Tag: Celebrate
Who Exactly Was Cleopas?
First Things First:
Ephesians 6:2
Mothers are mothers 24/7, 365 days a year, every year. Mothers and single Dads, should be remembered every day! Thank you Adonai/Lord, for Mothers who know and love you and teach their children that Jesus/Yeshua IS THE WAY. (This includes all spiritual Mothers too!)
And also…
‘Who has seen such things?
Can a land be born in one day?
Or can a nation be brought forth in a moment?’ Isaiah 66:8 was fulfilled on 5 Iyyar 5708; 14 May 1948.
Mazel Tov YISRAEL!!
Congratulations Israel!
It’s your 70th Birthday!!
Iyyar 29, 5778 is 14th May 2018 and 44th day of the Omer.
It is 70 years since the independent State of Israel was established.
70 Years is a Biblical generation and has a significant connection to the words of Messiah Yeshua in Matthew 24:32-34: concerning the generation that would see the budding of the fig tree, (the blossoming/establishing of Israel). “Truly I say to you, this generation will not pass away until all these things take place.” (70 years from 1948 is 2018). This could indicate that anyone who clearly remembers the establishing of Israel in 1948 will have to be 70+ years of age in 2018 and could be the generation that will ‘not pass away’, until all these things in scripture are fulfilled.
He is near, even at the door! Maybe closer than we think!
“The Israeli Declaration of Independence, formally the Declaration of the Establishment of the State of Israel (Hebrew: הכרזה על הקמת מדינת ישראל). It was proclaimed on 14 May 1948; (5 Iyar 5708) by David Ben-Gurion, the Executive Head of the World Zionist Organization and Chairman of the Jewish Agency for Palestine. It declared the establishment of a Jewish state in Eretz-Israel, to be known as the State of Israel, which would come into effect on termination of the British Mandate at midnight that day. The event is celebrated annually in Israel with a national holiday Independence Day on 5 Iyar of every year according to the Hebrew calendar”
Also noteworthy, is the Embassy of USA is slated to be moved to Jerusalem and will officially open on May 14, just days after Israel celebrates the 51st anniversary of the Six Day War and the reunification of Israel’s capital.
……………….
Seeing Jesus/Yeshua
ALL along
THE WAY... The Emmaus WAY!
On the Hebrew calendar we are in the 50 days between Passover/Pesach and Pentecost/Shavuot. This is the time when the disciples were acutely feeling the loss and had questions and doubts. This is just one of the times that Jesus/Yeshua appeared to the disciples after His resurrection.
At that time, it must have felt to them like that door to life, to any kind of future, had closed forever. All of their hopes and dreams of a Kingdom of God had been drowned in death and terror. Jesus/Yeshua of Nazareth – who brought healing in body, mind and spirit to so many; then inexplicably, He had been crucified and buried.
Simon and Cleopas were facing the emptiness of a world without Jesus/Yeshua and the future they once envisioned had, it seemed, been buried with Him. The same injustice and oppression of the past and present looked as if it was all that the future now held. Anyone daring to say otherwise would most certainly end up like Jesus/Yeshua; betrayed by His fellow countrymen, tortured and then executed by the Romans.
To set a scene: It would have been very late in the afternoon on the first day of the week when Cleopas and his friend left Jerusalem to go home to Emmaus.They’d heard the morning’s disquieting talk among Jesus’/Yeshua’s disciples: the Master’s body has disappeared from the tomb and it made no sense at all. Did the Romans desecrate the tomb and remove Jesus’/ Yeshua’s body because it was their idea to prevent the tomb from becoming a martyr’s shrine and the body from becoming a religious relic?Jesus/Yeshua seemed to isolate and focus on those who are in the greatest need and He appeared to them first.
These men were in deep grief and confusion, as was Mary.
Sometimes in life, Jesus’/ Yeshua’s first effort is to help us focus on what His word says, so our faith will be established.Sometimes He hides Himself while He points us to the Bible and its scriptures, because God’s Word is the only true foundation for faith.Along the road, an hour or so into their walk, a stranger overtook Cleopas and his companion. Jesus/ Yeshua entered the men’s conversation by asking what they were discussing as they walked along. It was very odd that, coming from Jerusalem, this stranger seemed to know nothing of the bloody end of Jesus/ Yeshua of Nazareth; yet he talked like he’s a disciple of Jesus/Yeshua but they didn’t recall seeing him among Jesus’/ Yeshua’s disciples.
As the three walked toward Emmaus, Luke says, “They stood still, their faces downcast.”Then Cleopas asked, “Are you only a visitor to Jerusalem and do not know the things that have happened here in these days?” How is it possible you don’t know what has happened?
“What things,” Jesus asked?“About Jesus of Nazareth,” they replied, “He was a prophet, powerful in word and deed before God and all the people. The chief priests and the rulers handed Him over to be sentenced to death, and they crucified Him; but we had hoped that He was the one who was going to redeem Israel. And what is more, it is the third day since all this took place” (vs. 18-21).These disciples express the deep longing and belief all Jesus’ disciples’ had cherished, that He was the long looked-for Messiah. But, they said, all their hopes are dashed.
The two go on to report incredulously, that some of the women had described seeing angels and other disciples had seen the empty tomb, but they didn’t know what it all meant.Here are some of the most powerful words in the New Testament: “He said to them, ‘How foolish you are, and how slow of heart to believe all that the prophets have spoken! Did not the Christ have to suffer these things and then enter His glory?’ And beginning with Moses and all the Prophets, he explained to them what was said in all the Scripture concerning Himself” (vs. 25-27).The stranger shares an interpretation of scripture that the two disciples, in their grief, have been unable to understand. Luke doesn’t tell us which scripture passages the stranger refers to, however, it’s not hard to guess which ones they were.
Beginning with the writings of Moses (Genesis through Deuteronomy), and continuing through the writings of the Hebrew prophets, Jesus/Yeshua points out the Scriptures that foretold His ministry, suffering, death, and resurrection.
Maybe He started in Genesis 3, with the messianic interpretation of what God said to the serpent: ‘I will put enmity between you and the woman, and between your offspring and hers; he will strike your head, and you will strike his heel.’ (v. 15)Next the stranger may have turned to the words of Moses in Deuteronomy 18: 17a, 18-19. ‘Then the Lord replied to me…I will raise up for them a prophet like you from among their own people; I will put my words in the mouth of the prophet, who shall speak to them everything that I command. Anyone who does not heed the words that the prophet shall speak in my name, I myself will hold accountable.’Almost certainly the stranger would have quoted from Psalm after Psalm, including Psalm 68 and 22, the opening line of the verse was prophesying that the Messiah would cry out from the cross: “My God, my God, why have you forsaken me?” After that maybe He opened the treasure trove of prophecies about the Messiah and His suffering, for Cleopas and his companion, especially Isaiah 9:6-9, 53 and 61 and Zechariah 12 and 13?He told them that, Messiah/Jesus’/Yeshua’s, death and resurrection, had been clearly foretold in the Hebrew Scriptures. He had tried often to explain this to them, but the disciples’ minds were clouded with popular beliefs that contradicted the messianic prophecies; beliefs that turned the Messiah into a powerful earthly ruler, who would conquer kingdoms and lead Israel to national glory.There must have been a deeper earnestness in Jesus’ voice as He opened the scriptures to them. Quoting Isaiah 53 which not only predicted the manner of Jesus’ death, but clearly described His resurrection too: “After the sufferings of His soul, He will see the light of life and be satisfied” (v. 11). “Though the Lord makes His life a guilt offering, He will see His offspring and prolong His days, and the will of the Lord will prosper in His hand” (v. 10).
