Discovering The Jewish Jesus

Rabbi K.A. Schneider: God bless you and Shalom, beloved ones. Now this series is a little bit more intellectual and doctrinal than a lot of the things that I've brought you before, but it will really help you to understand how the whole Bible fits together. I think you're going to gain information about how the Old and New Testaments fit together like a hand in a glove as we examine, beloved ones, the three primary covenants in the word of God, both the Old and New Testaments.

We're going to be looking at the Abrahamic Covenant, the Mosaic Covenant, and the New Covenant. These are the primary covenants in the Bible. There are other covenants, but these three, the Abrahamic Covenant, the Mosaic Covenant, and the New Covenant, are the primary covenants that God has built his relationship with his people upon. Let's begin today just by inviting Father God in that he'll use me and that he'll prepare you to accomplish everything that he wants to do in our lives through this broadcast.

Father God, we love you today and we worship you today. You said if we would acknowledge you in all our ways, that you would direct our paths. Father, we love you. We ask you to come in now and, Father, use my ministry to build your kingdom in the lives of all your precious ones. We love you, Father, in Jesus' name.

We'll begin now with the Abrahamic Covenant. I want you to understand the Abrahamic Covenant was made with Abraham and came upon all believers in Jesus as a result of Abraham coming into a relationship with God by faith before there was any law. In the book of Galatians, we read that the blessing of Abraham has come upon all believers in Christ Jesus, and the covenant that came into Abraham's life was based on his faith. God spoke to him and he believed.

Because he believed, it was counted to him as righteous. In other words, God looked at Abraham as a righteous man, a man that was right with him. That's what righteousness means, someone that's right with God because Abraham believed God. Now, when Abraham believed God, church, he did it before there was any law, before there was any Torah, before there was any written or oral law. It was based only on faith. God spoke to Abraham and Abraham believed God, and God said it was counted to him as righteous.

When Abraham believed God, when Abraham heard God's voice and believed, his faith translated into action. We read, for example, in the book of James that real faith corresponds to action. Sometimes in the Christian faith, people have a theology of faith but they think that just believing the right things is enough. But biblically speaking, real faith, as is evidenced all the way back to the life of Abraham, always correlates to action.

James said, you show me your faith without your works, but I'm going to show you my faith by my works, because faith without works is dead. In other words, when we really believe God, which is the basis that we enter into a relationship with him, our belief is going to translate into action. Let's consider this a little further. We're talking about the same principles, but we're going to dissect them a little bit. I said that Abraham believed God beginning in Genesis 15, and then we see it for the scriptures that we're going to look at today.

Then we'll also look at Genesis 22. Abraham's faith then brought him into intimacy with the Lord. When we study most of the Torah, most of the Torah deals with Israel after they'd received the law. In other words, God calls Israel to be his people, and then he brings them out of Egypt to Mount Sinai, where he gives them the law, the Ten Commandments.

Through most of what we call the Torah or the Pentateuch, the first five books of our Bible, what we see is the laws of God and Israel then walking in these laws and God holding them accountable to walk in the laws. But Abraham had a relationship with God before the laws ever came. Abraham was not with Israel when they went to Mount Sinai. Abraham was not alive during the time of Moses.

There was no law when Abraham entered into right relationship with God. There was neither a written law, that's the written word of God that we find once again beginning to be revealed when God brings Israel to Mount Sinai in Exodus, and then it continues in Leviticus, Numbers, and Deuteronomy. There was no written law, neither was there within Israel's history, an oral law.

I know that when I speak that term, oral law, that some of us don't know exactly what that means. This is fascinating. Rabbinic Judaism today, as well as the Pharisees of Jesus' day, believed both in the written law of God, which once again is contained in the Old Testament, as well as an oral law. The oral law, according to the Jewish people of Jesus' day and Rabbinic Judaism today, was supposedly a law that Moses received when he was on top of Mount Sinai during that same point in history where he received the Ten Commandments, which were part of the written law.

