An *Apologetic* regarding Christmas

Though I've blogged about the general subject of the biblical holidays, and touched on Christmas (and Easter), I wanted to put a few more thoughts down for consideration. In the past I’ve used many scriptures along with reason to examine the subject. In this post, I mostly want to use reason (*apologetic*) as an appeal to think about what we all (Christians) are doing and demonstrating to those around us. We (my family) are a learning, growing family, and my desire is to share my own thoughts, concerns, ponderings and apologetics with others in the hopes of coming to solid, biblical answers. Of course this will require on your part to examine what I say in light of the scriptures, and to use reason to come to your conclusions.



With that said, I wanted to ask a few questions, and make a few points...I hope they inspire search and discovery with you, the reader(s).



I often ask the questions “why”, “how” and “what” regarding many things: “why do we do things that way”? (At work), “how does that work”?, “what are we doing this for?”, etc. I do the same regarding my spiritual walk. Why do we (Christians) do what we do? From where did some of our traditions come from? Why do I believe what I believe? And many other such questions spring forth in my mind. Do those questions ever find their way to the front of your thoughts?



Why does Christianity celebrate the birth of Jesus on December 25^th? Why do Christians put up Christmas trees? Why are both Christmas and the traditions associated with it so easily practiced by Christians and non-Christians alike? Why is it not a problem whatsoever for a Christian and a neo-Pagan to put up a tree in their home during this time? Why do both hold the 25^th of December as commemorative? We don’t see that with any of the Muslim holy days. Are Wiccans celebrating the same times and holidays as the Muslims? Are Wiccans and Jews both celebrating Passover? Are the Wiccans and Pagans celebrating the Feast of Tabernacles?



As an example, click HERE to view a pagan calendar page from the “Pagan Calendar” website. Notice that Christmas is found right in the midst of a whole slew of Pagan observances. But I find Hanukah conspicuously absent, though this year it falls during the same week as Christmas. Notice that they even commemorate Aleister Crowley’s death on the calendar – a known Satanist and child molester!



I have asked the question before, and I’ll ask it again because it is a question I have asked myself in the past, and I think it is a valid question to be asked of us Christians – If the biblical holy days (Passover, Shavuot [Pentacost in Greek], etc.) are all shadows of, and point to Jesus, then why don’t the followers of Jesus celebrate the very feasts and holy days that we KNOW speak of and point to Him?!



Colossians 2:17 is often cited to as to why Christians don’t really observe the Sabbath and feasts of the bible – because they are merely “shadows.” But all that Christianity has done is replace biblically sanctioned and God-given “shadows” that were and are meant to teach us about Messiah and His redemptive work with “shadows” that are from Pagan, false worship systems (after all, is Christmas the “reality” of the birth of Jesus?)! All that a holiday is, after all, is a celebration and/or commemoration, using foods and symbols as a means of remembering a person, persons, or event. Therefore, a holiday is a day of “shadows” – a day of signs and symbols that represent the thing meant to be remembered.



Much has been written about the subject of the birth of Jesus. 99.9% of biblical scholars know and will admit that December 25^th was and is most likely NOT the date of the birth of Jesus. And in fact, modern scholarship has stated that the Feast of Tabernacles (Sukkot) is most likely the time of His birth (there were also voices in the past that proposed this as well). Biblically, it fits. When Jesus was born on this earth, He “tabernacled” with man according to John 1:14. The book of Revelation tells us that the “tabernacle of God is with man” (Yeshua/Jesus was “all the fullness of the godhead bodily” according to Colossians 2:9 – or, in other words, Yeshua was the Tabernacle of God). There has been much study regarding this, and according to things such as the weather in Israel in December, the fact that a census was highly unlikely to be taken during the dead of winter, the timing of John the baptizer’s likely conception and birth, among other things, December 25^th was not the day that Yeshua entered this world.



