Tag Archives: Sabbath

Yeshua in the War Zone — A Template for Ministry

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Mark 1–3

It is interesting to note the order of events as Yeshua was launching his ministry. He was about to enter a war zone!

After John baptized Yeshua and he received his heavenly empowerment, he first went through a spiritual boot camp before stepping onto the battlefield of public ministry. Once in the “war,” it’s worth noting where the battle lines fell.

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  • His spiritual boot camp was the wilderness where he fasted for forty days and nights to get his body, soul and spirit, and his mind, will and emotions in sync with the will of his Father in heaven (Mark 1:12–15).
  • His first battle was an internal one. The devil tested him in three areas: his body, soul and spirit, or, to put it another way, the lust of the flesh, the lust of the eyes and the pride of life (Mark 1:13). After overcoming himself and submitting to the will of his Father, he was now ready to launch into the war zone of public ministry.
  • His mission was to preach the message of the gospel of the kingdom of Elohim and repentance from sin (i.e. Torahlessness, 1 John 3:4; Mark 1:14–15).
  • Next he chose his cadre of spiritual warriors — his “army”— the twelve disciples (Mark 1:16–20).
  • Where better to start proclaiming the gospel message than in the local synagogue on the Sabbath (Mark 1:21)? After all, the religious folks there should be overjoyed to hear this good news, fresh message from heaven. Right? Continue reading →
 

If Yeshua Is Lord of the Sabbath, Did He Break It?

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Matthew 12:1–14, On the Sabbath. (See also Mark 2:23–28; also see note on John 5:18.) From this passage, many Christians reason that since Yeshua is the Lord of the Sabbath, it was therefore permissible for him to break it. Does this passage substantiate this line of reasoning from Hebraic thought? Let’s examine this issue.

Sabbath 3 33398107 This scripture teaches us that there are levels of Torah laws, and some laws take precedence over others. For example, the priests technically violated the Sabbath during the tabernacle and temple service, but were guiltless because Torah commanded them to do certain things on the Shabbat that otherwise would have been forbidden. The Talmud explains this by saying that whenever a positive commandment and a negative commandment contradict, the positive commandment takes precedence over or supersedes the negative one (b. Shabbat 133a). What Yeshua is teaching in this passage is that the temple service trumps the Sabbath, and human need or saving life (the ox-in-the-ditch scenario) trumps the temple service. This view is confirmed by the Jewish sages (b. Yoma 85b). In verse six, when Yeshua said, Continue reading →

 

No Forgiveness for Willful Sin—OUCH!

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Numbers 15:27–31, Two types of sin are delineated in this passage. They are the sin of ignorance and the sin of presumption (i.e., willful sinning, or literally, “sinning with a high hand”). For the first sin there is an offering or atonement. For the second sin, the penalty is death as illustrated by the example of the Sabbath-breaker in verses 32–36. It is interesting to note that breaking the Sabbath is the example the Torah uses to illustrate willful or presumptuous sin. Why is this? Likely, YHVH in his prescience realized that Sabbath observance would be a great bone of contention and point of struggle for his people. Indeed, even to this day, the idea of resting on the seventh day Sabbath still raises the antagonism of many in the church.

Who me???

Who me???

Numbers 15:30–36, The person who does anything presumptuously. Here we see an example of presumptuous sin with regard to the Sabbath. Presumptuous sinners despise the Torah-commands in YHVH’s Word thinking themselves to be above the laws of Elohim thus refusing to be ruled by it. The act of gathering the sticks on the Sabbath was an affront both to the law and the Lawgiver (Henry, p. 133).

Here are some word definitions:

  • Presume means “to assume, to undertake without leave or clear justification, dare.”
  • Presumptuous means “audacity; overstepping due bounds, taking liberties.”

The Hebrew word for presume is ruwm (Strong’s H7311) meaning “to rise up, be high, be lofty, be exalted, to exalt oneself, magnify oneself, to be rotten, and to be wormy.”

Reflect on your own life. Are there areas of disobedience of which you need to repent? Many times we sin out of human weakness, not willful disobedience. Can such sin, if not eliminated, lead to presumptuous sin? Can we become so callous to sin that we become brazen and willful? Paul talks about those whose consciences have become seared (1 Tim 4:2). What does this mean? In the Testimony of Yeshua, willful or presumptuous sin is often known in common parlance as the unpardonable sin. Note what the writer of Hebrews has to say about this (see Heb 6:6–7 and 10:26–31).

 

Shabbat Shalom from the Ghost Forest on the Oregon Coast

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shabbat_shalom_coast My wife Sandi and I are spending the weekend at the world class scenic Oregon Coast, which is about an hour-and-a-half drive from our home. Today, Shabbat, is our anniversary. Twenty-two years and four children ago, we were married on this day.

From one of my business clients, we have rented their beach home that overlooks the mighty Pacific Ocean.

As the sun was setting, from the picture window of the house, I saw some cool light patterns on the beach, so I quickly put on my boots and donned my heavy jacket and headed down to the edge of the ocean where I snapped this photo.

Interestingly, the stumps sticking up out of the sand are a story unto themselves. They are a unique geological feature that is known as the Neskowin Ghost Forest. You can Google this and read about it. In brief, these tree trunks aren’t driftwood or old pier pilings. Rather, they are the remnants of an old Sitka Spruce forest that 1700 years ago sat perched on a knoll just above the beach. Due to an earthquake, the bank slipped into the beach area and the trees were submerged under water and sand where they were preserved until about 15 years ago. At that time, some violent storms eroded the sand away from these old trees exposing them for the first time.

Some of these now barnacle-encrusted spruce trees were originally six feet in diameter. I found one stump on the beach that is still about five feet in diameter, which means it was hundreds of years old when it was buried 1700 years ago. This stump was probably already several hundred years old when Yeshua was born! Imagine this! Here’s a close up picture of this ancient wonder. I placed my hat next to it for size comparisons purposes.

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I am continually in awe of the wonders of YHVH Elohim’s creation. It speaks silently, yet at the same time shouts loudly for those who have ears to hear, of the unfathomable greatness of our Creator.

This Sabbath, please join me in giving YHVH Yeshua, the Creator of all things, the praise He deserves for all that He has done, all that He is, and for the salvation He has given you and me!