Tag Archives: John

The Spirit of Elohim Energizes our Spirit to Keep the Torah

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John 14:16, Another helper/Comforter.

At the end of his ministry, Yeshua promised his disciples to send them his Holy Spirit or Comforter after he had left earth (John 14:16). He declares that his Holy Spirit would dwell in them (John 14:17), would testify of him (John 15:26), would convict the world of sin (or Torahlessess, John 16:8), would guide them into all truth (i.e., Torah, see Ps 119:142,151), would tell them things to come (John 16:13), and would glorify the Son and speak to them on behalf of the Son (John 16:14).

Bright idea

How, therefore, does the Spirit of Elohim interact with man? Man is a three-part being: body, soul and spirit (1 Thess 5:23). The body is the physical part of man, the soul is the personality or beingness of man (his mind, will and emotions), and his spirit is the part of man that points him God-ward, and that, once spiritually regenerated and enlightened by the Spirit of Elohim, connects us to Elohim. Man must come to the Father by way of his spirit (John 4:23–24). The Father reveals his spiritual mysteries to man by his Holy Spirit to the spiritually regenerated spirit in man (2 Cor 2:6–16).

There are numerous scriptures that attest to the fact that at the time of our spiritual rebirth (a.k.a. conversion, regeneration, redemption or salvation), YHVH activates our spirit with his Spirit, thus allowing us to enter into a spiritual relationship or communion with him. This is important to know, since man can’t properly obey Elohim out of his soul (the mind, the will and the emotions) alone without the leading of his spirit. Taken to the next step, man Continue reading →

 

Foot Washing—An Act of Loving Service

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John 13:8, You will never wash. Peter rejected Yeshua’s washing his feet not because of human obstinateness, but because of his honor for Yeshua. Washing the feet of one’s guests was an act of hospitality on the part of a host and was usually performed by a servant, not the host. Peter considered it to be demeaning for the Master to be performing the task of a servant, yet this is exactly what Yeshua was attempting to demonstrate. As the Messiah, he came to lay down his life in loving service for his disciples and not to be served (Matt 20:28; John 10:15; 15:13). Yeshua then made the point that his disciples should following his example in serving one another (vv. 12–17).

Footwashing 16957924

 

What is Yeshua worth to you?

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John 12:5, Three hundred denarii. This large sum is equal to 300 days’ wages for a common laborer. (See notes at Matt 18:24.)

A Roman silver denarius coin

A Roman silver denarius coin

To the natural mind, Judas’ objection to the use of this expensive spice (worth between $30,000 and $50,000 in today’s money) to anoint someone’s feet seems illogical and a total waste. By contrast, from our perspective, we can look backwards historically with perfect 20–20 hindsight and realize that for Yeshua, the Messiah and Savior of the world, he was worth every penny of the spikenard and much more. Yet, from the perspective of Yeshua’s followers, Yeshua’s true identity and mission still weren’t clear. This confusion wouldn’t clear up until after his resurrection and glorification (v. 16). So for some of them, Mary’s act of faith in anointing Yeshua’s feet with a year’s wages of spice seemed to be illogical folly.

This spice, most likely was originally intended for use on Lazarus’ body, whom Yeshua had just resurrected and so was no longer needed for that purpose, at least. It is likely that it was out of gratefulness for resurrecting her brother that Mary performed this act of love and devotion to Yeshua, not realizing that her actions were prophetic in that she was pre-anointing Yeshua’s body for his own burial ten days from that night (v. 7).

Now let us consider the following. We know that YHVH Elohim the Father gave us his greatest love gift by sending Yeshua, his Son, to this earth to live, die and resurrect for our redemption and ultimate glorification (John 3:16). How much do we love Yeshua, and what is the greatest gift we could ever give him, even if those around us thought we were crazy to do so? Have you given him all your heart? Does all that you own belong to him including your life? Would you give away all of your possessions in devotion to him if he asked it of you? Would you literally lay your life down for him as he did for you? How much do you love Yeshua?

 

The Christians are almost right about who Yeshua is!

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Please note: When I first posted this article, I titled it, “The Christians are right about who Yeshua is!” Then I had a second thought, and changed the title to “The Christians are ALMOST right about who Yeshua is!” Here’s why I added the word “almost”:

The Christians are right about the deity, incarnation, virgin birth and his atonement death on the cross. They aren’t right, however, in recognizing him to the the “God” of the Old Testament who gave the Torah-law to the Israelites. Most believe that this was the Father.