As it turns out, nothing about Christmas is really about the Messiah of the bible, except in the minds and imaginations of people. And this is the most problematic issue in my opinion. Does God’s opinion matter in this? I wonder…I just can’t help but think that the power of tradition has so gripped many Christians that a serious consideration of the matter, via the word of God, has not been taken seriously by very many people. After all, traditions are family and community identifiers, and they can be profoundly powerful.



Sights, sounds, aromas, foods, family, friends. It all has such a powerful grip – and indeed, it should. All of the above are tremendous blessings, and are in and of themselves good things to look forward to and enjoy. But they can be a snare as well. God warned Israel not to follow the gods of the surrounding Nations as it would become a snare unto them.



A snare? Why?



Every people group and every religion on earth has it’s commemorations and customs. Those customs, when practiced for generations, and when one grows up in them from the time that they were born, becomes embedded within them – the sights, the sounds, the smells, the traditions, etc. These things can become so ingrained in them that it is very hard to break away from them. In many cases, that is not necessary. But sometimes, it is crucial.



I don’t think that I know of any Christian who would tell a person coming out of the Wiccan religion unto the LORD that it was ok to continue to follow the pagan calendar. That it was ok to continue to set up their pagan alter and burn incense unto Mother Nature… that they could continue to practice their Wiccan observances.  But what if the person were to say that the incense that they once burned to Mother Nature they now want to burn unto the LORD? That they want to now observe Saturnalia(1) unto Jesus (go to pagancalendar.co.uk and look at December 17, 2011)? Would we tell them that they need to put away those pagan practices?



If you would tell that person that now that they have come to Jesus for salvation they need to turn away from the pagan practices that they came out of, but you celebrate the birth of Jesus on December 25^th by putting a decorated tree in your house, and hanging mistle toe, Christmas wreaths, etc., wouldn’t that seem a bit strange? Would it be ok for the ex-Wiccan to observe the Wiccan customs in honor of Jesus if it began to be the normal practice for the next 1000 years? Would time somehow “sanctify” the customs? If Christians were to begin to celebrate the holiday of Saturnalia in honor of Jesus today, would that upset you? Should it upset Christians 1000 years from now if the practice took root and became the norm for Christians in the future? At a certain point in the past, December 25^th, and the normal customs and traditions that are practiced today by Christians in celebrating the birth of Christ, were purely pagan customs. The disciples and Apostles of Jesus didn’t celebrate Christmas, put up trees in their homes, etc. It would have been as abhorrent to them then, as it would be for a Wiccan turned Christian to start celebrating Saturnalia in honor of Jesus today, don’t you think?



My family no longer celebrates Christmas. We still honor the birth of Jesus. We still celebrate many holidays. But we now find great joy and pleasure in celebrating times and seasons that inherently speak of, point to, and give glory to Yeshua. I say inherently because the biblical feasts were created and given by God Himself, therefore the meaning of the holiday/feast derives it’s meaning from God, much like marriage. I don’t have to try to “put Christ back into Christmas” every year like we hear on Christian radio, because He’s already sitting there in the biblical feasts waiting for me! I don’t have to work to “remember the reason for the season” when celebrating Passover, for example, because the season itself is already biblically defined. I know the reason for the season because the bible tells me what that reason is! Halleluyah!



I know and am convinced that most Christians that are celebrating Christmas in honor of the birth of Christ have genuine hearts. And I do hope that everyone has a wonderful holiday season this December with their families, friends and Churches. But I hope even more that Christians would really begin to examine the things that they do in light of the scriptures, and make changes according to the word of God, rather than continue in the emotional snare of the traditions they have grown up with. I do not advocate for the complete overthrow of all traditions – but rather, for a replacement of those traditions that are contrary to God’s word with new traditions that glorify the LORD. Are practices that God once condemned as abhorrent, pagan practices no longer abhorrent to Him? And if not, then is it indeed ok for an ex Wiccan to observe Saturnalia in Honor of Jesus?



