Shabbat shalom, everyone! I'm explaining how baptism is a requirement today. Service starts at 1pm central, message usually around 1:30PM live through YouTube.
https://www.youtube.com/@firstcenturychristianity
BIBLE STUDY --- THE GOOD SHEPHERD
WHAT DOES IT COST TO FOLLOW YESHUA?
From Luke 9:57-62
One day as Yeshua was walking with His disciples, a man told Him, [Wherever You go, I will go, too.] Yeshua answered, [Foxes have holes and birds have nests, but I have no home of My own.] Another man said that he wanted to be Yeshua’ disciple, but not until his father died. Yeshua said to him, [That is the kind of thinking for unbelievers, those who are without everlasting life. If you want to be My disciple, you must go now and preach the Kingdom of YHVH.] Still another man said to Yeshua, [I want to follow You, but first I want to go home and take care of things there.] Yeshua replied, [Whoever puts his hand to the plough, but keeps on looking back at the old life, is unfit for the Kingdom of YHVH.]
BAD BROTHERLY ADVICE
From John 7:1-9
Yeshua went about Galilee at this time, deliberately staying out of Judea where the Jewish leaders were plotting to kill Him. But when it came time for the Feast of Tabernacles, Yeshua’ brothers gave Him some bad advice. [Leave Galilee and go to Judea so that people can see Your miracles,] they told Him. [If You want to become well known, You must go where the people are gathered. Since You are doing great miracles, show them to the world.] It was obvious that His own brothers did not realize who He was. Yeshua answered them, [You can go down to the feast at any time, for people don’t hate you the way they hate Me. But this is the wrong time for Me to go, for I have told the world about its sin. No, you go on to the feast and I will stay here until the right time.] Having told His brothers this, Yeshua stayed behind in the region of Galilee.
TOWARD JERUSALEM
From John 7:10; Luke 9:51-56
After His brothers had left, Yeshua went toward Jerusalem, However, instead of going the usual way, He went secretly by another route. Because the time had drawn near for Yeshua to return to heaven, He knew that it was time to go to Jerusalem. Before entering a village of Samaria, He sent some messengers to prepare the way for Him. But the Samaritans would not welcome Yeshua because He was headed for Jerusalem. When James and John realized this, they said, [Adonai, would You like us to call down fire from heaven to destroy them, the way Elijah did?] Yeshua scolded them for saying this. [You don’t even know what spirit is causing you to say this,] He said. Instead of staying in that village, they went on to another.
COMMENTARY
THE FEAST OF TABERNACLES
Each autumn, in late September or early October, when the harvest was completed, there was a joyous festival in Jerusalem. All Israelite men and boys were expected to make their pilgrimage to Jerusalem and to participate in this time of feasting and ceremony. This feast has been known at different times as The Feast of Ingathering, The Feast of Booths, or The Feast of Tabernacles. It was established by the Adonai when He gave the Law to Moses at Mount Sinai. This was an occasion for celebration, a time of great joy, with thanksgiving for the harvest, and something of a great {family reunion} in the Holy City. Tribes and distant family members found this a prime time to talk together and catch up on family news and gossip. All family members came along whenever possible. Families built booths throughout the city, made from the branches of palms, willows, and other leafy trees. In these leafy booths families camped throughout the seven days of the festival. Adonai Commanded that the people make these booths to remind them that their ancestors lived in similar booths in the wilderness on their way from Egypt to Canaan. The festival officially lasted seven days, with an eighth day added as a day of rest. The people lived in the booths during the seven days only. As pilgrims gathered branches for booths, each added enough to make a plume called a lulab {sometimes called lulav or lulbah}, a symbol of rejoicing. This plume was waved during certain ceremonies, especially during the daily singing of the Hallel, -- Psalms 113-118. During each night the temple was illuminated with great menorah, the seven-branched lamp stands. Wicks were made from the worn-out garments of the priests. This temple illumination was a witness against the darkness of heathenism. Each morning at dawn two priests with silver trumpets stepped from among a crowd of Levites who had gathered on the fifteen steps that led from the Court of Women. To signal the dawn, they blew a threefold blast, then another as they reached the tenth step. Still blowing their trumpets, they went through the Beautiful Gate of the temple, faced westward toward the holy place of the temple. There they recited, [Our fathers, who were in this place, they turned their backs on the Sanctuary of YHVH, and their faces eastward, for they worshipped eastward, the sun; but we, our eyes are turned toward YHVH. A second ceremony took place each morning. The people divided into three groups. One stayed in the temple, watching the preparation for the morning offerings of animals. Another group went in a procession with priests to a certain place in the Kidron Valley where they gathered willow branches. They returned to watch the priests put these branches in an arch across the altar. Another procession followed a priest to the Pool of Siloam where he gathered water in a golden pitcher and returned with it to the temple when the first offerings were placed on the altar. This priest, and another priest, with a container of wine, ascended to the altar and poured their water and wine into two silver funnels at the base of the altar. Then the crowds began to chant the Hallel. Levites chanted the first line of each psalm and the crowds repeated it. But as the Levites chanted each following line, the crowd responded {HalleluYah,} {Praise ye Adonai Eloheinu}. On the seventh and final day people and priests shook off the leaves of their willow branches and beat their palm branches to pieces around the altar. That afternoon they dismantled their booths and the festival was officially ended. It was on this seventh and final day of the feast that Yeshua called out, [If anyone is thirsty, let him come to Me and drink.] Some believe that this happened at the time of the outpouring of the golden pitcher water. To unbelievers, Yeshua’ statement would have been an offense. But to others, who had gathered in Jerusalem, the true meaning of the outpouring of the water came to life before their eyes.
