Tag: the way of the rabbi

Living Under Grace: Understanding God’s Commandments

Living Under Grace: Understanding God’s Commandments

Oh how burdensome it is to take a day off each week. To dedicate it to rest and restoration. To honor God and His instructions. It is a heavy yoke to carry. Oh that there would be a simpler way than resting in His presence. Oh thank You Lord Jesus. He completed it so I don’t have to. No longer am I burdened with what the children of Israel were burdened with for thousands of years. They couldn’t do, for it was too hard. Even though You constantly called them back to it and told them if they turned from their own ways. If they followed you again and kept Your statutes You would bless them again. Yet, you must have known that it was too hard and that they would fail. You punished them so that you could send Jesus and make it easy on us gentile believers. No longer burdened with living a life that sets us apart. Thank you for freeing us from the law of sin and death. Thank you for giving us thousands of years of illustrations of punishing a people so we could be free. Free to live however we want, for all things are permissible, for grace sake.

Does this statement sound absurd? It should, yet for many Christians this is exactly what they believe. Oh, they won’t say it out loud but deep down they believe it. They have to. If they don’t then they will be forced to recognize their constant depravity. And their need for walking out the commands of God. They will be forced to consider the whole of God’s Word. They cannot rely only on the few verses they cling to in order to break the commands of God. Does this sound too harsh? It’s better than eternal darkness and complete everlasting separation from Yahoshua (Jesus). Who is King of kings, and Master of masters.

Henry David Thoreau an early American poet and philosopher said; “I know of no more encouraging fact than the unquestionable ability of a man to elevate his life by a conscious effort.” The writer of Revelation, pens this statement; “Here is a call for the perseverance of the saints, who keep the commandments of God and the faith of Yahoshua (Jesus).” It is both, and, not either or. We must do what we can to honor the commandments of Elohim and couple that with our faith in Yahoshua. It is not by works that I am saved. It is by living within the instruction of Yahweh that I show myself as having faith. I believe, therefore, I do.

Jude writes, “Beloved, although I made every effort to write to you about the salvation we share, I felt it necessary to write and urge you to contend earnestly for the faith entrusted once for all to the saints. For certain men have crept in among you unnoticed—ungodly ones who were designated long ago for condemnation. They turn the grace of our God into a license for immorality, and they deny our only Master and Adonai, Yahoshua Messiah.” How does one deny Yahoshua while claiming faith in Him? Simple, they say His teachings were for the Jews. That He came to fulfill the law so that we don’t have to. They deny statements like “I did not come to abolish the law, but to bring it to the full.” He challenged the religious leaders of the day and the man made traditions they held above the Word of God.

Ezekiel writes about the shepherds who don’t feed their sheep. “Then the word of Yahweh came to me, saying, “Son of man, prophesy against the shepherds of Israel. Prophesy and tell them that this is what Adonai Elohim says: ‘Woe to the shepherds of Israel, who only feed themselves! Should not the shepherds feed their flock? You eat the fat, wear the wool, and butcher the fattened sheep, but you do not feed the flock.” There are many pastors getting fat off the flock today. They aren’t scattering them. They are deceiving them with false messages of prosperity and even making a mockery of grace itself.

He continues, “You have not strengthened the weak, healed the sick, bound up the injured, brought back the strays, or searched for the lost. Instead, you have ruled them with violence and cruelty.” The violence and cruelty today is that they are not teaching the commandments of God but of man. They have created a different religion and their Christ Jesus is the lawless one He himself warned about. They both cannot be true. This is why I choose to use His Hebrew name. This is why I choose to seek Him fully and completely. To know His Word is to know Him for He is the Word made flesh. Thoreau may not have been a true believer but he did get it right when he said, “. . . unquestionable ability of a man to elevate his life by a conscious effort.”

Paul writes, “Not that I have already obtained all this, or have already been made perfect, but I press on to take hold of that for which Messiah Yahoshua took hold of me. Brothers, I do not consider myself yet to have taken hold of it. But one thing I do: Forgetting what is behind and straining toward what is ahead, I press on toward the goal to win the prize of God’s heavenly calling in Messiah Yahoshua.” Are we striving for “Your Kingdom come, Your WILL be DONE“? Or are we content with mediocrity? Are we content with lukewarmness? Are we content fooling ourselves that what the Word describes as not burdensome, to be too burdensome? “For this is the love of God, that we keep His commandments. And His commandments are not burdensome.” For this is what John 5:3 says.

