We come back to: Mark 10 and the Kingdom of God, Part Four

  

 

 Mark 10 and the Kingdom of God…[1]

“Then who can be saved?”

Part Four

Mark 10:28-31

28  ^aPeter began to say to Him, “Behold, we have left everything and followed You.”

29  Jesus said, “Truly I say to you, ^athere is no one who has left house or brothers or sisters or mother or father or children or farms, for My sake and for the gospel’s sake,

30  ¹but that he will receive a hundred times as much now in ²the present age, houses and brothers and sisters and mothers and children and farms, along with persecutions; and in ^athe age to come, eternal life.

31  “But ^amany who are first will be last, and the last, first.”^[2]

 This is where we ended last time; I am still in recovery from my shoulder surgery (going on six months now – please pray for my recovery if you are so led by the Spirit).  We will soon be entering into a time of examination and t’shuvah (repentance) for we are coming into the Fall Feasts soon. The first will be Yom Teruah, the Feast of Trumpets, and then ten days later we will enter into Yom Kippur. Some will say we do not have to worry about the Day of Atonement, Yeshua is our atonement. But I say, how can this be? Can all of us say we have not grown lazy in our walk, that we have not become undisciplined? Are there relationships that need mending, are there apologies to make? Yes, Yeshua is our atonement, but can we really afford to sit on our tuffs as if there is nothing for us to do? Part of the reformed life is WHAT we do, not what we believe or say. Actions dictate the level of commitment we bring to G-d. Where is your devotion to Him? What peace have you brought to the table for those you are involved with? It matters not if our efforts are rejected or rebuffed: what matters is that G-d expects us to try. Reconciliation will come by the hand of G-d, not our efforts, but if we are sincere, I mean if it comes from our hearts, then we have fulfilled what Yeshua spoke of in Matthew, chapter Five:

 Matthew 5:20-26 (ESV)

²⁰ For I tell you, unless your righteousness exceeds that of the scribes and Pharisees, you will never enter the kingdom of heaven. ²¹ “You have heard that it was said to those of old, ‘You shall not murder; and whoever murders will be liable to judgment.’ ²² But I say to you that everyone who is angry with his brother will be liable to judgment; whoever insults his brother will be liable to the council; and whoever says, ‘You fool!’ will be liable to the hell of fire. ²³ So if you are offering your gift at the altar and there remember that your brother has something against you, ²⁴ leave your gift there before the altar and go. First be reconciled to your brother, and then come and offer your gift. ²⁵ Come to terms quickly with your accuser while you are going with him to court, lest your accuser hand you over to the judge, and the judge to the guard, and you be put in prison. ²⁶ Truly, I say to you, you will never get out until you have paid the last penny. ^[3]

 

We must at least try to make our amends – that is the least we can do. Oh, how wonderful if the relationships are healed! Heed these forty days brethren, and see what G-d will do…

 We are we will resume our journey in the book of Mark, chapter 10, but first this rabbit trail…

                 Since I mentioned Yom Teruah, Yom Kippur, and Sukkot, (see below for the dates of the Fall Feasts) [4], let me just take a minute to speak to objections that were brought up by a Jewish brethren on a social media site concerning Yeshua and His relationship to the Spring Feasts, notably, Pesach [Passover]:

 “…I received an inquiry from someone who is a devout Christian and was truly concerned for my soul. He expressed his beliefs to me and asked as to why I didn’t accept Jesus as the Passover lamb of which John the Baptist declared: “Behold the Lamb of God that takes away the sins of the world.” 

I gave a brief response to answer his question and I thought it may be interesting to share this with some of you who are interested in comparative religious studies or simply curious as to why Jews don’t believe in Jesus.

It does baffle me as to why Christians assert that Jesus is an analogy of the Passover lamb as the Torah’s teachings concerning the Passover lamb directly undercut Christian theology. In brief Christian theology states that Jesus:

 1.       “Was a lamb slain before the foundation of the world”- in other words, he was predestined to atone for humanity’s sins.

2. Jesus as a sacrifice covers all sins and salvation is dependent upon the sinner confessing his sins and resultantly the confessing sinner will be redeemed.

 There are some BIG problems here for Christian thought…

 1.)    The Passover lamb was not a sin offering and resultantly never atoned for any sins. Thus, if Jesus is the Passover lamb then he cannot atone for sins as well. The true atonement sacrifices in the Torah were not lambs but were goats and bulls and the Torah also stipulates that they had to be a kid (calf) or a female…

* Leviticus 4:21: And he shall carry forth the bullock without the camp and burn him as he burned the first bullock: is a sin offering for the congregation. 

* Leviticus 4:23: “Or if his sin, wherein he hath sinned, come to his knowledge; he shall bring his offering, a kid of the goats, a male without blemish”

 Only one time was a lamb mentioned as an atonement, but it was NOT the Passover lamb and Jesus still does not qualify to represent this particular lamb neither…

 Leviticus 4:32: And if he bring a lamb for a sin offering, he shall bring it a female without blemish. The key word here is “without.” The Christian Bible clearly says Jesus was whipped bloody, blood ran down his forehead from the Crown of Thorns, his beard was ripped out, etc. These alone would disqualify him, for he was NOT without blemish. Jesus was not a female neither thus he cannot qualify.

 2.)    The second point that Christian bring up is that Jesus is an atonement for all the sins of a confessing sinner. The problem here is that there aren’t any atonement offerings for intentional sin there are only offerings for unintentional sin (See Leviticus chapter 4). Therefore, contrary to Christian claims, the sinner cannot actually be forgiven of all their sins.

In conclusion, it is clear that Jesus does not qualify as an atonement, the Passover lamb imagery is meaningless and the idea that any atonement can cover all the sins of the world is contrived outside of the Biblical narrative and is completely non-contextual.

