August 18th, 2010
In regard to our manner of seeing the world, there are two ways that people can look: inwardly or outwardly.
It is very clear in Scriptures that God is outward looking. It is evident in the very act of creation, since God made something outside of Himself (Genesis 1:1). It is clear in the fact that though we humankind, His creatures, rebel against Him regularly, God continues to deal with us and even sent his Son to die on the cross for our sins (John 3:16-17).
His Son, Yeshua (Jesus), was outward looking like his Father in Heaven. He came to “seek and save the lost. (Luke 19:10)” He came to lay down his life for disciples (John 10:15). As the apostle Paul points out,
“though he was in the form of God, [Yeshua] did not count equality with God a thing to be grasped, but made himself nothing, taking the form of a servant, being born in the likeness of men. And being found in human form, he humbled himself by becoming obedient to the point of death, even death on a cross. (Philippians 2:6-8)”
Yeshua also called on his disciples to be outward looking. “Whoever would be great among you must be your servant, and whoever would be first among you must be your slave, (Matthew 20:26-27)” Jesus said. He commanded his followers to go out and share the truth of God with others (Matthew 28: 19-20)”
It is clear that the way of God is outward-looking. If I care about the things of God, I will care about my fellow human being. I will care about their physical needs, certainly, but I will also care for their spiritual needs. That is why we at New Covenant Forum go to my Jewish people and to anyone else we meet and share the Gospel message with them.
Are you inward looking or outward looking?
- An inward looking life tends towards a self-centered lifestyle in which the world revolves around me and owes me.
- An inward looking life creates relationships that are grounded on my personal feelings, and what that individual can do for me in my life. As such, my relationships can be very inconstant.
- An inward looking life leads to a belief that my work should suit my needs, and an expectation that customers ought to come to me, rather than that I ought to work hard for my customers. This leads to difficulties in keeping jobs or maintaining a company.
An outward looking life is the opposite.
- An outward looking life cares about others.
- An outward looking life creates friendships that are based on what I can do for them. This creates a friendship that is loyal and steadfast.
- An outward looking life wants to do well in whatever work is put before me, and to look at customers as people to help not people to use. This leads to customer loyalty and good working relationships.
Are you outward looking? Do you look out for others? Do you share with others the truths of God? God is calling you to do just that.
Posted in Biblical Interpretation, Blog, Following God, Knowing God, This, That, The Other Thing | No Comments »
August 18th, 2010
“Wisdom cries aloud in the street,
in the markets she raises her voice;
at the head of the noisy streets she cries out;
at the entrance of the city gates she speaks.”
Proverbs 1:20-21
When sharing Yeshua (Jesus) with the ultra-Orthodox, I am often stymied by the fact that they believe their rabbis are most endowed with truth. After all, they are the ones who take the time to steep themselves in Talmud in the Beth Midrash (literally, “house of learning”) to study the Word and to understand it. In Rabbinic writings we see various rabbis touted for the amount of time they closeted themselves in study. We are to understand that this is the way to true wisdom. This is what makes rabbinic Judaism somewhat of a mystery religion – only the elite can truly understand.
Ordinary people, therefore, who live their days working at a trade or running a business; women who are looking after families; students in secular studies; such people won’t have access to true wisdom. The only thing to do is to heed the words of the rabbis.
But the passage above from Proverbs 1:20-21 would suggest something different. In this passage we see wisdom crying out in the public places of life. She is telling the ordinary people in the midst of their hustle and bustle to heed her words:
“If you turn at my reproof, behold, I will pour out my spirit to you; I will make my words known to you. (Proverbs 1:23)”
Wisdom’s admonition implies that knowledge of her can be obtained in the midst of daily living. This should not surprise us. God said,
“For this commandment that I command you today is not too hard for you, neither is it far off. It is not in heaven, that you should say, ‘Who will ascend to heaven for us and bring it to us, that we may hear it and do it?’ Neither is it beyond the sea, that you should say, ‘Who will go over the sea for us and bring it to us, that we may hear it and do it?’ But the word is very near you. It is in your mouth and in your heart, so that you can do it. (Deuteronomy 30:11-14)”
The Lord is not talking here about Talmud, or Midrash or the Shulhan Arukh or the writings of Rashi or Maimonides. He is talking about the Tanakh (the Hebrew Scriptures). It is in the reading and understanding of God’s Word and Wisdom in the Tanakh, which are available to anyone, that wisdom can be obtained.
