Holy Scriptures and Israel

Guest (Female): 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: The study of Acts chapter 13. We find out in the next verse that there was also in the same area called Paphos, a man who was a deputy or a chief Roman officer. It says in verse 7, "which was with the deputy or the chief Roman official, Sergius Paulus, a prudent man who called for Barnabas and Saul and desired to hear the word of God."

God was beginning to work in the heart of this Roman official, a deputy, and he desired to hear the word of God. He was calling Barnabas and Saul to come because he wanted to listen to the word of God. That tells us, brothers and sisters, that there was already divine work working underneath. The Holy Spirit of God already beginning to work in the heart of this official, the deputy here, the Roman official.

The Spirit stirred him up and he was calling Barnabas and Saul, "Come, I want to hear the word of God. Tell me what you have in mind. What do you have to share with me? I want to hear the word of God." But as he desired that, the opposition to that message is coming right away. Look at this in verse 8, "This Elymas, this is the sorcerer, withstood Saul and Barnabas."

It says here, "Elymas the sorcerer, for so is his name by interpretation. Elymas means sorcerer." So Elymas the sorcerer, for so was his name by interpretation, he withstood them, seeking to turn away the deputy from the faith. Apparently, he called Barnabas and Saul, they share with him the word of God, and then comes this man by the name of Bar-Jesus or Elymas and he is withstanding them.

He was stopping them from sharing the word of God. Withstanding, he wanted that this deputy would not turn to Yeshua. Don't we know that by experience in our lives, how much Satan is drawing people away from hearing the scripture? How he is seeking to stop people from hearing the word of God? They will hear all kind of garbage, but not the word of God.

They will listen to all kind of things, but not to the simplicity of the love of God. That's what Satan does. He doesn't want us to hear the message of the gospel. He doesn't want men to be brought to God. He is a defeated foe and he is waiting the time of his total defeat, but in the meanwhile, he is opposing the message of the word of God.

So we find that there was this opposition. He withstood them and he sought that the deputy would be turned away from the faith. Do you remember, brothers and sisters, when Yeshua was still alive, when he was ministering in Israel among our Jewish people? He was sharing the message with various parables.

Parables means it is a spiritual truth he is bringing about by sharing practical things that have happened. He shared many parables, but one of them we need to take a note of here. If you please, turn with me to Matthew 13:24. The Lord said, we read here, "Another parable Yeshua put he forth unto them."

He was speaking there to the disciples about the kingdom of heaven. He said in verse 24, "The kingdom of heaven is likened unto a man which sowed good seed in the field. But while he slept, his enemy came and he sowed tares among the wheat and he went on his way. But when the blade was springing up and brought forth fruit, then appears the tares also."

"So the servants of the householder came and they said unto him, 'Sir, did you not sow good seed in the field? From where then did these tares come?' And he said unto them, 'An enemy has done this.' The servants said unto him, 'Will thou then that we go and gather them up?'"

"But he said unto them, 'Nay, lest while ye gather up the tares, ye root up also the wheat with them. Let both grow together until the harvest. And in the time of the harvest, I will say to the reapers, gather together first the tares and bind them in bundles and burn them, and then gather the wheat into my barn.'"

You notice in that parable, Yeshua said that a certain man sow seeds. This is really speaking to us of the seed of the message of the gospel. As we go about and we share the love of God and the way of forgiveness of sins, Satan doesn't want others to hear that. The enemy doesn't want your family, my family, our friends, people we love, he doesn't want them to hear about the Messianship of Yeshua.

Why should they? Just like he didn't want you and I. The god of this world blinding the mind of men lest they will hear that message of the glorious gospel. He doesn't want them to hear that message, so he sows all kind of seeds that are not what God intended. People in a sense hear and taking in that which they shouldn't.

There are these false religions, and everyone tells you, "Well, this is my way and this is a better way." All kinds of false groups and false religions. They appear at the same time that the good, godly individuals who were saved are appearing. What happened? You don't know what to do.

Therefore, when the enemy sowed these tares, then the servants came to this person, the householder, and they said, "Listen, sir, should we cut them off right away from the beginning and pull them away?" He said to them, "No, don't do that because you may end up harming the others. So let them grow together."

