It's that time! Let's get prepping for Shabbat this evening.
PART 15 B
RICH MAN AND ELIEZAR
Some P'rushim who was covetous heard all these things and they scoffed at Yeshua. So He said to them, "You are those who look righteous in front of people, but Elohim knows your hearts. Those things highly esteemed to mankind are an abomination in the sight of Elohim. From the Torah and the prophets all the way to Yochanan, {in fact} from {the beginning of} time, the Kingdom of Elohim is announced and everyone forces into it {or, tries to fit it to his own life}. However, it is easier for Heaven and Earth to vanish, than it is for one punctuation of the Torah to fail. There was a rich man who was clothed in purple and fine linen and lived lavishly every day. There was also a poor man named Eliezar who was laid on his porch, full of sores and wishing to be fed with the leftovers of the rich man's dinner table. In addition, the dogs came and licked Eliezer's sores. It happened that the poor man died and was carried by the messengers {of Heaven} into Avraham's bosom. The rich man also died and was buried. While being in torment in sheol he raised his eyes and saw Avraham far away and Eliezar was in his bosom. So he cried out, 'Father Avraham! Have mercy on me and send Eliezer so he can dip the tip of his finger in water and cool my tongue, because I am being tortured by these flames.' {Notice: the rich man still thought of himself as superior, because he wanted Eliezer to serve him.} Avraham said, 'Offspring, do you recall that in your lifetime you received good things, but Eliezer got only bad things. So now he is being comforted and you are being tortured. Besides all that, between you and us there is a wide chasm which has been permanently set, so that those who would go from here to you cannot, nor can anyone come to us from the other side.' Then the tortured man said, 'Then I beg you father, that you would send Eliezer to my father's house. I have five brothers to whom he can testify; otherwise they also may come into this place of torment.' Avraham replied, 'They have Moshe and the prophets, let them shema them.' And he said, 'No, father Avraham, if one went to them from the dead, then they will repent. Avraham said, "If they do not shema Moshe and the prophets, they will not be persuaded, even if one rose from the dead.'"
FORGIVENESS AGAIN
Then Yeshua said to the disciples, "It is impossible for offences not to come, but trouble will be on the one through whom they come! It would be better for him that a millstone was hanged from his neck and he be thrown into the sea, than for him to offend one of these little ones. So, watch yourselves! If your brother trespasses against you, rebuke him, but if he repents, forgive him. If he trespasses against you seven times in a day and seven times a day does t'shuvah to you, saying, 'I repent,' you shall forgive him”.
TRUST AND DUTY
The Shaliachim said to Adonai {Yeshua}, "Make us trust even more." Adonai Yeshua said, "If you had trust {in Elohim} the size of a grain of mustard seed, you could say to this fig tree, 'Be pulled up by the root and be planted in the sea' and it would obey you. But which one of you who has a servant ploughing or feeding cattle will say to him after he has come from the field, 'Go and recline?' Instead, wouldn't you say to him, 'Prepare supper for me, get your towel and serve me until I have finished eating and drinking. Then afterward you will eat and drink?' Would you thank that servant because he did the things which were commanded him to do? Of course not! So you also, when you have done all those things which are commanded you, say, 'We are unprofitable servants. We have done only what it was our duty to do.'"
RAISING OF ELIEZAR
A man was sick, who was Eliezer of Beit-Ani, the town of Miryam and her sister Marta. Therefore his sisters sent word to Yeshua, which said, "Adonai, take notice that he whom you love is sick.” When Yeshua heard he said, "This sickness is not for final death, but for the glory of Elohim, that the Son of Elohim might be glorified through it." Yeshua loved Marta and her sister and Eliezer. Yet, when He heard Eliezer was sick, He stayed two more days in the same place where He was. Then later He said to the disciples, "Let's go into Yehudah again." His disciples asked, "Rabbi, some of the leaders of the Yehudim recently sought to stone you, so, should you go there again?" Yeshua replied, "Aren’t there twelve hours of daylight? If anyone walks in the daylight he does not stumble, because he sees the light of this world. But if a man walks in the night he stumbles because there is no light for him. Our friend Eliezer is asleep, but I go to wake him out of sleep." Yeshua spoke of his death. However, His disciples thought that he had spoken about resting in sleep, so they said, "Adonai, it is good for him to sleep." Then Yeshua told them clearly, "Eliezer is dead. But I am glad for your sakes that I was not there, so that you may come to trust. Now let us go to him." Then T'oma the twin, said to his fellow disciples, "Let us also go, that we may die with him." Beit-Ani was near Yerushalayim, about two miles away and many of the Yehudim came to Marta and Miryam to comfort them concerning their brother. As soon as Marta heard Yeshua was coming she went and met him, but Miryam stayed in the house. He found that Eliezer had been in the grave four days already. Marta said to Yeshua, "Adonai, if you had been here, my brother would not have died. However I know that even now whatever you will ask of Elohim, Elohim will give it to you." "Your brother will rise again," Yeshua said to her. Marta replied, "I know that he will rise again in the resurrection at the last day." "I am the resurrection and the life," said Yeshua. "The one who trusts in Me will live, even though he was dead. Whoever lives and trusts in Me will never die. Do you trust that?” She said to Him, "Yes Adonai. I trust that You are the Moshiach, the Son of Elohim, who was to come into the world." When she had confessed, she went her way and called Miryam her sister secretly, saying, "The Rabbi has come and calls for you." As soon as Miryam heard, she quickly got up and came to Him. Yeshua had not yet arrived in the town, but He was still at that place where Marta met Him. The Yehudim, who were comforting her in the house, followed her when they saw Miryam get up and leave in a hurry. They said, "She is going to the grave to weep there." Miryam came to where Yeshua was and when she saw Him she fell down at His feet, saying, “Adonai, if you had been here, my brother would not have died." When Yeshua saw her weeping and the Yehudim who came with her also weeping, He groaned in spirit. He troubled Himself and said, "Where have you laid him?" They said to him, "Adonai, come and see." Yeshua wept. Then the Yehudim said, "Look how he loved him!" Some of them said, "Couldn't this man who opened the eyes of the blind, also have kept this man from dying?” Yeshua again groaned in Himself as He came to the grave. It was a cave and a stone was over it. "Take away the stone," He commanded. Marta, said, "Adonai, by this time he is reeking, because it has been four days." "Didn't I tell you that if you would trust you would see the glory of Elohim?" Yeshua reminded her. Then they took the stone away from where the dead were laid. Yeshua raised His eyes and said, "Abba, I thank You that You have heard Me. I know that You always hear Me, but because of the people which stand here I say this, that they may trust that you have sent Me."
After saying this He loudly shouted Eliezer! Come forth! Then the one who was dead came out wrapped from top to bottom with grave clothes and his face was wrapped with a cloth. Yeshua said, "Free him and let him go." Then many of the Yehudim which came to Miryam and had seen the things which Yeshua did, trusted in Him. But others went their ways to some P'rushim and told them what Yeshua had done.
