April 25- The person you know that is going through the worst of times

Hey,

I talk to you all of the time. I want to help you, but I have no idea how to. It's not my place, but somehow I am here with you, and I want to take care of you. I have ideas, but I'm such a dreamer.

Praying for you.

April 24- The person that gave you your favorite memory

Dear 11 class.

Does a year count as a memory?

...?

April 23- The last person you hugged

Little sister,

I miss you. i have gotten some questions about our relationship from some of the people who witnessed our farewell hug. I even made a point of call you "little sister" when i hugged you so people would get the point. Owell.

-Aiden.

Holy Week; Part XIX:"What are you willing to give me if i turn Yeshua over to you"

Z'kharyah 11:12 I said to them, "If it seems good to you, give me my wages; if not, don't." So they weighed out my wages, thirty silver [shekels, that is, twelve ounces].

 

When Yeshua had finished speaking, he said to his talmadim, "As you know, Pesach is two days away, and the Son of Man will be handed over to be nailed to the execution-steak"

Then the head cohanim and the elders of the people gathered in the place of Kayafa the cohen hagadol. They made plans to arrest Yeshua surreptitiously and have him put to death; but they said, "Not during the festival, or the people will riot."

Yeshua was in Beit-Anyah, ad the home of Shim'on, the man who had tzara'at. A woman  who had an alabaster jar filled with very expensive perfume approached Yeshua while he was eating and began pouring  it on his head. When the talmidim saw it, they became very angry, "Why this waste?" they asked. "This could have been sold for a lot of money and given to the poor." 

But Yeshua, aware of what was going on, said to them, "Why are you bothering this woman? She has done a beautiful thing for me. The poor you will always have with you, but you will not always have me. She poured this perfume on me to prepare my body for burial. Yes! I tell you that throughout the whole world, wherever this Good News is proclaimed, what she has done will be told in her memory."

The one of the Twelve, the one called Y'hudah from K'riot, went to the head Cohanim and said, "What are you willing to give me if I turn Yeshua over to you?"

They counted out thirty silver coins and gave them to Y'hudah. From then on he looked for a good opportunity to betray him.

 

Yeshua is a jewish Messiah, sent for the whole world. Jewish foundation, Global mission. This story is for everyone. Easter time should be the greatest time of the year for evangelism, and the greatest holiday of the church. How sad it is that we have followed culture into celebrating christmas as a commercial holiday, rather than the resurrection and passover as a true Holy Day.

Yeshua has just finished his last public teaching. We have seen the end of his sermons, parables and lessons to crowds. Now everything is changing gear to his death and burial. Remember this is all happening within the context of passover celebrations. The connotation and connection from the jewish celebrations of the passover lamb to the Lamb of G-d who takes away the sin of the world. Yeshua is predicting his crucifixion. The antagonists of the story are becoming clear.

During a dinner a woman comes into the room and anoints Yeshua. She is rebuked by the talmidim, who sound spiritual at first. Remember that they have just come off of the last teaching of Yeshua about giving to the poor as a sign of salvation. But in ther attempt to sound spiritual, they cheapen the value of Yeshua. 

Yeshua checks the priorities of the talmidim. He rightly places himself over the service of the poor. In their attempt to do good works, the talmidim would have taken away from the reason for those works, Yeshua. We place value on works because we value Yeshua, and the two are not of equal importance.

Yeshua is being prepared for burial. He says as much. Don't miss this. He is going to change the entire spiritual landscape of all of creation within the next two days! What is going to happen is the most important event in history! If you get that, then take a look at this action again! Look at the love this woman shows for him. Yeshua is right, this is a beautiful thing!

Moments later, the scripture records the ultimate betrayal. We aren't given a reason for Y'hudah's betrayal, but even if Yeshua were an ordinary person, this is harsh. Thirty pieces of silver is a miniscule sum. The book of Z'kharyah mocks this amount as not even worth working for! Look at the comparison. We have the woman who gives the best she has in honor of Yeshua, then Y'hudah who betrays him for nothing. The amounts involved make it clear how much these people value Yeshua.

The spiritual forces of the world are at war to define in the mind of every individual what the value of Yeshua is. The change of salvation is a change in the value of Yeshua to you on a personal level. Repentance and trust in yeshua require a deep love for him. You see, how you see Yeshua, how much value you attribute to him controls how much you follow him. If Yeshua is only of a value you to you mentally, that is you understand but don't really believe what he did for you, then following him will be hollow and half hearted. Valuing Yeshua means we follow him out of deep love and attraction, and are willing to suffer hardship for him because we love him. 

Holy Week; Part XVII:"Come and join your masters happiness"

"For it will be like a man about to leave home for awhile, who entrusted his possessions to his servants. To one he gave five talents [equivalent to a hundred years wages]; to another, two talents; and to another, one talent -each according to his ability. Then he left. The one who had received five talents immediately went out, invested it and earned another five. Similarly, the one given two earned another two. But the one given one talent went off, dug a hole in the ground and his his masters money.

After a long time, the master of those servants retirned to settle accounts with them. THe one who had recieved five talents came forward bringing the other five and said, 'Sir you gave me five talents; here, I have made five more.'

His master said to him, 'Excellent! you are a good and trustworthy servant. You have ben faithful with a small ammount, so I will put you in charge of a large ammount. Come and join your masters happiness!"

Also the one who had received two came forward and said, 'Sir, you gave me two talents; here I have made two more.'

His master said to him, 'Excellent! you are a good and trustworthy servant. Yo have been faithful with a small amount, so I will put you in charge of a large amount. Come and join in your master's happiness.

Now the one who had recieved one talent came forward and said, 'I knew you were a hard man. You harvest where you didn't plant and gather where you didn't sow a seed. I was afraid, so i went and hid your talent in the ground. Here! take what belongs to you!'

'You wicked, lazy servant! said his master, 'So you knew, did you, that I harvest where i havent planted? and that i gather where I didn't sow seed? Then you should have deposited my money with the bankers, so that when i returned, i would at least have gotten back interest with my capital! take the talent from him and give it to the one who has ten. For everyone who has something will be given more, so that he will have more than enough; but from anyone who has nothing, even what he does have will be taken away. As for this worthless servant, throw him out in the dark, where people will wail and grind their teeth!'

 

Once again, Yeshua uses a parable to make a point, and now he is using parables to explain things about his next coming. The last parable focused on readiness, and a person state of readiness will be a good indication of how important the message is to them. Here we are going to see a similar but different message.

The varying values of the talents given to the servants are, as said, based on "ability". But in spite of the difference in sums, the quantities involved are still vast. a talent was a weight of about sixty pounds. When applied to money or Gold, this can equal sums more than many people might make in a lifetime. THe passage even says "the equivalent of 100 years wages. The value is meant to wow the listener. The point here is, that even the smallest amount given is still an impressive sum. Each servant is entrusted something of great value.

We see that the servants who were given the to larger sums were able to double their take, and were rewarded for it. The story is not about them. It is about the last servant. The one who does nothing. Or, to put it a batter way, the servant who allows his fear to drive him into the ground, literally. For that is the reason for his lack of production with his talent. Think about it; every one of us would do something if given hundreds of thousands of dollars, even if that is to spend it all. But this servant, out of fear does absolutely nothing. He is afraid maybe of his masters disapproval if he lost the money, or simply afraid of the responsibility. Whatever the reason for his fear, he tries to do the safe thing, and in the end the same actions he took to evade fear cause him the result he had been wanting to avoid. It is a bit ironic.

This servant simply returns the initial sum back to his master. The master points out a very interesting flaw in this plan of burial; he didn't even gain interest. This is not just a rebuke, but an observation. Israeli bankers, even in those days, were safe bets. Some historians think that the modern baking industry started with ancient jewish bankers. This servant could have put his money in with them and made even a little interest. He wasn't afraid of the investment declining, there were simple options to improve value. The reason for the servants lack of event he most simple attempt comes from something else. It's not about the money at all, its about the servant looking out for himself. There was no personal risk, no striving for excellence and thus no room for failure the way he planned it.