Ecclesiastes reminds us that there is nothing new under the sun. It is true to this day. Jeremiah records this in the sixth chapter. “This is what Yahweh says: ‘Stand at the crossroads and look. Ask for the ancient paths: ‘Where is the good way?’ Then walk in it, and you will find rest for your souls. But they said, ‘We will not walk in it!’'” Yahoshua said, “I am the Way, the Truth, and the Life.” Early believers before they took on the ‘christian’ moniker were known as the sect of the Nazarene. They were also known as the people of the way. We know truth to be the Word, “Your Word is Truth”. Life, for all who come and obey Yahoshua will live.

As Jeremiah later writes in the sixteenth chapter. “O Yahweh, my strength and my fortress, my refuge in the day of distress, the nations will come to You from the ends of the earth, and they will say, “Our fathers inherited nothing but lies, worthless idols of no benefit at all. Can man make gods for himself? Such are not gods!” Some churches do have idols, engraved images, but beyond that many have man made traditions. They them place above the Word of Elohim. They justify themselves by taking the words of Paul and twisting them. As Peter warns. If the faith you follow allows for lawlessness, which is Torahlessness, you are outside the ways of Yahweh. Therefore, you are not following Yahoshua Messiah.

“Then I will tell them to their faces, ‘I never knew you! Get away from me, you workers of lawlessness!’” These are Yahoshua’s (Jesus’) words to those who live outside the instructions of Elohim, outside of Torah. The lawless one is coming and he will deceive many. In fact the spirit of the lawless one is already at work. Wake up! The time is drawing short. Put your faith in the true Messiah Yahoshua! The ‘Jesus’ the Apostles taught about and live for and ultimately died for. Not the lawless one being taught today in the majority of churches.

You are loved,
cj

Repetition and Retention: Wisdom from Proverbs

Repetition and Retention: Wisdom from Proverbs

Paul wrote to the Philippians, “Finally, my brothers, rejoice in the Adonai. Writing the same things to you again is no trouble for me. For it is repetition that is a good instructor.” Studies show that repetition is necessary to retain information. Even basic retention of simple contextual ideas require 3 to 7 times of hearing the information. While more complex ideas may require 6 to 20 times. Of course emotionally charged or high-stakes information can be retained almost instantly. This has been my motivation over the past few months. Perhaps, presenting it in different lights for slightly different audiences, nevertheless, it is the same concept repeated. It is in this vain that write to you today.

“Behold, days are coming,” declares Elohim,  “when I will send a famine on the land. Not a famine of bread or a thirst for water, but rather for hearing the words of ADONAI.” Amos 8:11

Are we living in the days of famine prophesied by Amos? It sure seems so. No one wants to hear the idea that faith is more than a prayer and Sunday attendance. Reformations and Church splits happen, not because people want things to be more difficult. No, they happen because people want to find the easiest path forward. It is human nature after all to seek ease and comfort. New technologies emerge daily with that simplistic goal in mind, to make life simpler.

Proverbs is a book of wisdom, a collection of thoughts and instruction. It is also laced with warning and a call to obedience, to the instructions of Yahweh. Proverbs chapter one is full of riches. “To know wisdom and instruction, to understand words of insight, to receive instruction in wise dealing, in righteousness, justice, and equity; to give prudence to the simple, knowledge and discretion to the youth– Let the wise hear and increase in learning, and the one who understands obtain guidance, to understand a proverb and a saying, the words of the wise and their riddles. The fear of Yahweh is the beginning of knowledge; fools despise wisdom and instruction.” (1:2-7)

Some definitions that I think will be helpful. Instruction can mean Torah for Torah is Elohim’s instruction. Righteousness in Greek is dikaiosynē which means, the things commanded by God to be obeyed by man. In other words, righteousness is an act of obedience to God. In Hebrew the word is ṣeḏeq which means pretty much the exact same thing. Solomon who is the author of Proverbs was asked by God what he wanted. Solomon responded, “wisdom.” He wanted to be wise. A wise man seeks instruction and obeys without exception those things commanded by God. For this obedience it is counted to him as righteousness.

Proverbs chapter one continues in verse twenty-two, “How long, O simple ones, will you love being simple? How long will scoffers delight in their scoffing and fools hate knowledge?” This ties into Amos’ prophecy perfectly. You see the simple today want simpler. They don’t want to be challenged. They will scream grace, grace, but condemn the sinner. They will say, “I am free from the law.” And brush away verses like James 1:22, “But be doers of the word, and not hearers only, deceiving yourselves.”

