Messiah

     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 (vs. 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.

1.      As stated before, Hanukkah’s name means ‘dedication.’

2.      Verse 22 points out that the season is winter.  While Hanukkah occurs during winter, Sukkoth is an autumn festival.

3.      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.

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; Isaiah 53; 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.

Given that our entire faith rests in the person of Yeshua (Jesus), that He was indeed the long-awaited Messiah of Israel and the Saviour of the world, it is critical that evidence be found for this claim in the Scriptures.
 
Following His death and resurrection, the New Covenant Scriptures (New Testament) record the following conversation that Yeshua had with His disciples.

“These are the words which I spoke to you while I was still with you, that all things must be fulfilled which were written in the Law of Moses and the Prophets and the Psalms concerning Me.”
 
And He opened their understanding, that they might comprehend the Scriptures. Then He said to them, “Thus it is written, and thus it was necessary for the Christ [Messiah] to suffer and to rise from the dead the third day, and that repentance and remission of sins should be preached in His name to all nations, beginning at Jerusalem. And you are witnesses of these things. Behold I send the Promise of My Father upon you; but tarry in the city of Jerusalem until you are endued with power from on high.” (Luke 24:44-49 New King James Version [NKJV]).

Luke, one the twelve disciples of Yeshua, records Yeshua’s assertion that the Jewish Scriptures (i.e. Law of Moses, Prophets, Psalms) repeatedly spoke of the coming of Messiah in terms of His life, death, and resurrection. Not only do the Jewish Scriptures speak of this suffering Messiah, Yeshua further declared that “repentance and remission of sins” came through Him, and that this message was to be proclaimed throughout the entire world, beginning in Jerusalem.
 
Luke’s assertion that Yeshua “opened their understanding, that they might comprehend the Scriptures” is further indication of the disciple’s firm belief that Yeshua was the very Son of God, the Lamb of God who came to take away the sin of the world.
 
Another of Yeshua’s disciples, John, also recorded the life and ministry of the Messiah. He makes explicit statements regarding the person and character of Yeshua as he describes the ministry of John the Baptist, who came preaching a message of repentance, warning Israel to prepare for the coming of her Messiah.

In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. He was in the beginning with God. All things were made through Him, and without Him nothing was made that was made. In Him was life, and the life was the light of men. And the light shines in the darkness, and the darkness did not comprehend it. There was a man sent from God, whose name was John. This man came for a witness, to bear witness of the Light, that all through him might believe. He was not that Light, but was sent to bear witness of that Light. That was the true Light which gives light to every man who comes into the world. He was in the world, and the world was made through Him, and the world did not know Him. He came to His own, and His own did not receive Him. But as many as received Him, to them He gave the right to become children of God, even to those who believe in His name: who were born, not of blood, nor of the will of the flesh, nor of the will of man, but of God.
 
And the Word became flesh and dwelt among us, and we beheld His glory, the glory as of the only begotten of the Father, full of grace and truth. John bore witness of Him and cried out, saying, “This was He of whom I said, ‘He who comes after me is preferred before me, for He was before me.’” And of His fullness we have all received, and grace for grace. For the law was given through Moses, but grace and truth came through Jesus Christ. No one has seen God at any time. The only begotten Son, who is in the bosom of the Father, He has declared Him. (John 1:1-18 NKJV).

There can be no doubt that John believed Yeshua was the Messiah, a belief which included his conviction that Yeshua was the incarnate God Himself. His commitment to Yeshua’s deity concurs with the prophet Isaiah who had prophesied the coming of Messiah some 700 years earlier.

For unto us a Child is born, unto us a Son is given; and the government will be upon His shoulder. And His name will be called Wonderful, Counselor, Mighty God, Everlasting Father, Prince of Peace. Of the increase of His government and peace there will be no end, upon the throne of David and over His kingdom, to order it and establish it with judgment and justice from that time forward, even forever. The zeal of the LORD of hosts will perform this. (Isaiah 9:6-7 NKJV).

Early in Yeshua’s ministry, as recorded by John, we see evidence that others recognized the messianic credentials of Yeshua. Here’s how John records it:

…Jesus wanted to go to Galilee, and He found Philip and said to him, “Follow Me.” Now Philip was from Bethsaida, the city of Andrew and Peter. Philip found Nathanael and said to him, “We have found Him of whom Moses in the law, and also the prophets wrote - Jesus of Nazareth, the son of Joseph. And Nathanael said to him, “Can anything good come out of Nazareth?” Philip said to him, “Come and see.”
 
