PART 11 B

THE METAMORPHOSIS

After six days Yeshua took Kefa, Ya'akov and Yochanan. He led them up into a high mountain to pray alone. {The high mountain close to Caesarea-Philippi is called Hermon.} Kefa and the two brothers went sound asleep. Suddenly they awoke and saw Yeshua change His image by way of metamorphosis. His garments started flashing and burning like a phosphorus flame, becoming tremendously white like snow, as no cloth maker on earth could whiten them, because they glowed with light. His face became as bright as the sun. Then there appeared in the glory two men, Eliyahu and Moshe. They talked with Yeshua about his coming death to be accomplished at Yerushalayim. As Eliyahu and Moshe were departing from Yeshua, Kefa spoke up, "Rabbi Yeshua! Adonai! It is good for us to be here. Allow us to make three Succot [temporary dwellings/tabernacles], one for you and one for Moshe and one for Eliyahu." He was frightened and did not know what he was saying. There was a cloud engulfing them and a voice came out of the cloud and said, "This is my beloved Son, my Chosen One, in whom I am well pleased! Listen to Him!" Then the disciples fell on their faces and were even more frightened. Yeshua came and touched them and said, "Get up and do not be afraid." Then looking around, they saw no one there except Yeshua and themselves.

ELIYAHU AND MOSHIACH

As they came down from the mountain, Yeshua charged them that they should not tell anyone about the things they had seen, until the Son of man was raised from the dead. They kept secret what they had seen, just as Yeshua requested. However, they questioned one-another what the rising from the dead meant. So they asked Yeshua, "Why do some of the Soferim say that Eliyahu must come first, before the resurrection?" Yeshua said, "Eliyahu does come before the resurrection and will restore everything. But isn't it also written that first the Son of man, the Moshiach, must suffer many things and have nothing? I tell you that Eliyahu has already come and they have done to him whatever they desired, as it is written about him."

DEAF AND SPEECHLESS BOY

The next day Yeshua had came down the mountain to His disciples. A great throng surrounded them and some of the Soferim were questioning them. When all the people beheld Yeshua, they were greatly in awe of Him and ran to greet Him. Yeshua asked these Soferim, "What question are you debating?" A man in the crowd answered, "Rabbi, I have brought you my son, who has an unclean spirit which withholds speech. Adonai, have mercy on him! For he is an epileptic and suffers much. Because whenever the spirit takes hold of him, it cries out as it rips through him and throws him down, so that he foams from the mouth and grates his teeth and he has been severely bruised. I brought him to your disciples so that they could cast it out, but they couldn't." Then Yeshua said to him, "Oh untrusting and perverse generation, how much longer will you have Me here? How long will I put up with you? Bring your son to Me." They brought him to Yeshua and when he saw Yeshua, the unclean spirit ripped through him and he fell on the ground, rolling around and foaming at the mouth. Yeshua asked his father, "How long ago did this come into him?" "When he was a child." he said. "Often it has thrown him into the fire and into the waters to destroy him, but if You can do anything, have compassion on us and help us." Yeshua said to him, "If you can trust. All things are possible to the one who trusts." Then the father of the child cried out with tears and said, "Adonai, I do trust. Please help my lack of trust." When Yeshua saw the people running up to watch, he rebuked the unclean spirit, saying to it, "You speechless and deaf spirit, I command you, come out of him and enter no more into him." The spirit screamed and ripped through him again and came out of him. He laid there like a dead person and many said that he was dead. But Yeshua took him by the hand and pulled him up and gave him back to his father. Everyone was awestruck at the majesty of Elohim. When Yeshua was back in the house His disciples asked him privately, "Why couldn't we cast out the unclean spirit?" "This type of thing will not come out except through prayer and fasting," He answered. "And because of your small amount of trust. Amen! I tell you, if you have trust like a grain of mustard seed, you will say to this mountain, 'Leave here and go over there' and it will go from here and nothing will be impossible to you."

SECOND ANNOUNCEMENT OF HIS SUFFERING

They departed from there and passed through the Galil and He did not want anyone to know it. As they went, while all His disciples were excited about the things He did, Yeshua was teaching them, "The Son of man is to be delivered into the hands of men and they will kill him. But when he is killed, he will rise after the third day." They were very sorrowful at this, yet they did not fully understand what He was saying and they were afraid to ask him.

COIN FROM THE FISH

They came again to K'far-Nachum. Then those who collected the contribution for the Mikdash came to Kefa and said, "Doesn't your Rabbi pay the Mikdash tax?" Kefa said, "Yes." When Kefa came into the house, Yeshua stopped him, "What do you think, Shimon? From whom do the kings of the earth collect tribute and customs? From their own children or from strangers?" "From strangers," Kefa answered.
Yeshua said, "Then the children are not obligated. Never-the-less, we should not offend them. Go to the lake and cast a hook. Take the first fish that comes up. When you open its mouth you will find a coin. Take it and give it to them for you and Me."