 Of course, I must make mention that even the idea of human sacrifice is anathema in Judaism. All of the ancient pagan faiths around Israel were human-sacrificing cults but the children of Israel were commanded not to commit such abominations. Human sacrifice was prohibited by Judaism but later became accepted and necessary by Christianity…”[5]

 So, let us address these things: my response will be in bold type, and the poster’s original comment in bold italics. I will have to in general answer these objections, simply because to delve into them would require much more than this epistle is set up to do. I am not here to be a “Christian apologetic”; but I hope to address these issues at least on the surface. Why? The differences between Jews and Christians are deep. I will get into that in a moment. So, let us begin:

 “…I received an inquiry from someone who is a devout Christian and was truly concerned for my soul. He expressed his beliefs to me and asked as to why I didn’t accept Jesus as the Passover lamb of which John the Baptist declared: “Behold the Lamb of God that takes away the sins of the world.” 

I gave a brief response to answer his question and I thought it may be interesting to share this with some of you who are interested in comparative religious studies or simply curious as to why Jews don’t believe in Jesus.

It does baffle me as to why Christians assert that Jesus is an analogy of the Passover lamb as the Torah’s teachings concerning the Passover lamb directly undercut Christian theology. In brief Christian theology states that Jesus:

1.) “Was a lamb slain before the foundation of the world”- in other words, he was predestined to atone for humanity’s sins.

2.) Jesus as a sacrifice covers all sins and salvation is dependent upon the sinner confessing his sins and resultantly the confessing sinner will be redeemed.

There are some BIG problems here for Christian thought…”

 

First, it is a mistake for Christians to try to win a Jewish person over by the arguments based on Christian theology. There is simply too much baggage there.  Let me try to elaborate.

First thing, I cannot blame a religious Jew (or a non-religious Jew for that matter) for not believing in the Christian Jesus. First, we have to look at Deut. 13:1-5 (in the MT this is verse 12:32 through 13:5):

 DDeuteronomy 12:32-13:5 (NET)

³² (13:1) You must be careful to do everything I am commanding you. Do not add to it or subtract from it! ¹ Suppose a prophet or one who foretells by dreams should appear among you and show you a sign or wonder, ² and the sign or wonder should come to pass concerning what he said to you, namely, “Let us follow other gods” – gods whom you have not previously known – “and let us serve them.” ³ You must not listen to the words of that prophet or dreamer, for the Lord your God will be testing you to see if you love him with all your mind and being. ⁴ You must follow the Lord your God and revere only him; and you must observe his commandments, obey him, serve him, and remain loyal to him. ⁵ As for that prophet or dreamer, he must be executed because he encouraged rebellion against the Lord your God who brought you from the land of Egypt, redeeming you from that place of slavery, and because he has tried to entice you from the way the Lord your God has commanded you to go. In this way you must purge out evil from within. ^[6]

It will not succeed and will only cause a deeper rift.  So, what do we do then?  Those of us in the Messianic movement, begin by trying to understand where our faith came from, and have reached the conclusion that it begins with the faith in the God of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob.  To understand our Jewish brethren, we must understand this faith.  It is not that because I, as a Messianic believer, have a better knowledge of things; it is just that I and those like me have been able to get past all the objections and controversies to see both sides of the equation. The only way to show Mashiach to a Jewish brethren is through the words in the Tanakh and not the doctrines of religion. The crucial part of this is in the presentation of Mashiach. This divide began not in the first century, when almost all the believers in the Messiahship of Yeshua were G-d-fearing, Torah believing Jews. The divide, the split occurred in the second century, when the Gentiles began to dominate as followers of “Jesus Christ”. Their, the Gentiles, perception of “Jesus” was that the reason “he” came was to accomplish the following:

He canceled the Torah.

 He overturned the Sabbath and the holy days.

He did away with the dietary laws in Leviticus.

He abolished the Levitical priesthood and the sacrifices.

He destroyed the Temple.

He did all these things with the aim to bring Judaism to an end.

 Look back at Deuteronomy 13. The Jews actually had, and have, an obligation to G-d to reject Yeshua if these allegations were true. Conventional Judaism, then and now, have had to consider Jesus a false prophet due to the conventional Christian interpretation of him. Those of us who practice and believe in either the Hebraic perspective or call ourselves followers of Messianic Judaism have a different interpretation. “…(W)e believe Yeshua of Nazareth is the most misunderstood, most misrepresented, and the most maligned person in history…”[7]

 Christianity has shown Yeshua not as Torah-keeping faithful Jew, but as a Torah-breaking “miracle-worker” that went about encouraging and persuading others to abandon the commandments of Moshe and G-d. To be honest, this theology has kept the Jewish people from even considering their own Messiah because they see Him as their enemy to not only G-d but the Jewish people as a whole. To them, to reject Yeshua (“Jesus”) is an act of faithfulness to G-d. And it is not entirely their fault to feel this way; the Christian world has blood on its hands.

   The breech here is enormous. New scholarship has been slowly coming to light to reveal Yeshua for what He was and is: a faithful Jew within first-century Judaism and true to the Torah. Here-in though, is the problem both Jew and Christian face:  the dogma of the past holds both camps to the teachings of men that tell us what to think rather than seek and decide for ourselves what the word of G-d says, by letting it speak for itself. 