We have seen in previous parables this week where something was given to a group of people (invites to wedding guests, land to tenants, etc). The point of the parable comes from what those people do with what they are given. In every case we see that there is an expected response, and it is not necessarily a surprising expectation. Wedding guests are expected to attend, tenants are expected to pay, and servants are expected to invest and grow money. The question then is what is the metafor? What have we been given? Don't mistake this simply for a parable about finances, though it could be applied; remember Yeshua is talking about his return. 

There is a very simple possible answer; truth. We as believers and chosen have been shown and given the truth of the gospel. In the previous parable,s pointed at the cohanim, Yeshua makes the point that they have been given the truth, have misplaced it or forgotten it, and become hypocritical. In these parable . s we see examples of people doing the right thing with what they are given, but contrated against those who do not. 

When Yeshua returns, each of us will have to give an account of what we did with what we were given. This is physical, mental, emotional and spiritual in nature. Were we good stewards of our recourses, yes, but more so, did we make progress for the Kingdom. If we are afraid to risk our appearance for the sake of the truth, then we forget that the truth does not come from us; it shouldn't matter how we appear. Those who live for themselves this way are further hypocrites. They have been given a gift by the master, and say that they live for him, but by their life the example that they neither know the master, not really understand or care that he is coming back.

 

 

Holy Week; Part XV: "From the fig tree, Learn its lesson..."

Dani'el 7:13-14 "I kept watching the night visions, when i saw, coming with the clouds of heaven, someone like a son of man. He approached the Ancient One and was led into his presence. To him was given rulership, glory and a kingdom, so that all peoples, nations and languages should serve him. His rulership is an eternal rulership that will not pass away; and his kingdom is one that will never be destroyed."

"Immediately after the tribulation of those days

'The sun will be darkened, and the moon will not give its light, and the stars will fall from heaven, and the powers of the heavens will be shaken.'

Then will appear in heaven the sign of the Son of Man, and then all the tribes of the earth will mourn, and they will see the Son of Man coming on the clouds of heaven with power and great glory. And he will send out his angels with a great shofar, and they will gather his elect from the four winds, from one end of heaven to the other.

"From the fig tree learn its lesson: as soon as its branch becomes tender and puts out its leaves, you know that summer is near. So also, when you see all these things, you know that he is near, at the very gates. Truly, I say to you, this generation will not pass away until all these things take place. Heaven and earth will pass away, but my words will not pass away.

"But concerning that day and hour no one knows, not even the angels of heaven, nor the Son, but the Father only. As were the days of Noah, so will be the coming of the Son of Man. For as in those days before the flood they were eating and drinking, marrying and giving in marriage, until the day when Noah entered the ark, and they were unaware until the flood came and swept them all away, so will be the coming of the Son of Man. Then two men will be in the field; one will be taken and one left. Two women will be grinding at the mill; one will be taken and one left.  Therefore, stay awake, for you do not know on what day your Lord is coming. But know this, that if the master of the house had known in what part of the night the thief was coming, he would have stayed awake and would not have let his house be broken into. Therefore you also must be ready, for the Son of Man is coming at an hour you do not expect.

 "Who then is the faithful and wise servant, whom his master has set over his household, to give them their food at the proper time?  Blessed is that servant whom his master will find so doing when he comes. Truly, I say to you, he will set him over all his possessions. But if that wicked servant says to himself, 'My master is delayed,' and begins to beat his fellow servants and eats and drinks with drunkards,  the master of that servant will come on a day when he does not expect him and at an hour he does not know and will cut him in pieces and put him with the hypocrites. In that place there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth.

After making us aware of what the wold will be like in his absence and in preparation for his second coming, Yeshua turns to the specifics of what his return will be like. This is an exciting passages for believers, or it should be. The chosen should be longing for the day when H'Meshiah returns, because it is the culmination of this Gospel story into which our lives have been woven. This is because this world in which we live, not only is it not our home, but it, like us, is broken. As beautiful as this place can be, it is fundamentally flawed by the curse of sin, which causes death. We should be longing for the day Yeshua returns, not because of a hatred of this world, but because of a hatred of sin. This is a repentant heart, one that has walked away from its sin to the point of hating everything  flawed in sight. When Yeshua returns, the power of sin on this world will be broke, and what we perceive now as beauty will look abhorrent in comparison with the righteousness of our Savior.

Yeshua outlines some things that will signify his coming. He is trying to tell us not when it will happen, but what it will be like. We get a sense of a scientifically cosmic event. Astronomical signs of the sun and moon disappearing or going dar, and stars also vanishing. It affects not only humans, but all of creation. Everything touched by sin would naturally be touched by such a wondrous righteousness returning. We live in a sin-torn world. This world will be shaken and totally transformed as Yeshua returns, as OUR G-D IS A CONSUMING FIRE!

Yeshuas second coming will not be a secret thing either. Not only will creation give witness, but there will be public signs. A trumpet will sound, and the "sign of the son of man" and it will be obvious. Everyone is gonna see this, and will be able to observe his glory and they will mourn. In that moment when the chosen receive the ultimate confirmation of the truth, the rest of the world will see how wrong they were. We can only hope the gospel has been spread across the nations.

For, upon hearing and seeing the signs, and even witnessing the return, the world will see the pure glory of Yeshua himself. He will send out his angels to gather the chosen. See we who have been saved from sin are only partially complete. We have been sanctified and cleansed, but we are still waiting to be glorified. When the trumpet sounds, it says that the chosen will be gathered together into Yeshuas glory and will be glorified with him, as the sin and corruption is removed. Not only is this a chance for the world to see and be redeemed, but this will be the final piece of our redemption as believers, when all sin is ripped away, and we see Him as he is. We get to watch Yeshua take all this mess of our world and our lives and fix it and put all back the way he intended it to be. 

We are getting an image of the vastness of Yeshua. The presence of this G-d man is enough to shake the entire creation. THe world, every person, and every place will be aware and enamored with Him.

So be aware! Be watchful! This spectacular event is wonderful, but your perspective of it is shaped by your relationship with the savior now. There is no other option, either you are in or you are out. Either you will be transformed and glorified with Him, or you will be destroyed. That is the fundamental difference of repentance and trust in yeshua. In that moment, when put before him, all sin and evil being burnt away, the only question that matters will be what you belong to. Either you belong to sin, or you belong to Yeshua. If you belong to sin, in that moment, you will be destroyed by the fire of his holiness. If you belong to him, then that fire will burn away anything else and you will be like Him.

So what do you belong to?

Holy Week; Part XIV: "Look! Here is the Messiah!"

