This is probably going to be the
most controversial part of the series. What I am going to say here will seem
contrary to what everyone has always been taught about Jesus as the Messiah,
but I plan to give ample scriptural evidence to back the claims I am making.
Once you have read the claims along with the evidence, I welcome your
challenges of the scripture.
Claim: Yeshua (Jesus) did not die
for the Jews.
Before anyone starts throwing
around the anti-Semitic talk, hear me out. Yeshua is the promised Messiah of
the Old Testament. I do not dispute that and I believe He will return and
complete the rest of the prophecies concerning the King of Kings. There are
many verses we will go through here, but we will start with one that was
discussed in part 2.
Matthew 15:24
But He answered and said, “I
was not sent except to the lost sheep of the house of Israel.”
If Christ Himself says this, we
can either believe Him, or not believe Him. I believe He said exactly what He
meant based on all the evidence laid out in parts 1-4. Now, I plan to dive a
bit deeper into some of the issues I have run into about Jesus and the Jews.
First, piggy-backing off of some of the other parts already discussed, lets get
into a parable Yeshua gave to the disciples.
Luke
15:11-32
Then He
said: “A certain man had two
sons. And the younger of
them said to his father, ‘Father, give me the portion of goods that falls to
me.’ So he divided to them his livelihood. And not many days after, the younger
son gathered all together, journeyed
to a far country, and there wasted
his possessions with prodigal
living. But when he had spent all, there arose a severe famine in that
land, and he began to be in want. Then he went and joined himself to a citizen of that country, and he sent him into
his fields to feed swine.
And he would gladly have filled
his stomach with the pods that the swine ate, and no one gave him
anything.
“But when
he came to himself, he said, ‘How many of my father’s hired servants have bread enough and to spare,
and I perish with hunger! I willarise and go to my father, and will say to him,
“Father, I have sinned against
heaven and before you, and I
am no longer worthy to be called your son. Make me like one of your
hired servants.” ’
“And he
arose and came to his father. But when he was still a great way off, his father saw him and had compassion, and ran and fell on
his neck and kissed him. And the son said to him, ‘Father, I have sinned against heaven and in your
sight, and am no longer worthy to be called your son.’
“But the
father said to his servants, ‘Bring out
the best robe and put it on him, and put a ring on his hand and sandals
on his feet. And bring the fatted
calf here and kill it, and let us eat and be merry; for this my son was dead and is alive again;
he was lost and is found.’
And they began to be merry.
“Now his older son was in the
field. And as he came and drew near to the house, he heard music and dancing.
So he called one of the servants and asked what these things meant. And he said
to him, ‘Your brother has come, and because he has received him safe and sound,
your father has killed the fatted calf.’
“But he was angry and would not go in. Therefore his father came out
and pleaded with him. So he answered and said to his father, ‘Lo, these
many years I have been serving you;
I never transgressed your
commandment at any time; and yet you never gave me a young
goat, that I might make merry with my friends. But as soon as this son of yours
came, who has devoured your
livelihood with harlots, you killed the fatted calf for him.’
“And he
said to him, ‘Son, you are always with me, and all that I have is
yours. It was right that we should make merry and be glad, for your brother was dead and is alive again,
and was lost and is found.’”
This parable
is specifically referring to the two nations Israel divided into. The House of
Judah, the older, and the House of Israel, the younger. We are going to focus
on the older House of Judah. We see here Judah was angry at the idea the Father
was rejoicing over the return of the younger son. But more importantly we see
Judah say, “I have been serving you; I never transgressed your commandment at
any time”. The Father replied with, “you are always with me, all that I have is
yours”.
What we can
take away from this is the idea that the Jews, who have been keeping the Torah
have always been with YHWH. By doing the commands of YHWH, they have been with
Him. Now, I understand the next argument you might make is what about Jesus
always rebuking the Pharisees because they were Jews and they kept the Law of
God. My response to this is, did they really though? Let’s look at what the
Pharisees were doing according to the Bible.
