Let My Soul Be Like Dust

To those who curse me, let my soul be silent; and let my soul be like dust to everyone.

Yom Kippur is a day we afflict our souls and recall our sins against God and against other people. Do not forget that being redeemed by the blood of the Messiah doesn't mean we can act with impunity or ignore the commands of God in order to pursue our own desires. The Bible tells us that when Israel acted in such a way, God would remind them, often painfully. Before God must remind you or me, let us rend our hearts and not our garments and cry out to Him for mercy. Let us return to Him that He might return to us.

There is no soundness in my flesh because of Your fury, no peace in my bones because of my sin. For my iniquities have inundated me; like a heavy load, they are burdensome beyond me. Putrid and rotted are my sores, because of my folly. I am bent and exceedingly bowed, all day long in bleakness I go about. For my loins are full of a loathsome affliction and there is no soundness in my flesh. I am faint and exceedingly crushed. I roar from the groaning of my heart. O Lord, before You in all my yearning, my sighing is not concealed from You. -Psalm 38:4-10

But let there be hope, lest we be swallowed by the abyss of dispair.

Make me hear joy and gladness, may the bones that You crushed exult. -Psalm 51:10

You Who Are With Us Today

You stand this day, all of you, before the Lord your God — your tribal heads, your elders and your officials, all the men of Israel, your children, your wives, even the stranger within your camp, from woodchopper to waterdrawer — to enter into the covenant of the Lord your God, which the Lord your God is concluding with you this day, with its sanctions; to the end that He may establish you this day as His people and be your God, as He promised you and as He swore to your fathers, Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob. I make this covenant, with its sanctions, not with you alone, but both with those who are standing here with us this day before the Lord our God and with those who are not with us here this day. -Deuteronomy 29:9-14

This is a beautiful picture of all the diversity of roles and types among the Children of Israel and the Mixed Multitude (or rather, their children) who had originally left Egypt with the Israelites, standing together in relation to each other and the covenant of God. The words following words from this part (Deuteronomy 29:13-14) of Torah Portion Nitzavim are particularly intriguing:

I make this covenant, with its sanctions, not with you alone, but both with those who are standing here with us this day before the Lord our God and with those who are not with us here this day.

This is traditionally interpreted as referring to the unborn generations of Jews and in fact, all Jews who have ever been born and who will ever be born anywhere, since every Jew is to consider himself or herself as having personally stood at Mt Sinai to accept the Torah from God through Moses. But how does this figure in relation to unborn generations of Gentiles who would one day accept Yeshua as Messiah, Savior, Lord, and Master? Does this have anything to do with them, or, like a laser, are these words only pointed at a very small and specific target and, in this case, a Jewish target?

A strict Messianic Jewish/Bilateral Ecclesiology (MJ/BE) viewpoint would say the latter and further, they would say that, regardless of all the different roles described in the passage from Deuteronomy 29, all those people were either born Jews or Gentiles who had converted to Judaism (or rather, their children). Yet the picture of a diverse group standing together, listening to one Prophet of God, living a single life under the One God is compelling. Were Jewish and Gentile believers in God always meant to be segregated, particularly with the advent of Yeshua? Consider the following:

The Jews and Gentile God-fearers worshiping together in the synagogue in Thessalonica.

When they had passed through Amphipolis and Apollonia, they came to Thessalonica, where there was a Jewish synagogue. As his custom was, Paul went into the synagogue, and on three Sabbath days he reasoned with them from the Scriptures, explaining and proving that the Christ had to suffer and rise from the dead. "This Jesus I am proclaiming to you is the Christ," he said. Some of the Jews were persuaded and joined Paul and Silas, as did a large number of God-fearing Greeks and not a few prominent women. -Acts 17:1-4

The Jews and Gentile God-fearers worshiping together in the synagogue in Berea.

As soon as it was night, the brothers sent Paul and Silas away to Berea. On arriving there, they went to the Jewish synagogue. Now the Bereans were of more noble character than the Thessalonians, for they received the message with great eagerness and examined the Scriptures every day to see if what Paul said was true. Many of the Jews believed, as did also a number of prominent Greek women and many Greek men. -Acts 17:10-12

The Jews and Gentile God-fearers worshiping together in the synagogue in Athens.

While Paul was waiting for them in Athens, he was greatly distressed to see that the city was full of idols. So he reasoned in the synagogue with the Jews and the God-fearing Greeks, as well as in the marketplace day by day with those who happened to be there. -Acts 17:16-17

The Jews and Gentile God-fearers worshiping together in the synagogue in Corinth.

After this, Paul left Athens and went to Corinth. There he met a Jew named Aquila, a native of Pontus, who had recently come from Italy with his wife Priscilla, because Claudius had ordered all the Jews to leave Rome. Paul went to see them, and because he was a tentmaker as they were, he stayed and worked with them. Every Sabbath he reasoned in the synagogue, trying to persuade Jews and Greeks. -Acts 18:1-4

We see Paul journeying to a number of different areas in the diaspora and visiting synagogues where he found not only Jews but a number of Gentile God-fearers worshiping God. Logically, if Gentiles were worshiping in Jewish synagogues, they were being exposed to the same prayers and teachings as the Jews. There was no separation of groups where Gentiles were expected to attend a different set of services designed just for non-Jews. Nor did the Jewish congregants of these synagogues seem to believe that having Gentiles present somehow inhibited their ability to worship as Jews or somehow threatened their "Jewish identity".

When Paul taught at these synagogues and "Many of the Jews believed, as did also a number of prominent Greek women and many Greek men", we don't also see Paul telling the congregation to create two segregated groups in order to avoid "identity confusion" between the Jewish and Gentile believers. We can accept, as a matter of historical fact, that in the 2nd and 3rd centuries CE, a schism occurred between the Jewish and Gentile believers in Yeshua for a number of different religious, social, and political reasons but not out of a purposeful design by Paul to preserve Jewish identity in synagogues containing Gentile Yeshua-believers.

Once Paul delivered the message of the good news among the Jews and the Gentile God-fearers, there is no reason to expect that the God-fearers were suddenly kicked out of the synagogue. Why wouldn't they continue to stay in the synagogue, Jew and Gentile Yeshua-believer alike, and keep on worshiping as they had been doing previously?

Of course, this doesn't address the pagan Gentiles who came to faith in Yeshua apart from a synagogue setting and apart from a previous experience as God-fearers, so we can believe they either joined a synagogue with a Messianic Jewish leadership or they developed fellowships that were primarily Gentile, but that would be the result of circumstance, not Heavenly planning. Under those circumstances, people of like types and like languages and customs would be expected to congregate together, just as you'll find many neighborhoods today in New York, Chicago, and San Francisco that were originally established by people coming from the same country who spoke the same language. Not divine planning but rather human national and cultural familiarity.

Considering the numerous "mixed" synagogues chronicled in Acts 17 and in the beginning of Acts 18, the final words of the Jerusalem letter contain new meaning and perhaps more than a little irony:

For Moses has been preached in every city from the earliest times and is read in the synagogues on every Sabbath. -Acts 15:21

Certainly, those Gentile God-fearers who became Gentile Messianic believers would have heard and would have kept on hearing Moses being read in the synagogues on every Sabbath. While this may not make it particularly clear how the differences between Gentile and Jewish worshipers of Messiah functioned in a united synagogue setting, it does illustrate that they did function together. Paul didn't mandate a separation and neither, apparently, did Yeshua. Differences between Gentile and Jewish "identity" were probably assumed, at least in that context (though Paul's letter to the Galatians does indicate some Jewish and/or Gentile Judaizers did cause problems that Paul had to manage).

I'm not making a big, theological or "ecclesiastical" pronouncement, but even learned study and analysis must give way to a plain reading of the text and a certain amount of common sense. Jews and Gentiles were worshiping together in synagogues in a number of different areas of the diaspora before Paul ever showed up to bring the good news of Yeshua. Why would they have split into Jewish vs. Gentile congregations upon hearing Paul's message?

Sparrows

Also a gentile who is not of Your people Israel, but will come from a distant land, for Your Name's sake - for they will hear of Your great Name and Your strong hand and Your outstretched arm - and will come and pray toward this Temple - may You hear from Heaven, the foundation of Your abode, and act according to all the gentile calls out to You as [does] Your people Israel, and to know that Your Name is proclaimed upon this Temple that I have built

-I Kings 8:41-43 (Stone Edition Tanakh)

There's been a fair amount of attention in the Messianic blogosphere brought to the idea that some Gentiles converted to Judaism in the days of Moses, both at the Yinon blog and at Dan Benzvi's Fellow Heirs (in response to Rabbi Joshua's missive). This is part of the larger "Ger" debate which I previously tried to (apparently unsuccessfully) enter with this blog post. The "Ger" debate centers around whether or not the "Mixed Multitude" who left Egypt with the Children of Israel converted to Judaism at the Mount Sinai event.

