PART 15 B

RICH MAN AND ELIEZAR

Some P'rushim who was covetous heard all these things and they scoffed at Yeshua. So He said to them, "You are those who look righteous in front of people, but Elohim knows your hearts. Those things highly esteemed to mankind are an abomination in the sight of Elohim. From the Torah and the prophets all the way to Yochanan, {in fact} from {the beginning of} time, the Kingdom of Elohim is announced and everyone forces into it {or, tries to fit it to his own life}. However, it is easier for Heaven and Earth to vanish, than it is for one punctuation of the Torah to fail. There was a rich man who was clothed in purple and fine linen and lived lavishly every day. There was also a poor man named Eliezar who was laid on his porch, full of sores and wishing to be fed with the leftovers of the rich man's dinner table. In addition, the dogs came and licked Eliezer's sores. It happened that the poor man died and was carried by the messengers {of Heaven} into Avraham's bosom. The rich man also died and was buried. While being in torment in sheol he raised his eyes and saw Avraham far away and Eliezar was in his bosom. So he cried out, 'Father Avraham! Have mercy on me and send Eliezer so he can dip the tip of his finger in water and cool my tongue, because I am being tortured by these flames.' {Notice: the rich man still thought of himself as superior, because he wanted Eliezer to serve him.} Avraham said, 'Offspring, do you recall that in your lifetime you received good things, but Eliezer got only bad things. So now he is being comforted and you are being tortured. Besides all that, between you and us there is a wide chasm which has been permanently set, so that those who would go from here to you cannot, nor can anyone come to us from the other side.' Then the tortured man said, 'Then I beg you father, that you would send Eliezer to my father's house. I have five brothers to whom he can testify; otherwise they also may come into this place of torment.' Avraham replied, 'They have Moshe and the prophets, let them shema them.' And he said, 'No, father Avraham, if one went to them from the dead, then they will repent. Avraham said, "If they do not shema Moshe and the prophets, they will not be persuaded, even if one rose from the dead.'"

FORGIVENESS AGAIN

Then Yeshua said to the disciples, "It is impossible for offences not to come, but trouble will be on the one through whom they come! It would be better for him that a millstone was hanged from his neck and he be thrown into the sea, than for him to offend one of these little ones. So, watch yourselves! If your brother trespasses against you, rebuke him, but if he repents, forgive him. If he trespasses against you seven times in a day and seven times a day does t'shuvah to you, saying, 'I repent,' you shall forgive him”.

TRUST AND DUTY

The Shaliachim said to Adonai {Yeshua}, "Make us trust even more." Adonai Yeshua said, "If you had trust {in Elohim} the size of a grain of mustard seed, you could say to this fig tree, 'Be pulled up by the root and be planted in the sea' and it would obey you. But which one of you who has a servant ploughing or feeding cattle will say to him after he has come from the field, 'Go and recline?' Instead, wouldn't you say to him, 'Prepare supper for me, get your towel and serve me until I have finished eating and drinking. Then afterward you will eat and drink?' Would you thank that servant because he did the things which were commanded him to do? Of course not! So you also, when you have done all those things which are commanded you, say, 'We are unprofitable servants. We have done only what it was our duty to do.'"