Yo'el 2:2 "Blow the shofar in Tziyon! Sound an alarm on my holy mountain. let all living in the land tremble, for the Day of Adonai is coming! It's upon us!-
Dani'el 12:11 "From the time the regular burnt offering is taken away and the abomination that causes desolation is set up there will be 1290 days."
"So when you see the abomination that causes desolation spoken about through the prophet Dani'el standing in the Holy Place" (let the reader understand the allusion) "that will be the time for those in Y'hudah to escape to the hills. If someone is on the roof, he must not go down to gather his belongings from his house; if someone is in the field, he must not turn back to get his coat. What a terrible time it will be for pregnant women and nursing mothers! pray that you will not have to escape in winter or Shabbat. For there will be trouble then worse than there has ever been from the beginning of the world until now, and there will be nothing like it again! Indeed, if the length of this time had not been limited, no one would survive; but for the sake of those who have been chosen, its length will be limited.
At that time, if someone says to you, 'Look here is the Messiah!' or 'There he is!' don't believe him. For there will appear false Messiahs and false prophets perfomring great miracles -amazing things!- so as to fool even the chosen, if possible. there! I have told you in advance! So if people say to you, 'Listen! He's out in the desert,' don't go; or 'Look! He's hidden away in a secret room!' don't believe it. For then the Son of Man does come, it will be like lightning that flashes out of the east and fills the sky to the western horizon. Wherever there's a dead body, thats where you'll find vultures.
As Yeshua continues the Olive Discourse here, there is an interesting theme that develops, which we will see both now and in parts to come. That theme is pretty simple, but pretty profound if you think about it. The theme and message is this; Yeshua is coming back. Simple for many of us who have been in the church for a long time, but how much does it really affect our lives.
Indeed this is, in essence, what the believer lives for, this moment when our Savior returns. Yet so many believers are not prepared and are wrapped up in this world. They have become lazy and set in this world. This world is not our home. We live for a kingdom not yet come, and so we must live. Not merely being good cause Yeshua might come and judge what we are doing at that moment, but being watchful and expectant that he is coming soon!
This is, in fact, what Yeshua is warning about in this passage. He warns that whatever situation people are in, that they should immediately flee from the coming disaster. Don't be so caught up in the things that tie you to this world that you have to run and get them when the trouble begins.
As to what Yeshua actually says and quotes, the message is somewhat clear. The passages in Dan'el refer to an invading power turning the temple into an abomination. This has happened many time throughout history since Yeshua said this. The only proof that this brings out is that there is no human way of knowing when this will happen beforehand.
Because of the warning Yeshua gives, though, those who are watchful should be able to see it and be ready for it. There will be a sense of urgency. This urgency will primarily be for Israel and Yerushalayim, but we are still to be mindful of it. It will also be dangerous, and perilous. Yeshua says to pray that this will not fall on times where working and running would be difficult, and has pity on the women in labor at the time. There will be suffering, but G-d will protect His people.
A big sign of prparedness will be how easily led astray the chosen are. Yeshua warns of many false Messiahs and many signs. believers must not be led astray. Don't be naive and follow others who say they have him. Wait for it, because Yeshua said he will return noticeably, and until then, we are to be mindful only for his return.
The most important part, the theme as I mentioned before, is to be prepared. Many of us know we are not ready for Yeshua to return. Whether that is un-repentance, or simply clinging onto this life, we know that if he were to return, we would not be able to run to him. Maybe we would be caught offguard by the false messiahs.
The gospel is G-d providing a way for us to come to Him, and to not be ready when he comes for us is more than shameful, it is an abomination.
If Yeshua returned today, would you be ready?

Holy Week; Part XIII: "It is then that the end will come..."

p>As Yeshua left the Temple and was going away, his talmadim came and called his attention to its buildings. But he answered them, "You see all these? Yes! I tell you, they will be totally destroyed - not a single stone will be left standing!"

When he was on the Mount of Olives, the talmidim came to him privately . "Tell us," they said, "when will these things happen? And what will be the sign that you are coming, and that the 'olam hazeh is ending?"

Yeshua replied: "Watch out! don't let anyone fool you! For many will come in my name saying, 'I am the Messiah!' and they will lead many astray. You will hear the noise of wars nearby and the news of war far off; see to it that you don;t become frightened. Such things must happen, but the end is yet to come. For peoples will fight each other, nations will fight each other, and there will be famines and earthquakes in various parts of the world; and all this is but the beginning of the 'birthing pains.' At that time you will be arrested and handed over to be punished and put to death, and all peoples will hate you because of me. At that time many will be trapped into betraying and hating each other, many false prophets will appear and fool many people; and many peoples love will grow cold because of increased distance from the Torah. But whoever holds out till the end will be delivered. And the Good News about the Kingdom will be announced throughout the  whole world as a witness to all the Goyim. It is then that the end will come."

This is the beginning of the last "sermon" Yeshua teaches. He begins it with a question about what will happen. We all know that when someone starts talking about the end of the world, people get interested. The Left Behind series is a good example of this phenomena. 

The talmidim are looking around at the great structure of the Temple mount. Architecturally it is an awesome sight. Yeshua refocuses them with a disturbing comment about how it is all going to be destroyed. This was the center of their faith and the religious practice of the entire people of Israel, and Yeshua just dropped a prophetic warhead on it.

The Talmidim later ask two questions about it that can roughly be paraphrased as "When will the temple be destroyed?" and, "What are the signs that its about to happen?" This introduces the study of the end times in the new testament. It is a commonly discussed topic, and one that Yeshua himself does not answer with absolute clarity. He makes a larger issue of how we are to be ready for it than how we are to know when it is going to happen. The important thing to know is that it IS going to happen.

Yeshua gives a few specific warnings. First is that there will be false teachers. People will be led astray, and there will be chaos that comes out of the confusion. Second is that alot of culturally disturbing things will happen. Wars, violence, hatred, intolerance. These are not subjective concepts, but historical events. They are assured to happen, and they are happening. Third, There will be spiritual hardships, and the believers must be ready. Alot of the hatred will be against the church. The biggest thing to remember about all of this is that G-d wins, and those who are watchful and vigilant will be rewarded.

Holy Week; Part XII: "You Blind Guides"

Then Yeshua addressed the crowds and his talmadim; "The Torah-teachers and the P'rushim," He said, "sit in the seat of Moshe. So whatever they tell you take care to do it. But don't do what they do, because they talk abut don't act! They tie heavy loads onto peoples shoulders but won't lift a finger to help carry them. Everything they do is done to be seen by others; for they make their t'fillin broad and their tzitziyot long. They love the place of honor at banquets and the best east in the synagogues, and they love being greeted differentially in the market places and being called 'Rabbi'

But you are not to let yourselves be called 'Rabbi'; because you have one Rabbi, and you are all each others brothers. And do not call anyone on earth 'Father' because you have one Father, and he is in Heaven. Not are you to let yourselves be called 'leaders,' because you have one Leader and he is the Messiah! The greatest among you will be humbled and whoever humbles himself will be promoted.

But woe to you hypocritical Torah-teachers and P'rushim! for you are shutting the Kingdom of Heaven in peoples faces, neither entering yourselves now allowing those who wish to enter to do so.

Woe to you hypocritical Torah-teachers and P'rushim! You go about over land and sea to make one proselyte; and when you succeed you make him twice as fit for Gei-Hinnom as you are!

Woe to you, you blind guides! You say, 'If someone swears by the Temple, he is not bound by his oath; but if he swears by the gold in the Temple, he is bound.' You blind fools! Which is more important? the gold? or the Temple which makes the gold holy? And you say, 'If someone swears by the altar, he is not bound by his oath; but if he swears by the offering on the altar, he is bound.' Blind men! Which is more important? the sacrifice? or the altar which makes the sacrifice holy? So someone how swears by the altar swears by it and everything on it. And someone who swears by the Temple swears by it and who lives in it. And someone who swears by heaven swears by G-ds throne and the One who sits on it.

Woe to you hypocritical Torah-teachers and P'rushim! you pay your tithes of mint, dill and cumin; but you have neglected the weightier matters of the Torah - Justice, mercy, trust. These are the things you should have attended to- without neglecting the others! Blind guides! - straining out a gnat, meanwhile swollowing a camel!

Woe to you hypocritical Torah-teachers and P'rushim! you clean the outside of the cup and the dish, but inside they are full of robbery and self-indulgence. Blind Parush! First clean the inside of the cup so that the outside may be clean too.

Woe to you hypocritical Torah-teachers and P'rushim! you are like whitewashed tombs, which look fine on the outside but inside are full of dead peoples bones and all kinds of rottenness. Likewise, you appear to people from the outside to be good and honest, but inwardly you are fill of hypocrisy and far from the Torah.

Woe to you hypocritical Torah-teachers and P'rushim! You build tombs for the prophets and decorate the graves of Tzddikim, and you say 'Had we lived when our fathers did, we would never have taken part in killing the prophets.' In this you testify against yourselves that you are worthy descendants od those who murdered the prophets. Go ahead then, finish what your fathers started!

