By Amir Tsarfati
Let's move to Jesus in the Old Testament. And the reason why I wanted to teach
that subject is for a specific concern that I have as I'm traveling around the world, and I
see more and more predominantly Gentile believers that have very limited knowledge
and understanding if any of the Old Testament.
Some of them are even walking with a book, that I was shocked to see, that has =the New Testament and Psalms. I hope they paid half price for it because it's half of the
Bible. But I can tell you that it shocked me because, you know, don't get me wrong; I'm
not here to say that the New Testament is less important than the Old, I'm just saying
that the Old Testament is not less than the New, and that which makes the New
Testament “new” is the fact that there is an “old” one.
And it's important that all of us understand that Christ Himself when He had the
chance to explain to people and prove that He is the Messiah, He never used a New
Testament.
In fact, Jesus never preached from the New Testament even once. He never even quoted it once. Paul never quoted the New Testament once. Peter never quoted the New Testament once. John never mentioned the New Testament once, because they were all writing it, so when we talk about the scriptures and the Word of God during the time of the first century, what was it? The Old Testament.
So how can we ignore such an important portion of the Scriptures that is quoted
often by Jesus Himself, even when He was tempted by sin, if you remember, and going
2 on, all the way to the very end of the Gospel of Luke, when He was walking, and we will talk about it on the road to Damascus.
In fact, I realized a lot of people are afraid to deal with the Old Testament. They think it's a book full of judgment, of the harsh picture of God and/or some people think that the New Testament that the New Testaments for Christians and the Old Testament is for Jews. Well, I can tell you this: Jesus was not a Christian. I'm sorry. If anything, Jesus was is Jew, okay? And I can tell you one thing: God is not Jewish. God is the creator of the heavens and the earth.
So we don't have to put things in a box. We have to understand that understanding and learning and starting the Old Testament is essential for a believer in order to understand the New Testament and the Messiahship and the lordship of Jesus Himself. Many Christians are falling into one of the two traps: one is idolizing Israel, or completely rejecting Israel's role in the scriptures, thinking that God has replaced Israel with the church. And both are from, obviously, ignorance of the understanding of the scriptures.
Well, people are asking me, “So why do Christians, do Gentile Christian predominantly need to know the Old Testament? Well, if the Old Testament is for the Jews, then I have news for you: I'm reading from 1 Peter, Chapter 2, Verse 9, and I would love to read it with you out loud. 1 Peter, Chapter 2, Verse 9, “But you -- the Gentiles -- are a chosen generation. You are royal priesthood. You are His own special people, that you may proclaim the praises of Him who called you out of darkness into His marvelous light. You who once were not a people, but are now the people of God, who had not obtained mercy, but now have obtained mercy.”
You, whether you like it or not, have been grafted into the olive tree of Israel and you are partakers of the fatness of the oil, and you who once were the wild olive tree have been grafted into the cultivated olive tree. Now you can't run away from it. This is it.
You now have the title, “Chosen people,” you who once were not His people are now not only His people, “royal priesthood!” Now I suggest if you are “priests,” you better know the Scriptures! You better understand what priesthood is all about, and you better go back to the very, very beginning.
And the whole idea of teaching Jesus in the Old Testament came to me predominately because I, for example, came to know the Lord without even reading a single, Verse in the New Testament. Did you know that? I did not have the New Testament. I only had the Old Testament.
This is a book that almost every Israeli has in his home, and I read that prophet.
When people told me about Christ, they never shared the New Testament; they shared with me the Old Testament. Obviously, if I would hear the “New Testament,” I would reject it right there on the spot, from the very beginning.
Because for us, the Jews, the New Testament is a non-Jewish book written for non-Jews to start a new religion. And so I remember reading the Old Testament and reading all those amazing prophecies, especially in the book of Isaiah. When I stumbled into Isaiah 53, that was too much for me. I had to decide. And I decided. And I was kicked out of my house. I had nowhere to go.
