Equality

Let’s take a look at equality from the New Testament standpoint and explore some of the information that is new to the New Covenant!

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Society has struggled with equal rights for millennia. Nations have risen against nations, people have been held as slaves on huge scales, and even today there is mass oppression in many parts of the world. Let’s take a quick walk through the Bible and see what it has to say about equality.

Slide 2 And He came to Nazareth, where He had been brought up; and as was His custom, He entered the synagogue on the Sabbath, and stood up to read. And the book of the prophet Isaiah was handed to Him. And He opened the book and found the place where it was written, “THE SPIRIT OF THE LORD IS UPON ME, BECAUSE HE ANOINTED ME TO PREACH THE GOSPEL TO THE POOR. HE HAS SENT ME TO PROCLAIM RELEASE TO THE CAPTIVES, AND RECOVERY OF SIGHT TO THE BLIND, TO SET FREE THOSE WHO ARE OPPRESSED, TO PROCLAIM THE FAVORABLE YEAR OF THE LORD.” And He closed the book, gave it back to the attendant and sat down; and the eyes of all in the synagogue were fixed on Him. And He began to say to them, “Today this Scripture has been fulfilled in your hearing.” And all were speaking well of Him, and wondering at the gracious words which were falling from His lips; and they were saying, “Is this not Joseph’s son?” And He said to them, “No doubt you will quote this proverb to Me, ‘Physician, heal yourself! Whatever we heard was done at Capernaum, do here in your hometown as well.'” And He said, “Truly I say to you, no prophet is welcome in his hometown. “But I say to you in truth, there were many widows in Israel in the days of Elijah, when the sky was shut up for three years and six months, when a great famine came over all the land; and yet Elijah was sent to none of them, but only to Zarephath, in the land of Sidon, to a woman who was a widow. “And there were many lepers in Israel in the time of Elisha the prophet; and none of them was cleansed, but only Naaman the Syrian.” And all the people in the synagogue were filled with rage as they heard these things; and they got up and drove Him out of the city, and led Him to the brow of the hill on which their city had been built, in order to throw Him down the cliff. (Luk 4:16-29)

This is the beginning of Yeshua’s ministry. There’s a theme He had running, kind of as an undercurrent, throughout His earthly ministry, that most of Christianity misses. This is a theme of equality. First Century Judea had a lot of problems with respect to equality. It was a world that those of us who have been born and raised in the west have no ability to comprehend. The Jews wanted to be left alone and were not interested much at all in others joining them, for lack of a better word. Granted, there were proselytes, but they were never accepted to the level of a native born Israelite. Their exclusivity was a problem because Judea was occupied by the Romans who had a pretty brutal view of society. If you had Roman citizenship, you had rights and were by all measures more of a human being than if you did not. This comes into play when Paul becomes the apostle to the Gentiles and uses his Roman citizenship to further the kingdom of God. Within the Roman life was a caste system as well, which is something we know nothing about, either. In a nutshell, some people were definitely more equal than others withing Roman citizenship but those who were not Roman at all were of much less value than those who were and attaining that citizenship was difficult.

So what does this all have to do with Yeshua in the synagogue? The Jews had a similar “us versus them” view of society. It’s part of the word goyim, or nations. The Jews believed, rightly so, that they were the chosen people and were special to Yahweh. But they also had a wall of separation, they did not care to mix with other nations. This is completely understandable because that’s what got them smote repeatedly. When Yahweh re-established Judea through Nehemiah and Ezra, the people read the Torah aloud. When they realized they had married those from forbidden nations, they sent them away and “purified” the land. They realized they had been sent into captivity for a few reasons, one of which was blending the worship of the nations with the worship of Yahweh. This is where the synagogue system began and where they started studying Torah weekly. This did a pretty good job of keeping them on the straight and narrow, particularly after the Maccabean revolt, but it also served to create an insular society. So what we had in first century Judea was a nation that did not care to mix with other nations being occupied by a nation that liked to gobble up other nations and destroy those who didn’t want to be gobbled up. That’s a lot of friction. And then, in the synagogue, Yeshua starts His ministry by reminding his fellow Jews that Yahweh worked miracles for gentiles in the days of Elijah and Elisha, miracles that were not performed for Jews at the time. And it really made them mad. To the point of wanting to do Him harm.

It’s very important to understand that He started His ministry with this message because the New Testament does have new information. The New Testament shows a shift in the way Yahweh interacts with the world with Yeshua’s sacrifice. Yeshua starts His ministry alluding to this.

