WHERE IS JESUS’ HAFTARAH?

FINDING JESUS IN TODAY’S SYNAGOGUES

Things in the modern church have changed since I was a boy. When I grew up in the Church of Christ in Margaret Street, Toowoomba, Queensland, Australia, in the 1950s and 60s things were a lot more formal.

Only men took part in public speaking during the services. We all wore white shirts and ties with coats; even in the middle of our oppressively hot summers; no air conditioners then (the women carried hand fans and waved them back and forth over their faces). Certainly, all women and girls wore dresses and stockings. Many of the older women still wore hats and ribbons.

The church services too were rather predictable. They used to talk about “the three-hymn sandwich” with communion in between and the hymn to finish the sermon! The men who were to participate in the public part of the services would meet in the vestibule for a prayer meeting asking Jesus to honour his name and bless his people in the service. We would then file down in order to the front and either take our place on the platform (if we were taking a speaking role) or sit in the front middle pew (if we were to distribute the Lord’s supper).

On the stage were two pulpits, with the communion table the centerpiece. Invariably, there were two Bible readings. The first was from the right-hand pulpit and was an Old Testament passage. The second reading was from the left pulpit and was a New Testament passage that was thematically linked to the first reading; after all “the OT is the NT concealed and the NT is the OT revealed”!

When it came time the speaker (preacher) would give a sermon; hopefully based on the two Bible readings. I did not know it at the time, but this practice for public Scripture reading followed by a sermon has solid Jewish roots that go back, yes, thousands of years! I am not suggesting of course, that in the synagogues the New Testament was read. But for way more than two millennia the Torah and “the Law and the Prophets” have been the focal point of the synagogue Scripture readings and remain so to this very day.

For centuries traditional Jewish practice has been to read aloud the entire Torah (the first 5 books by Moses) each year. This Torah portion is called the parashah. Then, selections from the prophetic and historical writings (called Neviim) were read aloud. This portion was called the haftarah, which means “completion”.

After the second reading from the prophets; the haftarah; the rabbi or visiting speaker would deliver his homily, his message, which was based on the passages of Scripture just read. It’s this practice that Christians have emulated, mostly not realizing how very Jewish its method is!

I acknowledge the title What Happened to Jesus’ Haftarah? is not mine. It originally appeared on August 12, 2005, at http://www.haaretz.com/news/what-happened-to-jesus-haftarah-1.166699. I also freely acknowledge that the inspiration for this article comes from Lois Tverberg’s chapter Moses and the Prophets Have Spoken: Finding Promises in the Synagogue in her book, Reading the Bible with Rabbi Jesus: How a Jewish Perspective Can Transform Your Understanding, Baker Books, Grand Rapids, Michigan, 2017.

Some of the standardized lectionary lists that date from before the Messiah show an earlier triennial tradition, rather than the later annual cycle for the Torah readings.

UNIFORMITY AROUND THE WORLD

Did you know that, to this day, the very same Old Testament Scripture readings from the Torah and the prophets are synchronized in every part of the world? If you went into a synagogue in Israel, in New York, in Sydney, in Europe, anywhere that Jews congregate, you will hear the same Bible passage(s) read aloud for that Sabbath?

This rhythmic pattern is so engrained in Jewish life that even secular Israeli calendars mark off the weeks of the year by the names of the parashah (Torah) that will be read that week. Can you imagine participating in a Bible study so universal that you can glance at a free calendar you got at the bank to see what you’ll be studying this week?

In Orthodox synagogues, the same Scripture texts have been recited each week of the year for over fifteen centuries. On the day they finish reading Deuteronomy, they throw a big party that they call Simchat Torah; “The joy of the Torah.” After parading the scrolls around the synagogue with great pomp and circumstance, they read the last word of Deuteronomy followed immediately by the first words of Genesis. Not a moment should be spent outside of the Scriptures.

JESUS AND HIS APOSTLES FOLLOWED THIS PATTERN

Two quick NT examples prove this standardized practice for millennia. The first in Luke 4 concerns Jesus’ opening public sermon made in his hometown of Nazareth. Although it had been Jesus’ lifelong weekly practice to participate in the public prayers and readings in the local synagogue, on this special Sabbath day he stood up to read (v.16).

After the Torah portion from Moses had been read, the scroll of the prophet Isaiah was handed to Jesus for the haftarah: the second reading; and, when he had opened it (Isaiah 61), he found the place where it was written … (v. 16-17). Jesus then proceeded to give the ‘sermon’ in which he dramatically announced the year of God’s favour”, the Year of Jubilee, with himself being the very one promised in the Scriptures, the long-awaited messianic king! Jesus read aloud: “The Spirit of the LORD - Yehovah is upon me because He anointed me to proclaim good news to the poor. He has sent me to proclaim liberty to the captives and recovering of sight to the blind, to set at liberty those who are oppressed, to proclaim the year of the LORD’s favour (v.18-19).

A careful study of this Lukan passage shows Jesus was very Jewish in these actions, even if his exegesis was to the ears of the locals most controversial, unorthodox, and yes, confronting!

The second example follows the public reading of the Torah and the Prophets in Antioch. On the Sabbath day, Paul and his companions went into the synagogue and sat down. After the reading of the Law (Torah) and the prophets (Neviim), the officials of the synagogue sent them a message, saying: “‘Brothers, if you have any word of exhortation for the people, give it.” Paul then stood up, and with a gesture began to give his address (Acts 13: 13ff). Two Bible readings followed by a sermon!

A DISCOVERY IN THE STOREROOM!

Most of us have heard of the Dead Sea Scrolls discovered by a Bedouin shepherd boy in 1946. Their significance cannot be overestimated, but this is not the place to go into that. But are you aware of Op Cit. Reading the Bible with Rabbi Jesus, pp 194-195, Luke 4:16 informs us this had been Jesus’ regular custom or habit (eiotha) in Nazareth where he had been raised.

The Greek verb anaptusso rightly translated means Jesus “unrolled it”. It takes some skill to be able to find the place you are looking for on a scroll many meters long! The fact Jesus carefully selected his verses on this occasion indicates he was familiar with handling the scrolls and of course, could read Hebrew!

Another earlier and equally important discovery in 1896 in Cairo of over 300,000 (!) Jewish documents? These discarded holy texts in a synagogue storeroom (called a genizah) contained, amongst many other documents, multiple lectionary lists.

To the astonishment of all, these were not the annual readings so well known today but were from a more ancient synagogue tradition dating to well before the Messiah Jesus, and that had persisted in Israel, northern Africa, and Egypt until at least 1100 A.D.

Upon close examination, the researchers noted that the modern Torah reading (remember it’s called the parashah portion) was derived from, and based upon, this much older tradition. Today’s Torah readings take one year to cycle through. This older liturgy was split into a cycle lasting three-and-a-half years.

All of this is simply to say that synagogue liturgies were not synchronized until they became standardized to the annual cycle instituted in Babylon a couple of hundred years after the Messiah. So, it seems that Jesus and Paul on their travels would have encountered slightly different public readings from today’s as they traveled from town to town, village to village.

THE MOST STAGGERING DISCOVERY OF ALL!

Lois Tverberg notes that the most fascinating thing the researchers found was that while the Torah readings had hardly changed, the haftarah readings from the Prophets were completely different.

How, in what way, had the liturgical readings changed from their ancient lectionary to what is practiced in synagogues this day? Well, in the ancient cycle, the interest was on Israel’s future. The Torah reading was followed by the haftarah reading from the Prophets that focused on God’s – Yehovah’s promises of a glorious future messianic kingdom age.

Every week the haftarah readings asked the question: What will the world look like when God – Yehovah establishes His earthly kingdom? How will Israel’s story ultimately play out? Let’s give an example or two.

THE NEW CREATION

If the Torah portion was on the creation story from Genesis 1 the haftarah reading would be about the new creation of the heavens and the earth from Isaiah 65: “For behold, I create new heavens and a new earth, and the former things shall not be remembered or come into mind … the wolf and the lamb shall graze together, the lion shall eat straw like the ox … they shall not hurt or destroy in all my holy mountain”, says the LORD - Yehovah (vs.17,25).

