SHABBAT SHALOM, FELLOW HUMANS!! HALLELUYAH!!

True and false predictions are the most obvious way to judge a prophet, but not the only way. A prophet is much more than a fortune teller. He's a conduit of messages direct from YHWH. As such, a true prophet teaches obedience go God's commands, blesses whom God has blessed, and curses whom God has cursed.

A prophet who is true this year, might not be next year, but a prophet who was false last year will always be false. He might repent, but he will never again be a qualified prophet.

Balaam appeared to have been a true prophet at one time, so what went wrong with him? Nobody is flawless. Even a pastor, rabbi, prophet is susceptible to greed. #balak

BIBLE STUDY LESSON 11

SERIES T --- THE ADONAI OF LIFE

ROMAN JUSTICE?

PILATE JUDGES YESHUA

From Matthew 27:1-14; Mark 15:1-5; Luke 23:1-5; John 18:28-38; Acts 1:18, 19

By this time the conscience of Judas Iscariot was bothering him, for he saw that Yeshua was condemned to die. Filled with remorse, he brought the thirty pieces of silver back to the chief priests and other leaders. [I have sinned, for I have betrayed an innocent Man,] he told them. [Why tell us?] they answered. [That’s your concern.] Judas threw the money on the floor of the temple, then rushed away and hanged himself. He fell headlong so that he burst open and his insides gushed out. [We can’t put this money in our temple treasury,] they said. [It is against our Laws to do that with money paid to kill someone.] After discussing the matter, they decided to buy a cemetery for foreign people who died in Jerusalem. They bought the field where pottery makers gathered their clay. Because it was bought with blood money, it was called {The Field of Blood,} or Akeldama. This fulfilled Jeremiah’s prophecy, in which he said, [They took the thirty pieces of silver, the price set by some Israelites, and they bought a potters’ field, as the Adonai directed.] When the council had formally condemned Yeshua, they bound Him and led Him to Pilate, the governor, at the Praetorium. But they would not enter the Praetorium themselves, for they thought that would defile them and they could not eat the Passover lamb. Pilate came out to talk with them. [Of what are you accusing this Man?] he asked. [If He was not a criminal, we would not have brought Him to you,] they answered. [Since you have already found Him guilty, take Him away and judge Him according to your Law,] Pilate responded. [You know that we can’t put a man to death,] they argued. This fulfilled Yeshua’ prophecy that He would be put to death a certain way. Then they began to accuse Yeshua, saying that He was leading the nation astray, telling people not to pay Caesar’s taxes, and claiming to be the Moshiach, a King. Pilate then took Yeshua into the Praetorium and asked Him, [Are You King of the Jews?] [Which kind of king?] Yeshua asked. [Your kind or their kind?] [You know that I am not a Jew,] Pilate answered. [Your own people brought You here to die. What have You done?] [I am a King, but not over a kingdom here on earth,] Yeshua told Pilate. [If I were, My followers would be fighting with weapons.] [But You are a King?] Pilate asked. [That is correct,] said Yeshua. [I was born to be a King, and came to this world to bring truth. The people in My Kingdom follow Me and love the truth.] [What is truth?] Pilate wondered aloud. Then he went out to the people who had brought Yeshua. [He is not guilty!] Pilate told them.

COMMENTARY

HEROD’S PALACE

The three towers of Herod’s magnificent palace had outlived their builder by many years. The king, Herod the Great, was dead and his country divided among several lesser rulers, but his royal residence still stood. No member of Herod’s family had lived in the palace on Mount Zion since the Romans removed Archelaus from power. When they put Jerusalem directly under the control of a Roman procurator in 6 A.D., the new governor moved into the vacant palace. But since Jerusalem was a city of many palaces, no one knows for certain which one Pilate chose for himself when he became procurator in 26 A.D. Did he follow the example of his predecessors or did he live in the Antonia fortress? Although the Antonia is the traditional site of Yeshua’ trial, some have suggested that Pilate sat in the courtyard of Herod’s palace on Mount Zion when he washed his hands of Yeshua’ death.

I'm associating NT scripture with each #torah portion this year. This page is updated by Friday each week. This week I've connected Luke 8: 49-56 to the Torah portion. Can you figure out why?

https://firstcenturychristiani....ty.net/torah-portion

Deuteronomy 27:26 reads, "Cursed is the one who does not confirm all the words of this law by observing them." It's one thing to say you are following God --- but how do you show that? What is the outward sign of this inward heart change? Our actions. How can we say we obey the "Word of God" when we won't observe those words? We can't. We must "put our money where our mouth is" and actually obey the instructions of the God we claim to serve.