But what the oral law teaches, what people that believe in the oral law believe is that Moses didn't just receive on top of Mount Sinai the written law, but he also received many more laws, people believe, that he didn't write down. Rather than writing them down, they believe Moses passed them down orally, first to the seventy elders of Israel, and then the seventy elders of Israel passed it on and it was then passed down to each succeeding generation.

Eventually, Rabbinic Judaism today teaches that this oral law was written down in what is called the Mishnah and then the commentary on it called the Talmud. Today, when rabbis are preparing for the rabbinate, when they're at rabbinical school, they study much of the oral law. Not just the written law, but they spend a lot of time studying the oral law. Let's take a look at Mark chapter 7.

It's going to help you to understand a little bit further what I'm referring to when I speak of this oral law. Again, we're speaking here of the Abrahamic Covenant and I'm just making the point that Abraham entered into this relationship with God before there was a law, either written or oral. This is fascinating stuff. I hope you enjoy it. It's a bit informative, but there is an application for your life that we're going to get to today. Let's look once again at Mark chapter 7.

The Pharisees and some of the scribes gathered around him, speaking of Jesus, when they had come from Jerusalem and had seen that some of his disciples were eating their bread with impure hands, that is, unwashed. For the Pharisees and all the Jews do not eat unless they carefully wash their hands, thus observing the tradition of the elders. That's a key phrase, this phrase here, the tradition of the elders, in Mark chapter 7, verse 3.

This phrase, the tradition of the elders, refers back to the time of Moses, when Moses brought the elders of Israel together. What Rabbinic Jews and Orthodox Jews believe today is that Moses passed down this tradition that he received from the Father on top of Mount Sinai called the tradition. He passed it on to the elders. What they believe today is that this oral law, this tradition of the elders, helps us to better understand the written law.

For example, we read in the written law about the Sabbath, Thou shalt keep the Sabbath holy and not work on the Sabbath. But the question becomes, well, what's work? We're not supposed to work on the Sabbath. We read about that in the written word of God. But then those that want to be serious about keeping a day of rest and not working, then ask themselves, well, what's considered work?

Is it considered work if I go to the lake five miles from my home with my dog and I throw a frisbee and play with my dog? Is that work? Or is it work if I go into my garage and I start working on my woodwork there because I like to make things out of wood? What Orthodox Jews today believe, and this went all the way back to the time of Jesus that I just read about in Mark 7, is that Moses passed down to the seventy elders of Israel the specifics of how to keep the written law.

These specifics are known as the oral law, which is referred to in the New Testament as the tradition of the elders. Let's look at what Jesus, this is a bit of a side note, but I just want to teach you this. Let's look at what Jesus taught about this supposed oral law. Is the oral law really from God? Did Moses really receive it at Mount Sinai, like the Pharisees of Jesus' day believed? Like the Orthodox Jewish community today believe?

Let's look at what Jesus taught about it. Verse number 4, and when they had come from the marketplace, they do not eat unless they cleanse themselves. There are many other things which they have received in order to observe, such as the washing of cups and pitchers and copper pots. This is what's considered here part of the oral law. The Pharisees and the scribes asked him, why do your disciples not walk according to the oral law tradition of the elders?

They believed that this was given to Moses on Mount Sinai, passed down to the seventy elders and that it's still in force today. Why do they not observe, they asked Jesus, the tradition of the elders, and why do they eat the bread with impure hands, which is part of this oral law or tradition of the elders? Notice what Jesus said. Rightly did Isaiah prophesy of you hypocrites, as it is written, this people honors me with their lips, but their heart is far from me.

But in vain do they worship me, teaching as doctrines, teaching this as if it's a thus saith the Lord type of word because remember, the Pharisees of Jesus' day were teaching that this oral law, which tells the Jews not to eat with impure hands, about how to wash pots and cups. Jesus said, you're teaching this as if it's a doctrine of God, when Jesus said, it's just the tradition of men. Jesus says in verse number 7, in vain do they worship me, teaching as doctrines the precepts of men.