 To disagree with that premise, one has to be intellectually dishonest, or woefully uneducated. The flip side is if one can begin to see that the dogma and doctrines of men are keeping them from truth, then that someone has begun to bow his/her knees in humility before G-d.  If I am letting the Talmud, the Targums, the Mishnah or the Christian “fathers” or whatever tell me what is or is not, then I have not bowed my knees to G-d.  Be honest: all one has that is trustworthy is His word, not our own understanding (Proverbs 3:5) or the understanding of any other.  In order to be what G-d has called each of us to be, each side must lose the air of superiority they each hold for none of us are without sin.  Whether or not you believe men are born in sin or not, does not matter.  The “sin” problem shows up soon enough.  I do not care how pious you are, how devoted are your prayers, how many commandments you keep, how many good deeds you do – you are still short of the glory of G-d.  How can I say this? Consider the Sh’ma:

Sh'ma Yis'ra'eil Adonai Eloheinu Adonai echad.

Hear, Israel, the Lord is our God, the Lord is One.

Barukh sheim k'vod malkhuto l'olam va'ed.

Blessed be the Name of His glorious kingdom for ever and ever.

V'ahav'ta eit Adonai Elohekha b'khol l'vav'kha uv'khol naf'sh'kha uv'khol m'odekha. And you shall love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your might.

V'hayu had'varim ha'eileh asher anokhi m'tzav'kha hayom al l'vavekha. And these words that I command you today shall be in your heart.                               V'shinan'tam l'vanekha v'dibar'ta bam                 And you shall teach them diligently to your children, and you shall speak of them

b'shiv't'kha b'veitekha uv'lekh't'kha vaderekh uv'shakh'b'kha uv'kumekha          when you sit at home, and when you walk along the way, and when you lie down and                                                                       when you rise up.

Uk'shar'tam l'ot al yadekha v'hayu l'totafot bein einekha. And you shall bind them as a sign on your hand, and they shall be for frontlets between your eyes. Ukh'tav'tam al m'zuzot beitekha uvish'arekha. And you shall write them on the doorposts of your house and on your gates.[8]

Just this first section of the Sh’ma none of us keep.  No one loves God every day with all his heart, mind, soul, body, or resources. None of us speak of Him constantly; none teaches their children diligently at all times. We try, but we get lazy, we get careless and complacent; we act in undisciplined ways. The result is we fail.  Jew or Gentile, we fail.  Of course, there is t’shuvah (repentance), but still, we come up short.  We argue instead of discussing, each side shouting aloud the merits of their case instead of listening and trying to understand.  Passion without discipline, that is what we do.  And many will find fault with this – yet if we are honest before 

G-d, we know it is true.

The writer of this post is correct in one thing: he speaks from his understanding of “Christian theology”, which in many ways has its flaws.  But, so does Judaism when the words of rabbis mean more than the words of

G-d. Every Jew and every Christian must ask themselves the following:

“What if the Bible (Scriptures) says one thing and my traditions say another? Will I follow God, or will I follow man?” 

Consider this:

“…What if 1,000 prophets of the caliber of Elijah and Elisha tell you that the Torah means one thing, but 1,001 sages tell you it means something else? Whom do you follow? Maimonides, the most influential medieval Jewish scholar, is emphatic: “The final ruling is in accordance with the 1,001 sages.”[9] Yes, the Talmud even teaches that if Elijah himself differed with a rabbinic tradition or a prevailing custom of the people—not a biblical Law itself but simply a tradition or custom concerning that Law—then he should not be followed [10]…” [11]

 Whom do you follow, my Jewish brethren, G-d, or man?

The question is the same for my Christian brethren – whom do you follow, G-d or man?

 Do we follow the teachings of the one we call our Master, Yeshua, or do we follow the teachings of men, men whom we have allowed to tell us what to think, how to worship, what our Bibles mean: men like Justin Martyr; Irenaeus; Clement; Theophilus; Tertullian; Origen; Martin Luther; John Calvin and on and on.  Yes -  the rabbis have spoken sometimes good words, true words. The so called “Church fathers” sometimes spoke good words, true words.  The old adage applies here with both groups:

 “Even a broken clock is right twice a day.”

Our aim is to learn from these truths, but these should not be our examples – for deep down, hate and lies also filled each groups mouths and hearts.  Rabbis have hated the Christian; the Christian has hated the Jew. Each have taught lies against the other; only G-d can be trusted.

 So, looking at our writer’s objection:

“…It does baffle me as to why Christians assert that Jesus is an analogy of the Passover lamb as the Torah’s teachings concerning the Passover lamb directly undercut Christian theology…”

 I have to ask: whose teachings does he believe are valid? Men who assert their own words above G-d’s, or can he let go of tradition and see what G-d really had to say?

 He asks:“Was a lamb slain before the foundation of the world”- in other words, was He was predestined to atone for humanity’s sins?

So then in speaking of Yeshua, we must ask, was he slain from before the foundation of the world? If this is true, we should be able to find Mashiach in the first word of the Hebrew Scriptures: בְּרֵאשִׁ֖ית ^H7225 be·re·Shit, “In the beginning.”

   The first two letters of b’reisheet  form the word bar (בְּרֵ); it can mean son or grain..

·         Add the third letter of b’reisheet and you get the word bara (בְּרֵא) which is the word “created” in Genesis 1:1

·         Take the letters (רֵאשִׁ֖י) and you have the meaning “my head”

·         Divide (בְּרֵאשִׁ֖ית) in half and you get the word: (שִׁ֖ית) translated into English as “thorns” in Isaiah 10:17

·         So, what do we find in the first word of the Scriptures: “In the beginning/ the Son who created all things/on  my head/ a crown of thorns..” [12]

 

Discount it if you wish, but one word tells the Gospel story.