ONE LANGUAGE TO REFLECT UNIVERSAL WORSHIP

And on the week, they read about the confounding of the languages at Babel from Genesis 11, the haftarah would cite the promise from Zephaniah 3: 9: For at that time, I will change the speech of the peoples to a pure speech, that all of them may call upon the name of the LORD - Yehovah and serve Him with one accord. 6 Op. Cit. p 196 (My underlining).

A NEW COVENANT

Or, when they read about Moses descending Mount Sinai with the tables of the covenant in Exodus 34:27-35, they would read the haftarah portion from Jeremiah 31: 32-39: This is the covenant that I will make with the house of Israel after those days, declares the LORD - Yehovah: I will put my law within them, and I will write it on their hearts. And I will be their God - Elohim, and they shall be my people (v.33).

A SON TO TAKE THE REIGNS OF THE NEW GOVERNMENT

One last example. When they read Leviticus 12-13 about purification after childbirth, they’d read Isaiah 9:6, which looks forward to the birth of Israel’s messianic king, who would sit on David’s throne and receive an everlasting kingdom: For unto us a child is born, unto a son is given; and the government shall be upon his shoulder, and his name shall be called Wonderful, Counselor, Mighty Hero, Everlasting Father, Prince of Peace.

Well, you get the idea from these few examples. The standard practice in the earlier synagogue liturgy was that the theme connecting the Torah reading (what’s it called? You remember! That’s right! The parashah portion) was oriented towards God’s promised future redemption for Israel, and by extension the salvation of the nations of the world through the Messiah.

As Christians this should excite and enthrall us to the point of jumping out of our skin with joy. To learn the earliest synagogue lectionaries; the ones Jesus and the apostles were accustomed to; were invariably oriented towards the future kingdom helps us understand why there was such power and controversy in their ministries, for they announced God’s promised future had arrived in the person of Jesus of Nazareth right in front of their very eyes.

Lois Tverberg says it is especially noteworthy that, over half of the prophetic readings came from Isaiah, especially chapters 40-66, which focus on promises of redemption and renewal. Jesus often quoted Isaiah 40-66. When he read in the synagogue in Luke 4, he was quoting from Isaiah 61, and the Beatitudes in Matthew 5 are filled with references from Isaiah 55-57 and Isaiah 66. Paul’s favorite book to quote was Isaiah.

Now a big question: Do we know which lectionary was used in the days of the New Testament?

Scholars are sure the Torah portion (you got it this time! the parashah) was predetermined, but the second reading, the prophetic portion, the haftarah, was left up to the reader to choose so he could fit it to hopefully, a good and inspiring message showing how the prophets predict the Torah fulfillment.

This practice took a reasonable amount of knowledge and familiarity with the Scriptures because the whole had to be thematically woven together as well as end with the promise of future blessing and redemption. Even back then, congregants wanted happy endings to their sermons!

JOINING THE DOTS

Understanding this practice helps us better understand some of the connecting arguments we find in the NT. For instance, when we understand the earlier lectionary reading pairs from Genesis 16 and Isaiah 54:1-10, the apostle Paul’s argument in Galatians 4 is not such a stretch. Op Cit. p199

Genesis 16 is the story of Sarah’s barrenness and her hatching a plan to bear Abraham a child through the mistress Hagar. The haftarah reading from Isaiah 54 offers a future hope to end Sarah’s sorrow: “Sing, O barren one, who did not bear; break forth into singing and cry aloud, you who have not been in labour! For the children of the desolate one will be more than the children of her who is married”, says the LORD - Yehovah (v.1).

Paul makes the connection in Galatians 4. He starts with the Hagar/Sarah story and then connects it to Isaiah 54 to support his argument about Gentile believers in Messiah now being sons of Abraham. Commentators have often struggled with how Paul likens Jews to the Egyptian slave Hagar. Some go so far as to suggest Paul has a strong anti-Semitic streak suddenly! Amazing.

However, now we understand how the lectionary readings had already connected the two passages, and we see how Paul is being very Jewish indeed when he links Genesis 16 with Isaiah 54. The Jews themselves had been connecting the two passages in their synagogue readings! But now in the full light of Messiah’s arrival, they were failing to see the implications.

THE BIG PICTURE

So, what is the big picture so far? By examining the standardized synagogue readings, we learn that Jews were reading their Bibles in the synagogues earnestly looking forward to the fulfillment of God’s – Yehovah’s ancient promises about His future Messianic Kingdom.

A classic example in the lectionary reading is the story of Joseph at Genesis 39:1-6: Now Joseph had been brought down to Egypt, and Potiphar, an officer of Pharaoh, the captain of the guard, an Egyptian, had bought him from the Ishmaelites who had brought him down there. The LORD - Yehovah was with Joseph, and he became a successful man, and he was in the house of his Egyptian master … Now Joseph was handsome in form and appearance. The assigned haftarah passage from the Prophets was in Isaiah 52:3 - 53:5, which recalls Israel’s oppression in Egypt and then God’s – Yehovah’s promise to intervene, For thus says the LORD - Yehovah: “You were sold for nothing, and you shall be redeemed without money.” For thus says the LORD - Yehovah God - Elohim: “My people went down at the first into Egypt to sojourn there.”

Notice how the readings tie Joseph’s fate of going down into Egypt with Israel’s. Both were slaves. But all is not hopeless because God will arise and deliver from Egypt. But He is going to do something far greater than even the Exodus when He sends a “Servant” figure: See, My servant will act wisely; he will be raised and lifted up and highly exalted. Just as there were many who were appalled at him --- his appearance was so disfigured beyond that of any human being and his form marred beyond human likeness --- .

As Tverberg comments, for centuries, Jewish congregations were reading Joseph’s story in light of the Suffering Servant of Isaiah. The short Genesis reading stops with the words that Joseph was “handsome in appearance”, deliberately contrasting with Isaiah 52:14: “his appearance was so marred, beyond human semblance, and his form beyond that of the children of mankind.”

The Isaiah reading goes on to the greatly loved words:  Surely, he has borne our griefs, and carried our sorrows; yet we esteemed him stricken, smitten by God - Yehovah, and afflicted. But he was pierced for our transgressions; he was crushed for our iniquities; upon him was the chastisement that brought our peace, and with his wounds we are healed (53:4-5). Op Cit. p. 204

Repeat: In synagogues at the time of the Messiah, as people read about the Suffering Servant they were thinking about Joseph. And you remember the end of his story. It doesn’t finish with him being sold into slavery, falsely accused of crimes he didn’t commit, rejected by his brothers, and wasting away in the dungeon all those years. Not at all. Joseph ends up being promoted to second in command over all of Egypt and if it were not for him, not only would his own family have perished in the famine, but also many nations.

It is a fact that Jewish tradition has struggled with the question of whether there would be two messiahs or just one. The prophets describe visions of both a royal, victorious King who would sit on David’s throne; son of David; and they describe visions of a Suffering Servant who would atone for Israel’s sins; son of Joseph. So, would both callings be found in one individual or two Messiahs? One who would die and one who would reign? Massive debate!

Go back to their lectionary readings for a moment. A few weeks after reading about Joseph’s imprisonment in Egypt, they read about Pharaoh setting him up as commander-in-chief over Egypt in Genesis 41. That passage ends with Pharaoh asking, “Can we find anyone like this man, one in whom is the Spirit of God” (v.38)?

The haftarah reading for this text is Isaiah 11:2-16, The Spirit of the LORD will rest on him; the Spirit of wisdom and of understanding, the Spirit of counsel and of might, the Spirit of the knowledge and fear of the LORD – Yehovah; and he will delight in the fear of the LORD - Yehovah.

Here is the vision of Israel’s glorious Messianic King (note too, it comes from Isaiah’s famous shoot from the stump of Jesse, a prophecy about a future son of David who will rule over a glorious, renewed world).