You snakes! Sons of snakes! how can you escape being condemned to Gei-Hinnom? There for I am sending you prophets and sages and Torah-teachers - some of them you will kill, indeed, you will have them executed on steaks as criminals; some you will flog in your synagoges and pursue from town to town. And so, on you will fall the guilt for all the innocent blood that has ever been shed on hearth, from the blood of the innocent of Hevel of the blood of Z'kharyah Ben-Berekhyah, whom you murdered between the temple and the altar. Yes! I tell you that all this will fall on this generation!

Yerushalayim! Yerushalayim! You kill the prophets! You stone those who are sent to you! How often I gathered your children, just as a hen gathers her chickens under her wings, but you refused! Look! G-d is abandoning your house to you, leaving it desolate.. For I tell you, from now on, you will not see me again until you say,  'Blessed is he who comes in the name of Adonai'"

 

A long and weighty passage. Yeshua now is really laying into the Torah-teachers and P'rushim. He has been responsive until now, and this entire chapter is Yeshua's counterattack. And what a brutal, yet applicable offense it is. This is a passage that scarily applies to the modern believer. THere is a hypocrite in every person. Especially the believer. We preach perfection and righteousness in Yeshua, yet we are not perfect or righteous ourselves. This hypocrisy is exampled in the P'rushim, and is very, very deeply layered.

The kind of hypocrisy we see here is deeper and harsher than the kind Yeshua has been addressing up till now. before it was simply a fakeness, an appearance of one things, while the heart and truth being something different. Now we see that Yeshua warns against the actual two faced action of the P'rushinm. These were the religious leaders, leading, teaching instructing in the ways of the law. They were pastors. 

Being a pastor is a great and important calling. Some would say the greatest calling. But it also more dangerous. Constantly instructing others in how to live righteousness, the chances of becoming hypocritical is much higher. This points out the source of righteousness and the authority of pastors. The message is flawless, it is the messengers who are flawed. The authority of preachers, indeed within any believer sharing the word, does not come from within them but from the scripture. 

There are traces of hypocrisy in all of our lives. Every person will say one thing and then do another. This doesn't let us off the hook, but it does mean that the message is nor dependent on the messenger. Yeshua says that the people listening are to listen to and to the things the P'rishum say, but not to be like them. That means that the teaching of the P'rushim, founded on scripture, is right, even if they themselves are wrong.

The P'rushim have woven onto into the law and the Torah a laundry list of additional rules. Yet they, as the definers of those rules take an immune stance. THey put the weight on the shoulders of other people, but do not expect themselves to keep their own standard. This is more than saying one thing and doing another, this is holding yourself to a separate standard, spiritually than others. They had a belief that they were special and unique, and exceptional. Somehow they have believed that the rules dont apply.

We have already seen how the P'rushim are appearance based. They didnt want to cross the people when answering the question about Yochanan, because their image is importance. Because of this they wore obvious boxes of scripture when praying or simply being in public to let everyone know they they had been studying or praying. This is because they had nothing but their own appearances. There was nothing else, nothing on the inside.

Part of the need to look good was tied to their desire to be honored. They sought after positions of power and prestige, so of course they have to look good. Yeshua instructs is followers to reject these positions, and strive do equal humility. We are all expendabel before G-d, there is nothing in any of us that G-d needs, and so why should any man see himself as worthy of a more honorable position in spirituality. It is hypocritical pride. 

All of this false belief and pride of the P'rushim is not only personally hazardous, but it can being down others as well. Truth is essential to salvation. If we do not have the gospel and the truth there of strait, then all of the other teaching os scripture becomes skewed. This is major, not only for us but for others, in that, for us it means we are blaspheming the name of Yeshua, but for others who follow our blaspheming, Hell is the ultimate destination. 

Hypocrisy in religious leaders is dangerous, on any level. When spirituality becomes about status or appearance, the number of followers become important, and then the message of the gospel is watered down. If the leaders say one thing and act another way, then their testimony to others is damaged. Praise G-d that the church is not about the people in the church, but about the message of Yeshua H'Meshiah

The final part of this tirade against hypocrisy is the most harsh. The pride of the hypocritical heart is not only misguided and legalistic, but it is a weapon used to destroy the church. Yeshua tells the P'rushim what they are going to kill and destroy those who were sent to save them. Because they are focused on their own outward appearance, they also focus on the outward appearance of others. When someone comes alone who is concerned about the hearts of those they meet, really trying to save them, the hypocrite will miss that work of the heart. By their legalism they destroy the things that have come to touch their hearts

Do not think this is a message for someone else. This is a message for you. Somewhere in the words of Mattityahu twenty-three, every believer is found. There is hypocrisy deep inside each of us that must be fought daily. Search your heart and find yourself here. Remember the gospel inside you is not of you, it is of Yeshua. 

Holy Week; Part XI: "Tell me your views concerning Messiah"

Tahillim (Psalms) 110:1 Adonai says to my Lord, "Sit at my right hand, until I make your enemies your footstool"

 

When the crowds heard how he taught, they were astounded; but when the P'rushim learned that he has silenced the Tz'dukim, they got together, and one of them who was a Torah expert asked a sh'eilah to trap him: "Rabbi, which of the mitzvot in the Torah is the most important?"

He told him, "'You are to love Adonai your G-d with all your heart and all your soul and all your strength.' This is the greatest mitzvah. And the second is similar to it, 'You are to love your neighbor as yourself.' All of the Torah and the prophets are dependent on these two mitzvot."

Then, turning to the assembled P'rushim, Yeshua put a sh'eilah to them: "Tell me your view concerning the Messiah: Whose son is he?" 

They said to him, "Davids."

"Then how is it," He asked them, "That David, inspired by the spirit, calls him 'Lord,' when he says,

'Adonai said to my Lord, 'Sit here at my right hand until i put your enemies under your feet.'"

If David thus calls him 'Lord,' how is he his son?" No one could think of anything to say in reply; and from that day on, no one dared put him to another sh'eilah.

 

The religious leaders, for the past several segments of the Holy Week story, have been under a deserve barrage from Yeshua over the content of their hearts. It started as them challenging what he did, and, by the time we reach this famous segment, they are throwing any trick question they can at him in a desperate attempt to defend their honor and rank. I would love to have been one of the onlookers in what the scripture says is a growing crowd. We have Herodians still nearby, priests, P'rushim, Tz'dukim, all against Yeshua, and Yeshua is winning. At least he is winning the tests, but is he winning their hearts? The rest of the story makes it doubtfull.

Now pulling another trap, the P'rushim try to get Yeshua to raise one commandment over another in Importance. Likely they were thinking that he would pick one of the ten commandments out as a foundation. The P'rushim where masters of this. Their whole life is wrapped up in the study of the mitzvot. But in doing this, they take a great gamble. They have been frustrated by all other questions posed so far, and if Yeshua were able to best them here, in their home court, so to speak, then there would be no defence left.

The P'rushim were takes not only with knowing the law, but with defining it. They helped people keep the main laws by making countless rules about those laws. Trying to help people understand what true obedience looks like, the defined more than six hundred and thirteen laws. You can see the problem with these people spesifically wanting one command to be over another. Its like asking the President to pick one state of the union to run the whole country; sure some may fit the task better, but in the end they are all equal.

The segments of the old testament Yehsua sites are not actually part of what was considered Torah Law. D'varim (Deuteronomy) 6:5 "And you are to love Adonai your G-d with all your heart, all your being and all your resources." This is part of a famous prayer of Israel. שמע ישראל הי אלוקינו הי אחד. Sh'ma Yisra'el! Adonai Elohenu, Adonai echad [Hear, oh Israel! Adonai our G-d, Adonai is one]: and you are to love Adonai...

