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 15. Many people like that today. And you know, it's such a comfort to know by grace are you saved through faith. And this is not of yourself, it is a gift of God, lest anyone should boast. Because if it would be dependent upon our works, we probably will boast. We're going to stand before the Lord one day and say, "Lord, look, yes you died, but I have also done something to earn my salvation." And the Lord says, "No, you are saved on the basis of the finished work of the blood that Yeshua the Messiah shed for you." So they rejoiced for the consolation, for the comfort that they received.

Apparently, brothers and sisters, in verse 32, Judah and Silas were ministering to them. So now you have these two Jewish brethren who came from Jerusalem and they are the ones who are actually... their local assembly is Jerusalem. They stayed there for a while and they were actually prophets. You notice verse 32 says that they were prophets. They were speaking forth the word of God. They were ministering to the local assembly at Antioch. They were exhorting the brethren. They were sharing with them things to encourage them and to confirm them.

That word in verse 32 to confirm them, to make them solid in their understanding of the word of God. Not like we have in the book of Ephesians where we have that there are many who go with every wind of doctrine. One day, oh yes, this one waving from right to left, not sure where they stand with regard to their relationship with the Lord. Every time a new preacher comes to town, they listen to what he has to say and they are swaying to the right, and another preacher comes, they are swaying to the left. Well, they needed to confirm them.

That is why we have regular Bible study, regular meetings, because when we have a consistent meeting, we are being established in the things of the Lord. We learn more. We teach each other. Iron sharpens iron and we are helping each other. We are encouraging each other to stay close to the Lord, but also we learn the word of God so if someone asks us a question later on, we will have an answer. We'll have some solid answer from the word of God. We have an assurance with what we say. Not to be egoistic and proud, but to give a sound answer to those that ask us.

Peter said, "Be always ready to give a reason for the hope that is within us." Always ready if somebody meets with you on the street or in the restaurant or at school or at the job and they ask you, "Why do you believe what you believe?" Well, you have an answer. In fact, you can tell him go to Matthew chapter 5, go to John chapter 3, go to First Peter chapter 1, go to the epistle of John, go to the Revelation.

We have to know the scripture. And it is not new even among our Jewish people in the synagogues. Young men repeat the verses in the Bible again and again, recite them and learn them and talk to each other. There is constant interaction so they will memorize the word of God and they will know what to say. Now mind you, unfortunately they have not acknowledged the Messiahship of Yeshua, but nevertheless they are studying what they are studying and they know what they know when it comes to scripture.

I mentioned to you before that every year there is a worldwide competition in Israel actually of the knowledge of the Bible and young men... I am amazed. Young men coming there and they ask them questions from Chronicles or Esther and they give you the answer. Where is it found? What does it say? What does it communicate? And we call it in Hebrew 'Chidon HaTanakh' where the young Jewish men, boys, would learn the scripture to such an extent that they can tell you verse and chapter, they can recite chapters. It's amazing.

Those of us who grew up in a home where our grandparents were Jewish people who loved the Bible... they didn't know Yeshua, they didn't know the Messiah, but they knew what they knew. They knew the Hebrew scriptures. They kept it, they loved it, they treasured it because they knew that that is what will ever stand. Heaven and earth will pass away, but the word of the Lord will remain forever.

Here those Judah, Yuda, and Silas, they were prophets, they exhorted the brethren with many words and they confirmed them. Since I became a believer, I never gone to a meeting without my Bible and I always in every meeting those who led the meeting always had a Bible in their hands and they always read a text and expounded it. Every time. Reading the Bible again and reading the word of God, reading the scripture again, and little kids can tell you where is this verse found.

That is what we really need, beloved brothers and sisters, in our lives. We need to get a hold of the fact that the word of God is confirming us and encouraging us, building us up in our most holy faith. That is what they needed. And again, it was an issue there, brothers and sisters, forgive me for repeating myself. Unless you are circumcised, some said you cannot be saved. And that was wrong.

The circumcision was given to our Jewish people; it was not given to the Gentile world. The Gentile believers did not have the expectation from them. It was given to the Jewish people under the law. First of all in Genesis 17 to Abraham, then in the book of Leviticus in the law given to our people and it was from there on requirement by the people of Israel to have been circumcised. To expect from a Gentile to be circumcised and otherwise he is lost if he does not, that is a violation of the gospel. And that's why those two Jewish believers, Judah and Silas, were confirming the believers there and helping them to grow.

