Clinging To The Words Of The King

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consider heretics who call themselves Nazarenes (Netzarim); they are mainly Jews and nothing else. They make use not only of the New Testament, but they also use in a way the Old Testament of the Jews; for they do not forbid the books of the Law, the Prophets, and the Writings... so that they are approved of by the Jews, from whom the Nazarenes do not differ in anything, and they profess all the dogmas pertaining to the prescriptions of the Law and to the customs of the Rabbis, except they believe in [Messiah]... They preach that there is but one G-d, and his son. But they are very learned in the Hebrew language; for they, like the Jews, read the whole Law, then the Prophets...They differ from the Jews because they believe in Messiah, and from the Christians in that they are to this day bound to the Jewish rites, such as circumcision, the Sabbath, and other ceremonies." If our congregation was in existence during that time, this anti-semitic "Church Father" very well could have been describing our community. So where do we see Yeshua agreeing with and practicing what could be considered a Pharasaic or rabbinic tradition? One of the first examples that D. Lancaster points out in his book “King Of The Jews” is the fact that Yeshua always blessed God before he ate. Torah commands us to bless God after we eat, as found in Devarim/Deut. 8:10 (which Yeshua also did). But, it is only in Pharisaic and rabbinic tradition that we learn to bless God before we eat. As some may suggest based on their views and teaching, should we stop doing this because it is something taught and found in rabbinic tradition?? Again, what did Yeshua Do? During Pesach (Passover) we have four glasses of wine during the seder. Yeshua and His disciples also used wine as a special and significant focal point of teaching and meaning during their seder as seen in the book of Mattityahu (Matthew), 26:7. But, where in Torah is this commanded?? It is not! Only in Pharisaic and rabbinic tradition do we see the serving of wine as a focal point of the Pesach seder. What about our Shabbat services where we read the weekly Torah parasha (portion) with an accompanying haftarah reading accompanied by a Torah parashah based message thereafter? If you guessed Jewish tradition…you are right! And, it was also Yeshua’s and Shaul’s (Paul’s) practice to participate in these traditions as seen in the scriptures (Luke 4:16, Acts 17:2). The synagogue, the traditional parashah readings, and d'rashot (teachings) of scripture thereafter were all conventions of Jewish Tradition. Also, in Yochanan (John) chapter 10 we see Yeshua make a special trip to Yerushalayim (Jerusalem), as He enters into The Temple in observance of Chanukah (Feast of Dedication), which is a traditional observance celebrating the dedication of the Beit HaMikdash (The Holy Temple), but is not something commanded in scripture. A point can even be made that Yeshua observed a Pharisaic and rabbinical tradition that in general avoids pronouncing the name of God, as reflected in the Hebrew characters “yod, hey, vav, hey”, blessed be His name. Not, that it would be a breaking of a commandment to do so, but we never once see Yeshua or His disciples publicly use the actual name of God, as seen in the scriptures. I am sure people can come up with all kinds of conspiracy theories why this is the case, but we just don’t see it. Instead of violating this sensitive halachah of his day, in Mattityahu (Matthew) 6:9 we see Yeshua teaching his talmidim (disciples) to pray like this; "...Our Father in heaven! May your Name be kept holy". We see Yeshua and his disciples use names and titles such as, “Abba” (Father), “Adonai” (Lord), “El/Elohim” (God), and “Ruach HaKodesh” (Holy Spirit), but never the actual name of God. We never see Him or His disciples use our Heavenly Father’s name in common usage. I am not
suggesting that whatever one thinks the true name of The Father is cannot be uttered in their own privacy…I only suggest that Yeshua seemed to be sensitive to Jewish tradition in this area when he publicly taught his talmidim and he didn't see it as adding to or diminishing from Adonai's word. Author and Rabbi, Dr. John Fischer stated in his work "Jesus Through Jewish Eyes: A Rabbi Examines The Life And Teachings Of Jesus" writes, "Concerning Yeshua's life as a whole, two passages are most characteristic and instructive. In the first situation, Yeshua challenged the crowds, which INCLUDED the religious leaders, "Who among you can accuse me of any wrong?" (John 8:46) No one came forward to claim he had violated any of the biblical laws OR any of the Jewish traditions. Not one religious leader was able to point to a flaw in his behavior or conduct, even with respect to the traditions! The same holds true in the second situation. Yeshua stood before the Sanhedrin (Mark 14:55-56). Some of the religious leaders tried to find something of which to accuse him. Nevertheless, they were unable to find ONE thing in his life that they could present as a violation; he had lived flawlessly according to the traditions. Finally, they found something. As a man he had claimed to be God, blasphemy from their perspective. They could accuse him of NO other violation of the Torah or the traditions!" Likewise, Acts 23:6 the Emissary Sha'ul (Paul) says, “I am a Pharisee , a son of Pharisees”. And, in Acts 26:5 he says that he “lived as a Pharisee according to the strictest sect of our religion”. In Acts 28:17 it says, “It happened that after three days Sha'ul called together those who were the Jewish leaders. When they had come together, he said to them, "I, brothers, though I had done nothing against the people, or the customs of our fathers, still was delivered prisoner from Yerushalayim into the hands of the Romans”. The “customs of our fathers” in this last passage is clearly the tradition of his Pharasaic fathers. The list could go on and on in regards to the various Jewish traditions that Yeshua and His disciples observed. Even some of the things that both Yeshua and Sha'ul were accused of didn't stick when it came to what was thought of by some as violations of the halachah of their day, as such questionable accusations were actually hotly debated subjects amongst the various branches of the observant Judaism of their day. And, when searching the Mishna and Talmud today, they are found to be justified in their observances that were questioned by some during that time, which in fulfillment of prophecy, is actually causing many Jews today to take a serious look at Yeshua. Just one example of this can be seen in my earlier quote of Orthodox Jewish scholar Pinchas Lapide, as he stated, "In this respect you must believe me, for I know my Talmud more or less...This Jesus was as faithful to the law as I would hope to be. But I suspect that Jesus was more faithful to the law than I am— and I am an Orthodox Jew." When it comes to sharing Yeshua and the message of the Good News with the Jewish people...this is a very good thing, and it is something that is significant for all us to grasp. But, some may say, "Didn't Yeshua condemn the Pharisees, and thus the rabbis and their teachings? For Mattityahu (Matthew) 16:6 states, "Yeshua said to them, “Take heed and beware of the yeast of the Pharisees and Sadducees”. Mattityahu 16:11-12 states, "How can you possibly think I was talking to you about bread? Guard yourselves from the hametz (leaven) of the P'rushim (Pharisees) and Tz'dukim (Sadducees)!" Then they understood -- they were to guard themselves not from yeast for bread but from the teaching of the
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