Why not celebrate the marvelous works of the LORD, not with holidays and practices that come from the pagan world with re-invented meaning (such as taking December 25^th, the ancient birth date of Mithras, along with setting up decorated trees in our homes – condemned in Jeremiah 10, etc.), but with the holidays and celebrations given by the LORD Himself? If you want to celebrate the birth of our Savior (and who wouldn’t?), then why not do it at a time that fits biblically and theologically (such as at the Feast of Tabernacles)? The Jewish world wonders why we call Jesus the Jewish Messiah, yet celebrate the birth of the one we say is their Messiah with pagan traditions, and the pagan world wants to know why we celebrate our Savior with their pagan practices! Why do they both get it, while the Christians don’t? We (Christians) worship the King of the Jews, and use pagan traditions to do so! Goodness!



There are more questions I could raise, but I think this is sufficient for now. I simply want to get people thinking. Again, I hope everyone has a wonderful holiday season, but also takes the time to really think about what it is that they are doing, and why.

(1) The following was taken from pagancalendar.co.uk:

Saturnalia
Calendar	Roman
Date	Dec 17 Every year
Description	Saturnalia is the feast at which the Romans commemorated the dedication of the temple of the god Saturn, which took place on 17 December. Over the years, it expanded to a whole week, up to 23 December. The Saturnalia was a large and important public festival in Rome. It involved the conventional sacrifices, a couch (lectisternium) set out in front of the temple of Saturn and the untying of the ropes that bound the statue of Saturn during the rest of the year. Besides the public rites there were a series of holidays and customs celebrated privately. The celebrations included a school holiday, the making and giving of small presents (saturnalia et sigillaricia) and a special market (sigillaria). Gambling was allowed for all, even slaves; however, although it was officially condoned only during this period, one should not assume that it was rare or much remarked upon during the rest of the year. It was a time to eat, drink, and be merry. The toga was not worn, but rather the synthesis, i.e. colorful, informal "dinner clothes"; and the pileus (freedman's hat) was worn by everyone. Slaves were exempt from punishment, and treated their masters with disrespect. The slaves celebrated a banquet: before, with, or served by the masters. A Saturnalicius princeps was elected master of ceremonies for the proceedings. Saturnalia became one of the most popular Roman festivals which led to more tomfoolery, marked chiefly by having masters and slaves ostensibly switch places. The banquet, for example, would often be prepared by the slaves, and they would prepare their masters' dinner as well. It was license within careful boundaries; it reversed the social order without subverting it. The customary greeting for the occasion is a "io, Saturnalia!" — io (pronounced "yo") being a Latin interjection related to "ho" (as in "Ho, praise to Saturn"). In addition, here is the description for Brumalia, a holiday celebrated on December 25: Summary Brumalia Calendar Roman Date Dec 25 Every year Description Brumalia was an ancient Roman solstice festival honoring Bacchus, generally held on 25 December and possibly related to the ancient Greek Lenaia (held in honour of Dionysus). The festival included drinking and merriment. The name is derived from the Latin word bruma, meaning "shortest day" or even "winter". The Brumalia was also celebrated during the space of thirty days, commencing on 24 November. This was instituted by Romulus, who entertained the Senate during this time. During this feast, prophetic indications were taken of the prospects for the remaining part of the winter. It also a festival annually held by Connecticut College. And finally, here is the description given for Sol Invictus, also celebrated on December 25: Dies Natalis Invicti Solis Summary Dies Natalis Invicti Solis Calendar Roman Date Dec 25 Every year Description December 25 - Dies Natalis Invicti Solis (Festival of the invincible sun God) see Sol Invictus http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sol_Invictus Sol Invictus ("the undefeated Sun") or, more fully, Deus Sol Invictus ("the undefeated sun god") was a religious title applied to at least three distinct divinities during the later Roman Empire: El Gabal, Mithras, and Sol. Unlike the earlier, agrarian cult of Sol Indiges ("the native sun" or "the invoked sun" - the etymology and meaning of the word "indiges" is disputed), the title Deus Sol Invictus was formed by analogy with the imperial titulature pius felix invictus ("dutiful, fortunate, unconquered"). A festival of the birth of the Unconquered Sun (or Dies Natalis Solis Invicti) was celebrated when the duration of daylight first begins to increase after the winter solstice, — the "rebirth" of the sun. The Sol Invictus festival ran from December 22 through December 25. Eradicating the remnants of this much-celebrated pagan holiday is likely the reason why Christmas was picked by the early Catholic leaders as the birthday of Jesus Christ.