Jesus saw Nathanael coming toward Him, and said of him, “Behold, an Israelite indeed, in whom is no guile!” Nathanael said to Him, “How do You know me?” Jesus answered and said to him, “Before Philip called you, when you were under the fig tree, I saw you.” Nathanael answered and said to Him, “Rabbi, You are the Son of God! You are the King of Israel!”
 
Jesus answered and said to him, “Because I said to you, ‘I saw you under the fig tree,’ do you believe? You will see greater things than these.” And He said to him, “Most assuredly, I say to you, hereafter you shall see heaven open, and the angels of God ascending and descending upon the Son of Man.” [John 1:43-51 NKJV]

Numerous citations from the New Covenant Scriptures demonstrate both Yeshua’s claim and the disciples’ belief that he was indeed Israel’s long-awaited Messiah.

We welcome your comments and questions about our belief that Yeshua (Jesus) is Israel’s long-awaited Messiah, the Lamb of God who came to take away the sin of all who repent and trust in Him as Lord and Savior.

“Hello. Is this David Daniels?” the voice on the other end of the line asked.

“Yes, this is David Daniels,” I replied.

“Your organization left some literature in my mailbox today.  Are you Jewish?”

“No, Sir”, I said. “I’m not Jewish.”

“Oh”, he responded, and after a slight hesitation went on to say, “Well, your envelope says ‘A Gift For You,’ but it’s not a gift, it’s poison!” his voice rising in agitation. It was obvious my caller was unhappy with the material we left at his house.

“Sir, the gift we are offering is a Bible, and I don’t think you really believe the Bible is poison.”

“It is poison!” he retorted. “I don’t want you to leave anymore literature at my house. Give your ‘gift’ to the Muslims and Christians. They need it more than we do. Do you remember the 6,000,000 Jews who were annihilated at the hands of Christians?”

“Yes, Sir, I am aware of the holocaust, and it is a very tragic point in history. Our desire is to get the Word of God into people’s hands, but it is not our intention to irritate anyone. If you don’t want to receive anymore literature, just give me your name and address. We keep a list of those who do not want to receive our literature, and when our workers go through that neighbourhood in the future, they avoid leaving material at those homes.”

“I don’t want to give you my name and address.”

“Sir, unless I know your address, I can’t ensure that our staff won’t leave literature at your house in the future.”

“I live on ______ Ave.”

“Where on ______?” I asked.

“I don’t want to tell you. All of us on this street feel the same way.”

“Well, you are the only person who has phoned us from your street, so we would not deprive others of the opportunity to hear our message unless they personally requested it. So, without your address, sooner or later our workers will leave material at your home again.”

“Stay out of our neighborhood!” he warned, the agitation in his voice rising. “We don’t want your poison. If you come back, you’d better watch out.”

“Sir, that sounds like a threat,” I said. “We don’t respond to threats, and one day we will be back on your street. If you give me your house number, I’ll ensure that our people don’t leave anything there in the future.”

“I don’t want your poison,” he blurted, “and I am not going to give you my address.  Good-bye!” and he hung up the phone.

To my knowledge, no one at New Covenant House has ever met this man. We do not know his name or address, but we do know that he is Jewish, and that he lives in an area with many Orthodox families, many of whom attend a Chabad synagogue. Sooner or later, we will be on his street again, seeking a hearing for the gospel of Jesus Christ. Perhaps God will soften his heart to the call of Messiah Jesus.

Sharing the gospel with those who do not want it is never easy, but that is what we are called to do. Jesus told his followers to “make disciples of all the nations (peoples), baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, teaching them to observe all things that I have commanded you…(Matthew 28:19-20). Our commission is not to stay among those who welcome our message, but to go throughout the entire world, calling upon all to repent of sin and to trust in Jesus alone for salvation. That includes taking the gospel to Jewish communities.

My caller may have labeled our literature poison, but in reality is was the gospel contained in the Word of God – the only antidote to the true poison of thinking one can achieve right standing with God apart from faith in the Lord Jesus Christ.

We do not enjoy rejection, and we often find ourselves discouraged with the seemingly meager response to our evangelistic work. But our hope rests in the God who declares that there is a “remnant according to the election of grace” (Romans 11:5) within the Jewish community. As God’s people stand with us in prayer and financial support, we will continue to proclaim Jesus as Messiah and Saviour to all who will believe.

Purim is one of the happiest holidays in the Jewish calendar for it commemorates a mighty deliverance for the ancient Jewish people. The biblical book of Esther recounts the story and the origins of the celebration.

