Discovering The Jewish Jesus

Rabbi K.A. Schneider: We have to come to a place of harmony in our thinking about the word of God by understanding that the God of the Hebrew Bible is the same God that's revealed in the New Testament.

Many of us deep down were confused because we tend to associate the God of the Old Testament as being a harsh lawgiver. He seemed we sometimes feel to mercilessly punish people for their sin. We think about the way that he did bring judgment at times, and it causes us to wonder, was he a God of grace in the Old Testament?

Then we begin to look at the New Testament and we see how Yeshua, how Jesus, forgives everybody. It seems to some of us this God of the Old Testament seems to be a different God than the God that's revealed to us in the New Testament. We feel that the Old Testament God seems to be a God of law and judgment and the New Testament God seems to be a God of grace and forgiveness, and it seems to many of us that this is two different Gods with two different personalities.

I know that by studying this subject with me, you're going to come to appreciate how the God of the Old Testament is the same God that we see revealed to us in the person of Jesus. You're also going to come to understand how the Old and New Testaments fit together like a hand in a glove.

The place to begin is to consider how did Jesus relate to the Old Testament? What was his attitude about the Old Testament? This is the foundation for everything. Many of us know as we ask ourselves that question that the Hebrew Bible, the Old Testament, was Jesus's Bible. In Hebrew, it's referred to not as the Old Testament; Jewish people don't call it the Old Testament, they call it the Tanakh.

The T sound stands for Torah, and the Torah is the first five books of the Old Testament. We find in the Torah not only the law that was given to Moses, but we also find in the Torah the story of creation, the story of Abraham, and other self-revelation as to who God is. When we're speaking about the Torah, we're not just speaking about the law; we're speaking about many things.

Yeshua related to the Torah in such a way that not only did he use it to teach, but he even used it when he was in the wilderness being tempted by Satan in Matthew chapter four. We know the story Yeshua was in the desert being tempted by the devil. The devil would come and how did Jesus defeat the devil? Matthew four tells us he kept on saying to Satan, "It is written," and then he would quote from the Torah. He would quote from the book of Deuteronomy.

Yeshua actually exercised spiritual authority that subdued powers of darkness underneath his feet by quoting from the Torah. Yeshua related to the Hebrew Bible as a teaching document. Often when he was with his disciples and he was teaching them about kingdom truth, what did he say? "It is written," and what did he do? He would quote from the Hebrew Bible.

Remember Yeshua said in Matthew five, "Everyone that forsakes the law and the prophets shall be called least in the kingdom of God." He said, "He that teaches others how to live out of the abundance of truth in the law and the prophets will be called greatest in the kingdom of God." Not only did Yeshua use the law and the prophets to teach from himself, but he also said that those of us that know how to teach truth about the kingdom from the Hebrew Bible will be called greatest in the kingdom of God.

Jesus lived his life out of the Torah. He taught with it. He defeated powers of darkness with it. He said that as we also learn how to live by the truth in the Torah and teach others from it, we'd be called greatest in the kingdom of God. One of my favorite scriptures is Matthew chapter 13, verse 52. "Every scribe that becomes a disciple of mine, that becomes a follower of Jesus," Jesus said, "would become like the owner of a mansion and out of his mansion he has and brings forth treasures both old and new."

Jesus is saying in a mansion there's treasures. You have treasures that are old, things like antiques, and you have treasures that are new, contemporary things. The teaching is this: as you and I learn from God's word as found in the Hebrew Bible, we're going to be like that owner of a large house. We're going to be able to bring forth truth, treasures that are going to strengthen our heart and be used as well to bless others, both old and new.

I hope that you're starting to understand how important it is to study the Hebrew Bible. Probably some of you are a little bit convicted right now because you know in your own life it's been neglected. I have found in my own study of the Hebrew Bible that you need to focus on the general prophetic realities. You're looking for the general prophetic principles that point to Yeshua and teach us how to follow him as we're being led by the spirit.

How do I study the Torah? I'm not interested in getting bogged down with all types of details. What I'm looking for is what is the spiritual principle that I see here that is applicable to my life today that will help me today follow the spirit's leading as I follow Yeshua?

As an example, we read in the book of Numbers in the ninth through the eleventh chapter that when the tabernacle was built, immediately the Spirit of God came over it. The Spirit of God rested over the Mishkan, or the tabernacle, as a pillar of fire by night and a cloud by day. The scriptures tell us there in Numbers nine through 11 that as long as the fire and the cloud hovered over the tabernacle in a specific geographical location, the children of Israel would stay camped in that physical geographical location.

Whenever the fire and the cloud lifted, the children of Israel would immediately pick up tent, pick up camp, and they'd begin to follow the pillar of fire and the cloud wherever it moved to. The tabernacle was following the fire and the cloud for 40 years in the wilderness. The scripture tells us that the children of Israel never knew how long when the fire and the cloud stopped that it would remain in one place, but they knew that when it lifted, they had to move out and follow.

