A Little Learning Together
Very warm greetings to you, your loved ones, and all, in Yeshua’s name!
There is much attention given – and very rightly so – to the death and Resurrection of Yeshua. Quickly for here; the word almost always used to refer to the death of Yeshua in KG (Koine Greek) is “thanatos“. This particular word is used to indicate an actual physical death.
Resurrection, you may be surprised to learn cf. Acts 23:4-7, was very much championed by the P’rushim “Separate Ones” “Pharisees”. Paul absolutely remained one his entire life. Cf. esp. Acts 23:6 (we’ve taught on this elsewhere). The belief in resurrection was especially based on Daniel 12:2. The Greeks scoffed at the idea of resurrection; cf. the end of Acts 17. The reason the Athenians scoffed is largely because Plato said all matter is evil and must be destroyed, only spirit is good.
This is why Paul had to write to the heavily Greek philosophy influenced Corinthians about the Resurrection of Yeshua, and resurrection in general in 1 Cor. 15. The way that Paul proves the fact of the bodily Resurrection of Yeshua in the opening section of 1 Cor.15 is exactly how a P’rush (“Pharisee”) would do so.
Paul makes no intellectual compelling argument nor a legal case as some modern writers have done. Rather, Paul makes his point concretely; not conceptually. Paul points out the large number of Jewish followers – and it should be noted it was only Jews – who saw the resurrected Yeshua. Though he doesn’t cite specifics, Paul’s KG at the end of both 1 Cor. 15:3 and v. 4 are that the Resurrection is “… kata tas graphas” “according specifically to the Writings”. Paul means the Hebrew Scriptures. Paul also Hebraically repeats the exact same words in the exact same place, for emphasis
One of the things that struck me early on as a follower of Yeshua, God willing 31 years a few weeks from now, is the following.
The tremendous emphasis & focus by the Western Tradition System on the need for restoration and reconciliation between the individual and God.
The restoration of the relationship of the individual to God is what I call the vertical dynamic of the Cross. I’ve been very blessed by God to have a very solid Jewish background and decades in substantive Jewish space – including 12 years in Orthodox Jewish space – and time spent with and learning with Orthodox Jewish rabbis. Here’s one of the key things I’ve seen and experienced in the Jewish Community that followers of Yeshua can absolutely learn from.
We repeatedly repeat in our teaching that based on a Greek concordance of the RCS (Renewed Covenant Scriptures), you may well be shocked to learn that the Biblical message is actually a “we” message – not, the “me” message Western Tradition typically emphasizes!
The Greek Concordance shows 775+ more uses of “you” plural in Greek, than “you” singular. About 63% of the uses of “you” in Greek are “you” plural. The Greek Concordance lists 865 uses of what’s translated “we” “us” “our”. Nine of the 10 uses in Greek of God as Savior is Savior of we/us.
The Jewish Community expends considerable time effort and expense in working to unify the Jewish Community. One of the best-known sayings of the Talmud is typically translated “all Jews are responsible for one another”.
In my almost 31 years’ experience as a follower of Yeshua, about 28 in ministry, I’ve seen just the opposite among my very very dear Christian brethren. Meaning, while the evangelical System expends considerable time effort and resources to “reach the lost” – which is not a mandate actually given to Gentiles to go and do on their own – there is little or no real effort to unify the splintered Body of Yeshua.
Again, while there’s tremendous tremendous focus on the vertical dynamic of the work of Cross, there is virtually no preaching or teaching on the work of the horizontal dynamic of the Cross.
What do we mean by the horizontal dynamic of the Cross? That is the restoration of the relationship that is known in Hebrew as shalom between man and his friend.
We should also note: in what are known in Hebrew as Ten (of) the Words, known to the world as the Ten Commandments, we see that the first five are between God and Man, and the second five between man and man.
Thus at another level, there is the Cross.
As we explain in our teaching and have repeatedly done so, part of the deeper meaning of the Hebrew word shalom, as one of the great Torah teachers correctly explains, is this. Not just peace but “restoration of relationship, concern for the well-being of others; not just a superficial coexistence but a harmony and an organic interaction”. More deeply also, “bring disparate elements together”.
That is exactly exactly more deeply what our wonderful Mashiach Yeshua said to his beloved Taught Ones after the Last Passover Seder – Yochanon (“God is gracious”,” John’s” original Hebrew name) 14:27. Please note; in the original, “you” is plural – not singular.