This is something they would have read and known and prayed daily. Not just the priests and Torah teachers, but everyone. This passage of scripture is, for lack of better term, the motto of the nation and people of Israel. They said it every day, and where completely unaware of the depth of the meaning of the words they spoke. Moments before, Yeshua nails the Tz'dukim about their lack of understanding in the area in which they were supposed to be experts, and now he challenges the very patriotism of the same group.

Yeshua takes another step, following the pattern of the P'rushim. He established one law, but then further defines it by establishing a second law. This was the practice of the P'rushim, and Yeshua, using something very near and familiar, uses their own system, the one they were using to trap him. The second law he cites comes from levitical law: Vayikira (Leviticus) 19:18 Don't take vengance on or beat a grudge against any of your people; rather, love your neighbor as yourself; I am Adonai. This citation comes from the part of the law specifically geared towards the cohanim, P'rushim, and Tz'dukim. This citation was not nessesarily an attack, but it was definitely personal.

An interesting point is that the Bible, the Torah, assumes that we love ourselves. It's not a problem for mankind to think to little of ourselves. Yeshua correctly identifies the heart of true obedience. See, he is being asked about a law, which means, in order to pull out one of most importance, he has to define what the most important form of obedience looks like. It is not the law that is in question, but the actions that that law dictates. The brilliance is in the use of a non commandment to define what real obedience looks like. Love G-d, love others. The entire law watered down and obedience defined.

The last point he makes has an interesting application to the modern church. Following the gospel and the road of salvation, a believer is to repent and place their trust in Yeshua for salvation, but then, as we have seen before, they are to be new creations. The obedience Yeshua asks of the church and all believers is to Love G-d and love others before yourself. What makes this interesting is Yeshuas assertion that the ENTIRE OLD TESTAMENT LAW is included in those two. That is to say, once a person has repented, their desire should be to forsake their sin and keep the commandments of Yeshua, and Yeshua commands here that we follow the Torah! Freedom in HMeshiah does not mean freedom from these two greatest commandments, but the freedom to keep them without condemnation for when we fall.

Finally, in the last exchange that Yehsua has with the Cohanim until the trial. Yehsua poses to them the question of the Messiah. Long story short, the P'rishim don't understand the Messiah. Of course we know that Yeshua was both human and divine. The P'rushim don't understand the concept of the G-d-man. They could not comprehend what the messiah was, and thus they missed the message altogether.

Holy Week; Part IX: "Whose name and picture are these?"

 Then the P'rushim went away and put together a plan to trap Yeshua with his own words. They sent him some of their talmatim and some members of Herod's party. They said, "Rabbi, we know that you tell the truth and really teach what G-d's way is. You aren't concerned with what other people think about you, since you pay no attention to a person;s status. So tell is your opinion: does the Torah permit paying taxes to the Roman Emperor or not?"

Yeshua, however, knowing their malicious intent, said, "You hypocrites! Why are you trying to trap me? Show me the coin used to pay the tax!" They brought him a denarius; and he asked them, "Whose name and picture are these?

"The Emperor's," they replied.

Yeshua said to them, "Nu, give the Emperor what belongs to the Emperor, And give to G-d what belngs to G-d". On hearing this, they were amazed; and they left him and went away.

 

We have seen the cohanim made an example of into he past few episodes of the Holy week. They had been coming to religion and faith with the idea that they had it together, and they were right. The looked down on other people who were not as holy as they percieved themselves. But in their understanding that they are right with G-d, they reveal that they are not. Its a bitter and scary irony that must be looked at; what truth this concept reveals must be applied by believers to their own lives constantly. If, at any point, a man things himself worthy of religion, his faith is no longer in G-d but in himself. Belief that one is good enough is a damning belief, because from the eyes of a holy G-d nothing in ones self is even remotely good, let alone worthy of salvation.

With their pride shattered, the best of the cohanim, the P'rushim, send their students to Yeshua, to try and make him say something to get him in trouble. This, from a logical standpoint, is the first of several ad hominem attacks, simply to justify a personal hatred against HMeshiah.

Questions can tell you a lot about a person, what their motives are, as well as views of the situation. Questions can reveal an askers agenda. Here in the New Testament, religious people, who, by the standards of the day, where upright and devout to what they believed. The questions they ask Yeshua reveal their views and understanding of His purpose, mission, and goals.

The people who question Yeshua are P’rushim, as well as members of Herod’s party. The approach him at first with flattery, “Rabbai, we know you tell the truth and really teach what G-d’s way is. You aren’t concerned with what other people think about you, since you pay no attention to a person’s status.” This flattery, by definition, is simply something these men say to his face that they would not say behind his back in order to elicit a response. It's the reverse of gossip.

Yeshua's answer is amazing and astonishing, as the scripture says all of people in witness experienced. "Give to Caesar what belongs to him, and G-d what belongs to G-d" is one of the most famous answers in scripture. He evaded the danger of the question by implying that the rule of G-d and the rule of Caesar, while separate, where not necessarily contradictory. H’Meshiah indicates that, while at odds with one another on some issues, Caesar may have had some authority under G-d’s authority. Now if a person actively hated Rome, as many did, this answer was not ideal. While things are not always clear black and white, there are lines if authority that should be followed.

Most importantly this is true because, by this answer of Yeshua builds the understanding that there are two realms, at least, that people operate in; physical and spiritual. Both have their own order, structure and regulation, but adherence to one does no excuse disobedience to another. The believer has loyalties to both. Giving to G-d that which belongs to him should, in the end, aid in keeping the lines between G-d & Caesar clear

Holy Week; Park VIII: Many are called, Few are chosen

Yeshua again used parables in speaking to them: " The Kingdom of Heaven  is like a king who prepared a wedding feats for his son, but when he sent his slaves to summon the invited guests fo the wedding, the refused to come. So he sent some more slaves, instructing them to tell the guests, 'Look, I've prepared my banquet, I've slaughtered my bulls and my fattened cattle, and everything is ready. Come to the wedding!' But they weren't interested and went off, one to his farm, another to his business; and the rest grabbed his slave,s mistreated them and killed them. The king was furious and sent his solders, who killed those murderers and burned down their city.

"Then he said to his slaves, 'Well, the wedding feats is ready, but the ones who were invited didn't deserve it. So go out to the street corners and invite to the banquet as many as you can find.' The slaves went out into the streets, gathered all the people the could find, the bad along with the good; and the wedding hall was filled with guests.

Now when the king came in to look at the guests, he saw there a man who wasn't dressed for a wedding; so he asked him, 'Fried, how did you get in here without wedding clothes?' The man was speechless. Then the king said to the servants, 'Bind him ahnd and foot, and throw him outside in the dark!' In that place people will wail and grind their teeth, for many are invited, but few are chosen. 

 

Yeshua has been making strong points about the hypocrisy of the cohanim, but now he gradually begins to turn it a different direction. He is beginning to show that these were the people who were given the message and understood the "invitation" but missed it. The servants were sent (again referring to Yochanan) but they rejected the servants. They even killed the servants! Once again, royal wrath is inevitable.

Here again we see the people for who the message was originally intended lose their place. The invitation goes out to everyone, anyone who can see, hear and know about the celebration. The feast is filled with all kinds of people, the bad and the good. 

This could end the parable, and fit with the theme of all the previous parables, but Yeshua makes a new and very interesting point by continuing. It is more than just showing up that makes the attendees worthy of the celebration. The man, found among the new attendees, is underdressed, he is still clothed in what he wore outside. The king, who offered him entrance, expected him to forsake the appearance he had in the outside world, and so not hinder the glory of the feast.

This is another kind of rejection of the king. Where the initial invited guests reject him outright, the man who came with the crowd expected to get in as he was, with no change. This is another look at repentance, though from a different angle. perviously we have seen the cohanim portrayed as the unrepentant ones in the stories, and they are here as well, but not directly. Their unrepentant is one of simply not wanting to repent at all. The Second man comes in, wants to join in the east but is unwilling to forsake everything that made him an outsider.

