See Shake The Dust From Your Feet - P2.
In Yeshua’s case, he was taking the concept of Temple and placing it upon himself. This meant, for instance, that divine healing and forgiveness would now come to Israel through him instead of through the Temple and its priesthood. Instead of going to the Temple to be cleansed, Yeshua pronounced people clean. Instead of accepting the blood the covenant in the sacrifice of the Jerusalem temple,[12] Yeshua invited people to the blood of the covenant at his table and in his sacrifice.[13] Of course, there cannot be two temples. If Yeshua is now equating himself with the temple of YHWH, then what of the Jerusalem one? He pronounced divine judgment on it physically when he drove the people out and declared it the habitation of terrorists,[14] symbolically when he cursed it via the method of enacted parable,[15] and prophetically when he said not one stone would not be left upon another.[16] In place of this corrupt and soon-to-be-destroyed Temple would be an incorruptible and indestructible one—himself:
Jesus answered them,
Destroy this temple and in three days I will raise it up.The Jews then said,It has taken forty-six years to build this temple, and will you raise it up in three days?But he was speaking about the temple of his body.John 2:19-21
Jesus said: I will des[troy this] house, and none shall able to build it [again].
Gospel of Thomas, 71
Since the Pax Romana could be threated by a violent uprising against the Temple, but not by someone reinterpreting what it meant to be God’s chosen people, when men were found to bring false charges against Yeshua that might move Herod’s hand, they used Yeshua’s words to paint him in the first manner—like another Judas Maccabeus who wanted to drive foreign occupiers out of the Temple by the edge of his sword:[17]
We heard him say, ‘I will destroy this temple that is made with hands and in three days I will build another not made with hands.’Mark 14:58
This man said, ‘I am able to destroy the temple of God, and to rebuild it in three days.’Matthew 26:61
In reality, of course, Yeshua meant only that he, a temple even greater than the Jerusalem Temple,[18] would be proven true when the Jerusalem Temple fell without being raised again, whereas he would be raised in three days.
If Temple now had meaning in terms of Yeshua, anyone who participated in Yeshua’s work would be participating in the true Temple service. In this new situation then, following Yeshua meant the same as acts of holiness and separation from defilement. And therefore it was not only acceptable, but appropriate that traditions which symbolized this might be incorporated into Yeshua’s or his disciples’ activity. By sending out his disciples with regulations befitting those going to the Temple Mount, Yeshua was providing them with a powerful reminder that in doing his work, they were doing so by the same Spirit, with the same dedication, and in the same manner as those going to participate in Temple activity. Since shaking the dust from one’s feet was an act of separation from the defiled or unclean, for Yeshua’s disciples to do so whenever they or their message were denied became a powerful polemic. It meant that such people had taken on the status of lepers. They were unclean and unfit for the way of the Holy One. While this may sound like a harsh judgment, its primary purpose was to keep the disciples on task and to foster the holiness and righteousness of God’s kingdom. If the gospel did not result in cleansing people from their defilement in one place, then the disciples should move on to where it might benefit others. We see this same concept in Yeshua’s admonition to protect what is valuable by not handing it over to unreasoning and unclean creatures who will only trample it underfoot.[19]
[12] – The blood of the covenant
comes from Exodus 24:8.
[13] – Matthew 26:28; Mark 14:24.
[14] – When Yeshua calls the Temple a den of thieves,
he is not making an ethical judgment of their monetary practices. This refers to violent bands of brigands who would rape, plunder, kill, and destroy. Usually they formed around a leader who combined political and religious overtones with their criminal activity. They hid in the rocky terrain of the wilderness like David in Old Testament times in order to evade capture and death. In modern times, they would be compared with Al-Qaeda or other militants who blow up civilians and then retreat to hidden dens on the edge of the territory.
[15] – The cursing of the fig tree. Mark 11:12-14, 20-22; Matthew 21:18-20. Mark specifically bookends this event around Yeshua’s temple rousing in order to show a link between them. But the fact that this is a Temple judgment is made even more clearly when Yeshua, on his way up to the Temple, explains the cursing of the tree by saying that that very mountain will be removed and cast into the sea (Mark 11:23; Matthew 21:21).
[16] – Luke 21:5-6; Mark 13:1-2; Matthew 24:1-2. One of Yeshua’s first oracles of doom against the Temple occurs in Matthew 7:24-27 and Luke 6:46-49 where he says in parable fashion, the rain fell, and the floods came, and the wind blew and beat against that house, and it fell; and great was the fall of it.
[17] – 1st Maccabees 1-4. The story of Judas’ forceful retaking of Jerusalem and the Temple from unclean pagan rulers and rededicating the sanctuary to YHWH is celebrated annually by the festival of Hanukkah.
[18] – Matthew 12:6
[19] – Matthew 7:6
Chase Says:
I like where you went with this. I would have refrained from posting earlier if I had known you weren’t done. Definitely a creative interpretation. I still maintain what I said before — I think the significance of specifically Jewish context of these passages shouldn’t be overlooked. Further, I would say that the redaction perspective makes this look like a christological development occurring between the writing of Mark and Matthew/Luke.