Jewish synagogues were reading about Joseph’s suffering considering Isaiah 52 - 53 and then a few weeks later reading about his reign over Egypt considering Isaiah 11. Wowah! Could it be that a messiah who is the son of Joseph could someday reign? Hmmm.

CRUNCH TIME!

We have now arrived at the time for impact. If you have followed all the way to now, you will have a pressing question. Why don’t the People of the Book, the People who have treasured, poured over, loved, revered, publicly and thematically read the Torah & Neviim in their synagogues for millennia, and yes, why don’t the people who have died for their holy Scriptures rather than deny them, why of all people don’t they; didn’t they; accept that Jesus is their Messianic King so hoped for?

Perhaps it might help to ask another question first: What happened to Jesus’ haftarah? What about the messianic prophecies that all point to Jesus? Prophecies like Micah 5:2 about a ruler to be born in Bethlehem? Like Zechariah 9:9 about Jerusalem’s future King riding into the city on a donkey? Like Isaiah 7:14 about being born of a virgin? Like Isaiah 61 which Jesus read as being fulfilled in himself: “The LORD - Yehovah has anointed me”? Like the dozens and dozens of prophecies all evidently fulfilled in Jesus the Messiah all the way down to his rejection and crucifixion, and resurrection; all foretold to the minutest detail?

Where do we find these haftaroth in the synagogue lectionaries today? I’ll let Tverberg answer: Brace yourselves, but they are nowhere to be found in the annual lectionary that is used now. Bear in mind that the Torah is read aloud in its entirety during synagogue services, but only a subset of the Neviim is read, selected because it complements the Torah reading.

In 2004, an Israeli newspaper published an article called “What Happened to Jesus’ Haftarah?” where Jewish scholar Hananel Mack examined the lectionary readings. He concluded that the pattern was clear enough to show that it was intentional. Any passage that was quoted in the New Testament as being about Jesus as the Messiah was intentionally avoided in synagogue readings.

Could it be just a coincidence that the fourth century AD, when Jewish liturgy began adopting a lectionary that downplayed prophetic promises, was also the era that Christian persecution of the Jews reached a peak during the reign of Constantine? While Christians were chopping themselves free of their Jewish roots, the synagogue was silencing the prophecies of a coming Messiah.

Horror! Historically then, as Christianity was cutting its ties from its historical and theological moorings to Israel, the Jews were separating themselves from their own Messiah too. Both have been the losers! Christianity adopted its pagan tri-theism with its two-natured Jesus. Judaism lost her Saviour King.

Let us pray for that Day Jesus himself predicted, the Day when the nation of Israel will say: “Blessed is he who comes in the Name of the LORD - Yehovah!” For on that Day Jewish acceptance will be life from the dead (Romans 11:15). On that Day the Torah of Moses and the prophets who spoke of the coming Kingdom of everlasting glory will have arrived. On that Day Israel’s Messianic King will be coronated. On that Day the Lion of the tribe of Judah, the one with the lamb’s Suffering Servant heart, will at last receive his promised inheritance with the faithful, blessed ones.

Even so. Come, Lord Jesus Messiah! Your haftarah will not, cannot be denied, for your God and our God, your Father and our Father Yehovah, is faithful!

Written by Greg Deuble and edited by Bruce Lyon

Greg Deuble’s website: www.thebiblejesus.com

Notice how Zechariah's 12th chapter lets us know when Israel will recognize the lord Jesus – Yehoshua as their Messiah:

A prophecy: The word of the Lord – Yehovah concerning Israel.

1 The Lord - Yehovah, who stretches out the heavens, who lays the foundation of the earth, and who forms the human spirit within a person, declares: 2 “I am going to make Jerusalem a cup that sends all the surrounding peoples reeling. Judah will be besieged as well as Jerusalem. 3 On that day, when all the nations of the earth are gathered against her, I will make Jerusalem an immovable rock for all the nations. All who try to move it will injure themselves. 4 On that day I will strike every horse with panic and its rider with madness,” declares the Lord. “I will keep a watchful eye over Judah, but I will blind all the horses of the nations. 5 Then the clans of Judah will say in their hearts, ‘The people of Jerusalem are strong, because the Lord Almighty is their God.’

6 “On that day I will make the clans of Judah like a firepot in a woodpile, like a flaming torch among sheaves. They will consume all the surrounding peoples right and left, but Jerusalem will remain intact in her place.

7 “The Lord - Yehovah will save the dwellings of Judah first, so that the honor of the house of David and of Jerusalem’s inhabitants may not be greater than that of Judah. 8 On that day the Lord will shield those who live in Jerusalem, so that the feeblest among them will be like David, and the house of David will be like God, like the angel of the Lord going before them. 9 On that day I will set out to destroy all the nations that attack Jerusalem.

 
Mourning for the One They Pierced

10 “And I will pour out on the house of David and the inhabitants of Jerusalem the spirit of grace and supplication. They will look to me, the one they have pierced, and they will mourn for him as one mourns for an only child and grieve bitterly for him as one grieves for a firstborn son. 11 On that day the weeping in Jerusalem will be as great as the weeping of Hadad Rimmon in the plain of Megiddo. 12 The land will mourn, each clan by itself, with their wives by themselves: the clan of the house of David and their wives, the clan of the house of Nathan and their wives, 13 the clan of the house of Levi and their wives, the clan of Shimei and their wives, 14 and all the rest of the clans and their wives.

This will take place when Yehovah sends the lord Messiah Jesus down to take his place on the throne of David at Zion. When he enters Jerusalem, they will recognize him as the Messiah they have rejected for 2,000 years. May that day soon come!

THE HONEYBEE OF ISRAEL

 Deborah - Prophet, Poet, Patriot

..Abigail Adams (1744-1818), one of the "founding mothers" of our great nation, was the only woman in our history (other than Barbara Bush) to be both the wife of a U.S. president (John Adams) and the mother of a U.S. president (John Quincy Adams). Her letters to both men provide tremendous insight into the inner workings of the leadership of this new nation, and her advice and counsel to these early founders was frequently sought and highly valued.

In a letter to her son John Quincy Adams, dated 19 January 1780, she wrote these words of wisdom: "It is not in the still calm of life, or in the repose of a pacific station, that great characters are formed. ... Great necessities call out great virtues." And those of great virtue will rise to the occasion when great necessities present themselves.

Friedrich Nietzsche (1844-1900) wrote, "Greatness means: to give direction." Truly great leaders provide direction to those whom they lead, and that direction is toward that which ennobles and enriches them in every area of life.

Great leaders also lead by example, not by edict. They show the way by their attitudes and actions as they confront life's challenges.

Confucious (551-479 B.C.), the great Chinese philosopher, once observed in his Analects, "Go before the people with your example, and be laborious in their affairs."

Genuine leadership is evidenced by those who feel no need to command, but who rather rally others to a cause by their depth of passion, conviction, and courageous example.

Lao-Tzu (6th century B.C.), in his classic work The Way of Life, advised, "Be the chief, but never the lord."

In like manner, the apostle Peter urged the shepherds of the church never to be "lords over those entrusted to you," but rather to be "examples to the flock" (1 Peter 5:3).

Walt Whitman (1819-1892) summed it up nicely when he wrote, "He or she is greatest who contributes the greatest original practical example."

People are truly inspired by, and are willing to follow, those who manifest by their lives that they are worthy to be followed.

"Remember your leaders, those who spoke to you the word of God. Consider the outcome of their way of life and imitate their faith" (Hebrews 13:7, ESV).

The Message phrases it this way: "Take a good look at the way they live, and let their faithfulness instruct you."

