Tag Archives: Luke

Did Yeshua Allow His Disciples to Eat Anything?

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Luke 10:8, Eat such things.  Does this passage give believers the freedom or even enjoin them to eat whatever is placed before them if, for example, they are in someone else’s home even if the food is non-kosher?

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Understanding context is vital to understanding the true meaning of the Scriptures. When verses are taken out of context they can not only lose their meaning, but can take on an entirely different meaning to the writer’s original intent.

As Hebrew roots teacher Dr. Daniel Botkin points out in an article entitled God’s Dietary Laws: Abolished in the New Testament?,

“Yeshua spoke these words when he sent out the seventy. These were seventy Torah-observant Jews who followed a Torah-observant Rabbi. … Rabbi Yeshua had told his disciples, ‘Go not into the way of the Gentiles, and into any city of the Samaritans enter ye not; but go rather to the lost sheep of the house of Israel,’ (Matt 10:6).

“It is obvious from this statement that the disciples would be lodging in Torah-observant Jewish homes, where the kosher laws were followed. It is ridiculous to suppose that the disciples might have been offered a pork chop in one of these Jewish homes. Even if this very unlikely possibility had occurred, the disciples would have had enough sense to know that this is not what their Master meant when he said to ‘eat such things as are set before you.’ He simply meant to be content with the food which your host provided” (Gates of Eden magazine, Nov.–Dec. 1997 issue).

Though similar to Yeshua’s passage, Paul’s passage in 1 Corinthians 10:27 has an entirely different context. The issue here is not clean versus unclean meat (e.g. beef versus pork), but meat (e.g. beef) that was sacrificed to idols that was later sold to the public in the meat markets of Greek cities (for context read 1 Cor 10:19–29).

Botkin points out that four times in the Testimony of Yeshua believers are forbidden to eat meat sacrificed to idols (Acts 15:20; 21:25; Rev 2:14, 20), yet the dilemma was that when one bought meat in the public markets it was not known whether it had been sacrificed to idols first or not. So for conscience sake Paul instructed the Corinthian believers to buy the meat and to not ask about its origination (1 Cor 10:25). However, if a person knew that it was meat sacrificed to idols (1 Cor 10:28) for their own conscience sake and that of others who might be watching them then they were not to eat of it (ibid.).

The same principle applied to those eating in someone’s house as a guest. If one knew that the meat was offered to an idol then they were forbidden to eat it. However, if they did not know, then it was not necessary to ask. Again, it was not a matter of clean or unclean meats (i.e., beef versus pork), but whether meat had been sacrificed to idols or not.

 

Designer Labels of the Pharisees

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Luke 7:36–37, The Pharisees… a woman… who was a sinner. The name Pharisee itself tells much about this sect or denomination within the first-century religious Jewish landscape. It derives from the Hebrew word perushim meaning “separatist,” and was born out of the fact that Pharisees didn’t associate with Am Ha-Eretz  or the common people (Yeshua: a Guide to the Real Jesus and the Original Church, p. 86, by Ron Mosely), who in their view who were impure by the standards of the Levitical law (The Jewish Background of the New Testament, p. 203, by J. Julius Scott Jr.), and their high standards of holiness (Mosely, p 86).

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Acting like an elite religious fraternity (The Sketches of Jewish Life, p. 208, by Alfred Edersheim), the Pharisees were known for their strict observance of the Torah or the law of Moses, as well as numerous additional laws or “traditions of the elders” that were added to the Torah along the way (From the Maccabeees to the Mishnah, p. 149, by Shaye J. D. Cohen; Scott, pp, 206–207; Edersheim, p. 217).

Though this sect probably numbered only 6,000 at the time of Yeshua (Cohen, p. 146), they wielded a great deal of power and influence in Jewish society, since they were viewed as the most accurate interpreters of the Torah (Scott, p. 203; Mosely, p. 92), and they were the leaders and teachers of the masses in the local synagogues (Cohen, pp. 147, 148).

For the Pharisee, personal holiness was a badge of honor. To remain a member of this elite sect, one was required to maintain a high standard of holiness relating to tithing, piety, cleanliness and ritual purity, or one would face demotion within the social status of this community, or worse yet, face excommunication and shunning (Mosely, p. 86).

