Holy Scriptures and Israel

Narrator: Shalom. Holy Scriptures and Israel is a ministry designed to share with the Jewish people the good news of the Lord Jesus, Yeshua the Messiah, and to instruct Christians on the Jewish roots of their faith. And now, teaching God's Word from a Hebrew Messianic perspective, here is Gideon Levytam.

Gideon Levytam: Shabbat Shalom everyone. Please turn with me to the book of Acts today. Acts chapter 10. And we are going to see how Peter, the apostle, used the key that Yeshua the Messiah had given to him in order to open the door to the Gentile world to enter into the body of Christ.

And so we read in Acts chapter 10 from verse 34 to the end of the chapter. Then Peter opened his mouth and said, of a truth, I perceive that God is no respecter of persons. But in every nation, he that feareth him and worketh righteousness is accepted with him. The word which God sent unto the children of Israel, preaching peace by Yeshua the Messiah, he is Lord of all.

That word, I say, you know, which was published throughout all Judea and began from Galilee, after the baptism which John preached. How God anointed Yeshua of Nazareth with the Holy Spirit and with power, who went about doing good and healing all that were oppressed of the devil, for God was with him. And we are witnesses of all things which he did, both in the land of the Jews and in Jerusalem, whom they slew and hang on a tree.

Him, God raised up the third day and showed him openly. Not to all the people, but unto witnesses chosen before of God, even to us who did eat and drink with him after he rose from the dead. And he commanded us to preach unto the people and to testify that it is he which was ordained of God to be the judge of the living and the dead.

To him give all the prophets witness that through his name whosoever believeth in him shall receive forgiveness of sins. While Peter yet spake these words, the Holy Spirit fell on all them which heard the word. And they of the circumcision which believed were astonished, as many as came with Peter, because that on the Gentiles also was poured out the gift of the Holy Spirit. For they heard them speak with tongues and magnified God. Then answered Peter, Can any man forbid water that these should not be baptized, which have received the Holy Spirit as well as we?

And he commanded them to be baptized in the name of the Lord. Then prayed they him to tarry certain days. And I'm concluding with the reading here in Acts chapter 10, because I want to focus today in this ministry meeting on the fact that Peter is used here by God in the power of the Spirit of God to unlock, if you will, to open the door to the Gentiles in this world, in the foundation of the assembly of the church, 2,000 years ago when the church, the assembly began.

Now just to take us back for a moment to the previous verses, which we have looked over in the last meeting together. You remember how interesting it was, how the Spirit of God has worked. The same Holy Spirit of God that worked in the heart of Cornelius in the city of Caesarea, is the same Holy Spirit, the same Lord who worked in the heart and the mind of Peter in the city of Yafo.

Here we see the way God is working. He is convicting an individual in one town, in one city, and he's speaking to his servants in another location, and then lo and behold, they meet each other and the message of the apostle to Cornelius and his family now can be proclaimed. This is exactly what happened in the world today. We sometimes wonder how is it that there is a possibility, there is a person in Africa or wherever it is, in a far away land, that has a desire to learn of the things of God?

And at the same time, you have another person or local church or local assembly that have an exercise, a burden to send a missionary, a servant to another country to share the message of the gospel. It is the Spirit of God who is working in the heart and consciences of individuals to bring about the meeting time, the meeting place, the meeting with the people to meet them together in order that the message of the gospel would be proclaimed.

Well, here what happened. Cornelius sent the messengers to Petros, to Peter in Yafo. Peter kept them with him until the next morning, and they have gone back to the house of Cornelius in the city of Caesarea. And there, remember Peter have never entered into a home that is not a Jewish home.

Here Peter had to learn now that the gospel, though it started in Jerusalem and in Judea and in Samaria, but it ultimately has to be reached to the uttermost part of this earth, like we have in Acts chapter 1 and verse 8. And so Peter now had to learn not to call unclean that which God have cleansed. Not to call uncommon that which the Lord have called common.

And so now he have gone to the house of Cornelius, and you can just imagine what a privilege. He is coming there. He is entering into the house and look what Cornelius said to him. Just the previous verse before we have read here in verse 34. Notice it says in verse 33, immediately therefore, I sent for you, Peter, and you have done well that you have come.

And now look what he says. Therefore, we are all here in the presence of God ready to hear all the things that God have commanded you. I tell you what it must have been at that time to see a group of people eagerly sitting and waiting to hear the message that was given to Peter by the Lord Yeshua. Waiting eagerly, sitting with their families and their children and their neighbors in the house of Cornelius.