Daniel said the Messiah, “the Anointed One,” (v. 26) would be “cut off ” (killed) in the middle of the final week (7 years) of the 70 Week Prophecy, but after His death, He would confirm the covenant with many” (9:27). In other words, He would die, then be resurrected to continue His covenant establishing work with His people.Cleopas and his friend had been mournfully nursing their dashed hopes, but as this stranger helped them understand that what had just happened, was exactly what God predicted, and planned for since before the foundation of the earth; they begin to feel an amazing hope. By the time the stranger had connected the dots, the two disciples’ hearts were on fire. In (v. 32), the men said, “Were not our hearts burning within us while he talked with us on the road and opened the Scriptures to us?” They have a new understanding of what God has done in Jesus/Yeshua of Nazareth.
There is no record of how long He walked and talked with them so we don’t know, but as they neared Emmaus, it was late in the evening, and concerned for their friend’s safety, they urged Him to stay with them for the night. Luke says, “Jesus acted as if He were going farther. However they urged him strongly, ‘Stay with us, for it is nearly evening; the day is almost over. So he went in to stay with them” (vs. 28-29).They brought out food for dinner, and when Jesus/Yeshua took the bread BLESSED AND BROKE IT with them at dinner in Emmaus,the two disciples understand not only what the stranger has said, but who the stranger is.“Their eyes were opened and they recognized him, and He disappeared from their sight” (v. 31).Imagine their shock and amazement. They have just been walking and talking with the resurrected Messiah! The two men jump up from the table. They can’t contain their excitement and joy, They’re on fire; and in the gathering darkness, they must return to tell the other disciples what has happened and they rush back the seven miles to Jerusalem .It would have taken them several hours to return the 7 miles –not a safe and sensible trip to be making in the dark. Nor is their destination a safe and sensible one if you’ve been a follower of Jesus of Nazareth.But nothing can restrain them any longer.
The transformation of their lives that has occurred this evening is one destined to be replayed in group after group of Jesus’ followers.
When Jesus/Yeshua opens our eyes we SEE clearly for the first time in our lives.There is an amazing change that comes over Cleopas, his traveling companion, Peter and the other disciples, as they go from fleeing and hiding to boldly proclaiming that the one who was Crucified lives again. It’s not a safe thing to say and it will cost many of them their lives. But they cannot remain silent.
Somehow, Jesus of Nazareth – who is supposed to be dead, now has an existence outside of time and space and it lies beyond scientific observation or human understanding.Yet it affects thought and action, time and space. A new future, one filled by the risen Messiah, springs out of the ruins of a future, that seemed empty of all life and hope. The future belongs to God and God is there, calling us forward into a new existence.
There are many lessons in this beautiful story for us today.
Luke wrote his gospel, so that we may know the certainty of the things that we have been taught. Luke 1:4
Below the charts indicate, who was there, and how their questions were answered by the certainty of the things they’d been taught.
Jesus/Yeshua cares for all His followers. There are no “insignificant” disciples to Him. We must never feel we are unimportant to God or Heaven Plan. He gives equal care to all His children, and special care to those who are in greatest need.
So Who Was Cleopas??
Not everyone agrees!… so here are some options:
One tradition has it (and it is possible) that Cleopas was the brother of Joseph, husband of Jesus’ mother, Mary.Another claims Cleopas’ companion on the road to Emmaus in Luke 24:13-35 may have been his own wife? Cleopas wife may have been Mary, (John 19:25) ‘the wife of Cleopas who stood at the foot of the cros’.And she was the same Mary that was the mother of James the Lesser and Jude.Luke 24:34 identifies Peter as one of the two on the road. Luke 24:34 1611 KJV: Saying, The Lord is risen indeed, and hath appeared to Simon.
1 Corinthians 15:5. And that he was seen of Cephas — As mentioned Luke 24:34 , who saw him before any of the other apostles. He appeared, indeed, after his resurrection, first of all to Mary Magdalene: and that he appeared to Cephas, and then to the Twelve. After that, he appeared to more than five hundred of the brothers and sisters at the same.1 Corinthians 15:5. And that he was seen of Cephas Or Simon Peter; for Cephas was a name given him by Christ, ( John 1:42 ) .
However rabbi Paul states that Yeshua was seen of Cephas before He was seen of all twelve, which agrees with the fact that Luke mentions that it was the “them” that were with the “apostles” (verse 33) that mentioned Simon’s sighting, not the Emmaus “they” of verse 35. (1 Corinthians 15:5). This was not another Cephas, one of the seventy disciples, as Clemens suggests {g}, but the Apostle Peter himself, to whom it is certain the Lord appeared.Or was Cleopas a woman, the wife of the second person returning to Emmaus? The reference to appearing to Peter in Luke 13:35 was Simon Peter and was he the companion traveller? verse 18 names Cleopas as the other disciple.While most people assume Cleopas is a man, the Greek spelling has a feminine genitive (possessive) ending so that some scholars speculate that this could have been Peter’s wife on the road to Emmaus with him. It appears that they were going back to where they lived as indicated in the verse ‘The man came in unto their home’.
The Greek spelling of Cleopas Luke 24:19 is Kleopas while the spelling of Clopas in John 19:25 is Klopa. The letter o in klopa is omega, while the letter O in KleOpas is an Omicrom. Both words are in the genitive case with Klopa = masculine and Kleopas = feminine.Some say “Cleopas” name in high Greek (HaLane`Katara) means: “Glorious Father,” but Cleopas’ name is an abbreviated form of “Cleopatros,” a more common Hellenistic name at the time of Yeshua meaning: “son of a renowned father.”
?????
The fact remains there were 2 travelling back to Emmaus, which is 7 Miles from Jerusalem. Luke 1:26-38; 2Peter 2:4-11
The journey – walking and not recognizing!
Jesus/Yeshua wants to ground our faith in His word, the Scriptures, even more than giving us the emotions of joy, Jesus/Yeshua may reveal Himself to you in seemingly special ways, but never contrary to what His word teaches.The fact they did not recognize Him may have been due to His new Resurrected body being perfect, not looking anything like He was the last time they saw Him. Or maybe He could adjust His outward appearance, now He was not constrained by space and time and had supernatural qualities?
Lastly, one can wonder what would have happened if the two disciples from Emmaus had not urged Jesus/Yeshua to stay with them.
Would they have missed the opportunity to know it was Messiah who had been talking to them?
Messiah agreed to stay only when they urged Him to do so.
Do we need to urge Jesus/Yeshua to be with us more than we do?
Not because He is unwilling, but because He never forces Himself on anyone?
How many blessings have we missed because we haven’t been more serious about seeking God, or because we haven’t urged Him to stay with us on our Emmaus journey of discovery and relationship?
What blinded them, is the same thing that sometimes blinds us, which is ??
The Appearance to the 10 Disciples ‘While they, [Emmaus travelers], were telling these things, He Himself stood in their midst and said to them, “Peace/Shalom be to you.”’
Revelation – eyes open…Joy on return..
Can people SEE that we have been with Messiah?Gospel readings have given us accounts of people who looked at Jesus, walked with Jesus, and talked with Jesus but did not recognize Him.
What is it that kept them from recognizing Him? What blinded their eyes? What stopped their ears?