The time will come when he is going in the end, when he's going to end up gathering all. He's going to gather together the tares first, pile them together and burn them with fire, and then he's going to gather the wheat and will bring them into the barn. The Lord Jesus Yeshua the Messiah really explained to us in this present day dispensation, there are true believers, there are those that are wheat, and there are false professors.

There are those who say that they belong to God, who give the appearance as if they are belonging to God, but they really were never saved. Satan has sown these tares among the wheat. The Lord explained the very same parable in the next verses in Matthew 13 beginning from verse 36. Look what he says there.

"When Jesus sent the multitude away, he went into his house and his disciples came to him and they say, 'Tell us the parables of the tares in the field.' And he answered and he said unto them, 'He that soweth the good seed is the Son of Man. This is the Messiah. The field is the world. The good seed is the children of the kingdom, but the tares are the children of the wicked one.'"

"'The enemy that sowed them is the devil. The harvest is the end of the world and the reapers are the angels. As therefore the tares be gathered and bound in the fire, so shall it be at the end of the world. The Son of Man shall send forth his angels and they shall gather out of his kingdom all things that offend and them which do iniquity, and he shall cast them into the furnace of fire.'"

"'There shall be wailing and gnashing of teeth. Then shall the righteous shine forth as the sun in the kingdom of their Father. Who hath an ear, let him hear.'" You see what Yeshua is saying. Exactly what happened to Saul and Barnabas when they were going to preach the gospel. There was there a false sorcerer who claimed to be a prophet, but he was a false prophet opposing them.

He did not let them preach the message of the gospel to that man who was the deputy. He didn't want him to accept the word of God, so he was opposing this man. He was opposing Saul and Barnabas that he will not hear the word of the Lord. It's kind of sad because as long as we are here on earth, Satan will always oppose the things of the Lord.

He will always seem to discourage the people of God. He will always sow things among the people of God to lead people astray. Even though he comes as an angel of light, gives the appearance as if he's sent from God or a messenger from God, you realize the end will come when God will have to judge those that follow Satan, those that reject the Messianship of Yeshua.

God loves men. God wants no one to perish, but men ultimately have to acknowledge the Messianship of Yeshua because there is no other way of salvation except through Yeshua the Messiah. Here in conclusion as we move on towards the end, look how Saul responded to this man when he opposed them.

He was not gracious, not easy with him because he was teaching false teaching and he was leading someone astray. So Saul, it says here in verse 9 to verse 13, we see the response of Saul, of Paul. I want you just to take a note that it says in verse 9, "Then Saul, who also called Paul, filled with the Holy Spirit, set his eyes on him."

Just take a note of this expression, "Saul who is also called Paul." Many times people make the mistake and they say, "You see, when he was Jewish, his name was Saul. When he became a Christian, his name became Paul." Now let me tell you, that is not what the Bible teaches. Being a Christian does not mean that you are not Jewish.

Christian means follower of Christ, follower of the Messiah. His name was Saul, but his name was also Paul. In other words, every Jewish individual who lived in the diaspora had two names. He had a Hebrew name and he also had a Gentile name because he lived in the diaspora. Saul was not an exception.

His name was Saul and his name was Paul. If those that say that Saul's name was changed to Paul after he became converted to Christianity, then he became a believer in Yeshua already in Acts chapter 9. From Acts chapter 9, if you notice, his name is continuing to be called Saul. It didn't stop.

You notice that in Acts chapter 9, if you just make a note in verse 1, his name is Saul. In verse 4, "Saul, Saul," Yeshua told him, "Why you persecute me?" In verse 8, Saul rose up from the earth. Then later on in verse 11, Hananiah was said to go to a man by the name of Saul, after he has already accepted the Messiah.

Then we continue on and you find out that in verse 17 that Hananiah came to him and he called him brother Saul. He didn't call him brother Paul. In verse 19 of Acts chapter 9, it says that he received food, then was Saul certain days with the disciples who were in Damascus. He was with the believers in Damascus, but his name was Saul.

