsalmist]

The Chosen Servant

15 Knowing this, Yeshua went away from there. And large crowds followed Him, and He healed them all. 16 And He sternly warned them not to make Him known. 17 This was to fulfill what was spoken through Isaiah the prophet, saying,


18 “Here is My servant whom I chose,
the One I love, in whom My soul takes delight.
I will put My Ruach upon Him,
and He shall proclaim justice to the nations.
19 He will not quarrel or cry out,
nor will anyone hear His voice in the streets.
20 A crushed reed He will not break,
and a smoldering wick he will not snuff out,
until He brings forth justice to victory.
21 And in His name the nations shall hope.” (Isaiah 42:1-4]

So we last read that the Pharisees left Yeshua and began to plan out how they were going to destroy him. V 15 and knowing this, He went away from there. No matter where he went though, large crowds followed him, so I don't know that it was all that difficult to find him, although, there were lots of place he could go. He never showed irritation though with the following crowds. Instead, he showed compassion and it says that he healed them ALL. I personally think the reason he kept telling them to not tell anyone after he'd healed them was because of the crowds it drew. Yet still, he healed and the crowds grew larger.

(v.18-21) Is 42:1-4 is the first of several "suffering servant" passages in Is 42-53. Some parts of these passages seem to refer primarily to the people Israel, others to the Messiah yet in Isaiah's future. This fact emphasizes the close identification of the Messiah Yeshua with the Jewish people. ~Jewish New Testament Commentary~

YOU MAY RESPOND TO THIS POST HERE

2586

 

[SpiritPsalmist]

Whose Power Will Rule?

22 Then a demon-plagued man, who was blind and mute, was brought to Yeshua; and He healed him, so that he spoke and saw. 23 All the crowds were astounded and saying, “This can’t be Ben-David, can it?”


24 But hearing this, the Pharisees said, “This fellow drives out demons only by beelzebul, the ruler of demons.”


25 Knowing their thoughts, Yeshua said to them, “Every kingdom divided against itself is destroyed, and every city or house divided against itself will not stand. 26 If satan drives out satan, he is divided against himself; how then will his kingdom stand? 27 And if I drive out demons by beelzebul, by whom do your sons drive them out? For this reason, they will be your judges. 28 But if I drive out demons by the Ruach Elohim, then the kingdom of God has come upon you. 29 Or how can one enter a strong man’s house and carry off his property, unless he first ties up the strong man? Then he will thoroughly plunder his house. 30 He who is not with Me is against Me, and he who does not gather with Me scatters.


31 “For this reason I say to you, every sin and blasphemy will be forgiven men, but blasphemy against the Ruach will not be forgiven. 32 Whoever speaks a word against the Son of Man will be forgiven, but whoever speaks against the Ruach ha-Kodesh will not be forgiven, neither in this age nor in the one to come.”

Here Yeshua is performing another miracle that according to Jewish teaching was proof that He was Messiah. He drives out a demon that was keeping a man from seeing and speaking. Being as this particular miracle was a sign of their Messiah, the people seeing the blind and dumb man see and speak cause them to speak out and ask "could this be him who is promised? This of course upset the Pharisee leaders who immediately jumped in and said Yeshua was doing it by the power of the devil.

Knowing what the leaders were saying Yeshua said, "every kingdom divided against itself is destroyed. If satan is driving out satan then he is against himself". Then Yeshua asks them, "if I'm driving out demons by satan then who are your people driving them out by? So your own people will prove that you are wrong in accusing me of casting satan out by satan." He went on to say that he casts out demons by the power of the Holy Spirit of God and that it was proof that God's kingdom had taken them by surprise...himself. Yeshua is showing that he has the power to bind the strong man (satan) and plunder his (satan) house. Jesus shows he has the power and authority to defeat the devil and destroy his works and rescue the lost from the devils house. Yeshua adds, whoever is against what I'm doing and attributing what I'm doing to the devil is against me.

See below for notes regarding blasphemy against the Holy Spirit.

(v.22-23) While there were Jewish exorcists (Ats 19:13), casting out a blind, deaf and dumb demon was a major miracle only the Messiah could be expected to perform *, because, unlike the legion of demons (Mk 5:1-20), one couldn't talk with it. Compare Yeshua's answer to Yochnan's (John) disciples (Mt 11:5), "the blind are seeing...the deaf are hearing."

* By the first century Judaism had developed a list of major signs the true Messiah could be expected to give as proof of his identity. Healing a leper was one of them. Another was casting out a deaf, dumb and blind demon. ~Jewish New Testament Commentary~
​

(v.27) "By whom do your people expel them?" The implied answer is: Also by the Adversary. Satanic healings and miracles are possible, and many are led astray by them (Ex 7:22, 8:7). Those involved in the occult and in false religions because of the miracles and healings they see have found the broad road that leads to destruction, not the narrow gate and hard road that lead to life. ~Jewish New Testament Commentary~

(v.30) "Those who are not with me are against me". Here and in the next seven verses the P'rushim are presented with a last chance to stand with Yeshua. More generally, a standard is set by which a talmid can test himself: if he is not actively on Yeshua's side, he is on the side of the Adversary. Contrast Mk 9:40, "For whoever is not against us is for us"; the seeming contradiction is explained by the context. In Mark the talmidim are warned that prior to the final opportunity it is premature to conclude that anyone not on Yeshua's side is against him. The same verse also gives a criterion by which others may be tested in relation to a talmid's own work: whoever is not actively opposing the talmis is de facto an ally, not an enemy. ~Jewish New Testament Commentary~

