Wednesday, 1 November 2023

The Upper Room Discourse 44

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John 16:2-4 They will throw you out of the synagogues. Yes, an hour is coming when whoever kills you will think he is offering service to God. They will do these things because they have never known the Father or Me. But I have spoken these things to you so that when their hour comes, you may remember that I told you of them. I did not tell you these things from the beginning, because I was with you.

Yeshua says, "They will throw you out of the synagogues." The latest trend in many synagogues is inclusiveness. There is plenty of evidence, but I find most of it disturbing. Just do a web search for "inclusiveness in synagogues." My point is, the trend is to include every possibility except Messianic Judaism.

There is a rich history goes back to the time of Yeshua and His followers being thrown out of synagogues. Even here in Knoxville, I was thrown out of a local conservative synagogue for just sitting there. Someone pointed me out to the rabbi who said, "I know who you are and what you believe and we don't want you here."

I protested, "You may know my position, but we've never met, so you certainly don't know what I believe." Then I asked for an opportunity to explain why I was there, he told me to make an appointment. I never got the appointment. What would really interest me is what HE believes.

It is hard to imagine what is going on inside Judaism these days. The faith of Abraham and the Torah of Moses, for the most part, have left the building. In an effort to include perversions that the Torah specifically prohibits, God's instructions are being "kicked to the curb."

Let's look at this in a different way. Traditional Judaism has drawn a circle and said, "If you're inside this circle you can be a part of the Jewish people." Then they have addressed Messianic Jews to say, "You're not in the circle." There are some exceptions like Rabbi Cohn-Sherbok whose 2001 book, Messianic Judaism - A Critical Anthology, (www.amazon.com/Messianic-Judaism-Anthology-Dan-Cohn-Sherbok-ebook/dp/B00M59RPXO) proposes that Messianic Judaism is a valid branch of the modern Jewish community and should be included.

Rabbi Trail: I felt sorry for Rabbi Cohn-Sherbok after he published his book. He wrote it as a non-believing Reform Jewish rabbi. Should he ever become a believer, himself, it would invalidate his work, because he would be dismissed as one of us all along. End RT.

But let's be real. Light and darkness can't walk together. Abraham is called the first Hebrew because he crossed over from unbelief to faith. Our commission is to invite the Jewish people to step over in the fullness of the faith of Abraham only found in walking with the Jewish Messiah whose name is Yeshua HaMashiach.

The proposition is simple, receive Yeshua as your personal Lord and Savior, and step into the freedom of loving both God and people. God gave Moses a pattern with instructions to build the tabernacle accordingly. Yeshua tells us we are the tabernacle of God and then He gives us a pattern to build His kingdom. Remember, Yeshua told us ...

Matthew 28:19-20 Go therefore and make disciples of all nations, immersing them in the name of the Father and the Son and the Ruach ha-Kodesh, teaching them to observe all I have commanded you. And remember! I am with you always, even to the end of the age.

That's a pattern to build by, and we are building together with Him.