Covenant 102

This blog post is a continuation of Covenant 101. In the last post I tried to show how there is one eternal covenant between YHVH and the seed (offspring) of Abraham and how that covenant extends to the entire world. I also tried to establish Yeshua’s place in prophecy and his position as “The Prophet” of Deuteronomy 18:15-19. I also tried to prove that Yeshua and YHVH (God the Father) are not one and the same. The erroneous belief that somehow God became a man by impregnating a human woman who then gave birth to Himself (God) is and has been a source of trouble for Christianity ever since it became christian doctrine at the council of Nicaea in 325. It is one of several reasons that Judaism rejects Yeshua as the Messiah. The first and greatest of the commandments establishes that “God is one” (one means one. It is singular, not plural) and Yesuha himself believed and taught it.

Mark 12:28 And one of the scribes came, and heard them questioning together, and knowing that he had answered them well, asked him, What commandment is the first of all? 29 Jesus answered, The first is, Hear, O Israel; The Lord our God, the Lord is one: 30 and thou shalt love the Lord thy God with all thy heart, and with all thy soul, and with all thy mind, and with all thy strength. 31 The second is this, Thou shalt love thy neighbor as thyself. There is none other commandment greater than these. 32 And the scribe said unto him, Of a truth, Master, thou hast well said that he is one; and there is none other but he: 33 and to love him with all the heart, and with all the understanding, and with all your strength, and to love his neighbor as himself, is much more than all whole burnt offerings and sacrifices. 34 And when Jesus saw that he answered discreetly, he said unto him, Thou art not far from the kingdom of God.

The Roman Catholic bishops that agreed to that doctrine did so in part because they were under pressure to accept it. The emperor Constantine was in favor of abandoning the teachings of Yeshua and the teachings of his Jewish followers and recreating a new religion more in line with pagan Roman beliefs. Constantine wanted, and got, a paganized religion with a pantheon of gods, a father, a son, a virgin mother and many demi-gods to pray to (saints). This new pagan religion had it’s headquarters in Rome of course, not Jerusalem where YHVH’s Temple had once stood prior to the Romans destroying it and killing thousands of Jews, many of which were followers of Yeshua. This occurred in the year 70 of the current era. 

I point this out to you not to denigrate anyone or their beliefs or their church, YHVH himself will be their judge, not me. But, because I want to establish that Yeshua did not come to start a new religion. Yeshua was a Mosaic Law observant first century Jew. He went to the Temple. He attended synagog. He celebrated the passover with a seder meal and he prayed to and worshiped the God of Abraham (YHVH). He also taught salvation was obtained by repenting of past sins and being obedient to the laws of Moses.

Matthew 4:17 From that time began Jesus to preach, and to say, Repent ye; for the kingdom of heaven is at hand. 

Mark 10:17 Now as Jesus was starting out on his way, someone ran up to him, fell on his knees, and said, “Good teacher, what must I do to inherit eternal life?” 18 Jesus said to him, “Why do you call me good? No one is good except God alone. 19 You know the commandments: ‘Do not murder, do not commit adultery, do not steal, do not give false testimony, do not defraud, honor your father and mother.’” 20 The man said to him, “Teacher, I have wholeheartedly obeyed all these laws since my youth.” 21 As Jesus looked at him, he felt love for him and said, “You lack one thing. Go, sell whatever you have and give the money to the poor, and you will have treasure in heaven. Then come, follow me.” 22 But at this statement, the man looked sad and went away sorrowful, for he was very rich. 23 Then Jesus looked around and said to his disciples, “How hard it is for the rich to enter the kingdom of God!”

The religion of Yeshua isn’t christianity. The religion of Yeshua is the religion of the Covenant made by YHVH to Abraham and the offspring of Abraham. and by God’s own words it will bless all of us. Yeshua did not come to nullify that Covenant but to fulfill it by teaching us its righteous intentions. He taught us that the law was in our hearts and that it is based on love for YHVH and love for our brother and our neighbor. All of this is embodied in the sermon on the mount. Now would be a good time for you to take a pause and read my blog post called “The Sermon” or if you prefer go and read that portion of the gospel found in Matthew chapters 5-7. Now would also be a good time to begin to look closely at some of the other things that Yeshua said and taught.

A lot of things have been taught about Yeshua. But, I think we can agree it would be a good idea to see what he actually taught from his own words and not concentrate so much on the words of others. So, with that idea in mind let’s look at a few things that Yeshua said that are being ignored in favor of other voices.