 Another of his objections and/or observations concerning Christian theology:

“…Jesus as a sacrifice covers all sins and salvation is dependent upon the sinner confessing his sins and resultantly the confessing sinner will be redeemed…”

Well, not quite.  Salvation is not dependent upon the sinner’s confession. Salvation is contingent with G-d, as it says in:

Psalm 3:7-8 (ESV)
⁷ Arise, O Lord! Save me, O my God! For you strike all my enemies on the cheek; you break the teeth of the wicked. ⁸ Salvation belongs to the Lord; your blessing be on your people! Selah^[13]

 Again, He says:

Exodus 33:19 (NET)

¹⁹ And the Lord said, “I will make all my goodness pass before your face, and I will proclaim the Lord by name before you; I will be gracious to whom I will be gracious, I will show mercy to whom I will show mercy.”^[14]

 Salvation is a free gift from G-d, dependent upon His will and compassion. Yeshua, as part of G-d’s plan, was sent to be the sin offering once for all, thus, the vehicle of the Father’s salvation. It then is up to G-d through the working of His Spirit to awaken a dead man to life and to produce within him the desire to be free of his sins by repentance and/or turning back to G-d. Then he is to follow the Mashiach and to live his life as outlined by the Torah and by of the new covenant of Jeremiah 31:33:

 Jeremiah 31:31-40 (NASB95)

     31     “^aBehold, days are coming,” declares the Lord, “when I will make a ^bnew covenant with the house of Israel and with the house of Judah, 32  not like the ^acovenant which I made with their fathers in the day I ^btook them by the hand to bring them out of the land of Egypt, My ^ccovenant which they broke, although I was a husband to them,” declares the Lord.

33     “But ^athis is the covenant which I will make with the house of Israel after those days,” declares the Lord, “^bI will put My law within them and on their heart I will write it; and ^cI will be their God, and they shall be My people.

34     “They will ^anot teach again, each man his neighbor and each man his brother, saying, ‘Know the Lord,’ for they will all ^bknow Me, from the least of them to the greatest of them,” declares the Lord, “for I will ^cforgive their iniquity, and their ^dsin I will remember no more.” 35     Thus says the Lord, Who ^agives the sun for light by day And the ¹fixed order of the moon and the stars for light by night, Who ^bstirs up the sea so that its waves roar; ^cThe Lord of hosts is His name: 36     “^aIf ¹this fixed order departs From before Me,” declares the Lord, “Then the offspring of Israel also will ^bcease From being a nation before Me ²forever.”

37     Thus says the Lord, “^aIf the heavens above can be measured And the foundations of the earth searched out below, Then I will also ^bcast off all the offspring of Israel For all that they have done,” declares the Lord.

38     “Behold, days are coming,” declares the Lord, “when the ^acity will be rebuilt for the Lord from the ^bTower of Hananel to the ^cCorner Gate. 39     “The ^ameasuring line will go out farther straight ahead to the hill Gareb; then it will turn to Goah. 40     “And ^athe whole valley of the dead bodies and of the ashes, and all the fields as far as the brook ^bKidron, to the corner of the ^cHorse Gate toward the east, shall be ^dholy to the Lord; it will not be plucked up or overthrown anymore forever.” ^[15]

 

“…The Passover lamb was not a sin offering and resultantly never atoned for any sins. Thus, if Jesus is the Passover lamb then he cannot atone for sins as well. The true atonement sacrifices in the Torah were not lambs but were goats and bulls and the Torah also stipulates that they had to be a kid (calf) or a female…”

 That is correct: but what was the Passover lamb for then? It was a Sacrifice. The Passover was a sacrifice. Modern theologians dispute this, both Jew and Gentile,  but it is a sacrifice nonetheless, an unusual sacrifice. In many respects, it differed from the later sacrifices of the Law, but in some respects, it was similar to what later became the sin offering, combined with the peace offering. It is especially important to realize its sacrificial aspect.[16] Its blood made an atonement for the first born of Israel, the blood being a type of covering.

 “…The proofs of its sacrificial characteristics are clear and abundant. The details of the selection of the lamb, "year old males without defect" (Exodus 12:5), the method of sprinkling the blood with hyssop (Exodus 12:22), and the disposal of the remains of the meal (Exodus 12:10), all testify to its sacrificial character; in fact, Moses himself says, "It is the Passover sacrifice to the Lord" (Exodus 12:27).

 The purpose of this sacrifice was that the blood of the Passover lamb would be sprinkled on the doorposts and the lintels of the Jewish homes, so that the homes would be protected from the destroying angel. It is impossible for any theologian (or student of the Word) who takes the Scriptures seriously to come to any other conclusion. Exodus 12:13 says, "The blood will be a sign for you on the houses where you are; and when I see the blood, I will pass over you. No destructive plague will touch you when I strike Egypt…” [17]

The Passover is a sacrifice, a feast, a memorial, a prophecy.  Maybe there are eyes that do not want to see it as such, but it is all there if one can open their heart to see.  The Lamb of the Passover had to be male (Exodus 12:5); thus, Yeshua qualified.  The atonement sacrifices came later, after the Exodus, so let us not confuse the Passover with them.  But what is atonement anyway? As I had iterated early, the blood on the lintels was a covering, a sign of G-d’s protection – the same act He performed for Adam and Chavah before He expelled them from the Garden. To do so, as stated in Genesis 3:21, a sacrifice was made, blood was spilled, and a covering provided.  Thus, the first “Passover”. God provided a cover, which is how atonement is defined:

 “…Original: כּפר

- Transliteration: Kaphar

- Phonetic: kaw-far'

- Definition:

1. to cover, purge, make an atonement, make reconciliation, cover over with pitch

a. (Qal) to coat or cover with pitch

b. (Piel)

1. to cover over, pacify, propitiate

2. to cover over, atone for sin, make atonement for

3. to cover over, atone for sin and persons by legal rites

c. (Pual)

1. to be covered over

2. to make atonement for

d. (Hithpael) to be covered

- Origin: a primitive root

- TWOT entry: 1023,1024,1025,1026

- Part(s) of speech: Verb

- Strong's: A primitive root; to cover (specifically with bitumen); figuratively to expiate or condone to placate or cancel: - appease make (an) atonement cleanse disannul forgive be merciful pacify pardon to pitch purge (away) put off (make) reconcile (-liation).