Heed Wisdom! Heed the Word of God! Take some time out to read the Scriptures. As nice as it might be for many of us, most of us don’t have many hours available to study, but you will be blessed if you would take even 20 minutes to read and understand them.
I believe that if most people would read the Word of God and to seek honestly to understand what He says in them, then they will be lead to the truth of Yeshua haMashiach (Jesus Christ) and the truths found in the B’rit Hadashah (The New Testament).
You don’t have to be a rabbi or a yeshiva bocher (a religious scholar) to understand the Word of God. You just have to read it!
“All Scripture is breathed out by God and profitable for teaching, for reproof, for correction, and for training in righteousness, that the man of God may be competent, equipped for every good work. (2 Timothy 3:16-17)”
“Every word of God proves true; he is a shield to those who take refuge in him. (Proverbs 30:5)”
Contributed by Daniel Muller, General Director of New Covenant Forum.
Posted in Biblical Interpretation, Jesus and Jews, Jewish Objections to Jesus, Jewish Tradition, Jews and Jesus, Knowing God, Messiah in the Tanach, New Covenant, Talmud vs. Tanakh, Uncategorized | No Comments »
June 22nd, 2010
I recently had lunch with some friends outside the community centre in Earl Bales Park. At a table next to ours was a 92 year old holocaust survivor. (I know his age because he was advertising to all and sundry.)
He was talking to a couple of ladies, telling them that he did not believe in God and complaining that religion was mostly a way of getting money. At that point I asked if I could interject, and he beckoned me over to speak.
I began to share with him the story of a rabbi who was standing in the temple in the days before it was destroyed. He saw many people putting in money into the offering jars, but he was struck by an old woman who put only two very small coins in the jar. He exclaimed at her faith, for while others gave out of their excess, she gave out of her poverty.
I then explained to the old man that God was not interested in religion (or money) but that what was important was faith – a relationship with the living God. I then explained that the rabbi was Yeshua. You can read about this encounter of Yeshua’s in the Gospel of Mark 12:41-44.
The man reiterated that he didn’t believe in God, and then began to state that my books were not valid. I asked him on what basis he said this? Had he read them for himself? Had he studied them? Had he done research into the matter to back up his assertions? The answer to all of these questions was, “no.”
My challenge is this. How can you claim that you know the Gospel message – the Good News that Jesus is the Messiah – is untrue, or that the New Testament is untrue, without looking into the matter? How can you turn down the message, when you don’t give it a chance to be heard?
I’m not asking you to take my word for it. I am asking you to check it out and then ask God for His truth!
Contributed by Daniel Muller, General Director of New Covenant Forum.
Posted in Blog, Evangelism, Jesus and Jews, Jews and Jesus, Knowing God, New Covenant, Personal Stories, Uncategorized | No Comments »
June 4th, 2010
When I share the Good News with a Jewish person that Yeshua (Jesus) is the Messiah promised by Moses and the Prophets, I always remind the individual that they should not take my word for it. And if they say, as they sometimes do, that they want to talk to their rabbi about it, I always tell them to go ahead.
The reason is simple. I am not afraid of what the rabbis have to say. In fact, many people have come to faith after talking to their rabbi (or many rabbis) and receiving inadequate answers to the genuine questions asked by the seeker of truth.
Now if you who are reading this are a Jewish person seeking to know whether Yeshua is the Messiah or not, I can tell you that your rabbi will specifically tell you not to talk to me and certainly not to listen to me. (I confess I am generalizing here.) They will tell you that what I believe is foolishness. They will tell you anything they can to keep you from asking me questions.