Chase Says:
"This" meaning the connection between Jesus’ self-identification as the new temple and his commands to the apostles before the first commission.
slaveofone Says:
Truth be told, I’m not a New Testament guy. I’ve heard that Mark supposedly came first then Matthew and Luke, who used Mark to suit their own unique purposes. But I really can’t say one way or the other about it… And I really can’t say much of anything about "Christology" either.–that’s just too far removed from my field of interest. So I’ll just defer to your comments until someone else comes along and says otherwise.
Avrohom Says:
Shalom,
I appreciate your paper called "Torah and Yeshua…". I googled "Yeshua" and "change" and came to your paper.
It would be fair to humbly say that I know alot about the Torah and gemora/medrash since I was raised in that environment. You have phrased your questions well in the opening of the paper about the seeming contradictions.
I agree with you that Israel had become obsessed with her national continuity. This led her from God all along, along with the daily temptations that are common to all.
Can I share with you some comments and perhaps we can help each other? I am hoping, with God’s help, to come to closure (soon) about exactly what the true Torah teaches (as opposed to the false torah which the Jews developed over time). As we know, the early church went away completely from the Torah. Maybe you can help me with references or ideas?
Ok, you write that the Torah was now accomplished through Yeshua. I cannot accept this (that it is not to be considered today yet). He said (in various places) "listen to the scribes/pharisees…since they sit on Moshe’s Seat…but don’t do as they do". Paul also concludes in his hard to understand letter: "we uphold the law". This means the Torah stands. I submit to you that a conclusion otherwise can only come from not knowing the Hebrew text of the Torah itself and some of the basic histories contained in the gemora/medrash.
I like your categorization of "temple, Torah, land, and race". This relates to general categories of commandments. Since the temple and land are not present today (we are in exile, without a Sovereign Jewish kingdom in the land of Israel), only race and Torah apply.
With regard to race, remember how He called those who opposed Him "children of the devil…since if [they] were Avrohom’s children, they would not be seeking to kill [Him] but would be doing Avrohom’s deeds…." The True Jew is anyone who comes to the God of Avrohom to serve Him, from any nation, doing Avrohom’s deeds.
The only thing remaining is Torah.
I like your analysis; it is refreshing. However, may I suggest to you that all the laws of food, temple, and land were given to them only after the sin of the golden calf. The Khizkuni (a Torah commentator from years ago, who was versed in the gemora/medrash) writes this –shockingly– in the text concerning the golden calf. He remarks so, since suddenly after the recounting of the golden-calf incident, the Torah talks about building the Mishkon (Meeting tent, with the sacrifices and ritual cleanness and food laws in Leviticus). I have heard it explained by a certain Rabbi Cordozo (mp3 available online, if you want to hear it, please ask) that the whole sin of the golden-calf was that they were young and immature in serving God and needed an "intermediary" for the "senses" (a tangible representation of God) since Moshe was away from them for the while. This is the logic of their making the calf (not just to go astray, but they thought it would "help them serve God"). Since this is the whole reason for the calf, we find immediately after, all the additions to the ten commandments, such as the temple, which was supposed to go down that exact same road: to help them understand God more tangibly by doing tangible acts with the body. How cool.
With that said, when Yeshua said "it’s not what goes in but what comes out that defiles", He was once again doing what He did when He commented on divorce. He was saying, in both cases, that the laws were given them due to the "hardness of their heart". Yeshua was only cutting directly to the truth, which He was very good at (LOL). It turns out that much was given to them due to their hardness. Regarding divorce, it is indeed preferable to remain married in any event, since that is God’s will (in calling them "one", as He did in Genesis). The same thing with unkosher foods. He did not wash his hands since He was clean on the outside and this was really not "necessary" unless we still need to be "trained" to distinguish between clean and unclean. He was not contradicting or changing the Torah. He was merely "clarifying" God’s intent. He was really calling them hypocrites, which He had a custom of doing (LOL). This was what He was Sent to do, to "testify to the Truth". He was again reprimanding them for only being clean on the outside but not on the inside; He knew they were filthy within. The "real" reason, He was asserting to them, for separating between clean and unclean animals was to open their eyes to behave in a separated manner in their hearts. It was one of those "tutors to bring to Moshiakh".
Yes this was a re-interpretation of the Torah from the way the scribes/pharisees were accustomed to seeing it (both then, and to this very day in the circles I grew up in). They missed the point of the commandment. It was to "lead" to something else and not to be an "end-all".
The same with circumcision. When Paul writes about this in Romans, it can be confusing in the way the English texts have translated it (I don’t know Greek but I used the ‘Strong’s’ on those verses). He is only talking about the "real" meaning of the cutting, that it is meant to lead to a spiritual cutting from sinfulness. He is saying overthere that "being Jewish (by blood), or, circumcised" means nothing at all unless you are also Jewish, or, circumcised in the heart. He is not knocking the physical act but only pointing out, again, how it should lead to the attitude of being different than pagans and sinfulness.