Yahoshua (Jesus), declared, “I am the way, the truth and the life. No one comes to the Father but by Me. John describes Yahoshua as “. . . the Word made flesh . . . ” He is the living Torah scroll now emblazoned on our hearts and minds. This is the exact description of the New Covenant. It isn’t new instruction, it is new placement, new empowerment. The penalty of death is gone for the one who has faith in Yahoshua. This does not however give one license to keep on sinning. Paul emphasizes this point by asking the question, “Do we then keep on sinning so that grace may abound? By no means!” What is sin, if not transgression of the Torah (law)? John writes, “Everyone who makes a practice of sinning also practices Torahlessness (lawlessness); sin is Torahlessness (lawlessness).”

Yahoshua during the parable of the persistent widow, asks a stinging question at the end. He asks, “Nevertheless, when the Son of Man comes, will He find faith on earth?” Faith as defined by itself in Scripture is action and activity of the things of Elohim (God). It is fidelity to the truth, what is truth? God’s Word is Truth, the Torah, and Yahoshua the Word made flesh. Yahoshua asks another question, “Why do you call me Adonai, Adonai, and not do as I ask?” There is one final statement many will hear on the last day. What is it? “Depart from Me you who practice lawlessness (Torahlessness).”

How is one to know what to do if one doesn’t study the Word? The whole Word. The Word the Apostles referred to every single time they say, ‘the Word”, is the Torah. Yet, so many today don’t have any desire to pick up and read it. In the end are they condemning themselves? For the Word says, the very Word of Elohim will judge at the last day. If the Word is the judge shouldn’t one know the Word? This is the Way of the Rabbi.

Will He find Faith?
You are loved,
cj

Return to Your First Love: Rediscovering Faith

Return to Your First Love: Rediscovering Faith

Greetings in the Name of Yahoshua ha’Mashiah. i hope that this letter finds you well and flourishing in your spiritual journey. That you are daily seeking ways to act justly, be merciful, and walk humbly with Elohim. The reason i write to you is of no little importance but one of grave concern. As in the Revelation of John and his note to the Ekklesia in Ephesus. The church today has left its first love.

You have been lulled to sleep by lazy preaching and you have become lazy yourself. No longer do you test the prophets, and teachers. But with itching ears you seek out those who will not convict you with the word. You would rather sit in filth and be told you are clean than to wash yourself in the word. You have become more concerned on how the church makes you feel. Rather than living in a way that is pleasing to Elohim. This is not intended to be mean but to stir up in you a desire to look at yourself.

i was in an uncomfortable place too. Instead of receiving a letter to encourage me, i had to hit the wall. Oh how i wish someone would have come to me and said, “Wake up oh sleeper! Return to the love you had at first!” But like those in Ephesus i was reminded that God does know me. “I know your works, and your labor, and your endurance. That you are not able to bear evil ones. You even tested those who say they are prophets and are not, finding them false. You have endurance, and have labored for My Name’s sake. Even still you are not weary.”

In the note to the gathering in Ephesus Yahoshua says, “So remember from where you have fallen! Repent and do the first works. Or else, i shall come to you speedily and remove your lamp stand from its place, unless you repent.” When i first came to know Adonai for myself and not through others i was hungry. i could not eat enough of the Word. i could not get enough of fellowship with like minded people. i could not out do the grace given me in doing for others.

Somewhere, i lost that, somewhere, i grew selfish and lazy. i checked the necessary boxes each week but my heart was not in it. i was more concerned for life in the world than seeking the Kingdom. We are told in the Word, “Seek first the Kingdom . . . and all these things will be added to you.” But we seek the world and what is in the world. Then we complain and wonder why we don’t see the Kingdom. We are then fooled into thinking our ways are better than God’s ways. That our traditions are better than His. We then selfishly declare, He will like the way we worship Him for His ways are dead.

Return! Return! Awaken and return to the Ways of Yahweh! For His ways are better than our ways. His ways are a declaration we make that we are His. The Sabbath day is a wedding ring. Eating clean (kosher) is obedience. Honoring the Feast Days are so much more enriching than any man made tradition or holiday. His Days are HOLY, our days are disobedient. He said, “Do not learn the ways of the people around you and worship Me in that way.” Yet that is precisely what the church has done. They say His ways are dead and they have invented ways not found in Scripture to Worship Him. Stolen ideas of pagan practices, and call it redeeming. He says, “tear them down.”