Total KJV Occurrences: 102

 • appease, 1

 Gen_32:20  

 • atonement, 71

 Exo_29:36; Exo_29:37; Exo_30:10(2); Exo_30:15; Exo_30:16; Exo_32:30; Lev_1:4; Lev_4:20; Lev_4:26; Lev_4:31; Lev_4:35; Lev_5:6; Lev_5:10; Lev_5:13; Lev_5:16; Lev_5:18; Lev_6:7; Lev_7:7; Lev_8:34; Lev_9:7(2); Lev_10:17; Lev_12:7; Lev_12:8; Lev_14:18; Lev_14:19; Lev_14:20; Lev_14:21; Lev_14:29; Lev_14:31; Lev_14:53; Lev_15:15; Lev_15:30; Lev_16:6; Lev_16:10; Lev_16:11; Lev_16:16; Lev_16:17(2); Lev_16:18; Lev_16:24; Lev_16:27; Lev_16:30; Lev_16:32; Lev_16:33(3); Lev_16:34; Lev_17:11(2); Lev_19:22; Lev_23:28; Num_6:11; Num_8:12; Num_8:19; Num_8:21; Num_15:25; Num_15:28(2); Num_16:46; Num_16:47; Num_25:13; Num_28:22; Num_28:30; Num_29:5; Num_31:50; 2Sa_21:3; 1Ch_6:49; 2Ch_29:24; Neh_10:33 …”[18]

 

Let’s look at some more objections/observations:

 * Leviticus 4:21: And he shall carry forth the bullock without the camp and burn him as he burned the first bullock: is a sin offering for the congregation. 

* Leviticus 4:23: “Or if his sin, wherein he hath sinned, come to his knowledge; he shall bring his offering, a kid of the goats, a male without blemish”

Only one time was a lamb mentioned as an atonement, but it was NOT the Passover lamb and Jesus still does not qualify to represent this particular lamb neither…

 Leviticus 4:32: And if he bring a lamb for a sin offering, he shall bring it a female without blemish. The key word here is “without.” The Christian Bible clearly says Jesus was whipped bloody, blood ran down his forehead from the Crown of Thorns, his beard was ripped out, etc. These alone would disqualify him, for he was NOT without blemish. Jesus was not a female neither thus he cannot qualify.

 *Leviticus 4:21: this was an offering for the congregation… here is the context:

 Leviticus 4:13-21 (NET)

¹³ “‘If the whole congregation of Israel strays unintentionally and the matter is not noticed by the assembly, and they violate one of the Lord’s commandments, which must not be violated, so they become guilty, ¹⁴ the assembly must present a young bull for a sin offering when the sin they have committed becomes known. They must bring it before the Meeting Tent, ¹⁵ the elders of the congregation must lay their hands on the head of the bull before the Lord, and someone must slaughter the bull before the Lord. ¹⁶ Then the high priest must bring some of the blood of the bull to the Meeting Tent, ¹⁷ and that priest must dip his finger in the blood and sprinkle some of the blood seven times before the Lord toward the front of the veil-canopy. ¹⁸ He must put some of the blood on the horns of the altar which is before the Lord in the Meeting Tent, and all the rest of the blood he must pour out at the base of the altar of burnt offering that is at the entrance of the Meeting Tent. ¹⁹ “‘Then the priest must take all its fat and offer the fat up in smoke on the altar. ²⁰ He must do with the rest of the bull just as he did with the bull of the sin offering; this is what he must do with it. So the priest will make atonement on their behalf and they will be forgiven. ²¹ He must bring the rest of the bull outside the camp and burn it just as he burned the first bull – it is the sin offering of the assembly.

^[19]

*Leviticus 4:23 deals with the sin of a ruler – doesn’t apply to Yeshua. (See Leviticus 4:22-26)

*Leviticus 4:32 deals with individual sin – again doesn’t apply to Yeshua. (See Leviticus 4:27-35)

 As far as “without blemish” – the whole understanding on “spots, wrinkles and blemishes” needs to be gone over for us to get a clearer understanding of what these truly meant.  For what does G-d look upon?

 1 Samuel 16:7 (NET)

^16:7 But the Lord said to Samuel, “Don’t be impressed by¹³ his appearance or his height, for I have rejected him. God does not view things the way men do.¹⁴ People look on the outward appearance,¹⁵ but the Lord looks at the heart.”^[20]

Spots, wrinkles, and blemishes all have to do with the condition of our heart.  Remember in Part One I said it all stems from the hardness of the heart, all sin, all malice, all unforgiveness; G-d does not view the way man does.  He looks upon the heart.  G-d looked beyond the marring of Yeshua’s body and saw a heart unblemished, acceptable for sacrifice.

 He continues:

 “…The second point that Christian bring up is that Jesus is an atonement for all the sins of a confessing sinner. The problem here is that there aren’t any atonement offerings for intentional sin there are only offerings for unintentional sin (See Leviticus chapter 4). Therefore, contrary to Christian claims, the sinner cannot actually be forgiven of all their sins. 

In conclusion, it is clear that Jesus does not qualify as an atonement, the Passover lamb imagery is meaningless and the idea that any atonement can cover all the sins of the world is contrived outside of the Biblical narrative and is completely non-contextual.