The Torah Teaching on the Mount Part 3

 In this post we are going to be covering Matthew 5:21-48 in our “Torah Teaching on the Mount” series. Vs. 21 (IMO) is where Yeshua really begins His “teaching” – everything up to vs. 21 are His preliminary remarks to prepare the hearers (and now readers). As I said in a previous post, the “Beatitudes” really prepare the listener/reader for the things to follow as it lays out the heart/mind attitude of the subjects of the Kingdom of God.

At first glance, it appears as though Yeshua is contrasting His words against “the letter of the law.” This has been the prevailing view of Christianity (or, the majority Christians at least) throughout the centuries. It is supposed that Yeshua took the commands of the law, such as “thou shalt not commit adultery” and super ceded them with His own, “higher” law. But this is not what He was doing at all. What He was actually doing was tying the Torah together and making it a complete unit (as it was intended to be) so that one could not (and cannot) isolate the various commandments, or create loopholes for oneself, which is exactly what the teachers of the law in His day had been doing, as can be easily figured out in reading the four gospels. He rebuked the Pharisees in Mark chapter 7, for example, for “teaching for doctrines the commandments of men” and for “laying aside the commandment of God” in order to “hold the tradition of men” (Mark 7:6-9). If Yeshua rebuked the Pharisees for “laying aside the commandment of God” would He then turn around and do the same?

When Satan came to Yeshua in the wilderness and sought to tempt Him, 3 times Yeshua said “it is written….” Whenever Yeshua quoted from scripture, He always said “it is written…”, or, “have you not read…”, or, “is it not written…”, etc. But as we head into vv. 21-48, we will see that He began each subject, not with “it is written”, but with “you have heard that it was said….” This is an important point, because Yeshua did not contrast His teaching against God’s law, but rather, with the teachings and interpretations of the Teachers of the law, the Scribes and the Pharisees. Therefore, rather than the law being in contrast to Yeshua’s teaching, it is the backdrop, or bedrock for His teaching in contrast with the teachings and interpretations of the teachers of the law, the Scribes and Pharisees! (As a side note, it should be pointed out that Yeshua did not contend against everything that the Scribes and Pharisees, and the teachers of the law taught – He only contended against those teachings and interpretations that were contrary to God’s word.)

So, having said all of that, let us begin…

In vv. 21-26, Yeshua began with an understanding of the commandment not to kill (lit. “murder”) that was the prevailing thought and interpretation of His day among the teachers of Israel. Apparently there really was no issue with “being angry without a cause” (or in other words, being unjustifiably angry). Apparently it was an acceptable behavior to be angry “without a cause” and, or to call one another “raca” (which is Aramaic, roughly translated as “empty head” – or, as we would probably put it – idiot), or “you fool.” This type of mindset/attitude, however, is the seedbed for worse things – yes, even murder. It doesn’t mean that everyone that is angry without a cause is going to murder someone, but certainly murder stems from a previous disdain/anger/outrage that would lend one to call another “idiot” (take road rage for example, which has, more than once I might add, ended in someone getting killed. How often are the words “you idiot”, or worse, uttered from the mouth of one driver toward another!). The person who has “good will” toward others is not the likely candidate to murder others! But more than this, Yeshua was drawing upon an obviously overlooked, if not completely ignored commandment in the law that obviously found no correlation to the command not to murder in the teachings and interpretations of the teachers of the law in Yeshua’s day, the which, to violate, was not considered even remotely connected to the 6^th of the 10 commandments.

