PART 8 B

FIRST ANOINTING OF YESHUA'S FEET

So then, one of the P'rushim, who was called Shimon, asked Yeshua to eat with him. Yeshua went into the house of the P'rush and sat down for dinner. A woman in the town, who was a sinner, knew that Yeshua was having dinner in the house of the P'rush, so she brought an alabaster box of ointment and stood at Yeshua's feet behind Him crying. She knelt and began to wash His feet with her tears and wiped them off with the hair of her head. She kissed His feet and anointed them with the ointment. When Shimon, the P'rush who invited Yeshua saw it, he thought to himself, "If this man was a prophet, he would know who and what kind of woman this is who touches him, for she is a sinner." Yeshua knew Shimon's thoughts and said to him, "I have something to tell you." Shimon said, "Rabbi, please speak." Yeshua told this story: "There was a certain creditor who had two debtors. The one owed five hundred gold pieces and the other owed fifty. When neither of them could pay him, he forgave them both outright and released them from obligation. Tell me then, which one of them will appreciate the creditor the most?" "I suppose the one whom he forgave the most," Shimon answered. Yeshua said, "You have judged correctly." Then Yeshua turned to the woman and said to Shimon, "Do you really see this woman as she is? I entered into your house; you gave me no water for my feet, but she has washed my feet with her tears and wiped them with the hairs of her head. You did not give me a kiss, but this woman has not ceased to kiss my feet since the time I came in. You did not anoint my head, but this woman has anointed my feet with ointment. Therefore, I tell you, her sins which are many, are forgiven, because she has much love. However, the one who has only a small amount forgiven, appreciates it only a little." So Yeshua said to her, "Your sins are forgiven. Your trust has saved you. Go in shalom." Others that were at dinner with Him began to think, "Who is this who also forgives sins?" Afterward, Yeshua went throughout every city and village, telling and demonstrating the joyful report of the Kingdom of Elohim. The twelve He chose were with Him, along with certain women, who had been healed of evil spirits and infirmities. There was Miryam of Magdala, out of whom He cast seven deceptive spirits, Yochanah the wife of Kuza (Herod's minister of finance) and Shoshanah and many others, who helped Yeshua's ministry with their own finances.

YESHUA ACCUSED OF DECEPTION

They went into a house and the multitude came together again, so that they could not even eat dinner. Then one possessed with a deceiving spirit, blind and speechless, was brought to Him. He healed him and the blind and speechless person spoke and could see. All the people were amazed and said, "Isn't this the promised son of David?" When Yeshua's friends heard it they went to stop Yeshua, for they said, "He is beside himself." {He is crazy, in other words.} And some P'rushim and Torah teachers who had come from Yerushalayim said, "He has an unclean spirit and by Ba'al-Zebul [lord of the flies], the prince of the deceptive spirits, he casts out deceptive spirits." {Or, "the lord of the flyers, the prince having power over false winds."} Yeshua called them over to Him and said, "How can the Adversary cast out the Adversary, for if a kingdom is divided against itself, that kingdom will be destroyed? A house divided against itself is doomed to fall. If the Adversary rises up against himself, he is finished and will not continue. If I by the power of Ba'al-Zebul cast out deceiving spirits, by whom do your sons cast them out? They will judge you concerning this. For if I, directed by the Ruach of Elohim, cast out deceiving spirits, then the Kingdom of Elohim is here with you. No man can enter into a strong man's house to take his possessions, unless he first binds the strong man. For when the strong one is fully armed, he guards his own court and it is quiet on his property. But when a stronger one comes upon him and defeats him, the stronger one takes away the armour the weaker one had trusted in, then he will ransack his whole house and disperse the booty. The one who is not with me is against me. The one who does not gather with me disperses. Amen! I tell you, every sin will be forgiven the children of mankind, including the blasphemies which they will utter. Even what is spoken against the Son of man will be forgiven. But the one that blasphemes against Ruach HaKodesh of YHVH will never be forgiven and will be liable for eternal punishment. Either let the tree be good and its fruit good or else let the tree be corrupt and its fruit corrupt, because the tree is known by its fruit. There is no good tree which produces corrupt fruit and no corrupt tree produces good fruit. For people do not harvest figs from thorns, nor grapes from a thicket. Oh offspring of serpents, how can you who are evil speak good things? For the mouth will speak whatever fills the heart. A good man out of the good treasure of his heart brings forth good things, but an evil man out of his evil treasure brings forth evil things. But I tell you, on judgment day every person will give an account of every idle word which he has spoken. For by your own words you will be justified or by your own words you will be condemned."

A SIGN SOUGHT

Then some Torah teachers and P'rushim demanded, "Rabbi, we desire to see a sign from you." "An evil and adulterous generation seeks for a sign," answered Yeshua. "There will be no sign given to it, except the sign of the Prophet Yonah. For the same as Yonah was exactly three days and three nights in the fish's stomach, so will the Son of man also be exactly three days and three nights in the heart of the earth. As Yonah was a sign to the people of Nineveh, so also the Son of man will be the only sign to this generation. The people of Nineveh will rise at the judgment with this generation and will condemn it, because the people of Nineveh did t'shuvah at the preaching of Yonah. Be aware! One greater than Yonah is here! The queen of the south will rise at the judgment with this generation and will condemn it, for she came from an extremity of the Earth to hear the wisdom of King Shlomo. Be aware! One greater than Shlomo is here! When an unclean spirit departs from a person, he walks through dry places, seeking rest and not finding any. Then he says, 'I will return to live in my house which I left.' When he returns he finds it unoccupied, orderly and neatly decorated. So he goes and gets seven other spirits more evil than himself and together they enter in and live there. The last state of that person becomes worse than the first state. It’s going to be the same for this evil generation." While Yeshua was talking to the people, His mother and His brothers stood outside waiting to speak with Him, because the crowd prevented them. Then someone told Yeshua, "Your mother and brothers are standing outside. They wish to speak with you." Yeshua said to the person, "Who is my mother and who are my brothers?" Then pointing toward His disciples He said, "Look, here are my mother and my brothers! For whoever hears the Word of Elohim and then does the will of Avi in Heaven, that one is the same to me as my brother or sister or mother.”