If you are truly seeking to know the truth about Yeshua, this is what we would ask you to do: listen to your rabbis and listen to us. Most importantly check the Scriptures to see if what we (the rabbis and us) say is true. Then pray to the Lord your God and ask Him to reveal His truth to you. Not my truth – not the rabbis’ truth – but God’s truth.
Yeshua said, “Ask, and it will be given to you; seek, and you will find; knock, and it will be opened to you. (Matthew 7:7)“
If you have any questions about Yeshua and his claims to be Messiah and Lord, please feel free to contact us. We will be happy to answer your questions confidentially and without expectation. We would just like to share His message with you. Your decision we leave in your hands – and His.
Contributed by Daniel Muller, General Director of New Covenant Forum.
Posted in Evangelism, Jesus and Jews, Jewish Tradition, Jews and Jesus, Knowing God, Uncategorized | 2 Comments »
June 3rd, 2010
One of my favourite theatre musicals is ‘Fiddler on the Roof’. Of all the tunes from that show, none is so popular as the song “Tradition.” While I love the tune, the song itself makes me sad sometimes.
Traditions are not bad in and of themselves, but when traditions are followed blindly they can lead us down wrong paths. How many of my Jewish people (Orthodox and secular) have refused to hear about Jesus in the name of their tradition.
It is for this reason that I offer this story – to challenge this dependence of tradition which I believe is leading the vast majority of my Jewish people astray. I don’t know from where this story originated, but it makes the point.
There once was a young woman who wanted to make a Shabbos (Sabbath) dinner for her fiancée. While he watched her prepare the meal, he noticed that she cut the end off the roast before putting it in the roasting pot. He asked her why she did that.
She replied, “My mother always cut the end off the roast, so that’s how I learned.”
“But why?” he asked, “It seems such a waste.”
“I don’t know,” was all she could reply.
At schul (synagogue) with her mum next day the previous evening came to mind. So she asked, “Mom, when you make a roast for Shabbos, why do you always cut the end off?”
Her mother responded, “Well, my mother always cut the end off the roast when I was growing up. I just learned to do it the same way. I’m sure there must’ve been a good reason, though – you’re bubbe (grandmother) never wasted anything if she could help it.”
A week later there was a family gathering. The young woman and her fiancée were there along with her parents and grandparents.
The mother asked of bubbe Golde, “Mom, why do you always cut the end off when you make roast beef for Shabbos.”
Bubbe Golde smiled and said, “Oy, I don’t do that anymore sweetheart. When you were little, we were poor and I only had a small roasting pot. What with so many people at Shabbos dinner we usually had a large roast, and it wouldn’t fit, so I cut the end off and used it for something later. I have a good size roasting pot now, so why would I cut it off?”
You have your Jewish traditions? So did the Jewish people of the Northern Kingdom of Israel before God sent the Assyrians to destroy them and scatter them throughout the earth (hence the Ten Lost Tribes, see 2 Kings 17:6-23).
Don’t keep tradition for tradition’s sake. Read the Tanakh (Hebrew Scriptures) and, God willing, the B’rit Hadashah (New Testament) and find out what God really wanted.
Want more information? Please contact us, and we would be glad to help.
Contributed by Daniel Muller, General Director of New Covenant Forum.
Posted in Jesus and Jews, Jewish Tradition, Jews and Jesus, Knowing God, This, That, The Other Thing | No Comments »
June 2nd, 2010
This past weekend I went on the Walk with Israel sponsored by the UJA (United Jewish Appeal). I was at the opening ceremonies with a number of speakers, the most celebrated of whom was Benjamin Netanyahu, the Prime Minister of Israel. It was the first time that an Israeli Prime Minister spoke to a crowd in Toronto since Menachem Begin did in 1978.
There were many speakers, all of them well spoken, but none was as erudite as the Israeli Prime Minister. Mr. Netanyahu spoke about the common bonds between Israel and Canada: a regard for rule of law, freedom and pluralism. (He didn’t mention that pluralism does not extend to those Jews who believe in Jesus, but I didn’t expect that he would.)