CONSPIRACY TO EXECUTE YESHUA
Then some of the chief Kohenim and P'rushim formed a council and said, "What do we do, for this Man does many miracles? If we let Him alone this way, everyone will come to trust Him, then the Romans will come and take away both our position and our nation." One of them, Chaiyafa, being the Kohen Gadol that year, said to them, "You know nothing at all! You do not consider that it is best for us to have one man die for the people, so that the whole nation does not perish." He did not speak this on his own, but being Kohen Gadol that year, he prophesied that Yeshua should die for the nation {of Yisrael}. And not for that nation only, but also that Yeshua should gather together in one the children of Elohim who were dispersed everywhere. From that day onward they counselled together to execute Yeshua. Therefore, Yeshua no longer walked openly among the Yehudim, but went from there to a region near the wilderness, into a city called Ephraim, where He stayed with His disciples.
PART 15 A
CHIEF OF THE P'RUSHIM HOUSE
As Yeshua went into the house of one of the chief P'rushim on Shabbat to eat, some Torah experts and P'rushim were there and watched Him. A man oozing water from his pores stood in front of Him. Yeshua asked the onlookers, "Is it proper Torah to heal on Shabbat?" They said nothing. Then Yeshua took the man and healed him, let him go and said, "Which one of you who has a donkey or an ox, if it falls into a pit, would not quickly pull it out on the Shabbat?" They could not answer Him concerning these things. Then He called some of them to Him and pointed out to them that they chose the chief places and then He gave this parable: "When you are invited to a wedding, do not sit down in the highest place, because a more honourable man than you may have been invited. Then the one who invited you will come and say to you 'Give this man your place.' Then with shame you must accept the lowest place. So when you are invited, go and sit down in the lowest place. That way when the one who invited you comes, he can say to you, Haver [Friend] go up higher. Then you will be served in the presence of those who sit at the dinner with you. For whoever lifts himself up will be put down and the one who humbles himself will be lifted up." Then Yeshua said to the man who had invited Him, "When you prepare a dinner or a supper, do not call only your friends or your brothers or your relatives or only your rich neighbours. They will also invite you, so a return payment will be made to you. Rather, when thou prepare a banquet, invite the poor, the maimed, the lame and the blind. You will be blessed because they cannot return payment to you. Instead you will be returned payment at the resurrection of the righteous." When one of those who sat at the dinner with Yeshua heard these things, he said to Him, "Blessed is the one who will eat bread in the Kingdom of Elohim." This prompted Yeshua to say, "A man prepared a sumptuous supper and invited many guests. He sent his servant at supper time to say to those who were invited, 'Come, for all things are now ready.' They all with one accord began to make excuses. The first said to him, 'I have bought a piece of ground and I need to go and see it. Please excuse me.' Another said, 'I have bought five yoke of oxen and I must test them out. Please excuse me.' Still another said, 'I got married and therefore I can't come.' So the servant came and showed his adon these things. Then the house-owner became angry and said to his servant, 'Go out quickly into the streets and alleys of the city and bring in here the poor and the maimed and the lame and the blind. The servant said, 'Adon, it is done as you commanded and still there is room left.' So the adon said to the servant, 'Go out to the highways and fences and compel them to come in, that my house may be filled. For I assure you, none of those who were invited will taste my supper."
PRICE OF COMMITMENT
Yeshua turned and said to the large crowds of people travelling with Him, "If anyone follows Me and does not hate his father and mother and wife and children and brothers and sisters, yes and even his own life, he cannot be My disciple. And whoever does not carry his own execution stake and follow behind Me, cannot be My disciple. For whom among you plan to build a tower and does not sit down first and consider the cost, as to whether you have enough funding to finish it? What if after he has built the foundation he cannot finish the project? Everyone who watches will begin to make fun of him, saying, 'This man began to build and was not able to finish.' What king who is making war against another king, does not first sit down and consult as to whether he will be able with ten thousand to fight the one who comes against him with twenty thousand? If he can't fight him, he sends ambassadors and negotiates conditions of shalom, while his enemy is still far away. So likewise, whichever one of you does not forsake all he has, he cannot be My disciple. Salt is good, but if the salt has lost its flavour, with what can it be seasoned? It is not fit for the land or for the fertilizer heap. Instead people throw it out. He who has ears to shema, let him shema."
LOST THINGS FOUND
Then many tax collectors and sinners came near to hear Yeshua. Some P'rushim and Soferim murmured and said, "This man accepts sinners and eats with them." He spoke this parable in response, "What man among you who has a hundred sheep and loses one of them does not leave the ninety- nine in the wilderness and go after the lost one until he finds it? When he finds it he celebrates and lays it on his shoulders. When he comes home, he calls his friends and neighbours together and says, 'Rejoice with me, for I have found my sheep which had been lost.' I tell you that just like, this there is celebration in heaven over one sinner who does t'shuvah. Even more than over ninety-nine righteous persons who need no t'shuvah. Consider the woman who has ten pieces of silver. If she loses one piece, doesn't she turn on a lamp and sweep the house and seek diligently until she finds it? When she finds it, she calls friends and neighbours together and says, 'Rejoice with me, for I have found the piece which had been lost. I tell you, in the same way there is celebration in the presence of the messengers of Elohim over one sinner who does t'shuvah." "A man had two sons," Yeshua continued. “The younger one said to his father, 'Father, give to me the amount of the possessions which is my inheritance. So the father divided up the inheritance to his two sons. Not many days after that the younger son gathered all his inheritance and travelled into a distant country. While there he squandered his inheritance with wasteful living. After this son had spent all he had, there arrived a devastating famine in that land, so he began to be destitute. He went and joined himself to a citizen of that territory and the citizen put the young man into his fields to feed the hogs. The young man's mind was constantly on filling his stomach with the husks that the hogs ate, but no one would give it to him. Then he said to himself, 'How many of my father's hired servants have plenty of bread to spare? And, here I am dying from hunger! I will get up and go to my father and will say to him: Father, I have sinned against heaven and in your sight. I am no longer worthy to be called your son. Make me the same as one of your hired servants.' So he rose up and travelled back to his father. While the young man was still far away his father saw him and had compassion for him. The father ran to him and hugged his neck and kissed him. The son said to his father, 'Father, I have sinned against heaven and in your sight and I am no longer worthy to be called your son.' However, the father said to his servants, 'Bring the best robe here and put it on him. Also, put a ring on his hand and shoes on feet. Bring the well-fed calf here and kill it. Then let us dine and celebrate, for this son of mine was dead, yet is alive again. He was lost and now has been found!” So they began to celebrate. "The father's oldest son was in the field and as he came near to the house he heard music and dancing. So, he called one of the servants and asked what was happening. 'Your brother has returned!' said the servant, 'and your father has killed the well-fed calf because he has returned to him safe and sound. Then the oldest son was angry and would not go in, so His father came out and invited him in. The oldest son said to his father, 'Look, many years I have served you and I have not transgressed your commandment at any time, yet you never gave me a kid so I could celebrate with my friends. But as soon as this son of yours comes, who has devoured your provision with prostitutes, you have killed the well-fed calf for him.' The father said to him, 'Son, you are always here with me, so all that I have is yours! It was right that we should celebrate and rejoice, for this one, your brother, was dead and he is alive again. He was lost and now has been found.'"