What a sight it must have been. You know, we long to see a sight like this today, where you can come to a place where people will invite you and says, listen, a certain brother, whoever it is, a servant of the Lord, we want to hear about the Lord. We want to hear about Yeshua the Messiah. We want to hear about God. We want you to open, to unfold to us the Word of God.

Unfortunately, you don't hear it as much as we would like to hear it these days. But look, the setting. Peter didn't have to go and gather anyone. He didn't have to go to preach in the streets and go to the highways and the byways and bring everybody. No, everything was set and ready for Peter to give the message of the Word of God. And people were ready. They were eager to hear the word.

They were willing to sit and listen to what God has for this man of God to say to them. And lo, Peter come to this place, and now, beloved brothers and sisters, Peter is going to use the key that was given to him by Yeshua the Messiah to unlock, to open the door. This time he is going to open the door to the Gentiles.

I want to just for a moment just read this verse in Matthew chapter 16 and verse 19, the first part of verse 19, where Yeshua said to him, I will give unto you the keys of the kingdom of heaven. And whatsoever thou shall bind on earth shall be bound in heaven, and whatsoever thou shall loose on earth shall be loosed in heaven. In Matthew chapter 16 and verse 19, after the declaration that Yeshua is the Messiah, the son of the living God, Yeshua gave to Peter the keys to open the door to his own brethren, the Jewish people, to open the door to the Samaritans and now to open the door to the Gentile world.

And so here is the way Peter is now using the key. First of all, you notice in verse 34, Peter began to proclaim. Very nicely, he says now in verse 34 of Acts 10, then Peter opened his mouth and he said of a truth, I perceive that God is no respecter of persons. You see, he had to learn that God has no respect of persons.

There is a heart of an individual that is willing to listen to him. He is going to open the door to bring them the message. God has no respect of persons. Yes, of course, we know that when it's come to election of the nation of Israel, God has chosen Abraham from among the nations. Abraham and Isaac and Jacob to make out of them a nation.

He have chosen, he have elected Abraham and his descendants. But obviously, by his election of Abraham, he had in mind that through the family of Abraham, Isaac, Jacob, Israel the nation, the preaching of the gospel, the preaching of God's word, will go through the whole nations of the world. And so, God is no respect of persons.

If a person has a desire to hear the Word of God, God is always willing to reach that person and bring him to himself. So Peter says, right away, in verse 34, he says, listen, God is no respecter of persons. All have sinned and come short of the glory of God. All have a need of redemption, of salvation, of forgiveness of sins. All of us, we have all inherited this Adamic nature.

When Adam sinned, I sinned. When Adam sinned, you sinned. Adam's bringing the whole human race into sin. This is exactly what happened to you and I. Every person that was born into this world is in a need of a Redeemer in his life. And so he says God is no respect of persons. Notice in verse 35, he continue and he says that God accepts everyone that fear him, that believes on him.

Verse 35, he said, but in every nation, he that feareth him and worketh righteousness is accepted with him. Some people make mistake when they say, one have to fear God and live a righteous life, in other words, never have fallen, in other word, live a perfect life, then God will receive him. No, the truth here in the scripture is that first of all, one have to fear God, to have reverence to God and to believe God's Word.

And after he have accepted the gospel, he become a believer in Yeshua the Messiah, then he should seek to live a righteous life. He doesn't live a righteous life in order to be saved, but he live a righteous life because he is saved, because he have accepted Yeshua the Messiah. So, in every nation, he that fear God, fear him and worketh righteousness is accepted with God.

God accepts a person from all the nations of the world if he simply will have the fear of God, the reverence of God, and ultimately will accept him, entrust him, and follow after him. And so, Peter is now telling that God is not only have no respect of person, but he is also saying that God is accepting everyone that will accept him and that will believe in him and trust him and bring him into a relationship with himself.

So next in verses 36 to 41, Peter now present Yeshua to the family of Cornelius. And notice what he does here. He speak here about the life, the death, and the resurrection of the Lord Jesus the Messiah. He is expressing here the simple gospel. Yeshua the Messiah lived a perfect life. He died a substitutionary death, and he rose from among the dead.

That's the gospel. And that's what he does here when he's presenting this message to the family of Cornelius in a Gentile home. That's what he does. And he began in these verses, verses 36 to 41, he began, first of all, in verse 36, that showing how the word came to this world, that it came through the nation of Israel. You see, he says in verse 36, the word which God sent unto the children of Israel.

Preaching peace, shalom, preaching shalom by Yeshua the Messiah, that he is Lord of all. The first thing that he's saying, listen, this is not new. The new thing here is, of course, that the Messiah came to finish the work, but what already have been told by the prophets of old, that the Messiah will come. God through his servants, the prophets of Israel, have already declared the word that there will come a time where God is intending to make peace here in this world.