Of course, I must make mention that even the idea of human sacrifice is anathema in Judaism. All of the ancient pagan faiths around Israel were human-sacrificing cults but the children of Israel were commanded not to commit such abominations. Human sacrifice was prohibited by Judaism but later became accepted and necessary by Christianity…”[21]

 I agree: Intentional sins have no atonement for them.  But… here is the grace and mercy of G-d.  Found in Exodus is this marvelous scene:

 ⁵ The Lord came down in a cloud, stood with him there, and proclaimed His name ^•Yahweh. ⁶ Then the Lord passed in front of him and proclaimed:

Yahweh—Yahweh is a compassionate and gracious God, slow to anger and rich in faithful love and truth, ^{u 7} maintaining faithful love to a thousand generations, forgiving wrongdoing, rebellion, and sin. ^v But He will not leave the ^•guilty ^w unpunished, bringing the consequences of the fathers’ wrongdoing on the children and grandchildren to the third and fourth generation.

⁸ Moses immediately bowed down to the ground and worshiped.^[22]

The highlighted text is a staggering encounter with the supernatural God. Moshe not only heard the words spoken by this physical manifestation but consider this: he also saw them. Contained within this pronunciation of the Holy Name of God is what the Jewish sages call the “Thirteen Middot”; the thirteen “attributes” of God. Think about this, this wondrous encounter. In proclaiming His name, God was also establishing His sovereignty, and defining His mercy.

 The Jewish Encyclopedia describes the “Middot” in this fashion:

 “…MIDDOT, SHELOSH-‘ESREH: The thirteen forms of mercy, enumerated in Ex. xxxiv. 6–7, whereby God rules the world. According to the explanation of Maimonides (“Moreh Nebukim,” i. 52), which is confirmed by the Sifre (Deut. 49 [ed. Friedmann, p. 85]), these middot must not be regarded as qualities inherent in God, but merely as so many attributes of His activity, by which the divine governance appears to the human observer to be controlled.

In the Sifre, however, these attributes are not called “middot,” which may mean “quality” as well as “rule” and “measure” (comp.Ab.v. 10–15), but “derakim” (ways), since they are the ways of God which Moses prayed to know (Ex. xxxiii. 13), and which God, according to the traditional explanation of Ex. xxxiv. 6–7, proclaimed to him… The single attributes are contained in the verses as follows:

(1) “Adonai,” compassion before man sins; (2) “Adonai,” compassion after man has sinned (comp. R. H. 17b); (3) “El,” mighty in compassion to give all creatures according to their need; (4) “Rahum,” merciful, that mankind may not be distressed; (5) “Hanun,” gracious if “mankind is already in distress; (6) “Erek appayim,” slow to anger; (7) “Rab hesed,” plenteous in mercy; (8) “Emet,” truth; (9) “Nozer hesed la-alafim,” keeping mercy unto thousands (comp. the explanation of Samuel b. Meïr in “Da‘at Zekenim,” ad loc.); (10) “Nose ‘awon,” forgiving iniquity; (11) “Nose pesha‘,” forgiving transgression; (12) “Nose hata’ah,” forgiving sin; (13) “Wenakeh,” and pardoning…” ^[23]

 It is from these thirteen attributes that a clear picture of what constitutes mercy and grace emerges.  It is too much to go into here, but by proclaiming His name in this fashion, even God makes a way for intentional sin to be converted for He takes no pleasure in the death of the wicked, and wants all to come to repentance.  You know, I do not know about anyone else, but I just will not put G-d in a box and tell Him He cannot do something.  That is the hardness of man’s heart toward one another, to paint this type of picture of our G-d.  So, unless G-d lies, the sinner can be forgiven.

 In conclusion, and I hope I did an adequate job of proving my thesis, it is my opinion Yeshua filled the role of the Pesach lamb. In addition, He filled the role of :

1.)    The Burnt Offering : He gave all of Himself

2.)    The Meal Offering:  He was without leaven, without sin

3.)    The Peace Offering: He made reconciliation possible between man and G-d

4.)    The Sin Offering: The Price was paid for the transgressions of all

5.)    The Trespass Offering:  He made atonement and forgiveness for our transgressions, our iniquities, and our sins

 The First three are voluntary offerings.  As far as the idea of human sacrifice, Yeshua Himself said this:

 John 10:11-18 (NASB95)

11     “^aI am the good shepherd; the good shepherd ^blays down His life for the sheep.

12     “He who is a hired hand, and not a ^ashepherd, who is not the owner of the sheep, sees the wolf coming, and leaves the sheep and flees, and the wolf snatches them and scatters them.

13     “He flees because he is a hired hand and is not concerned about the sheep.

14     “^aI am the good shepherd, and ^bI know My own and My own know Me,

15     even as ^athe Father knows Me and I know the Father; and ^bI lay down My life for the sheep.

16     “I have ^aother sheep, which are not of this fold; I must bring them also, and they will hear My voice; and they will become ^bone flock with ^cone shepherd.

17     “For this reason the Father loves Me, because I ^alay down My life so that I may take it again.

18     “^aNo one has taken it away from Me, but I ^blay it down on My own initiative. I have authority to lay it down, and I have authority to take it up again. ^cThis commandment I received from My Father.” ^[24]

He laid down His life for those who were and are lost.  Do we pronounce a policeman, a soldier, a fireman that put their lives on the line for those they do not know guilty of human sacrifice? Or do we recognize that love holds a higher esteem?  Are IDF soldiers an anathema to Judaism?  Are your security forces an anathema to Judaism?  Or does their love of their fellow man and their sense of duty transcend this narrow view?  No Christian, no true Christian or Jew for that matter, calls human sacrifice anything other than the abomination it is.  Is G-d anathema then?