He also spoke about Israel’s accomplishments. He talked about the fact that Israel’s regard for the Land came from the bible and he mentioned the promises of the prophets. But there was one thing missing in his speech. In fact throughout the long ceremony with its many speakers, one issue was ignored and left unmentioned. No one talked about God.
I have always believed that the will of God is the vital reason that Israel exists and has survived the past 62 years. It is also my belief that what makes Jews different from the rest of the world is the fact that we are the only nation of people who have a special relationship with God.
Here was a Jewish event in which God was given the cold shoulder. You can talk about Jews and you can talk about Judaism, but you can’t talk about God. To those who regard the first two and ignore the last, I direct you to these Scriptures (which talks about God a lot): Jeremiah 5:20-31.
Idolatry comes in many forms. God is the only refuge of the righteous.
Contributed by Daniel Muller, General Director of New Covenant Forum.
Posted in Knowing God, Personal Stories, This, That, The Other Thing, Uncategorized, Zionism and Israel | No Comments »
April 8th, 2010
How can God have a son? I mostly get this objection about Yeshua HaMashiach (Jesus Christ) from Muslims, but not a few Jews have asked me the same thing. The idea of Jesus being the Son of God seems distasteful, and that is because the title is misunderstood.
The first point to make is that the term Son of God is indeed a title. God himself has many names in the Tanakh (the Hebrew Scriptures): El (אל), Elohim (אלהים), El-Shaddai (אל שדי), Adonai (אדני), and finally the Tetragrammaton – the four letters that represent the name by which God proclaimed himself to Moses (יהוה). Then there are the many titles of God: Adonai Tzva’ot (Lord of Hosts), Adonai Yireh (God who provides), Adonai Nissi (God my shield), along with many, many others that are used in the Tanakh.
The Messiah too, has many titles in the Tanakh. Job calls him his Redeemer (Job 19:25). He is Immanuel (Isaiah 7:14, literally ‘God with us’). He is the Branch (Isaiah 11:1, Jeremiah 23:5; 33:15; Zechariah 3:8; 6:12). His most famous title is found in Isaiah 9:6 in which he is called Wonderful Counselor, Mighty God, Everlasting Father, Prince of Peace (Isaiah 9:6). A few hundred years before Jesus ministered on earth, the prophet Malachi called him the “messenger of the covenant (Malachi 3:1).” Even if you don’t believe that Jesus is the Messiah, the point is that these are recognized as messianic titles even in rabbinic literature.
Now it is true that the title, Son of God is not mentioned in the Tanakh, though we see a hint of it in Psalm 2. Yet the fact that the phrase “Son of God” in reference to Messiah is not mentioned in Tanakh does not mean that the title isn’t correct, for it is clear that God reveals both his names and the names of Messiah over a period of time.
God did not present himself as יהוה (YHWH) until he gave the Law on Mount Sinai. So we read these verses in Exodus 6:3, “I appeared to Abraham, to Isaac and to Jacob as God Almighty, [el-shaddai] but by my name the LORD I did not make myself known to them.” Similarly, we are not told of the title of Prince of Peace until the time of Jeremiah the prophet in the 6th Century B.C.E. (Isaiah 9:6). Furthermore, the concept of Messiah as the Son of God was already found in the Jewish writings known as the Apocrypha and the Deuterocanonical books (e.g. (Enoch 55:2; 2 Esdras 7:28-29; 13:32). These were written in the centuries before and after Jesus, and indicate a Jewish understanding of Messiah’s ‘Sonship’. Finally, the title Son of God is fully revealed and confirmed to us at the time Messiah Yeshua came to minister on earth.
Son of God reminds us both of Messiah’s (Christ’s) divinity and his humanity. He is not a son in the same sense that I have a son, as many Muslims would object. Nor, as many Jewish people would insist is he man claimed to be God. Yeshua is God come as Man, born of a virgin by the miraculous work of the Holy Spirit (as one Yiddish writer puts in the mouth of his young protagonist, “If God can do anything, why can’t he make a virgin pregnant?”) to be the reconciler of sinful humans to a holy and righteous God.
