PART 11 A

YESHUA UPHOLDS TORAH OVER TRADITION

Some of the P'rushim and Soferim came from Yerushalayim to see Yeshua. When they saw some of His disciples eating bread before washing their hands, they found fault. The P'rushim and some Yehudim {at that time} washed their hands often or would not eat, to keep the oral tradition which the Zakenim had handed down. When they came from the marketplace they would not eat until they wash. There are many other traditions which they had received and held to, such as washing cups and pots, brass vessels and tables {which were not commanded in the Torah of YHVH}. They asked Yeshua, "Why do your disciples not keep Halakhah according to the tradition handed down by the Zakenim, but rather eat bread before washing their hands?" Yeshua answered, "Yesha'yahu prophesied correctly about you two-faced people, as it is written, 'these people honour Me with their lips, but their heart is far from Me. For they worship Me in vain, because they teach the injunctions of men as if they were Torah.' Laying aside the commandment of Elohim, you hold to the tradition of men, such as the washing of pots and cups and you do many other things like that. You completely reject the commandment of Elohim in order to keep your own tradition. For Moshe said, 'Honour your father and your mother' and, 'whoever curses his father or mother, let him die.' But you say, if a man says to his father or mother 'I have promised as korban (meaning a gift to Elohim) whatever I could have used to help you,' he shall be free from the responsibility. Then you do not allow him to do any more for his father or his mother. Through your handed down tradition, you are making the permanent Word of Elohim of no consequence. Many other things you do like that."

THE SOURCE OF DEFILEMENT

Yeshua called all the people to Him and said, "Everyone shema Me now and understand. There is nothing that is outside a person that by entering into him can make him unclean. Rather, it is those things which come out of a person which makes him unclean." {This lesson by Yeshua spoke about what went inside a person when hands were not washed, not about what was good for food.} Yeshua's disciples came and asked Him, "Do you know some of the P'rushim were offended after they heard you say this?" "Every plant which Avi in Heaven has not planted shall be uprooted," answered Yeshua. "Leave them alone. They are blind leaders of the blind. If the blind lead the blind, both will fall into the ditch. If anyone has ears to shema, let him understand." When Yeshua had entered the house and was away from the people, Kefa and the disciples asked Him, "Please explain this parable to us." Yeshua responded, "Are you also without understanding? Do you not perceive either? Whatever is outside and enters into a person cannot make him unclean, because it does not enter into his heart, but goes into his stomach and goes out into the latrine, cleansing the food. But, that which comes out of a man makes him unclean. For from within, out of the heart of mankind, proceeds evil thoughts, adulteries, sexual perversions, murders, thievery, greed, depravity, deceit, disobedience, an evil eye, blasphemy, pride, foolishness. All these evil things come from within and make a person unclean." {By this Yeshua declared what made a person unclean within, but He was not making unclean animals right for consumption. For the eternal Word of Elohim had pronounced them unclean. To knowingly eat them is disobedience and disobedience is one thing He said that makes a person unclean.}

CRUMBS

Yeshua arose from there and went into the borders of Tyre and Sidon. He entered into a house and wanted to keep it secret, but He could not hide anywhere. A certain woman, whose young daughter had an unclean spirit, heard about Him and came and fell at His feet. The woman was a Greek speaking Canaanite pagan, of Syro-phoenician nationality. She implored Yeshua to cast the deceiving spirit out of her daughter, saying, "O Adonai, son of David, my daughter is greatly tormented by a deceiving spirit." However, Yeshua did not answer her at all. Then His disciples begged Him, "Send her away, for now she cries to us." Yeshua said, "I was sent only to the lost sheep of the house of Yisrael." Then she came again and worshiped Him saying, "Adonai, help me!" Yeshua said to her, "Let the children receive food first, for it is not correct to take the children's bread and throw it to the puppies." "Yes, Adonai," she answered. "Yet even the puppies under Adonai's table eat the crumbs the children drop." Yeshua said, "Oh woman, you have great trust. Because you have said this, go on now, the deceiving spirit has gone out of your daughter just as you wanted." Her daughter was healed that moment. When she came home she found her daughter sitting up in bed and the deceiving spirit had gone.

SALIVA USED TO HEAL SPEECH

Departing from the coasts of Tyre and Sidon, Yeshua travelled through the ten city district of Syria and came back to the area of Lake Kinneret of the Galil. He went up into the hills and sat there and great crowds came to Him again. They brought along those who were crippled, blind, speechless, tormented and many others and put them down at Yeshua's feet and He healed them. When they saw Yeshua make the speechless to talk, the tormented to be free, the crippled to walk and the blind to see, the crowds were overwhelmed with amazement and they glorified the Elohim of Yisrael. They brought Him a person who was deaf and had a speech impediment and asked Him to put His hands on him. But, He took this person away from the crowd and put His fingers into his ears. Then He spit and touched his tongue with it. Looking up to Heaven, Yeshua sighed and said to him, "Hippatach!" (That is, "Be opened!") Instantly, his deaf ears were opened and his tongue was freed, so he spoke clearly. Yeshua instructed the people not to share this with anyone, but the more He told them to be silent, the more they broadcast what had happened. And, they said with astonishment, "He has done everything that is good. He makes the deaf hear and the speechless talk."