Could it be that they, had an idea, of who Jesus/Yeshua was supposed to be. They had formed Him in their minds in their own image and likeness. Yet their image and ours puts limits on the man who is essentially, God.
So, when this man appeared to them in the garden and on the road they did not recognize Him.He didn’t fit the image they had formed. He far exceeded it and it makes them, in a way, blind and deaf, if only for a time.In some ways seeing is deceiving.
Matthew 9:27 ‘As Jesus went on from the two blind men followed him calling and saying, take pity on us son of David.’
These two blind men began following Jesus. How could they follow Him if they were blind? Blind from birth they no doubt knew their way around the local area and were able to follow along with the crowds. And really, why would they follow him? They have not seen any miracles or witnessed any great wonders. Yet in the Scripture above they seem to be the first to recognize that He WAS the son of David, THE Promised long awaited Messiah. They heard what was happening as people were being healed and they surely heard the words that He spoke.These two blind men following Jesus could not rely on their eyesight for anything yet all their senses testified that they were in the midst of the one they have been waiting for, the great deliverer of Israel.
How often do we ignore what our senses are plainly telling us. Sometimes our faith can be so one-dimensional that we are unable to see the truth even when it’s standing right before us.
Seeing as how blind men can follow the Messiah, perhaps we too would do well to occasionally close our eyes.. And see what we can see.
The two disciples don’t recognize Him until the breaking of the bread. Many commentators say that they saw the wounds in His hands at that time and they knew it was the Lord. It may have been the wounds, however it was more likely what He said. Perhaps what He said were once again, those life changing, universe shaking words, unparalleled in the history of creation: “This is my body which is given for you. Do this in remembrance of me.”
Whether it was the words of Our Lord, the action of His Breaking Bread or His physical appearance, we do not know for sure. What we do have is a record of the reaction of the two men, “…they rose that same hour and returned to Jerusalem…” The seven mile walk from Jerusalem to Emmaus became a seven mile jog from Emmaus to Jerusalem – on that same day!The reaction was to run and tell others. Mary ran too, at the Lord’s command, to tell others. Miriam of Magdala, we know her as Mary Magdelene, was by the empty tomb weeping over the death of her teacher/ rabbi. As She turned around and saw him standing there she did not realize it was Him and apparently thinking that He was the Gardener she said, tell me where you put Him and I’ll get Him. He replied by speaking her name, Miriam. She answered, Rabboni, meaning teacher/rabbi. All she could think about was that her beloved rabbi/ teacher was gone and yet He was standing right there beside her.In our day to day walk, it is easy for us to get bogged down by problems, or by what we think is missing in our lives, what we don’t have, or what we long for. We can easily end up like Miriam, so filled with sorrow, focusing on what we don’t have in our lives, blind to seeing the treasure that is right in front of us each and every day.
So, do you and I walk around kicking stones like the men/women on the road to Emmaus, or are we like the men/women on the road back to Jerusalem? He has risen indeed!Let us run to everyone crying out, “I have seen the Lord!”
Each of us at some time in our life will find ourselves on the road to Emmaus. We each have been told fanciful stories of grace and mercy that are often more than we can believe. We have been told of stories of power beyond comprehension.Many have heard personal witnesses from others who have claimed to have seen the Savior or who have felt the presence of His love and power. The question will be that while we journey upon our own road of mortal life, how will we respond?
Will we believe those who have testified of the Savior and accept his redeeming blood, or will we lack the faith required to believe? When the Lord comes to us through the service of others will we invite them in to sup with us and to partake of those things of which we have been blessed?
Though these two disciples at first did not believe, it seems that because they were so willing to serve, that the Lord allowed their eyes to be opened and their hearts to be softened, so that the presence of the Lord would abide with them.In that moment of faltering faith and fear, that must have filled their hearts that day as they walked to Emmaus; they had not forgotten the words of their Master, to serve others. In their attempt to follow the Lord, He blessed them beyond description.Now when they saw the boldness of Peter and John, and perceived that they were uneducated and untrained men, they marveled.
And they realized that they had been with Jesus. — Acts 4:13
The Apostles Peter and John were men who were like Jesus. One day when they went to the temple to pray, they healed a man who had been lame since birth. Then they preached with such boldness that 5,000 people believed that same day (Acts 3–4).It was unmistakable. Even their enemies could see that Jesus/Yeshua had profoundly impacted these men. Could a statement like that be said of us? Could it be said of us, that we have been with Messiah Jesus?
Seeing and being with Jesus/Yeshua on THE WAY.
The greatest blessings we could ever know or have in our life, we already have.
Jesus/Yeshua is the answer, He IS
the way the truth and life
and He’s standing right beside us –
we just have to open the eyes of our hearts, to see the blessings and treasures that already fill the Emmaus WAY of our lives.
The WAY begins at the Genesis, Chapter 1, verse 1 and continues through to Revelation 22:21; for the WAY, is the whole of scripture and the WAY we should go.
Complete restoration and new direction –
Forward and upward.
It is THE Truth and THE Road that leads to LIFE EVERLASTING PS.139:24.
It’s the Emmaus WAY – His Way of Being, Living and Doing, not ours and
letting Him walk with us when He chooses to come alongside and joins Himself to our journey. Then He opens the scriptures to us and in so doing, He opens the eyes of our understanding. Eph 1:17-19 that we might SEE and KNOW Him.
I AM THE BREAD OF LIFE – THE BREAD THAT CAME DOWN FROM HEAVEN.
Shalom Haverim/Chaverim –
Friends, חברים
Phonetic Spelling: Kha-ve-ri
and Family – Mishpachah מִשְׁפָּחָה
Phonetic Spelling: mish-paw-khaw’
Shalom Friends and Family!
Shalom Haverim/Chaverim, Mishpachah
ומשפחה חברים שלום
SHäˈlōm Kha-ve-ri, mish-paw-khaw’
Please don’t leave this page before making certain Jesus is your Redeemer, Savior, Lord and soon returning King and that you have a personal relationship with Him.
You are greatly loved and precious in His sight.
Its all about Life and Relationship, not Religion.
NOT SURE? YOU CAN BE..
SAY THE FOLLOWING FROM YOUR HEART RIGHT NOW…
Heavenly Father I come to you in the Name of Jesus asking for forgiveness of my sins for which I am truly sorry. I repent of them all and turn away from my past.
I believe with my heart and confess with my mouth that Jesus is your Son and that He died on the cross at calvary to pay the price for my sin, so that I might be forgiven and have eternal life in the kingdom of Heaven. Father I believe that Jesus rose from the dead and I ask you to come into my life right now and be my personal Savior and Lord and I will worship you all the days of my life. Because your word is truth I say that I am now forgiven and born again and by faith I am washed clean with the blood of Jesus. Thank you that you have accepted me into your family in Jesus’ name. Amen.
WHAT DID JOHN SEE THAT WE MISSED?
WHAT DID JOHN SEE THAT WE MISSED?
As this week began with Resurrection Day, let’s say, (or sing) with Job, ‘For I know that my Redeemer liveth’ and echo the statement in 2Timothy 2:12 ‘For I know whom I have believed.’
Turn up the volume and take a moment to immerse your soul in His presence….
The 16th Nisan was the 2nd day of the week of Passover/ Pesach/Unleavened Bread Chag HaMazot and continues for 7 days (vs.18 In the first month, on the fourteenth day of the month at even, you shall eat unleavened bread, until the one and twentieth day of the month at even.)