This issue is at the center of the strict Messianic Jewish vs. One Law discussion regarding whether or not the Torah commandments and lifestyle (and remember we are talking about a holy way of living, not just a bunch of rules about what to put on the four corners of your garment) apply to Gentiles who have "attached themselves to Israel" or only to the Jewish people, regardless of the status of the aforementioned Gentiles (converted or not converted). If the Gentiles converted, then you could more or less assume that most of the time the Hebrew word "Ger" is used relative to Gentiles living among the born Jewish people, that the Gentiles are converts and thus considered Jewish themselves. If they didn't convert, it opens the door to the idea that Gentiles could be attached to the God of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob and to God's Torah, and yet retain their distinctiveness as Gentiles.

I won't attempt to enter this debate because (not that it isn't important) the Ger question isn't my point right now. As we see in the quote from King Solomon, it was God's intent that the nations of the world should all be drawn to Him, to hear of His glory, and to praise His Name. Solomon (amazingly enough) even declared before God and all the Jewish people, that if a Gentile should pray facing the Temple, where God's Name rests, that God should hear the Gentile's prayer and respond to the Gentile. In other words God isn't wholly owned and operated by the Jewish people or the nation of Israel and indeed, we can pray to God as Gentiles and expect to be heard.

We tend to forget this. We tend to forget, because the point is not really put forth by what I refer to as "strict Messianic Judaism" that one of the primary goals and reasons for the existence of the nation of Israel as a nation governed solely by God, was to be a light to the rest of the world, attracting all of the Gentiles to the God who created everything ... including us.

See, I have taught you decrees and laws as the LORD my God commanded me, so that you may follow them in the land you are entering to take possession of it. Observe them carefully, for this will show your wisdom and understanding to the nations, who will hear about all these decrees and say, "Surely this great nation is a wise and understanding people." What other nation is so great as to have their gods near them the way the LORD our God is near us whenever we pray to him? And what other nation is so great as to have such righteous decrees and laws as this body of laws I am setting before you today?

-Deuteronomy 4:5-8

Arise, shine, for your light has come,
and the glory of the LORD rises upon you.

See, darkness covers the earth
and thick darkness is over the peoples,
but the LORD rises upon you
and his glory appears over you.

Nations will come to your light,
and kings to the brightness of your dawn.

-Isaiah 60:1-3

If Israel was fully and completely expected to draw the Gentiles of the world to God, then Messianic Judaism shouldn't be surprised (or dismayed) that Gentiles are actually coming. Keep in mind that when the words I've quoted from the Torah and Tanakh were spoken and recorded, the men who said these words did not presuppose the Christian church nor could they have imagined that drawing Gentiles to God would result in what we think of as the practices associated with Evangelical Christianity in the 21st century. They weren't thinking that there would be a Jewish/Gentile schism in which both people groups would develop contradictory and, to some degree, mutually exclusive worship styles, beliefs, and theologies.

Nor, to be fair, were they thinking that all the Gentiles, once they were attracted to the "light", would spontaneously convert to Judaism. There's nothing in the Tanakh (as far as I can see) that says once the Gentiles learned of God's great Name, that they would join Israel as Jews. The writers in the Tanakh most likely weren't imagining that Gentiles would create a separate religion, but instead, that the Gentiles would join Israel as Gentiles, worshiping God in a manner consistent with, but perhaps not completely identical to, the Jewish concept of worship. The whole world wasn't expected to convert to Judaism just to have a relationship with God. Certainly nothing Solomon said indicated that the Gentile coming from a far away land would have to convert before praying to God.

...and will come and pray toward this Temple - may You hear from Heaven, the foundation of Your abode, and act according to all the gentile calls out to You as [does] Your people Israel...

Solomon says, "...and act according to all the gentile calls out to You..." (emphasis mine).

Somewhat tongue-in-cheek, Gene Shlomovich wrote a blog post called What advantage has a Gentile? Much in every way.... It was meant to be a humorous response to Gentile complaints in the Messianic world that "Jews have all the fun", so to speak, and that Gentiles in Messianic Jewish congregations are like children who are sent to the "kids table" (often a fold up card table) during Thanksgiving dinner, while the adults all sit around the formal dining area together to enjoy the feast.

When I first saw the title of Gene's article, I got my hopes up that he'd finally address this needless sore spot in the relationship between Jews and Gentiles in the larger "Hebraic movement", but he didn't go there. I know his intent wasn't harmful, but it did leave the echo of an impression that the reason Gentiles exist is just to be a pain in the neck to the Jews. It's like being invited to a party only to discover that you are there just to be singled out as the bad example to avoid.

Again, I know that's not what Gene meant, but as I tell my daughter who is an artist, it's not just the intent of the painter that goes into the painting, but the interpretation of the audience that gives the final result its meaning. You don't always have control of how other people relate to your words, so please choose them carefully.

What actually inspired me to write this post was something I read yesterday in Rabbi Shmuley Boteach's book Judaism For Everyone: Renewing Your Life Through The Vibrant Lessons Of The Jewish Faith:

Nevertheless, Judaism discourages conversion, but not for reasons of its being an elite club that does not allow new members. Rather, Judaism sees all people as being inherently holy and Godly, just the way they are born. The manner in which the Almighty created us is the way in which He wants us to develop our fullest spiritual and material potential. Judaism does not advocate the idea that converts upgrade their existence by becoming Jewish, and indeed the ancient Rabbis declare that a righteous Gentile who leads a moral and ethical life has an equal share (emphasis mine) in the immortal hereafter.

Put all the pieces together and understand that everyone can be close to God and live a Godly lifestyle without having to change into something else. If you're a Jew, worship God and be Jewish. If you're a Gentile, worship God and be Gentile. Solomon entreated God to hear the prayer of a Gentile and respond to that prayer in the same way God hears and responds to Jewish prayer.

Strict Messianic Judaism is so focused on preserving their ethnicity, culture, and identity that even without meaning to, they lose sight of the fact that Gentiles can also be close to God and that closeness does not in any way shape or form take anything away from the Jewish people in the Messianic movement. Yeshua brought the Jewish and Gentile sheep from their pens into one flock and gave us himself as our one shepherd.

For the Gentiles reading this message and especially for the Gentiles in the movement who may be tempted to convert to Judaism, Messianic or otherwise, you don't have to. God is the God of the Gentiles as well as the God of the Jews. Through Yeshua, we have access to God. Through Yeshua, we are considered Children of Abraham. We are not inferior. We are not substandard. We are not just another face in the crowd of a teaming but insignificant humanity.

In traditional Christianity, each believer is taught that he or she is special to God and through the blood of Jesus (Yeshua), we all have the right to be called sons and daughters of our Father in Heaven. If you, as a Gentile, feel that you have to pretend to be Jewish or that you have to try to actually be Jewish just to get God's attention, then you're wasting your time. You've already got God's attention, just as you are, just as who He designed you to be. If God is for you, don't be against yourself and don't let anyone else tell you that because you are not Jewish, you're not good enough. The Master said it this way:

So do not be afraid of them. There is nothing concealed that will not be disclosed, or hidden that will not be made known. What I tell you in the dark, speak in the daylight; what is whispered in your ear, proclaim from the roofs. Do not be afraid of those who kill the body but cannot kill the soul. Rather, be afraid of the One who can destroy both soul and body in hell. Are not two sparrows sold for a penny? Yet not one of them will fall to the ground apart from the will of your Father. And even the very hairs of your head are all numbered. So don't be afraid; you are worth more than many sparrows.

-Matthew 10:26-31

Define Jewish

One is a kind of rabbinic Dr. Phil, taking the unorthodox step of asking those saying Kaddish to rise from the pews — as if in a grief support group — and to talk about their deceased mother or aunt or lifelong friend. The other, like a jazz player improvising a new ritual on the fly, will switch from Hebrew to English to chant particularly meaningful sections of the Torah and Haftorah — and then offer a “short overview” of the significance of that section. Both rabbis are employing outside-the-box techniques — for Conservative synagogues, that is — and they are leading unlikely revivals of two such synagogues on Long Island, one in the North Shore town of Glen Cove, the other in the South Shore community of Freeport.

From The Jewish Week
Unorthodox Rabbis Growing Two L.I. Synagogues

I'm not trying to be divisive in publishing this blog post, but from a non-Jewish person's point of view, we have a tendency to have a rather narrow understanding of who is Jewish and what is Judaism. I thought I'd take a break from my current series of blogs and post this little tidbit. Along with the article above (the link leads to the full story), I saw this:

Like so many newly religious American immigrants to Israel, 20-year-old Sarah Weil immersed herself in Torah studies and the intricacies of Jewish law, learning intently with the strictest chasidic rebbetzins in various Jerusalem seminaries. “I desperately wanted to keep Torah and mitzvot and be in the Orthodox world,” said Weil, who made aliyah in 2005. There was only one problem — no matter how many times she tried to talk herself out of it, Weil, now 26, knew that she was gay, and that homosexuality is considered an abomination in the eyes of many in the Orthodox community.