Slide 3 “This Yeshua God raised up again, to which we are all witnesses. Therefore having been exalted to the right hand of God, and having received from the Father the promise of the Holy Spirit, He has poured forth this which you both see and hear. For it was not David who ascended into heaven, but he himself says: ‘THE LORD SAID TO MY LORD, “SIT AT MY RIGHT HAND, UNTIL I MAKE YOUR ENEMIES A FOOTSTOOL FOR YOUR FEET.”‘ “Therefore let all the house of Israel know for certain that God has made Him both Lord and Messiah—this Yeshua whom you crucified.” Now when they heard this, they were pierced to the heart, and said to Peter and the rest of the apostles, “Brethren, what shall we do?” Peter said to them, “Repent, and each of you be baptized in the name of Yeshua the Messiah for the forgiveness of your sins; and you will receive the gift of the Holy Spirit. For the promise is for you and your children and for all who are far off, as many as the Lord our God will call to Himself.” (Act 2:32-39)

Do you see the shift? “The promise” is for those present, their children, and those who are far off… as many as God will call to Himself. When you see the phrase “the promise” in NT scripture, it’s speaking of the promise made to Abraham to make his descendants more numerous than the stars. Peter is telling them that Yahweh is calling all people, not just Jews, here at Acts 2. It’s interesting these words come from Peter because he seemed to have a problem with this later in the New Testament, but let’s take a look at “the promise” in detail.

Slide 4 For you are all sons of God through faith in Messiah Yeshua. For all of you who were baptized into Messiah have clothed yourselves with Messiah. There is neither Jew nor Greek, there is neither slave nor free man, there is neither male nor female; for you are all one in Messiah Yeshua. And if you belong to Messiah, then you are Abraham’s descendants, heirs according to promise. (Gal 3:26-29)

These people still had to deal with the injustices of their day but within the congregation, they all had to come to the reality that they were equal with respect to salvation. They were still literally male and female and those who were slaves were still literally slaves, but they had to treat each other equally within the assembly.

Back in Acts 2, the Jews and proselytes who witnessed the results of the Ruach falling on the apostles were from all over the known world. They had come to Jerusalem to keep Passover and Pentecost. After they witnessed the miracles of that Pentecost, with many of those who crucified Yeshua repenting and being baptized, they took that information back to their home congregations. They sowed seeds ahead of the apostles coming with the Gospel. Here, ten or fifteen years later, Paul is re-affirming Peters words, that those who were far off were being called by God. Paul is making it clear that anyone who accepts Yeshua as the Messiah becomes a child of God, and an heir according to the promise. This, brothers and sisters, is equality. This is why we call each other brother and sister, because we are in the family of Yahweh. And we need to treat everyone we meet as if they are already family or potentially family, which is how we live in equality.

Yeshua Our Mediator

The most important information in the history of mankind is that Yeshua (Jesus) is the Son of God and the Mediator between us and God.

Video with slides below courtesy of Rumble.

Audio only below courtesy of Spotify.

Today is the Sabbath before we break for Sukkot. By now I hope all the calendars are done observing Yom Kippur, but you never know. Yom Kippur is incredibly important to Christianity. It’s a shame that only a small percentage of those of us who accept Yeshua as the Messiah observe. The New Testament has an entire book devoted to Yeshua being our Mediator, which is the Book of Hebrews. The most important piece of information any human can know and believe is that Yeshua is the Messiah, the Son of God, and died for the sins of anyone who accepts this. This is the only information that is the gateway to eternal life through either the resurrection of the dead or through being caught up in the air when Yeshua returns. Everything we do in our walk with Yahweh and His Son is based on this truth. Today, before we break, let’s refresh on this truth.

Slide 2 For there is one God, and one mediator also between God and mankind, the man Messiah Yeshua, who gave Himself as a ransom for all, the testimony given at the proper time. For this I was appointed as a preacher and an apostle (I am telling the truth, I am not lying), as a teacher of the Gentiles in faith and truth. (1Ti 2:5-7)

Still slide 2 For this reason He is the mediator of a new covenant, so that, since a death has taken place for the redemption of the violations that were committed under the first covenant, those who have been called may receive the promise of the eternal inheritance. (Heb 9:15)

Paul didn’t write the book of Hebrews so here are our two witnesses. This concept of a mediator. However, Paul writes that he was appointed a preacher and an apostle to teach the gentiles this specific truth. That’s very significant because we are the beneficiaries of his teachings. Through Paul, Yahweh evangelized the western Roman empire of the truth of the Messiah. Paul was a very unique individual, born and trained for such a time as that. He was a gifted Rabbi, trained by Gamaliel himself, but was also a full Roman citizen so he could travel freely and operate anywhere within the Roman Empire. He knew several languages fluently, specifically Greek, so he could teach the Messiah to the world. This starts with the Torah.