You just continue on and you will see that his name did not stop being Saul. It's just that now that he was ministering to the Gentile world, he uses the Gentile name, Paul. There may be a reason for that because the word Paul means little. He also did not want to take this prominent place, even though he was called by God, but he wanted to take the place of humility, the littleness, to belittle himself and not to exalt himself.

There may be that reason, but his Hebrew name is Saul, his Gentile name is Paul. Now as long as he was reaching to his brethren within his Jewish community, he used the name Saul. But when he went on and he was preaching from there on to the Gentile world and as the apostle of the uncircumcision, he used the name Paul.

By the time we get in chapter 13 from verse 13 on, the Bible uses the name Paul all along. But the word Saul is his Hebrew name and his Gentile name is Paul. It is the same person. He did not get another name when he became a believer in Yeshua the Messiah. His name was Saul before he became a believer, his name was Saul after he became a believer.

But ministering to the Gentile world, the scripture uses his Gentile name by the name of Paul. So notice that in verse 9. "Then Saul who also called Paul, filled with the Holy Spirit." Again notice, the Holy Spirit guided this servant of the Lord. He set his eyes on this man by the name of Elymas and he said to him in verse 10, look at the statement to Elymas.

"O full of all subtlety and all mischief, thou child of the devil, thou enemy of all righteousness, wilt thou not cease to pervert the right way of the Lord?" Paul had what is known to be as righteous indignation. He was so opposing the false preaching, that which was not right with God. He said to him, "Will you not cease to pervert the right way of the Lord?"

You know there is only one way and it is the right way of the Lord. You can't be saved unless it is through someone who pays your penalty for your sin and sins. We think we're going to go to heaven and we're going to say to God, "God, look at me. I've done good things. I've been there. I'm coming from this background."

What God going to say to us? "Depart from me. I can't let you come into my heaven because you are a sinner. You need to deal with the question of sin." Thank God, brothers and sisters, that God provided a way, a right way. The right way of the Lord is through recognizing that God has provided a lamb.

There is a way to be right with God. Sin has been paid for. The Messiah Yeshua, the Messiah of Israel, has died for us on the tree. He paid a price. He shed his blood that whosoever believeth on him shall not perish but have everlasting life. That's the only way, dear friends, dear brothers and sisters, we have no other way.

The best of us is a sinner. So Paul was actually angry. He was so upset with him. "Why do you do that? Perverting the right way of the Lord. Why is it? When you're going to stop?" And so in verse 11, look at the judgment of God that fell upon that false prophet. It says, "And now, behold, the hand of the Lord is upon thee, and thou shalt be blind, not seeing the sun for a season."

"And immediately there fell on him a mist and a darkness; and he went about seeking some to lead him by the hand." Look at this. Before he was blind spiritually, now he's also blind physically. Before he was teaching false things, now he needs someone to help him to walk because God had blinded him, God had judged him.

This reminds me also of Samson. Those of us that studied the book of Judges, we're going to get to the time where Samson, who was a Nazirite, was supposed to be separated unto the God of Israel. When Samson disobeyed the Lord, the Philistine took out his eyes. Samson need to have somebody to help him to walk him by the hand.

Here is this man, the same thing. Of course Samson was a child of God. He was a Hebrew chosen by God to be a servant of God who failed in his service. But here is a man who was a false prophet and God judged him. When he judged him, he not only allowed him to continue with his spiritual blindness, but now he made him physically blind and he needed somebody to lead him by the hand.

While we see the darkness of this false prophet, then we see the salvation of this deputy who wanted to hear the word of the Lord, who wanted to hear the message of the Messianship of Yeshua. Listen to verse 12. "Then the deputy, when he saw that that which was done, he believed. He believed being astonished at the doctrine of the Lord."

You see, this pagan Gentile man, Roman deputy, the Spirit of God began to work in his heart and he called Barnabas and Saul, "Come, tell me the teaching, the word of the Lord." They came and told him. The enemy sought to take away that seed from him. But by the grace of God, he saw what happened to this false prophet.

He saw that he was withstanding Barnabas and Saul, and then when he saw it and he accepted the word of God, it says he believed. It's believing. That's it. He believed as it says here, being astonished at the teaching of the Lord. He simply believed.