Are You The Messiah? the ministry. Bible Boot-Camp Lesson #7b

The Prophet / Teacher of YHWH...


Scale model of Herod's Temple in Jerusalem during the time of the Apostles.
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"O Jerusalem, Jerusalem, the one who kills the prophets
and stones those who are sent to her!
How often I wanted to gather your children together,
as a hen gathers her chicks under her wings,
but you were not willing!"
- Matthew 23:37

The 3 1/2 Year Ministry

If you don’t live it, don’t teach it! “True religion is the life you lead, not the creed you possess.” The Messiah could have come down from Heaven as a mature man just the way Adam was created, but He was born of a woman just like the rest of humanity. He was born of low birth, in a dirty, smelly manger - no one can say they had it any worse.

He had flesh like ours and grew tired and hungry - just like us. When He heard bad news, He wept - just like us. He had a moment of doubt (Mat.26:39) - just like us. And when He was crucified, it hurt, it really hurt. He felt pain - just like us. No one could say they had it any worse.

This was done for a specific reason, to live as a righteous example to humanity. If He came directly from Heaven, then humanity could say, “He is not like us, and we cannot do as He does.” But coming into this world just as all humanity does, and walking the Earth just as all humanity does, then we should be able to follow in His footsteps. It is called “leading by example.”

Prophecy says a messenger preceded the Messiah. This Heavenly messenger would be preaching of the imminent arrival of the Messianic age, to be spiritually prepared one must repent, for the Kingdom of YAHWEH is at hand. He taught repentance and the washing away of sins is symbolized in a full body water baptism. The Pharisees knew about water baptism, they had used it in converting gentile proselytes to Judaism. In Judaism, water baptism was an initiatory rite, before the start of being born of the spirit.

Yahshua officially began His ministry with His Baptism. Imagine, having the honor to baptize the Messiah. The one chosen as YAHWEH’S messenger was called John the Baptist (Mat.ch.3; Luk.ch.1; Mar.1:9-11; Jno.1:19-34). He was of priestly descent, but he chose the simple life, probably belonging to the Essene community. He was a Prophet, and there is a hint that he is a little more then just an ordinary messenger of GOD (Mat.11:10-15). He lived as an obscure desert dweller who made famous the diet of bugs and honey (eating certain types of bugs is Biblically correct, Lev.11:20-23). He was “the lone voice in the wilderness,” and his call to action comes from Isaiah 40:3-5. His job was to “make the way ready for the Messiah” (Luk.3:1-22).

Imagine witnessing this event. The Essenes have been waiting faithfully for centuries, and they were among the multitudes that flocked to the Jordan River when Yahshua arrived in front of John the Baptist. He did not immediately acknowledge Yahshua as the Messiah, but he did recognize that there was no sin in Him and excused Yahshua from the necessity of baptism, but Yahshua insisted . . ..

All of a sudden, the people gasped and were astonished, as the sky became dark and strange clouds moved overhead. They actually saw the Holy Spirit descending upon Yahshua. They were trembling eyewitnesses, seeing the heavens open up above them to a bright cloud and hearing YAHWEH’S declaration from heaven, confirming that HE is pleased with Yahshua, HIS son. HE admonishes all the people to listen to Him (Mat.3:16).

Then John the Baptist had the honor to introduce the Messiah to the waiting world, “Behold the Lamb of God, which taketh away the sins of the world,” John 1:29.

Yahshua, , Prophet of Nazareth, the second Adam (the second Adam means the second seed of YAHWEH), was a man with a mission, and time is short! He came to save the Universe, very serious business! He came:

[1] to qualify, to rule the Government of YAHWEH on the throne of the Earth.
[2] to announce the Gospel (means good news) of the future Kingdom of YAHWEH.
[3] to take on Himself the penalty of human sins.
[4] to be resurrected, making possible eternal life for the human race.
[5] to establish YAHWEH’S Messianic Church. The New Covenant Assembly, and teach the Gospel starting with the chosen twelve Disciples.

Summary [1] To qualify means to test. This also means the office of the Messiah is not a birthright. One must qualify. Satan first tried to kill the infant Yahshua through King Herod. Having failed, Satan waited until His education was complete. At around 28 years of age, after His baptism, Yahshua made a public announcement of His ministry (Luk.3:23). This would not go unnoticed by the dark side.