16 Nisan was also 1st day of the Omer: (click link https://www.minimannamoments.com/counting-our-blessings-with-omer/or see the very bottom of the Homepage for more).
Here is the extra study as mentioned in the post ‘In His Deaths’, as this whole Passover week we are celebrating the fact that He is Risen;
He is Alive forevermore and…
An important note concerning the content of this post.
Readers who have been following mmm over the previous 15 months are aware that we are concerned not to pass on information just for the wow effect alone. This site is for scriptural informational subject matter and not sensational and because of this MMM takes extra time to ensure the accuracy of the material shared plus the reliability of each source.
For some years a very meaningful and poignant story has been ‘doing the rounds’ with some slight variations at each retelling; and the intention was to add it as a paragraph at the end of last weeks post. Even though initially some stories may sound wonderful, in the long term they do not aid in the maturing of our faith. It is the truth that will make us free. MMM heart is to share those truths and not to mislead or misdirect in anyway and it is not our intention to perpetuate any inaccuracies if at all possible. MMM decided to do due diligence before publishing.
Interestingly in the process of confirming the material included, some surprising information was revealed. The findings are presented below in a post of its own for your consideration and all readers are encouraged to be like Bereans recorded in Acts 17:11 check it out for yourselves.
Now these Jews were more noble than those in Thessalonica; they received the word with all eagerness, examining the Scriptures daily to see if these things were so.
While many today might say they were being critical or judgmental, Luke commended the Bereans for wanting to make sure that what they were being taught was biblical. Many of the details in focus are not critical to our salvation but rather enhance our understanding of scripture content.
As Solomon said there is nothing new under the sun, it is only new to us because we haven’t heard it before.
…because He is alive.. we live.
This week highlights that this is, THE message, of hope, freedom and eternal life. If we live as He taught us, ‘His deaths’, have made us resurrection recipients. He completed the work He came to do. We live because He is Risen and the cross and the tomb were and are empty…except for what did John see that we missed….it may not be what we thought!
The tomb… the shroud…. A folded cloth.. Was it Jesus’s Prayer Shawl/Yeshua’s tallit?
First we need to set the scene:
The preparation for the burial was initiated by Nicodemus and Joseph of Arimathea.
It was risky to ask for the body as a crucified criminal was denied a proper burial and unceremoniously tossed into a mass grave which was little more than a trench or ditch.
Joseph of Arimathea already had a brand new tomb cut in preparation for himself as he was a wealthy man.
He was a secret disciple who did not consent to the Sanhedrin condemning Yeshua. Nicodemus was a Pharisee a member of the ruling council and also a secret follower of Yeshua.
He offered his tomb and they brought a burial shroud
and linensLinen strips
and about 75lbs (100 lbs in KJV) of myrrh and aloes in which to wrap Messiahs body.
This was a huge amount this much was usually only used for burying Royalty.
To understand where we are headed… first some pictures are included of the wrapping of a body according to Jewish custom old and modern.
This will aid in visualizing what John saw. Before the Diaspora they did not use coffins so the body shape is very obvious.
There are some pictures showing the way we thought it was. The way we assumed it was, and the way it more than likely was.
ציצת
Prayer Shawl and Bible Manners and Customs
The Prayer Shawl, (aka. tallis, tallit, talis) is a religious symbol, a garment, shroud, canopy, cloak which envelops the Jew both physically and spiritually, in prayer and celebration, in joy and sorrow.
While some other Jewish garments or objects might be treated more casually, the tallit is a special personal effect, generally used for many years or a lifetime and never discarded. Most Jewish men (and some women) own very few tallitot in their lifetimes.
Knotted Tachrichim
A threadbare tallit is treated with great respect, as if it had a mantle of holiness, acquired from years of use. Although there is no mandatory tradition, in Conservative, reform, and otherwise non- religious families a tallit, as well as tefillin, is likely to be given as a special gift, from father to son, from father-in-law to son-in-law, or from teacher to student. It might be purchased to mark a special occasion, such as a wedding, a bar/bat mitzvah, or a trip to Israel. When a man dies, it is traditional that he be buried dressed only in his kittel, with his tallit is draped over him.
Anyone attending an orthodox synagogue today will see that the men are all wearing prayer shawls. It is a very important part of Jewish life and would have been in the life of Jesus /Yeshua too..
It is used at all major Jewish occasions: circumcisions, bar mitsvahs, weddings and burials. It protects the scrolls of the Torah when they are moved.
They are wrapped in it when they are buried.After a ritual washing of the body, called taharah it is dressed in a kittel (shroud) tachrichim and then a tallit.
Before the tallit is placed on a body for burial, one of the sets of fringes, the tzitzit, is cut off to demonstrate that the person is no longer bound by the religious obligations of the living.
In the Land of Israel, burial is without a casket, and the kittel and tallith are the only coverings for the corpse. In addition to tahrihim, the shroud, some Jews are wrapped in the prayer shawl (tallit) in which they prayed.
Every tallit is tied with four sets of knotted fringes (tzizit), which symbolize the commandment (mitzvot) incumbent upon Jews.
Meaning of the knots and zitzit.
Back to Jesus’s/Yeshua’s burial.
He was laid in Josephs tomb
The stone was rolled in front of the entrance
often needing 4 or more men to move it
The tomb was sealed
close up of wax seals
and Roman soldiers guarded the entrance until there was an earthquake and the soldiers were in fear for what they saw.
John 20:1 Now on the first day of the week Mary Magdalene came early to the tomb, while it was still dark, and saw the stone already taken away from the tomb.
Matthew 28:1 Now after the Sabbath, as it began to dawn toward the first day of the week, Mary Magdalene and the other Mary came to look at the grave.
Matthew 28:2 And behold, a severe earthquake had occurred, for an angel of the Lord descended from heaven and came and rolled away the stone and sat upon it.
John 20:1 and Mark 16:3 They were saying to one another, “Who will roll away the stone for us from the entrance of the tomb?” think they should’ve remembered the words of our Lord and simply trusted Him.
Meanwhile, the women who stayed at the Tomb, went into the Tomb to investigate it, and they met the angel sitting inside the Tomb!
Matthew 28:5-8: But the angel answered and said to the women, Do not be afraid, for I know that you seek Jesus who was crucified.
HE IS NOT HERE; for HE IS RISEN, as He said. Come, SEE the PLACE WHERE the LORD LAY.
And go quickly and tell His disciples that He is risen from the dead, and indeed He is going before you into Galilee; there you will see Him. Behold, I have told you. So they WENT OUT quickly FROM the TOMB with fear and great joy, and ran to bring His disciples word
Mark 16:5-8 records the same event: ENTERING the TOMB, they SAW a young man clothed in a long white robe SITTING ON THE RIGHT SIDE; and they were alarmed. But he said to them, Do not be alarmed. You seek Jesus of Nazareth, who was crucified. HE is RISEN! He is NOT HERE. SEE the PLACE WHERE they LAID Him. But go, tell His disciples, and Peter, that He is going before you into Galilee; there you will see Him, as He said to you. So they WENT OUT quickly and fled FROM the TOMB, for they trembled and were amazed. And they (initially) said nothing to anyone for they were afraid.