PARABLES CONCERNING MONEY
Then Yeshua spoke to His disciples, "There was a rich man who had a steward and the rich man accused the steward that he had wasted his possessions. So he asked the steward, 'Why have I heard this about you? Give me an account of your stewardship, for you may not be any longer my steward. Then the steward thought to himself, 'What should I do? For my adon removes me from the stewardship. I am not able to dig. I am too ashamed to beg. I know what I'll do! When I am put out of the stewardship others will accept me to work in their homes.' So he called every one of his adon's debtors and said to the first one, 'How much do you owe to my adon?' He said, 'a hundred measures of oil.' So the steward said to him, 'Take your bill and sit down quickly and write on it fifty. Then the steward said to another, 'and how much do you owe? And he said, 'a hundred measures of wheat.' So the steward said to him, 'Take your bill and write on it sixty.' Then the adon commended the unrighteous steward, because he had done wisely. For the children of this world are wiser with their own kind than the children of light are with theirs. I tell you, make friends for yourself by using unrighteousness wealth, so that when you fail they will receive you into everlasting mishkanim [tabernacles]. The one who is faithful in the least amount is faithful also in the large amount and the one who is unrighteous in the least amount is also unrighteous in the large amount. Therefore, if you have not been faithful with unrighteous wealth, who is going to turn over to your trust what is to be remembered? If you haven't been faithful in what belongs to another person, who will give you something for yourself? No servant can serve two masters. Either he will hate one and love the other or else he will be loyal to the one and despise the other. You cannot serve both Elohim and wealth."
PART 14 B
DISCERNING THE TIMES
Then Kefa said unto him, "Adonai, do You speak this parable only for us or for everyone?" Adonai Yeshua said, "Whoever is the trustworthy and wise steward, whom YHVH shall make a ruler over His household, to give the portion of food in due season! {Compare this to the patriarch Yosef in Egypt.} Blessed is that servant, whom his YHVH will find him doing this when He comes. Remember, I tell you, that He will make him ruler over all that He has. But if that servant says in his heart, Adonai delays His coming and begins to beat the servants and handmaids and to eat, drink and to be drunken, the Adonai of that servant will come in a day when he does not look for Him and at an hour when he is not aware. He will cut him off from Himself and will appoint him his portion with the untrusting. Then that servant who knew the will of Adonai and did not prepare, nor act according to His will, will be beaten many times. But the one who did not know, yet committed things worthy of punishment, shall be beaten a few times. For whoever is given much, much will be required from him and the one to whom people have entrusted much, they will ask him for more. I came to send fire on the Earth and what if I will it to be already kindled? But first I have a mikveh to be immersed in and now am I committed until it is accomplished! Do you think that I have come to bring shalom on earth? I tell you, no! Rather I come to bring division. From now on there will be five in one house divided, three against two and two against three. A father will be divided against a son and son against father; a mother against a daughter and daughter against mother; a mother in law against her daughter in law and the daughter in law against her mother in law. When you see a cloud rise out of the west you declare immediately that a shower is coming and so it does. When you see the south wind blow you say that there will be heat and it happens. You two-faced actors! You can discern the face of the sky and of the earth, but why can't you discern this time? Don't you even judge what is right among yourselves? Yes! When you go to the magistrate with your enemy, on the way be diligent that you may be delivered from him. Otherwise he will bring you to the judge and the judge will deliver you to the officer and the officer will put you into prison. I tell you, you will not depart from there until you have paid the full fine."
ZEALOTS OF GALIL AND SINFULNESS
There was present at that season some who told Yeshua of the Zealots of the Galil, whose blood Pilate had mingled with their sacrifices. Yeshua said to them, "Do you suppose that these Zealots of the Galil were sinners above all those in the Galil because they suffered such things? I tell you, no! Yet, unless you do t'shuvah you will all perish like them. Also, those eighteen people upon whom the tower in Shalo-am fell and killed them, do you think that they were sinners above all people who live in Yerushalayim? I tell you, no! Yet, unless you do t'shuvah you will all similarly perish." Yeshua spoke this parable also, "A certain person had a fig tree planted in his vineyard and he came and looked for fruit on it and found none. Then he said to the dresser of his vineyard, 'Notice this! The last three years I have come to get fruit from this fig tree and there is none. Cut it down! Why even have it burden the ground?' The vine-dresser said to him, 'Adon, let us leave it alone one more year until I have tilled and fertilized it. We can see if it bears fruit and if not, then I will cut it down.'"
WOMAN WITH INFIRMITY SPIRIT
He was teaching in one of the synagogues on Shabbat. There was a woman who had a spirit of infirmity for eighteen years and was bent over. She could not lift herself up. When Yeshua saw her He called to her, "Woman, you are now loosed from your infirmity!" He laid His hands on her and immediately she straightened up and glorified Elohim. The ruler of the synagogue was indignant that Yeshua had healed on the Shabbat and said to the people, "There are six days on which people are to work. Come on those days and be healed, but not on Shabbat." Then Adonai answered him, "You two-faced actor! Does not each one of you on Shabbat free his ox or his donkey from the stall and lead it away to get water? So, shouldn't this woman, being a daughter of Avraham, whom ha’satan has bound for eighteen years, be freed from this bondage on Shabbat?" When Yeshua said these things His adversaries were ashamed and the people rejoiced because of all the glorious things that were done by Him.
KINGDOM SYMBOLIZED
Then He said, "What is the Kingdom of Elohim like? What does it resemble? It is like a grain of mustard seed which a man planted in his garden. It grew and became a large tree and the birds of the air nested in the branches of it. How will I symbolize the Kingdom of Elohim? It is like leaven which a woman took and hid in three measures of flour until the whole batch was leavened." Yeshua continued through the cities and villages, teaching and journeying on toward Yerushalayim. Then one asked Him, "Adonai, are there few who are saved?” Yeshua answered, "I tell you, try very hard to enter in at the narrow gate, for many will seek to enter in and will not be able. Once the Home-owner has risen up and shut the door, you will stand outside and knock on the door, saying, 'Adonai, YHVH open the door for us.' He will answer, saying, 'I do not know you or where you are from.' Then you will say, 'We dined and drank in Your presence and You taught in our streets.' But He will say, 'I tell you, I do not know you or where you are from. Depart from Me, all you who work against the Torah!' There will be weeping and teeth grinding when you see Avraham, Yitzchak and Ya'akov and all the prophets in the Kingdom of Elohim, but you all are shut out. They will come from the east and the west, from the north and the south and will sit down in the Kingdom of Elohim. Notice this! There are those who are last who will be first and there are those who are first who will be last." That same day some of the P'rushim came to Yeshua and said to Him, "Leave now and get away from here because Herod will kill you." Yeshua said, "You go instead and tell that fox, 'Notice this! I remove deceiving spirits and I perform healing today and tomorrow and the third day I will be finished. Nevertheless, I must walk today and tomorrow and the following days, because it cannot be that a prophet should perish outside of Yerushalayim. Oh Yerushalayim! Yerushalayim! You kill the prophets and stone those who are sent to you. How often I would have gathered your children together, as a hen gathers her chicks under her wings, but you would not allow me! Now your house is left to you desolate. Amen! I tell you, you will not see me again, until you will say, 'Baruch haba b'shem Adonai [Blessed is He who comes in the Name of YHVH]'."