After His baptism Yahshua went out into the wilderness and fasted for 40 days. In a pivotal confrontation between good and evil, Satan verbally tried to tempt Yahshua (Mat.ch.4). Satan offered Yahshua the kingdom of the Earth. Notice, Yahshua did not dispute Satan’s ownership of the world (Satan is the god of this world, YAHWEH is the GOD of the Kingdom to come), He responded by quoting Scripture regarding temptation, and simply commanded Satan to “be gone.” Yahshua the Messiah, the second Adam, did not give in to any temptations of the dark forces. He qualified to rule Earth under YAHWEH’S Government. Yahshua then lived a perfect life.

Summary [2] He preached the Gospel (means the “good news”), that the coming Kingdom of YAHWEH is at hand. Yahshua, verbally, and by a living example, illustrated the principles of the New Covenant given a few hundred years earlier by the Prophet Jeremiah.

Yahshua taught that the FATHER is not a “gotcha” kind of GOD, (looking to find faults in people, to keep them out of HIS Kingdom). But one who loves and forgives all humanity, even the lowly most wretched person has value, and all should learn so they may join HIM in HIS Kingdom. The lessons Yahshua taught discount most of Jewish oral law, but still uses the lessons of the Torah and the Prophets of the Hebrew Bible as foundational guidance.

Summary [3] John the Baptist announced the Messiah, “Behold the Lamb of YAHWEH who takest away the sins of the world.” This statement symbolizes the Temple sacrifice, which must be a perfect lamb, free of any blemish.

The penalty for sin is death (YAHWEH’S Law). YAHWEH did not want to lose the population due to Satan’s sinful influence, so HE sent a supreme being (GOD becomes man), who must live a perfect life, to be a perfect sacrifice. Who at death, will take on our sin. He will redeem this galaxy from sin, which will cancel the debt with Satan (the redemption of the mortgage contract in the Throne Room is very specific). Yahshua did this to free a-l-l humanity, from the bondage of Satan, each in their due time.

Summary [4] YAHWEH was pleased with Yahshuas’ perfect work on Earth. He was resurrected from the dead and given YAHWEH'S eternal Spirit-life, which is now available for all humanity. This news of the Messiah’s successful redemption now became part to the Gospel of the coming Kingdom (1Cor.15:1-4). Since this redemption is for all humanity, it affects every soul on Earth not just a select few, and this is the “good news” that is commanded to be taught worldwide (Mar.16:15).

Summary [5] Yahshua had to establish the New Covenant Assembly, or the Jerusalem Messianic Church. He began building this assembly with twelve hand-picked men called “the Disciples of Yahshua.” A disciple was a general term meaning, a learner, or a pupil of some teacher.

Why were they chosen? To learn and fulfill the Great Commission by teaching others (Mat.28:19-20; Luk.10:9). It is the mission of every Believer to pass on the blessings of eternal life (Mat.10:5-7). The chosen assembly of Yahshua, faithfully trained in the Biblical lessons, will serve Yahshua by helping Him govern “the creation” under Him (1Cor.3:11; Eph.5:23). Yahshua will call out of Satan’s world, Disciples, to grow into an altogether new and different world which will be YAHWEH’S Kingdom (Mat.16:18).

*Beware and be aware: Just saying you are a Christian is not enough. Yahshua's last message to the church's, Rev.ch.2-3. (Just for the record, those believers not chosen, will at death, sleep until the Great White Throne Judgment.)

“They ain’t makin’ Jews like Jesus anymore!” - Kinky Friedman

Most will agree, no other single event had as much impact on civilization then this single persons life and short three and one-half year ministry.

Yahshua seemed to delight in meeting people at the grass roots level. He was a “people person” and the people liked Him. He mingled with all kinds of people and was chivalrous to women - and He was criticized for it. He was not looking for good people to make them a little better - He was looking for sinners to save! He did not want the rich and powerful - He wanted the meek and suppressed. He did not want the religious - He wanted the poor in spirit.

To find these people He went where most rabbis do not even want to think about. He taught the purity of His FATHER’S Laws of the Kingdom, which promise’s freedom, fairness and equality for all citizens who would vow to follow. Just as the FATHER asked Moses and the Hebrew people, Yahshua asks three questions of His followers: Will you obey me? Do you love me? Will you serve me? If you do, then gather round and learn . . ..

Teaching, not browbeating preaching, or hi-brow lecturing, but teaching was crucial in Yahshua’s ministry. He did not take an opinion poll and then tell the people what was popular. He taught the ways of His FATHER’S Kingdom - like it or not! His Kingdom message was captivating and inspirational. He taught the higher force of the spirit is to take the place of the earthly forces of the flesh. He knows that the people will come to understanding of the higher spiritual order when the truth of the Scriptures are taught properly.