Yeshua knew that the second of the “two greatest commandments” was and is “love thy neighbor as thyself” (Lev. 19:18). But He, being Himself the original law giver, knew what the verse just prior to the second great commandment said/says: “…Thou shalt not hate thy brother in thine heart” (Lev. 19:17). One cannot “love thy neighbor as thyself” while at the same time “hat[ing] thy brother in thine heart!” Furthermore, you hate your brother in your heart, you are all the closer to doing damage to your “brother” (neighbor), with the ultimate damage being that of murder (and “murder can be extended to many levels – actual, physical murder, character murder, etc.). Our tendency is to justify ourselves by saying “well, I’ve never murdered anyone” even though we might be full of hate and unjustified anger in our hearts toward others.

Yeshua did not super cede, or even simply add to the 6^th commandment with a “higher” law”, because the commandment was already IN the law! He simply took away our ability to isolate commandments in order to justify our behavior. He contradicted the teaching and interpretations of the teachers of the law by taking them straight back to the law!

Yeshua then went on to the issue of Adultery. Again, He didn’t begin by saying “It is written…”, but rather, with “Ye have heard that it hath been said….” But isn’t it written “Thou shalt not commit adultery” (Ex. 20:14)? So then, why didn’t He say something like “It is written…but I say…?” Because Yeshua was not addressing the written command in His teaching, but the interpretation “…of them of old time.” Again, I want to re-state that Yeshua did not contrast His teaching against the law of Moses, but against the teachings of “them of old time.” We can get an idea of what may have been going on in some of the teachings and interpretations that were the common understanding in His day because several times throughout the Gospels we read where Yeshua spoke against the Scribes and Pharisees for setting aside the commandments of God for the sake of their traditions. Yeshua simply took them back to the commandments of God: “But I say unto you, that whosoever looketh upon a woman to lust after her hath committed adultery with her already in his heart.” “But where is this commandment written?” You ask. “Wasn’t Yeshua taking the simple written commandment to a “higher” level, the higher “law of Christ”? No. Let me ask a simple question: what is the 10^th of the 10 Commandments? “Thou shalt not covet…thy neighbors wife….” In Romans 7: 7 Paul says the following: “…for I had not known lust, except the law had said, Thou shalt not covet.” In Romans chapter 7, did Paul say that while he knew that adultery was wrong, but then came to realize that lust was also wrong because Yeshua taught us a “higher law?” No – Paul said that he knew lust was wrong because the Law said so!

Perhaps the dominant teaching at the time of Yeshua permitted, or, at least winked at lust. Whatever the case may be, Yeshua did not introduce something new and “higher”, He simply took them back to the plain written word, and contradicted with His teaching that which the people had heard ‘by them of old time.” Again, we can see clearly that Yeshua’s intent is to counter previously held teachings because He creates the contrast in this way: “ye have heard it was said by them of old time…but I say unto you….”

Human tendency is to minimize our own failings by pointing out the bad things we don’t do: “well, at least I never murdered anyone.” “Ok, so I look at porn, at least I’ve never committed adultery.” Yeshua’s point was that the same law which said “do not commit adultery” also said (and says still) “you shall not covet (lust for) your neighbors wife.” And if the story of the man from Samaria giving aid to the man fallen among thieves gives us a clue as to who our “neighbor” is, then it is not a far stretch to say that we should not “covet” anyone’s wife!

The sentiment of connecting commandments is also found in the writings of  James as well. In James 2:10,11 we read “For whosoever shall keep the whole law, and yet offend in one point, he is guilty of all. For that He said ‘do not commit adultery’ said also ‘do not kill. Now, if thou commit no adultery, yet if thou kill, thou art become a transgressor of the law.” If one is a “transgressor of the law”, then naturally, one is a law-breaker. A man with a heart full of lust may not be in violation of man’s law – but he is certainly in violation of God’s law! The same law condemns both the physical act of adultery AND the adulterous thoughts of a person. Yeshua did not need to give us any “higher” law – we already have it in stone! But, as the NT often points out, a law of stone and a heart of stone will produce nothing. We need a living Torah, written on a heart of flesh to see life! This is what Yeshua was demonstrating.