But it's because the Old Testament was so real to me that I had to -- I had to acknowledge Jesus as the Messiah. Now, what is the cost for it, for that decision? I didn't know. Well, I knew a few hours later. But I can tell you one thing: Jesus is the Messiah, and He's all over the Old Testament.
The first time I read the New Testament was in my military service, and I was in the Armored Corps. I was reading inside the tanks. When they were serviced, I would sneak into the tank, and I had a small little New Testament I kept in the pocket right here, and I would read it with a little flashlight, and I was amazed! It's not for non-Jews about a non-Jewish thing directing someone to a non-Jewish faith. It is all quotations of the Old Testament that I know. It's a Messiah who came to the lost sheep of the House of Israel. So Luke Chapter 24 is where I want to start this morning. Luke 24 is an amazing way to finish a great gospel, and that was obviously right after Jesus resurrected from the dead. We all know that it was Sunday morning, and the women went to the tomb, and the tomb was empty. And then the angel appeared before them and said, “He's not dead; He's not here, as He said.” And then, of course, they ran, and Peter came, and the rest of the people came, and they found that the tomb is empty.
And that's when in, Verse 13 we see, “Now behold, two of the disciples, they
were traveling that same day to a village called Emmaus, which was seven miles from
Jerusalem. And they talked together of all these things which had happened.
So it was while they converse and reasoned, that Jesus Himself drew near and
went with them, but their eyes were restrained so that they did not know Him. And He
said to them, “What kind of conversation is that you have with one another, and you
walk and you are sad?”
Can you imagine? They walked and they talked about the resurrection of Christ and they’re sad? You know how many Christians I know that they don't have that joy of the Lord, and they're always depressed and oppressed and suppressed, and in some, somewhat they are stuck with Him on the cross, and they forgot that He's no longer there! He resurrected!
You know a lot of people were crucified that day, a lot of people were crucified that month, that year; it wasn't a big of a deal to be crucified. You just had to do
something the Romans didn't like and you were there. But there is no one that had the honor to have two Roman soldiers standing by His tomb making sure nothing weird is happening. Isn’t that amazing? The Roman Army had more faith in Jesus’ resurrection than the disciples themselves!
The disciples could not believe that He is not there. The Romans made sure
there are two soldiers, and it's sealed off, and there is nothing then, no room for surprises.
He’s the only dead person that was escorted while He was dead by two armed guards.
And I can tell you that first thing in the morning, Sunday morning, the rolling
stone is rolled back and the soldiers are gone, and the women go in, and He's gone, He's not there. And the angels appear.
And those two disciples are walking, and that's what they're talking about.
They're actually talking about the greatest thing of all, the resurrection of the Lord, and
they’re sad because they don't understand what the resurrection means because they
don't understand that the power of Jesus is mostly in His resurrection.
In order to be resurrected, He had to die first. You cannot resurrect from the dead unless you’re dead first. And now on that road to Emmaus, Jesus is now asking them, “So why you so sad?” And one of them whose name was Cleophus answered in, Verse 18 and said, “Are you the only stranger in Jerusalem, and have you not known the things which happened there in these days?” That tells you how amazing it was that God made all of that happen during that major Jewish festival, so everyone will know and hear and understand that something like that happened. The power of that event was amazing! Are you the only one?
What are you talking about? “We are talking about the things concerning Jesus
of Nazareth, who was a prophet, mighty in deed and word before God and all the
people, and how the chief priests and our rulers delivered Him to be condemned to
death, and crucified Him. But we were hoping that He was He who was going to
redeem Israel.”
We see that's why they were sad. “We were hoping that it was He who is going to redeem Israel. We were hoping.” Past tense. Their hopes are gone. He's not the one. He did not deliver. We're still under the Romans. Do you see?