When we consider those biblical leaders who displayed faithfulness and trustworthiness, who truly inspired the people of God and were examples worthy of being followed, we cannot help but think of Deborah, whose story is found only in Judges 4-5. She was "the only woman in the Bible who was placed at the height of political power by the common consent of the people" [Edith Deen, All the Women of the Bible, p. 69]. This woman lived during the time of the "Judges" of Israel, a rather chaotic period for the various tribes of Israel socially, religiously, and politically. They had not yet come together as a unified nation, they had not yet appointed a king, and their wavering faith caused them to be easy prey for the hostile peoples around them. Thus, God would raise up "judges" to lead the people back to Him and to restore their fortunes, a process that repeated itself time and time again for many generations. Deborah would be the fourth of these "judges" of the people of Israel and was "one of the most notable women in the OT" [Eerdmans Dictionary of the Bible, p. 331]. She was "the militant heroine in Israel in the days of the judges" [William Barker, Everyone in the Bible, p. 78]; "One on whom the Spirit of God descended, and who was the instrument of conveying to the Israelites the knowledge of the Divine will in things sacred and civil" [Adam Clarke, Clarke's Commentary, vol. 2, p. 116], and perhaps "best remembered by later generations as the one able to rally the scattered tribes of Israel to loyalty to Jehovah" [Wycliffe Bible Encyclopedia, vol. 1, p. 444]. "This sense of unity and loyalty to Yahweh was of crucial importance for the establishment and continuing life of the nation of Israel" [The Interpreter's Dictionary of the Bible, vol. 1, p. 809].

But who was this remarkable woman? What do we know about her? We know remarkably little (she is only mentioned in two chapters of the Bible - Judges 4-5), yet what we do know elevates her in our view to one of the greatest characters of the Bible. Her name, Deborah, means "honeybee" - "which was a symbol of a monarch in Egypt; a honey bee to her friends, a stinging bee to the enemy" [Fausset's Bible Dictionary, e-Sword]. "It has been sometimes regarded as a title given to her as a prophetess, just as the priestesses of Delphi were called 'Bees,' and the priests were called by the title 'Male-bees'" [Dr. Charles Ellicott, Commentary on the Whole Bible, vol. 2, p. 190]. A reader in California, with whom I was discussing the meaning of Deborah's name during the time I was doing research for this article, wrote me the following, "Just an interesting thing about bees: in the Middle Ages, a beehive forming in your area was considered a blessing from God. Unlike game, which was the property of the King or the Duke, bees were 'fair game.' The serfs would say a prayer of gratitude to God because they were able to literally get a little 'sweetness' in their lives. They would try not to disturb them too much, but finding a beehive was truly something random and very much appreciated. I'm not sure if that has anything to do with your upcoming article, but I found it fascinating." Well, Deborah, the "Honeybee of Israel," certainly proved to be a "little bit of sweetness in their lives" as she guided the people both spiritually, communally, and militarily.

As noted above, Deborah was "the voice of God" to her people. Although she was of the tribe of Issachar, God spoke to all of Israel through her. "Her home was between Bethel and Ramah in the hill-country of Ephraim, and here the Israelites came to her for judgment and guidance" [Hastings' Dictionary of the Bible, e-Sword]. She was one of five women who lived under the old covenant who were mentioned by name as being prophetesses of the Lord God: the others being Miriam (Exodus 15:20), Huldah (2 Kings 22:14), Noadiah (Nehemiah 6:14), and Anna (Luke 2:36). There were several other unnamed women under the old covenant who were also prophetesses (the wife of Isaiah being an example - Isaiah 8:3). God was not one to discriminate between men and women when it came to the gift of prophecy, and this would apply to both old and new covenants. "I will pour out My Spirit on all mankind, and your sons and daughters will prophesy. ... Even on the male and female servants I will pour out My Spirit" (Joel 2:28-29; cf., Acts 2:16-18).

"This prophetic gift qualified Deborah to judge the nation (the Hebrew participle used here expresses the permanence of the act of judging), i.e., first of all to settle such disputes among the people themselves as the lower courts were unable to decide, and which ought therefore, according to Deuteronomy 17:8, to be referred to the supreme judge of the whole nation. The palm where she sat in judgment (cf., Psalm 9:5) was called after her the Deborah-palm. The Israelites went up to her there to obtain justice. The expression 'came up' (Judges 4:5) is applied here, as in Deuteronomy 17:8, to the place of justice, as a spiritual height" rather than a location physically elevated [Drs. Keil and Delitzsch, Commentary on the Old Testament, vol. 2, p. 301].

"Deborah plays a number of vital leadership roles. As a judge, she is involved in military activity as are those other judges whom the Lord raised up 'to deliver Israel.' But also, uniquely among the judges, Deborah renders 'judgment,' or legal decisions, as she sits 'under the palm of Deborah.' In addition, she is the only figure in Judges who is called a prophet, ... one who mediates God's word to the people. Deborah also bears the title 'Mother in Israel' (Judges 5:7), perhaps because she gives wise counsel to those who seek her help (cf., 2 Samuel 20:19). More likely, 'mother' is the honorific title for a female authority figure or protector in a family or the larger community" [Eerdmans Dictionary of the Bible, p. 331-332]. "A personality of great power and outstanding character, she was looked up to as a 'mother in Israel'" [Hastings' Dictionary of the Bible, e-Sword]. In these ways, and by virtue of these gifts and qualities, "she directed the affairs of the tribes from a spot between Ramah and Bethel, later known as Tomer Deborah (i.e., the palm tree of Deborah - Judges 4:5)" [International Standard Bible Encyclopedia, vol. 1, p. 904]. Clearly, she was a woman of great influence and power, to whom even the commander of the Israeli army appeared at her summoning (Judges 4:6), as did "the sons of Israel who came up to her for judgment" (Judges 4:5). Those who suggest that a woman is not allowed by God to instruct and lead His people have never truly read their Bibles very well. Just the opposite is true regarding the role of women in the furthering of the Divine Purpose, and it is true under both old and new covenants!

"Now Deborah, a prophetess, the wife of Lappidoth, was judging Israel at that time" (Judges 4:4). The phrase highlighted is a most interesting one; it is also a bit puzzling to biblical scholars. "Deborah seems to have been supreme both in civil and religious affairs; and Lappidoth, her husband, appears to have had no hand in the government" [Adam Clarke, Clarke's Commentary, vol. 2, p. 116]. This does seem a bit strange, but the problem may be easily resolved when one understands the phrase in question a little better. The word translated "wife" is just the word for "woman." Thus, a man's wife is indeed a woman, but not all women are wives. The problem is made more interesting when one realizes that the word "lappidoth" is feminine in form in Hebrew!! It literally means "a fiery torch." Thus, this phrase in Judges 4:4 "could equally mean 'fiery (or spirited) woman' (lit., 'a woman of torches'), because Lappidoth, elsewhere unknown in the Bible, is unlikely to be a man's name," because of its feminine form [Eerdmans Dictionary of the Bible, p. 331]. It is felt by a good many scholars, therefore, that Deborah was not married, or was now widowed, and that this phrase "speaks of her shining gifts and of her fiery spirit" [Dr. Charles Ellicott, Commentary on the Whole Bible, vol. 2, p. 190]. One Jewish source speaks of Deborah as the "triumphant 'mother of Israel,' sitting under her palm, full of the fire of faith and energy." She had a fiery spirit of loyalty to God and a burning patriotism for her people, a zealousness that served her well as she took on the forces arrayed against them. "She was like Joan of Arc, who twenty-seven centuries later rode in front of the French and led them to victory" [Edith Deen, All the Women of the Bible, p. 69].

• Those who have difficulty with such a view of the role of women, however, still insist that "the Bible" (i.e., their English version) reads "wife" not "woman." Thus, they declare, "She was married! Period!" The Eerdmans Dictionary of the Bible has a good response to this: "The need to have a woman identified in relation to a man, rather than the acknowledgement that a woman's identity could in some instances stand alone, apparently influenced virtually all modern and ancient translations. Yet, the several roles Deborah plays as an autonomous woman in national life would warrant her name appearing with the epithet 'fiery woman' and without reference to a man" [p. 331]. I agree. Thus, the reading, "wife of Lappidoth," in my view, is far more likely a traditional and cultural assumption than an accurate translation of the Hebrew text. "Deborah was a woman of fiery spirit, as the exact translation shows; she was like a torch for Israel, kindling their languid hearts, a capable and energetic woman, but no fanatic" [Dr. Paul E. Kretzmann, Popular Commentary of the Bible: the OT, vol. 1, p. 410].