Mark 7:5-9
Then the
Pharisees and scribes asked Him, “Why do Your disciples not walk according to the tradition of the
elders, but eat bread with unwashed hands?”
He
answered and said to them, “Well did Isaiah prophesy of you hypocrites, as it
is written:
‘This people honors Me with their lips, But their
heart is far from Me. And in vain they
worship Me, Teaching as doctrines the
commandments of men.’
For laying
aside the commandment of God, you hold
the tradition of men—the washing of pitchers and cups, and many other such
things you do.”
He said to them, “All too well you reject the commandment of God, that
you may keep your tradition.
We can see
here the Pharisees were not keeping the Law of God. They were keeping the
“tradition of the elders” also known as the “commandments of men”. We can even
take away from this passage the Pharisees were the ones who were rejecting the
commandment of God in favor of traditions of men. This means, they were not
practicing the commandments YHWH gave to Moses, but instead they were adding to
those commands and trying to hold the people accountable for the traditions of
the elders. Next, we see Yeshua told the people to do as the Pharisees say when
they sit in the “seat of Moses”.
Matthew 23:1-4
Then Jesus spoke to the multitudes and to
His disciples, saying: “The scribes and the
Pharisees sit in Moses’ seat. Therefore whatever they tell you to observe, that observe and do, but do not do according to their works; for
they say, and do not do. For they bind heavy burdens, hard to bear, and lay them on men’s shoulders; but they themselves will not move them with
one of their fingers.
So here is evidence
that backs exactly what I said above. The Pharisees taught the Law of God
during the Sabbath, that is, while sitting in the seat of Moses. Yeshua told
them to observe these things. But, He then commands them not to do as the
Pharisees would do because the Pharisees were binding heavy burdens on the
people with the traditions of men.
So far we see
the Jews have always been with God due to their keeping of His Law. We have
read it was the teachers of the Law who added to His commandments and holding
the Jews accountable to these traditions of men when they are not mentioned in
the Bible. We see Yeshua compare the Pharisees to those who honor YHWH with
their lips, but their hearts are far from YHWH. We have to understand it was
not all the Jews who were adding to the Law and not all the Jews can be held
accountable for that. Many could not read and relied on the Pharisees to teach
them. When they read out of the Tanakh they were teaching the correct thing,
according to Yeshua. When they taught their tradition of the elders, they were
adding to the Law which was a violation of the Law. We can also take the word
of Yeshua when He says He did not come to stop the Law of God.
Matthew 5:17-20
“Do
not think that I came to destroy the Law or the Prophets. I did not come to destroy but to fulfill. For assuredly, I say to
you, till heaven and earth pass away,
one jot or one tittle will by no means pass from the law till all is fulfilled.
Whoever therefore breaks one of the least
of these commandments, and teaches men so, shall be called least in the kingdom
of heaven; but whoever does and
teaches them, he shall be called
great in the kingdom of heaven. For I say to you, that unless your righteousness exceeds the righteousness of the scribes and
Pharisees, you will by no means enter the kingdom of heaven.
This passage
is used to prove Jesus put an end to the Law of God. However, that simply does
not make sense. He says He did not come to destroy the Law but instead to
fulfill it. So, how could this mean bring an end to it considering bringing an
end to it and destroying it result in the same thing? This word fulfill needs
to be looked at in a bit more depth. The Greek word for “fulfill” is Strong's
G4137 – plēroō. It is used in many other places and if we say it means fulfill
in terms of bringing an end to something, it should be able to be used in the
same context in the other usages as well.
Matthew 3:15
But Jesus answered and said to him, “Permit
it to be so now, for thus it is fitting
for us to fulfill all righteousness.” Then he allowed Him.
Should we read
this as, “it is fitting for us to bring
to an end all righteousness.” Or does it make more sense as, “it is fitting
for us to carry out all righteousness”?