These passages give us some very specific information about the Tomb, which shows that it was not entirely typical for its time. Mark 16:5 says that as they entered they saw the angel (who looked like a young man) SITTING ON THE RIGHT SIDE. This is a very significant statement, for it reveals the layout of the Tomb, a layout that is unusual for a First Century Tomb. Normally, you would walk through the entrance into the Weeping Chamber,and then you would go down further into the Grave area, which would straight ahead, just as with Lazarus’s tomb in Bethany, but in this case, the angel, who was sitting by the Place where Jesus was laid, was on the right hand side, as they entered through the Doorway into the Weeping Chamber. It was only because of this arrangement that later on from the door, John could see the grave-clothes where He lay.
The Arrival of the Second Group of women led by Joanna: It is Luke, (who tells the story from Joanna’s viewpoint), who describes the arrival of the 2nd Group of women at the Tomb. They had come from Herod’s Palace, and arrived just after the others had left in a hurry, after their encounter with the angel.
Luke 24:1,2: Now on the 1st day of the week (Sunday), very early in the morning, they (the women described in Luke 23:55,56), and certain other women with them (under Joanna).
Looking at the Garden Tomb above, (and also next picture), there’s a small window in the upper right-hand face of the Tomb, above the modern block-stone. It was cut into the Rock-Face as an original feature of the Tomb, when it was first built. It is too narrow to be another entrance.This was a nephesh (lit. “soul” hole), through which, by Jewish tradition, the spirit of the dead departed after 3 days in the Tomb. The morning sunlight shining through this window illuminated the Tomb, so that Peter and John could see into what otherwise would have been a dark Tomb interior.
So, because of the light shining through the window, as they stood at the door and looked to the right, they would have clearly seen where Christ had been laid. They saw His grave cloths lying by themselves where His body had been, but there was no body. They could see the Tomb was empty.
When Peter and John (who, most scholars agree, was “the other disciple”) heard the excited report of Mary Magdalene, they rushed to the tomb. John “outran Peter and reached the tomb first.
He bent over and looked in at the strips of linen lying there, but did not go in” (John 20:4-5).
John looked into the tomb, but did not enter. The Greek word used here for “look” is blepo, “which denotes simple sight” [Dr. Alvah Hovey, An American Commentary on the NT, p. 396], as distinguished from a deeper perception of that which is seen by the eyes.
In other words, John’s eyes saw what was before him, but he didn’t yet fully grasp “how to interpret the phenomenon” [The Expositor’s Bible Commentary, vol. 9, p. 189].
Peter, on the other hand, when he got to the scene, went immediately into the tomb, and “he saw the strips of linen lying there, as well as the burial cloth that had been around Jesus’ head. The cloth was folded up by itself, separate from the linen” (John 20:6-7, NIV).
Peter “saw” — this is the Greek word theoreo, meaning “to gaze upon, contemplate, consider; to view with interest and attention; to come to a knowledge of” [The Analytical Greek Lexicon of the NT, p. 194].
It was a “closer and more careful, vivid, and instructive gaze” than that of John [The Pulpit Commentary, vol. 17, pt. 2, p. 465].
John glanced at the scene; Peter gazed at it.
“The bolder Peter is rewarded with bright evidence of what had happened” [Jamieson, Fausset & Brown, Commentary Practical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible, p. 1076].
“The change of word seems to have been intentional. Peter’s survey of the tomb was more searching and exact than that of John” [Dr. Hovey, p. 396].The Tomb and its contents could have been for the disciples to believe because we are told in John 20:9
“Finally the other disciple, who had reached the tomb first, also went inside. He saw and believed; for as yet they did not understand the Scripture, that He must rise from the dead.
Then the disciples went back to their homes” (John 20:8-10). Like Peter, John now “saw” — which resulted in belief. This is yet a third Greek word employed in this passage: eidov (a form of horao), meaning “to perceive; to observe with understanding.”
We see a powerful progression here from seeing to scrutinizing and contemplating to understanding, which then results in belief. Peter and John were still struggling with the events of the past few days, and their faith was not yet firm, as they still had questions and doubts, but they could not deny the reality of what was before their eyes: Jesus was not just away, He was arisen!
There was something in the scene before them that convicted them of this truth: not just an empty tomb, but something to do with the burial garments, proclaimed a powerful, convincing message of resurrection.
What exactly was the message of the garments they found within the tomb of our Lord that morning of the first day of the week?
With regard to the ‘burial clothes’ of our Lord, there were two different parts.
First, we find the “strips of linen” (NIV) that were used to wrap the body of Jesus. The practice at that time was to take a number of strips of cloth and wrap the body with these strips, binding it up much like a mummy.
“Aromatic spices were strewn between the layers of linen, and these layers, one wound over the other, were numerous, so that all those spices could be held between them” [R.C.H. Lenski, The Interpretation of St. John’s Gospel, p. 1342].
This would have greatly limited the movement of the body (although few expected a dead body to actually move)!
We see this in the coming forth from the tomb of Lazarus. When he came out, “his hands and feet were wrapped with strips of linen, and he had a cloth around his face.” Therefore, Jesus said, “Take off the grave clothes and let him go” (John 11:44).
Secondly, as noted in the account of the resurrection of Lazarus, there was, in addition to the body wrappings, a covering for the face/head. The Greek word used for this item is soudarion, and it is used in both John 11:44 and 20:7. It denoted “a headcovering for the dead” [The New Strong’s Expanded Dictionary of Bible Words, p. 1372].
It was a “piece of cloth, a yard or so square” [Dr. James Hastings, Dictionary of Christ and the Gospels, vol. 2, p. 226], that was used to wrap around the head of the deceased: a head shroud. A picture of just such a head cloth can be seen in the accompanying picture.When Peter, and then later John, entered the tomb they found something intriguing about these burial garments: something so utterly astounding that it erased their doubts and established their faith in our Lord’s resurrection from the dead.
They did not see the body of Jesus; but they did see the grave clothes…. And they saw the clothes in a certain order.
John covers the exact arrangement of the clothes. It is the sole purpose of nine verses of the Gospel history. Why so great a detailed account? It was the linen strips that caused him to believe. Scripture clearly tells us that when John “saw the arrangement of the grave clothes, he believed, beyond all doubt, that Jesus was risen.”
These grave garments were arranged in a unique way. When John saw “the linen clothes lying,” he believed. The word “lying” does not merely refer to the fact that they were “remaining on the floor of the sepulcher,” but rather, the word used, means that they were
“lying precisely as the body had lain in them.”
The grave clothes were in exactly the position the body had occupied.
They “saw the strips of linen lying there, as well as the burial cloth that had been around Jesus’ head. The cloth was folded up by itself, separate from the linen” (John 20:7, NIV). In reading this statement, we may not find much to astound us; but, most translations have not really captured, in their English rendering of the text, what Peter and John were beholding and perceiving in that tomb. Indeed, in some translations, the wording is even misleading.
For example, there are a few versions where the face/head wrap is referred to as a “napkin”, the sort used to wipe the mouth while eating a meal. (King James Version, American Standard Version, Revised Standard Version, Young’s Literal Translation, New English Bible).
These are major translations that have greatly influenced our religious language. Another unfortunate rendering of the Greek term is “handkerchief” (New King James Version, Darby Translation, the modern translation by J. B. Phillips, and even the version by Hugo McCord).