"As a counselor in time of peace, Deborah became known far and near" [ibid, p. 70]. already Yet, as we know from the book of Judges, these times of peace did not last for long, and when the difficult times came upon the people of Israel, Deborah was in place. "The next major oppression came at the hands of a coalition of Canaanite forces led by Jabin and Sisera, and it affected primarily the northern tribes" [The Expositor's Bible Commentary, vol. 3, p. 403]. Jaban was the king of Canaan, and Sisera was the commander of his army (Judges 4:2). His army was powerful, having 900 iron chariots, "and he oppressed the sons of Israel severely for twenty years" (vs. 3). As a result of this harsh affliction, "the sons of Israel cried to the Lord" (vs. 3). The Lord heard the cry of His people, and He revealed His plan for delivering the oppressed tribes to His servant Deborah, who then summoned Barak, telling him what the Lord had commanded (vs. 6-7). One should not fail to take note of the fact that God did not speak to the man (Barak), but rather to the woman (Deborah), who then told the man what God had commanded! Jesus followed the same pattern, by the way, when He first revealed Himself, and the fact of His resurrection, to women, who then proclaimed the Good News to His apostles and the rest of the brethren!

Well, we all know the story that follows. Even though God had promised victory to His people in the coming battle, saying, "I will draw out to you Sisera, the commander of Jabin's army, with his chariots and his many troops to the river Kishon, and I will give him into your hand" (Judges 4:7), yet Barak said to Deborah, "If you will go with me, then I will go; but if you will not go with me, I will not go" (vs. 8). Many have speculated as to the motivation behind this reluctance to go into battle without Deborah, some even calling him a "wimp" and a "coward." Others suggest that he didn't trust God's promise, or that he had little confidence in a woman's ability to "get right" God's instruction to him. Some say he wanted a "scapegoat" (someone to blame) in case the battle didn't go well ("We would have won, but she was there distracting us and getting in the way"). More nobly, some have suggested he simply wanted the presence of God's spokesperson with him during the conflict in case further advice was sought or further instruction needed to be conveyed to him and his troops. This is along the lines of carrying the ark of the covenant into battle; it boosted morale to have "God's presence with us" in these times of mortal conflict. This, they reason, shows respect for Deborah; she was being honored by his request. In the Septuagint, for example, there is a sentence added to Barak's request in Judges 4:8 - "...because I know not the day in which the Lord will send His angel to give me success." This is justified, some say, for in vs. 14 we find Deborah telling Barak, "Up! For this is the day in which the Lord has given Sisera into your hand." Adam Clarke suggests that Barak's request "was quite natural, and quite reasonable, and is no impeachment whatever of Barak's faith" [Clarke's Commentary, vol. 2, p. 117]. All of these and more have been offered as reasons for Barak's request, with some having more merit than others. The problem with them, however, is that Judges 4:9, in which we find Deborah's response, contains, in the minds of most scholars, a rebuke of Barak, with a stripping of some of the renown that could have been his. Deborah says, "I will surely go with you; nevertheless, the honor shall not be yours on the journey that you are about to take, for the Lord will sell Sisera into the hands of a woman." Scholars are divided as to whether this "woman" is Deborah herself, or, more likely, Jael, who killed Sisera by driving a tent peg through his skull (Judges 4:17-22; 5:24-27).

Deborah did indeed go with Barak, and "preparations were everywhere made by her direction for the great effort to throw off the yoke of bondage. ... She and Barak organized this army, and she gave the signal for attack" [Easton's Bible Dictionary, e-Sword]. She didn't lead from a tent in the rear, she led from the site of the battle itself. A great victory was won that day, for "the Lord routed Sisera and all his chariots and the army ... and all the army of Sisera fell by the edge of the sword; not even one was left" (Judges 4:16). Although Sisera fled the scene and hid in the tent of Jael, yet, as we know, that didn't end well for him! "So, God subdued on that day Jabin the king of Canaan before the sons of Israel" (Judges 4:23), "and the land was undisturbed for forty years" (Judges 5:31), which is a tribute to the leadership and wise counsel of this patriot prophetess Deborah!

In addition to the above qualities of this woman, she was also a poet. The actual historical narrative of her exploits is found in Judges 4. This is the prose version. However, the whole thing is retold in a poetic version, and that is found in Judges 5. Most believe it was Deborah herself who wrote this epic poem, although Judges 5:1 indicates she and Barak both "sang" it before the people of God in commemoration of that great deliverance from their decades' long oppression. "Somewhat in the form of Hebrew parallelism, Judges has two supplementary accounts of the victory over the Canaanites. The first is in narrative fashion; the second is a majestic poem" [The Expositor's Bible Commentary, vol. 3. p. 403]. It is "a poem of rare beauty. Called the 'Song of Deborah,' this masterpiece expresses heartfelt praise to God for leading His people in triumph" [ibid, p. 408]. "In every line of the song one senses Deborah's extreme devotion to God and to the well-being of her nation. At the end of the song, her courageous voice sounds forth like the clear notes of a trumpet of freedom! ... Such fire as Deborah possessed literally never died out of Israel" [Edith Deen, All the Women of the Bible, p. 73-74]. Dr. Charles Ellicott wrote, "The Song of Deborah is one of the grandest outbursts of impassioned poetry in the Bible" [Commentary on the Whole Bible, vol 2, p. 195]. This poem is ancient, and it "is one of the oldest examples of Hebrew literature still in existence. It is the one contemporary source of any length from this period and is therefore of unparalleled importance for the study of early Hebrew literature, history, and religion" [The Interpreter's Dictionary of the Bible, vol. 1, p. 809]. "This original piece of ancient poetry extant from the 13th century B.C., is one of the oldest fragments of the Hebrew language in the Hebrew Bible. It has beautiful lyric parallelism and contains many precise expressions drawn from Ugaritic and possibly other, older literature. It is difficult to translate and exegete because of its antiquity and obscurity. However, the joy of Israel's deliverance is stated gloriously" [The Zondervan Pictorial Encyclopedia of the Bible, vol. 2, p. 79].

Let me conclude this reflective piece on Deborah with a few quotes from a noted biblical dictionary in which the importance of the place of women in the biblical record is highlighted: "Both the compelling irony of the prose account, which begins and ends with the decisions and deeds of women, and the vivid passion of the poetic version, which concludes with two striking women's scenes, testify to victory against great odds in a decisive battle. Indeed, the Song of Deborah can be identified as a 'victory song,' a genre of stirring poetic outbursts acknowledging the miraculous intervention of Yahweh to save the people, who otherwise seem doomed. In ancient Israel, female composers and performers typically sang such songs. Besides belonging to a genre attributed to women authors, the Song of Deborah exhibits thematic aspects, such as gender cooperation and solidarity, that characterize female texts. The prominence of Deborah as a woman in the largely male world of military and political leadership is often viewed as unusual and remarkable. However, ... women could and did act in various public roles in Israelite society. Because the male biblical canon-makers typically exhibit androcentric bias, the deeds of few are remembered. Yet periods such as that of the judges, with decentralized ad hoc leadership patterns, typically provide greater possibilities for the talents of women to emerge. Deborah, still visible to us millennia later, may represent many other such 'mothers' in early Israel" [Eerdmans Dictionary of the Bible, p. 332].