(v31-32) Blaspheming (that is, insulting) the Ruach HaKodesh consist in either (1) wilfully continuing to deny the Gospel when the Holy Spirit has made clear to you that it is true, or (2) attributing the works of the Holy Spirit to the Adversary (Satan); in the present context these amount to about the same thing. ~Jewish New Testament Commentary~

YOU MAY REPLY TO THIS POST HERE

​

 

[SpiritPsalmist]

A Tree and Its Fruit

33 “Either make the tree good and its fruit good, or make the tree rotten and its fruit rotten; for the tree is known by its fruit. 34 You brood of vipers! How can you who are evil say anything good? For from the overflow of the heart the mouth speaks. 35 The good man from his good treasury brings forth good, and the evil man from his evil treasury brings forth evil. 36 But I tell you that on the Day of Judgment, men will give account for every careless word they speak. 37 For by your words you will be justified, and by your words you will be condemned.”

In our last portion we read where Yeshua was accused of casting out demons by the power of demons and Yeshua corrected them by pointing out that a house divided against itself could not stand. He warned that blasphemy against the Holy Spirit was unforgivable.

Blaspheming (that is, insulting) the Ruach HaKodesh consist in either (1) wilfully continuing to deny the Gospel when the Holy Spirit has made clear to you that it is true, or (2) attributing the works of the Holy Spirit to the Adversary (Satan); in the present context these amount to about the same thing. ~Jewish New Testament Commentary~​

From there he goes into our next portion. He says "either make your tree and its fruit good or make your tree and its fruit rotten. He called them snakes and pointed out that their words saying that he was casting out demons by the devil was proof that their hearts were evil. The words coming out of their mouths attributing the things of God to the devil was rotten fruit from rotten trees.

This is a very serious warning I think for those who run at the mouth about things they don't understand and they attribute the many things of God to the devil and work against other believers in tearing down the ministry that God is doing through them. That's not to say that there truly are not false ministries however, we would be wise to observe and study before we start teaching others that things are of the devil when they might not be and you actually could be working against the things of God.

From the overflow of our heart is our mouth speaking and we will be judged according to what comes out of our mouth. Are the words we are speaking words of life or are they words of death? Are we speaking death toward other ministers and joining with the enemy in being the "accuser of the saints"? Are we speaking death to our children when we tear down their dreams and their likes and dislikes? Our spouse when we're always negative about what they do or don't do?

I have a friend who just about every time we're together she is giving me some disease. If my back hurts then because of my age it must be arthritis. If I'm tired it must be sleep apnea. Its at the point if she asks how I'm doing I just respond with "fine". I don't want to hear about what she thinks it is. In my opinion, it's speaking death to me.

Our words are important. On the day of judgement we will give account for EVERY careless word. Our words sow the difference between a good tree and good fruit and a rotten tree with rotten fruit. I personally am seeking God on helping me submit my thoughts to him so that my inner person is changed and just naturally the good fruit will flow out instead of the rotten. Not once did Yeshua speak to someone and their life was not changed. Even with those whom he angered they were faced with the fact of producing either good fruit or bad fruit. He never said they were hopeless. It is never hopeless.

If you find yourself in that place where it seems like every time you open your mouth rottenness flows out there is hope. Submit to God and allow Him to refresh you and your spirit... watering you with the water of the Word and producing good fruit.

YOU MAY REPLY TO THIS POST HERE

 

[SpiritPsalmist]

The Demand for a Sign

38 Then some of the scribes and Pharisees answered, saying, “Teacher, we want to see a sign from You.”


39 But He answered and said to them, “An evil and adulterous generation seeks after a sign, and no sign will be given to it except the sign of the prophet Jonah. 40 For as Jonah was three days and three nights in the belly of the great fish, so will the Son of Man be three days and three nights in the heart of the earth. 41 The men of Nineveh will rise up in the judgment with this generation and condemn it, because they repented at the preaching of Jonah; and indeed a greater than Jonah is here. 42 The queen of the South will rise up in the judgment with this generation and condemn it, for she came from the ends of the earth to hear the wisdom of Solomon; and indeed a greater than Solomon is here.

Good grief...they've already seen Yeshua heal the blind, the lame, the deaf, the lepers, etc., and they are now saying "we want to see a sign from you". He'd done all the signs that proved who he was yet they still doubted. Are we any different. Too many of us I'd say "no".

He dismisses their request for what it was, disingenuous, and more likely an attempt at diversion. He said the only sign that would be given to them was the sign of the prophet Jonah, which was a reference to Yeshua's future death, and the three days and three nights He would spend in the heart of the earth and then His resurrection.

So what is the "sign of Jonah"? According to D.T. Lancaster, Pastor of Beth Emmanuel Sabbath Fellowship (complete article here)

"The “sign of Jonoh” need not literally require a full three days and three nights in the grave, nor does it even require the Master’s resurrection to fulfill it. Instead, it requires His prophetic call to repentance in the face of a looming judgment from God. Just as Jonah was a sign to the Ninevites and he warned them about the coming wrath, Yeshua was a sign to His generation."​

Donald Hagner of Fuller Theological Seminary concludes the same in his commentary on Matthew:

"An allusion such as this to Jesus’ death, burial, and (implied) resurrection would not have made much sense to the Pharisees (nor even the disciples) at this juncture, but in retrospect the words would have been filled with meaning. The analogy with Jonah may well have originally concerned only the preaching of Jesus and Jonah and then later have been elaborated by the post-resurrection Church to refer to the burial (and resurrection) of Jesus.[10]"
​

Yashua was greater than Jonah. He was there preaching repentance just as Jonah had done in his preaching to the Ninevites. It's said that the Ninevites will rise up in judgement of those who do not repent to hearing the message from the one greater than Jonah whose message brought them to repentance. Also, the Queen of Sheba (who came from afar to hear the wisdom of Solomon) is mentioned as rising up in judgement of this generation who hears the one greater than Solomon but does not repent.

