Download Messianic Judaism – Substance and Form

Messianic Judaism – Substance and Form
As I look out over our fellowship this today, I see more new faces than when I
saw on the first Yom Teruah we celebrated at the Chinese Alliance Congregation
Building, in 2011. It was then I began a series of messages which outlined and
explained Messianic Judaism and the substance and form of worship by Messianic
Jews and Gentiles. Now, three years later, I believe it is time to turn the wheel
and once more provide a teaching message or series of messages, which will help
all of us and particularly the newer among us to understand who, why and how
we worship within the kippah, the cover of Messianic Judaism.
Pray for the growth of understanding and insight through today’s message.
I have no idea how many messages will be required for this teaching; Adonai
Elohim guided me to this focus through the concern of others; however, He did
not show me the complete direction He wishes us to travel. He’s like that, you
know. I firmly believe Adonai’s middle name is Hafta’ah, Surprise.
One of the most frequent questions I am asked by those in the Church is: why
Messianic Judaism? There is always the underlying subtext, don’t Jewish people
follow Judaism? How can non-Jews observe Judaism?
This question is inevitable and understandable, given the reality of the Church
having lost connection with its Hebraic roots. One only need go to Rav Sha’ul’s
epistles to understand the original spiritual direction of Gentile Believers in the 1st
Century was Judaism and the hub of worship was the Synagogue. There are other
questions which emerge along this same track. One of the more insidious asks:
Are there not different promises given to Jewish and Gentile Believers in God?
This question implies the provision of different promises to Jewish Believers in
Adonai Yeshua than were given to Gentile Believers, based on one’s ethnicity.
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However, let us take a step back and consider the source of our spiritual
relationship with Adonai Elohim Tzivaot. The Apostle John told us very clearly,
recorded in John 1, But to as many as did receive him, to those who put their trust
in his person and power, he gave the right to become children of God, not because
of bloodline, physical impulse or human intention, but because of God. (John
1:12,13) We come into the family of the Living God, not by ethnicity, culture or
even our human desire, but through supernatural birth brought about by the will
of Adonai Elohim. It is understood, as Rav Sha’ul claims, in Romans 1, the Good
News of Adonai Yeshua is designed for the Jews first and then to the nations. We
would benefit greatly by taking into our hearts his clear statement - For I am not
ashamed of the Good News, since it is God’s powerful means of bringing salvation
to everyone who keeps on trusting, to the Jew first, and then to the Greek.
(Romans 1:16)
Adonai Yeshua made it very clear to Jewish people of His day and ours, who
then and now reject Him as Messiah, If you obey what I say, then you are really
my talmidim, you will know the truth, and the truth will set you free. (John 8:31)
However, when they countered with We are the seed of Avraham and have never
been slaves to anyone; so what do you mean by saying, ‘You will be set free’?, (John
8:33) our Messiah’s response clearly informed them, If you are children of
Avraham, then do the things Avraham did! As it is, you are out to kill me, a man
who has told you the truth which I heard from God. Avraham did nothing like
that! You are doing the things your father does. (John 8:39-41) Then He hit them
with what is the heart of our understanding today, If God were your Father, you
would love me; because I came out from God; and now I have arrived here. I did
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not come on My own; He sent Me. (John 8:42) I believe this statement clearly
calls lie to the heresy of Dual Covenant Theology – that belief which claims the
Gospel need not be shared with Jewish people, since they will automatically be
saved by being Adonai’s Chosen People. But we are drifting away from the focus
of today’s message.
In Acts 18, we receive a clear message indicating to us the Synagogue was the
spiritual home for both Jews and Greeks, the Gentiles of the day. Listen to the
message, Sha’ul also began carrying on discussions every Shabbat in the
synagogue, where he tried to convince both Jews and Greeks. (Acts 18:4) Why
were there Greeks worshiping in the synagogues with Jews? Most church-based
commentaries claim the Greeks who were in the synagogue were Jewish
Proselytes, that is, Greek converts to Judaism. I contend this was and is not
accurate and is a thinly veiled form of anti-Semitism. How do we know this is not
accurate? Let’s travel to Galatia, the eastern province of what is now Turkey,
then Acacia, and read how Paul handled attempts by Jewish converts from
Jerusalem to convert Gentile Believers to Judaism. His most damning statement
may be seen in Galatians 3: You stupid Galatians! Who has put you under a spell?