Yeshua on The Law of Moses,

Matthew 5:17 Think not that I came to destroy the law or the prophets: I came not to destroy, but to fulfil. 18 For verily I say unto you, Till heaven and earth pass away, one jot or one tittle shall in no wise pass away from the law, till all things be accomplished. 19 Whosoever therefore shall break one of these least commandments, and shall teach men so, shall be called least in the kingdom of heaven: but whosoever shall do and teach them, he shall be called great in the kingdom of heaven.

Yeshua on salvation,

Matthew 19:16 Now someone came up to him and said, “Teacher, what good thing must I do to gain eternal life?” 17 He said to him, “Why do you ask me about what is good? There is only one who is good. But if you want to enter into life, keep the commandments.”

Yeshua on those that minister and titles.

Matthew 23:8 But be not ye called Rabbi: for one is your teacher, and all ye are brethren. 9 And call no man your father on the earth: for one is your Father, even he who is in heaven. 10 Neither be ye called masters: for one is your master, even the Christ. 11 But he that is greatest among you shall be your servant. 12 And whosoever shall exalt himself shall be humbled; and whosoever shall humble himself shall be exalted.

Yeshua on your duty to the poor,

Matthew 25:31 But when the Son of man shall come in his glory, and all the angels with him, then shall he sit on the throne of his glory: 32 and before him shall be gathered all the nations: and he shall separate them one from another, as the shepherd separates the sheep from the goats; 33 and he shall set the sheep on his right hand, but the goats on the left.

34 Then shall the King say unto them on his right hand, Come, ye blessed of my Father, inherit the kingdom prepared for you from the foundation of the world: 35 for I was hungry, and ye gave me to eat; I was thirsty, and ye gave me drink; I was a stranger, and ye took me in; 36 naked, and ye clothed me; I was sick, and ye visited me; I was in prison, and ye came unto me. 37 Then shall the righteous answer him, saying, Lord, when saw we thee hungry, and fed thee? or athirst, and gave thee drink? 38 And when saw we thee a stranger, and took thee in? or naked, and clothed thee? 39 And when saw we thee sick, or in prison, and came unto thee? 40 And the King shall answer and say unto them, Verily I say unto you, Inasmuch as ye did it unto one of these my brethren, even these least, ye did it unto me.

41 Then shall he say also unto them on the left hand, Depart from me, ye cursed, into the eternal fire which is prepared for the devil and his angels: 42 for I was hungry, and ye did not give me to eat; I was thirsty, and ye gave me no drink; 43 I was a stranger, and ye took me not in; naked, and ye clothed me not; sick, and in prison, and ye visited me not. 44 Then shall they also answer, saying, Lord, when saw we thee hungry, or athirst, or a stranger, or naked, or sick, or in prison, and did not minister unto thee? 45 Then shall he answer them, saying, Verily I say unto you, Inasmuch as ye did it not unto one of these least, ye did it not unto me. 46 And these shall go away into eternal punishment: but the righteous into eternal life.

Yeshua on money,

Matthew 6:24 “No one can serve two masters, for either he will hate the one and love the other, or he will be devoted to the one and despise the other. You cannot serve God and money.

Yeshua on his own words,

Matthew 24:35 Heaven and earth will pass away, but my words will never pass away.

John 14:24 The person who does not love me does not obey my words. And the word you hear is not mine, but the Father’s who sent me.

John 13:16 truly, truly I say to you, a servants not greater than his lord, nor an apostle greater than he who sent him;

The reason I included the last two passages is that I want to reemphasize that The words Yeshua spoke came directly from the Father and that because they are the words of God they will not change or be superseded by any one else’s words. That includes any Prophet or Apostle that might come after Yeshua.

Yeshua on religious traditions and man made commandments,

Matthew 15:1 Then Pharisees and experts in the law came from Jerusalem to Jesus and said, 2 “Why do your disciples disobey the tradition of the elders? For they don’t wash their hands when they eat.” 3 He answered them, “And why do you disobey the commandment of God because of your tradition? 4 For God said, ‘Honor your father and mother’ and ‘Whoever insults his father or mother must be put to death.’ 5 But you say, ‘If someone tells his father or mother, “Whatever help you would have received from me is given to God,” 6 he does not need to honor his father.’ You have nullified the word of God on account of your tradition. 7 Hypocrites! Isaiah prophesied correctly about you when he said, 8 ‘This people honors me with their lips but their heart is far from me, 9 and they worship me in vain, teaching as doctrines the commandments of men.’”