PART 14 A
YESHUA TEACHES PRAYER
Yeshua was praying in a certain place and when He stopped, one of His disciples said to Him,
"Adonai, teach us to pray because Yochanan taught His disciples." So He instructed them, "When you pray, say, 'Avinu [our Father] who is in Heaven, Kadosh [holy] is Your Name. May Your Kingdom come and Your will be done on the Earth just as it is in Heaven. Give us the bread we need today and forgive us our sins, for we also forgive everyone who has sinned against us. Help us not to be led into temptation, rather give us victory over the evil-one." Yeshua continued, "What if you go to your friend at midnight and say to him, 'Friend, lend me three loaves, because another friend of mine has travelled to me and I have nothing to feed him?' Won't your friend answer from within and say, 'Do not bother me, for the door is now closed and my children are safe in bed, so I cannot get up and give it to you?' I tell you, though he does not want to get up and give it, yet because he is your friend and because of your insistence, he will eventually get up and give it anyway, as much as you need. So, I tell you, 'Ask and it shall be given you; seek and you shall find; knock and it shall be opened for you. For every one who asks receives and the one who seeks finds and the one who knocks will have it opened. You dads, If a son asks you for bread, will you give him a stone? Or if he wants a fish, will you give him a serpent instead? What if he asks for an egg, will you offer him a scorpion? If you then, being corrupt, know how to give good gifts to your children, how much more will Abba in Heaven give Ruach HaKodesh to those who ask Him?"
THE DIVIDED KINGDOM
Someone brought to Yeshua a person possessed with a deceiving spirit, blind and not able to speak. Yeshua removed the deceiving spirit. When the deceiving spirit left, the person spoke and could see. The people were amazed and many inquired, "Is this the son of David?" {Meaning the Moshiach}. But some Soferim and P'rushim who had come from Yerushalayim accused Him, saying, "He is possessed by Ba'al-Zebul and He casts out deceiving spirits through Ba'al-Zebu', the prince of the deceiving spirits." Others were tested Yeshua, asking Him to perform a sign from Heaven. He knew their thoughts, so He said to them, "Every kingdom divided against itself is brought to desolation; and the city or house which is divided against itself will fall. If ha’satan removes ha’satan, then he also is divided against himself. How will his kingdom stand? Because you say that I remove deceiving spirits through Ba'al-Zebul and if by Ba'al-Zebul I remove deceiving spirits, by who do your sons remove them? Thus, they will be your judges. However, if I, with the finger of Elohim, the Ruach of Elohim, remove deceiving spirits, then no doubt the Kingdom of Elohim has come upon you. When a fully armed strong man guards his palace, his goods are secure. But when someone stronger than him comes upon him, overcomes him and binds him, the stronger one takes from him all his armour which he trusted in and then divides his possessions. Therefore, the one who is not with Me is against Me and the one who does not gather with Me scatters. However, every sin and blasphemy will be forgiven to people and whoever speaks a word against the Son of man, it will be forgiven him, but whoever blasphemes against Ruach HaKodesh will never be forgiven. Neither in this world, nor the one which is coming. When the unclean spirit leaves a person, it walks through dry places, seeking rest and finding none. Eventually it says, 'I will return to my house where I came from.' When he comes back he finds it unoccupied, cleansed and decorated. Then he goes and collects seven other spirits more wicked than himself and they enter in and live there. The last condition of that person is worse than the first." As Yeshua taught these things a woman in the crowd raised her voice and said to Him, "Blessed is the womb which bore you and the breasts at which you nursed!" "Yes, but more blessed are those who shema the Word of Elohim and keep it!" Yeshua replied. When the people were tightly gathered together He told them, "This is an evil generation. They seek a sign, but no sign will be given to it, except for the sign of the Prophet Yonah. For the same as Yonah was a sign to the Ninevites, so will the Son of man be a sign to this generation. The queen of the south will rise up at the judgment along with the men of this generation and condemn them. She came from a remote part of the Earth to hear the wisdom of Shlomo, but notice this: here now is one greater than Shlomo. The men of Nineveh will rise up at the judgment with this generation and will condemn it, for they did t'shuvah at the preaching of Yonah, but take notice: one greater than Yonah is here! No-one lights a candle then puts it in a secret place or under a bushel. Rather, it is put on a candlestick so that those who come in may see by the light. The light of the body is the eye. Therefore, when your eye is pure your whole body also is full of light, but when it is evil your body is full of darkness. Be careful that there is light in you and no darkness. If your whole body is full of light, with no part dark, the whole shall be full of light, as when the bright shining of a candle gives you light."
YESHUA DINES WITH A P'RUSH
As Yeshua spoke one of the P'rushim asked to dine with Him, so and Yeshua went with him and sat down to eat. When the P'rush saw that Yeshua did not wash first before dinner he was amazed. Then Adonai {Yeshua} said to him, "Now some P'rushim cleanses the outside of the cup and the plate, but your inward part is full of extortion and depravity. That is mindless! Did not He who made what is outside also make what is inside? They give alms of your possessions and suddenly all things are clean to them. Trouble will come to some P'rushim, because they tithe of their mint and rue and all garden herbs, yet they ignore justice and the love of Elohim. Continue doing {your tithes}, but do not leave the other undone! Trouble will come to some P'rushim, because they love the seats of honour in the synagogues and being specially greeted in the markets. Trouble will come to some of you Soferim and P'rushim who are two-faced, because you are like graves which do not appear so and people walk over them but are not aware of it." Then one of the Torah experts spoke up and said, "Rabbi, by saying this you reproach us also." "Trouble will come to some of you Torah experts also," announced Yeshua, "if you put on the people burdens too difficult to bear, but you yourselves do not touch the burdens with one of your fingers. Trouble will come to you because you build the tombs of the prophets, but your fathers killed them. Surely you provide evidence that you think well of the deeds of your fathers, because they really did kill them and you build their tombs. For this reason the wisdom of Elohim says, 'I will send them prophets and Shaliachim and they will kill and persecute them. Then the blood of all the prophets, which has been spilt from the foundation of the world, will be required of this generation. From the blood of Abel to the blood of Zacharyah, who perished between the altar and the Mikdash. Amen, I tell you, it will be required of this generation. Trouble will come to some of you Torah experts, because you have taken away the key of knowledge! You did not enter in yourselves and you hindered those who were entering in." Some of the Soferim and the P'rushim began to urge and provoke Him vehemently to speak of many things, waiting and seeking for Him to say something whereby they could catch Him and accuse Him.