This is a good picture of heaven. More specifically this is a picture of who will be in heaven, and on what terms. Heaven is the King's celebration. It's his party. He invited the people of Israel, and they rejected him. For their rejection, he scattered them, and we are seeing their return now, but the picture is still pretty clear. Those invited after are the peoples of the world, the church. They hear the message and show up, and in order to get in, the King offers them a new look, one worthy of the glory of the party.

It may seem unfair to us when G-d send's people to hell. Bear in mind that after death, its either heaven or hell, there are no alternatives. THis parable shows us that Heaven is G-ds party. Perhaps exclusions on our terms are unfair, but heaven is not for us to define. If we want to get in, we can't take our dirty selves with is, it would only make the party dirty. G-d ask that we be clean and spotless before we enter, and he has every right to, because the party is His. But praise his name, for he has provided for us a way to be clean. Let's get ready for the party, and never be dirty again.

Holy Week; Part VII: "The very rock the builders rejected will become the cornerstone!"

Tehillim 118:22 (Psalms 118:22) The very rock the builders rejected has become the cornerstone! This has come from Adonai and in our eyes it is amazing.
"Now listen to another parable. There was a farmer who planted a vineyard. He put a wall around it, dug a pit for the winpress, and built a tower; then he rentes it to tenants ants left. When harvest time came, he sent his servants to the tenants to collect his share of the crop. But the tenants siezed  his servants -this one they beat up, that one they killed, another they stoned. So he sent some other servants, more than the first group, and they did the same to them. Finally he sent them his son, saying, 'My son they will respect.' But when the tenants saw the son, they said to each other, 'This is the heir. Come, let's kill him and take his inheritance!' So they grapped him, threw him our of the vineyard and killed him. Now when the owner of the vineyard comes, what will he do to those tenants?"
They answered him, "He will viciously destory those vicious men and rent out the vineyard to other tenants who will give him his share of the crop when its due."
Yeshua said to them, "Haven't you ever read in the Tanakh
'The very rock which the builders rejected has become the cornerstone! This has come from Adonai, and in our eyes it is amazing'?
Therefore i tell you that the Kingdom of G-d will be taken away from you and given tot eh kind of people that will produce fruit!"
As the head cohanim and the P'rushim listened tot eh stories, they saw that he was speaking about them. But when they sent about to arrest him, they were afraid of the crowds; because the crowds considered him a prophet.
Yeshua continues his assault on the hypocrisy of the cohanim and religious leaders. He delivered two harsh blows in the previous two parts. He called them out on their focus, and then let them know that they are worse off spiritually that tax collectors and prostitutes. A terrible sinner, who for years said every other thing ont he planed except G-ds way, and then reached a point at which they said "I'm done living my life this way, may i suffer the consequences of changing everything", that person is better off than someone raised in a church.
In this second story, we see another reference back to the original question Yeshua posed. Yochanan. Remember the counter-question Yeshua posed about Yochanan's baptism authority. In that question he borough out that the cohanim refused to believe Yochanan. We see that subtly mirrored here in the plight of the servants the landowner sends. Sent as a commector, then as a warning, and in the end, killed. This whole parable is ripe with subtle and not so subtle analogies of Yeshua and Yochanan.
But there is a deepr point to it all. Think of the vineyard as the ream of religion and spirituality itself. These tenants, not merely idiots brought off of the streets, are those who would learn how to used and produce from a winepress. The fact that the landowner expects a crop backs up the idea that these tenants were more than simply living on the land. They worked and developed and struggled over it. With this in mind, look again at their reaction to the servants coming. They had worked the land, they knew it, and they were the ones responsible for it.
Following the analogy to the realm of religion and spirituality, these "tenants" are people who become part of the christian religion. They live it, they breath it, it becomes their identity. In the case of the cohanim this is particularly true. It also makes their response almost reasonable. These "servants", like Yochanan, and eventually Yeshua, came to challenge their place and collect on the righteousness due. The cohanim live for religion, and so to them newcomers pressing them this way was intolerable. It's little wonder why they kill the son, who is trying to take control of the vineyard away from them.
What is ironic as Yeshua finishes the story is how the cohanim actually respond. When asked what the landowner will do, they reply with a noticeable passion. It's almost as though they are trying to display their righteousness by condemning the wrongdoers of the story as harshly as possible, without realizing that they condemn themselves.
The curse of this story is doubled by this response of the cohanim. Yeshua, displaying a brilliant knowledge of old testament hermeneutics, brings out Psalm 118:22 to drive home the point of their rejection of the servants, and in the end the Son. The cohanim, masters of religion, called by G-d to serve as leaders and to build up the chosen people rejected the truth sent to them and for their rejection, for their lack of fruit, will be destroyed and replaced. Remember that even they agreed that the "vicious men" should be punished violently. The irony of that is sad, as though they understood their own downfall but were unable to comprehend it.
Where are we, church. How is our fruit? Notice that the fruit, combined with the message of the last parable, must come from repentance. See, the stagnancy of the fruit of the cohanim comes from their self righteousness. They think they are doing it right, that they are righteous, and thus they are unwilling to accept the challenges of Yeshua. Good fruit, as H'Meshiah is making clear, comes from a heart that sees nothing but evil inside of itself and strives to be cleansed. A person who thinks they are good and likes that good, can do no good; but a person who sees they are evil and loathes that evil can do nothing but turn away from evil. The only thing in the world to turn to when running from the evil inside is the Savior, Yeshua, son of David.

Holy Week; Part VI: "Which of the two did what his father wanted?"

"But give me your opinion: a man had two sons. He went to the first and said, 'Son, go and work today in the vineyard.' He answered, 'I dont want to'; but later he changed his mind and went. The father went to his other son and said the same thing. This one answered "i will, sir'; but he didn't go. Which of the two did what his father wanted?" 
"The first," they replied.
"Thats right!" Yeshua said to them. "I tell you that the tax-collectors and prostitutes are going into the Kingdom of G-d ahead of you! For Yochanan came to you showing the path of righteousness, and you wouldn't trust him. The tax collectors and prostitutes trusted him; but you, even after you saw this, didn't change your minds later and trust him.

We remember that Yeshua has just finished challenging the Cohanim about their hypocrisy. He just pointed out to them and to everyone that they were focusing on the wrong things, on their own image, rather than transforming others and being transformed by the word. Instead of going into an issue of authority, Yeshua looks deeper into a real problem the cohanim are facing.
The parable was a common way for Yeshua to teach, particularly when he was facing a tough crowd. He draws listeners into a story, and they become interested in how things play out. The out of new where comes a hard hitting point, and the point is usually uncomfortable for the listeners because if convicts. Yeshua does this here, either to make a point to the cohanim that they missed, or to reinforce the message he just gave them
The basic theme Yehsua has been using up till now continues through this parable, and the two that follow. That theme is that G-d rejects the hypocrites who worship religion, and asks for true transforming repentance. This is one of the first images we have of the full gospel story.
Obviously the two sons in the parable represent the sinner and the hypocrite. The first son, as Yeshua explains, represents the sinner. This person is the christian. They are asked to do something by the Father, and don't want to. What makes them important, is that, like the believer, they see that they should be doing something different, i.e. they should be doing the will of the father. They are the ones who repent and turn away from their past desicions.
The second son is the religious church goer. They responded to the call of the father, but they never follow thru on it. Ironically, this is the person who is unrepentant. They say, "Yes, I am following G-d, but make no effort to change their life, to walk away from the way they had been living.
The two sons start in the same place. Though the first son rejects his father at the start (as we all have) he turns around. The second son accepts the fathers instructions, but never turns around. The first son is saved; second son is a damned hypocrite, litterally.
It is not enough to claim salvation and to claim the blood of Yeshua. If that blood is really claimed, if that message is really heard, there must be repentance. To believe yourself to be saved, and never repent from ALL sin, makes you the damned first son.