Yeshua, in his humanity, had to deal with the same temptations of life as we, but he would not give in to those temptations. That is why, in a letter to the Jewish believers in Jerusalem, the author can write, “we do not have a high priest who is unable to sympathize with our weaknesses, but one who in every respect has been tempted as we are, yet without sin. (Hebrews 4:15)”
God come as man to be a sacrifice – a self-sacrifice – for our sins. As Isaiah 53:10 foretold, he became an asham (a guilt offering) and so made atonement for those who believe and accept the sacrifice God made on their behalf.
Won’t you honestly consider the claims of this Jewish messiah for yourself? Won’t you consider the free gift of salvation that brings eternal life with God, by putting your faith in the Messiah promised and sent by God the Father: Yeshua, the Son of God?
Contributed by Daniel Muller, General Director of New Covenant Forum.
Posted in Atonement, Jesus and Jews, Jews and Jesus, Knowing God, Messiah in the Tanach | No Comments »
April 7th, 2010
Recently, the mother of a dear friend of mine passed away, and I attended the memorial service. Although there was much sadness among those who knew her well and much sympathy among those of us who knew the bereaved, nevertheless the proceedings had an undercurrent of joy. You see, this lady was a believer in Yeshua (Jesus). Her husband, her children – all of us who also know Yeshua – recognized that she is most certainly in a place that brings her joy and that we will all have the opportunity to see her again on some glorious day when we go to our heavenly home.
As I approach the end of my first half-century of life (a prosaic way of saying I will soon be fifty), I can’t help but think of my own mortality, and to look introspectively at how the thought of my death effects me emotionally. Now I can’t say how I would respond if I had some dire news from my doctor telling me that my time was up, but I can say that as I look at death I can face it without concern and with not a little anticipation.
My excitement in the afterlife doesn’t come from any presumption that I’m good enough for God in regard to deeds or thoughts. I have no doubt that there are atheists out there who are ‘better people’ then I am. Still I know – and the Scriptures confirm – that nothing I do can make me right with God.
“We have all become like one who is unclean, and all our righteous deeds are like a polluted garment. We all fade like a leaf, and our iniquities, like the wind, take us away. (Isaiah 64:6)”
Yet I have the same sense of surety that I am going to be with God that I had for my friend’s mother. This is because I know God through Messiah Yeshua – because of his righteousness which is imparted to me and that I am now clothed with, having accepted his sacrifice on my behalf.
“All we like sheep have gone astray; we have turned–every one–to his own way; and the LORD has laid on him the iniquity of us all. (Isaiah 53:6)”
Now you might say this is wishful thinking – but before coming to faith in Yeshua, although I couldn’t say for sure what the afterlife held out for me, I would have said what many of my Jewish people (and many other people) say: I am basically a good person, and so I should be ok. I did not really feel a need for certainty. My certainty did not come out of my need, but out of my knowledge as I came to know who God was and what His Word said.
That is why another Jewish believer, Saul of Tarsus also known as the Apostle Paul, could rejoice with these words:
“ ‘O death, where is your victory? O death, where is your sting?’ The sting of death is sin, and the power of sin is the law. But thanks be to God, who gives us the victory through our Lord Jesus Christ. (1 Corinthians 15:55-57)”
There is a way to be certain of your eternal destiny, and that is by having a relationship with God through our Messiah Yeshua. You don’t have to take my word for it. Check it out for yourself. Read the Scriptures – the Hebrew Scriptures and the New Testament – and see what it says. If you have any questions feel free to make your comment, or you can contact us directly.
Contributed by Daniel Muller, General Director of New Covenant Forum.
Posted in Knowing God, Personal Stories, Resurrection, This, That, The Other Thing, Uncategorized | No Comments »
December 10th, 2009
What does Hanukkah have to do with Yeshua (Jesus)? Perhaps nothing, but Yeshua did have something to do with Hanukkah. He used the opportunity of Hanukkah to remind his Jewish people of the importance of dedication. After all, the name Hanukkah comes from the Hebrew root word meaning ‘to dedicate.’