When I say that I study the Torah looking for the prophetic spiritual applications for my life today, how then do I translate that into this story that I just told concerning the fire and the cloud? The fire and the cloud was a manifestation of the Ruach HaKodesh, the Holy Spirit. The same Holy Spirit that lives in me as a believer and that lives in you if you're a born-again believer, that same spirit that lives in us was the spirit that manifested above the tabernacle as a fire and a cloud.

If we see how the fire and the cloud trained the children of Israel to follow the spirit, then we can better understand how we're to be led by the spirit today. Here are some of the prophetic principles that I learn from that. The fire and the cloud was not something that the children of Israel could simply put in a box. They couldn't just put down a mailbox and say, "Okay, Holy Spirit, I'm going to stay in this location for nine months and in nine months I'd like to move again." No, they had no control.

The New Testament tells us regarding the same principle that the spirit blows where it wishes. Remember Yeshua talked about this in the Gospel of John? The spirit blows where it wishes, and we don't know where it's coming from or where it's going, and so it is with everyone that's born of the spirit. Isn't that what happened in the wilderness? The children of Israel didn't know when the cloud or the fire was going to lift; they didn't know where it was going to go. All they knew is when it lifted, they had to follow.

If one of the families in Israel said, "I'm tired of this spot. I don't like the scenery here. It's too hot in this spot. I'd like to move on," if they would have picked up their family and moved on and the pillar of fire and the cloud didn't go before them, if they would have moved down first, that family would have died in the desert wilderness. They would have been outside of the provision of God because they would have been in their own flesh and in their own strength, and there's no provision there.

Think of what would have happened if the fire did lift and the cloud did lift and it began to move and there was another Israelite family that said, "I don't really feel like moving. I've learned to like it right where we're at. I've built myself a family in this place; I'm not going anywhere." If the fire moved and the cloud moved and that family said, "I'm not moving," they would have also died in the wilderness.

The prophetic teaching is that if we're going to be led by the spirit of God, we need to be settled in one place not only in our external circumstances but internally as well. It means that we need to learn how to just be still before God until God is leading us. The truths that we see revealed in the Hebrew Bible in the material world have spiritual application.

The children of Israel were commanded to drive out the Hittites, the Amorites, the Jebusites, and to slaughter and to kill them. We're not commanded today to go kill people because our fight is not against flesh and blood, but it does mean we need to be ruthless against spiritual forces. We don't get bogged down in legalism; we don't get bogged down in minutiae. We look for the spiritual application. We need to study God's truth in the Hebrew Bible looking for the prophetic application today.

Dustin Roberts: You're listening to Discovering The Jewish Jesus and Rabbi Schneider will be right back. But first, did you know that we're on X? You can follow Discovering The Jewish Jesus for bite-sized inspiration, Hebrew insights, and updates on our weekly TV and radio airings. It's perfect for staying connected and being reminded of what our ministry is doing to share the good news of the Gospel. Search for Discovering The Jewish Jesus on X and join the conversation today.

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Rabbi K.A. Schneider: Yeshua wasn't born with a microchip in his head that he automatically had the Hebrew Bible programmed into him. He wasn't born with the Hebrew Bible memorized, but rather he grew in his understanding of it. I'm reading from the book of Deuteronomy now, chapter number six, verse number six and seven. The Lord is commanding the fathers of the Israelite families to teach their children the Torah.

The Lord says, and this is called Devarim in Hebrew, "These words which I'm commanding you today shall be on your heart and you shall teach them diligently to your sons and talk about these truths and these laws in my word when you're journeying on the road and walking by the way, all through life." Yeshua wasn't born with a microchip in his head having memorized the Hebrew Bible from birth, but rather he was taught it by his father.

The scripture says that he grew in his comprehension and in his understanding of it. The Bible tells us that when Yeshua's parents in the book of Luke chapter two took him to Jerusalem every year for Passover—which by the way is a side note, tells us that Yeshua's parents were religious Jews, they were observant Jews—because every year they took him to Jerusalem for Passover. Some families only went once in a lifetime, but Yeshua's parents took him every year. They were practicing Jews.

The Bible tells us in Luke two that when they took him to Jerusalem on one specific Passover and then they began to leave, the parents left. After journeying for a while, they noticed that Jesus wasn't with them. This was not uncommon in those days. There was not nearly the type of crime that we have in society today, and families all pitched together in helping raise the children, so it wasn't unusual for the kids to be lagging behind a little bit and the parents to be ahead.

After a little while Yeshua's parents started looking around, "Where is Yeshua?" and he wasn't there. The parents went back, they had to turn around, go back to Jerusalem, and they found Jesus in the temple talking to the religious leaders. The scripture says the religious leaders were amazed at his understanding of God's word. What Luke tells us there in Luke chapter two, verse 41 through 52, is that Yeshua, that Jesus, continued to grow in stature with both God and man.

Jesus's understanding of the Bible grew as he aged, just like is the case for you and I. We began today by saying that we have to come to a place of harmony in our thinking about the word of God by understanding that the God of the Hebrew Bible is the same God that's revealed in the New Testament. Remember Yeshua said, "If you've seen me, you've seen the Father."

