Question 320: What Is The Parable Of The Ten Virgins Intended To Teach?
Answer:
The duty of watchfulness and unworldliness. In the East to this day, at a wedding ceremony, the approach of the bridegroom's procession is heralded by the cry, "The bridegroom cometh" and those who have been invited come out of their houses to join it and go with him to attend the ceremony. In Moshiach's time apparently, they were expected to carry lamps. All the virgins in the parable slept while the bridegroom tarried; but five of them were prepared with oil to trim their lamps and the others were not thus, when the bridegroom came, they were ready to meet him, while the others were not. Professing believers would be similarly divided if Moshiach were to come to the world now. Some would rejoice and be ready to welcome Him, while others who are leading worldly lives and are not cultivating a believer’s character, would be unprepared and would be stricken with consternation.
Question 319: Who Are The “False Prophets In Sheep’s Clothing”?
Answer:
The warning is against teachers who come, claiming to be authorized interpreters of the mind of YHVH and expounders of His Word, yet who are false leaders, having no spiritual light in themselves and being unfitted to guide others into the light of truth. Coming in sheep's clothing implies that they present a plausible exterior, their lips filled with smooth, persuasive words; but they do not teach nor do they themselves know the Gospel of Yeshua. They teach instead a man-made Gospel and make a great show of liberal ideas. The "old paths" they discard for new ways of reaching heaven. They cast doubt upon the essentials of the faith and teach the doctrines of error. Any teacher who does not hold fast to the cardinal points of the Gospel or who does not emphasize the divine nature and the mediatorial office of Moshiach and His sacrifice and atonement; who would exalt works above faith; who belittles the importance of the revealed Word and casts doubt upon its genuineness and authority; who compromises with sin and the weakness of our nature; who leads his flock to regard with doubt all that pertains to the invisible realm of faith and the supernatural; who attaches more importance to the operations of the human mind than to all else - such a person is not calculated to lead others in the way of life everlasting. It is therefore of the very first importance that the pastor who is chosen for a church should himself be a believer, living the faithful life else, however sincere he may be in his efforts, he will not be able to lead others aright.
Question 318: How Should We Interpret “Take Not Thought For The Morrow”
Answer:
Yeshua did not have a word to say against industry or prudence. His words in this instance were directed against the anxiety, worry and foreboding which afflict so many people. Trust in YHVH He said in effect, do not spoil your lives by this distressing fear. At the worst, you will have clothing and food. Do not be grasping or selfish, but give to those in need. Solomon said a similar thing (Proverbs 11:24). The one man whom Moshiach advised to sell all he had and give to the poor, was a boastful man who wanted to be perfect. Yeshua saw the fault in his character and told him that his way to perfection was to eliminate that fault. To other men he probably gave no such advice. He laid his finger on the weak place. The apostles it is true, were bidden leave all and follow him; but that was necessary to the work to which they were called; yet even with them Peter seems to have kept his house as did John.
Question 317: Are The Verses “For YHVH So Loved The World”, etc., The Words Of Moshiach Or John?
Answer:
Some scholars have thought that John wrote those verses as a commentary and that they were not spoken by Moshiach; but the number of such scholars was small and has become smaller as the discussion proceeded. Their theory was based on the fact that there is a change of tense in the verses in question; that the phrase "only begotten" was a favourite one with John; and that no further interruption from Nicodemus is reported. These reasons do not appear to us of serious weight. The change of tense occurs only when the topic requires it and if the Words are Moshiach's the change would occur as certainly as if they were John's. The phrase, "only begotten" was it is true, a favourite one with John, but probably because he had heard it so frequently from his Master. And as to the third reason, it is not likely that Nicodemus broke in on that wonderful revelation or that if he did, John would interrupt it to report his questions. We cannot believe that Moshiach ended His talk with the fifteenth verse, because if He had done so, Nicodemus would not have heard the essential facts. Neither would statements so authoritative have been made by John, unless he had distinctly indicated that it was he and not Moshiach who was speaking. The subject was fully discussed some years ago and scholars so eminent as Alford, Lange and Stier then expressed their conviction that the whole passage, from the beginning of the tenth to the end of the twenty-first verse, was spoken by Moshiach.
Frequently asked questions and answers
Question 316: What Is The Lesson Conveyed In The Passage On Foot Washing In John 13: 10?
Answer:
The saying like the act was symbolical. A different word is used in the original to express the washing, in the phrase "he that is washed," from that in the other phrase about the washing of the feet. The former refers to the bath or the washing of the entire body, while the latter refers to the rinsing of the feet, as of one who had soiled them in walking from the bath. The body having been washed, he was clean every whit, when the dirt subsequently collected on the feet was removed. The teaching is obvious. The believer who falls into sin does not need another regeneration, but the cleansing of these biter sins.
Question 315: What Did Yeshua Mean By “If I Will That He Tarry Until I Come”?
Answer:
This passage in John 21:20, 22 are frequently misunderstood. John alone of all the disciples survived the destruction of Jerusalem and so witnessed the beginning of that series of events which belong to what are known as the "last days" of that particular age. He may thus be said to have witnessed the foundation of the Kingdom in men's hearts, in a greater measure than any of his associates. The language of Yeshua (in verse 22) was not a prediction, but a question in which there was however, an assertion of His divine power to dispose of human life as He willed. It has been made the basis of a tradition which treats it mistakenly as a prophecy.
Question 314: What Did Moshiach Refer To When He Asked Peter Whether He Loved Him More Than These?
Answer:
Peter had made himself conspicuous by his protestations of affection, as when he had said (Mark 14:29), "Although all should be offended, yet will not I." The form in which Moshiach put the question would appear to imply a delicate reminder of Peter's boast. Did he indeed love Moshiach more than did the other disciples? When Peter again avowed his love, Moshiach gave him a new commission to feed or shepherd the sheep and lambs (John 21:15). A commission not of authority, but of service.
Question 313: Do Public Prayers Violate Moshiach’s Injunction To Enter Into The Closet When We Pray?
Answer:
No. Moshiach referred to the ostentatious devotion of the Pharisees who chose a public place for their devotions, with the motive that men might see them and honour them as pious people (John 16:23). There are many intimations in the New Testament that YHVH approves of His people meeting together for prayer.
Question 312: What Were The “Greater Works” To Which Yeshua Referred That His Disciples Would Do?
Answer:
Moshiach always objected to being regarded as a mere wonder-worker. He wanted the people to look upon His miracles merely as His credentials and to argue from them that He who could do such things was sent from YHVH. The miracles were intended to lead them to trust in Him for eternal life. Consequently, when as He said, He went to the Father and Ruach HaKodesh was given to His disciples, they were enabled to do those greater works, such as the conversions at Shavuot, which Moshiach held to be of a far higher order than miracles (John 14:12).
Frequently asked questions and answers:
Question 311: Why Did Yeshua Give An Evasive Answer To The Question “Who Art Thou”?
Answer:
When the question was prompted by mere curiosity or when it was asked with the object of getting evidence from His own lips for the purpose of prosecuting Him, it would have been unwise to satisfy the questioner. When however, He was speaking to the woman of Samaria (John 4:26), there was no ambiguity: "I that speak unto thee am He." Under the adjuration of the High Priest too, He answered plainly (Mark 14:62): "Art Thou the Moshiach the Son of the Blessed? And Yeshua said, I am."