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Yeshua and Torah

Many times we are asked why we focus so much on studying and teaching the Torah alongside the teachings of Yeshua. The answer to that is quite simple. Yeshua was a Torah teacher. He was a first century rabbi, expounding upon the concepts of Torah and sharing his interpretations and rulings for the practical applications of Torah with his disciples. Many people do not approach the teachings of Yeshua from this perspective, simply because they do not realize his focus was upon bringing the hearts of his followers closer to the Torah.

An Eye For An Eye

I was recently asked a sincere question about the relationship of Yeshua to the Torah. Yeshua’s words in Matthew 5 seem to advocate changing the Torah’s principle of “eye for eye” with grace and mercy. The question was as follows:

Teacher, Friend, Merit

Joshua the son of Perachia and Nitai the Arbelite received from them. Joshua the son of Perachia would say: Provide yourself with a teacher, acquire for yourself a friend, and judge every man on the scale of merit. (m.Avot 1:6)

These three things are areas in which I would imagine most people fall short. Let’s touch on these briefly.

On Three Things

After Moses received the commandments on Mount Sinai, Scripture says that he “took the Book of the Covenant and read it in the hearing of the people” (Exodus 24:7).

Happy Elul!

Happy Elul, everyone! May you be inscribed for a WONDERFUL new year!

Light & Heavy Commandments - Fact or Fiction?

Rabbi (Judah) said… Be as scrupulous about a light commandment as of a weighty one, for you do not know the reward allotted for each commandment. (m.Avot 2:1)

Parable of the Tenants Revisited

And he began to speak to them in parables. “A man planted a vineyard and put a fence around it and dug a pit for the winepress and built a tower, and leased it to tenants and went into another country. When the season came, he sent a servant to the tenants to get from them some of the fruit of the vineyard. And they took him and beat him and sent him away empty-handed. Again he sent to them another servant, and they struck him on the head and treated him shamefully. And he sent another, and him they killed.

Battling Hypocrisy

Editor's note: This article was originally scheduled to appear in the Messianic Times the week before Passover, but did not appear due to unforeseen circumstances (hence the reference to Passover).

An Adulterous Scandal

How does Yeshua use the Torah to deal with adultery?

 

Let’s take a look at an example in which deliberate judgment is demonstrated by Jesus in the case of the woman “caught in the very act of adultery” (according to the KJV) from the eighth chapter of the Gospel of John. Although most are familiar with this passage, let us refresh our memory before we continue. 

Blogging for the Messianic Times

Recently the Messianic Times has asked me to join their blogging team and post a once-a-month blog. We had some complications last month and it didn't make it, but as of today we are up and running. My "column" is called "Hear and Do" and is focused on addressing issues such as the struggle with hypocrisy among Believers (Messianics in particular), biblical ethics, Jewish prayer and more.

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