Note: Repent means to do a complete turn around. There is more than just saying you're sorry. Agree with God and start walking according to His ways.
​

YOU MAY REPLY TO THIS POST HERE

 

[SpiritPsalmist]

The Return of the Unclean Spirit

43 “When an unclean spirit goes out of a man, he goes through dry places, seeking rest, and finds none. 44 Then he says, ‘I will return to my house from which I came.’ And when he comes, he finds it empty, swept, and put in order. 45 Then he goes and takes with him seven other spirits more wicked than himself, and they enter and dwell there; and the last state of that man is worse than the first. So shall it also be with this wicked generation.”

Yeshua continues on with His description of a people who upon hearing the truth but having no repentance. He compares their condition to a man who has had an unclean spirit cast out of him. That spirit wanders looking for a place to go but because it cannot find one it decides to return to the man he was previously dwelling in. The unclean spirit finds his previous home swept clean and in order but it's empty. Therefore the spirit goes out and finds 7 other spirits which are more evil than itself and because the man is continuing in his sin they are all now allowed to take up residence in the man. He is worse off now than he had been with only one unclean spirit.

I'm going to insert here the commentary from the Benson Commentary:

When the unclean spirit, &c. — In these verses, with a view to show how dreadful the state of the Jewish people would be, if they continued to reject him and his gospel, our Lord introduces a parable, borrowed from the late subject of his dispute with the Pharisees. He compares their condition to that of a man, who, after having had an evil spirit expelled out of him, is again, through God’s permission, as a punishment of his continuing in sin, taken possession of by that spirit, with seven others still more wicked, and is thereby brought into a worse condition than ever. The parable evidently supposes the existence of demoniacal possessions, for if there had been no reality in them, the comparison would have meant nothing; and it supposes, also, that the Pharisees allowed their existence, otherwise our Lord’s words, instead of convincing or instructing them, must have been treated by them with contempt. When the unclean spirit is gone out of a man — Not of his own accord, or willingly, but compelled by one that is stronger than he; he walketh — Wanders up and down, through dry places — Barren, dreary, desolate; or places not yet watered with the gospel. The words contain a plain allusion to the common notion, that evil demons had their haunts in deserts and desolate places. Compare Isaiah 13:21; where, instead of satyrs, the LXX. read δαιμονια, demons. See also Revelation 18:2. Seeking rest — To his own malignant nature, in observing barren wastes and desolations, rather than such agreeable scenes as might present to his view the memorials of God’s goodness to the human race: and findeth none — How should he find any, while he carries with him his own hell? And is it not the case of his children, too? Reader, is it thy case? Then he saith, I will return into my house — He resolves to make another attack on the person out of whom he had been expelled: whence I came out — He speaks as if he had come out of his own accord: see his pride! And when he is come, he findeth it empty — Of truth and grace; of wisdom and piety; of God, and Christ, and the Holy Spirit: swept and garnished — That is, prepared to receive him: swept, from love, lowliness, meekness, and all the fruits of the Spirit, and adorned with levity and folly, vanity and sin. In other words, he finds the miserable sinner unaffected with his late affliction and deliverance, and still a slave to those vices which render him an agreeable dwelling for Satan. Then goeth he and taketh seven other spirits — That is, a great many, the number seven denoting perfection, whether of good or bad things; more wicked than himself — Whence it appears that there are degrees of wickedness among the devils themselves. And they enter in, finding easy access, and dwell there — Namely, for ever, in him that is forsaken of God. And the last state, &c., is worse than the first — The devils having taken a sevenfold stronger possession of him than they had before. So shall it be also unto this wicked generation — Who resist the convictions which my doctrine and miracles have raised in them. Instead of growing wiser and better, they will become seven times more foolish, sinful, and miserable, “as both the natural and judicial consequence of their rejecting the methods used by divine grace for their recovery; till, as if they were possessed by a multitude of devils, they are madly hurried on to their irrecoverable ruin in this world and the next. They who have read the sad account, given by Josephus, of the temper and conduct of the Jews after the ascension of Christ, and just before their final destruction by the Romans, must acknowledge that no emblem could have been more proper to describe them. Their characters were the vilest that can be conceived, and they pressed on to their own ruin, as if they had been possessed by legions of devils, and wrought up to the last degrees of madness.” — Doddridge. But this parable is also designed to teach men, in every age, the danger and awful consequences of resisting the convictions produced in their minds by the truth and grace of God; or of grieving, quenching, and doing despite to the Holy Ghost, by breaking through their resolutions, and relapsing into their former sins; the effect being commonly to render them more obdurate and abandoned than before.
​

Eph 6:12 says "For we do not wrestle against flesh and blood, but against principalities, against powers, against the rulers of the darkness of this age, against spiritual hosts of wickedness in the heavenly places". In the spiritual realm there is spiritual warfare going on. Evil spirits are working tirelessly at trying to get each of us to stumble, to defile us and to defeat us in our walk with God.