In the two previous instances, the issue of murder and the issue of adultery, Yeshua did not give us any new, higher law – He did not need to. He simply took the “law of the LORD” which is “perfect” (cf. Psalm 19:7) and “ma[de] it honorable” (cf. Isaiah 42:21).

We will leave it here for now, and pick up with Matt. 5:31 and following next time. Until then, “study to shew thyself approved unto God…” (2 Tim. 2:15).

Blessings and Peace in Yeshua (Jesus).

180 movie - Wow!

If you have not taken the time to watch "180 Movie" then please do so now.

This is a report of the progress of this movie thus far - OUTSTANDING!

America's Final Days

I just wanted to link to John McTernan's latest post, as he  is good at bringing out current events and presenting them to us. Please take the time to read.

Endure....

Yom Kippur

Just a note to inform (or remind, whichever the case may be) that Yom Kippur (The Day of Atonement) begins this evening at sundown, and goes until tomorrow (Sat.) evening until sundown. A time to fast, pray, and if you are a believer in Yeshua (Jesus) the Messiah, THANK the LORD for the atonement we have through Yeshua!

Some scriptures to read tonight and tomorrow:
Lev. 16
Hebrews (all of it, as one of the main themes revolves around the Yom Kippur service)

Blessings and peace,

.j.

The Torah Teaching on the Mount, Part 2...

In the last post we covered Matthew chapter 5, verses 1-16, so we will pick up in this post with verse 17 and cover through verse 20. To recap part 1, we saw that Yeshua was bringing the attributes of the Kingdom of God, or rather, the attributes of the people of God that had already been portrayed throughout the Tenakh to the forefront of His listeners minds. He knew that they were already familiar with the scriptures to one degree or another, and they would easily equate the attributes that Yeshua covered (the poor in spirit, the meek, those that mourn, etc.) with the appropriate sections of scripture. It would also serve to set the standard for the rest of His teaching, as He would be countering the prevailing interpretations of His day with that of His own. He wanted the mind/heart attitudes of the people to be primed for His teaching by causing them to "zakar" ("remember" by way of bringing a known element to the forefront of the mind) those same attitudes/attributes from the scriptures.

So now, as Yeshua is about to go into His teaching, He sets a caveat right at the beginning: "Think not that I am come to destroy the law, or the prophets...." This particular statement (and really, verses 17-20) has seen much debate, and varied interpretations. Some have sought to demonstrate that Yeshua came to do the very thing that He just said He came NOT to do - to destroy the law (usually by saying that He "fulfilled" the law so that it no longer need be observed or obeyed,or that He replaced it with the "law of Christ"). They point out that Yeshua said that He came to "fulfill" the law, and so now that it has been fulfilled, it is no longer relevant to our lives. But Yeshua contrasted His purpose of "fulfilling" the law with what He did not come to do -destroy it! So, to fulfill it cannot mean to do anything that would diminish it, or remove it's validity in the lives of God's people. To "fulfill" means to accomplish, as well as, to interpret correctly. To "destroy" is to disfigure, mis-interpret, and mis-apply it. Satan's temptation of Yeshua in the wilderness was a good example of "destroying" the "law". He quoted from it (from Psalm 90), but he misapplied it in an attempt to get Yeshua to "test" God. Satan was far more subtle here with the Son of Man than he was with Eve when He outright denied the outcome of what God had said. Yeshua did not come to remove, diminish, or mi-interpret the Tenakh in any way.

When Yeshua said that He came to "fulfill" the law, He intended to "fill full" the law with it's intended sense, heart and meaning. Isaiah 42:21 says "The LORD is well pleased for His righteousness sake; He will magnify the law and make it honorable." This is exactly what Yeshua meant when He said that He came to "fulfill" the law. We see also that He did not intend to give us a "higher" law to the negation of the law of Moses because He said "Whosoever therefore shall break one of these least commandments, and shall teach men so, shall be called least in the Kingdom of Heaven." It is clear by verses 19-20 that Yeshua expected His followers to obey the law. The rest of His teaching is meant to show how to do it God's way. He was about to challenge the prevailing interpretations of His day, and hence, verses 17-20 are His declaration to the people that, rather than coming to destroy the law, He was about to bring it to it's fullest clarity.