WARNINGS TO HIS DISCIPLES
There gathered together an innumerable crowd of people, so much so that they trampled each other. Yeshua spoke privately to his disciples, "You must beware of the leaven of the P'rushim, which is deceitful and two-faced. For there is nothing covered which will not be revealed, nor anything hidden which will not be made known. Therefore, whatever you have spoken in darkness will be heard in the light and whatever you speak in the ear in closets shall be proclaimed upon the housetops. I tell you my friends, do not be afraid of those who kill the body and after that have no more which they can do. I forewarn you whom you should really fear. Fear Him who after He has killed, also has the power to throw into sheol. Yes, I tell you to fear Him. Aren't five sparrows sold for two coins and not one of them is forgotten before Elohim? Even the hairs of your head are numbered. Do not be of little courage then, for you are more valuable than many sparrows. Also I tell you, whoever confesses Me in front of people, the Son of man will also confess him in front of the messengers of Elohim. And the one who denies Me in front of people will be denied in front of the messengers of Elohim. So, when they bring you to the councils and in front of magistrates and other authorities, do not consider how or what thing you should answer or what you are going to say. For Ruach HaKodesh will teach you at that time what you should say." One in the crowd said to Yeshua, "Rabbi, instruct my brother to divide the inheritance with me." He responded, "Mister, who made Me a judge or a magistrate over you? Be careful and beware of covetousness, for a man's life does not depend on the amount of the possessions he has." So He spoke this parable to them, "The ground of a rich man brought a bountiful harvest. He thought to himself, 'What will I do, because I have no more room to store my harvest?' So he said, 'I will do this: I will pull down my barns and build larger ones. I will store all my harvest and my goods there. I will say to my soul, 'Soul, you have many goods stored up for many years, take it easy now, eat, drink and be happy.' Then Elohim said to him, 'You fool! Tonight your soul will be required of you, then who will own those things which you have provided?' So also is everyone who stores treasure for himself and is not rich toward Elohim." Yeshua now spoke only to His disciples. "Therefore I tell you to not worry concerning your life, as to what you are going to eat. Nor for your body, as to what you will wear. The life is more than food and the body is more than clothing. Consider the ravens who neither sow nor reap and who neither have a storehouse nor a barn, yet Elohim feed them. How much better are you than the birds? Which one of you by thinking about it can add to his height one forearm's length? If you are not able to do that little thing, why worry about the rest? Consider how the lilies grow. They do not labour or make clothes, yet I tell you that Shlomo in all his majesty was not adorned with the beauty of these. If then, Elohim clothes the grass this way, which today is in the field and tomorrow is put in the oven, how much more are you worth? You have such little trust! Don't worry about what you are going to eat or what you are going to drink, nor be doubtful in your mind. For all these things the people of the world seek after, but your Abba knows that you need these things. Rather seek out the Kingdom of Elohim first! Then all these things will be added to you. Do not be discouraged, little flock; for it is your Abba's good pleasure to give you the Kingdom. Sell your possessions in order to give to the poor. In this way you will never run out of provisions. You will have securities in Heaven which never fail, where no thief can approach, nor can a moth corrupt it. For wherever your treasure is, there your heart will also be. Get your armour on, with your torches burning {in preparation}. Be as those men who wait for their YHVH to return for the wedding, so that when He comes and knocks, they may immediately open to Him. Blessed are those servants, whom YHVH when He comes will find watching. Amen! I tell you, that He will get Himself ready and make them sit down to eat and He Himself will come forth and serve them. If He comes at the second watch or the third watch and finds them working, those servants are blessed! Realize this! If the resident of the house had known what hour the thief was coming, he would have watched, and not allowed his house to be broken into. You should also be ready; for the Son of man will come at a time you are not considering."
PART 13 B
THE GOOD SHEPHERD TEACHING
"Amen, amen! I tell you, the one who does not enter by the door into the sheepfold, but instead climbs up some other way, that one is a thief and a robber. But the one who enters in by the door is the shepherd of the sheep. To him the porter opens and the sheep hear his voice. He calls his own sheep by name and leads them out. When he takes out his own sheep, he goes in front of them and the sheep follow him, because they know his voice. They will not follow a stranger, rather they will flee from him, because they do not know the voice of strangers." Yeshua spoke this parable, but they did not understand the things which He was speaking to them. Then Yeshua spoke to them again, "Amen, amen! I tell you, I am the door of the sheep. All who came ahead of me {announcing they were Moshiach} are thieves and robbers, but the sheep did not shema them. I am the door. If anyone enters in through Me he will be preserved and will go in and out and find pasture. The thief comes for no other reason than to steal, kill and destroy. I have come that they might have life and that they might have it with overflowing abundance. I am the Good Shepherd. The Good Shepherd gives His life for the sheep. The one who is a hired hand and not the shepherd who owns the sheep, when he sees the wolf coming he leaves the sheep in a hurry. Then the wolf catches them and the sheep scatter. The hired hand leaves in a hurry because he is only a hired hand and does not care for the sheep. I am the Good Shepherd and I know My sheep and I am known by My own. As Abba knows Me, so also I know Abba and I lay down My life for the sheep. I also own other sheep who are not of this fold. I must also bring them along. They will also shema My voice and the result will be one fold and One Shepherd. Avi loves Me because I lay down My life, so that I might regain it. No one takes it from Me, rather, I Myself lay it down. I have the power to lay it down and I have the power to regain it. This commandment I have received from Avi." {In this Yeshua affirmed that the commandments of YHVH are given along with the ability to perform them.} As a result of these words there arose once again a division among the leaders of the Yehudim. Some of them said, "He has a deceiving spirit and is mad! Why do you shema him?" Others of them argued back, "These are not the words of someone who has a deceiving spirit! Can a deceiving spirit heal the eyes of the blind?"
YESHUA AT CHANUKAH
Now it was time for the Feast of Chanukah in the winter and Yeshua walked in the Mikdash around the part called King Shlomo's portico. Then some of the leaders of the Yehudim came around Him and questioned Him, "How long will you cause us to doubt? If you are Moshiach declare it plainly to us." Yeshua answered them, "I told you, yet you did not trust it. The deeds which I do in Avi's Name, they witness concerning who I am. You do not trust because you are not among My sheep. As I told you, My sheep shema My voice and I know them and they follow Me. To them I give eternal life and they will never perish, neither will anyone remove them from My hand. Avi, who gave them to Me, is greater than anyone and no one is able to remove them from Avi's hand. Avi and I are Echad [One]." Then some of the leaders of the Yehudim picked up stones to throw at Him. "Many good works I have showed you from Avi, for which one of those deeds do you stone me?" Yeshua remarked. They said, "We do not stone you for a good work, but rather for blasphemy, because you, being a man, make yourself out to be Elohim." Yeshua answered them, "Is it not written in the Torah, 'I say, you are masters?' If he called those 'masters' to whom the Word of Elohim came and the scripture cannot be broken, how can you say concerning the one Abba has set apart from Himself and sent into the world, 'You blaspheme,' simply because I said, 'I am the Son of Elohim?' If I do not do the deeds of Avi, then do not trust Me. But if I do them, though you do not trust Me {because of the way I look to you}, trust in the {miraculous} deeds. You should understand by those and trust that Abba is in Me and I am in Him!" Therefore they tried again to take hold of Him, but He escaped out of their grip and went away beyond the Yarden River again into the place where Yochanan first performed the mikveh. He found shelter there and many congregated to Him. They were saying, "Yochanan did no miracle, but all the things that Yochanan spoke about this man were true." Many trusted in Yeshua there.