Most versions, however, simply render the Greek term as “the wrapping” or “the cloth.” The words “napkin” and “handkerchief” leave the wrong impression in our minds, and can lead to some strange interpretations (such as the alternate story/account/eRumor, making the rounds on the Internet in which a “folded napkin at the dinner table” is supposed to convey to a servant that the master is coming back –
As mmm heart is for truth and no evidence was found to coroborate the reference to the napkin at the dinner table; only that (“2000 yrs ago as there was no such Jewish custom in that day; such “dinner napkins” were not even used by rough fishermen, and a number of Orthodox Jewish rabbis and scholars in Jerusalem, when questioned about this, stated they had never even heard of such a thing”). It may have been a custom of the Roman Elites and of Royals. The way of life, lack of internal plumbing and European/western etiquette are things we take for granted but it was not as we are today; and many countries are still struggling for the basic necessities of life. Our Greek mind set and mistranslations may have helped to paint a not so accurate picture.
Presented below are some referenced studies from original texts, which reveal a truly amazing possibility!
This was not a napkin or handkerchief, but as already stated it was probably either rather a large linen cloth that was wrapped around the head of the deceased and/or His tallit.
Some translators also did not serve their readers well by translating the Greek word entulisso as “folded” (New International Version, Darby Translation, English Standard Version, Holman Christian Standard Bible, New Century Version, New King James Version, New Living Translation, and a few others).
Most translations have “wrapped up” or “rolled up.” The Greek word entulisso only appears three times in the NT (Matt. 27:59; Luke 23:53; John 20:7). The word itself means “to roll up; to wrap together” [Thayer’s Greek-English Lexicon of the NT, p. 219].
The picture above may not be exactly what they saw… the one below maybe nearer the reality..
So it was Not This…
But this is what they saw!!!!
“It implies that the cloth had been wound around the head into the shape of a sphere and not folded flat like a table napkin. In the NT this word is used only in the description of Jesus’ entombment” [The Expositor’s Bible Commentary, vol. 9, p. 189].
Thus, the text is actually suggesting that what Peter and John saw was NOT a “folded napkin,” but rather the head shroud still in its “wrapped up” condition, only with no head in it.
The same was the case with the burial linens.
They were there, still “lying in place” as they had been, with the head wrap separate from the body wrap, but the body was gone.
“Unfortunately, neither the Authorized Version nor the Revised Version gives the exact translation of the Greek text. The literal rendering of the passage makes it clear that the cloth which had been placed about Christ’s head before burial was discovered by the two disciples lying where His head had been, in the undisturbed form of a coiled or twisted head-wrapper …
just as if His head had somehow slipped out of it.
This rendering of the passage is confirmed by the impression made upon the two disciples by what they witnessed on entering the tomb. It is said that they ‘saw and believed’ — saw something, that is, which persuaded them so completely that their Master was risen from the dead that their doubts were immediately resolved” [Dr. James Hastings, Dictionary of Christ and the Gospels, vol. 2, p. 227].
Dr. H. A. Ironside concurs: “They saw the linen cloths just as they had been wrapped around the body, like the shell of the chrysalis after the butterfly has emerged. The cloths were there, but the body had gone!” [Addresses on the Gospel of John, p. 861].
“This means the headcloth still retained the shape that the contour of Jesus’ head had given it, and that it was still separated from the other wrappings by a space that suggested the distance between the neck of the deceased and the upper chest, where the wrappings of the body would have begun” [The Expositor’s Bible Commentary, vol. 9, p. 188].
Esteemed Jewish scholar Simon Greenleaf, founder of Harvard Law School, meant to use his “laws of evidence” to challenge the theory of the resurrection, and became a believer.
LINEN THAT COULDN’T LIE
Linen clothes, refer to the manner in which they prepared the body for burial in that day. They would wrap the body with a wide long cloth, somewhat like a bandage is applied to an injured leg or arm; the wrappings continued until they reached the neck. This was the method they used to prepare the body of Jesus for burial. Like a giant bondage, these wrappings were wound around the body of our Lord, beginning at the feet, and ending at the head. John saw these ‘linen clothes lying’ undisturbed, just as they had been when the body of Jesus lay within them, but now there was no body, the linen clothes were empty!
John 19:39-40 tells us that Nicodemus and Joseph of Arimathea brought about a 100 pounds of myrrh and aloes spices and wound the body of Jesus in the cloth wrappings with the spices. As they wrapped the cloth strip around and around Jesus’ body, they poured in 100 pounds of spices into the wrappings and upon the body.
LIQUID SPICES SETTLED AND SOLIDIFIED AROUND THE BODY SHAPE!
All these liquid spices would soon harden and would cause the cloth wrappings to become an encrusted cocoon around the body of Jesus.
All the wrappings followed the contours of the body; it would be a tight solid covering that would protect the body, and from which the body could not be pulled by any human means.
The only way, humanly speaking, a body could be removed from such encrusted wrappings, would be by cutting the cloth from end to end and laying back each side so the body could be pulled from its wrappings.
PROOF – THE BODY COULD NOT HAVE BEEN STOLEN
It is inconceivable that the body had been stolen, and that enemies would have spent the time to abstract the body from the clothes and so arrange them as to look like a body was still there. Who would do that and why?
When the disciples saw the “linen clothes lying” –- uncut, undisturbed, lying just as they had been, yet they were empty –- it convinced them that the body had been miraculously, supernaturally removed. Had some human hand stolen the body, he would have been forced to slit open the bindings in order to remove the body.
Likewise, Greenleaf concluded, HAD JESUS REVIVED AND EXITED THE TOMB HE COULD NOT HAVE LEFT THE WRAPPING UNDISTURBED.
The Greek words translated, “wrapped together” in John 20:7, actually mean, “twisted together” or “rolled up” –- it speaks of a fixed position – much like a cocoon. The linen cloths were “wrapped” or “rolled together,” however the body was missing.
The “linen clothes” had not been unfolded, loosed or disturbed in any way!
They just lay there!
An empty shell of the linen clothes that had been wrapped around and around the body of Jesus.
The primary point of this physical testimony was to thwart the lie that was going to be spread abroad that the body of Jesus had been stolen (either by His disciples or unnamed others). Because guards were posted at the tomb, and the entrance was sealed, even if robbers managed to distract the guards, they would still have to snatch the body in haste and make off with it, which would not allow them time to leave the burial wrappings in such a condition.
Indeed, they would most likely steal the body fully wrapped, rather than carefully unwrap it, remove the body, then rewrap the linen pieces to its previous shape, making off with a corpse. It wouldn’t make any sense, nor would they have the time. If they did choose to remove the burial wrappings, it would have been done in haste, and the cloths would be strewn about the tomb.
This was not the case. Clearly the hand of God was involved for the body to be gone and the wrappings to be preserved in this condition, and given the fact that the tomb was sealed and guarded. Peter and John took in the whole scene … and believed! He was risen!
“The grave clothes were left as if Jesus had passed right through them. The headpiece was still rolled up in the shape of a head, and it was at about the right distance from the wrappings that had enveloped Jesus’ body.
A grave robber couldn’t possibly have made off with Jesus’ body and left the linens as if they were still shaped around it” [footnote in the Life Application Bible, p. 1926]. As Dr. W. Robertson Nicoll rightly observes, in The Expositor’s Greek Testament, “Had the authorities or anyone else taken the body, they would have taken it as it was” [vol. 1, p. 862]. Matthew Henry’s point is well-taken: “Anyone would rather choose to carry a dead body in its clothes than naked” [Commentary on the Whole Bible, e-Sword].
(Naked in the Hebrew means except for a loincloth.)
Thus, the condition of burial garments “became the fullest proofs against the lie of the chief priests: that the body had been stolen away by the disciples. If the body had been stolen away, those who took it would not have stopped to strip the clothes from it, and to wrap them up” again [Adam Clarke, Clarke’s Commentary, vol. 5, p. 656].