That's the wrong perception of the Messiah that they had, and therefore, they were sad. And then they said, “But we were hoping, and indeed, beside all this, today it's the third day since these things happen, and yes, and certain women of our company who arrived at the tomb early astonished us. And when they did not find His body, they came saying that they also seen a vision of angels who said that He was alive. And then certain of those who were with us went to the tomb and found it was
just as the women had said, but Him they did not see.” They're actually not only talking about His death, but they're talking about his resurrection. He's gone. He's alive! And they're sad. And then He said to them, “O foolish ones and slow of heart to believe in all that the prophets have spoken. Ought not the Messiah to have suffered these things and to enter into His glory, and then
beginning at Moses and the prophets, He expounded to them in all the scriptures,” What were the scriptures in those days? The Old Testament. “He expounded to them in all the Scriptures the things concerning Himself.” And then the Bible doesn't tell us what exactly He said. Exactly! What did you say? I want that, the notes of that sermon! This is the greatest teaching of all! He told them on the way everything! He went through all the scriptures, I bet, from Genesis 1:1 all the way about Himself. You see?
That's me; that's me; that's me; that's me; He said this; He said that. And it's
interesting because He Himself, Jesus said -- once they understood that this is Him --
He said to them in, Verse 44, “These are the words which I spoke to you while I was still
with you, that all things must be fulfilled, which were written in the Law of Moses and the
prophets and the Psalms concerning me.”
Must be fulfilled. Jesus did not come to fulfill part, half. He's not half the
Messiah. He's not maybe, could be, probably. He is the Messiah and everything must be fulfilled. And if it's hard to bring someone from Nazareth all the way back to Bethlehem, then we'll make sure that Caesar Augustus will call for a census so He will 9 come all the way, Joseph, all the way back to Bethlehem so Jesus will be born, so the words of the Prophet will be fulfilled, “In you, Bethlehem Ephrathah, that's where I'm going to have my son born.” Truth. Everything had to be fulfilled, not part, not some. And Jesus says it's not just in the Law of Moses; it's in the prophets, and in the Psalms, and it's all concerning me. I am the hope of Israel. I am the Messiah of Israel, and it has been written and foretold, and it's all around, and it's all over your scriptures. And so I thought to myself, I'll give you a glimpse of Jesus in the Law of Moses, Jesus in the prophets, and in the Psalms.
In the Law of Moses; it's very interesting. In the first five books of Moses, we see that Jesus Himself, in John Chapter 5 says, “For if you believed Moses, you would believe Me, for He wrote about Me.” Don't think that by believing in Moses, that makes you okay for not believing in Me. I am the one of whom Moses was speaking. And I want to share with you a couple of amazing things that I found out as I was reading the scriptures. the first thing is: when God created -- in Genesis 1:1, all the way till, Verse 19, when God started obviously creating the world, the Bible says that God says, “Let there be light.” Again, Genesis Chapter 1, you see, “Let there be light,” He says in, Verse 3. But where was it? And that was the first day. Where was it that the sun was created? Because you and I think that the source of light in this world is the sun. Well, the sun was created on the fourth day. So how come God said, “Let there be light” on the first day when the sun was created on the fourth day? Have you ever thought about that?
Literally, we see that God somehow allowed the source of light, the real and the ultimate source of light to shine its light. Step in, my Son, shine your light. Now how do
I know that with such certainty? A, because I know; B, because if you read Psalm 72, Verse 17 -- and that sometimes I feel sorry for you guys for having the English translation because it really -- it takes so much of the original text, and so much of the meaning of the names and the words -- and in Psalm 72, Verse 17, your Bible says something like this.
Your Bible says, “His name shall endure forever! His name shall continue as
long as the sun.” Well, you know what the Hebrew translations says? The Hebrew original text says, the Hebrew says, “His name shall endure forever! His name was
there before the sun, and men shall be blessed in Him, and all nations shall call Him
blessed.” He was the light of the world before the sun was there.