Slide 3 Then YHVH Elohim said to the serpent, “Because you have done this, cursed are you more than all the livestock, and more than any animal of the field; On your belly you shall go, and dust you shall eat all the days of your life; and I will make enemies of you and the woman, and of your offspring and her Descendant; He shall bruise you on the head, and you shall bruise Him on the heel.” (Gen 3:14-15)

In our way of thinking, we accept the entire Bible, from Genesis to Revelation, as scripture and applicable to our lives and faith. The Torah, also called the Law or the Pentateuch, is the foundation of all scripture and truth. This right here is a prophecy of Yeshua. It was a mystery how a descendant of the woman could damage the serpent until Yeshua came born of Mary. Mary, a virgin, impregnated miraculously to give birth to the Son of God.

Slide 4 And the angel said to her, “Do not be afraid, Mary, for you have found favor with God. And behold, you will conceive in your womb and give birth to a son, and you shall name Him Yeshua. He will be great and will be called the Son of the Most High; and the Lord God will give Him the throne of His father David; and He will reign over the house of Jacob forever, and His kingdom will have no end.” But Mary said to the angel, “How will this be, since I am a virgin?” The angel answered and said to her, “The Ruach haKodesh will come upon you, and the power of the Most High will overshadow you; for that reason also the holy Child will be called the Son of God.” (Luk 1:30-35)

The Name of the Messiah is Yeshua, which means salvation. This is from, among other places, Isaiah 52. In verse 7 it says how delightful the feet are of those who announce Salvation, which is a prophecy of John the Baptist who came as an Elijah ahead of Yeshua to announce His arrival. And then at the end of Isaiah 52 and into chapter 53, it prophecies Yeshua’s crucifixion and death, calling Him Yahweh’s Servant in 52:13.

Yeshua is Yahweh’s Servant. Let this sink in. Here in the middle of the message is probably the most important topic:

Slide 5 “For I have come down from heaven, not to do My own will, but the will of Him who sent Me. And this is the will of Him who sent Me, that of everything that He has given Me I will lose nothing, but will raise it up on the last day. For this is the will of My Father, that everyone who sees the Son and believes in Him will have eternal life, and I Myself will raise him up on the last day.” (Joh 6:38-40)

Yeshua’s will could have been different than Yahweh’s. But the way, Yeshua is the Name of the Son of God, Yahweh is God’s Name. Yeshua was and is an independent being. The message of the Gospel is that the Son of God came down and fully, 100%, submitted to Yahweh. That He died sinless, murdered by both the Gentiles and the Jews, brutally, and was resurrected by Yahweh three days and three nights later. By us accepting that God sent His only begotten Son, we have the chance at eternal life. By accepting that Yahweh made a way for mankind to be reconciled to Him, a way that is foolishness to most, understanding this truth, and deciding to obey, we have the chance to enter into eternity with Yahweh and Yeshua. And how was this accomplished?

Slide 6 “The God of our fathers raised up Yeshua, whom you put to death by hanging Him on a cross. He is the one whom God exalted to His right hand as a Prince and a Savior, to grant repentance to Israel, and forgiveness of sins. And we are witnesses of these things; and so is the Ruach ha Kodesh, whom God has given to those who obey Him.” But when they heard this, they became infuriated and nearly decided to execute them. (Act 5:30-33)

Do you see how this is the most important information in all of humanity? Peter and the apostles were granted the Holy Spirit to be able to stand in front of those with the power to kill them and testify that Yeshua died innocently, on a cross even, the execution method of the pagans and a curse to hang an Israelite on a tree. That it was the God of their fathers, who are now our fathers, Abraham, Isaac, Jacob, and Yeshua who did this. And that through Yeshua’s death and resurrection repentance is possible as is the forgiveness of sins. They were standing before the very people who had killed Yeshua two months prior and were telling them the very information they killed Yeshua to stop. And how do they start?