So, Yeshua has now brought to the forefront of our minds the heart attitude that should be characteristic of God's people - the characteristics that had been given throughout the Tenakh, and now drawn out and presented to the people by Yeshua. He then reminded them that the people of God should be clearly visible to all by the attitude of their heart, demonstrated through their actions. He then prepared them to receive the pure teaching of the Torah (law), which had been bent out of shape, so-to-speak, by the prevailing interpretations of the teachers of Israel.

In the next post we will begin to get into the specific teachings and interpretations of the Torah by Yeshua. Until then, may the LORD bless and keep you.

The Torah Teaching on the Mount, Part 1...

Or, more popularly known as the "Sermon on the Mount." So, why did I title this the "Torah Teaching on the Mount?" Well, I hope to show you shortly. ;-) This teaching will actually be a multi-part entry as it will be rather lengthy. At this point I'm not sure how many parts this will take, but we'll see as we go. I will be covering Matthew chapters 5-7, and I hope to draw out some things that you have not seen, nor most likely considered before. Of course, my main goal is be be as biblical as possible, though obviously any explanation of the scriptures by anyone is an interpretation. However, I hope this will be a blessing to you none-the-less.

It has been taught for a long time now by many Christian teachers and Pastors that the "Sermon on the Mount" is one of the greatest teachings/passages of scripture in the bible - and indeed, it is! It has also been taught that Yeshua replaced the "letter of the law" with a much "higher", or "loftier" law, one that surpassed the law of Moses. However, I am going to show that this section of scripture should really be called the "Torah Teaching on the Mount" because rather than teaching some new, "higher" law, Yeshua was taking the pure word of God, which had been interpreted and parceled out by the "teachers of the law", and instead, taught the word of God the way it was intended, and with it's intended meaning. We will soon see that this was Yeshua's own stated goal when we get to chapter 5 verses 17-20.

Yeshua did not teach anything that was and is not already written - to do so would have been to violate Deuteronomy 12:32; Proverbs 30:5,6 and Revelation 22:18. Rather, He countered the prevailing "interpretations" of the law in His day, and interpreted the Torah/law the way that was meant to be taught, as I stated above. I trust that this will become clear as we move forward.

Matt. 5:1,2
     Yeahua saw a multitude of people, so He took the opportunity to teach them. Verse 2 let's us know that what is to follow is not something new, per se, but rather, is a teaching on what is already written: "And He opened His mouth, and taught them, saying...."
Matt. 5:3-16
     Verse 3-16 are commonly referred to as the "Beatitudes." This section of His teaching sets the stage for all that is to follow, as it deals first and foremost with the heart. Each "beatitude" is just that - the "attitude" that should "be" in the followers of Yeshua. Each beatitude deals with a heart issue and/or mindset. Repentance is to turn around, or, to go in the opposite direction than the way one was going before. But it starts with the heart and mind. If the heart/mind is changed, the actions will follow. So, the heart issues of the Kingdom are given to us as follows:

-Blessed are the poor in spirit...
     We see great exapmles of this type of person in the Psalms.
        *Psalm 51:17 - We see the person with a broken spirit.
        *Psalm 10:14 - The poor "committeth himself", or, entrusts himself to God. They don't trust in    their own strength - they trust in the LORD.
        *Psalm 34:6 - "This poor man cried [out], and the LORD heard and saved him." The poor in spirit cry out unto their God - the proud do not.
        *Psalm 86:1 - The "poor" recognize their need. The proud do not. David, who wrote these particular Psalms, was in every case speaking of being poor in spirit. David was poor in spirit, and we are told in the scriptures that he was a man after God's own heart. Because David was poor in spirit, he sought the LORD and put all of his trust in God.