Written by Al Maxey and edited by Bruce Lyon

IDENTIFYING THE TRUE GOSPEL MESSAGE

I find it most interesting, as well as quite disturbing, that the very first words written in what we today refer to as the New Testament canon (comprised of twenty-seven ancient documents) are an indictment against those early disciples of the Messiah Jesus who had lost sight of the true nature of the "Gospel" that had been faithfully delivered unto them. Notice Paul's salutation "to the churches of Galatia" (Paul's epistle to the Galatians was written in 49 A.D., thus becoming the very first of the twenty-seven books of the NT to be written), the apostle Paul got right to the point:

"I am amazed that you are so quickly deserting Him who called you by the grace of the Messiah, for a different gospel, which is really not another; only there are some who are disturbing you, and want to distort the gospel of the Messiah. But even though we, or an angel from heaven, should preach to you a gospel contrary to that which we have preached to you, let him be accursed (anathema). As we have said before, so I say again now, if any man is preaching to you a gospel contrary to (other than, more than) that which you received, let him be accursed" (Galatians 1:6-9, NASB).

Paul was quite upset that the glorious "Good News" he had shared with those in Galatia was being twisted into something very different from what had been originally delivered unto them; indeed, that which had been "glad tidings" was now a perverse distortion. In the wording of the paraphrase known as The Message, Paul calls this a "variant message," and "not a minor variation; it is completely another, an alien message, a no-message, a lie about God - Yehovah" ... it is "turning the Message of the Messiah on its head." What was the problem in Galatia that prompted Paul to pen this epistle? Freedom in the Messiah was under attack by legalistic religionists. Jesus liberated us from the Law; in him we are free! "It was for freedom that the Messiah set us free; therefore, keep standing firm and do not be subject again to a yoke of slavery. ... For you were called to freedom, brethren" (Galatians 5:1, 13; NASB).

Eugene H. Peterson (1932-2018), an American theologian and pastor who wrote the above-mentioned NT version known as The Message, made the following observation in his introduction to the Epistle of Paul to the Galatians:

"Paul learned that Jewish religious leaders of the old school had come into those churches he had founded, called his views and authority into question, and were reintroducing the old ways, herding all these freedom-loving disciples of the Messiah Jesus back into the corral of religious rules and regulations. Paul was, of course, furious. He was furious with the old guard for coming in with their strong-arm religious tactics and intimidating the disciples of the Messiah Jesus into giving up their free life in the lord Jesus. But he was also furious with the disciples of Jesus for caving into the intimidation. His letter to the Galatian churches helps them, and us, recover the original freedom, true freedom in the Messiah Jesus."

As we can clearly perceive, the "gospel" was extremely important to the apostle Paul, so much so that he was willing to forcefully confront all who opposed it. But what exactly was this "good news" that Paul proclaimed and defended? There are several places in the NT writings that speak of "the gospel" and of "preaching the gospel" and of those who preach it, but these phrases do not, in themselves, identify that "gospel." In Matthew 11:5 and Luke 7:22, we are informed by Jesus that "the poor have the gospel preached to them." But what was it? In Acts 8:25 we are told that some of the disciples "were preaching the gospel to many villages of the Samaritans." But what was it? Jesus was "preaching the gospel" in the temple (Luke 20:1). But what was it? Paul and his companions, as they passed through several cities, "continued to preach the gospel" to them (Acts 14:7). But what was it?! Paul told the brethren in Corinth, "I preached the gospel of God - Yehovah to you without charge" (2 Corinthians 11:7). But what was it he preached to them?! Whatever it was, it was "of God - Yehovah." But, again, no specifics are enumerated. The author of Hebrews wrote, "We have had good news preached to us, just as they also" (Hebrews 4:2), but once again we are given no further insight in that verse as to the nature of that "good news." There are many such places in the NT writings where the noun "gospel" and the verb "preach the gospel" appear, yet a great many of them say nothing about the content of this "gospel" message or why it was so vital to these early disciples. Little wonder, then, that so many disciples over the past two thousand years have come up with differing understandings of what constitutes "the gospel."

The Greek word for "gospel" is "Evangelion," which appears 77 times in the NT writings, 61 of which are used by Paul in his epistles. No other NT writer focused on the "gospel" more than Paul. It was the central theme of his teaching and superseded all else. "For the Messiah did not send me to baptize, but to preach the gospel" (1 Corinthians 1:17). The Greek verb meaning "preach the gospel" is "evangelized," and it appears 55 times in the NT writings, 22 of which are by Paul. Luke used it 25 times (10 in his gospel account and 15 in the book of Acts). Both terms simply mean "good news, glad tidings" and the proclaiming of this unto others. The word for the person preaching the gospel is "evangelists," from which we get our English word "evangelist." It is used only three times in the NT writings: Acts 21:8, Ephesians 4:11, and 2 Timothy 4:5.

It should probably be pointed out here that the word "gospel" is sometimes employed in the Scriptures to refer to something less redemptive or salvific in nature. For example, Paul wrote to the brethren in Thessalonica, "Timothy has come to us from you, and has brought us good news of your faith and love, and that you always think kindly of us, longing to see us just as we also long to see you" (1 Thessalonians 3:6). Another example is that of the message of the angel Gabriel to Zacharias about how his wife would bear to him a son (who would be John the Baptist). "I am Gabriel, who stands in the presence of God; and I have been sent to speak to you, and to bring you this good news" (Luke 1:19). In both cases, the nature of the "good news" (gospel) message delivered is specified. We know what it is because we are told in the passage what it is. Such specificity is not always provided, however, in the many other places where "gospel" and "preach the gospel" are mentioned, thus leading some believers and scholars over the centuries to speculate as to the specifics of this "good news."

This speculation has led to an enormous amount of confusion over the years over what exactly constitutes the "gospel," a confusion intensified by many who have conflated "gospel" and "doctrine" As a result, there are Christians who firmly believe that the many teachings and traditions of the church are an integral part of the Gospel. In time, for some rigid fundamentalists and legalists, "preaching the gospel" came to be more focused on "getting right" what we do for God - Yehovah, than on appreciating what God - Yehovah has done for us! I have heard countless "gospel" preachers over the years deliver "gospel" sermons that have had little or nothing to do with the powerful "glad tidings" of what God - Yehovah has done for us through His Son. Indeed, such misguided teaching and preaching constitutes that "different gospel" that "distorts the gospel" of our lord and Savior (Galatians 1:6)

As previously noted, there are quite a few places in the NT writings where the word "gospel" and the phrase "preaching the gospel" appear without any reference in the immediate context as to what this "good news" was/is.

Thankfully, however, there are ample other places where this word and phrase are used where we are informed as to the content of the message. Recently, I went through every passage in the NT where this word and phrase appear, and I made a list of those passages in which the nature of the "good news" was specified in the text or context. I found the result of this research quite stunning: both in what it revealed the glad tidings to be, and what it revealed the glad tidings not to be. In the remainder of this current issue, I want to share with you those findings. I think you will find them to be quite eye-opening.

As I collected examined and reflected upon these passages within the NT writings, I found that when the authors identified the specific content of what they referred to as the "gospel" (good news, glad tidings), that identification ranged from rather general to quite specific in nature. On one end, for example, there are several places where it is simply stated to be "the gospel of God - Yehobah" ... "the gospel of the Messiah" ... "the gospel of the Son." In Greek phrases where we find "of" used in the English rendering, this can be somewhat confusing to the reader, for such phrases may be a Subjective Genitive (referring to the source: the good news that God - Yehovah and/or Jesus themselves proclaimed; i.e., the content came from them), or an Objective Genitive (meaning that the good news proclaimed is about God - Yehovah and/or Jesus), or a Plenary Genitive (in which both of the above meanings and applications may be in view at the same time: i.e., the good news is both from God - Yehovah and/or Jesus, as well as about God - Yehovah and/or Jesus). This same problem is faced by those who seek to understand the apostle John's phrase "the doctrine - teaching (words) of the Messiah," with great theological debate occurring over the centuries because of which meaning one chooses.

Whichever view one chooses, the message is nevertheless clear: The "good news" delivered unto mankind originates from God - Yehovah, not man, and is all about what He has done and will do for humanity! The "gospel" is not of men, nor is it about men, contrary to many of the "different gospels" promoted by men. Paul stresses this point repeatedly in his writings, especially in Galatians 1:11-12:

"For I would have you know, brethren, that the gospel which was preached by me is not according to man. For I neither received it from man, nor was I taught it, but I received it through a revelation of Jesus the Messiah." Here Paul speaks of source.

