Don’t Get Tossed Out With the Trash!

Luke 12:5, Killed…cast into hell [Gehenna]. There are two deaths: a physical and a spiritual death. All humans will die a physical death (Heb 9:27), but not everyone will die a second or spiritual death. This death is reserved for the unregenerate wicked and is called the lake of fire (Rev 20:12–15). The Hinnom Valley (Gr. Gehenna) on the west side of Jerusalem was a Hebrew metaphor for the fate of the wicked. The Jews used this valley as a refuse dump, and it was there that the bodies of dead animals and criminals were burned. Literally, at the white throne judgment after having judged the unregenerate wicked, YHVH will cast them into his spiritual garbage dump to be burned up (Rev 20:11–15).

 

Nuggets from Luke 9—Some Things to Think About

It is my hope and prayer that these spiritual gold nuggets or pearls from Luke chapter nine, which are examples from Yeshua’s life, will bless your day and help to energize your upward look and to focus on the big picture, heavenly perspective on life.

Luke 9:1–2, Gave them power. (See also Luke 10:19.) Spiritual power and authority over demons and sickness is manifested in no greater way than when exercised in conjunction with the preaching of the gospel. It is here on the ragged edge between the kingdoms of light and darkness that YHVH wishes to demonstrate his power most through his servants in an effort to draw outsiders into his spiritual kingdom. Healing from sickness and deliverance from demonic powers is a great enticement for those on the outside to become part of YHVH’s kingdom where they will experience freedom resulting in joy,  peace and hope.

Luke 9:41, Faithless and perverse. Faithlessness and perversity go hand-in-hand with the ability to cast out demons and to heal the sick. To the degree that one is faithful to and has faith in YHVH and his Word and is in sync with it is the degree to which will be able to exercise power over demon spirits and sickness.

Luke 9:46–48, Be greatest. The passions of the flesh like a weed with a deep taproot are always ready to rise up even after the most spiritually elevating moments. That’s why Yeshua urges his disciples to stay humble like little children, so this won’t occur.

Luke 9:49–50, He who is not against us. Yeshua is so beyond and above man-made barriers, delimitations, cliques, labels, denominational constraints and the like. We must always endeavor to emulate the magnanimous heart of Yeshua and give credit where it is due regardless of whether the other party is of our particular stripe and flavor or not. YHVH is always one to judge individuals according to righteous judgment by looking at the heart of the matter, and not simply at the outward appearance of things, which is often deceiving and belies the true nature of a thing.

Luke 9:51–56, Steadfastly set his face. Yeshua’s disciples must discern the spiritual times and seasons. Yeshua was steadfastly determined to go to Jerusalem to fulfill his spiritual destiny, and was thusly disinclined to be distracted by side issues including ministry opportunities that would present themselves to him while en route to Jerusalem. His disciples failed to recognize the importance of his mission and its goal, and were thus offended when the Samaritans failed to give Yeshua the attention they felt he as a dignitary was due. It, however, was not YHVH’s will for Yeshua to become sidetracked in the Samaritan village, and, as such, it was no problem for Yeshua to pass it by without having his feathers ruffled by their cold reception, since it didn’t matter anyway, for Yeshua was on a more important mission.

Luke 9:56, But to save. Everything Yeshua did imparted the spirit of life to those around him. The spirit of death didn’t taint anything he did. If he spoke harshly, corrected or rebuked anyone, it was done out of love and for the greater good of pulling down those spiritual strongholds that were causing death, so that the light of life and truth could pierce and sweep away the darkness thus allowing spiritual life to be birthed in its place. Let us follow his example in all that we do say and think and in all of our encounters with those around us.

Luke 9:58–59, The Son of Man. Yeshua was detached from nearly all earthly cares, so that he could exclusively focus on his divine mission to redeem men. Had he been burdened with having to care for a wife, children, a home and the other typical things humans have to deal with to sustain their lives, it’s unlikely that Yeshua would have been able to fulfill his mission. If we want to follow Yeshua, bigger and more (physically-speaking) isn’t necessarily better, for it demands time and effort to maintain, which takes one away from following Yeshua unreservedly and without the strings of this physical life hold us down.