PART 13 A
FINAL DEPARTURE FROM THE GALIL
When the time was nearing for Yeshua to be sacrificed {as the Pesach Lamb}, He resolved to go to Yerushalayim with unrelenting determination. He sent messengers ahead of Him and they went and entered a village of Shomron to prepare the way for Him. But they did not accept Him there, because His face was set in the direction of Yerushalayim. {In those days many people of Shomron were offended with the Yehudim and opposed anyone who favoured Yerushalayim. Putting your face in the direction of Yerushalayim was a sign to them of favour toward it.} When His disciples Ya'akov and Yochanan saw this, they said, "Adonai, is it your will for us to call fire down from heaven and consume them, the same as Eliyahu did?" Yeshua turned and rebuked them, saying, "You have no idea what kind of spirit is influencing you. For the Son of man has not come to destroy men's lives, but rather to save them." So they went to another village. As they travelled the road, a man came and said to Yeshua, "Adonai, I will follow you wherever you go." Yeshua said to him, "The foxes have holes and birds of the air have nests, but the Son of man does not have any place to lay down." He said to another person, "Follow me." But he said, "Adonai, allow me to first go and bury my father." Then Yeshua said to him, "Let the dead bury their dead, but you go and proclaim the Kingdom of Elohim." Another person said to Yeshua, "Adonai, I will follow You, but allow me to first go and tell those at home in my household goodbye." Yeshua said to him, "No one who has put his hand to the plough, then looks back, is ready for the Kingdom of Elohim."
SEVENTY SENT OUT
Later, Adonai {Yeshua} appointed an additional seventy disciples and sent them ahead two by two into every city and place, where He would eventually arrive. He said to them, "Surely the harvest is great, but the labourers are few, so you pray the Adonai of the harvest to send out labourers into His harvest. Proceed with your journey now and take note that I send you out as lambs among wolves. Do not carry luggage or paper or extra shoes and greet no one on the road. Whenever you enter any house, first say, 'Shalom lebeit [peace be to this house]. If a son of shalom is there, your peace will rest upon it, but if not it will return to you. Stay in that house eating and drinking the things they provide, because the labourer is worthy of his hire. Do not go from one house to another {seeking more or better provision}. Whenever you enter into a city and they accept you, eat the things which you are given. Heal the sick who are there and tell them, 'the Kingdom of Elohim has come near to you.' Whenever you enter a city and they do not accept you, go your way out into the streets of that city and tell them, 'The dust of your city which clings to us we brush off against you. No matter, surely that the Kingdom of Elohim has come near to you.' I tell you, it will be easier in the day {of judgement} for Sodom, than for that city. Trouble be on you, Chorazin! Trouble be on you, Beit-Tzaida! For if the mighty works had been done in Tyre and Sidon, which have been done in you, they would have done t'shuvah a long time ago sitting in sackcloth and ashes. Therefore, it will easier for Tyre and Sidon at the judgment, than for you. Also you, K'far-Nachum, who has been exalted to Heaven, you will be thrown down to sheol. The one who listens to you, listens to Me and the one who despises you despises Me and the one who despises Me despises Him who sent Me." The seventy returned with joy, proclaiming, "Adonai, even the deceiving spirits are submissive to us through You Name." "I watched ha’satan [the adversary] fall like lightning from the heavens," responded Yeshua. "Notice this! I give to you the power to tread on serpents and scorpions and over all the power of the enemy and nothing will by any means cause you harm. Nevertheless, do not rejoice in the fact that the spirits are submissive to you, but rather rejoice because your names are written in Heaven." At that time Yeshua rejoiced in His Spirit and said, "Todah Rabah [Thank You] Abba, Adon of Heaven and Earth! You have hidden these things from the self-assured and careful and have revealed them to babes. Amen, Abba! You concluded it to be good in Your sight. All things are delivered to Me by Avi and no one knows who the Son is except Abba and who Abba is, except the Son and the one to whom the Son will reveal Him." Yeshua turned toward His disciples and spoke privately, "Blessed are the eyes which see the things you see. For I tell you, many prophets and kings have desired to see those things which you see and have not seen them; and to shema those things which you shema and have not heard them."
GOOD MAN OF SHOMRON
A certain Torah expert stood up to test Yeshua, "Rabbi, what should I do to inherit eternal life?" "What is written in the Torah? How do you interpret it?" Yeshua asked. The Torah expert answered, "You shall love YHVH your Elohim with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your strength and with all your mind; and your neighbour as yourself." Yeshua said, "You have answered correctly. Do this and you will live!" The Torah expert {was convicted in his heart, so} trying to justify himself, he asked Yeshua, "So who is my neighbour?" Yeshua answered, "Some man went down from Yerushalayim to Yericho and was attacked by robbers who stripped his clothes from him and wounded him. Then they departed and left him nearly dead. It happened that a Kohen came that way and when he saw him, he passed by on the other side. Also a Levite, when he came to the place, looked at him, but passed by on the other side. Then a man of Shomron was on a journey and came by where he was. When he saw him he had compassion on him and went to him. He bandaged his wounds, pouring in oil and wine and put him on his own animal. Then he brought him to an inn and cared for him. As he prepared to depart the next day, he took out two weeks wages and gave it to the host and said to him, 'Take care of him and whatever more expenses there are, I will reimburse you when I come back.' Now then, which one of these three do you think was a neighbour to the one who was attacked by robbers?" "The one who demonstrated mercy to him," answered the Torah expert. "Then you go and do the same thing," instructed Yeshua.
FIRST VISIT TO MARTA AND MIRYAM
As Yeshua continued His journey He entered into a village {called Beit-Ani} and a woman named Marta opened her home to Him. Her sister was named Miryam, who sat at the feet of Yeshua and shema to His Word, while Martha was burdened by busily serving. So she came to Yeshua and said, "Adonai, don't you care that my sister has left me to serve alone? So, command her to help me." "Marta, Marta," Yeshua said. "You are full of cares and troubled about many things. But only one thing is necessary and Miryam has chosen that good thing, which will not be taken away from her."
WHO SINNED?