This is not legalism, this is obedience. This isn’t a burdensome yoke, this is freedom from the world and the wrath to come. Soon, i might add. His ways are better than mans. In the end many will stand before Yahoshua (Jesus) and hear these words. They will hear, “depart from Me, I never knew you, you who practice lawlessness.” What law are they not practicing? You will see that they were not practicing the Torah. It doesn’t save us. We are saved by grace but what flows from that grace is a desire. A desire to live a life of obedience. “Observing all that I have commanded You and teaching others to do the same.”

Yahoshua said, “I only do what I see the Father doing.” He only spoke the Words written. He lived it, taught it, and calls His people, called by His Name to walk in it. The Word is Truth. What Word? The Tanakh, the Torah and the Prophets. It is the very Word that Paul instruct Timothy to remember and study and use. For it is good for teaching, reproof, correction, in all righteousness. Righteousness here is defined, “Things commanded by God to be obeyed by man.” If this is true, and surely it is, how can it then be done away with? It simply cannot be.

But some will say, “it is impossible to keep all the law that’s why Jesus came.” Yahoshua came to do the will of the Father. He then says, in every instance of rebuke and correction, “It is written.” What is written? The instructions on how to live, honor, and worship God. This is the Way of the Rabbi. This is how He lived, and this is what He instructs us to live. “If you love Me you will keep My commandments.” For what is sin? “Everyone who practices sin practices lawlessness as well. Indeed, sin is lawlessness (being without Torah). But you know that Messiah appeared to take away sins, and in Him there is no sin. No one who remains in Him keeps on sinning. No one who continues to sin has seen Him or known Him.”

“So remember from where you have fallen. Repent and do the first works. Or else I shall come to you speedily and remove your lamp stand from its place, unless you repent.” And His return draws ever closer!

This is the Way of the Rabbi,
You are loved,
cj

Are You the Temple? Embracing Your Spiritual Identity

Are You the Temple? Embracing Your Spiritual Identity

“Don’t you know that you are Elohim’s temple and that Elohim’s Spirit lives in you? So if anyone destroys Elohim’s temple, Elohim will destroy him. For Elohim’s temple is holy, and you yourselves are that temple.” (1 Corinthians 3:16-17)

“Or don’t you know that your body is a temple for the Ruach HaKodesh who lives inside you, whom you received from Elohim? The fact is, you don’t belong to yourselves; for you were bought at a price. So use your bodies to glorify Elohim.” (1 Corinthians 6:19-20)

Have you ever stopped to think what it means to be the Temple of the Holy Spirit? The very Spirit of Elohim, His presence, dwelling within. First we need to understand that in the first passage above the term translated as ‘you’ is plural. We do not have an equivalent word in English so it is simply translated ‘you’. However, in both Hebrew and Greek there are terms for a plural form without adding adjectives. Translators should have rendered the passage, “you people”. A short grammar lesson here. In order to keep ‘YOU’ as the noun they remove ‘people’ since with it ‘you’ becomes an adjective. Now, when Paul writes, “your body,” later he indeed means the individual. So they weren’t entirely wrong but we need to understand the difference. The Holy Spirit, (Ruach HaKodesh), dwells within the Ekklesia. He also dwells within the individual believer. Each one comes with deeper understanding of how we should worship.

To be identified as the Temple we must understand what Paul is trying to express. He didn’t just say, the Spirit dwells in you. But rather specifying that the Ekklesia as well as the individual are representations of the Temple of Elohim. What is a Temple, or more specifically, the Temple of Elohim? The Temple had very specific construction. It was an earthly representation of the Heavenly structure. A mirror image made with human hands. It also came with a set of rules. A very specific set of rules. All intended to keep the holiness of the Temple intact. For the very presence of Elohim in all His splendor and Holiness dwelt there. Today, it remains the same. Until the New Jerusalem and the Heavenly Temple are established in the millennium, we are the Temple.

So, if we are the Temple, both corporately and individually, what set of rules should we follow? Let’s begin to explore this by taking a look inside the Holy space. “And the four living creatures, each of them with six wings, are full of eyes all around and within, and day and night they never cease to say, “Holy, holy, holy, is Adonai Elohim Almighty, who was and is and is to come!” Revelation 4:8. Contrast that with a glimpse of the earthly Holy place. “And when the priests came out of the Holy Place, a cloud filled the house of Yahweh, so that the priests could not stand to minister because of the cloud, for the glory of Elohim filled the house of Yahweh.” 1 Kings 8:10-11. Does this begin to open your eyes to the significance of what it means to be the Temple of Elohim?