Luke 9:62, Looking back. Followers of Yeshua must be forward-looking, and not longing for the things of the past life such as the children of Israel who longed for the food of Egypt, or Lot’s wife who longed for her home and family members left behind in Sodom.

Stay tuned, there are more nuggets to come…

 

Yeshua on Self-Promoting, Self-Appointed Leaders and Teachers

Luke 6:40, Perfectly/fully trained. Those disciples of Yeshua the Master-Teacher who are properly trained, fit out, prepared or equipped can become like Yeshua the Master-Teacher. Those who aren’t properly equipped or trained to teach are like the blind leading the blind and will cause others to fall into a spiritual ditch (Luke 6:39).

Those who aren’t properly trained not only will be like a blind man leading the blind, but will also be hypocritical in his judgments and assessments of things. This is because he lacks the experience, wisdom and skills to be able to point out the faults of others because he is still inexperienced and has too many blind spots himself and is still like the blind leading the blind (Luke 6:41–42).

This is why Paul very carefully lays out the qualifications for those in spiritual leadership in the local congregation. A spiritual leader was not to be an inexperienced individual, a new convert or a novice (1 Tim 3:6), but well-discipled in YHVH’s truth before hand (Tit 1:9).

Paul says that it is good thing for a man to desire to be a spiritual leader (1 Tim 3:1), but it isn’t a good thing if he doesn’t meet the criteria or qualifications, which Paul then lays out (1 Tim 3:2–13).

The problem is that in our day, there are many individuals who desire to be leaders and teachers, who are self-appointed, and who have not been perfectly or fully trained. Since the advent of the internet, such people now have an easily accessible pulpit-platform from which to influence others. Sadly, they are like the blind hypocrite in Yeshua’s parable leading many astray and causing many to stumble and to fall into spiritual ditches of false doctrines and errant teachings.

Just because someone has a website, a YouTube channel, has published a book, spoken at a conference, has academic credentials or been on radio and television doesn’t mean they have been perfectly equipped or fully trained for the position of Bible teacher or a spiritual leader in the spiritual body of Yeshua.

We may not always know what a person’s background or qualifications are, but the spiritual fruit they produce, whether good or bad, can be an excellent indicator as to what type of spiritual tree they are, as Yeshua goes on to say in the next verses (Luke 6:43–45).

Those who sense a divine calling on their lives to teach or to lead YHVH’s people need to be first discipled and raised up by older and mature, wise spiritual leaders who have a proven track record of good spiritual fruit. This is the biblical way!

 

What was John the Baptist really preaching? A Lesson for Us…

John the Baptist was no politically correct, mealy-mouthed, sissified, panty-waist, Ahab-ized preacher! He grew up outside the religious system so that his perspective and preaching wouldn’t be jaded when it came to calling those inside the system to repentance. We need more preachers like him today!

Luke 3:7–17, Then he said to the multitudes. What’s really going on in this exchange between John the Baptist and the religious folks of his day? Let’s step back and look at the bigger picture.

The multitudes of Jews had to make the long, hot and arduous journey through the Judean mountains down to the Jordan River, which was the lowest spot on earth, to hear John the Baptist who was the latest fad preacher to come on the scene. However, when they arrived at his lonely wilderness pulpit, instead of stroking their egos by complimenting them for their religious zeal, he excoriates them and calls them a brood of vipers. John confronts them when he says that if they don’t repent, the fires of YHVH’s judgment will consume them (John 3:7–9). John’s preaching pierces their hearts, and lays them low spiritually, and they ask him what he expects them to do (John 3:10). John then preaches a message of social justice involving giving to the poor, being fair and honest in your business dealings, and if you’re a government worker, treating the citizens you serve with respect (John 3:11–14).

Interestingly, he doesn’t instruct these religious Jews in what many might consider to be the specificities and dos and don’ts of the Torah-law, although it could be reasoned that Continue reading

 

Blind Guides: “The Law of YHVH” Vs. “the Law of Moses”

Luke 2:24, Law of the Lord/YHVH. This phrase is found only three times in the NT—here and in verses. 24 and 39. The same phrase is additionally found 18 times in the Tanakh and obviously refers to the Torah (e.g. Pss 1:1; 19:7; 119:1).