FOUR THOUSAND FED

In those days the crowd became very large and they had nothing to eat. So, Yeshua called His disciples and said, "I have compassion for this crowd of people, because they have been with me three days without anything to eat. And if I send them away fasting to their homes they will become exhausted on the way, for many of them live a distance away." His disciples said, "From what source can a person get enough bread for these people here in this deserted place?" Yeshua asked them "How many loaves do you have?" "Seven," they said. Yeshua ordered the people to sit down on the ground. He took the seven loaves, gave thanks and broke them. Then He gave them to His disciples to distribute to all the people and they did. They also had a few small fish, so He gave the B'racha, blessing Elohim and instructed for the fish to be distributed also. They all ate until they were full. There were about four thousand people who ate. Afterward, seven baskets full of leftovers were collected. Then He sent them home.

ABOUT SIGN SEEKERS

Yeshua entered into a boat with His disciples and came into the area of Dalmanuta and Magadan. Some P'rushim and Tzaddikim came out and began to question Him. As a test, they asked Him to show them a sign from Heaven. Yeshua sighed deeply with His Ruach and said, "Why does this generation seek after a sign? Amen, I have told you, there will be no expected sign given to this generation. When it is evening you say, 'It will be fair weather, for the sky is red.' In the morning you say, 'It will be foul weather today, for the sky is red and gloomy.' Oh you two-faced, you can discern the appearance of the sky; but you can't discern the signs of the times? An evil and adulterous generation wants a sign, but no sign will be given to it, except the sign of the Prophet Yonah." {Yonah means a dove.}

THE DISCIPLES FORGET

He left them. Entering into the boat again, He departed to the other side of the lake. Now the disciples had forgotten to take bread along. They only had one loaf left in the boat. Yeshua began to instruct them, saying, "Be careful and beware of the yeast of the P'rushim and of the leaven of Herod in the Tzaddikim." {For the Tzaddikim were the false Kohanim and they were under Herod's influence.} So they reasoned among themselves, saying, "He says this because we have no bread." When Yeshua knew about it, He said to them, "Why do you reason that way simply because you do not have bread? Do you not yet perceive or understand? Is your heart still callous? Can you not see, even though you have eyes? Can you not shema, even though you have ears? Have you also forgotten? When I broke the five loaves among five thousand, how many baskets full of leftovers did you collect?" They answered, "Twelve." "And when the seven loaves were distributed among four thousand, how many baskets full of leftovers did you collect?" He asked. They said, "Seven." "Why don't you don't understand that I was not speaking about bread?" Yeshua repeated, "Beware of the yeast of the P'rushim and Tzaddikim." Then they understood that Yeshua did not warn them about yeast in bread, but rather about the teaching of the P'rushim and Tzaddikim.

SALIVA USED TO HEAL BLINDNESS

They came to Beit-Tzaida again. A blind man was brought to Yeshua for Him to touch Him. Yeshua took the blind man by the hand and led him all the way out of town. Then He put spit on his eyes and placed his hands on them and asked the man if he could see anything. The man looked up and said, "I see men that look like trees walking." Yeshua put His hands on his eyes again and made him look up and the man was restored fully and saw everyone clearly. Then He sent him away to his house, saying, "Do not go back into town or tell it to anyone in town."

KEFA CONFESSES MOSHIACH

Yeshua and His disciples left there to go into the towns of Caesarea Philippi {on the northern border of Yisrael.} On the way He asked his disciples, "Who do people say that I am?" They answered, "Yochanan, the Immerser, but some also say Eliyahu and others say one of the prophets." He asked them, "Now whom do you say that I am?" Kefa answered, "You are the Moshiach of Elohim!" Yeshua said to him, "You are blessed Shimon, son of Yonah, for flesh and blood has not revealed this to you, but rather Avi in Heaven, He has revealed it to you. And I tell you, you are Kefa [a modest stone]." Then Yeshua {pointing to Himself} said, "But it is upon this Tzur [Large Rock], that I will build my Miqra [Called Out] and the gates of sheol will not overpower them. And I will give all of you the keys of the Kingdom of Heaven. Whoever you will bind up on Earth will be bound in Heaven and whoever you will lose on Earth will be loosed in Heaven." {In this way Yeshua told them that His followers will do as He has done, binding up the broken-hearted and freeing the captives.} Then He commanded His disciples that they should not tell anyone that He was the Moshiach.

FIRST ANNOUNCEMENT OF HIS SUFFERING

Yeshua began to teach them that, "The Son of man must go to Yerushalayim and suffer many things and be rejected by Zakenim and chief Kohanim and Soferim and be killed and after three days rise from the dead." He spoke this openly, so Kefa took Yeshua aside and began to argue with Him, "Adonai, have mercy, this will never happen to you!" Yeshua turned away from him, looked at His disciples and then rebuked Kefa by saying, "You get behind me, Adversary! Because you do not have affection for the things that belong to Elohim, but only for the things of mankind." Then Yeshua called all the people to Him along with His disciples and He said, "Whoever will follow Me, let him disown himself and take up his execution stake and accompany Me. For whoever will protect his life will destroy it; but whoever will destroy his life for Me and My message will protect it. For what would it benefit a person if he gains the entire universe, yet loses his mind? What would a man give in exchange for his mind? Therefore, whoever will be ashamed of Me and of My Words in this adulterous and sinful generation, the Son of man will also be ashamed of him when He comes in the glory of His Abba with the holy messengers. Then He will do to everyone what he deserves, according to his actions. Amen! I tell you, some standing here will not taste death, until they see the Son of man as Elohim in His Kingdom with power."