“Peter must have been wondering why the grave clothes were left in this position if the body had been stolen. A robber would not have left them in good order. He would have stripped the body completely, leaving the clothing in a disorderly heap; or he would have taken the body, grave clothes and all” [The Expositor’s Bible Commentary, vol. 9, p. 188].
These linen wrappings, and the condition in which they found them, convinced Peter and John “that this was no violent grave robbery or the grave clothes would have been tossed in a heap or carried off with the body. The careful arrangement impressed the sensitive apostles with the marvelous truth that their Lord had risen from the dead” [The Zondervan Pictorial Encyclopedia of the Bible, vol. 4, p. 373].
THE ‘COCOON’ WAS EMPTY…
The tomb was empty…
What do you think? A Mmmm moment!
(Makes the analogy of the butterfly’s lifecycle even more interesting as ‘the worm’ exits the cocoon in a brand new body and flies away.)
Dr. Lenski sums up what we find in this passage, and the marvelous truth it proclaimed to Peter and John … and us: “They lay just as they had been wound about the limbs and the body, only the body was no longer in them. … No human being wrapped round and round with bands like this could possibly slip out of them without greatly disturbing them.”
“They would have to be unwound, or cut through, or cut and stripped off. They would thus, if removed, lie strewn around in disorder or heaped in a pile. … If the body had been desecrated in the tomb by hostile hands, this kind of evidence would appear. But hostile hands would have carried off the body as it was, wrappings and all, to get it away as soon as possible and to abuse it later and elsewhere.”
“But here the linen bands were. Both their presence and their undisturbed condition spoke volumes. Here, indeed, was a sign to behold. It corroborated what the women had told Peter and John on the way out to the tomb: Jesus was risen from the dead!” [The Interpretation of St. John’s Gospel, p. 1342].
Final thoughts…
Is this Proof of Resurrection that Jesus folded his Tallit when he arose from the dead?
Yeshua, the Messiah, also was put in the tomb with His prayer shawl about His head/covering His Body as was the custom of burial. The TALLIT, (which the KJV calls the napkin), is one of the many great infallible proofs, as Jesus showed Himself ALIVE after his death on the cross.
As Peter and then John entered the empty tomb, they saw something that immediately convinced them that the resurrection of Jesus/Yeshua was irrefutable fact.
This is just a single small example of the richness of the proof of the resurrection. It also shows why Gentiles should rejoice that the Jewish Roots of the Gospel are being restored by the modern Messianic movement.
Jesus/Yeshua knew that when Simon Peter burst into the tomb and found it empty, Peter would think the Romans had somehow disposed of the body.
Is that why Jesus/Yeshua, at the time of His resurrection, on Saturday, the Sabbath, Nissan 17, three days and nights after His death on the cross on Wednesday, Nissan 14, 30AD, took the time to precisely fold His prayer shawl, His Tallit, and lay it apart from the other grave wrappings?
When Peter saw the tallit, as only Jesus/Yeshua would fold it, he knew that the Romans did not take the body; because, if they had, it is not at all likely would they have folded, or even known how Jesus/Yeshua folded His tallit. Jesus/Yeshua MUST be alive to have folded His tallit, in the precise way that Peter and John were familiar with.
So in perfect conclusion for Passover week let the music minister to us… Shalom as He raises us up! We are each and every one precious in His sight and greatly loved.
How appropriate..Yeshua began and ended His earthly life in swaddling clothes! WOW!As today is key to understanding the faith of believers… Please don’t leave this page without assurance that your resurrection day is set. In days of uncertainty, here, there is complete confidence that we can trust the words of His promises and be encouraged in the hope and future of life eternal in the presence of a loving Heavenly Father…
Who gave His life for us.
Make certain Jesus is your Redeemer, Savior, Lord and soon returning King and that you have a personal relationship with Him.
You are greatly loved and precious in His sight.
Its all about Life and Relationship, not Religion.
NOT SURE? YOU CAN BE..
SAY THE FOLLOWING FROM YOUR HEART RIGHT NOW…
Heavenly Father I come to you in the Name of Jesus asking for forgiveness of my sins for which I am truly sorry. I repent of them all and turn away from my past.
I believe with my heart and confess with my mouth that Jesus is your Son and that He died on the cross at calvary to pay the price for my sin, so that I might be forgiven and have eternal life in the kingdom of Heaven. Father I believe that Jesus rose from the dead and I ask you to come into my life right now and be my personal Savior and Lord and I will worship you all the days of my life. Because your word is truth I say that I am now forgiven and born again and by faith I am washed clean with the blood of Jesus. Thank you that you have accepted me into your family in Jesus’ name. Amen.
IF….
…. Jesus/Yeshua Had Not Come… there would be no New Year according to the Gregorian calendar.
So-called because it was introduced in October 1582 by Pope Gregory Xlll, as a reform of the Julian calendar. It’s a solar-based calendar of 365 days, it was only adopted by Britain and its colonies 260 years ago! The biblically based lunar Calendar is the one still followed in Israel.It is 2018 only because of Jesus!
The year is dated because of His birth and even non believers reference His coming every time they say or write the year!
However if Jesus had not come our calendar would be as the calendar still is today in Israel counting from creation. According to that the year is 5778 but it would still be B.C.(Before Christ) or (AM = Anno Mundi meaning years since creation).Remembering that in Israel, the fall appointed time of Rosh Hashanah means “head of the year” and that’s why it’s called The Jewish New Year (also known as Yom Teruah and often translated as Feast of Trumpets.)
This is not at all like the New Years celebrations in the western world. It occurs on the first day of the 7th month of the year.
When the Israelites were in Egypt, the Lord changed the beginning of their year from the fall to the spring month of Nisan for Passover/Pesach to be the start of the spiritual year. (Exodus 12:1-2)
However, since Jewish tradition holds that the birth of the world took place in the fall, they kept the New Year observance where it was. So in effect, they are celebrating the world’s birthday on Rosh Hashanah and have a second beginning in the Spring Appointed Times. (The Seasons are represented as Cyclical not linear.)A very interesting point is, the Hebrew year 5778 coincides with 2018 on the Gregorian calendar and is significant because it was in the year 2018 BC (or AM) that God made the first covenant with Abraham. (This was 70 years after Abraham’s birth in 1948 BC (AM).
Then we see the new independent state of Israel was established by the UN in 1948 (Gregorian calendar), so 2018 will also be a 70 year time frame (or a generation, see Psalms 90:10) Just imagine, if Jesus had not come, the Bible would end at Malachi or if read in chronological order it would stop after 2 Chronicles.It would probably only be available in the Hebrew language and maybe still only on kosher scrolls.The complete set Hebrew Scrolls Tanakh
Among other things too numerous to mention or count: There would be no New Testament, no churches or denominations, no choirs, Christian charities, no Christmas trees, no carols and symphonies, no one would be born again and there would be no evangelists, no missionaries.No ‘communion’ (as in bread and wine celebration) outside of Passover, Pesach.This was celebrated as part of the commemoration of their liberation by God from slavery in ancient Egypt and their freedom and rebirth as a nation under the leadership of Moses. There would however still be the Holy Land and the children of Israel, the tribes and their descendants and the Jewish people. The term having come from the tribe of Judah – Yehudi – Judahite and shortened to Jew. It is written that all tribes will want to say they are from Judah collectively and not so much as individual tribes an example is Mordecai in the book of Esther, he was from the tribe of Benjamin but was known as Yehudi.That Hebrew language would be still intact as it is today and so is their faith that one day Messiah will come as promised in prophecy.
