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.