With this picture, think about your corporate gathering. Does it look like Elohim’s presence is welcome there? Are the folks anticipating the HOLY presence of Elohim? Or does it look like a concert hall where everyone is looking to be entertained? “You know I just didn’t get anything out of worship today.” In the Temple there was an order, a structure, a purpose for everything. From the show bread, to the Menorah, to the Ark and the Altar, each had their place and function. The Priests had specific responsibilities within the Temple and had to be cleansed before participating. For too long now we have had a lackadaisical approach to corporate worship. As Priests it is our responsibility to change that perspective and approach. “But you are a chosen people! A royal priesthood! A holy nation! Elohim’s special possession! That you may declare the praises of Him who called you out of darkness into His wonderful light.” 1 Peter 2:9

Now, as an individual. What are you thinking about? What are you reading, listening to or watching? Who or what are you inviting into your personal space? What are you eating and drinking? Are these things edifying the Temple of Elohim or would you be embarrassed if Yahoshua was standing next to you? Well, if Scripture is true not only is He standing next to you, He dwells within you. If you are feeling distant from Elohim, wondering why He seems afar off. You might need to evaluate how you are treating the Temple of Elohim. If you think the Temple idea was just an illustration and isn’t important. Or that it was only a Jewish thing. Let me leave you with Ephesians 2:19-22.

“So then, you are no longer foreigners and strangers. On the contrary, you are fellow-citizens with Elohim’s people and members of Elohim’s family. You have been built on the foundation of the emissaries and the prophets, with the cornerstone being Yahoshua the Messiah Himself. In union with Him the whole building is held together, and it is growing into a holy temple in union with Adonai. Yes, in union with Him, you yourselves are being built together into a spiritual dwelling-place for Elohim!”

For more understanding on the Temple read 1 Kings 8. It’s time we get back to a sense of awe and wonder for the Day of Adonai is quickly approaching! You don’t want to be left outside of the Marriage Supper of the Lamb. The good news is if you have breath in your lungs you have time. Begin to get your Temple in order, become the light, share the bread, make disciples, serve your Ekklesia.

This is the Way of the Rabbi,
You are loved,
cj

The Significance of Sabbath Observance Today

The Significance of Sabbath Observance Today

i have thought about this series for some time. How do i share my understanding in a way that leads you, the reader, into curiosity? To inspire a deeper look into Scripture. To light a fire within you to be like the people of Berea. Who received with joy, the words being taught to them. But then went and searched the Scriptures to see whether or not it was true. There are plenty of posts you can go over in which i will have touched on these ideas presented here. Although, not so succinctly as i will try in this series of posts. i will present the options and then give my ‘why’s’ trying to be fair to both sides in the end. These are the topics i will present over the next few days. Yahoshua or Jesus (see post); Rabbi or Teacher (see post); Adonai Elohim or Lord God (see post); Feast Days or Holidays (see post); Sabbath or Sunday (Current Post). It has been my goal to persuade you to begin to evaluate your ‘why’s’. To ask the question of yourself, “Am I using mans justification or Elohim’s Word, to determine my beliefs?” Let’s wrap this series up.

Sabbath or Sunday:
In my last post i went over the idea of Feast Days or Holidays. Presenting the idea of the significance of Elohim’s Feasts. In the description of the Feast Days in Leviticus you will find the Sabbath Day. In fact it leads the way. Leviticus 23 begins — Then Yahweh said to Moses, “Speak to the Israelite’s and say to them, ‘These are My appointed feasts, the feasts of Yahweh that you are to proclaim as sacred assemblies. For six days work may be done, but the seventh day is a Sabbath of complete rest, a day of sacred assembly. You must not do any work; wherever you live, it is a Sabbath to Yahweh.

The Sabbath wasn’t new to Israel. The Creator of the Universe in the beginning said, “Thus the heavens and the earth were completed in all their vast array. And by the seventh day Elohim had finished the work He had been doing. So on that day He rested from all His work. Then Elohim blessed the seventh day and sanctified it, because on that day He rested from all the work of creation that He had accomplished.” From the beginning of time Adonai was demonstrating the necessity of rest. He designed it as a day of reflection, a day to gather, a day to feast. You begin with a gathering in which you feast together with those in your family and community of faith. You commemorate the very first Sabbath each week at the end of six days of labor. Reflecting on the goodness of Elohim.