About Shabbos and festivals, there are certain examples of "work" that are spelled out (like lighting a fire). Again, I believe that they have gone overboard in burdens of how to keep Shabbos. But a careful reading of the Torah, with an appreciation of Hebrew, will make it clear what He Desires. How beautiful that Yeshua said that Shabbos was made for man. Again here, it is to help us enter the true rest. By observing how it talks about us "not leaving our place" on Shabbos and staying home with family or even alone with Him, we can enter into His Rest, much moreso than if we ran to the coffee shop, prepared a meal, or went shopping, as examples, certainly if we went to work or actually did manual labor. The point was just to spend time with Him, not for Him, but for our sake, to get "connected" and uplifted to Him.
The important thing is to walk with Him in the present moment. This is the whole Torah. He is working on me to bring me there; it is a work, a miracle actually. There are also some "remembrances" like the "tsitsis" (fringes) and other distinctions in dressing which are also easy to do. I am seeing that Yeshua had cut to the heart of the intent of God in the Torah. We can only read the Torah with the help of the Holy Spirit, which is what He meant when He said (in John) that He "would not leave us without a teacher, but would send the Holy Spirit to help us". We have to know the correct meaning of the words and roots of words from Hebrew so that we don’t further corrupt how the translators have removed more of the depth from their translations (both intentionally and unintentionally). This is very important.
Is this ok? What do you think? Do have any online resources that you may refer me to?
I think I saw a brief comment somewhere on your site about the need for a compilation of what exactly can be done, according to Torah, and what should be avoided (for the "training" purposes –albeit not to be ‘saved’). The Zohar actually calls the commandments "advice". Good description. I am hoping to compile this for myself in order to classify for myself and maybe others (if God wills) what the Torah advises us and how simple it really is (as opposed to the major complexities of the scribes).
So, Yeshua’s Own keeping of the Torah was on a level where He was completely fulfilled and it was fulfilled in Him. For us, though, we should still do what it says –just not as the scribes do, as He said.
What do you think? Did I make a mistake?
Shalom in Yeshua,
Avrohom
slaveofone Says:
Thank you for sharing. I think that you and I are coming at it from much of the same perspective…which is somewhat rare for me, I must admit—I’m usually quite unique in my perspectives ;)
I guess I should just point out that since I am gentile and since most of my intended audience is as well, I wrote that paper for that sort of audience and with that sort of perspective in mind. I do not at all intend to say that no one should or could observe Torah. After all, as you yourself say, history shows us that many people observed the ordinances and laws of Torah and ALSO followed Yeshua—just as many Jewish followers of Yeshua also went to the Temple and (probably) took part in its celebrations and rituals until its destruction. My point was not that Torah has ceased to matter or that Jews simply dropped the scroll and never picked it up again or anything like that. My point was to explain Yeshua’s actions and words in terms of Torah so that a gentile follower who might wonder what Torah means in terms of their faith can better understand why and how things like this are true:
-Yeshua is the method and means of YHWH’s salvation and covenant faithfulness where before this was Torah
-treating Torah like something that can be turned into a set of universal moral truths is unnecessary and misleading in terms of Yeshua and his way
-that gentile Christians should not view Jews who followed Torah as doing so in order to earn salvation (the false dichotomy of “works versus faith,” which may have had some relevance in terms of Christianity at the time of the Reformation but does not adequately describe ancient Judaism)
For any Jew or gentile follower of Yeshua who is capable of undertaking the task of submitting themselves to the ordinances of Torah, I would have no problem with them doing so as long as they understood these important distinctions. For these people, following Torah would not be something that they do because, for instance, they believe the covenant faithfulness of YHWH will not come to them apart from it or will be somehow diminished—far be it. For these people, following Torah would be like going out of your way to do something for the one you love not because you have to and not because you’re expected to and not because it is in any way asked of you and not because it will bring better things to you, but because you want to, because of your love for YHWH your God. How can one not praise YHWH for that?
It is, of course, a debate in Jewish theology what preceded what—did the golden calf come before the Ten Utterances or the Ten Utterances before the golden calf? Did YHWH want to establish his Tabernacle among Israel before the golden calf or was the Tabernacle and its sacrifices a result of the golden calf? And why did the Israelites build the golden calf and sacrifice to it in the first place? Did they do it because they needed something tangible as you say? Did they do it because of evil in their hearts as others say? Did they do it because it was culturally ingrained in them? I don’t know the answers. And I don’t really care to speculate on them much. And there is also the debate in Jewish theology what was really given at Sinai. Was it really, originally, only the Ten Utterances? Or was all the Torah given on Sinai? Was even Oral Torah given at Sinai? And what does it mean to deny “Torah from heaven” as the Mishnah states? Will you not have a place in the world to come if you think Moses added things? Will you not have a place in the world to come if you think there were unnecessary things? Will you not have a place in the world to come if you think only the Ten Utterances were given or if Moses didn’t ascend? Well, one can go on and on about these things until breath ceases. But I know that Torah did descend from heaven—Wisdom herself from the mouth of YHWH—and Yeshua was made to be the perfect and final Wisdom and Torah of YHWH for mankind.