It can be safe to say that the Pharisaic religious system promoted an elitist and holier-than-thou religious demeanor among many of its members who hyper-focused on legalism and religious form and trappings. The result was “a system of pure externalism, which often contravened the spirit of those very ordinances, the letter of which was slavishly worshipped” resulting in hypocrisy (Edersheim, p. 217).

For these reasons, this may be why the woman in Luke 7:37 was labeled as a sinner. It wasn’t that she was a sinner any more than anyone else, but that she was not part of any recognized religious sect that labeled her as being righteous as opposed to being a sinner. Because she was probably outside of the accepted religious system of her day, she was automatically given the label of a sinner. In our day, this would be like a church-going Christian viewing a non-church going person as a heathen.

The problem is this. Can we know for certain the condition of a person’s heart and their relationship with the Almighty simply because of their external religious involvements? This is what Yeshua is addressing in this passage—the condition of the heart. To Yeshua, the woman who was labeled as a sinner was much more righteous, in a certain sense, than those of the most preeminent religious club of the day. Look at her humble and repentant demeanor at the feet of Yeshua!

Yeshua was known for shining the sharp light of truth on a situation and then turning that situation on its head. The end result was that those who thought they were in first place spiritually, were now in last place, and those who were in last place were first. This gives added meaning to Yeshua’s words, “In the regeneration, when the Son of Man sits on the throne of his glory…many who are first will be last, and the last first” (Matthew 19:28–30).

 

Can You Heal All the People All the Time?

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Can you heal all the people all the time, or just some of the people some of the time? That’s the questions we’ll answer today from the example of Yeshua’s healing activities as recorded in the Gospels.

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Luke 5:17, The power [Gr. dumanis] of YHVH was present. Let’s explore the healing activities of Yeshua.The Greek word dunamis means “strength, power, ability” or as often used in the Testimony of Yeshua, “miraculous power.” This is an interesting statement pertaining to the dynamics of Yeshua’s healing activities. Did Yeshua heal all people all the time, or only when the power of Elohim was present for him to do so? This verse, at least in this case, would indicate the latter. Elsewhere, we read that Yeshua “healed many that were sick” (Mark 1:34), but not all that were sick. On other occasions, the Gospels record indicates that Yeshua did in fact heal all the sick who were brought to him (Matt 4:23–25; 9:35; Luke 6:19).

The Gospels reveal some other interesting facts about Yeshua’s healing activities that we often pass over. On at least one occasions, Yeshua prayed to heal someone and they were only partially healed. After he prayed for them the second time, they were completely healed (Mark 8:22–25).

Often Yeshua healed people after he was “moved with compassion [love and pity]” for someone who was sick (Matt 14:14; Mark 1:41; Luke 7:13–15). The Greek word for compassion, literally means “to be moved in one’s bowels,” or in the deepest areas of one’s emotions.

Some people simply touched Yeshua’s clothing as he was walking by, and the miraculous power (Gr. dunamis) of Elohim flowed from him and healed them (Matt 9:20; Mark 6:56; Luke 8:44 cp. Luke 6:19).

Elsewhere, it appears that Yeshua’s healing activities were hampered by the presence of those who ridiculed him and exhibited doubt and unbelief, which is why, on one occasion, he put the unbelievers out of the room and closed the door behind them when he raised the little girl from the dead (Mark 5:40–42).

Similarly, in his hometown of Nazereth, Yeshua “could do no mighty works there” except for healing a few sick people, “because of their [the townspeople’s] unbelief” (Mark 6:5–6; also Matt 13:58). Matthew’s account adds that the people of Nazareth were offended (literally, scandalized) by Yeshua, or that they stumbled over (or judged unfavorably, distrusted) Yeshua. Because of their low esteem for him, they lacked the faith to receive healing, which is why he healed so few people in that town.

The Bible reveals that the miracle of healing is still for today, and that not only were Yeshua’s disciples of old given the power and authority to heal the sick, but that his disciples nowadays can do the same thing (Mark 16:18; 1 Cor 12:9; Jas 5:14–16). In fact, many of us have received many miraculous healings during the course of our walk with Yeshua. Maybe I’ll tell you about some of mine someday. I’m literally a walking miracle!