As you repent of sins in your life that the Holy Spirit shows you He also gives us the strength we need to turn away from our wicked ways and follow Yeshua. 1 Jn 4:4 says "You are of God, little children, and have overcome them, because He who is in you is greater than he who is in the world". We are not bound anymore to our former selves. James 4:7 says "Therefore submit to God. Resist the devil and he will flee from you". As we submit to God we receive the strength we need to resist the devil and that results in the devil fleeing from us.

YOU MAY REPLY TO THIS POST HERE

 

[SpiritPsalmist]

The Mother and Brothers of Yeshua

46 While He was still talking to the multitudes, behold, His mother and brothers stood outside, seeking to speak with Him. 47 Then one said to Him, “Look, Your mother and Your brothers are standing outside, seeking to speak with You.”


48 But He answered and said to the one who told Him, “Who is My mother and who are My brothers?” 49 And He stretched out His hand toward His disciples and said, “Here are My mother and My brothers! 50 For whoever does the will of My Father in heaven is My brother and sister and mother.”

Family frequently makes demands on us at the most inopportune time. It was no different with Yeshua.

We are not told the reason as to why Yeshuas family was waiting outside for him. They were not waiting patiently either...they sent a messenger who interrupted his speaking.

The NT teaches that Mary had other children with her husband Joseph (Matt 13:55-56; Mrk 6:1-3). Scripture strongly supports these are blood brothers and sisters (Ps 69:8; Jhn 7:3-5; Acts 1:14; 1 Cor 9:5; James 1:19). The Catholic teaching that these are siblings from a previous marriage of Joseph, in my opinion has no support from scripture. If Joseph had children from a previous marriage, Josephs oldest son would have been heir to David's throne, not Yeshua.

There is reason to believe that his family did not support what he was doing. John 7:1-5 took place during the Feast of Tabernacles (Sukkot). His brothers knew that many of his followers had stopped following him (Jhn 6:66) and they started giving him suggestions as to how he might get a larger crowd. Another time, scripture says his family thought he was out of his mind (Mrk 3:21). His family cared for him and I believe they were concerned and frightened by the death threats against him. Possibly they wanted to get him away from it all and get him to safety. His own family who had grown up with him and seen his sinless nature and how he'd turned the water into wine did not believe in him. Notice it says "they stood outside". They were not supporting him.

Of course we know that Yeshua is not trying to be dismissive or disrespectful. That would be totally contrary to his teachings, but he was on a mission from his Father in heaven and he could not be sidetracked by earthly family. Now this is not an excuse for "us" to be neglectful of our responsibilities to our families. The scripture says to do so makes us worse than an unbeliever (1 Tim 5:8). Yeshua met all his responsibilities to his family (John 19:26), but I believe they were expecting "special" attention. I think he must have felt hurt that they did not believe or support what he was doing. Yeshua's lesson in saying "those who do the will of the Father in heaven are my family" is that we have an extended family. We are brothers and sisters in Messiah. We have God as our Father and Yeshua as our elder brother.

YOU MAY RESPOND TO THIS POST HERE

 

[SpiritPsalmist]

13 On that day after Yeshua left the house, He was sitting by the sea. 2 And large crowds gathered around Him; so He got into a boat and sat down, and the whole crowd stood on the shore. 3 And He told them many things in parables, saying, “Behold, a sower went out to spread some seed. 4 As he was scattering the seed, some seeds fell by the road; and the birds came and ate them up. 5 Other seeds fell on rocky ground, where they didn’t have much soil. They sprang up immediately, because the soil wasn’t deep. 6 But when the sun came up, they were scorched; and because they had no roots, they withered away. 7 Other seeds fell among the thorns, and the thorns grew and choked them out. 8 But others fell on good soil and were producing fruit. They yielded a crop—some a hundredfold, some sixty, some thirty. 9 He who has ears,a]">[a] let him hear.”

10 Then the disciples came to Him and said, “Why do You speak to them in parables?”

11 And He replied to them, “To you has been given to know the secrets of the kingdom of heaven, but to them it has not been given. 12 For whoever has, to him more will be given and he will have plenty. But whoever does not have, even what he has will be taken away from him. 13 For this reason I speak to them in parables,

because seeing they do not see,
and hearing they do not hear nor do they understand.

14 “And in them the prophecy of Isaiah is being fulfilled, which says,

‘You will keep on hearing
but will never understand;
you will keep looking,
but will never see.
15 For the heart of this people has become dull,
their ears can barely hear, and they have shut their eyes.
Otherwise they might see with their eyes,
hear with their ears, and understand with their hearts.
Then they would turn back,
and I would heal them.’b]">[b]

16 “But blessed are your eyes because they see, and your ears because they hear. 17 Amen, I tell you, many a prophet and tzaddik longed to see what you are seeing and did not see, and to hear what you are hearing and did not hear.”

Parable of the Sower Explained
18 “You then, hear the parable of the sower. 19 When anyone hears the word of the kingdom and doesn’t understand it, the evil one comes and snatches away what was sown in his heart. This is the one having been sown along the road.

20 “The one sown on rocky ground, this is the one who hears the word and immediately receives it with joy. 21 Yet he has no root himself but lasts only a short while; and when trouble or persecution comes because of the word, immediately he falls away.