RAISING OF ELIEZAR

A man was sick, who was Eliezer of Beit-Ani, the town of Miryam and her sister Marta. Therefore his sisters sent word to Yeshua, which said, "Adonai, take notice that he whom you love is sick.” When Yeshua heard he said, "This sickness is not for final death, but for the glory of Elohim, that the Son of Elohim might be glorified through it." Yeshua loved Marta and her sister and Eliezer. Yet, when He heard Eliezer was sick, He stayed two more days in the same place where He was. Then later He said to the disciples, "Let's go into Yehudah again." His disciples asked, "Rabbi, some of the leaders of the Yehudim recently sought to stone you, so, should you go there again?" Yeshua replied, "Aren’t there twelve hours of daylight? If anyone walks in the daylight he does not stumble, because he sees the light of this world. But if a man walks in the night he stumbles because there is no light for him. Our friend Eliezer is asleep, but I go to wake him out of sleep." Yeshua spoke of his death. However, His disciples thought that he had spoken about resting in sleep, so they said, "Adonai, it is good for him to sleep." Then Yeshua told them clearly, "Eliezer is dead. But I am glad for your sakes that I was not there, so that you may come to trust. Now let us go to him." Then T'oma the twin, said to his fellow disciples, "Let us also go, that we may die with him." Beit-Ani was near Yerushalayim, about two miles away and many of the Yehudim came to Marta and Miryam to comfort them concerning their brother. As soon as Marta heard Yeshua was coming she went and met him, but Miryam stayed in the house. He found that Eliezer had been in the grave four days already. Marta said to Yeshua, "Adonai, if you had been here, my brother would not have died. However I know that even now whatever you will ask of Elohim, Elohim will give it to you." "Your brother will rise again," Yeshua said to her. Marta replied, "I know that he will rise again in the resurrection at the last day." "I am the resurrection and the life," said Yeshua. "The one who trusts in Me will live, even though he was dead. Whoever lives and trusts in Me will never die. Do you trust that?” She said to Him, "Yes Adonai. I trust that You are the Moshiach, the Son of Elohim, who was to come into the world." When she had confessed, she went her way and called Miryam her sister secretly, saying, "The Rabbi has come and calls for you." As soon as Miryam heard, she quickly got up and came to Him. Yeshua had not yet arrived in the town, but He was still at that place where Marta met Him. The Yehudim, who were comforting her in the house, followed her when they saw Miryam get up and leave in a hurry. They said, "She is going to the grave to weep there." Miryam came to where Yeshua was and when she saw Him she fell down at His feet, saying, “Adonai, if you had been here, my brother would not have died." When Yeshua saw her weeping and the Yehudim who came with her also weeping, He groaned in spirit. He troubled Himself and said, "Where have you laid him?" They said to him, "Adonai, come and see." Yeshua wept. Then the Yehudim said, "Look how he loved him!" Some of them said, "Couldn't this man who opened the eyes of the blind, also have kept this man from dying?” Yeshua again groaned in Himself as He came to the grave. It was a cave and a stone was over it. "Take away the stone," He commanded. Marta, said, "Adonai, by this time he is reeking, because it has been four days." "Didn't I tell you that if you would trust you would see the glory of Elohim?" Yeshua reminded her. Then they took the stone away from where the dead were laid. Yeshua raised His eyes and said, "Abba, I thank You that You have heard Me. I know that You always hear Me, but because of the people which stand here I say this, that they may trust that you have sent Me."
After saying this He loudly shouted Eliezer! Come forth! Then the one who was dead came out wrapped from top to bottom with grave clothes and his face was wrapped with a cloth. Yeshua said, "Free him and let him go." Then many of the Yehudim which came to Miryam and had seen the things which Yeshua did, trusted in Him. But others went their ways to some P'rushim and told them what Yeshua had done.

CONSPIRACY TO EXECUTE YESHUA

Then some of the chief Kohenim and P'rushim formed a council and said, "What do we do, for this Man does many miracles? If we let Him alone this way, everyone will come to trust Him, then the Romans will come and take away both our position and our nation." One of them, Chaiyafa, being the Kohen Gadol that year, said to them, "You know nothing at all! You do not consider that it is best for us to have one man die for the people, so that the whole nation does not perish." He did not speak this on his own, but being Kohen Gadol that year, he prophesied that Yeshua should die for the nation {of Yisrael}. And not for that nation only, but also that Yeshua should gather together in one the children of Elohim who were dispersed everywhere. From that day onward they counselled together to execute Yeshua. Therefore, Yeshua no longer walked openly among the Yehudim, but went from there to a region near the wilderness, into a city called Ephraim, where He stayed with His disciples.