He was the teacher of teachers, and He trained His twelve Disciples to go forth and teach. When people came to hear Him they filled the hillsides, and Yahshua did not stand above the audience and speak down to them. In one of His most electrifying discourses, His famous “Sermon on the Mount,” He stood at the bottom (beneath them) and spoke up to the audience with force and clarity. That famous discourse recorded in Matthew ch.5-7, has been called by some Biblical scholars “the Constitution of the Kingdom of GOD.”

The Pharisees were experts at using a lot of words to say very little. But Yahshua taught His Kingdom lessons in simple terms: Love and kindness, replaces hate and bitterness. He taught that our FATHER is love, and that our FATHER is also infinite intelligence; therefore, developing YAHWEH’S everlasting spiritual wisdom is the perfect blending of intelligence and love. His Gospel was practical, and perfectly expresses YAHWEH’S simple and inescapable Code of Life. For those who would follow, He promised: “His yoke is light and His burden is easy.”

"No longer do I call you servants,
for a servant does not know what his master is doing;
but I have called you friends,
for all things that I heard from My Father I have made known to you."
- John 15:15

The New Covenant taught by Yahshua is based upon what was written in the Hebrew Testament (Heb.8:8-10). He was a believer and teacher extraordinaire of the literal understanding of the Hebrew Scriptures, a-l-l the Sacred Scriptures, including the Prophets. Many of His lessons reflect this, for example, He quoted the Book of Deuteronomy over 130 times. He was a Master of His FATHER’S Words recorded in the Hebrew Scriptures. No Lawyer of the Temple, no priest or rabbi, could argue with Him. Even at twelve years old He could intellectually confer with the Temple priests (Luk.2:41-50).

Yahshuas’ main teaching method was by telling a parable, it comes from the Greek word parabolé, and means placing two objects together for the purpose of comparison. It is a short story with a double meaning. Many effective lessons taught by the Prophets of the Old Testament were taught in the form of parables, and Nathan’s parable to King David was told so compelling it brought a king to repentance.

Teaching in the form of a parable was fulfillment of a prophecy foretold in Psalm 78:2-3. Yahshua was a master story teller, and after nearly 2,000 years His parables still sparkle with powerful ideas, still current in our daily lives. He taught the complex, by comparing them to the every day earthly situations that the people would easily recognize and relate to. Yahshuas’ parables are scattered throughout the first four books of the New Testament (collectively known as the Gospels), some of the more popular ones can be found in Matthew ch.13, Luke ch.13-14.

The Prophets helped unfold YAHWEH’S grand Divine plan for humanity. They come to reveal the “mysteries” of our CREATOR. These “mysteries” come from questions not yet answered in the previous Hebrew Scriptures. Yahshua as the Prophet revealed many “mysteries” of the Heavens in His Parables of the Kingdom recorded in Matthew ch.13. They are wonderful thought-provoking lessons, illuminating many in-depth and multilevel meanings of the Kingdom of the Heavens, and of His Kingdom rule.

Worldly wisdom does not clarify spiritual matters. The simple messages in Yahshuas’ parables revealed matters “. . . hid from the wise and revealed to the babes” (Mat.11:25). Most teachings of the Pharisees were boring the people with dry, lengthy debates, and confusing explanation of the Scriptures and traditions. The people were attracted to Yahshua’s parables, which contained striking images, dramatic action, and bold character development; all built around universal themes of clarifying and defining the Kingdom of YAHWEH-GOD.

The Parables of Yahshua can be recited in minutes, yet the complex message of His parables was so revolutionary, that no other New Testament personality ever tried to copy this aspect of His teachings. Throughout the ages, thousands of volumes of scholarly commentary have been written t-r-y-i-n-g to explain their simple messages.

“Woe to you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites!
...Serpents, brood of vipers!
How can you escape the condemnation of hell?”
Matthew 23:29-33

As the reformer Yahshua challenged the orthodoxy. No one had ever before denounced the priests and Pharisees, or dared to question the doctrine of the elders. He expertly quoted the Prophets as He strongly rebuked Judaism’s stiff-necked religious hierarchy - the establishment religionists who never lived the righteous life. They were corrupt. They were blind guides. They were play-actors, and did not live according to the spirit of the Law (Mat.3:7, 5:20, 23:1-36; Luk.11:37-54, 18:9-14; Jno.8:44).

Yahshua challenged the doctrines of the scribes and rabbis, telling them bluntly that they did not know the Scriptures (Mat.22:29). At least eight times Yahshua scornfully denounced them for being legalistic and fourteen times for being hypocritical. They were excellent in reading and quoting Scripture, to keep the people on a tight leash, but in practice they themselves disobey by following their own ritualized customs.