22 “But the one sown among the thorns, this is the one who hears the word; and the worries of the world and the seduction of wealth choke the word, and it becomes unfruitful.

23 “Now the one sown on the good soil, this is the one who hears the word and understands. He indeed bears fruit, yielding a hundredfold, some sixty, some thirty times what was sown.”

Here we find Yeshua walking along with his disciples. He becomes so pressed by the crowd following them that he gets into a boat, pushes a way a little from the shore and begins to talk in parables. It says he spoke many things in parables and one of those parables was about a person who as he walked through different places he scattered seed on wherever he walked. Yeshua described what happened to the seed as it fell on each type ground. The four different kinds of places he scattered were:

• By the road: the birds came and ate it right up.
• On the rocky ground: mostly rocks and very little soil. These seeds sprang up right away but when the sun came up the plant was scorched. It's roots were not deep enough to support it so it withereed away.
• Thorns: Here, the seeds grew but the thorns also grew and choked out the plant.
• Good soil: These grew and produced fruit.

After he finished speaking, his disciples came to him and asked him "why do you speak to the people in parables?" He replied that it was to them (the disciple whom Yeshua had chosen) to know the secrets of the Kingdom of Heaven, but the rest of the crowd, it was not. To whoever that knowledge has been given is good ground and it is expected that they produce fruit. To the one's who had no understanding, no fruit was expected and whatever they did have, was taken away from them. He said, "they have ears to hear but do not hear, eyes to see but they do not see" IOW they have ears to hear the words and eyes that see what he's doing but there is no perception or understanding in their spirit. The prophesy in Isaiah was then fulfilled to them and Yeshua quoted Isa.6:9-10. He told his disciples they were blessed because their eyes could see and their ears could hear. They were perceptive and they understood what he said to them.

He then began to in more detail the parable to them.

• By the road: those who hear the message but do not understand. The evil ones comes and snatches away what was sown
• On the rocky ground: hears the message and takes it with joy. But it doesn't take root. When trouble comes because of the message he falls away.
• Thorns: Hears the message but the anxiety of the world around them and the deceitfulness or riches chokes the message and it becomes useless.
• Good soil: Those with noble and good hearts. This one hears the message, understands it, and bears fruit. Some, one hundred times, and some sixty times, and another thirty.

So what type of ground are you?

Are you the ground by the road? Dry and exposed for the birds to come take away the seeds that were there? Do you reject God's message, waving it off and saying "it does not mean that, I think it means this" allowing yourself to become deaf and blind to the Truth?

Are you the rocky ground? You hear and love the message but it does not take root to the point of your behavior changing? When affliction comes as a result of you telling people about the message you quickly drop and run?

Are youthe ground with thorns? You've heard the message but the anxiety's of the times stress you out. You become decieved by wealth not only those who have it but those who don't have it. The message through you becomes useless.

Or, are you the good soil? You've heard the message and you understand and you bear fruit. The amount of fruit is not so important, it's the fact that the seed has grown and is now producing fruit.

With God, repentance is ALWAYS on the table. If we need to repent for allowing our ground to become less than good we can and He will restore us to the place of Truth.

"Our Lord’s parables contain great volumes of truth in very few words—and His parables, rich in imagery, are not easily forgotten. So, then, the parable is a blessing to those with willing ears. But to those with dull hearts and ears that are slow to hear, the parable is also an instrument of both judgment and mercy." ~James Montgomery Boice~
6969

 

[SpiritPsalmist]

Sowing Seed

24 He presented to them another parable, saying, “The kingdom of heaven is like a man who sowed good seed in his field. 25 But while the men were sleeping, his enemy came and sowed weeds among the wheat and went away. 26 Now when the stalk sprouted and produced grain, then the weeds also appeared. 27 So the slaves of the landowner came and said to him, ‘Master, didn’t you sow good seed in your field? Then where did the weeds come from?’ 28 But he replied, ‘An enemy did this.’ Now the slaves say to him, ‘Do you want us, then, to go out and gather them up?’ 29 But he says, ‘No, for while you are gathering up the weeds, you may uproot the wheat with them. 30 Let both grow together until the harvest. At harvest time, I will tell the reapers, “First, gather up the weeds and tie them in bundles to burn them up; but gather the wheat into my barn.’”

36 Then He sent the crowds away and went into the house. His disciples came to Him, saying, “Explain to us the parable of the weeds of the field.”

37 He answered, “The one sowing the good seed is the Son of Man, 38 and the field is the world. And the good seed, these are the sons of the kingdom; and the weeds are the sons of the evil one. 39 The enemy who sowed them is the devil, the harvest is the end of the age, and the reapers are angels. 40 Therefore just as the weeds are gathered up and burned with fire, so shall it be at the end of the age. 41 The Son of Man will send forth His angels, and they will gather out of His kingdom all stumbling blocks and those who practice lawlessness *. 42 They will throw them into the fiery furnaceb]"in that place will be weeping and gnashing of teeth. 43 Then the righteous will shine forth as the sun in the kingdom of their Father. He who has ears, let him hear!

• THE LAND = the world
• WHEAT/GOOD SEED= True believers. Those who's faith and trust for salvation is in Yeshua and his shed blood on the cross to cover their sins. Sons of the Kingdom.
• TARES/DARNEL - Unbelievers. Those who do not put their faith and trust in Yeshua for their salvation.
• LANDOWNER: The man who planted good seeds...Yeshua
• SERVANTS: Godly Leaders, Teachers, Prophets, etc..
  