 

Cut the Religiosity. Just Be Nice!

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

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Multitudes had made the long, hot and arduous journey down through the Judean mountains 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 and tells them 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 now laid low spiritually, they ask him what he expects them to do (John 3:10). John then preaches a message of social justice—give to the poor, be fair and honest in your business dealings, and if you’re a government worker, treat 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 more weightier matters of the Torah-law.  He doesn’t tell them to punctiliously start observing the 613 commandments of the Torah, and, by the way, to stop working on the Sabbath, stop eating pork, to toss their Christmas tree in the dumpster, grow a beard, put on a tassel and head-covering, and to say “Yeshua” instead of “Jesus.” He’s basically telling them to go back to the basics—something they either never learned to do or they forgot along the way. He’s really saying,  “Just be nice to your neighbor.” Be fair, honest, loving and caring in your dealings with their fellow man. And then John points them to Yeshua the Messiah who is soon to become the new star on the Judean preaching scene (Luke 3:16–17). So be nice and follow Yeshua—the most loving Person of all.

When witnessing to people, what is our approach? Do we bang them over the head with the Torah scroll and tell them all the religious things that they need to start doing, or do we tell them simply to love one another and to follow Yeshua?

But there’s more. Continue reading →

 

Shepherds Outstanding in Their Field

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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).

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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 he 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.

 

New Wine… New Wineskins

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Matthew 9:17, New wine… new wineskins. Sadly, the translation as found in most of our English Bibles —“New wine into old wineskins… new wine into new wineskins”— is a muddy translation from the Koine Greek, and therefore doesn’t give us the proper understanding of Yeshua’s words. Here is the verse from Matthew 9:17 with the Greek words following in parenthesis:

Neither do men put new (neos) wine into old bottles: else the bottles break, and the wine runneth out, and the bottles perish: but they put new (neos) wine into new (kainos) bottles, and both are preserved. (KJV)

In English, the word “new” can mean “brand new, never been used before” or it can mean “new to you, although it may have been used by someone else.” It can also mean “renewed, reconditioned new.” In Koine Greek, there are two words for our one word “new”. They are neos and kainos.

The Greek word neos means new as in brand new. The Greek word kainos means new in the sense that something is “renewed or reconditioned,” so it‘s not brand new.

Both Mark and Luke in their accounts use kainos in the same way Matthew does in his account (Mark 2:22; Luke 5:38).

This verse would have been better translated as:

Neither do men put new (neos) wine into old bottles: else the bottles break, and the wine runneth out, and the bottles perish: but they put new (neos) wine into reconditioned (kainos) bottles, and both are preserved.

Stern captures this meaning in his Complete Jewish Bible where he translates kainos as “freshly prepared wineskins.” J. P. Green in his Bible translates kainos as “fresh.”

Interestingly, Luke adds a statement that the other two Gospel writers (see Matt 9:17 and Mark 2:22) omit:

And no one, having drunk the old wine, immediately desires new; for he says, “The old is better.” (Luke 5:39)

What is the meaning of this? One commentator states that in ancient times, aged wine (i.e., being fully fermented, and thus having a higher alcohol content) was generally preferred over new wine (not fully fermented, thus having a lower alcohol content). He suggests that Yeshua is probably indicating why the religious people were objecting to the joy of Yeshua’s disciples (verse 33): because it was something new (The IVP Bible Background Commentary, p. 203, by Craig Keener). So depending on the context of Yeshua’s usage of the new/old wine analogy, sometimes the new is better, sometimes the old is better.

 

Blog Scripture Readings for 3/4–3/10/12

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Exodus 15–21; 2 Kings 7–20; Luke 20–24 and John 1–2

Most of this week’s blog discussion points will be on these passages. The full year’s Bible Reading Schedule can be found on the right sidebar under “Helpful Links.”

If you have general comments or questions on the weekly Scripture readings not addressed in a blog post, here’s a place for you to post those. Just use the “leave a reply” link below.