Acts 15 now in verse 33 and 34, notice that we read: "And after they had tarried there a space, they were let go in shalom, in peace, from the brethren unto the apostles." So apparently these two brethren who came from Judea, after they ministered the word of God among the Gentile brethren in Antioch, they were let go. And they had to go back to their hometown. It's like a ministry; they went for a while out, did their ministry, came back home to the city of Jerusalem. They went back to the apostles.

Now you notice, by the way, that the next verse, 34, it says: "Notwithstanding it pleased Silas to abide there still." Some suggest that in the best manuscript verse 34 is really not there because if the both of them according to verse 33 went in peace to the apostles in Jerusalem, then people probably had a problem. Well, how come then Silas later on was going with Paul to the second missionary journey? So how did he go back to Jerusalem and then came back to Antioch? Well, apparently that's what may have happened. That Silas went back to Yerushalayim with Judah and then later on he went again to visit with the brothers and sisters in Antioch. And it was there and then that he went later on on the journey for the second missionary journey of the Apostle Paul. He went to serve with him.

They let them go after their ministry. They went back to Jerusalem and then I'm reading now verse 35: "Now when they have gone, Paul and Barnabas continued to minister to the brothers and sisters in Antioch." Paul and Barnabas continued in Antioch, teaching, preaching. Here again, beloved brothers and sisters, listen: teaching is very important. Paul said to Timothy, "Study to show yourself approved unto God, a workman that needeth not to be ashamed, rightly dividing the word of truth." That's what the Apostle Paul was teaching there and Barnabas in Antioch.

Teaching is very important. There are certain teachings that apply to Israel, the nation. There are certain teachings that apply to the body of Messiah, the church, the assembly. There are certain teachings that apply to the unbelieving world. We need to sort them out and not to mix them and not to make salad, as it were, not to mix them, rightly dividing the word of truth. And that is exactly what Paul and Barnabas did in the city of Antioch when they were teaching and preaching the word of the Lord with many others also.

They continue there with preaching and teaching the word of the Lord with many others also and they remain there for a while until the last verses here in Acts chapter 15, verses 36 to 41. Up till the time when Paul had the exercise to go to visit the assemblies in many cities that they have already covered in a first missionary journey. In verse 36, Paul had a desire to go again to visit the brethren. You see, he was used to sow the seed. He preached the message of the gospel, people came to faith in the Messiah, they formed a local assembly, local church.

As you remember in chapter 14, we saw those various cities: Iconium and then Lystra and then Derbe and then Antioch and so on. And we saw all these cities that the Apostle Paul have been leading people to the Lord and the assemblies were formed. So he had a burden in his heart to go to visit them now to see how they are doing. Any rabbi in old times would be desiring to see how his student have been doing. Any leader, any Bible teachers want to see how his students are doing, anyone that is teaching the word of God wants to see how they are doing.

In verse 36, we read that some days after, Paul said unto Barnabas, "Let us go again and visit our brethren in every city where we have preached the word of the Lord and see how they do." You know, it's a good exercise for a Bible teacher to see how the brethren are doing. Are they doing okay? Are they walking with the Lord? Are they growing spiritually? Are they really established in the faith or are things coming in and all kind of problems occurring?

Paul had a desire to see them, to visit them, and to minister to them. But here there was a conflict that happened here between two good friends, like it happens to us today, unfortunately. When Paul had this desire, he said this to Barnabas, "Let's go, let's visit." So Barnabas apparently agreed with him on that, but they didn't agree on whom they are going to take with them. Because it says in verse 37 that Barnabas determined to take with him John, Yochanan, whose surname was Mark, Yochanan Marcus.

Apparently this John Mark is a relative of Barnabas. He's blood related to Barnabas. We read of him in the earlier chapters, in chapter 12. If you just please turn with me back to chapter 12 and verse 12 about Peter. It says: "And when he had considered the thing," this is when Peter came out of this jail, if you remember, "he came to the house of Miriam, the mother of John, here's that man, whose surname was Mark, where they were gathered together in praying." You see, the early apostles, the early believers in Jerusalem apparently were gathered together in the house of this man, young man by the name of Yochanan Mark.