• ENEMY: Satan
• HARVESTERS: The Angels

I think the explanation Yeshua gives in the second part of scripture is pretty clear. Relating it to our current time period and in our own lives and hearts can be a challenge. As a true believer you are trusting soley on what Yeshua did on the cross for your salvation. You are also trusting in God for His sanctification being worked in you as you follow Him in obedience. (2 Thess 2:13, 2 Tim 2:21, Acts 26:18, Col 2:11, Col 3:1, Col 3:5, Eph 1:13, Gal 2:20, Heb 2:11, Heb 9:14, Heb 10:10, Heb 10:14, Heb 12:10, Heb 12:14, Heb 13:12, 1 Cor 1:2, 1 Cor 6:11, 1 John, 1:9, 1 John, 3:9, 1 Pet 1:2, 1 thes 4:3, 1 Thes 5:23, (just to name a few ) We are made holy/sanctified through obedience to God.

If you are allowing God to work in you (He won't do it without your cooperation) to sanctify you, then you will grow and be strong and you will withstand all the weeds/tares you come in contact with throughout your walk IN the world. (we're in the world but not of it). When the harvest begins, you will not be torn away with the weeds. Just like in the parable the reapers will come and you will be harvested while the tares are burned.

* King James Version uses the word iniquity

• Blue Letter Bible Matt 13:41

• Strongs number G458

 

[SpiritPsalmist]

7000
This teaching has been edited since the first posting due to my missing some points I had wanted to make.

31 He presented to them another parable, saying, “The kingdom of heaven is like a mustard seed, which a man took and planted in his field. 32 It’s the smallest of all seeds; yet when it’s full grown, it’s greater than the other herbs. It becomes like a tree, so that the birds of the air come and nest in its branches.”

33 He told them another parable, “The kingdom of heaven is like hametz, which a woman took and hid in three measures of flour, until it was all leavened.”

34 All these things Yeshua spoke to the crowds in parables. And apart from a parable, He wasn’t speaking to them, 35 in order to fulfill what was spoken through the prophet, saying,

“I will open My mouth in parables,
I will utter things hidden since the foundation of the world.”

The Parable of the Mustard Seed and the Leaven

Yeshua startd this parable with "the Kingdom of Heaven is like", then he went into telling a story using examples his audience could relate to. In this one he used the mustard seed. There are seeds smaller than a mustard seed, but he was not making an absolute statement of seed size just that of the seeds his audience commonly used, the mustard seed was the smallest. He created a picture in their minds.

The black mustard seed was the smallest used at that time in Israel and it could grow to almost 12 feet. Large enough for birds to nest or rest in its branches. In the parable of the sower, birds illistrated something negative...they ate the seed up. This parable though, does not do that. The birds are not eating anything up from the tree, they're not destroying anything, they're just nesting and resting.

So he starts out with "a man who took a mustard seed and planted it in his field". In this parables,the man, as in the previous parables represents himself, and the field represents the world. He's planted seeds, the seed grows to be a magnificient bush for the birds to come and rest and nest. There is no distruction from these birds and calling them "birds of the air" show they were both clean and unclean.

The Kingdom of Heaven is like the little mustard seed, but it will grow to be large enough for the clean and unclean (Jews and Gentiles See Eze 17:23) to enter and rest (it's in Peter's vision that Peter is told to no longer call the righteous Gentiles unclean). We too are part of the inhabitants of the Kingdom of God.

The next parable of the leaven, makes pretty much the same point only from a different perspective. He says, "the Kingdom of Heaven is like yeast". In the Jewish culture yeast is a symbol of sin (Mark 8:15, Gal 5:9). This parable though, being a companion to the mustard seed parable is using the yeast imagery to show how it may be small but it will still permiate where it's at.

The yeast is added by a woman. Symbolically speaking, this is referencing the entry of sin into the Kingdom of God on earth. (Gen 3:6) Just a little bit of yeast, like the size of a mustard seed, added to a large lump of dough will permeate the whole lump and cause it to rise. Sin entered the world as a small act and has permeated the entire world. This parable is not the exception to the rule on the symbolism of yeast, it is the exceptional teaching of the Ruler, using an immutable symbol of sin to convey the reality of the present, temporary state of His kingdom. So as sin permeated the world, so too the gospel of the Kingdom, starting out with just a small group of men, is growing, penetrating, and transforming the world.

The last two verses of this section says that when he spoke to the crowds he exclusively spoke in parables and did not tell them the meanings. In the previous parable he explained that the meansing were only for the diciples. If anyone in the crowd figured the meanings out, it was on their own. Thus the prophesy in Ps 78:2 was fulfilled.

Any questions and/or comments may be made in the Peanut Gallery

 

[SpiritPsalmist]

Matt 13:44-51

Let's review the symbolism we have so far:

• THE LAND/FIELD = the world
• WHEAT/GOOD SEED= True believers. Those who's faith and trust for salvation is in Yeshua and his shed blood on the cross to cover their sins. Sons of the Kingdom.
• TARES/DARNEL - Unbelievers. Those who do not put their faith and trust in Yeshua for their salvation.
• LANDOWNER/SEWER: The man who planted good seeds...Yeshua
• SERVANTS: Godly Leaders, Teachers, Prophets, etc..
• ENEMY: Satan
• HARVESTERS: The Angels
• MUSTARD SEED/LEAVEN = Things that start out small and seemingly insignificant and grow beyond what they seem when started.