-Blessed are they that mourn...
     Isaiah 61:1,2 - We see in just these two verses alone that those that mourn are equated with the broken hearted and the meek. In fact, Yeshua was very likely alluding to these verses when He said "blessed are they that mourn.

-Blessed are the meek...
     We see that in Isaiah 61:1 that the "meek" were to receive "good tidings." But more directly, Yeshua is quoting Psalm 37:11. Again, meekness is a heart/mind issue. How much "meekness" do we see in Hollywood, Wallstreet, Professional Sports, American Idol, Dancing With the Stars, etc.?

-Blessed are they which do hunger and thirst after righteousness...
     *Isaiah 55:1 says "Ho, everyone that thirsteth, come to the waters...." We know that this is speaking of spiritual thirst because verse 2 says "...and let your soul delight itself in fatness."
     *Isaiah 65:13 - The LORD's "servants shall eat...[and] shall drink...." We can see that this again is spiritually speaking because the context of the surrounding verses indicate that those that "shall be hungry" were/are those that "did not hear, but did evil...."
     *To hunger and thirst for righteousness is to desire the ways of the LORD.

-Blessed are the merciful...
     *2 Sam. 22 is actually another Psalm of David. Verse 26 says "with the merciful thou wilt show thyself merciful...." Of course, we can see that God is merciful many times throughout the scriptures, and that mercy is shown to the merciful.

-Blessed are the pure in heart...
     *In both2 Sam. 22:27 and Psalm 18:26 we are told that "with the pure thou wilt show thyself pure." In other words, just like Yeshua said "the pure in heart shall see God (ie. God will show Himself....)

-Blessed are the peacemakers...
     *The scriptures that speak of those that seek peace, to dwell in peace, the peace of others, etc. are too numerous to recount here. But suffice it to say, the concept of God's people being people of peace, or rather, are peacemakers is a well established concept throughout the Tenakh (OT).

What Yeshua is doing here in the first 9 verses or so is setting up for the rest of His teaching. In the Tenakh, the most common word translated as "remember" (as in "remember the Sabbath day" for example) is the Hebrew word "zakar." The word zakar can mean to "remember" something that was forgot (such as is the common usage of the word remember today, as in "oh, I just remembered"), but also has a richer, wider meaning.It means to bring something to the forefront of your mind. For example, an engineer, when at home or at leisure doesn't "forget" the necessary mathematical equations he needs to use when calculating specs on a design, but they aren't at the forefront of his mind when he is watching a football game, or when he is out fishing. But when he is working on a design, he then brings the necessary formulas to the front of his mind. When he does this he is fulfilling the second meaning of "zakar" that I shared above.  He didn't remember something that he forgot, he purposely brought information from the back of his mind to the front. He is directing his attention to it. So, when we read that "God remembered Noah..." in Genesis for example, what it means in Hebrew is that God directed His attention toward Noah. - he made Noah the object of His attention. And this is what Yeshua was doing in the Beatitudes. He was drawing from various sections of the Tenakh (OT) attributes which make up the heart/mind of the servants of God. He began His teaching by first bringing to the forefront of the peoples minds the attributes that God sees as most important. "Poor in spirit" can more easily be converted into "rich in faith" than pride can. The poor in spirit, those that mourn (over sin), the meek, the pure in heart, peacemakers - these are the ones that are more apt to "hear" and "do" (indeed, "Hear O Israel [with the intent to do]...). Yeshua was and is setting up the hearers for the rest of His teaching.

Yeshua went on to say that if you follow the LORD, it should and would be clearly seen by all (in verses 13-16) - "Ye are the light of the world." It is to be through those whose hearts are that of the previous 12 verses,and whose actions are as the remainder of His teaching (chapters 5:21-7:27) that the world will "glorify [the] Father which is in heaven."

That is all for this post. In the next (Part 2), we will begin at chapter 5 verse 17 and get into the meat of the teaching. I think we will see some interesting things that will tie the scriptures together, both those in the Tenakh, and those later in the New Testament.

Until then, may the blessings of the LORD be upon you.