Isaiah 53 (Tanakh)
53     “Who can believe what we have heard? Upon whom has ^a-the arm of the Lord^-a been revealed?

²For he has grown, by His favor, like a tree crown, Like a tree trunk out of arid ground. He had no form or beauty, that we should look at him: No charm, that we should find him pleasing.

³He was despised, ^b-shunned by men,^-b A man of suffering, familiar with disease. ^c-As one who hid his face from us,^-c

He was despised, we held him of no account.

⁴Yet it was our sickness that he was bearing, our suffering that he endured. We accounted him plagued, Smitten, and afflicted by God; ⁵But he was wounded because of our sins, Crushed because of our iniquities. He bore the chastisement that made us whole, and by his bruises we were healed.

⁶We all went astray like sheep, each going his own way; And the Lord visited upon him the guilt of all of us.”

⁷He was maltreated, yet he was submissive, He did not open his mouth; Like a sheep being led to slaughter,

Like a ewe, dumb before those who shear her, He did not open his mouth.

⁸By oppressive judgment he was taken away, ^b-Who could describe his abode?^-b for he was cut off from the land of the living Through the sin of my people, who deserved the punishment.

⁹And his grave was set among the wicked, ^d-And with the rich, in his death^-d— Though he had done no injustice

And had spoken no falsehood.

¹⁰But the Lord chose to crush him ^b-by disease, That, if he made himself an offering for guilt,^-b He might see offspring^e and have long life, and that through him the Lord’s purpose might prosper.

¹¹Out of his anguish he shall see it;^f He shall enjoy it to the full through his devotion.^g “My righteous servant makes the many righteous, it is their punishment that he bears.

¹²Assuredly, I will give him the many as his portion, He shall receive the multitude as his spoil. For he exposed himself to death and was numbered among the sinners,

Whereas he bore the guilt of the many and made intercession for sinners.” ^[25]

 No matter who you allude Isaiah 53 to, Mashiach or Israel, by our Jewish friend’s own definition, G-d is anathema because “…the Lord chose to crush him…”  Christianity and we Messianics do not accept human sacrifice; but our sins required a debt to be paid.  This is the story of Pesach, the story of our release from the bondage of sin.  May we all humbly bow our heads

 It has been a long post, and we have not tapped upon our main theme, but in our next segment, you will see that what I touched on here today, lays the groundwork for what is to come. I hope to talk with you then.

 May the L-rd richly bless you and keep you this day, my beloved.

Amein

 

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[1]Authors note: Use of information from Jewish-themed websites should not be construed as these sites endorsing or confirming any thesis introduced by the author of this epistle. I present the information from their respective sites for instructional purposes only and/or to aid in the readers understanding of the subjects discussed.

^a Matt 4:20–22

^a Matt 6:33; 19:29; Luke 18:29f

¹ Lit if not

² Lit this time

^a Matt 12:32

^a Matt 19:30; 20:16; Luke 13:30

^[2] New American Standard Bible: 1995 update. (1995). (Mk 10:28–31). LaHabra, CA: The Lockman Foundation.

[3]  The Holy Bible : English standard version. 2001. Wheaton: Standard Bible Society.

[4] There are many controversies associated with the Jewish Calendar. One site gives the Feasts Days as: Rosh HaShanah / Trumpets: (sundown to sundown) 18th September   - 19th September 2020; Yom Kippur / Atonement:  (sundown to sundown)  27th - 28th September, 2020; Sukkot/ Tabernacles: (sundown to sundown) 02nd October - 09th October, 2020; The Great Day is the 8th Day of Tabernacles: (sundown) 09th - 10th October, 2020.

See http://www.pray4zion.org/Thelast3FallFeastsoftheLord2020.html

The Jewish calendar gives them as: Rosh Hashana: Sep 18-20 [the Jewish New Year]; Yom Kippur: Sept 27-28M [Day of Atonement]; Sukkot: Oct 2-9 [Feast of Tabernacles]; and Shmini Atzeret: Oct 9-11 [Eighth Day of Assembly].

 See https://www.chabad.org/holidays/default_cdo/year/2020/jewish/holidays-2020.htm For myself, I follow the Jewish calendar.

 [5] From a post on the site: https://www.facebook.com/groups/messianicchristiansandjews/

[6]  Biblical Studies Press. (2006; 2006). The NET Bible First Edition; Bible. English. NET Bible.; The NET Bible. Biblical Studies Press.

[7] Adapted from the Torah Club, lesson 47 –“Re’eh”, Shadows of the Messiah, pg 7, ©2020 First Fruits of Zion. All rights reserved.

[8] http://www.jewfaq.org/prayer/shema.htm

[9] See Maimonides’ introduction to his commentary on the Mishnah.

[10] See again Maimonides’ introduction to his commentary on the Mishnah, and also the Babylonian Talmud, Yebamot 102a

[11] For further study see article at http://messianicfellowship.50webs.com/rabbinicobjections.html

[12] For further study see Pastor Mark Biltz, Blood Moons, ©2014 by Mark Biltz, published by WND Books®, Washington D.C. pgs. 27-29

[13]  The Holy Bible : English standard version. 2001. Wheaton: Standard Bible Society.