The historical setting is 473 B.C.E., near the end of the 70 years of Babylonian exile, when many Jews were living in exile in Persia. Powerful King Ahasuerus had a right hand man named Haman who hated Jews and longed to see them exterminated. His implacable hatred of all Jews was conceived in his utter disregard for one Jewish man - Mordecai. Determined to rid himself of Mordecai, and every other Jew in the empire, Haman devised a scheme to enlist the support of the King himself. In chilling words, all too familiar to the Jewish community, Haman prevailed upon the King with these words:

“There is a certain people scattered abroad and dispersed among the peoples in all the provinces of your realm. Their laws are different from every other people’s and they do not observe the king’s laws; therefore it is not befitting the king to tolerate them. If it pleases the king, let it be recorded that they be destroyed…” (Esther 3:8-9 - The Stone Edition Tanach, Artscroll Series).

King Ahasuerus gave Haman permission to carry out his evil plot, even providing his signet ring to Haman, ensuring that the Persian people understood the King was in full agreement with Haman’s plan. The biblical text identifies Haman as the “son of Hammedatha the Agagite” (Esther 3:1 The Stone Edition Tanach, Artscroll Series). Students of the Bible will recognize “Agagite” as hearkening back to the days of King Saul.

During Saul’s reign in Israel, God had commanded him to utterly destroy King Agag and the Amalekite people. Saul failed in that responsibility, a failure that cost him and his descendents the throne of Israel. We should not miss the fact that Haman’s presence is a direct consequence of Saul’s failure to carry out God’s directive concerning the Amalekites. Haman was a descendant of Agag. Had Saul been obedient, there would have been no descendants of Agag to pose this threat to the Jews.

The biblical book of Esther tells the story of God’s (though he is never mentioned once in the text) sovereign control of history. By providentially bringing Esther, a beautiful Jewish woman, into the Persian King’s household as his queen, God ensured that Haman’s plot would fail. I encourage you to get a Bible and read the story for yourself.

Haman’s evil plot failed, God preserved his covenant people, and Mordecai proclaimed an annual celebration whereby Jewish people would remember their mighty deliverance from annihilation.

“…these days are recalled and observed in every generaton: by every family, every province, and every city. And these days of Purim shall never cease among the Jews, and the memory of them shall never perish among their descendants” (Esther 9:28 - Tanach, Jewish Publication Society).

As history readily shows, the dramatic deliverance in ancient Persia, was just one of many divine interventions, ensuring the survival of the Jewish people. The survival of the Jewish people, along with the presence of the modern state of Israel, is a testimony to God’s faithfulness. Millennia ago, he declared through the prophet Jeremiah:

“Thus said the LORD, Who established the sun for light by day, The laws of moon and stars for light by night, Who stirs up the sea into roaring waves, Whose name is LORD of Hosts: If these laws should ever be annulled by Me - declares the LORD - Only then would the offspring of Israel cease to be a nation before Me for all time. Thus said the LORD: If the heavens above could be measured, and the foundations of the earth below could be fathomed, only then would I reject all the offspring of Israel for all that they have done - declares the LORD” (Jeremiah 31:35-37 - Tanach, Jewish Publication Society).

As long as creation stands, the King of the Universe will ensure the survival of the Israelite people. Jewish people have faced many enemies throughout their long history, and from them all God has given faithful deliverance.

I believe God’s promise to preserve the Jewish people is a promise for this life. However, there is an afterlife, an eternity where every man, woman, boy and girl will dwell - either in the presence of God or in a place called Hell, forever separated from Almighty God.

Yeshua (Jesus), God’s anointed Messiah, came to earth nearly 2000 years ago. Isaiah prophecied that Messiah would come to bear the sins of his people (Isaiah 53), and this is exactly what we see in the life, death and resurrection of Jesus of Nazareth. He was the one that John the Baptizer said was “the Lamb of God”  (John 1:36). As the Lamb of God, Jesus came to bear the sins of all who would believe in him. He is the perfect sacrifice - he is the only one who could identify with us and bear our sins before a just and holy God. Of him, the writer of Hebrews said:

“…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 4:15-16 - Holy Bible: New International Version.

 How tragic then, if at the end of this life, the greatest deliverance God will ever provide should be missed. It is right and proper to celebrate Purim - it was a divine intervention of miraculous dimensions. It was the faithful arm of a promise-keeping God.

But this same God has declared that salvation - deliverance from an eternal death - can only be found through faith in his Messiah - Yeshua. We read of Jesus in the New Covenant book of Galatians:

“[Jesus] gave himself for our sins to rescue us from the present evil age, according to the will of our God and Father, to whom be glory for ever and ever. Amen” (Galatians 1:4-5 - Holy Bible: New International Version).