From The Jewish Weekly
For Orthodox Lesbians, A Home Online

While internally, these two groups of people may consider themselves Jewish and experience their faith and their observance as Jewish, as we can see, larger Judaism has a problem with them. I say this because larger, mainstream Judaism has a problem with another group as well:

Under the headline "Yeshua Superstar," Yoaz Hendel looked at the Messianic Jewish community in Israel as part of a series on "Who is a Jew?" "They circumcise their children, celebrate bar mitzvah, get married at the rabbinate, but they believe in Yeshua as their Messiah. 15,000 Messianic Jews currently live in Israel. If you met them in the street or the army, you probably wouldn't know who they are ... A Shabbat table loaded with food, the father of the family bends his head and blesses for the food and a good life, everyone holds hands and answers amen. If this scene had been in English, you might have thought that it was an episode of 'A Little House on the Prairie' - except that the prairie is the Yad HaShmonah moshav near Jerusalem and those praying are native Hebrew-speaking Israelis - Messianic Jews.

From the Maoz Israel Blog
Who is a Jew?

Internally, Messianic Jews also consider themselves Jewish and experience their faith and their observance as Jewish and at the same time, larger, mainstream Judaism (there may be exceptions, but generally speaking) definitely has a problem with MJ, considering them not to be Jewish at all but in fact, Christian.

Despite their belief in Jesus, Messianic Jews insist that they are Jewish. They call their religious leaders rabbis, they call their houses of worship synagogues, and their articles of faith emphasize what they call their Jewishness.

Jewish leaders think otherwise. "He’s not running a Jewish synagogue," says Rabbi Tovia Singer, founder of an organization dedicated to opposing Christian proselytizing, speaking of Messianic rabbis in general. "It’s a church designed to appear as if it were a synagogue and I’m there to expose him. What these irresponsible extremist Christians do is a form of consumer fraud." Religious leaders across the Jewish spectrum have all declared that Messianic Jews are not Jews.

From the Wikipedia entry:
Messianic Judaism

In fact, Jews for Judaism is an organization created to specifically counter the Missionary efforts of organizations like Jews for Jesus and other faith groups that actively attempt to convince Jewish people that Yeshua (Jesus) is the Jewish Messiah. Messianic Judaism isn't just disapproved of among mainstream Jews but specifically resisted.

Each group I've mentioned attempts to define itself within the confines and limits of its own boundaries and then export that definition the groups outside itself. This doesn't usually work out too well, at least for "minority groups", as experience has shown, and building bridges, either between a minority group and the majority, or between two or more minorities, is difficult at best and, in the worst case scenario, impossible this side of the Messiah's coming (or return, depending on your viewpoint). The result can often lead to each "minority" group (defining mainstream and particularly Orthodox Judaism as the "majority" in this context) becoming increasingly isolated from the larger group and circling the wagons into an ever tighter and more self-contained community.

This is one way that Messianic Judaism tends to view Gentile One Law groups, but I suspect that the behavior is more widespread in the larger, more general "Messianic" realm as well. What we aren't taking into account (at least I've never seen it expressed in the Messianic blogosphere) is God's point of view.

Messianic/One Law/Two-House conversations tend to focus on the physical manifestations of religious practice and the specific text of the Bible as applied to our various viewpoints, but rarely do we directly talk about what God sees and what God wants out of us. We also don't seem to talk about who God thinks is and isn't a Jew and how God sees both Jewish and non-Jewish people who have come to faith in the Jewish Messiah (and I say this from the point of view of a non-Jewish person who has come to faith in who I believe is the Jewish Messiah).

Yeshua talked about creating one flock out of two pens which is another way of saying "unity" between believing Jewish and Gentile people. I'm not sure how that unity is supposed to play out and I suspect that even those people who seem sure of how that unity (or disunity) is to manifest, when push comes to shove, can't be 100% sure that they are right on each and every point.

God is sure. He knows who is Jewish and who isn't. He knows how or if there is supposed to be a significant difference in religious identity between believing Jews and Gentiles and between Messianic and non-Messianic Jews. In our current existence, we fret and moan over who is Jewish and who isn't and what it all means. I suspect in the World to Come, Messiah will solve all that for us and straighten out all our quarrels and feuds.

In the last days
the mountain of the LORD's temple will be established
as chief among the mountains;
it will be raised above the hills,
and peoples will stream to it.

Many nations will come and say,
"Come, let us go up to the mountain of the LORD,
to the house of the God of Jacob.
He will teach us his ways,
so that we may walk in his paths."
The law will go out from Zion,
the word of the LORD from Jerusalem.

He will judge between many peoples
and will settle disputes for strong nations far and wide.
They will beat their swords into plowshares
and their spears into pruning hooks.
Nation will not take up sword against nation,
nor will they train for war anymore.

Every man will sit under his own vine
and under his own fig tree,
and no one will make them afraid,
for the LORD Almighty has spoken.

All the nations may walk
in the name of their gods;
we will walk in the name of the LORD
our God for ever and ever.
-Micah 4:1-5

What Did Jesus Change? The Gentiles

When Jesus had entered Capernaum, a centurion came to him, asking for help. "Lord," he said, "my servant lies at home paralyzed and in terrible suffering." Jesus said to him, "I will go and heal him." The centurion replied, "Lord, I do not deserve to have you come under my roof. But just say the word, and my servant will be healed. For I myself am a man under authority, with soldiers under me. I tell this one, 'Go,' and he goes; and that one, 'Come,' and he comes. I say to my servant, 'Do this,' and he does it." 

When Jesus heard this, he was astonished and said to those following him, "I tell you the truth, I have not found anyone in Israel with such great faith. I say to you that many will come from the east and the west, and will take their places at the feast with Abraham, Isaac and Jacob in the kingdom of heaven. But the subjects of the kingdom will be thrown outside, into the darkness, where there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth." Then Jesus said to the centurion, "Go! It will be done just as you believed it would." And his servant was healed at that very hour. -Matthew 8:5-13

This is one of the few times the Bible records a transaction between Yeshua (Jesus) and a non-Jewish person. From Christianity's point of view, it may seem a little disappointing that Jesus would spend so much time among the Jews who ultimately would reject him and barely give a nod to the Gentiles who would come to adore him. Of course, that viewpoint is significantly skewed, both from the Biblical record and from the nature, character, and mission of the Jewish Messiah (as opposed to the Christian Jesus), but let's examine this matter a bit further.

From a strict Messianic Jewish point of view, Yeshua "was sent only to the lost sheep of the house of Israel" (Matthew 15:24) and thus his lack of interaction with Gentiles was to be expected. After all, he's the Messiah to the Jewish nation, not to all the nations. Yet his interactions with non-Jews, rare though they may have been, were extremely telling. The story of the interaction between the Roman Centurion and Yeshua, already quoted, paints a portrait of a Gentile who had great faith in the God of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob. We don't imagine he could have known Yeshua was not only a teacher and prophet but the Messiah as well, but he knew enough to believe Yeshua was a holy man of God, able to heal through faith. It was the Centurion's faith as a matter of fact, that surprised even the Master:

"When Jesus heard this, he was astonished and said to those following him, "I tell you the truth, I have not found anyone in Israel with such great faith." -Matthew 8:10

That had to have stung the Jewish people hearing Yeshua speak, particularly the disciples who were with the Master. What Yeshua said immediately afterward must have been even more shocking:

"I say to you that many will come from the east and the west, and will take their places at the feast with Abraham, Isaac and Jacob in the kingdom of heaven. But the subjects of the kingdom will be thrown outside, into the darkness, where there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth." -Matthew 8:11-12

Taken in context, Yeshua seems to be saying that at least some of the Gentiles of the nations will come to great faith and will "take their places at the feast with Abraham, Isaac and Jacob in the kingdom of heaven" while some of the Jewish people (subjects of the kingdom) will be "thrown outside, into the darkness, where there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth".

I imagine I'll get quite a bit of rebuttal on what I just said from the Messianic Jewish community, but when you consider the message of Paul to the mixed Jewish/Gentile congregation in Rome recorded in Romans 11, you see that the "glue" that keeps us attached to the holy root isn't being Jewish or Gentile, but rather, it's faith. Yeshua said it in Matthew 8 and he says it again here:

Leaving that place, Jesus withdrew to the region of Tyre and Sidon. A Canaanite woman from that vicinity came to him, crying out, "Lord, Son of David, have mercy on me! My daughter is suffering terribly from demon-possession." Jesus did not answer a word. So his disciples came to him and urged him, "Send her away, for she keeps crying out after us." He answered, "I was sent only to the lost sheep of Israel." The woman came and knelt before him. "Lord, help me!" she said. He replied, "It is not right to take the children's bread and toss it to their dogs." "Yes, Lord," she said, "but even the dogs eat the crumbs that fall from their masters' table." Then Jesus answered, "Woman, you have great faith! Your request is granted." And her daughter was healed from that very hour. -Matthew 15:21-28

The Syro-phoenician, even in the face of the apparently harsh words of Yeshua, continued in her faith, humbly approaching the Master for the sake of her daughter and such great faith was rewarded. How many people, having once been rebuked, would have sadly gone away, condemning their child to unimaginable suffering because the Master said "no" once? This woman did what most mothers do for the sake of their children; suffer virtually any hardship and opposition to get help for her beloved offspring.