LIKE LITTLE CHILDREN

Then Yeshua asked the disciples, "What was it that you discussed among yourselves on the way here?"
But they did not reply. On the way they had discussed among themselves who of them should be the greatest. Yeshua knew what they were reasoning in their heart, so He sat down and called the twelve, "If any man desires to be first, that person will be the last of all and the servant of all. Now, who among you is the greatest in the Kingdom of Heaven?" Yeshua took a small child and set him in the middle of them and then He stood him by His side and wrapped His arms around him. He said, "Amen! Unless you do t'shuvah and become as little children, you will never even get into the Kingdom of Heaven! Whoever will humble himself as this little child, that person is greatest in the Kingdom of Heaven. Whoever accepts one such child in My Name, accepts Me. Whoever accepts Me, accepts not just Me, but also Him who sent
Me. For the one who is least among you all is the one who is great." Yochanan said, "Rabbi, we saw a person casting out deceiving spirits using your name, but He was not following us, so we stopped him from doing it, because he did not follow us." Yeshua said, "Do not stop him, for there is no one who will do a miracle using My Name, who can easily speak wrongly about Me. For the one who is not against us is on our side. For whoever will give you a cup of water to drink using My Name, because you belong to Moshiach, Amen! I tell you, he will not lose his reward. And whoever causes one of these little ones who trust in Me to be discouraged, it would be better for him to have a millstone hung around his neck and be thrown into the lake. Trouble is coming to the world because of the opportunities to fall! For it is necessary for these opportunities to come, but trouble will be on that one who brings the opportunities! So if your hand causes you to fall, cut it off. It is better for you to enter into life maimed, than having two hands and go onto the trash heap, into the fire that never will be put out. Their worm does not die there and the fire never stops. And if your foot causes you to fall, cut it off also. It is better for you to enter into life crippled, than having two feet and to be cast onto the trash heap, into the fire that never will be put out. Their worm does not die there, yet the fire never ends. And even if your own eye causes you to fall, pull it out. It is better for you to enter into the Kingdom of Elohim with one eye, than to have two eyes and to be cast onto the fires of the trash heap, where their worm does not die and the fire is unstoppable. See to it you do not disdain one of these little ones. I tell you, in Heaven their messengers always behold the face of Avi. It is not the will of your Abba in Heaven for any one of these little ones to be destroyed.”

DEALING WITH RELATIONSHIPS

"Every person will be salted with fire, just as every sacrifice is salted with salt. Salt is good, but if the salt loses its saltiness, with what will you season it? So, have salt in yourselves. In this way you will have shalom one with another." {In this way Yeshua showed the meaning of the Covenant of Salt written in the Torah.} "If your brother transgresses against you, go and discuss with him his fault, just you and him in private. If he listens to you, you have gained your brother. But if he will not listen to you, then take along one or two more, that by the testimony of two or three witnesses every word may be confirmed. If your brother will not listen to them, discuss it with the Miqra, but if he will not listen to the Miqra, treat him as you would a Gentile or a tax collector. Amen! I tell you again, whoever you bind on earth will be bound in Heaven and whoever you will set free on earth will be set free in Heaven. For, if two of you will agree on the earth in respect to anything that you ask, it will be done for you by Avi in Heaven. For where there are two or three who come together using My Name, I will be there among them."

FORGIVENESS

Kefa asked Yeshua, "Adonai, how often should I forgive my brother's sin against me? Seven times?" Yeshua said, "I do not say seven times, but seventy times seven. Therefore, the Kingdom of Heaven is like a certain king, which was settling accounts with his servants. When he began to settle the accounts, one servant was brought to him who owed him thousands of pounds of gold. But, since he had nothing to pay, the king commanded him to be sold and his wife and children and all that he had, so payment could be made. Then the servant fell down and worshiped him, saying, 'my adon, have patience with me and I will pay you everything I owe.' Then the adon of that servant was moved with compassion and freed him of the obligation and forgave him the debt. But the same servant went out and found one of his fellow servants, who owed him a hundred coins. He took his fellow servant by the throat and demanded, 'Pay me what you owe me!' And his fellow servant fell down at his feet and implored him, 'Have patience with me and I will pay you all I owe.' But he would not wait, so he went and put his fellow servant in prison until he paid the debt. When his other fellow servants saw what was done, they were grieved and came and told their adon what had happened. Then his adon called him and said, 'Oh you evil servant, I forgave you all your debt because you implored me. Shouldn't you also have had compassion on your fellow servant, just as I have had pity on you?' His adon was angry and turned him over to the tormentors until he paid all that was owed to him. Avi in Heaven will do the same kind of thing to you, if you do not forgive your brother his transgressions from your heart."