Luke 22:15-16
Then He said to them, “With fervent desire I
have desired to eat this Passover with you before I suffer; for I say to you, I
will no longer eat of it until it is
fulfilled in the kingdom of God.”
How about this
one, “I will no longer eat of it until it is brought to an end in the kingdom of God”? This simply doesn’t make
logical sense. Or does it make more sense as, “I will no longer eat of it until
it is carried out in the kingdom of
God”?
John 17:13
But now I come to You, and these things I
speak in the world, that they may have
My joy fulfilled in themselves.
Finally,
should we understand this as, “they may have my joy brought to an end in themselves”? Or does it make more sense as,
“they may have My joy carried out in
themselves”?
It seems much
more likely this word should be translated as carried out in all of these
verses as opposed to “brought to an end”. To fulfill a prophecy is to carry it
out. To fulfill the law is to carry it out. Let’s look at the verse in question
one more time.
Matthew 5:17
“Do not think that I came to destroy the Law
or the Prophets. I did not come to destroy but to fulfill.
What makes
more sense? “I did not come to destroy but to bring an end to” or “I did not come to destroy but to carry out”? Obviously, it makes much
more sense in each of these situations to mean carry out.
Next we see
heaven and earth will pass away before the Law of God does because every single
thing in the Law and prophets must take place first. Now for the part that
relates to everyone.
Whoever therefore breaks one of the least of
these commandments, and teaches men so, shall be called least in the kingdom of
heaven; but whoever does and teaches them, he shall be called great in the
kingdom of heaven. For I say to you, that unless your righteousness exceeds the
righteousness of the scribes and Pharisees, you will by no means enter the
kingdom of heaven.
The Pharisees
were breaking these commandments and teaching men to do so as well. Now
consider churches today teach its not only okay to break them, but they don’t
even apply to believers today. This begs the question, who is more like a
Pharisee today, the preacher who says we do not need to keep the Law of God and
teaches against it, or the guy who says we should keep the Law of God and
teaches in favor of it? Now, we also see it is those who teach men against keep
His Law that will be considered least in the kingdom of heaven. I don’t know
about you, but I definitely do not want to “just make it” to heaven. I want to
make it and be close to my Savior. It is the man who keeps and teaches in favor
of them who will be considered greatest in the kingdom.
Next, notice
what Yeshua says. To enter into the kingdom of heaven, one must exceed the
righteousness of the Pharisees. This is doable by simply keeping His Law. The
next argument you may make is that the Law is too difficult to keep for any
man. This line of thinking directly contradicts scripture itself.
Deuteronomy 30:11-14
“For this
commandment which I command you today is
not too mysterious for you, nor is it far off. It is not in heaven, that
you should say, ‘Who will ascend into
heaven for us and bring it to us, that
we may hear it and do it?’ Nor is it beyond the sea, that you should say,
‘Who will go over the sea for us and bring it to us, that we may hear it and do it?’ But the word is very near you, in your mouth and in your heart, that you may do it.
Moses says it
right here, the Law of God is near to us and not too difficult for men.
Furthermore, we know both Yeshua and Paul are considered prophets and teachers.
They are both from the House of Judah. The House of Judah has been keeping the
Law of God, for the most part, since the beginning. Both Yeshua and Paul knew
the Tanakh (all of the Old Testament) better than anyone else in the world.
With that being the case, why would we even entertain the thought the Father
would send a prophet or teacher who taught against His Law when His Law
describes a false prophet and teacher as the following?
Deuteronomy 13:1-5
“If there arises among you a prophet or a dreamer of dreams, and he gives you a sign or a wonder, and the sign or the wonder comes to pass,
of which he spoke to you, saying, ‘Let
us go after other gods’—which you have not known—‘and let us serve them,’ you shall not listen to the words of that
prophet or that dreamer of dreams, for the Lord your God is testing you to know whether you love the Lord your God
with all your heart and with all your soul. You shall walk after the Lord your God and fear Him, and keep His
commandments and obey His voice; you shall serve Him and hold fast to Him.