We can argue if Yeshua was testing this woman by calling her a "dog" or if he seriously wanted her to just go away, but if the latter, her persistance convinced the Messiah of her faith and faith, above all other considerations, is what heals and saves.

We also know of a Samaritan woman who talked to Yeshua at a well (John 4:4-42) and the Master was bluntly honest with her, too:

He told her, "Go, call your husband and come back."

"I have no husband," she replied.

Jesus said to her, "You are right when you say you have no husband. The fact is, you have had five husbands, and the man you now have is not your husband. What you have just said is quite true." -John 4:16-18

Nevertheless, he also tells her that he is the "living water" and that "..whoever drinks the water I give him will never thirst. Indeed, the water I give him will become in him a spring of water welling up to eternal life." (John 4:14) which is somewhat confusing if he otherwise didn't want to give her the time of day. In fact, something amazing happens as a result of this "chance" encounter:

Many of the Samaritans from that town believed in him because of the woman's testimony, "He told me everything I ever did." So when the Samaritans came to him, they urged him to stay with them, and he stayed two days. And because of his words many more became believers. They said to the woman, "We no longer believe just because of what you said; now we have heard for ourselves, and we know that this man really is the Savior of the world." -John 4:39-42

Yeshua actually stayed with the Samaritans for two days (in those days, Jews and Samaritans didn't particularly get along, so this was at least unusual if not unheard of) and he spoke to them all directly, and not just to the one Samaritan woman. As a result, many of the Samaritans came to faith and believed "this man really is the Savior of the world" (emphasis mine).

One of the arguments in strict Messianic Judaism is that, because Yeshua came only for the lost sheep of Israel, we must take his words and teachings within that context rather than applying them liberally to all believers, Jewish and Gentile alike. I've been told that, while Gentiles can read and study the teachings of Yeshua from the Gospels, they must all be understood specifically as teachings to the Jews and not to the Gentile nations. I have a few problems with that understanding.

I am the good shepherd; I know my sheep and my sheep know me - just as the Father knows me and I know the Father - and I lay down my life for the sheep. I have other sheep that are not of this sheep pen. I must bring them also. They too will listen to my voice, and there shall be one flock and one shepherd. -John 10:14-16

"They too will listen to my voice.." (emphasis mine). This is a very important saying of the Master and indicates his direct intent to include the Gentile nations as his "flock" and his declaration that he is the "Good Shepherd" to the Gentile "sheep" as well as the Jewish "sheep". It is also a passage that I've never seen quoted in strict Messianic Jewish writings (though of course, I haven't read them all). I was a tad surprised that I didn't find an analysis of this passage in Mark Kinzer's Postmissionary Messianic Judaism: Redefining Christian Engagement with the Jewish People. When I was reading and reviewing Dr. Kinzer's book, I thought he would find it necessary to offer his understanding of this critical passage, particularly in light of his proposal of Bilateral Ecclesiology as a method of healing the schism between believing Jews and Gentiles. One cannot discuss the relationship between Jewish and Gentile disciples of the Master without considering the "Good Shepherd". Then, there are also these words:

Then the eleven disciples went to Galilee, to the mountain where Jesus had told them to go. When they saw him, they worshiped him; but some doubted. Then Jesus came to them and said, "All authority in heaven and on earth has been given to me. Therefore go and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, and teaching them to obey everything I have commanded you. And surely I am with you always, to the very end of the age." -Matthew 28:16-20

Let's read part of that again:

Therefore go and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, and teaching them to obey everything I have commanded you... (emphasis mine)

Just so we're clear on this, let's find out what a disciple is:

one who accepts and assists in spreading the doctrines of another: as a : one of the twelve in the inner circle of Christ's followers according to the Gospel accounts b : a convinced adherent of a school or individual -Merriam-Webster Dictionary

That's the dictionary definition. Let's take a look at a couple of other viewpoints. Bible.org states that the Christian definition is:

In Ancient Greek, the verb manthano is used to denote the process by which one acquired theoretical knowledge. A disciple was a learner. A man was known as a mathetes or disciple when he bound himself to another in order to acquire his practical and theoretical knowledge. The word was sometimes nearly synonymous with the term apprentice. There was never a disciple without a master or teacher. In some Greek circles the teacher was paid by his disciples.

The commentary from Bible.org goes on to make this statement about Rabbinic Judaism's interpretation of a disciple:

As R. T. France has observed, “Every Jewish teacher worth his salt had his circle of ‘disciples’ who ‘followed’ him (literally walking behind him as he rode or walked ahead), looked after his daily needs, and soaked up his teaching. Their teacher was the most important person in their Lives.”

In Judaism one must learn not only the Old Testament Scriptures, but also the oral traditions, the traditions of the fathers. One would attach himself to a Rabbi, who would serve as a kind of mediator between the student and the Scriptures. One dared not to interpret the Scriptures independently, and could only speak with authority after years of study under a master. Since there were several masters, there sprang up several schools of rabbinical thought, each in competition with the others.

Although I can't find the specific sources, in Rabbinic Judaism in days gone by a disciple would attempt to imitate his Master in every aspect of life, including how he dressed, how he ate, how he spoke, as well as what he taught. Some stories (and I don't know how true these are) say that a few disciples even went to the extreme of hiding in the Master's home to secretly observe how the Master relieved himself and even how he made love to his wife.

I know, those last bits seem a bit bold, but I include them to illustrate that a disciple in Jewish tradition is not just a convert or a "classroom student", but someone who learns by imitating the actions and teachings of the Master teaching him.

How do we apply this to Matthew 28 and the Gentiles? So far, we can conclude that although Yeshua came for the lost sheep of Israel, he did not limit himself in absolute terms from Gentiles and in fact, it seems that the only Gentiles he had anything to do with were those who approached him specifically as a matter of faith. Beyond that, Yeshua stated his intent to be a Good Shepherd to both the Jewish and Gentile flocks and out of two pens to be one shepherd to one flock. He also said that he wanted his Jewish disciples to teach the Gentiles to become disciples and to teach the Gentile disciples everything he had taught the Jewish disciples.

When I've mentioned that last comment before, the response from the MJ/BE perspective was to say that Yeshua taught "mainly moral law", as a way of expressing that he did not teach Jewish distinctiveness and thus, such specific Jewish behavior was not intended to be passed on to the Gentiles. Maybe so and maybe not, but I suspect that the answer to that question lies in the writings of the Apostles, which I'll cover in my next blog.

NOTE: Judah Gabriel recently posted a paper written by J.K. McGee on his blog titled "One Law for All". The timing is very good and should add some perspective to what I've already learned in this area from my recent studies as well as providing additional dimension to the next part of this series.

One final point to consider. You may assume that the only reason Yeshua came "for the lost sheep of Israel" was that they were "the lost sheep of Israel". He was and is the Messiah, so what else should he be doing? I agree, but I think there was another reason that has a direct application to the rest of the world.

It is too small a thing for you to be my servant
to restore the tribes of Jacob
and bring back those of Israel I have kept.
I will also make you a light for the Gentiles,
that you may bring my salvation to the ends of the earth. -Isaiah 49:6

Israel was always intended to be an example; a light to the nations, leading the pagan Gentiles to the One God. If "salvation is from the Jews" (John 4:22), then the leaders and the examples who draw the Gentiles to the Messiah must be the believing Jewish people. Beyond what I've said before, perhaps another reason Yeshua went to the lost sheep of Israel was so that they could be found and then go to the lost sheep of the nations. Food for thought.

What Did Jesus Change: Ritual?

The Pharisees and some of the teachers of the law who had come from Jerusalem gathered around Jesus and saw some of his disciples eating food with hands that were "unclean," that is, unwashed. (The Pharisees and all the Jews do not eat unless they give their hands a ceremonial washing, holding to the tradition of the elders. When they come from the marketplace they do not eat unless they wash. And they observe many other traditions, such as the washing of cups, pitchers and kettles.) So the Pharisees and teachers of the law asked Jesus, "Why don't your disciples live according to the tradition of the elders instead of eating their food with 'unclean' hands?" -Mark 7:1-5

This is bound to be another "unpopular" blog post of mine, but I feel it really needs to be addressed.

In Christian tradition, the scripture I've just quoted is the beginning few sentences of the sequence of events in which Jesus would "declare all meats clean". A careful reading of the context reveals that he did no such thing, but it's hard to buck tradition.