In Romans 1:1-3 he speaks about content:

"I was called and set apart for the gospel of God ... concerning His Son." It is a declaration of glad tidings from the Father about His Son, Jesus the Messiah.

Paul gave even greater clarity to "gospel content" in his epistle to the brethren in Corinth

"Now, brothers, I want to remind you of the gospel I preached to you, which you received and on which you have taken your stand. By this gospel you are saved, if you hold firmly to the word, I preached to you. Otherwise, you have believed in vain. For what I received I passed on to you as of first importance, that Messiah died for our sins according to the Scriptures, that he was buried, that he was raised on the third day according to the Scriptures" (1 Corinthians 15:1-4, NIV).

For Paul, the "gospel" - the glorious Good News - was focused on Jesus' sin-offering sacrifice on the cross and the subsequent resurrection from the dead! "For the Messiah did not send me to baptize, but to preach the gospel, not in cleverness of speech, so that the cross of the Messiah would not be made void. For the word of the cross is foolishness to those who are perishing, but to us who are being saved it is the power of God. ... God was well-pleased through the foolishness of the message preached to save those who believe. ... We preach the Messiah crucified, to Jews a stumbling block and to Gentile's foolishness, but to those who are called, both Jews and Greeks, the Messiah the power of God - Yehovah and the wisdom of God - Yehovah" (1 Corinthians 1:17-24).

The Good News is delivered to men, and men are to continually deliver the Good News to others who need to hear it. It is all about God dealing with the "sin problem" through the sin-offering sacrifice of His Son, and of how we may overcome the consequence of sin, which is death, by Jesus' victory over death at his resurrection! Sin is dealt with; death is defeated; life is assured - from God - Yehovah through Jesus the Messiah. These are "glad tidings" indeed. Thus, when we preach the "gospel," we preach Jesus the Messiah and the message he constantly preached about the coming kingdom of God! "And every day, in the temple and from house to house, they did not cease teaching and preaching that the Messiah is Jesus." (Acts 5:42, ESV).

Notice how important the message of the kingdom of God - Yehovah is:

Matthew 6:33: But seek first the kingdom of God - Yehovah and His righteousness, and all these things will be added to you.

Matthew 13:18-19: “Hear then the parable of the sower:  When anyone hears 'the word of the kingdom' and does not understand it, the evil one comes and snatches away what has been sown in his heart. This is what was sown along the path. 

Luke 8:9-12: And when his disciples asked him what this parable meant, he said, “To you, it has been given to know the secrets of the kingdom of God, but for others, they are in parables, so that ‘seeing they may not see, and hearing they may not understand.’ Now the parable is this: The seed is 'the word of God'. The ones along the path are those who have heard; then the devil comes and takes away the word from their hearts, so that they may not believe and be saved.

Do we get what Matthew 13:18 and Luke 8:9-12 are saying to us loud and clear? The "word" mentioned often in the NT is an abbreviation of "the word of the kingdom" which is vital to believe in that word in order to be saved! If we do not believe the word about the kingdom of God which was Jesus' main message we will not have salvation and will not enter into that kingdom when the lord Jesus returns to take his place on the throne of David at Zion. If we don't believe and obey the words that God - Yehovah gave to His son to give to us to obey we will not have salvation, and will not enter into the coming kingdom of God as co-rulers and co-inheritors with the lord Messiah Jesus.

Philip went to Samaria and began proclaiming the gospel message to them; "But when they believed Philip as he preached good news about the kingdom of God - Yehovah, and the name of Jesus the Messiah, they were baptized, both men and women." (Acts 8:12).

The apostle Paul's main message was about the coming kingdom of God:

Therefore let it be known to you that this salvation of God - Yehovah has been sent to the Gentiles; they will listen.” He lived there two whole years at his own expense, and welcomed all who came to him, proclaiming the kingdom of God and teaching about the lord Jesus the Messiah with all boldness and without hindrance. (Acts 28:28-31)

Notice: Phillip and Paul preached about the kingdom of God and the name of Jesus, about the lord Jesus: When you talk about someone whom you have named you tell people all about what that person stands for and what their objectives are. You mention what you know about them. That is what Phillip and Paul did, they brought people the message of the Messiah and explained all about what Jesus stood for! We can do the same!

Our union with the Messiah Jesus is a union that brings us into a relationship not only with him but also with his God and Father Yehovah and is in some ways an immersive experience. We are saved by grace through faith, which grace and faith allow the Spirit of God to plunge us into this spiritual union with the Messiah. This "immersion" is not baptism in water (that is a different event), but rather it is an act of uniting us with the lord Jesus performed by the Holy Spirit for those who truly believe (1 Corinthians 12:13: For in one Spirit we were all baptized into one body; Jews or Greeks, slaves or free; and all were made to drink of one Spirit.). When God - Yehovah immerses us into this spiritual union, we become "clothed" (wrapped around) in the warm embrace of the lord Jesus. We also become a part of that great, universal One Body of the Messiah, the called-out Assembly, a "kingdom of priests" in service to our sovereign. Many disciples of the Messiah see such passages as 1 Corinthians 12:13, Galatians 3:27, and Romans 13:14 being all about baptism in water. We most certainly manifest the reality of this spiritual event in a couple of visible acts of faith and love: i.e., baptism in water and the partaking of the elements of the lord's Supper, but neither of these two reflective events are in themselves redemptive in any way. They are acts in which we engage in obedience to the wishes of our Savior, but we do them because we are already saved, not to become saved or to maintain that salvation.

As "saved ones," we also become, as I noted above, "a kingdom of priests" (this is also sometimes translated as "a kingdom and priests. Part of the "Good News" we experience is that we are indeed a kingdom: subjects in this great realm ruled by our God and Father Yehovah. Many of the parables of Jesus are what scholars refer to as "kingdom parables," for they deal with the King, with His kingdom, and with His subjects. Thus, it is not surprising to find the wonderful "glad tidings" associated time and again with the word "kingdom." In Matthew 4:23 and 9:35 we find Jesus’ proclaiming "the gospel of the kingdom."

In Matthew 24:14 Jesus said, "This gospel of the kingdom shall be preached in the whole world." In Mark 1:14-15, we read that Jesus "came preaching the gospel of God, saying, '...the kingdom of God is at hand; repent and believe in the gospel.'" In Luke 4:43 Jesus declared, "I must preach the good news of the kingdom of God, for I was sent for this purpose" (cf. Luke 8:1). Jesus said, "The Law and the Prophets were proclaimed until John; but since then, the gospel of the kingdom of God is preached" (Luke 16:16). Philip "was preaching the good news about the kingdom of God and the name of Jesus Christ" (Acts 8:12). In Acts 20:25, the apostle Paul stated, "I went about preaching the good news of the kingdom." Yehovah is our King; we are His beloved subjects ... He is our Father; we are His beloved children. Yes, Good News indeed! Now that is "preachable," as one old pastor said.

The Gospel revealed unto mankind is designed to bring joy, peace, gladness, and hope. It is GOOD news, GLAD tidings. "Behold, I bring you good news of a great joy which shall be for all the people; for today in the city of David, there has been born for you a Savior, who is the Messiah the lord" (Luke 2:10-11). Philip preached the good news about Jesus to the Ethiopian eunuch, and the latter, we are told, "went on his way rejoicing" (Acts 8:39). Paul told the Ephesian elders that it is "the gospel of the grace of God" (Acts 20:24).