“Before the sun, Messiah was there.” That's what the Bible says. That's what my Bible says. That's what not what your Bible says, unfortunately. So correct it, please. But it's important that you understand that gives you the understanding of why Jesus said, “I am the light of the world.” Why do you think He said that? He was there from day one, not part of the creation, but part of that Creator. Step in and shine your light. That's what the Father said. Interesting, isn't it?
And then in Genesis 3, Verse 8 -- we all know the story in Genesis 3 -- we all know that God was there, Adam, and there was Eve, and then we know that there were two trees. We know that he not supposed to eat the fruit of those. We all know that the fruit of the tree of the knowledge and the fruit of the tree of life. Isn’t that interesting? Why is it knowledge and life? Because God says in His word, “I am The Life; I am The Truth, and I am The Way.” And because in His word it says, “The fear of the Lord is the beginning of wisdom and knowledge.”
So if you need to take the fruit of the Tree of Knowledge or the Tree of Life that
means He is not enough, And you cannot offend God more than that by saying, “You're
not everything; You're not all-in-all; I need more somewhere else.”
And it's interesting because after they already tried the fruit and after they felt so
guilty and ashamed, and then the Bible says that the Lord is walking in the garden, but in
Verse 8, it's a very interesting thing.
The Jewish people spoke Hebrew for many, many years, but throughout the first century before Christ, in the first century after Christ, and on the Hebrew language was no longer a spoken language in the day-to-day life. It was more for liturgical reasons and purposes; therefore, when the rabbi wanted to talk to the lay students and expound things of the Torah or the prophets, he would use what we call “targum,” translation to their language to the current language that we have. Aramaic or Greek in the Onkelus Targum from the first century and Genesis 3:8 says, “Adam and Eve heard the Memra of the Lord.” Memra is the Word, the Word of God.
So they heard the Word of God walking in the garden. Who is the Word of God, of whom John said, “In the beginning was the Word?” Jesus Himself. Can you imagine? Christ Himself was in the Garden of Eden walking, not in the role of the creation, but the Creator. He's the one they could see. He's the one who walked. He's the one they fear and they were ashamed of.
And then in Genesis 3:15, we have the punishment for that sin. We hear “the seed of the woman.” With all the respect, women don't have seed. They have an egg. Hello? How come we have the seed of the woman here? The only case in history where the woman had a seed that was not of a man and produced the life of a human being, that was obviously divine, it was Jesus Himself.
So the seed of the woman could only refer to one person in the entire history, Jesus.
And He is the one who will crush with His heel the head of the serpent. He's the one
who can defeat Satan, the only one.
It's interesting in Genesis 4 –- look, we just started Genesis 1, 2, 3; Genesis 4 --
for the first time in the Bible, we hear the word “sheep” and the word “sin” in the same Chapter. Isn’t it interesting how the lamb would be slain in order to have this the sinatone? The two were together from the very beginning.
Genesis 4, Verse 2, as Abel was giving the offering from the sheep, and then, of course, Cain's heart and Cain's intentions God counted it as sin. So you see those two words appearing together, but then we see those two words again in a very amazing way in Genesis 22, the offering of Isaac.
We see that when Isaac was brought to Mount Moriah He was asking his father
Abraham, “Where is the lamb, father? We're about to sacrifice to the Lord something.”
And Abraham said, “God will provide for Himself a lamb.” But it's interesting in Verse
12, God intervened. He stopped Abraham before killing Isaac.
And He said, “Now I know that you believe in Me; you have not withheld your son, your only son from Me.” Isn’t that interesting? The term “your only son” appears twice in that very Chapter. It's the same exact thing that we hear when Jesus is going through the Jordan River, and the skies open and God speaks with an audible voice saying, “This is my son with whom I'm pleased, my only son, my only begotten son.” Same words.
And it's very interesting because we see a type of what God is going to do to His son here in this Chapter. And that's why when John, who was a Jew and not a Baptist, when he was watching people coming to the Jordan River in John 1:29, he saw Jesus walking towards him, then he says, “Behold the lamb of God who takes away the sin of the world.”