Before your very eyes Yeshua the Messiah was clearly portrayed as having been put
to death as a criminal! I want to know from you just this one thing: did you
receive the Spirit by legalistic observance of Torah commands or by trusting in
what you heard and being faithful to it? (Galatians 3:1,2) Clearly, the Greek
believers in Adonai Elohim/Adonai Yeshua had not converted to Judaism and
were warned by Rav Sha’ul of the dangers of doing so. However, they still
practiced Judaism within the synagogue and within their homes, even though
they were not Jewish. How can that be?
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During the 1st Century, there were many sects of what was known as Judaism.
There were those who followed the Pharisees, adherents of the theology of Hillel,
who believed in a resurrected life and in the coming of Messiah, those who
followed the Sadducees, adherents of Shammai’ s theology, who did not believe
in the resurrection of the dead nor in the coming of Messiah; then there were the
Essenes, a smaller sect of very religious Jews who lived as monks and who
believed in Messiah’s coming and the resurrection of the dead; the Zealots, called
HaKanai, perceived themselves to be the warriors of God and fought against any
foreign occupation of the Holy Land, such as the Romans. Finally we have the
Nazarenes, the followers of the Nazarite, Adonai Yeshua, whose practice was
called HaDerekh, the Way. It was quite natural, at the time, for non-believing
Jews to regard the Nazarenes as just another, if not weird, sect of Judaism. The
term Christian evolved from the Greek Cristianos, meaning followers of Messiah,
and was the Greek equivalent to Nazarenes. Indeed, in many communities
throughout Asia Minor, the term Sunagógé Cristianos, Assembly of the followers
of Messiah, was commonly used.
Although unpleasant, it is important we follow the history of the relationship
between Messianic Jews and Gentiles, for flowing from this history is the
understanding of our place in the world, as Messianic Believers. From this history
we notice one very startling marker – the reaction of Rome. During the time Rav
Sha’ul was beginning his ministry, the Emperor Claudius expelled all Jews from
Rome; they came to Corinth and Galatia and joined the Jews who had settled
there many years earlier, following their release from Assyria and Babylon.
However, Rome had allowed the Jewish people to practice their religion,
relatively unscathed, until the rule of Hadrian. This meant Jewish believers in
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Messiah were free to worship Adonai Yeshua openly, until the rebellions of 70
and 132 CE. However, Greek believers were not so fortunate. The religion of
Rome, very similar in form to the religion of Egypt, was a state religion. This had
enormous implications to non-Jewish believers, who were considered to be
citizens of Rome, unlike most Jews. A Roman citizen who practiced Messianic
Judaism, was considered to be a threat to Rome and, therefore, charged with
treason. All the stories we hear of Christians being thrown into the Coliseum,
with both gladiators and wild animals, were mainly Gentile Believers. Thus, the
division began to form between Gentile and Jewish Believers quite early in our
history. This division was heightened by the early church fathers, who being
mainly Greek, attempted to break ties completely with their Jewish brothers.
Here are two letters from Church Fathers which exemplify this division. First we
have Ignatius, the Bishop of Antioch, who around 100 CE wrote: For if we are still
practicing Judaism, we admit that we have not received God’s favor…it is wrong
to talk about Jesus Christ and live like Jews. For Christianity did not believe in
Judaism, but Judaism in Christianity. (Epistle to the Magnesians) Then we
observe a similar trend in the writings of Origin of Alexandria, one of the early
fathers of the church who was instrumental in the foundation of current Christian
practice: We may thus assert in utter confidence that the Jews will not return to
their earlier situation, for they have committed the most abominable of crimes, in
forming this conspiracy against the Savior of the human race…hence the city
where Jesus suffered was necessarily destroyed, the Jewish nation was driven from
its country, and another people was called by God to the blessed election. (c. 250
CE)
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Following the course of separation between Jewish and Gentile Believers, we
come to Martin Luther who, although once a supporter of the Jewish people,
became disillusioned with them, when they didn’t flock to Christianity, after he
published his manifesto and created a protestant division within the existing
Roman Church. Listen to his diatribe against the Jewish people, including Jewish
believers, in his book: The Jews and their Lies: What then shall we Christians do
with this damned, rejected race of Jews? Since they live among us and we know
about their lying and blasphemy and cursing, we can not tolerate them if we do not
wish to share in their lies, curses, and blasphemy…. First, their synagogues should
be set on fire, and whatever does not burn up should be covered or spread over with
dirt so that no one may ever be able to see a cinder or stone of it…. Secondly, their
homes should likewise be broken down and destroyed. For they perpetrate the same
things there that they do in their synagogues…. Thirdly, they should be deprived of
their prayer-books and Talmuds in which such idolatry, lies, cursing, and
blasphemy are taught…. Fourthly, their rabbis must be forbidden under threat of
death to teach any more... Fifthly, passport and traveling privileges should be
absolutely forbidden to the Jews. (1543) Luther sums his rant with, Such a
desperate, thoroughly evil, poisonous, and devilish lot are these Jews, who for these
fourteen hundred years have been and still are our plague, our pestilence, and our
misfortune.
