Matthew (Mattityahu) Ch.12
Before continuing, let's have a look at some significant scripture. Deuteronomy 29 is a TANAKH classic. It is the last time Moses addresses the nation of Israel before they go into the "Promised Land". At this point Moses "renews" the Covenant (Torah) established at Mt. Horeb. He reminds them to keep it, no matter what happens, or they will fall, which they later do. For the purpose of this study something he says stands out in his introduction. Most people miss it:
Deut. 10 “You are standing today, all of you, before the Lord your God: the heads of your tribes, your elders, and your officers, all the men of Israel,
Deut. 11 your little ones, your wives, and the sojourner who is in your camp, from the one who chops your wood to the one who draws your water,
Deut. 12 so that you may enter into the sworn covenant of the Lord your God, which the Lord your God is making with you today,
Deut. 13 that he may establish you today as his people, and that he may be your God, as he promised you, and as he swore to your fathers, to Abraham, to Isaac, and to Jacob.
Deut. 14 It is not with you alone that I am making this sworn covenant,
Deut. 15 but with whoever is standing here with us today before the Lord our God, and with whoever is not here with us today.
Is this the first time Yehovah establishes Israel as His people and swears a Covenant with them? No, of course not. This is Moses reminding them of their obligation to the Covenant made previously. This reminder will be done again, in a future setting, by The Prophet like Moses, Yeshua!
Look at verses 14 and 15. Yehovah has made this Covenant with more than just the Israelites! He has made it with, "whoever is not here with us today." Is this just the descendants of the Israelites? No, this is ALL future people who accept the invitation and agree to follow the Covenant! Indeed, this is exactly what God's Chosen had been instructed to do after entering the Land, spread this gospel throughout the World. Sound familiar? It should because it's repeated in the New Testament. Does the Church think it was the only one given this instruction, sometimes called, "The Great Commission"? We know the Israelites failed at this. They kept the gospel to themselves and/or didn't keep it. We know the Church has failed in this as well, in the last 2,000 years or so, but at least we got Jesus and the Cross from them.
Another point to make here. A rhetorical question may be in order; "Was Abraham Jewish?" - verse 13. No! He was an Assyrian, a Gentile! Many Jews don't understand that "Father Abraham" was a Gentile. He was the first one to be referred to as "Hebrew". So, does the Covenant with the Israelites only involve the Israelites and the Jews? No! It's for everyone! Is the moniker, "Hebrew Roots", or "Hebraic Roots" making more sense now? Should we call ourselves Christian or Hebrew? That's another discussion, for later.
The point of all this is to illustrate that the "Old" and "New" Testaments are all one Testament, one Covenant, one God! Yeshua proclaimed the Covenant of His Father and our Father. Yeshua did not proclaim a new and different covenant, but like Moses, "renewed" the original Covenant because man had supplanted it with his traditions. To do anything different than proclaim Yehovah's Covenant with us would have disqualified Yeshua as the Messiah! (Deut. 13)
There are many examples in the TANAKH that state the Law (Torah) is for Israelites and Gentiles. Here is one more:
Num. 15:15 For the assembly, there shall be one statute for you and for the stranger who sojourns with you, a statute forever throughout your generations. You and the sojourner shall be alike before the Lord.
Num. 15:16 One law and one rule shall be for you and for the stranger who sojourns with you.”
In context, Numbers 15 has to do with animal sacrifices and other subjects, and I have had churchgoers ask me why I don't sacrifice animals. The reason I don't is the same reason Jews and Israelis' don't sacrifice animals according to Torah nowadays; the Aaronic Priesthood has been suspended and there is no Temple to sacrifice the animals appropriately, as stated in Torah. Later, in the New Testament, we'll read about a "change in the Law". As you will see, this is not a denunciation of the Torah but rather a change in the Priesthood as described in the Torah. Yeshua, being our one and only sacrifice makes it clear that believers in Him do not need animal sacrifices. Yet, we are still told in scripture to obey and do all we can as it concerns Torah.
... continuing ...
Matthew Ch. 12 has so many things to contemplate but I'm trying hard to stick to the subject of Torah.
Matt. 12:1 At that time Jesus went through the grainfields on the Sabbath. His disciples were hungry, and they began to pluck heads of grain and to eat.
Matt. 12:2 But when the Pharisees saw it, they said to him, “Look, your disciples are doing what is not lawful to do on the Sabbath.”