But that prophet or that dreamer of dreams shall be put to death, because he has spoken in order to turn you away
from the Lord your God, who brought you out of the land of Egypt and redeemed you from the house of bondage,
to entice you from the way in which the
Lord your God commanded you to walk. So you shall put away the evil from
your midst.
This is
considered the Deuteronomy 13 test and it clearly shows exactly how to test a
man’s teaching. If anyone teaches against the Law of God he should be
considered a false prophet and teacher. This is precisely why many Jews will
not accept Yeshua as the Messiah, and outright reject Paul altogether. If either of them taught against keeping God’s
Law, we should throw out their teachings. However, I have done extensive work
showing Paul does not teach against the Law of God, and Yeshua’s words are
simply being twisted to say it is only for the Jews or we don’t need the Law.
All in all,
Yeshua came for the Northern Kingdom of the House of Israel, and not the Jews.
The Jews, were and still do keep the Law of God. Yeshua’s death was to release
the House of Israel from the marriage law found in the Torah that stopped that
group from coming back to the Father. Yeshua is the Messiah, even for the Jews
because He will ultimately bring both Houses back together as one chosen
people. So yes, Yeshua is important to the Jews, but no, He did not die for their
sins.
Ezekiel
37:15-28
Again the
word of the Lord came to me, saying, “As for you, son of man, take a stick for
yourself and write on it: ‘For Judah and for the children of Israel, his
companions.’ Then take another stick and write on it, ‘For Joseph, the
stick of Ephraim, and for all the house of Israel, his companions.’
Then join them one to another for yourself into one stick, and they
will become one in your hand.
“And when
the children of your people speak to you, saying, ‘Will you not show us what
you mean by these?’— say to them, ‘Thus says the Lord God: “Surely I
will take the stick of Joseph, which is in the hand of Ephraim, and the
tribes of Israel, his companions; and I will join them with it, with
the stick of Judah, and make them one stick, and they will be one in
My hand.” ’ And the sticks on which you write will be in your hand before their
eyes.
“Then say
to them, ‘Thus says the Lord God: “Surely I will take the children of
Israel from among the nations, wherever they have gone, and will gather
them from every side and bring them into their own land; and I will
make them one nation in the land, on the mountains of Israel; and one
king shall be king over them all; they shall no longer be two
nations, nor shall they ever be divided into two kingdoms again.
They shall not defile themselves anymore with their idols, nor
with their detestable things, nor with any of their transgressions; but I will
deliver them from all their dwelling places in which they have sinned, and
will cleanse them. Then they shall be My people, and I will
be their God.
“David
My servant shall be king over them, and they shall all have one
shepherd; they shall also walk in My judgments and observe My
statutes, and do them. Then they shall dwell in the land that I
have given to Jacob My servant, where your fathers dwelt; and they shall
dwell there, they, their children, and their children’s children, forever; and
My servant David shall be their prince forever. Moreover I
will make a covenant of peace with them, and it shall be an everlasting covenant
with them; I will establish them and multiply them, and I will set
My sanctuary in their midst forevermore. My tabernacle also shall
be with them; indeed I will be their God, and they shall be My people. The
nations also will know that I, the Lord, sanctify Israel, when My sanctuary is
in their midst forevermore.” ’ ”
This is the
prophecy of the two sticks, which is the two houses. Notice, David will be king
over them. David is Yeshua because He is descended from David. Yeshua will be
the king over both the House of Judah and the House of Israel. Yeshua has made
both gentiles and Jews one together and has broken down the middle wall of
separation. The Jews believed gentiles were lesser people and they did not
associate with each other.
Ephesians 2:14
For He Himself is our peace, who has made
both one, and has broken down the middle wall of separation, having abolished in His flesh the enmity, that
is, the law of commandments contained in
ordinances, so as to create in
Himself one new man from the two, thus making
peace, and that He might reconcile
them both to God in one body through the cross, thereby putting to death
the enmity.