In short for here, the teaching by Yeshua our Master following the Last Passover Seder in Yochanon 13-16 was not based on the fact that while his Taught Ones had great love for one another, they needed to have more love for God. It was just the opposite; Yeshua saw and knew all too clearly that his beloved Taught Ones needed more love for one another.
Yeshua knew without that love for one another, they would never be a united unit – and they would not be the witness to the World they should be! Cf. esp. Yochanon 13:34-35; cf. 15:12-14, v.13.
The last few decades have seen a tremendous interest and surge by my dear Christian brethren in the “Hebrew Roots” and “Jewish Roots” of following Yeshua, and of the Bible. Unfortunately, overall what the actual Hebrew and Jewish basis of Yeshua and the Bible is has been largely missed. (We won’t get into that here)….
Jewish practices have been adopted by Christians that, speaking the truth in love, have no actual Biblical application for my Christian brethren. Ones that do, unfortunately, seem to be largely overlooked, missed, or ignored.
In Mt. 5:21-24 Matityahu (“Matthew”) records Yeshua saying that if one knows their brother has something against them, first leave their way of drawing near to God, and be dialogued. In Matityahu’s Koine Greek rendering of an Hebraic original, the form of “be dialogued” is called a divine passive. That means obviously it is passive, and something that God does.
Divine passive here means that though God is not directly mentioned, God acts upon someone so that reconciliation with the other would take place.
Koine Greek grammars point out that the Jewish writers of the RCS frequently use the divine passive because of the Jewish view based on the Hebrew of the Hebrew Bible, that God is involved in everything! Cf. the Book of Esther, the one book in the Bible where God’s name is not mentioned; yet clearly God orchestrates the circumstances and events that save the Jewish People! Cf also Yochanon 1:13.
Matityahu’s KG (Koine Greek) in this section indicates what’s imperative: reconciliation with another must be done “firstly” “of first importance”; before one seeks to draw near to the LORD!
In Yeshua’s Hebraic original, one needs to act upon themself to humble themself. Humble in Hebrew in part means “to lower”. Yeshua expects someone to act upon themselves to lower themself. He knew that without that first taking place, too often times someone will refuse to be reconciled with another.
“Altar” in Hebrew is a noun (thing) that means “(a) place to act for a higher spiritual purpose”. It is directly connected in Hebrew with what is translated “sacrifice”. However “sacrifice” in Hebrew comes from a verb “nourish” and more deeply means “to act for a higher spiritual purpose”. It doesn’t have the idea or meaning of “sacrifice”; “sacrifice” is something the pagans offered to their “gods”.
After spending some time looking at the following in KG, I agree with those commentators on the Greek text of Rom. 3:25, who feel this way about it. Paul says that not only is atonement made through Yeshua, but Yeshua is also the place of atonement. In short, Paul in Greek draws on something seen in the last part of Exodus 40 for this idea.
So if Yeshua is also the place of atonement, that he is also the “altar” so to speak, the place to act for a higher spiritual purpose, then we have another reason to make sure our horizontal connections with others are not broken!
Returning to Mt. 5:21-24, the following analogy comes to mind. It’s as though an earthly father with God forbid two estranged children, says to them “don’t come visit me until you and your sibling are reconciled”.
The Cross is not unidirectional; meaning there’s only one piece of wood that goes vertically. The Cross is bidirectional. The Cross extends in one sense, since God was in control of the Crucifixion, from the Heavens to the Earth. That is represented by the vertical piece of wood. Here is what makes the Cross bidirectional: the Cross also had a horizontal piece of wood. This is symbolic of extending from one end of the Earth to the other. That extension includes bringing man and his friend, and Jew and Gentile together!
In Ex. 25, the Ark cover was to be hammered out of one piece of gold. At either end were the two cherubim. In Hebrew they are called a pair; that is closer than just calling them “two”. The Hebrew literally says that each faced towards his brother!
Above the Ark cover – in between the two cherubim who faced each other, not away from each other – there the LORD told Moshe He would make Himself known.
What the LORD instructed Moshe to have the Israelites make was a concrete model on Earth of what is in the Heavens. Cf. the Lord’s Prayer, which in the original is “in the Heavens and on Earth”. (Heaven in Hebrew is plural. Matityahu’s KG is Heaven plural, reflecting Yeshua’s Hebraic original).