In Chapter 10 of the Gospel of John (John 10:22-39) we see Jesus visiting the temple during the Feast of Dedication (v.22). Some people claim this to be during Sukkoth (the Feast of Tabernacles) because Solomon dedicated the temple to God during that feast, but this does not seem likely for the following reasons.
- As stated before, Hanukkah’s name means ‘dedication.’
- Verse 22 points out that the season is winter. While Hanukkah occurs during winter, Sukkoth is an autumn festival.
- The message that Yeshua offers is more in keeping with Hanukkah than with Sukkoth.
At that time, Yeshua was asked to say whether he was the Messiah. He responded in this way:
“I told you, and you do not believe. The works that I do in my Father’s name bear witness about me, but you do not believe because you are not part of my flock.
My sheep hear my voice, and I know them, and they follow me. I give them eternal life, and they will never perish, and no one will snatch them out of my hand. My Father, who has given them to me, is greater than all, and no one is able to snatch them out of the Father’s hand.
I and the Father are one.”
(John 10:25-30)
The sheep that are his flock, are those who hear his voice – who believe in him. In the same way that Judah Maccabee and his followers were dedicated to their God, those who recognize Messiah Yeshua are likewise dedicated to God the Father.
Moreover, as God was dedicated to the Israelites and delivered them from the hands of Antiochus IV, so is He dedicated to those who have dedicated themselves to Messiah Yeshua – no body can snatch them out of the Messiah’s hands or the Father’s hands.
Then he makes the remarkable statement, “I and the Father are one.” Those who say that Yeshua never claimed to be God need to come to grips with this statement. In these verses he equates himself with God unequivocally.
If his statement here is not enough to convince us of that affirmation, the reaction of the crowd certainly should be:
“The Jews picked up stones again to stone him.
Jesus answered them, “I have shown you many good works from the Father; for which of them are you going to stone me?”
The Jews answered him, “It is not for a good work that we are going to stone you but for blasphemy, because you, being a man, make yourself God.”
The Israelites in Yeshua’s day, certainly knew what he was saying. And they reacted strongly because they didn’t believe him, despite all the evidence that pointed to Yeshua as the Messiah. But there were still many Jews in his day who did believe. Among them were scholars and shepherds, rich and poor, leaders and followers – just as their are today (well, maybe not so many shepherds).
Hanukkah is a Festival of Dedication. We Jews who are believers in Yeshua (Jesus) celebrate this festival as a reminder of God’s dedication in the time of Judah Maccabee, and as a time to remember the dedication of God to all those who will dedicate themselves to him and follow him according to his standards.
Messiah Yeshua is the standard by which we are called to dedicate our life to God. When we put our faith in him as our Saviour and as our Lord we enter into a perfect life of dedication: us to Him, and Him to us.
Hanukkah is also a Festival of Lights, and when we light the Menorah we remember what Yeshua said to his Jewish people: “I am the light of the world. Whoever follows me will not walk in darkness, but will have the light of life. (John 8:12)”
Why don’t you check out Yeshua’s claims for yourself. Read the Tanakh – the Hebrew Scriptures (the Old Testament). Read the Brit Hadashah (the New Testament) as well. Then ask God to show you his truth. If you don’t have a bible, contact us. We’d be happy to send you one.
If you want, give us a call and we’ll talk! Call 647-439-2936 and ask for Daniel. Or email us at info@newcovenantforum.org. Or check out our website at www.newcovenantforum.org.
You don’t have to agree with us. But, at least, make your decision from an informed perspective.
Contributed by Daniel Muller, General Director of New Covenant Forum.
Posted in Jesus and Jews, Jewish festivals, Jewish holidays, Jews and Jesus, Knowing God, This, That, The Other Thing | No Comments »
December 2nd, 2009
The most common objection I get, when sharing Messiah Yeshua (Jesus Christ) with my Jewish people, is this very simple one: you can’t be Jewish and believe in Jesus. I have received this response from the religious and the unreligious; by the old and by the young. And to each one I have a very simple question: Why not?