Holy Week; Part V: From Heave or from a human source?

He went into the Temple area; and as he was teaching, the head cohanim and the elders of the people approached him and demanded, "What s'mikhah do you have that authorizes you to do these things? And who have you this s'mikhah?" Yeshua answered, "I too will ask you a question. If you answer it, then I will tell you by what s'mikhah I do these things. The immersion of Yochanan -where did it come from? From Heaven or from a human source?"  They discussed it among themselves: "If we say 'From Heaven', he will say, 'Then why didn't you believe him?' But if we say, 'From a human source,' we are afraid of the people, for they all regard Yochanan as a prophet." So they answered Yeshua, "We don't know." And he replied, "Then I won't tell you by what s'mikhah I do these things."
It is Yeshuas second day in Yerushalayim. So far he has made a practice of challenging hypocrisy. Each instance we have seen, he challenges an established structure, striking for the heart to reveal that the religious practices are dead inside. Here we see the Cohanim challenging Yeshua, and he turns it around on them.
The Cohanim were the ultimate authority on religion, worship and practice in that day. The lived for the scriptures. Yet it is these men who Yeshua makes a point of challenging; he shows their hypocrisy to all. He makes them angry. These people use religious expirience as a way to define themselves and prop themselves up. When Yeshua challenges their sense of religious superiority, he challenges their very identity. They worshiped worship, and turned the old testament studies into a death trap. No one wants to be a hypocrite, its just what they were set up for by the way the focused, and what they loved.
The teachers and priests challenge Yeshua on his authority to teach the people. They were teachers themselves, and wanted to make sure Yeshua followed "party lines". It Yeshua was going to be doing the same job they were, they wanted to make sure his credentials were up to par. Even more so, they wanted to make everyone who would have been watching and listening aware that Yeshua was not as formally educated as they were.
Yeshua poses his challengers a question. It was not a trick question. It was a pointed question that was designed to bring about a result. The content of the questions is almost irrelevant, but the results of the question are immensely poignant. The question is designed to make a display of hypocrisy.
Yeshua had been challenging people his entire life. Pushing them, and saying things that went against the grain of what they knew. He taught things that reversed the logic of man's teaching. And he taught it regardless of how me might be received. As the cohanim struggle with this question, they reveal that they are unwilling to challenge people the way Yeshua was. The cower to the common belief to maintain their own popularity, and show that, in effect, their regard for their own religion, which was so important to them, was second to popular opinion. They sacrificed their very identity as religious people by not standing up for what they preached just to remain popular.
The roots of hypocrisy: unbelief and fear of man. Unblelief in that the leaders were not willing to stand by what they believed G-d had told them, and trust that he was the ultimate source of their right and wrong. This is a modern problem, as well as an ancient one. Only now we have a new term for it. Political correctness. And it is rampant in the church. Don't say anything that might offend (or rather CONVICT) people. No one ever intends to be a hypocrite, but the fear of man and the insecurity of belief slowly take over until they control belief and faith. These two factors tie people to hypocrisy.
Another brilliant part of this interaction is that Yeshua avoids a pointless discussion. He knows that his challengers are hypocrites who just don't like him, so no matter what he would say in answer them, they would likely try to refute him because they are blinded by unbelief and the fear of man. It would have been a worthless discussion.

April 17- Someone from your childhood

Kevin,

Wonder where you are now. You graduated HS last year. Its wierd, i hardly remember you now, but you were like a best friend before I really knew what that was.

-Nate

Holy Week; Part III "Don't you hear what they're saying?"

Tehillim 8:3 (Psalms 8:2) From the mouths of Babes and infants at the breast you established strength because of your foes, in order that you might silence the enemy and the avenger.

Blind and lame people came up to him in the Temple, and he healed them. But when the cohanim and Torah-teachers saw the wonderful things he was doing, and the children crying out in the temple, "Please deliver us!" to the Son of David, they were furious. They said to him "Do you hear what they're saying?" 

Yeshua Replined, "Of course! haven't you ever read,

'From the Mouths of children and infants you have prepared praise for yourself'?

With that, he left them and went outside the city to Beit-Anyah, where he spent the night.

Right after Yeshua acts as the purifier of the temple, cleaning it out of anything but the worship, before the stir dies down, people come to him to be healed. Children are around him, still shouting and crying out for deliverance. Yeshua is healing people in the inner court, and the religious leaders are upset.

It seems the most religious people in the area are the most annoyed. The temple was pure, and people were being helped, yet those who "knew G-d best" were frustrated. They were not frustrated by the business chaos that was happening moments before, on the contrary, they seem to approve of it. It's an interesting irony that shows up, when the priests, who were in charge of worship, start mistaking the structure and business of worship for worship itself. 

Here specifically, Yeshua is challenging sins of neglect. They were so busy in the business of worship that they neglect the need to seek justice, correct wrongs and oppression. Faith without works is dead.

Yesha'yahu 1: 11-12 "Why are all those sacrifices offered to me?" asks Adonai. "I'm fed up with the burnt offerings of rams and the fat of fattened animals! I get no pleasure from the blood of bulls, lambs and goats. Yes you come to appear in my presence; but who asked you to do this, to trample through my courtyards?"

16-18 "Wash yourselves clean! get your evil deeds out of my sight! Stop doing evil, learn to do good! Seek justice, relieve the oppressed, defend orphans, plead for the widow.

"Come now," says Adonai, "lets talk this over together. Even if your sins are like scarlet, they will be white as snow; even if they are red as crimson, they will be like wool"

Holy Week; Part II: A house of prayer for all peoples

Yesha'yahu 56:7 "I will bring them to my holy mountain and make them joyful in my house of prayer; their burnt offerings and sacrifices will be accepted on my altar; for my house will be called a house of prayer for all peoples."
Yirmeyahu 7:11 "Do you regard this house, which bears my name, as a cave for bandits? I can see for myself what's going on," says Adonai
Yeshua entered the Temple grounds and drove out those who were doing business there, both merchants and their customers. He upset the desks of the money changers and kicked over the benches of those who were selling pigeons. He said to them, "It has been written, 'My house will be called a house of prayer.' But you are making it into a den of robbers!"
Yeshua here, not long after his "triumphant entry", changes the game. As he rode into the city, people where shouting for him to "Save them". It is interesting that this is the first recorded action that Yeshua takes after the people's cry for salvation. Put yourself in the shoes of those following H'Meshiah. Perhaps they equated what Yeshua was doing directly with what they were pleading for. In any case it makes for an interesting message.
Yeshua is often seen as a mercy giver or humble king to those exhorter-gifted saints, yet to the rulers and prophets, the opposite sides of his character stand out. The honest truth is that Yeshua personified the positive side of all seven gifts. Yet in the passage of Mattityahu 21:12-17 focus on Yeshua as a prophet purifier, as he cleanses his temple. The temple area was the scene for this telling event in Yeshua’s life. Herod the Great had expanded the temple mount to a space the equivalent of thirty football fields. There were four courts that were restricted to particular people: the inner court or the temple proper was only accessible by the priests, the Court of the Israelites where the sacrifices were offered, the Court of Women where all Jews could enter, and finally the Court of the Gentiles. It is likely that it was in the Court of Gentiles where this incident took place.
People would come from all across the Roman Empire, traveling perhaps great distances to worship at the temple. Worshipers coming from such great distances would likely not have been able to bring with them the necessary animals for sacrifice. They would also not likely have the ability to exchange their foreign currency. This being the case, the exchange of money and goods on the temple mount was a helpful, on some level, to worshipers. Yeshua, in spite of the theoretically positive nature of the exchange, reacts harshly to the practice. He forms a whip, takes out the tables and chairs of the moneychangers in a very classic scene of righteous anger. But the question of why still stands. This practice is helpful even necessary to some, so why does H’Meshiah oppose it so violently?