When Yeshua was walking by a place He saw a man who was blind since his birth. So His disciples asked Him, "Rabbi, what sin caused this? Was it this man's fault or his parents fault that he was born blind?" "It was not his fault nor His parents," Yeshua answered, "but rather, it is so the works of Elohim would be manifested in him. I must work the works of Him who sent me while it is day. The night is coming when no one can work. As long as I am in the world, I am the Light of the world." Then He spat on the ground and made clay with the saliva. He anointed the eyes of the blind man with the clay and said to him, "Go. Wash in the pool of Shalo-am, [Sent to the people]." The man went and washed, then returned able to see. The neighbours and those who had known before that the man was blind, said, "Isn't this the one who sat and begged?" Some said, "This is the one!" Others said, "This one looks like him." Then the man said, "I am the one!" Therefore they said to him, "How were your eyes healed?" He answered, "A man called Yeshua made clay and anointed mine eyes, then said to me, ‘go to the pool of Shalo-am and wash, so I went and washed and then I could see!’" They asked, "Where is Yeshua?" "I don't know," He answered. So they then brought the formerly blind man to some of the P'rushim. It was the Shabbat when Yeshua made the clay and healed the man's eyes. These P'rushim asked the man how he had received his sight. He told them, "Yeshua put clay on my eyes and I washed and now I see." Some of the P'rushim argued, "This man is not of Elohim, because he does not keep the Shabbat." Others of the P'rushim countered, "Then how can a man that is a sinner do such miracles?" This caused a division among them, so they said to the blind man again, "What do you say about Him, since He has healed your eyes?" "He is a prophet," he answered. But certain leading Yehudim did not believe the report that he had been blind and then received his sight, until they called his parents. They asked them, "Is this your son, who you say was born blind? How come he now is able to see?" His parents answered, "We know that this is our son and that he was born blind, but by what means he now can see we do not know, nor who has healed his eyes. He is of age, so ask him. He will speak for himself." His parents spoke this way because they were afraid of the leading Yehudim, because some had already agreed that if any man confessed that Yeshua was the Moshiach, he would be put out of the synagogue. Therefore his parents said, "He is of age. Ask him." Then again they called the man who was blind and said unto him, "Give Elohim the praise: we know that this man is a sinner." The formerly blind man answered, "Whether or not he is a sinner I don't know, but one thing I do know: I once was blind and now I see." Then they asked him again, "What did he do to you? How did he heal your eyes?" "I have told you already," he answered. "And you did not shema it. Why do you want to hear it again? Will you also become his disciples?" Then they rebuked him, "You are His disciple, but we are Moshe's disciples. We know that Elohim spoke to Moshe. As for this fellow, we don't know where He is from." The man said, "Wow! This is an amazing thing! You do not know where He is from and yet He has healed my eyes! We know that Elohim does not hear sinners, but if anyone is a worshiper of Elohim and does His will, He hears them. Since the world began it has not been heard that any man healed the eyes of someone who was born blind. If this man was not of Elohim, he could not do anything!" They countered him, saying "You were altogether born in sins, so do you teach us?" Then they threw him out {of the synagogue}. Yeshua heard that they had thrown him out, so when He found him He asked him, "Do you trust in the Son of God?" "Who is He, Adonai, that I may trust in Him?" he answered. “You have seen Him and it is He who is talking with you," explained Yeshua. Then he said, "Adonai, I trust!" and the man worshiped Him. Yeshua said, "I have come into this world to make a distinction, that those who do not see might see and that those who see might be made blind." Some of the P'rushim who was with Him heard these words and said to him, "Are we blind also?" "If you were blind you would have no sin," Yeshua replied, "but since you say, 'We see' your sin remains”.
PART 12
YESHUA AT SUCCOT
During this time Yeshua only walked in the Galil. He would not walk in Yehudah, because some leaders of the Yehudim there wanted to be rid of Him. Succot, the Holy Feast of Tabernacles, was near and many people from around the world gathered at Yerushalayim to celebrate it. His brothers said to Yeshua, "You should travel to Yehudah, so that your disciples there can also view the works that you do. Usually no one does anything secretly, because he wants to be famous. If you are going to do these things, show yourself to the world." His brothers did not trust who He was either. "My time to do that is not here yet, but you always seem to be ready," Yeshua responded. "The world doesn't hate you, but it does hate Me, because I announce that its works are evil. So, you go ahead up to the feast. I will not go to the Feast just yet, because now is not the right time." Therefore, Yeshua stayed in the Galil, while His brothers went on up to Yerushalayim. Then later, secretly, He also went up to the Feast. At the Feast, the Yehudim looked for Yeshua and said, "Where is he?" They were constantly and quietly discussing Yeshua. Many were saying, "He is a good man." But others said, "No, he deceives the people." Yet no one would talk about Him out loud because they feared what their leaders would say. About the middle Succot Yeshua went up into the Mikdash and taught. Some of the leaders of the Yehudim were amazed and said, "How does this man know the writings without being formally educated?" Yeshua answered, "It is because My doctrine is not mine, rather it is His who sent Me. If anyone will do His will, he will know if the doctrine belongs to Elohim or whether it is just My own. The one who speaks from himself seeks his own glory, but the one who seeks the glory of the One who sent him, that person is the Remembrance, because no unrighteousness is in him. Didn't Moshe give you the Torah and yet none of you keep the Torah? So, for what cause, according to the Torah, do you plan that I should die?” “You have a deceiving spirit! Who is trying to kill you?" someone objected. Yeshua answered, "I have done one work and all of you are amazed. Moshe gave you the commandment concerning circumcision, not because it is of Moshe, but of the Patriarchs and on the Shabbat, you will circumcise a man. If a man on the Shabbat may receive circumcision, so the Torah of Moshe is not broken, why are you angry at Me because I have made a man completely well on Shabbat? Do not judge according to an external opinion, but decide by using equitable judgment." Then some from Yerushalayim were puzzled and said, "Is this not the one whom they want to kill? Yet look! He is talking boldly and they are saying nothing to him. Do the rulers really think that he is actually Moshiach? In any case, we have seen this man's origin, but when the Moshiach comes no man will know His origin!" Then Yeshua raised His voice in the Mikdash, "You have seen Me and you have seen the reason I am. But I have not come from Myself. He who has sent Me is the Remembrance, but you do not see Him. But I have seen Him, for I am from Him and He has sent Me." Then they wanted to take hold of Yeshua, but no one laid their hands on Him, because it was not the time for Him to be taken. Many of the people trusted who He was and said, "When Moshiach comes, will He do any more miracles than the ones this man has done?" Some of the P'rushim heard the people muttering this, so they, along with some of the chief Kohanim, sent officers to arrest Him. Then Yeshua said to them, "I will be with you only a little while longer and then I will go to Him who sent Me. You will seek Me and not find Me, because you cannot come where I am." Then these leaders talked among themselves, "Where will He go, so we cannot find Him? Will He go to the dispersed Yehudim among the Gentiles and also teach the Gentiles? What does He mean by saying, 'You will seek Me and cannot find Me and you cannot go where I am.'" Finally, on the last day of the holy Feast of Succot, which is the great day of the Feast {called Hoshana Raba, meaning "Save us Great One"}, Yeshua stood and raised His voice loudly, "If anyone is thirsty, let him come to Me and drink." {For this day was the time each year when the Kohen on the Mikdash grounds symbolically poured water out of a jar onto the ground and mixed it with wine.} "He who trusts in who I am, as the scripture says, 'Rivers of living water will flow out of His innermost being.'" Yeshua was speaking of Ruach HaKodesh, which those would receive who trusts who He is. But Ruach HaKodesh was not given yet, because Yeshua was not yet glorified. After hearing this many of the people of Yehudah said, "This is the promised Prophet, which we are to remember!" Others proclaimed, "This is the Moshiach!" But others questioned, "Will Moshiach come out of the Galil? Haven't the Soferim said that Moshiach comes from the seed of David and out of the town of Beit-Lechem where David was from?" So there was a division among the people because of Yeshua. Some wanted to arrest Him, but no one laid hands on Him. Then the officers who went to arrest Him returned empty-handed to the chief Kohanim and P'rushim who had sent them. They asked the officers, "Why didn't you bring him?" "No one has ever spoken like him," they answered. "Have you also been deceived?" asked a P'rush. Have any of the rulers or the P'rushim trusted Him? Those people, who do not know the Torah, are cursed!” Then Nicodemus, who had gone to Yeshua at night, being a P'rush, also said, "Does our Torah judge any man before it hears him out and finds out what he does?" "Are you also from the Galil?” They rebuked Nicodemus. "Search and look, for no prophet has come from the Galil!" So they all returned to their homes and Yeshua went to the Mount of Olives.