The phrase the law of Moses is found a similar number of times in the Bible: 15 times in the Tanakh and seven times in the NT. Obviously the phrases the law of YHVH and the law of Moses are synonymous terms in that they refer to the same thing: the Written Torah. From obvious meanings of these two terms, we learn that YHVH Elohim is the divine source or origination of the Torah, while Moses was the one who wrote it down and as the leader of the nation of Israel, he administered it.

It is interesting, if not ironic, how the mainstream church chronically refers to the Torah as “the law of Moses,” when Scripture refers to the it as “the Torah of YHVH” the same number of times less one. The church system’s choice of one term over the other seems to reveal, sadly, its apathy, if not, at times, its outright antipathy, toward YHVH’s Torah. This furthermore underscores the truth of Paul’s words in Rom 8:7 about the carnal mind of man being at enmity with the laws of Elohim in that it refuses to be subject to them.

Praise be to YHVH that more and more people are waking up to the truth of the Bible and breaking through the barriers that churchianity has constructed to keep men from the full counsel of YHVH’s Word!

 

No Ordinary Sheep!

Luke 2:8, Shepherds living out in the fields. According to the Mishnah (a rabbinic Jewish legal-historical document from the end of the second century AD), these were no ordinary sheep or shepherds, but were shepherds who watched over sheep that were destined to become burnt offerings, peace offerings and the Passover offering for the temple service in Jerusalem (Mishnah Sheq 7:4; The Life and Times of Jesus the Messiah, by Alfred Edersheim, pp. 132–133).

Such sheep were kept in the environs of Jerusalem including Bethlehem which lies just five miles south of that city. These sheep were apparently kept outdoors all year round. Presumably they were carefully watched over to keep them safe from incurring any blemish that might render them unusable for the temple service.

Imagine the spiritual and prophetic significance of heaven’s angelic messenger revealing to these shepherds the birth in Bethlehem of the spotless and sin-free Lamb of Elohim who was destined to be sacrificed from the beginning of the world (Rev 13:8; John 1:29; 2 Cor 5:21; 1 Pet 2:22; 1 John 3:5).

The angel announced that this newborn child was YHVH the Messiah (Isa 53:1; Christ the Lord)—the Savior (Luke 2:8 cp. Isa 53:6, 10–11). He once and for all would take away the sins of the world (Heb 10:10, 12), thus rendering their jobs as temple shepherds unnecessary.

 

Was Yeshua of both Davidic (Jewish) and priestly lineage?

Luke 1:36, Elizabeth your relative. While Mary was of the royal lineage of David through her father, she also was a relative on her mother’s side of Elizabeth, the priest-wife of Zacharias, who was a daughter of Aaron (Luke 1:5).  In Matthew one and Luke three two different genealogies are given for Yeshua, both of which  go back to King David. One is presumed to be that of Joseph and the other is that of Mary. In this way, Yeshua was a direct descendant of David legally through Joseph, his step-father, and genetically through Mary, his mother. Does this mean that Mary was of priestly as well as Davidic lineage. Yes, but not patrilineally, only matrilineally. In the Scriptures, tribal lineage was determined through the father’s family line and not the mother’s.

In the case of Mary and Elizabeth, they would have shared common grandparents making them cousins. Their grandfather would have been a priest. In the case of Elizabeth, her father—the son of her priestly grandfather—would have carried the priestly line making her a daughter of Aaron (Luke 1:5). In the case of Mary, her mother would have been her priestly grandfather’s daughter meaning that she was of priestly lineage, but not her children, unless she married a priest.

It seems that Yeshua would have carried priestly blood in his genes, but he was legally a priest through patrilineal descent. To be sure, Yeshua was a priest, but not one of Aaronic lineage, but after the order of Melchizedek, which was the priesthood of the firstborn son passed on generationally. Yeshua was the first born son of Elohim eternally, which is why he is presently at the right hand of Elohim acting as our Great High Priest (Heb 1:3 cp. 3:1; 4:4; 8:1).

Therefore, Mary laid claim to a Davidic as well as a priestly lineage (Jesus the Messiah, by Edersheim, p. 105). This means that Yeshua was not only of direct Davidic lineage, but was of priestly lineage as well.