Notice this
verse is not referring to the Law of God, but instead the law of commandments
contained in ordinances that divided both the Jews and Gentiles, who are the
House of Judah and the House of Israel. When YHWH divorced the Northern
Kingdom, the Southern Kingdom no longer associated with them and made it a
written law found within their traditions. When Yeshua abolished this enmity between
the two houses, He created in Himself One New man from the two separate houses,
which made peace between the two. He did this to reconcile the two as one back
to YHWH. This is the beginning of the two sticks prophecy coming to pass. This
is why Yeshua is so important for the Jews. However, until we show the Jews Yeshua
and Paul did not teach against the Law of God, they will not accept Him. They
cannot.
Isaiah 11:12-13
He will set up a banner for the gentiles, And will assemble the outcasts of Israel, And gather together the dispersed of Judah From the four corners of the
earth. Also the envy of Ephraim shall
depart, And the adversaries of Judah shall be cut off; Ephraim shall not envy Judah, And Judah shall not harass Ephraim.
YHWH will set
up a signal for the gentiles, assembling the outcasts of Israel, as well as
gathering together the dispersed of Judah. Ephraim will no longer be envious of
Judah and Judah will no longer be hostile to the house of Israel. This is
exactly what we see with the middle wall of separation which divided the house
of Judah from the house of Israel. We also see the banner is for the gentiles,
who have the house of Israel within them.
Acts 10:28
Then he said to them, “You know how unlawful it is for a Jewish man to keep
company with or go to one of another nation. But God has shown me that I should not call any man common or unclean.
John 4:9-10
Then the woman of Samaria said to Him, “How
is it that You, being a Jew, ask a drink from me, a Samaritan woman?”
For Jews have no dealings with Samaritans.
Jesus answered and said to her, “If you knew the gift of God, and who it
is who says to you, ‘Give Me a drink,’ you would have asked Him, and He would
have given you living water.”
Galatians 2:11-14
Now when Peter had come to Antioch, I withstood
him to his face, because he was to be blamed; for before certain men came from James, he would eat with the Gentiles;
but when they came, he withdrew and
separated himself, fearing those who
were of the circumcision. And the rest of the Jews also played the hypocrite with him, so that even Barnabas
was carried away with their hypocrisy. But when I saw that they were not straightforward about the truth of the gospel, I said
to Peter before them all, “If you, being
a Jew, live in the manner of Gentiles and not as the Jews, why do you compel
Gentiles to live as Jews?
These are some
very important passages concerning the Jews and the Gospel. From Acts, Peter
says it is unlawful for a Jew to associate with gentiles. This is not found in
the Law of God, so we can assume this is strictly a Jewish oral law. But, we
see Peter says YHWH showed him that gentiles should not be considered unclean. It
was Yeshua’s death on the cross which cleans them of their adulterous sin.
The passage
from John confirms this law and shows the gentile woman stating Jews do not
deal with gentiles. Then a huge, and massively misunderstood passage from
Galatians also shines some light on this issue. Peter, after having his vision
from God, and going out and preaching to the gentiles they are no longer
considered unclean but part of God’s plan. But, when the Jews who were part of
the circumcision sect showed up, Peter was afraid and disassociated himself
from them. This led to the other Jews following suit. This is the reason Paul
called him out, not because he was keeping the Law of God, but because he was
keeping the Jewish oral law. Peter was being a hypocrite by preaching all men,
Jews and Gentiles, could come to YHWH according to what Yeshua did. He was
preaching gentiles were not unclean and could associate with Jews, and then
when in the sight of the high powered Sect of the circumcision Jews he went
back to treating them as if they were unworthy. Paul relates this idea to the
straightforwardness of the truth of the gospel.
Clarifications < click here to see answers to a few questions that arose from this blog.
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