The most typical answer I receive is that Jews don’t believe in Jesus, but that is clearly a faulty argument. I grew up Jewish and I became a believer in Him. Not only that, but I know of many Jews who have come to believe in Yeshua, and there are many, many more that I don’t know. Some of them were very religious Orthodox Jews, some of them were observant Jews in the Conservative or Reform movements and some were completely secular: die-hard atheists or not so die-hard agnostics. The one thing they have in common is that they are Jewish.
I use the present tense when I say we are Jewish because, as far as we are concerned, believing in Jesus is a very Jewish thing to do. You see, I believe that this statement – you can’t be Jewish and believe in Jesus – really means – Jesus is not the Jewish Messiah, he is not Saviour and he is not Lord.
The problem is that the response is almost always based, not on what the objectors know, but only on what they’ve been told. When I challenge Jewish people to tell me how they know Jesus is not the Messiah, they don’t really have a response. Most Jewish people have not investigated the claims of Jesus as found both in the Tanakh (the Hebrew Scriptures) or the B’rit Hadashah (the New Testament). Many have made half-hearted attempts to read some of the B’rit Hadashah (or, for that matter, the Tanakh), but not really done a critical and honest investigation.
Recently I spoke with a Haredi rabbi, and in the midst of our discussions I challenged him to do just that. To look at the New Testament text, not in a cynical way, but in a critical way, honestly seeking to understand what it says. He said he would, but a month or so later he had barely done any reading. He said he was happy with the Judaism he had – but again, he has not honestly looked at the text that tells us about the Messianic claims of Yeshua.
I came to believe in Yeshua because I recognized that the promise of Yeshua is in the Tanakh. I have come to understand that there is a picture of a lowly Messiah in the Hebrew Scriptures (Psalm 22:1-31; Isaiah 53:1-12; Zechariah 12:10), that this picture was recognized by the rabbis in his day (though they did not recognize him when he came), and is even recorded in the Talmud (b. Sanhedrin 98a; b. Sukkah 52a). Over the years I am more and more amazed at the Jewish sensibilities in the B’rit Hadashah, and how consistent it is with the Tanakh.
And I know that everything that is written in the Tanakh is a preparation for the time of Yeshua’s coming – the promises to Abraham, Isaac and Jacob; the covenant at Sinai with its sacrificial system and its laws of sanctification; the promises to David and through the Prophets. Ultimately the Hebrew Scriptures are about Messiah Yeshua.
But if you won’t read the book, you can’t know the truth. The truth that I have found, that many Jewish people have found, is that the most Jewish thing you can do is to believe in the Messiah promised by Moses and the Prophets – and that Messiah is Yeshua. For if he is not the Messiah to the Jews then he can be nobody’s Messiah.
Why not check out the truth for yourself. Read the Hebrew Scriptures. Read the New Testament as well. If you need a copy we would be happy to provide you with one – just email us. Then ask the Lord of all Creation to show you His truth. Not my truth – and not the rabbis’ truth – but His truth.
“Call to me and I will answer you, and will tell you great and hidden things that you have not known. (Jeremiah 33:3)”
“Ask, and it will be given to you; seek, and you will find; knock, and it will be opened to you. For everyone who asks receives, and the one who seeks finds, and to the one who knocks it will be opened. (Matthew 7:7-8)”
If you want, give us a call and we’ll talk! Call 647-439-2936 and ask for Daniel. Or email us at info@newcovenantforum.org.
Or check out our website at www.newcovenantforum.org.
You don’t have to agree with us. But, at least, make your decision from an informed perspective.
I would love to receive your instructive and constructive response.
Contributed by Daniel Muller, General Director of New Covenant Forum.
Posted in Jesus and Jews, Jews and Jesus, Knowing God, Messiah in the Tanach, Personal Stories, This, That, The Other Thing | No Comments »
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