Matt. 12:3 He said to them, “Have you not read what David did when he was hungry, and those who were with him:
Matt. 12:4 how he entered the house of God and ate the bread of the Presence, which it was not lawful for him to eat nor for those who were with him, but only for the priests?
Matt. 12:5 Or have you not read in the Law how on the Sabbath the priests in the temple profane the Sabbath and are guiltless?
Matt. 12:6 I tell you, something greater than the temple is here.
Matt. 12:7 And if you had known what this means, ‘I desire mercy, and not sacrifice,’ you would not have condemned the guiltless.
Matt. 12:8 For the Son of Man is lord of the Sabbath.”
The Pharisee Rabbinic authorities had many man made rules added to the instructions already in Torah. Yeshua made it a point to constantly break Rabbinic rulings to show them their human authority is worthless when compared to His. Does the Torah state it is unlawful to work in the fields on Shabbat? Yes, of course it does! The Sabbath is first and foremost a day of rest, for you and your animals that may assist you in the fields. My wife has a horse. Does she ride the horse on Shabbat? No, because that would be working the horse, but she does feed it and care for it. Were the disciples involved in crop harvesting as they walked through the fields? No, they were simply pulling grain from the stalks and eating. Is Yeshua the author and initiator of the Sabbath, the "Lord of the Sabbath"? Indeed! The Pharisees never fully realized just who they were dealing with.
The modern Church has the same problem as the Pharisees. They set up man made rulings for people to follow so that they become "Lord", keeping Sunday instead of the 7th day, celebrating pagan feast days instead of the biblically prescribed feast days, introducing man made doctrine although the Bible declares Torah is our true doctrine! Truly, the "Jews" and the "Christians" have both failed to teach the true Gospel, which is Torah!
Matt. 12:9 He went on from there and entered their synagogue.
Matt. 12:10 And a man was there with a withered hand. And they asked him, “Is it lawful to heal on the Sabbath?”—so that they might accuse him.
Matt. 12:11 He said to them, “Which one of you who has a sheep, if it falls into a pit on the Sabbath, will not take hold of it and lift it out?
Matt. 12:12 Of how much more value is a man than a sheep! So it is lawful to do good on the Sabbath.”
Matt. 12:13 Then he said to the man, “Stretch out your hand.” And the man stretched it out, and it was restored, healthy like the other.
Matt. 12:14 But the Pharisees went out and conspired against him, how to destroy him.
Why would the Pharisees want to destroy someone? Isn't this kind of behavior against Torah? Of course it is, just like the small groups of people rioting, burning, and sometimes killing in the streets of America's large Liberal cities nowadays! It's simply wrong no matter what the perceived slight is. Yeshua was illustrating how hypocritical the Pharisees were.
Years ago, a family we knew of had a devastating house fire on a Friday night. So, on Shabbat morning the assembly got together and cleaned up the wreckage and consoled the heartbroken family. Was this wrong? Did the action break any instructions in Torah? No, because people were in need! Later, such things are spoken of as the "weightier matters of Torah", and the "Spirit of Torah".
You see, man can take Godly rules and use them to control you by pretending to be the controlling authority. This not the intent of the instructions of Torah and Yeshua constantly points this out!
Matt. 12:15 Jesus, aware of this, withdrew from there. And many followed him, and he healed them all 16 and ordered them not to make him known.
Matt. 12:17 This was to fulfill what was spoken by the prophet Isaiah:
Matt. 12:18 “Behold, my servant whom I have chosen, my beloved with whom my soul is well pleased. I will put my Spirit upon him, and he will proclaim justice to the Gentiles.
Matt. 12:19 He will not quarrel or cry aloud, nor will anyone hear his voice in the streets;
Matt. 12:20 a bruised reed he will not break, and a smoldering wick he will not quench, until he brings justice to victory;
Matt. 12:21 and in his name the Gentiles will hope.”
(see Isaiah 42 for above verses)
Matt. 12:46 While he was still speaking to the people, behold, his mother and his brothers
Matt. 12:47 stood outside, asking to speak to him.
Matt. 12:48 But he replied to the man who told him, “Who is my mother, and who are my brothers?”
Matt. 12:49 And stretching out his hand toward his disciples, he said, “Here are my mother and my brothers!
Matt. 12:50 For whoever does the will of my Father in heaven is my brother and sister and mother.”
What is the will of the Father in heaven? The Bible clearly states that following His instructions in Torah is His will!
The Observer
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