However, it does appear that what Yeshua (Jesus) is doing, at least in part, is calling the Pharisees out on a man-made tradition that doesn't have its basis in the Torah. That's how most One Law groups read this, but there's a problem from a strict Messianic Jewish (MJ) point of view. The problem is that much of MJ believes in the validity of both the written and oral Torah, in which case, the ritual of hand washing would be perfectly valid.

My wife, who's been attending classes given by our local Chabad Rabbi, was trying to explain all this to me last night. She was saying that there are three types of "law" in the Jewish world (I'm doing this from memory, so please forgive me if I get the exact wording wrong): Torah, derived, and legislated.

Torah can be considered both written and oral. Remember, Moses was on Sinai with God for 40 days, so they must have talked about something. Actually, the oral law makes a certain amount of sense, once you realize that many of the commandments in the written Torah don't explain how to obey them (just how does one wear fringes on the four corners of a garment?). In that, the oral law modifies the written law so that it is "operationalized", describing the mechanics of how to perform the various commandments.

After Torah, there are the derived rulings, which is like how the U.S. Supreme Court interprets the U.S. Constitution. Originally, the Sanhedrin, in the days of Moses, was charged with interpreting the Torah for people, particularly in disputes, clarifying its meaning in difficult to understand situations. Also, over time, laws have to be understood in the light of new technological and social changes. For instance, laws previously passed in our country that addressed telegraph and telephone communications, some over a century old, have to be reinterpreted in light of the Internet.

Let's apply this to the Torah. When the laws dictating proper behavior on the Shabbat were first codified, automobiles and microwave ovens didn't exist. Once they were invented and put in popular use, the Shabbat laws had to be interpreted to render a judgment relative to whether or not these devices could be used lawfully on Shabbat. The directive to not drive on the Shabbat (at least in the Orthodox community) was derived from the original Shabbat commandments based on not igniting a flame on the Sabbath.

After this come legislated rulings. These can actually be local customs and can differ between, say the Ashkenazi and Sephardic Jews. For instance, among the Ashkenazi, it is prohibited to eat or possess rice and beans during the Passover season as they are considered "leaven". You might wonder why, since these items are never used to leaven bread, but in centuries past, these food items were sometimes mixed with flour. It wasn't always easy to tell which ones were and which were not mixed with flour, so the Beit Din (Rabbinic Court) ruled that all rice and beans were to be considered leaven in order to resolve the conflict. Although the original problem has probably long since vanished, the ruling is still binding.

I know it all sounds confusing, particularly from a Christian point of view where it's believed that grace replaced the law and all of these details are now simply moot. However, if you're an observant Jew and obeying God is uppermost in your mind and heart, these details are of vital importance.

Now, back to hand washing. First let's continue with the transaction from Mark that we begin at the top of this post:

And he said to them: "You have a fine way of setting aside the commands of God in order to observe your own traditions! For Moses said, 'Honor your father and your mother,' and, 'Anyone who curses his father or mother must be put to death.' But you say that if a man says to his father or mother: 'Whatever help you might otherwise have received from me is Corban' (that is, a gift devoted to God), then you no longer let him do anything for his father or mother. Thus you nullify the word of God by your tradition that you have handed down. And you do many things like that." Again Jesus called the crowd to him and said, "Listen to me, everyone, and understand this. Nothing outside a man can make him 'unclean' by going into him. Rather, it is what comes out of a man that makes him 'unclean.' " -Mark 7:9-16

As you can see, Yeshua isn't really talking about food but about a matter of paying lip service to the Torah while making a big deal over a minor procedure. In other words, blowing off your parents so you can seem more holy by giving money that could have supported them to the Temple, and then turning around and hassling a bunch of Jewish guys for not performing the ritual of hand washing before a meal. Yeshua is calling this group of Pharisees hypocrites, and rightly so, but is he also nullifying the ritual of hand washing? Consider this:

"Blessed are You, LORD, our God, King of the universe, Who has sanctified us with His commandments and commanded us concerning washing of hands."

That's the English translation of N'tilat Yadayim or the blessing of the ritual washing of hands, which is performed to this very day among observant Jews. Are we to say that Yeshua directly contradicted this practice which is observed by at least some present day Jews including perhaps some Messianic Jews?

He doesn't actually say so (though he calls it a tradition that you have handed down), but he does say this:

After he had left the crowd and entered the house, his disciples asked him about this parable. "Are you so dull?" he asked. "Don't you see that nothing that enters a man from the outside can make him 'unclean'? For it doesn't go into his heart but into his stomach, and then out of his body." He went on: "What comes out of a man is what makes him 'unclean.' For from within, out of men's hearts, come evil thoughts, sexual immorality, theft, murder, adultery, greed, malice, deceit, lewdness, envy, slander, arrogance and folly. All these evils come from inside and make a man 'unclean.' " -Mark 7:17-23

Yeshua largely seems to be saying that making a big deal over such a small thing as hand washing is relatively meaningless as compared to sins such as "evil thoughts, sexual immorality, theft, murder, adultery, greed, malice, deceit, lewdness, envy, slander, arrogance and folly", so he may have just been using this situation to make a point, rather than doing away with the ritual of hand washing among Messianic Jewish believers. On the other hand, Yeshua's Jewish disciples weren't practicing the tradition of hand washing in the first place, so they must have gotten the idea that they didn't have to as part of leading a life holy to God. Yeshua, of course, would have been the person to override this "commandment" with his disciples and, to the degree that they don't seem bothered by not performing the ritual, it couldn't have been too earth-shattering for them to give it up.

In Christianity, Jesus came, in part, to do away with the law...all of it, and replace it with grace. From a Christian point of view, it's no big deal if Jesus taught his disciples to violate every last tenet of Torah, written, oral, and whatever, and Christianity doesn't expect the disciples to have batted an eye at surrendering all of the beliefs they had considered part of obeying their God and had observed all their lives (though just look at how Peter reacted when it seemed God was telling him to eat non-kosher foods in Acts 10). Put back into context, Yeshua couldn't have revolutionized or abandoned Jewish practices and it's more likely that he clarified the interpretation of what Moses brought down from God at Sinai.

After all, it's not like Yeshua told his disciples to go fishing on the Shabbat or to take money from the poor; acts that would have horrified them in their blatant violation of Torah. Yeshua couldn't possibly have taught his Jewish disciples anything that would have gone against traditional Jewish belief in such a bald-faced manner. Perhaps hand washing was indeed a tradition that operated outside of the legitimate structure of Torah living and was truly made up by the Rabbis.

Today in Judaism, the rulings of the ancient Sages are revered and although there can be disagreement between different commentaries, they all are considered to operate within the boundaries of Torah and no judgment of a Sage is believed to be "made up".

However, if ritual hand washing is considered a valid expression of Jewish lifestyle and faith today and, as a ruling of the Sages, is believed in Judaism to be within the boundaries of Torah, how can we reconcile this with Mark 7 and the deliberate lack of observance of this ritual by Yeshua's disciples?

For Christianity, this simply means that all "man-made" rituals in Judaism were done away with (although Christianity and yes, every other faith practice, has plenty of man-made rituals in place), but for those of us who believe that once God established the Torah it was never to be reversed, how are we to understand this? Did Yeshua actually rule against certain Jewish rituals? If Mark 7 is an example of this, can we believe other rituals considered to be "holy" in their day were just made up?

If all that is true, can we extrapolate to the present and dare ask the question: Are some of the traditions kept by rabbinic and even Messianic Jews today "made up"? If so, which ones and how are we to tell?

The One Law movement largely disregards all of the oral law as well as the derived and legislated practices of Judaism as "made up" which tends to be one of the criticisms the Bilateral Ecclesiology branch of Messianic Judaism levels against OL, but the issue isn't entirely clear cut. If OL considers all believers, Jew and Gentile alike, bound to Torah obedience, we have to determine how far that obedience extends. MJ/BE says that more or less, Acts 15 is the limit of Gentile Torah requirements. OL considers the written but only the written Torah as having authority over their lives, thus imposing limits on their own observance. Did Yeshua muddy the waters in Mark 7 for Jews and Gentiles by suggesting that at least some parts of oral law and tradition were not really from God?

What Did Jesus Change? Prayer

"This, then, is how you should pray:
" 'Our Father in heaven,
hallowed be your name,
your kingdom come,
your will be done
on earth as it is in heaven.
Give us today our daily bread.
Forgive us our debts,
as we also have forgiven our debtors.
And lead us not into temptation,
but deliver us from the evil one.
For if you forgive men when they sin against you, your heavenly Father will also forgive you.
But if you do not forgive men their sins, your Father will not forgive your sins.
-Matthew 6:9-15

You may not think of prayer as something that Yeshua/Jesus changed and it may even seem mysterious to think that his Jewish disciples needed him to teach them to pray. After all, Jews had been praying to God for thousands of years. Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob prayed. Why would John the Baptist need to teach his disciples to pray and why, seeing this, would Yeshua's disciples ask him to teach them to pray?