 The reason I quoted this last passage is to point out that Yeshua did not have an anti Jewish bias. As I pointed out earlier he was an observant Jew himself. What he objected to was the man made traditions that had been added to the Law of Moses. Let me try to explain as best I can. The Rabbis (referred to by Yeshua as the scribes and Pharisees) claimed there was an oral Torah. These were said to be teachings that were handed down to them but not written in the Torah (five Books of Moses Genesis, Exodus, Leviticus, Numbers and Deuteronomy). They claimed these teachings had the same authority as the Torah, as written by the prophet Moses. Yeshua seemed not to agree. He warned his followers as follows,

Matthew 16:6 And Jesus said unto them, Take heed and beware of the leaven of the Pharisees and Sadducees.

I interpret this as meaning to be wary of the influence and teachings of these rabbis.

So, Yeshua did not have any problem with Judaism. But, with what it had become because of the added traditions of men and because it had become an externalized practice or ritual, and not an internalized matter of the heart, which was based on the Love of YHVH and your neighbor. 

Matthew 23:13 But woe unto you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! because ye shut the kingdom of heaven against men: for ye enter not in yourselves, neither suffer ye them that are entering in to enter. 14 Woe unto you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! for ye devour widows houses, even while for a pretense ye make long prayers: therefore ye shall receive greater condemnation. 15 Woe unto you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! for ye compass sea and land to make one proselyte; and when he is become so, ye make him two fold more a son of hell than yourselves. 16 Woe unto you, ye blind guides, that say, Whosoever shall swear by the temple, it is nothing; but whosoever shall swear by the gold of the temple, he is a debtor. 17 Ye fools and blind: for which is greater, the gold, or the temple that hath sanctified the gold? 18 And, Whosoever shall swear by the altar, it is nothing; but whosoever shall swear by the gift that is upon it, he is a debtor. 19 Ye blind: for which is greater, the gift, or the altar that sanctifies the gift? 20 He therefore that swears by the altar, swears by it, and by all things thereon. 21 And he that swears by the temple, swears by it, and by him that dwells therein. 22 And he that swears by the heaven, swears by the throne of God, and by him that sits thereon. 23 Woe unto you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! for ye tithe mint and anise and cummin, and have left undone the weightier matters of the law, justice, and mercy, and faith: but these ye ought to have done, and not to have left the other undone. 24 Ye blind guides, that strain out the gnat, and swallow the camel! 25 Woe unto you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! for ye cleanse the outside of the cup and of the platter, but within they are full from extortion and excess. 26 Thou blind Pharisee, cleanse first the inside of the cup and of the platter, that the outside thereof may become clean also. 27 Woe unto you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! for ye are like unto whited tombs, which outwardly appear beautiful, but inwardly are full of dead men’s bones, and of all uncleanness. 28 Even so ye also outwardly appear righteous unto men, but inwardly ye are full of hypocrisy and iniquity. 29 Woe unto you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! for ye build the tombs of the prophets, and garnish the tombs of the righteous, 30 and say, If we had been in the days of our fathers, we should not have been partakers with them in the blood of the prophets. 31 Wherefore ye witness to yourselves, that ye are sons of them that slew the prophets. 32 Fill ye up then the measure of your fathers. 33 Ye serpents, ye offspring of vipers, how shall ye escape the judgment of hell?

As Yeshua says above, YHVH had sent many prophets to his people Israel to warn them to repent and return to obeying his Law. But, they were not willing. Lastly YHVH sent him. He offered them repentance and restoration. But, he was rejected. Though they rejected him the terms of the covenant do not change as it is an eternal covenant. Salvation is still open to anyone that makes themselves a party to the covenant by repentance, doing works worthy of repentance and obedience to the Law. That is the terms of the covenant and regardless of what anyone else tells you, you must listen to YHVH, His prophets and Yeshua The Prophet. If anyone contradicts one of them then you are free to disregard that person. No future prophet or Apostle or teacher can nullify a single letter of The Law, the prophets or the words of Yeshua. Remember, his words are eternal. There is no new dispensation in which his eternal words are no longer binding.

Matthew 23:37 O Jerusalem, Jerusalem, that killeth the prophets, and stoneth them that are sent unto her! how often would I have gathered thy children together, even as a hen gathereth her chickens under her wings, and ye would not! 38 Behold, your house is left unto you desolate. 39 For I say unto you, Ye shall not see me henceforth, till ye shall say, Blessed is he that cometh in the name of the Lord.

This is enough for now. I hope you will consider this prayerfully. Much of what you have been taught in church has been the traditions of men. The Church just like rabbinical Judaism has become weighted down and impotent because of these man made traditions and doctrines. I hope to continue this series with at least one more post. The implications of what all of this means to followers of Yeshua are astonishing. That is what I hope to concentrate on next.