There would still bethere would still beTorah, Prophetic, Poetic and Historical Writings.
The history of God’s plan since creation would still be as it is.
How important is the old Testament then!
How foundational.
How significant are the Hebraic roots of our faith for they would stand even if Messiah had not come yet.
It makes one wonder if we would have converted to the faith of the Old Testament Patriarchs?
For if Jesus had not come we would be numbered among the heathen lost!
Still the Jewish people would be, and are still, serving the God of Abraham and Isaac and Jacob, celebrating the seven annual feasts, preparing and rehearsing for His promised appearing and keeping their covenant commandments.So what are we doing? Have we disregarded the Old Testament foundation in favor of ‘Penthouse’ believing? Are we guilty of thinking that somehow we are more ‘entitled’ by our new Testament faith in Jesus?
He came in fulfillment of the Jewish Scriptures not as a replacement, not instead of, but in addition to.A world without Jesus/Yeshua would be a world without born again believers, both Messianic Jews and Christian believers. No Christmas holiday or carols, no Turkey’s, presents or all the worlds commercialized accessories and distractions.
However we would still have the greater part of the Bible and could live by its instructions and guidance.The biggest obvious consideration is that our sins have to be paid for and that by a blood sacrifice.A life for a life. And the life is in the blood, so an innocent must die for each and every individual.
If Jesus had not come, believers in the God of Abraham Isaac and Jacob would still be continuing to offer the necessary sacrifices today.
HoweverAnd by His life and death and resurrection, He fulfilled the promises in the bible of a coming Redeemer. One man’s life blood – God Himself, paid the price for our sins. Once for all and no more individual sacrifice is necessary.
However do we really comprehend it?
Do we appreciate it?
Do we understand it?
And do our lives reflect our appreciation and gratitude for what He did?
Or have we just grown accustomed and complacent with our faith and too easy-going in the gift of grace for the righteousness/ right-standing before the God of Heaven and earth?Do we have a deep remorse and hatred of the way we were before He graciously accepted us into the beloved. We are grafted in by His compassion He is calling the Goyim, the heathen, to be His own.Is living for our self the way we show Him our love? Is building our own reputation and kingdom/empire really part of His plan for us?
We aspire to be something, a somebody, to make a name for ourselves. It didn’t work out so well for those who tried it on the plains of shinar. Self-deception is subtle and is an easy slippery slope, the biggest problem being we don’t believe we are deceived or that we can be.
We help God out, because it’s taking too long or not going the way we want, we put words in His mouth, to justify our actions and decisions, and twist the truth of Scripture to fit our not so straight path.We use the tools of the world and its commerce to fulfill desires based on covetous, selfish ambition and aspire to a comfortable way of life.
Whatever we choose to believe will never change truth, for He said, I am the way the truth and the life.
For believers it should be His way or no way.
His way is clear, we are to live our lives as Jesus did and do the works of Him who called us and saved us.We are to preach the good news, make disciples, visit the prisoners and the sick, bring healing to them, deliver the oppressed, set spiritual captives free, feed the hungry, give to the poor, house the homeless, which of these did we do today? Which of these did we do this ChristmasWe are to bind up the brokenhearted, raise the dead, calm storms.
Christianity is not just a free ticket to heaven to then go ahead and live as we please. Grace is not free and neither is salvation, for we are set free to serve Him and further His kingdom, not ourselves in our own.If Jesus had not come we may have something of a legitimate excuse, that we don’t know any better but He did come and so we are without excuse.
As we begin 2018 Anno Domini on the Gregorian calendar take a moment to think how it would be if Jesus had not come!Time is one of the greatest gifts we have been given. What we do with it will have a huge impact on our final destination.
This time of year people make resolutions to improve their lifestyles, let us start learning to live in His presence, and to operate out of His shalom, where love abides and faith matures.
If God was in a hurry He would have not said over 2000 years ago, ‘I’m coming soon’.
He exists outside of our time and space and that is hard for us to comprehend.
We live our lives by the clock and without realizing it, it can bring us into bondage.
But in due season. Gal 4:4
But when the fullness of the time was come, God sent forth his Son, made of a woman, made under the law, Romans 5:6. For when we were yet without strength, in due time Christ died for the ungodly.
We will be accountable for how we spent the time we have been given according to 2.Cor. 5:10
It is a phrase that has the connotations of ‘satisfaction.’ Abraham died as a man at peace with himself, at peace with God and at peace with the world. He was contented with all that God had done with him and in him, at an old age that was good and mature and content. In verse7 ‘Now these are the days of the years of Abraham which he lived.’ For it implies that he had lived every day to the full in the will of God not one day was wasted of the days that had been given him. According to The JPS Torah Commentary on Genesis, the meaning of this phrase in Genesis 25:8 is “old and contented.” The commentary continues, “Such a summation of a life is found with no other personality in biblical literature. The phrase describes not his longevity, which is otherwise mentioned, but the quality of his earthly existence.”
And also in Job 42:17 so Job died, being old and full of days /years.
The civil year of 5778 according to Israel began in October at Rosh Hashanah and the spiritual new year according to scripture, begins in April at Passover with the sacrificial death of an innocent lamb. As we go forward into ‘2018’ and continue in 5778, let any resolution we make begin with a grateful heart of thanks that HE CAME; and let the number of this year reminds us how long ago that was.Let’s try to remember that, ‘New Beginnings’ come from the Grace of God, not from dates or resolutions.
That they come from His Mercies, that are new each day. Not the day itself.
Let the next year be 365 days be FULL according to the will of God for us.
It may not be what we wanted to hear but its what we need to hear!
It’s a rallying call to the troops, time to renew our commitment to the Lord. It’s an alarm bell to wake up the sleeping ‘ecclesia’, we are the ‘called out ones.’
For the day is far spent.. Luke 24:29 Now is the time to let Him in, to abide with us and your salvation/redemption is nearer now than when you first believed. Rom 13:11
The times are serious and so is God!
Then as we realize Jesus did come, let’s make this year one where our resolution is; to spend more time in His presence and in doing His will. Fulfilling His plans and purposes instead of our own.
Let’s not be too busy this year. God is obviously not in a hurry, He has no daily rush hours. He is not driven, desperate or in a panic and looking for a way to make things happen!His presence is now, believing in faith is for now.
Today is the day of salvation, so share the gospel with that person you keep meaning to!
He is the ever present God. I am that I am.
He is Jehovah Shalom.
He moves, acts and abides in Shalom. Where there is nothing missing or broken.
He doesn’t rush through life.
He is life.
It is impossible to live life as we were meant to live it, if we are too busy rushing around.
We are too busy because of the decisions we have made, that brought us to where we are at this moment.
So this year we have an opportunity to make decisions that will enable us to be less busy. It’s our choice.
Choose this day.. choose life. The treasures revealed from His Word, are not simply for information but include messages to be lived and ways to develop a relationship with the Father.
They are to be experienced which is the most important aspect. Let God impress upon our hearts the precious truths which are essential to the life of every believer who truly desires to follow Jesus/Yeshua our Messiah.
Lets pray that we comprehend all that it means to be a disciple. And as we learn about Him, let our central focus be, to know Him and the power of His resurrection in our personal relationship with Him, for we are required to apply His words to our lives, daily.
Thank God Jesus Came!
May His Shalom surround guard and keep you year in and year out!
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