The reverberations of this division early and into the middle of the histories of
Christianity and Messianic Judaism may be felt today. Many, if not most, of
Christian denominations believe Messianic Judaism is an aberration, really not
Christian at all. If a Jew wishes to worship Christ Jesus, then he needs to do so in
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the church and renounce his Judaism, as I was told to do so when I first came to
faith, those many years ago. The same exists within rabbinic Judaism. If a Jew
becomes a believer in Messiah, he is thought to have renounced Judaism and is
considered dead to the community.
Modern Messianic Judaism found its beginning within the spiritual journey of
Rabbi Leopold Cohen, who, in 1894, was led to the understanding of Adonai
Yeshua being the Jewish Messiah and, with some Gentile believers, began the
Brownsville Mission to the Jews, the first of many ministries focused on bringing
Jews to their Mashiach, their Messiah. The Brownsville Mission eventually
became Chosen People Ministries.
A Messianic Believer today is one who follows the four distinct pillars of
Messianic Judaism, the relationship created by Adonai Elohim Tzivaot/Adonai
Yeshua. These include:
1. The truth of Adonai Yeshua our Messiah, our Saviour, who willingly
offered His body as a sacrifice for all mankind, opening the way for those
who confess their sins, repent of a sinful life, offer restitution to those
whom he has hurt and ask Adonai Elohim to fill his heart with Ruach
HaKadosh, the Holy Spirit, to enter into eternal relations with the Ruler of
the universe and the Lover of our souls. This reality is shared with us by
Rav Sha’ul in John 14: I AM (HaDerekh) the Way — and (HaEmet) the
Truth and (HaChai) the Life; no one comes to the Father except through me.
(John 14:6)
2. The Torah consists of the Life Instructions of our Beloved Abba designed to
help us lead Chai Tzadik, a Holy Life, a life set-apart for Him. These form
the boundaries or markers by which we may know we are in right
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relationship with Him. David, in his psalms, often wrote and expressed his
delight in following Torah. Listen to this outpouring of love, found in Psalm
119: How I love your Torah! I meditate on it all day. I am wiser than my
foes, because your mitzvot are mine forever. I have more understanding
than all my teachers, because I meditate on your instruction. (Psalm 119:9799) We must be very clear, though; following these life instructions will
not bring us salvation. Indeed, following Torah legalistically will remove
from us grace and the promises which flow from Adonai’s Grace.
3. Shabbat is the Lord’s Day of Rest. This is commanded of us from the very
beginning: Genesis 2 tells us, God blessed the seventh day and separated it
as holy; because on that day God rested from all his work which he had
created, so that it itself could produce. (Genesis 2:2,3) The mitzvah is
repeated in Exodus 20: Remember the day, Shabbat, to set it apart for
God. You have six days to labor and do all your work, but the seventh day
is a Shabbat for ADONAI your God. (Exodus 20:8,-10)
4. The Feasts of the Lord. There are seven major Feast of the Lord. These
are a. Shabbat, b. Rosh Chodesh (Festival of the New Moon). c. Pesach
(Passover), d. Shavuot (Pentecost), e. Yom Teruah (Rosh Hashanah/New
Year), Yom Kippur (Day of Atonement) and Sukkot (Festival of Booths).
These feasts and His instructions for following them may be found in
Leviticus 23. Contrary to public mythology, these are neither the Feasts of
Israel nor exclusively the Feasts of the Jewish People. Clearly they are
Feasts of Adonai Elohim and, as such, belong to all believers in our Beloved
God.
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I now understand many of us here today, although we understand some
aspects of Messianic Judaism, lack an intimate knowledge and understanding of
the markers or boundaries of Messianic Judaism. Thus, future messages will deal
with these. But for now, Beloved, recognize we all are on a journey of exploration
of the breadth and depth of our faith-based relationship with the One who loves
us beyond all our understanding, who gave Himself for us in order to have an
eternal relationship. Let us celebrate this reality with songs of praise and with
prayers of thanksgiving each and every day.
Prayer of thanksgiving for all the grace, blessings and mercies flowing to us,
from the Love Adonai Elohim/Adonai Yeshua has for us.
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