TEACHING OF YESHUA MOSHIACH --- PART 1

Yeshua was the greatest Moreh (Teacher) who ever lived. Yet He was much more than that. As YHVH’s Son, His teachings were truth. His mission was to instruct others how to know YHVH. His main message was that YHVH wants to love us and to know us. He taught while He walked with His followers. He taught from a boat, a hillside, a home and the temple. He taught in sermons, but He preferred to use a story or parable. Many people have questions about what Yeshua said on a lot of topics. What did He teach about YHVH? What did He think about Himself? What did He mean when He spoke about the Kingdom? What was the meaning of His death? What did He say about Ruach HaKodesh (Holy Spirit)? How did He describe human beings and their needs? What about the Christian church? Did He teach anything about the end of the world? What were the main features of His moral teaching? The following sections will seek to answer these important questions.

Teachings About YHVH:
Anyone who comes to the teachings of Yeshua after reading the Old Testament will at once recognize that the teachings about YHVH are parallel. Yeshua taught that YHVH was the Creator, caring for His creation and watching over such small creatures as the sparrow -- Matthew 10:29. There is no support in the teachings of Yeshua for the view that YHVH is uninterested in the world He made. Yeshua reminds us that He is YHVH of details; intimately concerned with our lives. One of the most characteristic titles Yeshua used for YHVH was Father. This was not new, for the idea occurs in the Old Testament, where YHVH is seen as Father of His people Israel. This kind of fatherhood was national rather than personal. In the time period between the Old Testament and the New Testament, the Jews came to regard YHVH as so Holy that He was removed from direct contact with human affairs. In fact, they believed there had to be mediators between YHVH and people. This exalted notion of YHVH contradicted the idea of YHVH as a personal, loving Father. This is why Yeshua’s teachings on the personal fatherhood of YHVH were so unique. There is some evidence in Jewish teachings that praying to YHVH as [Our Father] was mentioned. However, what distinguishes Yeshua from His contemporaries is that the fatherhood of YHVH was central to what he taught. The Father-Son relationship is particularly vivid in John’s Gospel, where Yeshua as Son is seen to be in close communion with YHVH as Father. This comes out strongly in Yeshua’s prayer in -- John 17 and in the frequent assertions that the Father had sent the Son and that the Son was doing the will of the Father. It is this strong relationship between YHVH and Yeshua in terms of Fatherhood and Son-ship that led Yeshua to teach people to approach YHVH in the same way. The Adonai’s Prayer at once recognizes this in its opening words. It is particularly important to note that [Our Father] comes before [Hallowed be Thy Name.] Yeshua never taught us to approach YHVH with terror. He wants us to come to Him as a respectful child would come to a loving Father. Yeshua addressed YHVH as Father and taught His disciples to approach YHVH similarly but with a distinction. Yeshua spoke of [My Father and your Father] when He appeared to Mary Magdalene after His resurrection -- John 20:17 --, but He did not say “our Father.” His Son-ship was unique, for He claimed that He and the Father were one -- 10:30. In the Sermon on the Mount, Yeshua assured His followers that their heavenly Father knew about their needs -- Matthew 6:32; Luke 12:30. We should present our needs to YHVH to demonstrate our dependence on Him.

Teachings About Himself:
What Yeshua said about Himself is of great importance, for this is what the early Church came to teach about Him. Yeshua used certain titles to describe Himself or accepted them when others used them.

Son of Man:
The most widely used is Son of Man. Sometimes he related this directly to His public Ministry, like the saying that the Son of Man was Adonai of the Shabbat -- Mark 2:28 or that the Son of Man had authority to forgive sins -- 2:10. Sometimes the sayings dealt with His sufferings, as when Yeshua said that the Son of Man must suffer many things -- 8:31; note that Matthew 16:21 has [He] instead of [Son of Man]. At other times, the reference is to a future appearance, as when Yeshua declared to the high priest that He would see the Son of Man sitting at the right hand of YHVH and coming on the clouds of heaven -- Mark 14:62. What did Yeshua mean by the title and why did He use it? The title [Son of Man] occurs in --Psalm 8:4, where it refers to man or humans. The expression is also used many times in Ezekiel to address the prophet, but here also it means man. A rather different use occurs in -- Daniel 7:13, where one like a son of man comes with the clouds before the Ancient of Days [YHVH Himself]. There is a strong similarity between this passage and the words of Yeshua in -- Mark 14:62. But an important difference is that whereas Son of Man becomes a title in Mark, it is not so in Daniel. There is some evidence for the title in Jewish literature where it represents a pre-existent being that will come to judge and overthrow the enemies of YHVH. Yeshua’s use of Son of Man as a title is unique. The Son of Man sayings are distributed throughout the four Gospels and there are no significant differences in their uses. Yeshua used this title, but the early Christians did not commonly use it. In fact, only in -- Acts 7:56 does the title appear, in this case used by Stephen. It is clear, therefore, that it had a special meaning for Yeshua that it did not have for others. There is no doubt that He was referring to Himself and not to someone else, as a careful study of all the Son of Man sayings shows. Those who think that Yeshua was referring to someone else arrive at this conclusion only after first dispensing with some of the sayings. The most probable reason why He used the title Son of Man was because he wanted to avoid a term like Moshiach, which carried with it too many political overtones. But what did Son of Man mean to Yeshua? It is rich with the idea of humanness, possibly referring to Daniel’s “son of man” and perhaps a touch of the suffering servant idea from -- Isaiah 53. It is most likely that Yeshua saw it in terms of His mission in a way that His hearers could not fully appreciate. It is also probable that the early church preferred Moshiach because this title carried the meaning of a royal deliverer. Also, after the death of Yeshua, there would be no further fear of political misunderstanding.