The Sabbath Day wasn’t just demonstrated to us by Yahweh Himself, He instructed us to observe it. In the passage above from Genesis 2 and in the Ten Commandments given at Mt Sinai. Exodus says, “Remember the Sabbath day by keeping it holy. Six days you shall labor and do all your work, but the seventh day is a Sabbath to Yahweh your Elohim, on which you must not do any work—neither you, nor your son or daughter, nor your manservant or maidservant or livestock, nor the foreigner within your gates. For in six days Yahweh made the heavens and the earth and the sea and all that is in them, but on the seventh day He rested. Therefore Yahweh blessed the Sabbath day and set it apart as holy.” This is the fourth commandment. It is the most detailed of all the commandments given to Moses on Mt Sinai.

The Sabbath Day was important to Yahweh. He demonstrated it and commanded it. He held Israel to a standard regarding it. Isaiah writes, “If you turn back your foot from the Sabbath, from doing your pleasure on My holy day, and call the Sabbath a delight, and the holy day of Yahweh honorable; and if you honor it, not doing your own ways, or finding your own pleasure, or speaking your own words, then you will delight yourself in Yahweh, and I will make you ride on the heights of the land and feed you with the heritage of your father Jacob.“. (Isaiah 58:13-14) It was a covenant sign between Yahweh and His people. Exodus 31:13-17 — “Speak to the people of Israel, saying, ‘You shall be careful to keep My Sabbaths, for it is a sign between Me and you throughout your generations, that you may know that I am Yahweh who sanctifies you… You are to observe the Sabbath, for it is a holy day to you. Everyone who profanes it shall be put to death… It is a permanent sign, a covenant forever“.

There is no passage of Scripture that changes or modifies the Sabbath in any way. No reputable scholar will argue this point. Yahoshua said, “I am Adon (Master) of the Sabbath.” He kept the Sabbath, attending synagogue faithfully on the Sabbath. While His body lay lifeless in a tomb. One could say that both metaphorically and physically Yahoshua rested on the Sabbath. The Apostles all kept the Sabbath. Throughout the book of Acts we read about Sabbath observance. So where does the modern tradition of Sunday observance come in? What verse changes the day? The answer is none. Not one single verse. It is impossible to argue the other side because it doesn’t exist. The only place that references a change to the Sabbath Commandment is the Catechism of the Catholic Church Article 3.

Unfortunately, in their own Catechism they incorrectly number the commandments calling the Sabbath Commandment number three instead of four. Presumably, to allow for their engraved images. They take great delight in their ability to change times and seasons. This action is expressly forbidden in Scripture. It is also warned against. Found in both Deuteronomy (4:2) and Revelation (22:18-19). The act of changing times and seasons is written of as being from the spirit of Anti-Christ. Daniel 7:25 says, “He will speak words against the Most High and try to exhaust the holy ones of the Most High. He will attempt to alter the seasons and the Torah; and [the holy ones] will be handed over to him for a time, times and half a time.”

The Sabbath is a blessing! It is not too difficult to do. Science has shown that resting as prescribed by the Sabbath command is extremely beneficial to good health. In all areas of our lives, physically, spiritually, emotionally, mentally. It was demonstrated by Elohim, observed by Yahoshua and His disciples. We are instructed to be like Yahoshua. Paul writes, “Imitate me as I imitate Messiah.” I believe that not observing the Sabbath day puts us at odds with Elohim. Scripture indicates it is a sign for all generations. It also says it is for the foreigner. It is for the servant. So one cannot say it was only for Israel. So what will you do? Will you obey mans tradition or Elohim’s Word?

This is the Way of the Rabbi,
You are loved,
cj

Understanding the Role of Rabbi vs Teacher

Understanding the Role of Rabbi vs Teacher

i have thought about this series for some time. How do i share my understanding in a way that leads you, the reader, into curiosity? To inspire a deeper look into Scripture. To light a fire within you to be like the people of Berea. Who received with joy, the words being taught to them. But then went and searched the Scriptures to see whether or not it was true. There are plenty of posts you can go over in which i will have touched on these ideas presented here. Although, not so succinctly as i will try in this series of posts. i will present the options and then give my ‘why’s’ trying to be fair to both sides in the end. These are the topics i will present over the next few days. Yahoshua or Jesus (see last post); Rabbi or Teacher (Current Post); Adonai Elohim or Lord God; Feast Days or Holidays; Sabbath or Sunday. In the end it will be my goal to have persuaded you to begin to evaluate your ‘why’s’. To ask the question of yourself, “Am I using mans justification or Elohim’s Word, to determine my beliefs?” Let’s continue.