In that time period it was common for people to bury their treasures in the ground for safe keeping. However, unless they told someone about it, when they died, nobody knew it was there. So, when someone died and property was for sale it was not unusual for a treasure hunter here and there to start digging up property trying to see if they could find any hidden treasure. When they found a treasure they would not just take it because then they would be considered a thief so they would re-bury it, hiding it, and go purchase the land. The land was now theirs as well as the treasure.

This is the story that we see in this parable. A man finds a treasure in the field: See Ex 19:5, Deut 7:6-11. I believe the treasure is Israel and shows how precious God consideres His people. He gave all that He had to aqure the salvation of the world and purchased the treasure and made it His.

Then we have a very costly pearl. The merchant upon finding it, sold everything he had in order to purchase that pearl. Pearls come from oysters. Oysters, according to Jewish law are an unclean creature and the Jew would not have touched it. To me that symbolizes the Gentile whom God calls precious and beyond price. He gave all that he had in order to purchase the pearl. The oyster may be unclean but the pearl is precious and the merchant gave all that he had in order to purchase it.

So we have a hidden treasure and a very precious pearl. Both representing us, God's people. Those who have come to dependance on him for the price that he paid, the blood that he shed so that whoever would believe on Him would have everlasting life.

7063

 

[SpiritPsalmist]

Matt 13:53-58

To me this is really a sad portion of scripture. Yeshua went home to Nazareth, where he grew up and was in the Synagogue teaching with great wisdom and doing great miracles. The people were familiar with him and his mother and father and his brothers and sisters. His parents, brothers and sisters were not doing any of these special things so they questioned as to how "he" could do them. That's just Joseph & Miriam's kid. Where did he get such great wisom? Why is he able to do miracles? He's never been to the Rabbinical School of Judea and he does not teach like the other Rabbi's we're use to. What makes him so special? He's just a carpenters son. He came from a simple background, not a family of great Sages. Even his own family did not believe until after his death and resurrection.

They were offended and their offense caused them to spiritually stumble and fall and they were unable to be healed or even have their hearts changed. It wasn't that he "couldn't" heal them but the hardness of their hearts kept them from receiving. This caused Yeshua to say "a prophet is not without honor except in his own hometown and household"

7272

 

[SpiritPsalmist]

Death of John the Immerser
Matt 14:1-12

Herod the Tetrarch was apparently a man of his word. Not because he was honorable, but because he did not want to lose face with all his friends and subjects.

John had confronted Herod on his adulterous marriage with his sister-in-law, Herodiah who was previously married to his half brother. This outraged Herodiah and she wanted John killed. The crowds held John as a prophet though and Herod was afraid to kill him for fear of the crowd so he put John in a dundgeon. According to Marks (Mark 6:14-29) rendition Herod actually liked listening to John and his arresting him was an attempt to protect him.

For Herod's birthday they had a big celebration and the daughter of Herodiah danced. Herod was so impressed that he told her she could have anything she wanted. Herodiah urged her daughter to request the head of John on a platter. Scripture says that Herod was very sad of this request, but he did it. The head of John was given to the girl and she delivered it to her mother. John's disciples took his body and buried then went to Jesus to give him the news.

Later when Herod heard all the rumors of Jesus and the miricles that he was doing Herod concluded that Jesus was John, raised from the dead. In Luke (Luke 9:7-9) it portrays Herod as anxious. He knew he'd killed John, so who was this?

You may respon to this post here

 

[SpiritPsalmist]

The Feeding of the Five Thousand
Matt 14:13-21

After Yeshua heard the news regarding his cousin John's (Yochanin in Hebrew) he took a boat to a wilderness area in order to be alone. When the people heard of this they went by land in search of him. Appairently, those in the cities heard he was in their area so they came too, out of the surrouning cities looking for him.

• Location of the Feeding of the Five Thousand is identified in Lk. 9:10 as being near Beit-Tsaida (Bethsaida). There are two towns by that name, one between Capernaum and Tiberias, on the west side of the lake. The other Beit-Tsaida was across the lake, at the northeast corner. That would be about seven miles north and east from Capernaum, but nearly diagonally across the lake from Tiberias. ~One New Man Bible~

When he came out of the erea he had gone to, (it doesn't specify how long he was there, hours, days, we don't know) there was an enormous crowd...and he had compassion for them and healed all the sick.

He'd been healing the sick all day and now it was evening. His disciples came to him and encouraged him to send the people home so the people would be able to buy food for themselves.

Yeshua responded with, "They don't need to leave, you feed them". That statement shocked them. "We don't have enough food to feed them. All we have is five loaves and two fish". Yeshua told them to bring that to him so they did.

Yeshua ordered the crowd to recline on the grass. He took the five loaves of bread and the two fish, looked up into the sky and gave Bracha.

• On the most basic level, a bracha is a means of recognizing the good that God has given to us. As the Talmud2 states, the entire world belongs to God, Who created everything, and partaking in His creation without consent would be tantamount to stealing. When we acknowledge that our food comes from God – i.e. we say a bracha – God grants us permission to partake in the world's pleasures. This fulfills the purpose of existence: To recognize God and come close to Him. ~Aish .com~
• Quite possibly they were these two:
  Brachot Transliteration & Translation
  Each benediction begins baruch atah adonai elokeinu melech haolam (Blessed Are You G-d, our Lord, King of the World).
  The endings depend specifically on what is to be eaten or drunk:
  
  For Bread: "... Hamotzie lechem myn ha'aretz." (Who brings forth bread from the ground)
  For Drinks, Meat, Fish, Cheese: "...Shehakol Nihyah bidvaro" (Everything was created through His words)

After the blessings Yeshua gave the food to the disciples and theyhanded it out to the crowd. There was not only enough to feed the crowd, but there were leftovers...12 baskets full. Enough for each disciple to carry a basket to meet their needs for the next day, at the least.