On the Cross, there is Yeshua between the two ends of the horizontal piece. There, he also makes himself known to us. That he did not die for “me”; he died for “we”. Cf. esp. 1 Yochanon 2:2. Yochanon’s KG is completely Hebrew-based. That Yeshua makes Atonement …”olou tou kosmou“… ” of the whole of the World”.
Extremely extremely key is that Matityahu renders Yeshua’s Hebraic original of “first” by “proton“. This is not “first” meaning “first” as opposed to say “second” or “third”. Rather this is defined in lexicons as “firstly/first importance”.
What Yeshua then illuminates for us is this: that before we seek to ascend spiritually and be spiritually closer with our Wonderful Father, the horizontal dynamic must – of firstly importance – be restored if it is broken.
Yeshua’s horrifically horrible actual all too real death on the Cross does not just restore our relationship with the LORD. It also restores our relationship with each other!
One of Paul’s very major focuses of his 16 or 17 years of ministry was the reconciliation of Jew & Gentile in the Body. In short for here, cf. esp. Eph. 2:11-22, esp. vss. 14-17.
In Eph. 4:3, Paul says to make every effort to maintain unity. In Eph. 4:32-5:1, Paul says that as God forgave us, we should forgive each other. In Greek, Paul’s form of “God forgives” is basically a summary of a one-time action. Paul’s form of “forgive one another” is that of something to be continuously done! In Eph. 4:32, Paul puts “be” first for emphasis. The Greek form for forgive also indicates it’s imperative, to continuously be done now and in the future.
In Eph. 5:1, there is the same placement and form of “be” when it comes to being imitators of God, as beloved little children.
Earlier in his ministry Paul pleaded with the Corinthians to be reconciled with him. Paul writes of the reconciliation that God does through Mashiach, and that this ministry of reconciliation has been given him by God, cf. 2 Cor. 5:16-21.
Here is an appropriate Jewish practice for Christians. “All followers of Yeshua are responsible for one another”. Let us, especially at this time of year, make every effort to forgive others if needed and to be reconciled with them.
There is a Jewish practice that if you attempt to reconcile with someone and they refuse to listen to you, you go to three people who know both of you and ask them to intercede.
Forgiveness by us towards others is not an option! In Mt. 6:8-15, the Lord’s Prayer (very much based on a Jewish model), we see a principal first found in the Torah, known in Hebrew as “measure for measure”. Cf. also Mt. 7:1-2, 2 Cor. 9:6.
In Mt. 6:8-15, we must forgive others in order to be forgiven by God!
“Everything is under the blood” as Christians so often hear, does not mean we are free not to forgive or not be reconciled with others!
So then dear ones, let us make a concerted effort if necessary and let us be encouraged to honor by our actions, not only the vertical dynamic of the work of Yeshua on the Cross, but also the horizontal dynamic!
Let us make every effort to maintain the unity of the Body, Eph. 4:3.
Let us not to grieve the Ruach Hakodesh, as Paul writes in Eph. 4:30!
Let us, empowered by the Ruach Hakodesh, remember and live knowing that the Cross of Yeshua was not one piece of wood split into two pieces. But rather, that it was two separate pieces of wood joined together to form one piece.
The Romans thought by putting those two pieces of wood together and nailing the greatest Jew who ever lived to it, that they were ending a potential political uprising.
God used it to reconcile us to Himself and to each other.
The Enemy, the ultimate embodiment of Self, seeks to get us to focus on our Self. If he gets us to do so, God forbid, it can be all too easy for us to walk away from others.
Our wonderful Mashiach Yeshua is the ultimate embodiment of no Self.
He also taught that blessed (in the original it’s actually blessed in the sense of fortunate) are the shalom makers Mt. 5:7.
The author of Hebrews (my guess Apollos) says in Heb. 12:14 that we are to pursue Shalom with all. He puts the Greek word for shalom first for emphasis.
My Dad was one of the wisest men I ever met. He used to say “when all else fails follow directions”. Praise God since we are empowered by the Ruach Hakodesh, let us simply follow the directions given to us in God’s Word when it comes to forgiveness reconciliation and making shalom.
In doing so will we not honor the whole work of Yeshua on the Cross!
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Jacob
Ps. 133 Yochanon 17:20-23, Phpns. 2:2-3; cf. vss. 5-11