Neglecting the commandment of God, he said, you hold to the traditions of men. Today, one of the challenges that Orthodox Jews have with Messianic Jewish believers like myself, a Jew that believes that Jesus is the Messiah, is that we don't put weight on the oral law as they do. As a Jewish believer in Jesus, I don't put a lot of weight on this oral law, this tradition of the elders.

I do believe that there were things that Moses did pass down. But today, as you know, over generations, one story gets compounded with something else and pretty soon it just keeps on building and building. Pretty soon it becomes something that it never was in its original form. Well, that was just a bit of an education that in Orthodox Judaism today, it's not just the written law, it's not just the Ten Commandments, and it's not just the other 613.

Altogether, Orthodox Jews believe today that there are 613 laws in the Old Testament that Jews need to bring into their lifestyle, all that they're able to. The temple's not standing, there's no longer a priesthood, and as a result, there are no longer sacrifices being offered up in Jerusalem without the main temple there and without the priesthood. So some of those laws can't be kept until the third temple is built.

But there are many laws that are part of the Hebrew Bible. When Abraham came into a relationship with God, church, he wasn't keeping any of those laws because they were not given yet. This teaches you, beloved one, that even a six-year-old child can come to God with a heart that's humble and sincere and ask God into his life and enter into a perfect relationship with God right then and there because the Bible teaches that righteousness comes through faith.

I'm going to show you then, when we get to the New Testament, that the Abrahamic Covenant is still in place. I'm going to take you in a second to Genesis chapter 15 and Genesis chapter 22. I'm going to show you the foundations of the Abrahamic Covenant. When we get to the New Covenant, I'm going to show you that the Abrahamic Covenant is still in place because Jesus fulfilled it. It's a covenant, beloved one, that is built on faith, which I've been talking about, that Abraham believed God and it was counted unto him as righteousness.

Number one, the Abrahamic Covenant. We're studying the covenants of scripture. We're looking at the three primary covenants: the Abrahamic Covenant, the Mosaic Covenant, and the New Covenant. Number one, we're seeing Genesis 15:26, the Abrahamic Covenant was based on faith. Secondly, what I want you to hear today is that the Abrahamic Covenant is based on a promise that God made. In other words, in Genesis 22, we're going to see that Abraham heard God's voice, he believed God, and so he stepped forward to offer up his only son whom he loved.

When he obeyed the voice of God by faith, God said to him, listen, because you have done this thing, I have sworn, declares the Lord. God made a promise. It's irrevocable. God said, Abraham, because you've done this, I am declaring and swearing that I'm going to do this thing. Secondly, the Abrahamic Covenant is based on promise. It's the promise that God made to Abraham. God said to him, Abraham, in your seed, all the nations of the earth shall be blessed.

God made a promise, Abraham, through your seed, through your lineage, I'm going to bless all the nations on the face of the earth, a promise that God made. Number one, based on faith. Number two, based on the promise God had made. Number three, church, the Abrahamic Covenant, as opposed to the New Covenant, the Abrahamic Covenant is unconditional. In other words, God promised that he was going to do it.

He said, Abraham, because you've done this thing, by myself, I have sworn, declares the Lord, I'm going to do this. I'm going to bless the nations of the earth through your seed, and that seed, we read in Galatians, is Jesus. It is unconditional. God said I'm going to do it. Nothing's going to stop it. It's not based on conditions. There's nothing more that anyone needs to do to see the promise that God made to Abraham fulfilled. God swore it. He said, I'm going to do it.

We're going to see, beloved one, when I take you through the scriptures that to prove that it's sovereign and unconditional, that God alone is the one that does it, we're going to go to the book of Genesis chapter 15 where Abraham prepares a sacrifice for the Lord. He splits the sacrifice in half. He cuts it in the middle, lays the halves of the animal in half. As he does, he falls into a trance.