The amount of people fed were about five thousand men...not counting the woman and children. It was actually way more than five thousand that were fed that day.

You may respond to this post here

 

[SpiritPsalmist]

Walking on the Water
Matt 14:22-33
(See also Mrk 6:45-52, Jn 6:15-21)
7776
So all the crowd has been fed and Yeshua tells his disciples to use the boat to return to the other side of the lake. It's been an exausting day, he sends the crowd home then walks up the mountain to spend some time in prayer. He was there until evening.

In the meantime, the disciples were in the boat some distance from the shore. (See note on scripture link) See here for further idea of how far a stadia is.

They were far enough out to drown if the boat was overcome by the wind. It says the time is the "fourth watch" which in Roman time is between 3 - 6 A.M. Then the disciples see Yeshau walking on the water coming toward the boat.

It says they were disturbed, thinking it was a ghost. I've always wondered why they would think that. Here are some interesting thoughts to a blog where the writer tackles the subject: Jesus on the water: Did the disciples fear ghosts?

In their fear Yeshua spoke to them and told them they mucst be courageous, claimed "I AM", and ordered them to stop being afraid. Then Peter calls out that "if it's you Lord, call me to come to you". Yeshua said, "you must now come". Peter immediately got out and walked on the water toward Yeshua, realized what he was doing and what was happening around him, became fearful by what he saw and began to sink.

As he sank he cried out to Yeshua to rescue him and immediately Yeshua reached out his hand, took hold of Peter and said, "Little faith, why did you doubt?".

When they got back in the boat the wind stopped and those in the boat paid homage to him saying, "Truly, you are the Son of God".

• To pay homage is to kneel and touch the forehead to the ground or deck of the boat as in this case. Pay Homage is the translation of the Greek word Proskuneo, which is frequently translated worship. The meaning is to get on one knee and touch the forehead to the ground at the feet of someone of royal rank. Y'shua was frequently greeted this way. Often it is not clear whether to translate it pay homage or worship, so here the standard was to use pay homage if it was a greeting, whether to Y'shua or someone else. ~One New Man Bible~

You may reply to this post here.
777

 

[SpiritPsalmist]

The Healing of the Sick at Gennesaret
Matt 14:34-36
(See also Mark 6:53-56)
7799

After their stormy sea ride, the disciples and Yeshua finely come to shore in Gennesaret.

• Gennesaret is a plain on the northwest side of the lake of Galilee, near Capernaum. The plain is very fertiel, about three miles long by one mile wide and is named in Mk 6:53 ~One New Man Bible~

Appairently there were other people around where they landed because as soon as the men in the area recognized Yeshua set out telling everyone in the neighboring region and the people began pouring out bringing all who were sick.

• The Tree of Life Bible uses the word "evil" versus "sick". The One New Man Bible also uses the word "evil", it explains: The Greek word kakosliterally means evil, but is used to refer to any affliction, blindness, deafness, paralysis, disease, etc., from the latin.

In verse 36 the people are begging him just to be able to touch what many Bibles translate as the "hem of his garment". It was not "hem" as many in the non Jewish culture think though, it was his tsitsit of his prayer shawl.

• Tsitsits are the corner fringe of a prayer shawl. We find the prayer shawl being given in Num 15:37-41. The fringes, called tsisit in Hebrew, were placed on the corners of the outer garment, which was larger than the current prayer shawls and looked like a poncho with tsisit. This was like a sheet with a hole in the middle for the head. The front piece was tied behind the back, then the back was lapped over and tied in the front. This is the seamless garment in Jn 19:23. Recent archacologi al digs have found a number of these from Biblical times. This garment served as a blanket as stated in Exod. 22:26.

• The garment now made to these specifications is the talit, also spelled tallit, called a prayer shawl in English. The purpose fo it is for everyone, including the wearer, to look at it and remember all the commandments of the LORD. This list of 613 commandments includes the promises of God, so in Y'shua's day people would see all the power of God in that fringe, called tsitsitin Hebrew, when the prayer shawl was worn by an anointed man of God. That is why the woman with the bloody issue reached for the fringe in Matt. 9:20 and Lk 8:44 and why many sought to touch the tsitsit of His talit in Matt 14:36 and Mk 6:56. We know this is the tsisit because the Jewish translators who translated the Hebrew Scriptures into Greek used the Greek work kraspedon for tsitsit and kraspedon is used in the Gospels where tsitsit would be appropriate. ~One New Man Bible~

Verse 36 further states that "they who touched it were rescued.

• The word used here is diasodzo, meaning, "brought safely through."

As I read this portion I am just in awe at the compassion that Yeshua had for the people was so that he basically, he worked off very little sleep. He'd spent all day the day before healing all those who came to him. Then, in the evening fed over 5000 people from 5 loaves of bread and two fish. Then, he walked up a mountain and spent time with his Father until the wee hours of the morning, met his disciples in the middle of a raging sea (it does not say how he arrived there other than walking), then spent the next day healing all who came to him too.

He must have become tired, yet he continued on. Such love.

You may respond to this post here.