Slide 7 But Peter and the apostles answered, “We must obey God rather than men.”(Act 5:29)

This is the verse prior to their testimony and they told the High Priest Himself that they had to obey God rather than men, meaning them. This is incredible because up until this point. The Kohen Gadol, the High Priest, was the mediator between God and men and these brothers were telling him that was no more.

Slide 8 Now the main point in what has been said is this: we have such a high priest, who has taken His seat at the right hand of the throne of the Majesty in the heavens, a minister in the sanctuary and in the true tabernacle, which the Lord set up, not man. For every high priest is appointed to offer both gifts and sacrifices; so it is necessary that this high priest also have something to offer. Now if He were on earth, He would not be a priest at all, since there are those who offer the gifts according to the Law; who serve a copy and shadow of the heavenly things, just as Moses was warned by God when he was about to erect the tabernacle; for, “SEE,” He says, “THAT YOU MAKE all things BY THE PATTERN WHICH WAS SHOWN TO YOU ON THE MOUNTAIN.” But now He has obtained a more excellent ministry, to the extent that He is also the mediator of a better covenant, which has been enacted on better promises. (Heb 8:1-6)

We have a new High Priest with a new covenant established in the heavenly tabernacle. This is a better covenant. But we don’t get to get carried away with this. Because we can’t understand the New Covenant without understanding the Old Covenant.

Slide 9 For in finding fault with the people, He says, “BEHOLD, DAYS ARE COMING, SAYS THE LORD, WHEN I WILL BRING ABOUT A NEW COVENANT WITH THE HOUSE OF ISRAEL AND THE HOUSE OF JUDAH, NOT LIKE THE COVENANT WHICH I MADE WITH THEIR FATHERS ON THE DAY I TOOK THEM BY THE HAND TO BRING THEM OUT OF THE LAND OF EGYPT; FOR THEY DID NOT CONTINUE IN MY COVENANT, AND I DID NOT CARE ABOUT THEM, SAYS THE LORD. “FOR THIS IS THE COVENANT WHICH I WILL MAKE WITH THE HOUSE OF ISRAEL AFTER THOSE DAYS, DECLARES THE LORD: I WILL PUT MY LAWS INTO THEIR MINDS, AND WRITE THEM ON THEIR HEARTS. AND I WILL BE THEIR GOD, AND THEY SHALL BE MY PEOPLE. (Heb 8:8-10)

This is a quote from Jeremiah 31 but it’s prefaced with finding fault with the people. Boy did Yahweh find fault with them when they decided to crucify His Son. The Torah establishes and defines sin. It defines proper behavior for the children of God. The Old Covenant did work, by the way. The sins were atoned for with the blood of bulls and goats, but it was in a cyclical fashion. It was repeated annually. Yeshua’s death atoned for sin for all time, looking back and forward, which is why the curtain was torn at his death. It signified that all the sins heaped upon that curtain were finally atoned for AND there is a new way to Yahweh, a new High Priest. The people who obeyed and the priests who served honorably did well. We can’t read this to come to the notion that Yahweh gave the Israelites something bad, or strung them along. That’s a reprehensible thought. And we know that sin remains today, which is the transgression of the law. And we know at the end, all will be measured against the law. But this was part of the story. This is the plan of salvation. And those who came before will be judged based on the information of their day.

Slide 10 “Therefore let all the house of Israel know for certain that God has made Him both Lord and Messiah—this Yeshua whom you crucified.” Now when they heard this, they were pierced to the heart, and said to Peter and the rest of the apostles, “Brothers, what are we to do?” Peter said to them, “Repent, and each of you be baptized in the name of Yeshua Messiah for the forgiveness of your sins; and you will receive the gift of the Ruach ha Kodesh. For the promise is for you and your children and for all who are far away, as many as the Lord our God will call to Himself.” (Act 2:36-39)

Brothers and sisters, Yahweh’s plan was laid out from the beginning. From Genesis 3 where Eve’s descendant was declared to bruise the serpent on the head until the crucifixion of our Lord, until His ascension, until the Gospel going forth from Zion, until His return, and until the end, when we enter the olam ha ba, it all has to come to pass. So let’s enjoy ourselves at Sukkot, fellowshipping with our believing and obedient brethren. Let’s enjoy meeting in larger groups, good teachings, music, dancing, food, and festival. But do so in the Name of our Mediator, Yeshua the Messiah.