Peace with God, peace of God that will come through the person of Yeshua the Messiah. So, notice he used the word. He using the scripture. He said the word which God sent unto the children. You know, it is important, brothers and sisters, to recognize, why do we believe God? Because we have it written in his word. That's the only ground which we can stand upon.

There is a song that often children sing in various church group. They said, you know, that they know that they are saved because the Bible tells them that. Because the Word of God is saying. Jesus or Yeshua loved me, this I know, for the Bible tells me so. So the Word of God is important for us. We cannot shift, we cannot deviate from the scripture. In the Word of God, we have the truth that God want to proclaim to mankind.

So, he sent the Word of God through the nation of Israel, and you notice that he says preaching peace. Preaching shalom. You know, how do you make peace with men? When Adam and Eve sinned in the Garden of Eden, sin broke shalom, broke peace. There was no longer harmony between a holy God and a sinful man.

And so in order for God to bring about shalom, he had to do something to meet the need of a sinful man. And so he preached shalom. He preached peace through Yeshua the Messiah. Because God had intended in the time past to send the Messiah of Israel to this world to make peace between a holy God and a sinful man.

So the price had to be paid. And that's why the name of Yeshua is mentioned here in verse 36. Preaching peace by Yeshua the Messiah. Beautiful to see that here in these verses. Just go back for a moment to Luke chapter 2, just a verse or two there in the Gospel of Luke. If you remember when Yeshua was born and came to this world, in the Gospel of Luke, we read, listen, Luke chapter 2 and verse 14.

Glory to God in the highest, and on earth, peace, shalom, good will towards men. You notice that? When the Messiah came to this world, and those angels were singing, the multitude of angels were singing, this heavenly host, what they were singing, they were saying glory to God, but peace on earth, good will towards men. They were singing because finally the Messiah came.

The promised peace that God desired to have between himself and mankind is finally coming about. The Messiah is coming to make peace between a holy God and a sinful man. And so that's why he's saying in verse 36, God sent unto the children of Israel, preaching shalom by Yeshua the Messiah, he is Lord of all. Then he continue. And he's saying now in verse 37, that this message is now published not only in Israel, but will continue to publish through the rest of this world.

And he says in verse 37, that word, I say, you know, which was published throughout all Judea, and began from Galilee after the baptism which John had preached. You see, he's saying here that the same message that was proclaimed already by the Old Testament prophets, is the message that now have been published through all Judea and from Galilee, and after the baptism which John had preached.

You remember when John the Baptist was in the Jordan River, and Yeshua the Messiah came down to be baptized by him, remember there was the Pharisees who came, many who came down from Jerusalem to Jordan, and John had to tell them. He had to warn them that they need to bring fruit for repentance. They needed to repent because the Messiah is coming. And the Messiah is now is going to accomplish peace. And yet they needed to have fruit for repentance.

They needed to repent before God and to acknowledge that the Messiah has come. And so it was published. Yeshua came already. He lived his life here in this world and he finished the work, and now it was published throughout Judea and Galilee. And everybody heard of the work that Yeshua the Messiah have done. And so that's what he's saying in verses 36 and 37. It is the Word of God that was now published already throughout the land.

And now in verses 38 to 41, he gives us the four parts of the gospel. The life of the Messiah, the death of the Messiah, the resurrection of the Messiah, and the revealing of the Messiah to his disciples before he ascended to heaven. The life of the Messiah, the death of the Messiah, and the resurrection of Yeshua the Messiah. This is what we have here in the next verses.

And here he began, first of all, with verse 38 and verse 39a. And notice he says here, how God anointed Yeshua of Nazareth with the Holy Spirit and with power, who went about doing good and healing all that were oppressed of the devil, for God was with him. And we are witnesses of all things which he did both in the land of the Jews and in Jerusalem. So, he began to present to Cornelius and his family the life of the Messiah.

You know, if we want to know who Yeshua is, we want to know what kind of life he lived. And you know, the life that he lived, brothers and sisters, is a life that was impeccable, a holy life, a pure life. A life that was set apart without any sin in his life. That's the kind of life Yeshua have lived. And so he was anointed by God. In Hebrew, Mashiach, he was the anointed of God.

The spirit of God anointed him, and he lived a life that was a perfect life here in this world. You know what attracted us to him? Is the kind of life that he lived. Later on, we are been attracted to what he have accomplished on the tree as well. But when we look at the Lord and his life, we are amazed at his life. You just read the four Gospels, Matthew, Mark, Luke, and John.