ADULTEROUS WOMAN
{This account is not in the oldest texts, but probably is accurate.} Early in the morning Yeshua came to the Mikdash again. The Jewish people came to Him, so He sat down and taught them. While He did this, the Soferim and P'rushim brought to Him a woman arrested during the act of adultery. They put her out front and said to Yeshua, "Rabbi, this woman was arrested during the very act of adultery. Now Moshe in the Torah commanded us, that such a person should be stoned, but what do you say?" They said this to test Him, thinking they might get a cause to accuse Him. But Yeshua stooped down and wrote on the ground with His finger as though He didn't hear them. {The commandments of Torah were written by the finger of Elohim. Yeshua was possibly writing those commandments for all the accusers to see.} But they continued to ask Him, so He stood up and said, "The one among you who has no sin is the one who must throw a stone at her first." Then He stooped down and wrote on the ground again. They were all convicted by their own conscience, so they left one by one, from the oldest to the youngest. Only Yeshua was left and the woman standing in the middle. When Yeshua stood up, He saw no one except the woman and said, "Woman, where are those who had accused you? Hasn't anyone condemned you?" "No one, Adonai," she answered. "I will not condemn you either, but go and do not sin again," He said.
LIGHT OF THE WORLD
Yeshua went into the treasury of the Mikdash {where there was much gold that glittered} and said to those there, "I am the Light of the world. The one who follows Me will not walk in darkness, but will have the Light of life." Some P'rushim said, "You are testifying on Your own behalf, so Your testimony is not to be remembered." "Even though I testify concerning Myself, My testimony is the remembrance," Yeshua replied. "For I have seen the place from where I come and where I will go, but you have not seen the place from where I come and where I will go. You discriminate by using the flesh. I discriminate against no one. Yet if I do discriminate, My decision is the remembrance, for I am not alone. I have Abba, who sent Me. It is also written in the Torah, 'the testimony of two men is remembered.' I am one who testifies about Myself and Abba who sent Me also testifies about Me." Then they asked, "Where is Your father?" Yeshua answered, "You have not seen Me or Avi. If you had seen Me, you would have seen My Father also. I go My way, yet you will continue to worship while you plot against Me and you will die in your sins. You cannot come where I am going." The leaders questioned among themselves, "Will He kill Himself?" Yeshua said, "You are from below, while I am from above. You belong to this world, while I am not from this world. For this reason I told you that you will die in your sins, for if you do not trust that I am He, you shall die in your sins." "Who are you?" they asked. "I am the One who was spoken to you from the beginning," Yeshua answered. "I have many things to say and much to judge. He who sent Me is remembered. I speak to the world those things which I have heard from Him." However, they didn't understand that He was speaking about Abba. Then Yeshua said, "When you have lifted up the Son of man, then you will perceive that I am He and that I do nothing from Myself. As Avi has taught Me, I speak these things. And He who sent Me is with Me. Abba has not left Me alone, because I always do those things which please Him." As Yeshua spoke many Jewish people trusted who He was. To those Yehudim who trusted who He was He said, "If you stand on My Word, then you are My validated disciples. Then you will know the remembrance and the remembrance will liberate you."
CONTROVERSY OF AVRAHAM'S SEED
Other people spoke up, "We are Avraham's seed and were never a slave to any man. How come You say, You will be liberated?" "Amen, amen! I tell you; whoever commits sin is the slave of sin. A slave does not continue to stay in the house forever, but the Son lives there forever. Therefore, if the Son of the house liberates you, then you are really free. I know that you are Avraham's seed, but even so, there are some among you who wish to kill Me, because in those My Word has no place to be contained. I speak what I have beheld with Avi and you do what you have beheld with your father." They answered Yeshua, "Avraham is our father." Yeshua said, "If you were Avraham's children, you would perform the actions of Avraham. But instead you seek a means to kill Me, a man who has told you the remembrance, which I have heard of Elohim. Avraham did not do this. You do the deeds of your father." Then they said to Him, "We are not illegitimate, we have one Abba, even Elohim." "If Elohim was your Abba you would love Me, for I proceeded from and came out of Elohim, neither I did I come on My own, rather He sent Me. Why do you not understand what I am saying? It is because you cannot hear My Word," Yeshua replied. "You are of your father the Deceiver and the lusts of your father you will do. He was a murderer from the beginning and did not have the remembrance, because there is no remembrance in him. When he speaks a lie, he speaks on his own, for he is a liar and the father of it. Because I tell you the remembrance, you do not trust Me. Which one of you convicts Me of sin? If I give you the remembrance, why do you not trust Me? He who is of Elohim hears the Word of Elohim. But you are not of Elohim, therefore you cannot shema them." Then these leaders of the Yehudim retorted, "Are we not right when we say that You are from Shomron and possess a deceiving spirit?" Yeshua answered, "I do not have a deceiving spirit, for I honour Avi and you dishonour Me. Also, I do not seek for my own glory. There is One who seeks and judges. Amen, amen! I tell you, if a man would keep My Word {perfectly}, he would never see death." {Yeshua spoke of the hypothetical keeping of the Torah without any failure, which He did accomplish and He would not have died if He had not sacrificed His life.} "Now we know that You have a deceiving spirit." the leaders said. "Avraham is dead and also the prophets, yet you say, 'If a man keeps My Word he will never taste of death.' Are You greater than our father Avraham, who is dead and the prophets who are dead? Who do You make yourself out to be?" Yeshua answered, "If I honour myself, my honour is nothing. It is Avi who honours Me, the One you say is your Elohim. Yet you have not known Him, but I know Him and if I should say, 'I do not know Him,' I would be a liar like you. But I know Him and obey His Word. Your father Avraham rejoiced to see My day and he did see it and was filled with joy." These leaders of the Yehudim questioned him, "You are not even fifty years old and you have seen Avraham?!" Yeshua said, "Amen, amen! I tell you this, before Avraham was, I AM." Then these people picked up stones to throw at Him, but Yeshua hid Himself and went out of the Mikdash, passing right through the middle of them.
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