Again, lamb and sin walk together. He's everywhere. He's all throughout the
Old Testament, and John who was the son of the priestly family, he could see that. He
grew up on the teachings of the Old Testament and the teaching of the Torah. He could see that there has to be an atonement, not just for the sin of Israel not just for the sin of the people, or the priest, or the Levite, but of the whole world.
It's a concept unknown to the Jews. Every Jew on the day of atonement is not praying for the atonement of the sins of the world. It's all about the nation of Israel. Here, John a voice calling in the wilderness, “Prepare ye the way of the Lord.” He can see something way beyond his Israel. He can see all of you, and he can see that that person who's approaching him is beyond just a person. He is the Lamb of God, and He will take away, not cover, not hide, take away the sin of the whole world, amen. So Jesus is all throughout the book of Moses, even in Genesis 49, in the blessing of Jacob. We see about Shiloh. We talked about it the other day. That He will come and He will rule, coming from the tribe of Judah. It's all there. But then when we move to the Book of Psalms, we can say that there are 16 Messianic Psalms from all the 150 Psalms that we have. More than 10% of the Psalms that we have in the Book of Psalms are actually Messianic ones, either David or the sons of Asaf, or the sons of Korah, or anyone of the Psalms, they were basically moved by the Spirit of God to speak the words of Christ Himself, not knowing who they're actually quoting because they lived way before He came.
And I give you one example, one small example, Psalm 22. Psalm 22; an amazing Psalm that speaks of the actual crucifixion. And David did not write all the Psalms, but this one He wrote. It says in Psalm 22, in Verse 1, he says to the chief musician, “To the deer of the dawn, a Psalm of David.”
David the King wrote this Psalm, and you can read, and it's amazing Psalm, but then when you get to all the way to Verse 11, actually from Verse 10, “I was cast upon you from birth; from my mother's womb you have been my God.” You see? He was formed, he was shaped in his mother's womb already with a touch of God. And then he said, “And for trouble is near, for there is none to help. Many bulls have surrounded me; strong bulls of Bashan encircle me. They gape at Me with their mouths like a raging and roaring lion. I am poured out like water, and all my bones are out of joint. My heart is like wax; it has melted within Me. My strength is dried up like a potsherd, and my tongue clings up to my jaws. You have brought Me to the dust of death. For dogs have surrounded Me, the congregation of the wicked has enclosed Me; they pierced my hands and my feet.”
Was David pierced? No. David is speaking of the Messiah without understanding, without knowing. He's obeying the Word and the Spirit of God, and he's just speaking. He's just writing. And we, 3,000 years after David, we can read, and we know exactly who is he talking about.
“They pierced My hands and my feet. I can count all My bones. They even look at and stare at Me, and they divide My garments among them, and for My clothing, they cast lots. But you, O Lord, do not be far from Me.”
What a vivid description of the crucifixion of Christ in the book of Psalms. And if that’s not enough, Jesus is all over the books of the prophets. In fact, in the books of the prophets, we see the separation from God. You see that a man from God is the promised solution, the New Testament promise, the miraculous birth of Christ. They rejected His first coming, His suffering, His sacrifice, and even His victorious second coming are all throughout the books of the prophets. And the one that was the most amazing of all to me, of course, is what I just
shared with you before. Isaiah Chapter 53. Isaiah said, “He is despised and rejected by men, a man of sorrows and acquainted with grief, and we hid, as it were, our faces from Him. He was despised, and we did not esteem Him.” Isn’t that amazing? And then he says, “He was wounded for our transgressions. He was bruised for our iniquities. All of us like sheep have gone astray. We have turned, everyone, to his own way, and the Lord has laid on Him the iniquity of us all. He was oppressed and He was afflicted, yet He opened not His mouth. He was led as a lamb to the slaughter, and as a sheep before its shearer in silence. So He opened not his mouth. He was taken from prison and from judgment, and who will declare His generation? And for He was cut off from the land of the living, for transgression of My people, He was stricken, and they made His grave with a wicked, but with the rich at His death, because He had done no violence, nor was any deceit in His mouth.”