When I wrote the first title, I was thinking about the first part of what I say above. When I changed the title adding the word “almost” I was thinking about the second part of what I say above.   Natan

John 1:1, The Word was Elohim. Is Yeshua or the Father the God (Elohim) of the Old Testament (Tanakh)? For many believers in Yeshua, there is confusion as to who it was in the Godhead who interacted with the Israelites in the Tankah. Was it the Father or the Son? In the minds of the apostolic writers, there was no confusion about this. Yeshua, in his preincarnate state, was the One that YHVH Elohim the Father used to both create (John 1:3; Col 1:16; Heb 11:3), and then to interact with mankind. He was the Word of YHVH Elohim, the Father, who become flesh and dwelt among men (verse 14). This truth is easily confirmed in several passages in the Testimony of Yeshua (New Testament).

Powerful Healing Vortex

First, Yeshua himself claims to be YHVH or the I Am of the burning bush (see John 8:58 cp. Exod 3:14). The Jews viewed Yeshua’s claim to be deity as blasphemous, which is why they picked up stones to kill him (John 8:59). Next, Yeshua in declaring to the Jewish religious leaders that “I send you prophets, wise men and scribes: some you will kill…” (Matt 23:34), he is claiming the rights and prerogatives of YHVH — a right and role that Continue reading →

 

The Sons of Thunder — There’s more to this nickname than you thought!

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Mark 3:16–17, Surnamed Peter … sons of thunder. Yeshua chose twelve apostles, but the first three of the twelve that he chose were unique. This trio—Peter, James and John—formed the innermost circle of Yeshua’s associates, and ten times the Scriptures record their names together, as a group. Beyond that, Yeshua spoke prophetically over each one which, we can now see in retrospect, pertained to the calling he was giving them to canonize what would later become known as the New Testament. Let’s now examine the scriptural evidence for this assertion.

James and John — the Sons of Thunder

James and John — the Sons of Thunder

To Simon, Yeshua gave the nickname Peter, which means “a stone” (Gr. petros meaning “stone” as opposed to petra meaning “rock, cliff, ledge, large stone.” See Matthew 16:18 where juxtaposes these two words — the former he attributes to Peter, the latter to himself.

To James and John, the two sons of Zebedee, he gave the nickname Sons of Thunder (Aram. Boanerges). Did you ever wonder why he dubbed only these three disciples with sobriquets and not the others? Was Yeshua just having fun and playing games, or was he declaring over them, in these nicknames, what their prophetic mission was to be years later? “These are the original apostles who were given distinctive titles by [the Messiah] in order to convey some special assignments that they were expected to complete. Peter Continue reading →

 

Who was the God of the Old Testament?

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John 1:1, The Word was Elohim. Is Yeshua or the Father the God (Elohim) of the Old Testament (Tanakh)? For many believers in Yeshua, there is confusion as to who it was in the Godhead who interacted with the Israelites in the Tankah. Was it the Father or the Son? In the minds of the apostolic writers, there was no confusion about this.

Yeshua, in his preincarnate state, was the One that YHVH Elohim the Father used to both create (John 1:3; Col 1:16; Heb 11:3), and then to interact with mankind. He was the Word of YHVH Elohim, the Father, who become flesh and dwelt among men (verse 14). This truth is easily confirmed in several passages in the Testimony of Yeshua (New Testament).

First, Yeshua himself claims to be YHVH or the I Am of the burning bush (see John 8:58 cp. Exod 3:14). The Jews viewed Yeshua’s claim to be deity as blasphemous, which is why they picked up stones to kill him (John 8:59). Next, Yeshua in declaring to the Jewish religious leaders that “I send you prophets, wise men and scribes: some you will kill…” (Matt 23:34), he is claiming the rights and prerogatives of YHVH — a right and role that solely belonged to YHVH in the Tanakh.

Yeshua also declared that no man has seen the face of Elohim the Father (John 5:37). Yet Continue reading →

 

From the Archives: Chanukah or Christmas, Neither or Both?

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Since tonight begins the first day of Hanukkah, I thought it would be appropriate to direct you to an article that I wrote for this blog last year on Chanukah (or Hannukah) and Christmas. In this post, I contrast the two holidays and show how Christmas is about syncretism with paganism, while Hanukkah takes a stand against it. At the same time, and on the positive side, both holidays have the idea of light as their theme, which points to Yeshua the Messiah as the Light of this world. Read more about this at

http://hoshanarabbah.org/blog/2012/12/08/chanukah-or-christmas/