I don't have a specific answer for all that, but the clue may be found here:

And when you pray, do not be like the hypocrites, for they love to pray standing in the synagogues and on the street corners to be seen by men. I tell you the truth, they have received their reward in full. But when you pray, go into your room, close the door and pray to your Father, who is unseen. Then your Father, who sees what is done in secret, will reward you. And when you pray, do not keep on babbling like pagans, for they think they will be heard because of their many words. Do not be like them, for your Father knows what you need before you ask him. -Matthew 6:5-8

It may well have been, in an age where the Holy Land was occupied by a harsh, Gentile ruler, and much of the religious hierarchy was in the control of Rome, that some of the focus of how to live a holy life had been interrupted or even influenced negatively by outside sources.

Why do we pray?

There are a wide variety of reasons, the most common being to ask for what we want and what we need. Sometimes prayer more resembles Aladdin's relationship with the genie in the lamp than man's relationship with the One God of the Universe.

A detailed analysis of the meaning of prayer is beyond the scope of this blog and frankly, many more worthy individuals have written chapters and even whole books on the subject, so what could I possibly contribute?

That said, it seems as if Yeshua helped to address the specific components of prayer that are most important to human beings. After all, God doesn't need us to pray because he requires a source of information from us. He already knows our needs. Prayer changes us, not God. So what does "the Lord's Prayer" mean?

In simple language, God is holy, we ask that our world more resemble His Heavenly Court where the only will that is done is His will. We get hungry and have other needs and God wants us to rely on Him for those. This next part's really important. We ask for God's forgiveness relative to how we forgive others. We're really big on being forgiven by God but forget that we're supposed to pass that along to everyone around us, whether they deserve it or not (because after all, we don't). After that, we ask to be delivered from harsh testings and from the evil one. This doesn't mean bad things won't happen to us, just that God is with us and will deliver us from them.

Was this revolutionary to the original Jewish disciples? Maybe and maybe not, but based on what Yeshua said in Matthew 6:5-8, it was probably revolutionary to the Gentiles who would later be brought "into the fold" as disciples of the Jewish Messiah.

Yeshua described the prayers of the Gentiles (pagans) as "...do not keep on babbling like pagans, for they think they will be heard because of their many words". The form of Yeshua's prayer isn't very long at all and he makes a point of saying that it's not for imparting information or getting God's attention (we've already got it). It's for developing and maintaining a relationship with a personal God, which may well have been something the early Gentile pagan converts had no idea how to deal with. While teaching his own Jewish disciples how to pray was important, teaching the Gentiles how to pray would have been vital. Of course Yeshua wasn't teaching Gentiles how to pray then, but we have his words now, don't we?

There's another important component to prayer that we don't get in the Gospels:

Therefore, since we have a great high priest who has gone through the heavens, Jesus the Son of God, let us hold firmly to the faith we profess. For we do not have a high priest who is unable to sympathize with our weaknesses, but we have one who has been tempted in every way, just as we are — yet was without sin. Let us then approach the throne of grace with confidence, so that we may receive mercy and find grace to help us in our time of need. -Hebrews 4:14-16

Now a strict MJ/BE interpretation might say the book of Hebrews was written to...Hebrews, but how can these verses be applied differently to a Gentile believer? Our High Priest is able to sympathize with our weaknesses and was tempted in the same ways we're tempted. We know that when we pray, we won't be looked down upon from the heavens for being "only human". The writer of the book of Hebrews also says we pray to "receive mercy and find grace to help us in our time of need." Again, while this may not have been any sort of conceptual change for Jewish disciples, I'm willing to believe it was an earth-shattering revelation for Gentiles who formerly worshiped "gods" who "behaved" just as badly as human beings behave and who had a tendency to be very capricious, sometimes granting mercy, sometimes granting wrath (and they were fictional anyway, but that doesn't mean the pagans weren't afraid of them).

While we are encouraged to pray to God unceasingly with our needs and our hurts, prayer serves as the means to spend time with God, and God asks that we approach our time with him the way we would with a beloved spouse, someone who we love deeply, and who we want to spend as much time with as possible, and with whom we want to share the moments and cares of our lives.

While Yeshua may not have significantly changed the nature and character of prayer for the Jewish people, he introduced the Gentiles to a way to pray to a personal and caring God who desires that all humanity draw near to Him.

What Did Jesus Change? Sons of Abraham

But when he saw many of the Pharisees and Sadducees coming to where he was baptizing, he said to them: "You brood of vipers! Who warned you to flee from the coming wrath? Produce fruit in keeping with repentance. And do not think you can say to yourselves, 'We have Abraham as our father.' I tell you that out of these stones God can raise up children for Abraham. -Matthew 3:7-9

I'll say upfront that some of you reading this won't like what I'm about to say and certainly will argue against my opinion, but I've been considering this for quite some time and today, I gave it a voice.

I've been trying to identify what specifically has been bothering me about the various comments in the Messianic blogsphere since I started involving myself in this environment. While there have been blogs seeking to establish unity within the Messianic realm posted lately, such as Dan Benzvi's Is a meaningful dialoge possible? You bet! and Judah Himango's Some things we agree on, the question is, have the discussions been agreeable? Not really.

One of the issues for me is that the representatives of the Bilateral Ecclesiology "branch" of Messianic Judiasm (though this isn't the only expression of MJ), seem to equate the idea of them needing to be treated with respect as needing to be agreed with all the time. Of course, we all want everyone to agree with us. That's human nature. Most of us realize that this is an unrealistic desire, though.

I recall Gene Shlomovich saying that there have been One Law and Two House representatives who have "repented" and have since agreed with his position. Does that mean if I disagree with Gene or more generally with MJ/BE I have sinned and need to repent? Is having a difference of opinion a sin?

It seems as if MJ/BE is saying that, because they are "Sons of Abraham", they should automatically be respected (and perhaps agreed with), regardless of anything else including what they say and how they behave towards others. While I agree that Jewish people (Messianic and non-Messianic alike) have a unique covenant relationship with God, that relationship doesn't entitle said-Jewish people automatic respect and deference in any debate, discussion, and encounter, simply because of their status as Jews.

Consider what John said in the above-referenced quote to the Pharisees and Sadducees when they presented that argument. Also, consider the words of Paul:

If some of the branches have been broken off, and you, though a wild olive shoot, have been grafted in among the others and now share in the nourishing sap from the olive root, do not boast over those branches. If you do, consider this: You do not support the root, but the root supports you. You will say then, "Branches were broken off so that I could be grafted in." Granted. But they were broken off because of unbelief, and you stand by faith. Do not be arrogant, but be afraid. For if God did not spare the natural branches, he will not spare you either. Consider therefore the kindness and sternness of God: sternness to those who fell, but kindness to you, provided that you continue in his kindness. Otherwise, you also will be cut off. And if they do not persist in unbelief, they will be grafted in, for God is able to graft them in again. -Romans 11:17-23

No, I didn't miss the part that says the Jewish people are the natural branches and the Gentiles are the "wild olive branches", nor the part later on that says all of Israel will be saved, but look at the "glue" that keeps both the natural and wild branches attached to the root. It's faith. Any of the branches can be glued in or knocked off depending on their faith status, not their ethnic status and not even their covenant status. Righteousness isn't a matter of who you are but a matter of your faith and what you do with it. This goes all the way back to Abraham.

Abram believed the LORD, and he credited it to him as righteousness. -Genesis 15:6

Paul confirms this in Romans 4:3

What does the Scripture say? "Abraham believed God, and it was credited to him as righteousness."

Respect isn't automatic, even in the sight of God. It's what we do, our "fruits" that make a difference, not just our covenant status. How you tie your tzitzit or if you do or don't wear tzitzit, while important within its context, isn't as important as the weighter matters of the Torah. It's these weighter matters, love, kindness, justice, charity, that are never mentioned in any of our blog conversations and comments. While One Law is most often accused of lacking these characteristics, I haven't seen them discussed significantly by MJ either.

Naturally, we must have a relationship with God in the first place, but once that's established, it's what we do with that relationship that counts. We can't simply wear our status like a t-shirt or some other garment and expect that's the length, depth, and breadth of our responsibility to God and to other people.

No, we don't earn salvation, it's free, but we still have to make the choice to accept an active relationship with God and then accept the lifestyle that goes along with it. For instance, how many religious leaders expect to be automatically obeyed and respected just because they're religious leaders, not because they're necessarily leading a holy and Godly lifestyle? I'm not comparing the individuals or the groups associated with MJ/BE with such leaders, but only offer them as examples of folks who thought their "status" earned them respect and entitlement, not their behavior.

Respect can't be demanded. You can't insist I respect you and seriously believe I'll roll over. Even children don't respect their parents beyond a certain point unless the parent behaves in the child's and family's best interest and not just in their own.

In Judaism, you have a position relative to God in the merit of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob, but that diminishes or even deletes any personal responsibility. It's why a Jewish man, even if he is a Buddist or an atheist (but not a Christian or Messianic) can go into any synagogue in the world and still get an aliyah and read from the Torah.