[14]  Biblical Studies Press. (2006; 2006). The NET Bible First Edition; Bible. English. NET Bible.; The NET Bible. Biblical Studies Press.

a  Jer 31:31–34; Heb 8:8–12

b  Jer 32:40; 33:14; Ezek 37:26; Luke 22:20; 1 Cor 11:25; 2 Cor 3:6; Heb 8:8–12; 10:16, 17

a  Ex 19:5; 24:6–8; Deut 5:2, 3

b  Deut 1:31; Is 63:12

c  Jer 11:7, 8

a  Jer 32:40; Heb 10:16

b  Ps 40:8; 2 Cor 3:3

c  Jer 24:7; 30:22; 32:38

a  1 Thess 4:9; 1 John 2:27

b  Is 11:9; 54:13; Jer 24:7; Hab 2:14; John 6:45; 1 John 2:20

c  Jer 33:8; 50:20; Mic 7:18; Rom 11:27

d  Is 43:25; Heb 10:17

a  Gen 1:14–18; Deut 4:19; Ps 19:1–6; 136:7–9

1  Lit statutes

b  Is 51:15

c  Jer 10:16; 32:18; 50:34

a  Ps 89:36, 37; 148:6; Is 54:9, 10; Jer 33:20–26

1  Lit these statutes

b  Amos 9:8, 9

2  Lit all the days

a  Is 40:12; Jer 33:22

b  Jer 33:24–26; Rom 11:2–5, 26, 27

a  Jer 30:18; 31:4

b  Neh 3:1; 12:39; Zech 14:10

c  2 Kin 14:13; 2 Chr 26:9

a  Zech 2:1

a  Jer 7:32; 8:2

b  2 Sam 15:23; 2 Kin 23:6, 12; John 18:1

c  2 Kin 11:16; 2 Chr 23:15; Neh 3:28

d  Joel 3:17; Zech 14:20

[15]  New American Standard Bible : 1995 update. 1995. LaHabra, CA: The Lockman Foundation.

[16] Adapted from article found at http://www.menorah.org/passover%20and%20the%20messiah%20jesus.html

[17] …Ibid…

[18] F. Brown, S. Driver, C. Briggs; J. Strong; J.H. Thayer. Brown Driver Briggs Hebrew Lexicon, Thayer’s Greek Definitions, and the Strong’s King James Concordance. Electronic Edition, copyright 2000–2013, e-Sword by Rick Meyers, n.d.

[19]  Biblical Studies Press. (2006; 2006). The NET Bible First Edition; Bible. English. NET Bible.; The NET Bible. Biblical Studies Press.

¹³ tn Heb “don’t look toward.”

¹⁴ tn Heb “for not that which the man sees.” The translation follows the LXX, which reads, “for not as man sees does God see.” The MT has suffered from homoioteleuton or homoioarcton. See P. K. McCarter, I Samuel (AB), 274.

¹⁵ tn Heb “to the eyes.”

^[20]  Biblical Studies Press. (2006; 2006). The NET Bible First Edition; Bible. English. NET Bible.; The NET Bible. Biblical Studies Press.

[21] From a post on the site: https://www.facebook.com/groups/messianicchristiansandjews/

^• Or The Lord; it is the personal name of God in Hebrew; “Yah” is the shortened form. Yahweh is used in places where the personal name of God is discussed (Ps 68:4) or in places of His self-identification (Is 42:8).

^u 34:6 Nm 14:18; Neh 9:17; Ps 86:15; 103:8; 108:4; Jl 2:13; Rm 2:4

^v 34:7 Ex 20:6; Ps 103:3; 130:4; Dn 9:9; 1Jn 1:9

^• The liability to be punished for a fault, a sin, an act, or an omission unless there is forgiveness or atonement; the term normally concerns an objective fact, not a subjective feeling.

^w 34:7 Jos 24:19; Jb 10:14; Nah 1:3

^[22] The Holy Bible: Holman Christian standard version. (2009). (Ex 34:5–8). Nashville: Holman Bible Publishers.

[23] The Jewish Encyclopedia, From the Article Middot, Shelosh-‘Esreh, pp 547, vol. 8 Copyright, 2002 by Varda Books COPYRIGHT, 1904, 1910, BY FUNK & WAGNALLS COMPANY All rights of translation reserved

a  Is 40:11; Ezek 34:11–16, 23; John 10:14; Heb 13:20; 1 Pet 5:4; Rev 7:17

b  John 10:15, 17, 18; 15:13; 1 John 3:16

a  John 10:2

a  John 10:11

b  John 10:27

a  Matt 11:27; Luke 10:22

b  John 10:11, 17, 18

a  Is 56:8

b  John 11:52; 17:20f; Eph 2:13–18; 1 Pet 2:25

c  Ezek 34:23; 37:24

a  John 10:11, 15, 18

a  Matt 26:53; John 2:19; 5:26

b  John 10:11, 15, 17

c  John 14:31; 15:10; Phil 2:8; Heb 5:8

[24]  New American Standard Bible : 1995 update. 1995. LaHabra, CA: The Lockman Foundation.

a-  I.e., the vindication which the arm of the Lord effects.

-a  I.e., the vindication which the arm of the Lord effects.

b-  Meaning of Heb. uncertain

-b  Meaning of Heb. uncertain

c-  I.e., as a leper; cf. Lev. 13.45 ff.

-c  I.e., as a leper; cf. Lev. 13.45 ff.

b-  Meaning of Heb. uncertain

-b  Meaning of Heb. uncertain

d-  Emendation yields “And his tomb with evildoers.”

-d  Emendation yields “And his tomb with evildoers.”

b-  Meaning of Heb. uncertain

-b  Meaning of Heb. uncertain

e  Emendation yields “His arm,” i.e., His vindication; cf. v. 1 with note.

f  I.e., the arm of the Lord; see preceding note.

g  For this sense of da˓ath see 11.2, 9.

[25]  Jewish Publication Society. (1997, c1985). Tanakh: The Holy Scriptures : A new translation of the Holy Scriptures according to the traditional Hebrew text. Philadelphia: Jewish Publication Society.

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