Yahshua detested some of the Pharisees, the religious fundamentalists of the day, because they did not have a heart for the sinners, and were not sensitive to the needs and hurts of the individual. Yahshua taught of YAHWEH’S free salvation by grace, not by law - very revolutionary. And He taught in His Sermon on the Mount that He brought a Kingdom for the meek and for the poor in spirit (Mat.5:5-11), which clearly was just as opposite as you can get to what the Pharisees taught.

Yahshua strongly scolded them because they were always bitter and constantly finding faults, tearing everyone apart. This, the “holier than thou” crowd, by their own attitude, promoted bigotry, prejudice and hatred. He showed them that their religious worship was mere ritual, with emphasis on minor details, “while ignoring the weightier matters of the Law,” such as “justice, mercy and faith.” He taught that the motive of the heart was important, not just the outward action (Mat.23:1-23).

Yahshua chastised them for the many traditions they added to YAHWEH’S Law, making the Law a hardship on the people.

The religious authorities pretend to love you, but in reality they just want to hold you hostage. The Pharisees slowly gained power over Jewish society, by being the overseers of the many elaborate and intricate Jewish oral laws that they required the people to live by. These “traditions of men,” in an effort to micro manage the people, only burden the community, and has reduced righteousness to mere ceremonialism of outward splendor (Mar.7:6-13).

YAHWEH calls HIS people to unity, not uniformity. The simple - common sense - Laws of YAHWEH do not enslave people, it sets them free!

In the Book of John, when Yahshua witnessed the Gospel to Nicodemus a Pharisee, he could not understand Yahshuas’ plainness of speech (Jon.3:1-21). He also admonished them for not being able to see the signs, “You look but can’t see; you listen but do not hear . . .,” (Mat.13:13; Luk.6:42).

The sage would say,
“What is simple, is rarely understood.”

The New Testament paints a dark picture of the establishment religionists, and Yahshua does not paint a pretty picture of their spiritual future (Luk.11:37-44). This is an excellent object lesson on how the real spiritual truths will never be taught by any orthodox establishment. Many use these Biblical verses to support their anti-Semitic propaganda, but remember, Yahshua qualified to be the righteous Judge - no one else qualifies to judge. All His followers are to do is simply say, “no thank you.”

Talking to some of these religious leaders is like talking to a bulkhead. In spite of all the hardship caused by this group, Yahshua also showed by example, that in any group of people, one must judge the good and bad on an individual basis. We should be suspicious of central ruling institutions, but we should see people as individuals not stereotypes! The bad Pharisees He clashed with, but He also encountered some that were good (Luk.23:50-53; Jno.3:1-21; Act.5:34-39). And one of the greatest Christian Apostles, Rabbi Saul of Tarsus (Paul), was a Pharisee (Phi.3:5).

Yahshua as the Reformer, also taught that His people are the citizens of His Kingdom, but they also have responsibility to the earthly civil ruling authorities, as well as to YAHWEH (Mat.17:27, 22:15-22). And in the parable of the Good Samaritan, Yahshua teaches that our responsibility to YAHWEH means we care for our fellow man - no matter who it is (Luk.10:29-37).

The Gospels are a powerful message, illuminated with powerful miracles, using violence to promote them was not necessary. Some of the freedom fighters tried to tap into some of Yahshua’s popularity through His Disciple Judas, but Yahshua would have none of it (Jno.6:26). They wanted to make Him king in a military campaign against Rome, but He was the Prophet of Peace. He taught peaceful-resistance through teaching, and as guidance for living He gave us “the Gospels,” (which are the first four books of the New Testament) verbally, face-to-face, YAHWEH’S true word.

Reformers, prophets and critics, are not always welcomed by ruling authorities, especially when you start messing around with their sacred cash-cows. Yahshua knew this and He saved His most controversial lessons for the last week of His ministry. Some today would call it radical honesty, radical Christianity, or Christian/Messianic foundationalism, or even radical Judaism. And, from the language can be maddening category, you could even call it protestant Judaism.

The act that brought the most establishment anger down on Yahshua was when He overturned the tables of the money changers around the Temple. During the Passover season different coinage had to be exchanged into Temple currency and the money changers would take advantage of the travelers who did not know the rates. Yahshua was not objecting to their occupation, He strongly objected to their predatory-profiteering by their high exchange commissions - they were robbing the people right there on Temple grounds, a big no-no!

The establishment religionists did not like Yahshuas’ prickly style, and quietly in the shadows, the conspiracy began, as they planned to destroy Him . . . (Mat.12:14; Luk.19:47).

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From the book The Mystical Rites of our CREATOR ISBN 0-9675266-0-4

Last modified: October 28, 2010