Isaiah says an innocent man was killed for us all. All of us have gone astray and the Lord put upon Him our iniquities, our sins, and our transgression. Amazing! But then how do you tell a Jew that there is a New Testament? Well did you know that the New Testament was prophesied in the Old? Did you know that? Jeremiah the prophet in Chapter 31, in Verse 31 wrote, and again, I'm sorry for your translation, but Jeremiah said in Verse 31, “Behold the days are coming, says the Lord, when I will make a new -- now you have “New Covenant,” but in the Hebrew, it's “New Testament” -- New Testament with the House of Israel and with the House of Judah, and not according to the Covenant, or the Testament, I've made with their fathers as I took them by their hand, led them out of the land of Egypt. My covenant, which they broke though I was a husband to them, says the Lord, but this is the Covenant that I will make with the House of Israel in those days, says the Lord. I will put My law in their minds and write it on their hearts.” It's not going to be a written law anymore; it's going to be the Spirit. The written law kills. The Spirit gives life. It's no longer going to be based on the Mosaic law. It's going to be based on the grace of God. But He promised to the people of Israel a New Testament through the prophets in the Old one. Jesus is all over.
I'm giving you just glimpse so you understand. It could take a week to teach you all of the messianic portions in the Old Testament. And then Jesus is not just there. He's in the feasts of Israel, all around. We celebrate seven festivals every year and we don't even pay attention to the fact that it's all about Him.
The Bible says in Colossians 2, Verses 16 and 17, “Therefore let no one judge in food or drink, or regarding a festival or new moon or sabbath; these are the shadow of things to come, but the substance is Christ.” So you can celebrate those things; they're great, but they're just a shadow. The substance is Jesus. He's there. So don't miss it. There are seven festivals in Leviticus 23. Passover, Unleavened Bread, Firstfruits, the Feast of Weeks, the Feast of Trumpets, Day of Atonement, and the Feast of Tabernacles. And were they fulfilled in Christ? Look at this. Passover speaks of the crucifixion of the Lord, the killing of that unblemished lamb. Remember that. He was; the Bible says, “In Christ, indeed was our Passover,” Paul wrote. It has been fulfilled in the past.
What about the Feast of Unleavened Bread, speaking of the sinless life of the Lord obviously was fulfilled when He lived here.
What about the Feast of Firstfruits? The Bible talked about the first fruit from among those who fell asleep. He was the Firstfruits. The resurrection of the Lord was actual fulfillment of the Feast of Firstfruits, as the priests on the first day after Passover, the first Sunday after Passover, had to bring a sheaf of the Firstfruits in the temple, so was Christ the first Sunday after Passover became the Firstfruits from those who fell asleep. And therefore it has been fulfilled.
And then fifty days exactly after Passover we count and we get Pentecost. Penta is 50. The Feast of Weeks, seven weeks, 49, and then the fiftieth day, we celebrate the giving of the law on Mount Sinai. If you remember when we read the Old Testament, you'll find out that while Moses came down with the tablets, the Jewish people were already busy with the Golden Calf. And what happened? 3,000 men died that day. And it's interesting because in the Book of Acts when the Holy Spirit descended that day, 3,000 people were added to the church. You see? Perfect fulfillment in an amazing way. It has been fulfilled and that's all for spring festivals were fulfilled 2,000 years ago.
And what about the Fall Festivals, the last three? The Feast of Trumpets speaks of a day when everybody should gather, and we are blowing the trumpets. It's a very weird festival; well, not if you understand that God commanded Moses to make two silver trumpets. Why silver? Why two? Why trumpets? Silver is a precious metal, but not perfect. Trumpets are to get the attention of everyone. Why two? Because I believe it's Israel and the church. These are the two people that God said, “You are My witnesses.”