We've talked about Yeshua's relationship to the Hebrew Bible. Not only did he defeat the devil with it in the wilderness in Matthew four, not only did he teach his disciples from it, but he also told us as his disciples that as you and I learn God's truth through the Hebrew Bible, we would become greatest in the kingdom of God. The Bible says, "He that teaches others how to live by the principles and the truths and the law and the prophets," Matthew chapter five, "will become greatest in the kingdom of God." It's a great honor to be able to teach ancient truth from the Torah and from the rest of the Hebrew Bible.

You all know the story about the woman of Samaria. She was not considered Jewish; she was considered a half-breed. They didn't worship the same way that the Jewish people worshiped. It was a different religion the Samaritans had. This Samaritan woman in John chapter four comes to Yeshua; she meets him at the well. They began to dialogue about spiritual things. She perceived that Yeshua was a prophet because Yeshua said, "Go call your husband."

She said, "Well, I don't have a husband." Yeshua said, "You're right, you don't have a husband. You've had all these guys that you've lived with and this guy that you're living with now isn't your husband." He read right into her life and he revealed and exposed her. She recognized that this was no normal man that knew all these things about me. She said, "Sir, I perceive you're a prophet."

Then she began to talk to Jesus about the Samaritan way of worship and she said, "We Samaritans worship over on this mountain and you Jews, you worship in Jerusalem." Listen to what Jesus said. Jesus said to her, "Woman, you don't know what you worship; we know what we worship, for salvation is from the Jews."

You need to understand if you're going to have a more accurate perception of who the Lord is, you're going to need to discover what the Hebrew Bible teaches about him. There is a lot of wrong theology in the church today because much of the church does not know the Hebrew Bible. There's a lot of wrong doctrine, there's a lot of wrong teaching because people are just studying the New Testament. If you want to know better who God is, begin to read the Hebrew Bible.

Don't get lost in the small details. Don't lose sight of the forest because of the trees. Look for the spiritual principle and look for the spiritual application. Paul would go into the synagogues, the scripture says, and he would reason with them daily from the law and the prophets, convincing them of Yeshua through the writings in the Hebrew Bible. New Testament believers related to the Hebrew Bible; in fact, the Bible tells us in the book of Acts that these new Christians, the Gentile believers, would go to the synagogue to be taught more of who God was.

I want to encourage you to make a commitment today to tune into this broadcast if you're not already doing so. I believe God is going to begin to unpack some things for you and bring you into new colors of his revelation. When you know that your faith is rooted not just in the New Testament but that it's rooted 3,500 years back in time, it's going to strengthen your faith. You're going to know that Jesus is the Messiah.

I love you today and I just want to pray for you right now for anointing. Father, release your fire, release your aish, release revelation. Father, I pray that you'll quicken minds, that you'll quicken the energy that is operating in the minds of your people right now. Those that have had a hard time in the past remembering the word of God when they read it, that you'll touch them right now and quicken them, giving them a supernatural ability to read the word of God, to remember the word of God, and to be blessed by it for your glory in Yeshua's name.

The ancient Hebrew prophet foretold that there'd be a time coming to the earth where there'd be a famine not of bread and water, but of the word of God. There aren't that many preachers and teachers left that are simply preaching the Bible. There aren't that many Charles Stanleys left in the world anymore. I'm not saying I'm Charles Stanley, but I am saying I'm committed and have been committed to simply teaching and preaching the written word of God. It's easy to find a motivational sermon, but it's not that easy to find somebody that's broadcasting simply teaching and preaching God's word.

I want to ask you to stand with me financially because God's kingdom must be preached to the end of the world before his return. That's what we're committed to do, and I need your help to accomplish it.

Dustin Roberts: Amen. And you can give a financial gift of any amount to Discovering The Jewish Jesus by visiting us online at discoveringthejewishjesus.com. If it's easier for you, just give us a call at 800-777-7835. For those who are monthly partners with Discovering The Jewish Jesus, we just want to say thank you so much. We are deeply and eternally grateful because when you choose to honor the Father through your faithful giving to this ministry, you're investing in something that goes beyond this season. You're sowing into the future. That enables us to ensure that Rabbi's teachings reach more and more people all over the whole world as we await Jesus's return.

If you've wanted to become a monthly partner but you haven't yet, I want to encourage you: partner with us today. You can sign up to be a partner at discoveringthejewishjesus.com. When you become a monthly partner, we want to send you a very special gift. It's a handcrafted shofar that's made right in the Holy Land. The shofar is an end-time instrument and it proclaims God's presence and his return, and that's what you're helping us do through your partnership. Again, if you'd like to partner with us, call us at 800-777-7835 or visit discoveringthejewishjesus.com. Now here's Rabbi to wrap up today's message with God's special and sacred blessing.

Rabbi K.A. Schneider: What I love about the Aaronic blessing is that it did not originate with man. The words actually proceeded from the very essence of God himself. The blessing comes from the book of Numbers chapter six. So listen to these words and receive the blessing of the Lord into your life today.

(Schneider chants the blessing in Hebrew)

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 one, his peace. 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. Join us tomorrow when Rabbi Schneider continues to explain why the Old Testament is still relevant to your faith today. That's Thursday on Discovering The Jewish Jesus.