Rabbi or Teacher:
This comparison isn’t all that consequential. The point that i want to make with it is the mind set it produces. Let me start with simple definitions from dictionary.com. First, “teacher: a person who teaches or instructs, especially as a profession; instructor.” Second, “rabbi: the chief religious official of a synagogue, trained usually in a theological seminary and duly ordained, who delivers the sermon at a religious service and performs ritualistic, pastoral, educational, and other functions in and related to the role of a spiritual leader of Judaism and the Jewish community.” In most schools, elementary to university, a teacher teaches the student to know information. It is the teachers goal to instruct their student in a way that they become knowledgeable in whatever subject. A Rabbi on the other hand was to make mini versions of themselves. They would instruct their disciples in a manor that reproduced a mirror copy. In other words the disciples goal was to become just like his rabbi.

In Matthew 23:8 Yahoshua says, “But you are not to let yourselves be called ‘Rabbi’. Because you have one Rabbi, and you are all each other’s brothers.” Given the definitions above you can see why this was important to emphasize. If the goal of a Rabbi was to reproduce himself it stands to reason that Yahoshua would warn against it. The goal now is to become like The Rabbi, Yahoshua. For He alone is who we are to be like. Let’s take a look at Philippians 3.

Paul, who was a Pharisee and well learned scholar of Torah said this about his knowledge. As well most likely a mirror copy of his rabbi. “Yes, I gave it all up in order to know Him [Yahoshua Messiah]. That is, to know the power of His resurrection. And the fellowship of His sufferings as I am being conformed to his death. So that somehow I might arrive at being resurrected from the dead.” He was no longer concerned about imitating a man like himself. He wanted to imitate The Rabbi, Messiah Yahoshua. Paul continues his discourse to the Philippians in this way. “It is not that I have already obtained it or already reached the goal — no. I keep pursuing it. In the hope of taking hold of that for which the Messiah Yeshua took hold of me. Brothers, I, for my part, do not think of myself as having yet gotten hold of it. But one thing I do: forgetting what is behind me and straining forward toward what lies ahead, I keep pursuing the goal in order to win the prize offered by Elohim’s upward calling in the Messiah Yahoshua. Therefore, as many of us as are mature, let us keep paying attention to this; and if you are differently minded about anything, Elohim will also reveal this to you. Only let our conduct fit the level we have already reached.”

When Paul later writes about imitating him, he emphasizes the point by saying, “For I imitate Messiah.” The idea is that we become like our Rabbi Yahoshua. To do what He did, say what He said, walk as He walked. Yahoshua said, “These things that you have seen Me do, even greater things will you do when I go to the Father.” Why would they do those things? Because, they were to be like Him, mirror images of Messiah. It is where the term ‘Christian’ comes from. It was a derogatory term that was warn as a badge of honor. To be called a ‘Christian’ meant that you were a mirror image of Messiah. Being called a ‘Christian’ today does not carry the same meaning.

The goal i have now is to be a disciple of Rabbi Yahoshua. To learn from Him and to be like Him in word and deed. There is an expression. It is “to walk in the dust of the rabbi.” It can also be a blessing: “May you be covered in the dust of your rabbi.” It means to walk so closely to Him that you begin to mimic even His mannerisms. For a long time i looked at Jesus as my teacher. He was instructing me and that was sufficient. But as i walked that road i found it easy, wide, and unchallenging. Oh sure i messed up but grace made everything inconsequential. Now with the fuller understanding of the idea of Yahoshua as Rabbi being a ‘Christian’ has a whole new meaning. Sure i don’t always get it right and i am far from perfect. Yet, i strive to be more and more like my Rabbi, Messiah Yahoshua, every moment of every day.

i don’t want to be merely taught by Yahoshua, i want to be like Him. i want to be covered in the dust of my Rabbi. On the flip side, i hope these posts teach you. i hope they stir a longing within you to desire the Way of The Rabbi. May you be covered in the dust of your Rabbi Yahoshua.

This is the Way of the Rabbi,
You are loved,
cj