There had obviously been a change in the practice at the temple. This was the third time Yeshua was recorded being there, and it is only now that he reacts this way. Yeshua is upset that the environment of the temple was no longer about worship, but about the business around worship. Perhaps, amid this noisy, busy, hectic market place, there are genuine worshipers getting lost in the chaos. Perhaps Yeshua had become aware of some thievery or dishonest business practices going on, as he was able to see into the heart of each man. Whatever reason, this was the first example of commercial spiritualism, a place where the process and necessities of worship took away from the heart of worship itself.

H’Meshiah used the temple as a metaphor for his body and for ours. As followers, our body is our temple. At times it becomes important, even necessary to concern our lives with the work required to build and keep our temples functioning. This like food, shelter, clothing, and so on are not wrong to seek after because they are necessary for proper stewardship of the temple we are given, and aide in its use in glorifying Adonai. But in the end it is essential that we not forget the purpose for which we are given our bodies, and why they metaphor of the temple is so applicable. While the process and necessities of living are relevant, the heart of the believer, their reason for life is to serve and glorify God. Not even daily needs should get in the way of that.

Please! Save Us!

"Say to Tziyon, 'Look! Your king is coming to you, riding humbly on a donkey, on a colt, the offspring of a beast of burden'"


So the  talmidim went and did and Yeshua had directed them. they brought the donkey and the colt and put their robes on them, and Yeshua sat on them. Crowds of people carpeted the road witht heir clothing, whule others cut branches from trees and spread them on the road. The crowds ahead of him and behind shoudted,


"Please! Deliver us!"


to the Son of David;


"Blessed is he who comes in the name of Adonai!"


"You in the highest heaven! Please! Deliver us!"


When he entered Yerushalayim, the whole city was stirred. "Who is this?" they asked. And the crowds answered, "This is Yeshua, the prophet from Natzeret in the Galil."

April 16- Someone that’s not in your state/country

David,
Hey. I miss the room. Have you been passing room inspections easier since i left?
I second the motion.
-Roommate

Is it normal that the thought of someone important bleeding makes me so happy?

G-d is Holy. Perfect. That is an infinite statement. Perfect doesn't have a limit. Any change to perfect, and its not perfect anymore. Heaven is the presence of G-d, and is thus, perfect. Nothing can enter Heaven without being Perfect.
G-d gave people, his creation, a standard, measuring his perfection. He keeps this standard perfectly. As creator, and the only one who successfully keeps that standard, it is completely fair of Him to judge humanity by that standard. Indeed it would make Him less holy if He did not! G-d MUST punish sin.
The standard He set has its basis found in the Ten commandments.
"I am Adonai your G-d, who brought you out of the land of Egypt, out of the abode of slavery.
You are to have no other gods before me. Your are not to make for yourselves a carved image of any kind of representation of anything in heaven above or the heart beneath or n the water below the shoreline- you are not to bow down to them or serce the; for I, Adonai your God amd a jealous God, punishing the children for the sins of the parents, also the third and fourth generation fo those who hate me, but displaying grace to the thousandth generation of those who love me and obey my mitzvot.
You are not to misuse the name of Adonai your God, because Adonai will not leave unpunished someone who misuses his name
Observe the day of Shabbat, to set it apart as holy, as Adonai your God ordered you to do. You have six days to labor and to all your work, but the seventh day is a Shabbatfor Adonai your God. On it you are not to do any kind of work - not you, your son or your daughter, not your male or female slave, not your ox, your donkey or any of your other livestock, and no the foreigner staying with you inside the gates to your property - so that your male and female servants can rest just as you to. You are to remember that you were a slave in the land of Egypt, and Adonai your God brought you out from there with a strong hand and an outstretched arm. Therefore Adonai your God ahas ordered you to keep the say of Shabbat.
Honor your father and mother, as Adonai your God ordered you to to, so that you will love long and have things go well with you in the land Adonai your God is giving you.
Do not murder.
Do not commit adultery.
Do not steal.
Do not give false evidence against your neighbor.
Do not covet your neighbor's wife; do not covet your neighbor's house, his field, his male or female slave, his ox his donkey or anything that belongs to your neighbor."
This is the standard. We all fail this standard. Heaven is perfect, because G-d is perfect, we are flawed, and the two cannot be reconciled. More than that, G-d, who is holy, the ultimate judge of what is fair MUST punish those who have failed to meet the standard because he IS THAT HOLY. That punishment is Hell. (REV 21:8)
By election (because we choose to sin), by prescription (because we are born into sin), and by necessity (because a holy G-d must judge wrongdoing) every human is destined for Hell.
DOES THIS CONCERN YOU!
A debt is owed. We all deserve punishment. Like in a courtroom, there is a sentence that must be carried out.
Yeshua took that punishment. He was and is perfect, and so, because he met the standard, his death was enough to satisfy that need for justice.
But the question of sin isn't ended. This requires us to understand and admit somethings. First, the Law shows us not only that there is a standard, but that we cannot meet it. That is, the Law shows us that we need saving. Without the understanding of that need, salvation cannot begin.
Second, we must understand that with Yeshua's death, the sin died too. We are saved from sin, from imperfection. We must repent of that imperfection. We already understand that we are imperfect, but then we have to walk away from that imperfection. Does that happen immediately, overnight, not usually, though it can. This is called repentance.
Third, once we have repented and COMPLETELY FORSAKEN anything that is not perfect by G-ds standard, we trust that we are forgiven. Do we stop sinning? No, but we try, fail, get up, and keep trying, because we have repented.
The Law still exists, and is essential to understand. We are free from it, yes, by grace and forgiveness, but following it becomes more important than ever. Not because it is the Law that saves us, but because the imperfections that the Law shows us are what BIND US TO HELL. Freedom fin Yeshua is not freedom from the Law, but freedom to the bondage of SIN. We should have a greater desire to follow the Law, to hold that standard. Not to earn salvation, but because anything else is disgusting to us, and moreso, disgusting to G-d.

April 15- The person you miss the most

Dear one,
Not sure if I know you yet. Either way, I miss you. I love you.
Till then,
Yours

April 14- Someone you’ve drifted away from

Mark,
You went to college a year before me. I still win.
Hehehe,
-nate

April 13- Someone you wish could forgive you

Too big of a list,
Dear... everybody,
I have no idea where to start... honestly...

April 12- A person who caused you a lot of pain

Rieola,
I do miss you. I miss what we had. If nothing else, you made me understand how much I want to love my future wife someday. You taught me a lot about love and emotion. I know i'm not completely over what happened last year, but by G-d I am well on my way. You are my beautiful regret.
Your "brother",
Antien Eruseldon.

April 10- Someone you don’t talk to as much as you’d like to

אדני,
You know.. I don't have to explain it to you. Sorry.
נאתן

April 9- Someone you wish you could meet

Dear Yeshua,
I know i have all the important stuff written down here for me, but I still cant pretend that I dont want to have known you in person. I dont even think I have any questions to ask, spesifically; I just want to follow you. To see what you were really like. To hear the tone of your voice. That's be nice.
-Natanel

April 5- Your dreams

Hey!
I'm over her now. You dont have to keep bringing it up. Gosh you can be so stupid.
I'm not afraid of you anymore. trouble me no more.
-Fearless

April 4- A letter to: Your sibling

April 3- A letter to: Your parents

Hi,
I'm home now. This isn't what we expected was it? I'm glad to be back with you. I'm growing up enough to know now how much I need you guys. It's odd, the older I get the more I want you to make decisions for me. My future, my wife, my jobs, my schooling. Seriously, I trust you guys way more now that I am "able" to choose these things myself.
I love you both. Thank you.
-Nate

April 2- A letter to: Your Crush

Hi,
This is technically contact, so sorry about that. Just wanted to say you are an awesome person. I hope you have a nice life.
-Nathan

April 1- A Letter to: Your Best Friend

Hey you,

I miss you. That is all.

-Aiden