As he's in this trance state, the fire of the Lord appears and moves through the halves of the animals, right down the center. Ordinarily, in a covenant, both parties would have to walk through the center of the sacrifice, meaning that in order for the covenant to stand, both parties have to do their part. The covenant's only valid when both parties fulfill their obligations to the covenant.

But in the covenant that God makes with Abraham, Abraham doesn't do anything. He's asleep in a trance and he sees God himself in the form of fire move through the sacrifice one direction and another direction. God doesn't require Abraham to do anything more. God says, by myself, saith the Lord, I'm going to do it. We're going to get deeper into this. The benefit for you in the most simple form is for you to understand that the covenant of love, beloved child of his, that he's made with you, it's very simple.

It's based on simply believing he is who he said he is and that he did what he said he did. Simply that he's a God that loves you, that he sent Jesus on the cross to die for you, to prove his love for you. If you will simply receive him into your life and give love back to him, he's going to do such an amazing thing with your life, your mind can't even conceive.

Beloved, Discovering The Jewish Jesus has some very specific strategies about how we're going to be reaching Jewish people living in the land of Israel in the years ahead. I want to ask you to financially sow into this ministry so that I can accomplish all that God has given me to do. It's always cost money, beloved ones, to spread the gospel. When the Lord told Moses to build the tabernacle, the first thing the Lord told Moses to do was to raise a contribution from among the people so that Moses would have the resources that he needed to build the Mishkan, which is the Hebrew word for tabernacle.

The same truth holds today. It costs money to spread the gospel. Whether it's through television, radio, even social media costs money. I can't do it without you. I want to ask you, would you partner with God? Would you partner with me? Would you partner with Discovering The Jewish Jesus and make a significant financial contribution to this ministry? Through your financial help and prayers, we're going to continue to reach Jewish people with the gospel both in Israel and all over the globe. Would you help us, beloved, continue to do what we're doing and spread the gospel to the ends of the earth?

Dustin Roberts: Amen. To partner with Discovering The Jewish Jesus today, call us right now. Our number is 800-777-7835. You can also give online at DiscoveringTheJewishJesus.com or you can send a check in the mail. Our address is Discovering The Jewish Jesus, P.O. Box 777, Blissfield, Michigan, 49228.

We are passionate about sharing Jesus with people all around the world and especially in the Holy Land, where our broadcasts are reaching 1.5 million Israeli households and a significant number of homes in the Middle East. This is so close to our hearts because Rabbi grew up in a Jewish household and he's lived a first-hand experience of the deep transformation that Jesus can bring to someone's life.

We want others to experience that too and it's your generosity that helps make it happen. To become a monthly partner, visit us online and give at DiscoveringTheJewishJesus.com or call 800-777-7835. Now, let's wrap up with Rabbi sharing the blessing that God entrusted to Aaron, the high priest of Israel.

Rabbi K.A. Schneider: I hope you have a wonderful week from all of us at Discovering The Jewish Jesus. In the Old Testament book of Numbers, we find a blessing God speaks over his children through Moses and Aaron. It carries the idea of favor and expression. Open your heart to the spirit and the word today and receive Father's goodness into your life with confidence.

The Lord bless you and keep you. The Lord make his face shine on you and be gracious to you. The Lord lift you up with his countenance and the Lord give you, beloved ones, his peace. And now in Hebrew.

Yevarekhekha Yahweh veyishmerekha. Ya’er Yahweh panav elekha veyikhunekka. Yissa Yahweh panav elekha veyasem lekha shalom. God bless you and Shalom.

Dustin Roberts: This program is produced and sponsored by Discovering The Jewish Jesus and I’m your host, Dustin Roberts. Make sure to come back next week. Rabbi Schneider’s going to show us why the Mosaic Covenant matters for understanding God’s promises today. That’s Monday on Discovering The Jewish Jesus.