So what did Yeshua change in terms of the Sons of Abraham? How about this:

If you belong to Christ, then you are Abraham's seed, and heirs according to the promise. -Galatians 3:29

Paul was specifically addressing Gentiles in this letter and so was affirming that non-Jewish believers are also Sons of Abraham, and not merely Sons of Noah, as rabbinic Judaism would consider Gentiles.

While we can say that Yeshua came for the lost sheep of Israel and not for the Gentiles, most of these arguments specifically ignore (as I've mentioned before) John 10:14-16 when Yeshua says he is the Good Shepherd of both the Jewish and Gentile flocks, and Matthew 28:16-20 when he commands his Jewish disciples to also make disciples for him from among all non-Jewish people on Earth.

Also, while we may argue about which commands of Yeshua do and don't apply to Gentile believers, consider these examples that go to the very core of our faith:

"A new command I give you: Love one another. As I have loved you, so you must love one another. By this all men will know that you are my disciples, if you love one another." -John 13:34-35

Yes, Yeshua was speaking to his Jewish disciples, but are we to truly believe this doesn't apply to the later Gentile disciples? Does it mean that Jewish disciples are only supposed to love other Jewish disciples and Gentile disciples are only supposed to love other Gentile disciples, in some sort of "bilateral" way? If we only show love and kindness to those who are like us and disrespect those who are not, to quote Yeshua, "..even the tax collectors and pagans do that".

Of course, the two greatest commandments (Matthew 22:34-40, for example) contain what I consider the two "big buckets" for all the commandments. We are to love our God with everything we've got and, out of that love for God, we are to love our neighbor as ourselves. When Yeshua said All the Torah and the Prophets hang on these two commandments, it's as if he were saying that they were the containers for all of the Torah and the writings of the Prophets. While we can all take these directives at face value and run with them, we can also dig into the buckets and explore what they contain...a wealth of God's wisdom, justice, and mercy for every disciple of Yeshua. If the words of Yeshua are not obeyed by all his followers, Jewish and Gentile alike then the little minutiae we argue about doesn't amount to much.

Those commandments are at the heart of the "stuff" we argue about (food, tzitzit, etc...). The "stuff" is just the interface by which we operationalize our encounters with God, they are not a means unto themselves. Just like the sacrifices didn't save, though they had meaning and purpose.

You do not delight in sacrifice, or I would bring it;
you do not take pleasure in burnt offerings.
The sacrifices of God are a broken spirit;
a broken and contrite heart,
O God, you will not despise. -Psalm 51:16-17

It's the inner man who matters. Yes, Judaism says that even a good deed committed with a bad motive "counts", but it doesn't mean that having bad attitudes and going through the motions is desirable. It's just a place to start.

In dealing with my walk and with the MJ/BE/OL communities, I have considered walking away for it, usually due to the lack of unity I experience, not within my local group, but with the larger body of Messianic believers. I don't mind disagreements and discussion, it's the name calling and the snide, (and sometimes) behind the back remarks I find unworthy of followers of the Messiah. You may all be Rabbis and have advanced religous degrees and places of leadership within your own congregations, but that doesn't make it right to violate the command of Yeshua or the dignity of others.

In Judaism, the concept of Lashon Hara (the evil tongue) has much thought and literature dedicated to it, yet few if any of us pay any attention to it and feel free to violate this tenet whenever we please.

In our zeal to find a movement or person to follow that gives us an "edge", we've forgotten these words of Paul.

I appeal to you, brothers, in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ, that all of you agree with one another so that there may be no divisions among you and that you may be perfectly united in mind and thought. My brothers, some from Chloe's household have informed me that there are quarrels among you. What I mean is this: One of you says, "I follow Paul"; another, "I follow Apollos"; another, "I follow Cephas"; still another, "I follow Christ." Is Christ divided? Was Paul crucified for you? Were you baptized into the name of Paul? I am thankful that I did not baptize any of you except Crispus and Gaius, so no one can say that you were baptized into my name. (Yes, I also baptized the household of Stephanas; beyond that, I don't remember if I baptized anyone else.) For Christ did not send me to baptize, but to preach the gospel—not with words of human wisdom, lest the cross of Christ be emptied of its power. -1 Corinthians 1:10-17

If we have one shepherd, how come we're not acting like one flock. It's not like we're even acting like two flocks (Jews and Gentiles) but half a dozen flocks or more, each with our own priorities and requirements that we adhere to, regardless of the impact on others. I don't care who you are, Jew or Gentile, Messianic or One Law, Rabbi, or Pastor or whatever other label you attach to yourself. Messiah is all or he is nothing.

It's not about having all the answers, it's about continuing to ask questions. Our study of the Word, along with our walk with the Messiah isn't just something that happens once and then we're done. It's a journey we take all our lives. Sometimes we find we've made a wrong turn and have to change direction, but that's part of the journey

The greatest single thing for which I admire FFOZ is their courage in admitting they believe they made a mistake and then taking steps to correct it, no matter what the cost. I may not always agree with everything they say, but they have the courage of their convictions and a sincere desire to serve the Messiah.

You may think you have all the answers and I know that I don't. I know I'll pursue God all the days of my life, looking for how he wants me to serve Him better.

Being holy is a process, not an event. Don't imagine you've arrived. Once you stop questioning your assumptions and believe you are right all the time, you've stopped growing in God. You may impress the people around you or you may hurt or damage others, even to the point of preventing people from coming to faith, but are you truly listening to God?

That's how you teach...not as an expert...but as a student. Someone who expects to continue learning throughout life. As I said, it's not so much having all the answers, but being able to ask the right questions.

What did Jesus change? He brought the Gentiles into the family of God. I'm not sure there was agreement in the original Messianic Jewish movement about what to do with us and I'm sure there isn't agreement with what to do with us now. But we're here because God wants us to be here and because Yeshua is our shepherd and we, just like the Jewish flock, are also his sheep...and sons of Abraham.

What Did Jesus Change: Access

One of, if not the most important change that came about for everyone through Yeshua is the access the believer now has to YHVH in the set-apart place.

While the tabernacle was in the wilderness, and the very Presence of YHVH filled the small space, who was allowed to walk in and talk to YHVH directly?

There were only two men who could enter in during that time. The rest of Israel, not to mention the "Ger", would do so only if they wanted to die immediately.

Yeshua most definitely changed that relationship for everyone regardless of where they come from, Jew or non-Jew.

I think this is quite significant in relation to the practices of different people groups. It is certainly not a popular position, but it seems clear from the new covenant writings that when Messiah opened the Way for all to come to YHVH and receive life, He did so in the same way for all, regardless of where they came from. This is where the earthly distinctions are removed and covenant of salvation takes over.

-Efrayim

You bring up a good point that inspires a few thoughts within me this morning. We know that the Tabernacle in the desert was basically a scale model of God's Heavenly Court. God provided Moses with the "blueprint" of everything he was supposed to build so that, when completed, the Divine Presence would descend and occupy the Mishkan, and God would once again live among His people.

I imagine that Aaron and his sons too represented those beings who served God as priests in the Heavenly Court. We know from the book of Hebrews that Yeshua himself is now the High Priest in Heaven, acting as mediator between man and God.

What you seem to be saying is that, prior to Yeshua assuming the role as High Priest for the world, the Jewish people only had access to God through the sacrifices and the priesthood in the Tabernacle and later in Solomon's and then Herod's Temples. We also know that, at Yeshua's death, the veil separating the Most Holy Place was torn, top to bottom, presumably allowing free access to the inside (though I can't imagine anyone just waltzing in as if they had free rights to walk about the place).

The traditional Christian interpretation of this event is that everyone now has direct access to God through Yeshua and that no man serves as mediator to our Creator anymore.

But how does that work in practical terms?

Certainly in the time of Moses and before, any Jew could pray to God and expect God to respond to those prayers. Even if a Gentile became aware of God and came to faith in God and even without that Gentile converting to Judaism, wouldn't that person still be able to pray to God and expect God to hear those prayers? Adam talked to God before the Mishkan and the Torah. So did Noah. So did Abraham. Were they special cases?

In the time just before Yeshua's sacrifice, we know that Jews prayed to God. Yeshua himself related the following:

To some who were confident of their own righteousness and looked down on everybody else, Jesus told this parable: "Two men went up to the temple to pray, one a Pharisee and the other a tax collector. The Pharisee stood up and prayed about himself: 'God, I thank you that I am not like other men—robbers, evildoers, adulterers—or even like this tax collector. I fast twice a week and give a tenth of all I get.'

"But the tax collector stood at a distance. He would not even look up to heaven, but beat his breast and said, 'God, have mercy on me, a sinner.'

"I tell you that this man, rather than the other, went home justified before God. For everyone who exalts himself will be humbled, and he who humbles himself will be exalted." -Luke 18:9-14

Both of these men were praying to God as individuals. The Pharisee in the parable certainly expected that God would hear his prayers, though from Yeshua's comments, we get the definite impression it was the Tax Collector who was truly heard by God.