BIBLE STUDY --- THE GOOD SHEPHERD
THE SECRET OF THINGS TO COME
From Luke 9:43-45
The people were still overwhelmed by the miracles of Yeshua when He began to teach His disciples. [Remember what I am going to tell you,] He said. [I am about to be betrayed into the power of men.] The disciples did not understand what Yeshua meant by this. The secret of it was hidden from them and they were afraid to ask Him for some explanation.
YESHUA PAYS SOME TAXES
From Matthew 17:24-27
When Yeshua and His disciples returned to Capernaum, the temple tax collectors came to see Peter. [Doesn’t your Master pay taxes?] they complained. [He certainly does!] Peter answered. When Peter returned to the house, Yeshua spoke to him first. [What do you think, Simon?] Yeshua asked. [Do the kings of the world collect taxes from their own people or from others?] [From others, of course,] Peter answered. [Then their own people are free from taxes!] said Yeshua. [But since we don’t want to offend these people, go down to the water and throw in a fishing line. Open the mouth of the first fish you catch. In it you will find a coin that will pay the taxes for you and Me. Take it and pay our taxes.]
THE GREATNESS OF A CHILD
From Matthew 18:1-6
At that time, the disciples came to Yeshua to ask Him a question. [Who is the greatest in the Kingdom of heaven?] they wanted to know. Yeshua called a small child to Him and asked him to stand in the midst of the disciples. [I have something important for you to remember,] Yeshua said. [Unless you change and become like a little child, you will never enter the kingdom of heaven. The one who is greatest in heaven is the one who humbles himself and becomes like this child. Whoever receives a little child in My Name, receives Me. But whoever causes a little child who believes in Me to turn away from Me will be punished. It would be better for him to have a millstone tied around his neck and to be thrown into the deepest sea.]
COMMENTARY
COINS THAT YESHUA SAW
Each time a new ruler came to power in ancient times, he ordered new coins to be made for his kingdom. To honour him, they often had his picture on the front; an image, such as a pagan god or goddess was on the back. There were many countries and kings in Bible times, so there were many different coins in use. The New Testament mentions several coins that were then common. Although they were made for different rulers, including some who ruled in previous years, they would likely have still been in circulation while Yeshua walked the earth. Since Jews came from all over the world to worship at the temple in Jerusalem, foreign coins were common. But coins with portraits of men were not accepted at the temple. YHVH had Commanded the Israelites not to make any images of Him. Since man was in YHVH’s image, only coins that had no image -- Jewish coins had none -- could be used as an offering for the poor or to buy a lamb for a sacrifice. Moneychangers set up their tables inside the temple court so that people could exchange their forbidden foreign coins for acceptable Israelite money. These men often cheated their customers badly. It was in anger at their dishonesty that Yeshua overturned their tables and drove the moneychangers out of the temple. Because Israel was a conquered country, it was not allowed to make gold or silver coins during Roman times; only the Roman government was permitted to do that. Countries controlled by Caesar could issue only bronze coins. They were much less valuable than the gold and silver money made by Rome. One of the more common Roman silver coins was a denarius. It had an image of Tiberias Caesar on the front. Although it was only about the size of an American dime, a denarius was considered a day’s wages. This was the coin that Yeshua used when the Pharisees tried to trick him with their question about paying tax to Caesar. He pointed to the picture of the emperor and said, [Give to Caesar the things that are Caesar’s and to YHVH the things that are YHVH’s.] The mite was a small Israelite coin made of bronze; it was worth the least of any coin made, like the penny in America. When Yeshua saw the poor widow put her two mites in the temple offering, He said that her money was worth much more than all the wealth of the rich, because she had given all she had. Two mites were worth one farthing, but the large bronze coin was not worth very much either. It was the price of two sparrows -- Matthew 10:29, just about the only meat a poor person could afford. Every Jew who lived in Palestine had to pay a tax for the support of the temple of a half-shekel a year. Yeshua had to pay it too, When the tax was due, he sent Peter to catch a fish. He found a silver shekel {made before Roman rule} in its mouth, enough to pay the temple tax for Yeshua and himself as well. Judas made his bargain with the religious leaders for thirty pieces of silver, the usual price for a slave. They agreed to pay him for his betrayal of Yeshua in silver coins that would be accepted anywhere in the Roman Empire. The money he received was probably in the form of large silver tetradrachms from Tyre. They were the most commonly used silver coins during Bible times. Yeshua used money to buy food for Himself and his twelve disciples during His lifetime on earth. But He did not place any true value on metal coins. He taught His disciples and all who would listen that it was infinitely more important to build up treasure in heaven than to desire wealth on this earth.
The first time we read about people worshipping together is Exodus 4:31, “and they believed. And when they heard that the LORD had attended to the Israelites and had seen their affliction, they bowed down and worshiped.” There is no description of how they worshipped other than the literal bowing down or prostrating themselves to respect and fear the Creator.
Messiah Yeshua's parables of the Kingdom seem easy to understand until we start looking beneath the surface of the stories. That's when we realize that we might not know exactly what the Kingdom is.
https://thebarkingfox.com/2025..../11/29/fully-leavene
Messiah Yeshua's parables of the Kingdom seem easy to understand until we start looking beneath the surface of the stories. That's when we realize that we might not know exactly what the Kingdom is.
https://thebarkingfox.com/2025..../11/29/fully-leavene
Thought for Today: Shabbat November 29
There are many, many believers that lack assurance of their salvation. The key is to understand that the Moshiach took away all our sins – not part of them, but all of them. No matter how good we are, we cannot save ourselves, because YHVH’s standard is perfection. But the Moshiach, Who was without sin, did for us what we could never do for ourselves; He took all our sins on Himself, and took the death and hell we deserve. Depend solely on the Moshiach for your salvation. He paid the price – now you owe nothing!
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