And it's interesting because only since 1948, Israel and the church coexist, so I do believe with all my heart that we live in the days of the Feast of Trumpets, and we are waiting to be raptured, but then once we come back with the Lord, the day of atonement will take place.
And Jesus’ Second Coming will take place. And Israel will mourn and will cry, according to what Zechariah says in Chapter 12, Verse 10. “And then all Israel will be saved.” An amazing plan of salvation, as Romans 11 suggests. So the Day of Atonement will take place in the future.
And then the thousand years, Millennial Kingdom, the Lord will Tabernacle with us. Feast of Tabernacles. It's the longest and happiest Feast of all the Jews, and it's gonna happen obviously in the future. And the only thing that is missing is, of course, the rapture’s exact time, but we know it soon, amen?
It's interesting; you know, I got an email from someone who told me that he can predict the second coming – actually, no -- the rapture within 48 hours. I love those emails. So I read the email. It was fantastic. It just was wrong. I mean, he expounded, and he really went through everything, the year of Shmita and the year of Jubilee, explained everything. And he gave me the dates basically. I have the dates, by the way, to see. You know, I'm not gonna share it with you. For a certain amount...but no, really... Think about it. He said that he knows the date when Jesus said even the son does not day -- does not know the day and the hour. So it's obviously based on the wrong assumption that men can know the day and the hour.
But we see that Jesus appears in many forms and shapes all throughout the Scriptures. These are called Theophanies. Theophanies is when it's the appearance, the revelation of God Himself. God is “Theos,” “to reveal oneself” is l’haneia. And we see that. He appears as the son of man; He appears as the angel of the Lord. He appears as a king called Melchizedek. He appears as the one who wrestled with Jacob.
He appears in so many shapes and forms. In Daniel Chapter 3, Verse 24 and
25, we see, “In my vision at night I looked and the before me was like the Son of Man,
coming with the clouds of heaven. He approached; the Ancient of Days was led into His
presence. He was given authority, and glory, and sovereign power.” And who is that Son of Man? We know that Jesus Himself referred to Himself as “son of man” in Matthew 20:24. And we see in Mark 10, in John 3, all of that, the son of man that Daniel saw must have been Jesus Himself.
What about that mysterious king in Genesis 14, right after Abraham came back
from getting his nephew and chasing all those kings that took him? We know he appeared before a king of Salem called Melchizedek, the king of righteousness. It's interesting because he, what he did; he gave Him tithes and offerings. And it clearly tells that Melchizedek was greater than Abraham, and, in fact, He was a divine person because obviously, you don't give tithes and offering to no one but God Himself. And that's why in Hebrews, Chapter 7, Verse 3, we have the explanation given by Peter that Jesus Himself was in the order of Melchizedek. So we see that even there. And then that nameless stranger that was fighting with Jacob, wrestling with Jacob. That's when Jacob received the name “Israel” in Genesis, Chapter 32. So we see that Jacob named that place of struggle Peniel, the face of God. The meaning of the story is that Jacob believed that he had been face to face with God! That nameless stranger was Jesus Himself! And if that's not enough, the angel of the Lord that appeared before Gideon, and he said to him, “Peace! Do not be afraid.” The Lord said to Him, “You are not going to die.” So Gideon built an altar to the Lord there, and called it “the Lord is peace.” He speaks to the Lord. The Lord is before Him. Who is that Lord? And what about Isaiah Chapter 9, there all of us read during Christmas time, “For unto us a child is born, unto us a son is given.” The prophets talks about “His son,” yet look what He says. And “His name will be ‘Wonderful, Counselor, Mighty God, Everlasting Father, Prince of Peace.”