How about a Gentile God-fearer worshipping in the synagogue in the same time period? Certainly the God-fearer would pray. Wouldn't God hear him?

How would all this have changed after the death, resurrection, and ascension of Yeshua? Since Peter (Acts 10) was surprised that Gentiles could receive the Holy Spirit, this was something new, but we see the Jewish disciples receiving that self-same Spirit in Acts 2. Is that the difference in access? Did Jews always receive the Spirit before the Acts 2 event, or only those who were granted the gift of Prophecy or who were assigned to be Judges?

As I've mentioned in my comments on Judah's blog, I admire the security people place in their own interpretation of all the commandments and events recorded in the Bible (and elsewhere) but how can you arrive at a specific conclusion, among all the different options, and be convinced that your personal conclusion is correct?

I have faith in God, but the only conclusion I have come to with any certainty, even within the context of the Bible, is that I haven't the faintest idea of how God really "works".

What Did Jesus Change: On Earth as it is in Heaven?

Then Moses set up the courtyard around the tabernacle and altar and put up the curtain at the entrance to the courtyard. And so Moses finished the work. Then the cloud covered the Tent of Meeting, and the glory of the LORD filled the tabernacle. Moses could not enter the Tent of Meeting because the cloud had settled upon it, and the glory of the LORD filled the tabernacle. -Exodus 40:33-35

I must confess, this passage is one of my favorites; the moment when the Divine Presence descends upon the Tabernacle and God dwells physically among His people. I always imagine it happens at night. Three million people are surrounding the tabernacle, each with their tribe, their clan, and their family. Something comes down from the heavens but no human being could possibly describe it. This Presence, which seems to have substance and a physical nature, rather than being like spirit or mist, lowers itself upon and then into the tabernacle. Suddenly, the darkened tent that Moses just completed ignites with a brilliant light, dazzling, amazing, and terrifying all of the witnesses to the event. In an instant, these people, all of whom willingly and wholeheartedly accepted God's Torah at the foot of Sinai, realize that their God is now dwelling among them.

But it wasn't the first time.

Then the man and his wife heard the sound of the LORD God as he was walking in the garden in the cool of the day, and they hid from the LORD God among the trees of the garden. But the LORD God called to the man, "Where are you?" He answered, "I heard you in the garden, and I was afraid because I was naked; so I hid." -Genesis 3:8-10

Adam and Eve (Havah) don't seem particularly surprised to find God "walking" in the Garden, they are only startled because they don't want Him to "see" that they're naked. Before the expulsion from Eden, Adam and Eve took it for granted that God was with them and it wasn't an amazing thing for God to talk to them and for them to talk to God. Of course all that changed, and since that change, mankind has struggled to overcome the separation, and to establish and continue to have a relationship with God. Certainly, we don't have the same relationship as the one He intended; the one He had with Adam and Eve, nor the one we will eventually have again.

No longer will there be any curse. The throne of God and of the Lamb will be in the city, and his servants will serve him. They will see his face, and his name will be on their foreheads. There will be no more night. They will not need the light of a lamp or the light of the sun, for the Lord God will give them light. And they will reign for ever and ever. -Revelation 22:3-5

Of course, that event is yet to come. But what did Yeshua (Jesus) change between the end of the Exodus and the end of Revelation? To understand the answer, you have to read this.

Central to Judaism is the belief in the coming of the Messiah, a time which God's light will shine openly in the world. The Jewish apocalyptic vision is of an eternal era of peace and brotherhood on the earth, rather than in the heavens. When a Jew speaks of the world-to-come, he or she means this world the way it will be when it is perfected.

Rabbi Shumely Boteach
Judaism For Everyone: Renewing Your Life Through The Vibrant Lessons Of The Jewish Faith

You probably noticed that Rabbi Boteach's description of the Messianic Age is substantially similar to what we read in Revelation 22. However, one of the reasons that rabbinic Judaism rejects Yeshua as the Messiah is that, in Yeshua's coming in the first century, he didn't accomplish the "Messianic goal" of repairing the world but instead, "died on a stake as a criminal". However, as believers, we also know that he lived among us:

He was in the world, and though the world was made through him, the world did not recognize him. He came to that which was his own, but his own did not receive him. Yet to all who received him, to those who believed in his name, he gave the right to become children of God - children born not of natural descent, nor of human decision or a husband's will, but born of God. The Word became flesh and made his dwelling among us. We have seen his glory, the glory of the One and Only, who came from the Father, full of grace and truth. -John 1:10-14

We could almost change the translation to say The Word became flesh and tabernacled among us, summoning both the image of the tabernacle in the desert and the holiday of Sukkot...a temporary dwelling of Heaven on Earth. But if Yeshua came the first time to show us how to experience the divine within our midst, why did he leave?

On one occasion, while he was eating with them, he gave them this command: "Do not leave Jerusalem, but wait for the gift my Father promised, which you have heard me speak about. For John baptized with water, but in a few days you will be baptized with the Holy Spirit." So when they met together, they asked him, "Lord, are you at this time going to restore the kingdom to Israel?" He said to them: "It is not for you to know the times or dates the Father has set by his own authority. But you will receive power when the Holy Spirit comes on you; and you will be my witnesses in Jerusalem, and in all Judea and Samaria, and to the ends of the earth." -Acts 1:4-8

It's as if Yeshua is saying his work comes in two stages. Stage one is to recover the lost sheep of Israel so that they (through the commandment in Matthew 28) can disciple the world, bringing all mankind to God, or at least as many of us as are willing. Part two then, once the Age of the Gentiles has been made full, is to wage the final battle and, like the second bookend in a pair (the first being in Genesis), God will live among us again as He did in the beginning.

Yeshua came to open the door, not only to the lost of Israel, but the rest of the planet. He came to put all of us on the same playing field, as far as the love of God is concerned and as far as human access to God is concerned. We see in Acts 2 the Jewish apostles receiving the Spirit but the same Spirit is received by the Gentiles in Acts 10. This level playing field is what Paul describes in Galatians 3:28 ("neither Jew nor Greek") and our common bond is described by Paul in Romans 11 ("grafted in"). The specific means by which Gentiles and Jews access God may be different at the level of the individual commandments representing covenant relationships (though I haven't gotten that far in my analysis yet), but the "big picture" view is one of two peoples who are loved, cherished, and nurtured by "one shepherd" in "one flock" (John 10).

This change that Yeshua made only makes sense if Gentiles and Jews didn't have the same access to God prior to the Messiah's earthly coming. In the beginning, all people enjoyed equal access to God but once we were expelled from the Garden, all people suffered from the same separation from God. God, as part of His plan, chose for Himself, a subset of humanity to become a light to the rest of us. His chosen people, being people, weren't perfect (and of course God knew this all along) and the light didn't shine as well as one might have desired. Nevertheless, the Jewish people kept the Shabbat and the Torah for a thousand generations while the nations of the world were worshipping figures of wood, stone, and metal and tossing their (our) babies into the fire of Moloch.

Yeshua came to show us how to live a perfect life in an imperfect world. He showed us what it could be like for the divine to live with the secular and still remain divine. Yeshua showed us that God can be among His people and His Spirit can dwell within us, as if each person were a walking, talking tabernacle in the desert. The Talmud also states that the Divine Presence rests with Jewish people individually or in small groups, so this concept isn't solely Christian:

"Whenever ten are gathered for prayer, there the Shekhinah rests" -Talmud Sanhedrin 39a

"when three sit as judges, the Shekhinah is with them." -Talmud Berachot 6a

"The Shekhinah dwells over the headside of the sick man's bed" -Talmud Shabbat 12b

"Wheresoever they were exiled, the Shekhinah went with them." -Megillah 29a

When Yeshua's disciples asked him to teach them to pray, this is what he said:

"This, then, is how you should pray:
" 'Our Father in heaven,
hallowed be your name,
your kingdom come,
your will be done
on earth as it is in heaven.
Give us today our daily bread.
Forgive us our debts,
as we also have forgiven our debtors.
And lead us not into temptation,
but deliver us from the evil one.'
For if you forgive men when they sin against you, your heavenly Father will also forgive you.
But if you do not forgive men their sins, your Father will not forgive your sins. -Matthew 6:9-15

One of the reasons I believe Gentiles are attracted to a Jewish worship form of the Jewish Messiah is described in the words of Rabbi Boteach, which I previously quoted. We seek a world in which the Holiness of God isn't in some far away Heavenly place but rather lives among us, here in our day-to-day lives, whether we're praying in church, are working at our jobs, or are eating an ice cream cone.

Holiness doesn't exist just in the Heavenly Court but anywhere on Earth where we live a holy life by the power of the Spirit and in each and every act we make at every moment in our existence. Yeshua showed us that we don't have to go to the Heavens to find God, God finds us on Earth.