That is where they were gathering together. And if you notice now in verse 25, it says: "And Barnabas and Saul returned from Jerusalem when they fulfilled their ministry and they took with them John Mark, or John, whose surname was Mark." So apparently they took him and they used him, in other words, he ministered the gospel with them. He was a younger believer, Jewish believer, ministering among the Gentile world.

Now you know how it must have been difficult for this young man as he is leaving his home, going to the Gentile world, pagan world, ministering the word of God with Sha'ul and Barnaba, with Paul and Barnabas. And he is exposing himself to all kind of things that he was never exposing himself before. Like those of us who are Jewish here, that when we became a believer in Jesus the Messiah, we've never done certain things before we became believers, like we never went to a church building. I will never forget when I heard the bell, I ran.

A bell ringing: ding dong ding... I was running. I was so afraid of so-called church. When I saw the stained glass windows and the steeple and then you see the long-bearded man with the black clothes, the priest, and I was shivering, I was scared. We've never gone to these things. We are Jewish, you see. We are coming back from that which our forefathers have taught us and we were never reading the New Testament, never gone to church building, never have associated, never ate unkosher food like pork and so on. That was scary for us.

Now what happened apparently with this young man by the name of John Mark, Barnabas wanted to take him for the ministry with Paul as they were going to get ready for the second missionary journey. For a while he was with them, but now please turn to Acts chapter 13. Notice what happened in verse 13: "And when Paul and his company," they were together in a ministry, "they loosed from Paphos, they came to Perga in Pamphylia, and look at this what it says here: and John, this is Yochanan Mark, he departing from them and he returned to Jerusalem."

We do not know the reason why, but apparently he departed from the work of the Lord and that's perhaps here again was too much exposure to paganism and idolatry and things that he was not used to. Maybe it was being Jewish and maybe it could be that he was afraid to associate with the pagan worlds, with the Gentile world. We do not know the reason, but apparently here when Barnabas wanted the John Mark will go with them in Acts 15 verse 37, look what Paul said in verse 38.

Paul thought it not good to take him with them. Why? He says, "Who departed from them from Pamphylia and he went not with them to the work." In other words, he held the plow for a while and then he left the plow and he went back home. In other words, he left the work of the Lord and at this point of time, Paul says, "No, we're not going to take him with us." Barnabas says, "Yes, we're going to take him along." Paul says, "No, we're not going to take. He left the work." Barnabas says, "Yes, we're going to take him with us." And apparently, brothers and sisters, that brought about friction between two godly men, two men of God.

Two men of God who love the Lord Jesus, love Yeshua the Messiah, want to serve the Lord, but for some reason things come between them that cause them to be separated from each other and there is a contention, there is a friction between them. They both love the Lord. They both want to serve him, but they see certain things a little bit different. In this case, John Mark relative of Barnabas, he wanted to take him along. Paul says, "Listen, he did not continue earlier, I do not think it is right for him to come with us in the second missionary journey. He left the ministry, he went not with us to work, he went back home to Jerusalem. He cannot come with us right now. Maybe later on, but not right now."

Well, there was a contention and the Bible teaches us here, beloved, look at this, in verse 39: "There was contention." You know when I read that about contention, there were two contentions here in this chapter. Contention number one began where those Jewish people who came down from Judea told the Gentile believers that they must be saved on a basis of circumcision, they must be circumcised. There was a contention in the beginning of the chapter and there is a contention at the end of the chapter.

In the beginning of the chapter, it had to do with something extremely important that needed to be dealt with, that salvation is by grace, not through circumcision. But here there were just two different opinions. There was a contention. It's not a matter of salvation. It's not a matter of who going to go to heaven and who's not going to go to heaven. It is simply an outlook at the situation of the moment with respect to this young man by the name of John Mark. So the contention was... look it says in verse 39, it was so sharp between them that they departed asunder one from another.

It must have been sad because it was Barnabas who called Paul, Sha'ul, brought him to Jerusalem, introduced him to the brethren. It was Barnabas who was first in Antioch even before Paul came. It was Barnabas that was perhaps maybe older or so that he's the one that have been used by the Spirit of God to kind of help Paul to be introduced to the believers both in Jerusalem and then Antioch.