Who is that son? Who is also the Father? And he's also the mighty God. No devout Jew, and especially not a prophet like Isiah would ever refer to a mere human being as “Mighty God.”
So you see Jesus is everywhere. And if that’s not enough, Zechariah 12:10 when we talked about the return of Christ, and Israel will mourn and cry. Babylonian Talmud, which was completed 500 years after Jesus offered a commentary on Zechariah 12:10. And the Verse reads, “They will look on Me, the One whom they have pierced, and they will mourn for Him, as one mourns for an only child. And grieved bitterly for Him as one grieves for a firstborn son.”
In the Targum, the Jewish rabbinical translation says, “What is the cause of that mourning?” And the answer? “It is well according to Him who explains that the cause is the slaying of Messiah, the son of Joseph.” It's a Jewish rabbinical answer to a question. It's all over there. He's over there.
So why is it that we have to lean on all those scriptures given us thousands of years ago? In Romans 15, it says in Verse 4, “For whatever things were written before were written for our learning, that we through the patience and comfort of the Scriptures we might have hope.” And that's why when Paul was in prison in Rome, in a house prison, and he sat there. He invited all the leaders of the Jewish people -- he had a heart for them -- and he said, “Look, I invited all of you, and I want you. I want Him. Please- -- I'm pleading before you. Listen! “For this reason, therefore, I request to see you and to speak with you. For I am wearing this chain for the sake of the hope of Israel.” s Jesus your hope? Is He the light in your life? Is He the word of God that is dwelling with us right now in your life? You know, where two or three people are together in His name, He's there is. Is He with you? Do you know Him, or are you stuck with Him on the cross, and therefore, you're always sad? Do you know Him? Do you know His face? Do you know His nature? Do you know the power of Resurrection? Do you know that all of these things were written so we will have hope, so we will have comfort in everything that we go through?
“For this reason, Paul said, I am bound in those chains for the hope of Israel.” And I pray and hope this morning but Jesus, Yeshua from Nazareth, is not just a little baby on Christmas Day for you.
I pray that He is the light in your life, that He is the hope of your life, that He is the Word that is within you every day, and I pray that you will see Him everywhere throughout the Scriptures and that you will be such an intelligent Christian that when you stumble and see a Jewish person and you need to talk to him about the Messiah because your job is to provoke them to jealousy, you will know exactly what to say because you've got the weapon.
Sad to say that so many Christians don't have the assurance of their salvation. and they want to become Jews. Do You know how many people I see all around the world that actually wanna be Jews? When in reality God will ask you to provoke them to jealousy, and not to be provoked by them to jealousy.
You are a chosen people, a royal priesthood, a people who are set for Himself. You have been grafted in. You should know His word because you were given the authority, and you were given the status. Status and authority; to whom much is given, much is required. You better study the Word. You better know it because you will be able to share and have the comfort and hope in your very life.
Let's pray. Father, we thank You so much that You gave us those wonderful scriptures, not just so we can be smart or knowledgeable, but these scriptures will give us patience and hope.
We thank You, Father, for the great burden that You put on the hearts of every Gentile to provoke the Jewish people to jealousy. And we asked this morning that things that we've shared, the things that we've heard will not fall on barren land, but they will somehow bear fruit, the hunger to know Your entire Word, the full council will be there. Father, we thank You that You sent the light of the world to shine it's light -- His light for us, and we thank You that we know Him personally, Father. We ask this morning that if there is anyone here does not know Him personally as a savior, as a redeemer, as the hope of his life, as the light in this world, as the Word who walks in the garden of his heart, Father, we pray this morning that hearts will be touched, the Spirit will show where and what, and lives will be changed. We thank You, and we praise You, and we ask all of this in the holy name of the Holy One of Israel, the King of Kings, the Lord of Lords, the Lion of Judah, the Prince of Peace, the Lamb of God, Emmanuelle, in the name that is above all names, the name of Yeshua, Jesus.
And all of God's people say amen. Thank you.