What news could possibly be more joyful in nature than the knowledge that we, who are sinners, are nevertheless called by God to have a place in the Theocratic Government Jesus will establish when he takes his place on the throne of David at Zion. We are indeed saved by grace! "Amazing Grace, how sweet the sound, that saved a wretch like me!" By His grace, love, and mercy, we may enter, through simple, trusting faith, into a state of peace with the Lord God - Yehovah. The apostle Peter was "preaching the good news of peace through Jesus the Messiah" (Acts 10:36). In Ephesians 6:15, Paul refers to it as "the gospel of peace." We, who were at one time "enemies" of the Lord God - Yehovah because of sin, are now at peace with Him. And that is "good news" indeed.

What a gift our God has given us in His Son!! In him we have life; in him we have peace, in him we are new creations - members of the New Humanity. "For he himself is our peace, who has made both one, and has broken down the middle wall of separation, having abolished in His flesh the enmity, that is, the law of commandments contained in ordinances, to create in himself one new man from the two, thus making peace, and that he might reconcile them both to God in one body through the cross, thereby putting to death the enmity. And he came and preached peace to you who were afar off and to those who were nearby. For through him, we both have access by one Spirit to the Father - Yehovah" (Ephesians 2:14-18).

Now that is good news. That, says Paul, is "the hope of the gospel which you have heard, which is preached in all the creation that is under heaven, whereof I Paul am made a minister" (Colossians 1:23). Indeed, "life and immortality are brought to light through the gospel" (2 Timothy 1:8-11). And central to ALL this joy, hope, peace, and life is Jesus the Messiah! Let us never forget Him, or what his God and Father Yehovah have accomplished for us through him! "Remember Jesus the Messiah, risen from the dead, descendant of David, according to my gospel" (2 Timothy 2:8).

At this point, I need to be rather bold and blunt with some of my fellow disciples of Jesus. There are some out there who are proclaiming the Glad Tidings of/about Jesus the Messiah "out of envy and strife" (Philippians 1:15). Some translations read, "because they are jealous and quarrelsome" ... "because they are envious and contentious." Paul rejoiced that "the Messiah was proclaimed" (vs. 18), but he lamented the fact that some were doing so "out of selfish ambition rather than from pure motives" (vs. 17). Some people today are doing the same. Possessed with a sectarian spirit and a love more for tradition than truth, they "weaponize" the gospel and use it to blast those who differ with them on petty party particulars, while those lost in the darkness of this world perish on their church steps.

Those who preach a steady diet of denominational distinctives and party perceptions, practices, preferences, precepts, and sacred sectarian shibboleths, are "distorting the gospel of the Messiah, ... preaching a gospel contrary to what we have preached to you, ... and are preaching a different gospel" (Galatians 1:6-9), and even "preaching another Jesus, whom we did not preach" (2 Corinthians 11:4). These are "false brethren" who seek to bring those free in the Messiah "into bondage" to their rigid religious rules and regulations (Galatians 2:4), and Paul urges us to never give in to them, not for a single moment, "so that the truth of the gospel" may remain with us in unblemished form (vs. 5). Paul was so upset by these legalists and their perverted "gospel" (which he says had NO "good news" associated with it - Galatians 1:7a), that he wrote these shocking words, "I wish that those who are troubling you would even castrate themselves!" (Galatians 5:12).

Yes, there are some today, like those whom Paul rebuked (and Peter and Barnabas were among them), who are "not walking uprightly according to the truth of the Good News" (Galatians 2:14). We are called, brethren, to preach the good news about the kingdom of God and the name of the lord Jesus. The gospel message is all about him, not about us. It's about a Redeemer who brought the message of redemption, the message about the coming kingdom of God - Yehovah.

Let us each, therefore, remember daily "to walk in a manner worthy of the calling with which we have been called" (Ephesians 4:1), and to "conduct ourselves in a manner worthy of the good news message of the kingdom" (Philippians 1:27), which simply means that you and I must "live in a way that brings honor to the Good News about the message the Messiah Jesus preached. ... working together and struggling side by side to get others to believe the Good News Message of the soon coming Kingdom of God - Yehovah"

Note:

We should not forget that the Gospel - Good News as it fell from the lips of Jesus and Paul has a specific label. It is always “the Gospel about the Kingdom of God - Yehovah.” Jesus uses his Kingdom message (the reason for which he was commissioned (Luke 4:43) to recruit the saints - holy ones whom he gathered around him. This is the core of the subject matter of the Gospels. 

The Old Testament text plot from which this matter is taken is certainly the book of Daniel and principally the seventh chapter of Daniel (along with the 2nd chapter which likewise teaches us about the Kingdom which is to supersede present nation-states, not by development but by catastrophe (Daniel 2:44). The Kingdom, it is quite clear, will not come by evolution but by revolution. But such a revolution is appropriate only when the Messiah Jesus returns.

Written by Al Maxey and edited by Bruce Lyon

THE LOST

When a man/woman is brought to the end of himself/herself, when he sees himself as a helpless, hopeless wreck when he sees the utter emptiness, hollowness, and vanity of all earthly things; when like the prodigal son he comes to himself and feels the depth and reality of his need, then there is room in his heart for God - Yehovah and God - Yehovah delights to come and fill it. “To this man/woman will I look.” To whom? “To him/her who is a humble and contrite spirit.”

When a man/woman takes his/her true place in full submission to the sovereign will of God - Yehovah and believes in the one whom He sent and repents and is baptized, God - Yehovah meets him/her with full forgiveness for his/her past sins, and gives him/her the power of His indwelling Spirit and now looks upon him/her as a new creation, a son/daughter and a member of the body of God's anointed one, the called-out Assembly and he/she also become a temple of God due to God's indwelling Spirit in him/her. He/she is also grafted into the true Israel and becomes with the seed of Abraham – Jesus, a co-inheritor of all that was promised to Abraham and to the lord Jesus when Jesus comes to take his place on the throne of David at Zion at the end of this age.

Now for a man/woman to know what it means to repent and why he/she should be baptized let's look at the commission God gave to Paul. Acts 26:16-18 But arise, and stand upon your feet: for to this end have I appeared unto you, to appoint you a minister and a witness both of the things wherein you have seen me, and of the things wherein I will appear unto you; delivering you from the people - Jews, and from the Gentiles, unto whom I send you, to open their eyes, that they may turn from darkness to light and from the power of Satan unto God - Yehovah, that they may receive remission of sins and an inheritance among them that are sanctified – set apart by faith in me.

Every true minister of God - Yehovah, everyone who preaches the message of Jesus – the good news about the coming Kingdom of God - Yehovah, will preach forgiveness and repentance in the name of Jesus, as an ambassador of the lord Jesus. If they preach the message that Jesus, Paul, and the other apostles preached they will open the eyes of those who hear, that they may turn from darkness to light, and from the power of Satan unto God - Yehovah.

We see from the above statement we see that every unregenerate Jew and Gentile is blind and in darkness and under the power of Satan. They may imagine themselves to be free and their own master to go where they please, do what they want, think for themselves, speak, and act as independent beings. The unregenerate man/woman does not realize that he/she is a slave to sin which makes Satan his/her lord and master.

A man's - woman's life and his/her salvation depends upon him/her taking God - Yehovah His word, and believing what He says because He says it! God's - Yehovah's word says that man/woman in his/her natural unconverted state is Satan's bond slave. It speaks of Satan as “the god of this world, the prince of the power of the air,”, the spirit that now works in the children of disobedience.” It speaks of man/woman as “led captive by Satan at his will.” The good news message of the Kingdom of God turns men/woman from “the power of Satan to God - Yehovah.” Thus his/her eyes are opened; divine light streams in; the power of Satan is broken, and the delivered one finds himself/herself in the presence of God - Yehovah. All this is through faith by the grace of God.

When the ambassador of God's - Yehovah's anointed one Jesus stands up and preaches the Gospel of the Kingdom as a herald of salvation, he proclaims in the most unqualified manner a present, personal, and perfect salvation to all who hear, and all who hear are then responsible then and there to believe or reject the massage. To accept is life in the coming new age, to reject is to end up destroyed in the lake of fire which is the second death. It is the duty of all believers to set forth the truth of the atoning work of the lord Jesus as the only righteous ground for the forgiveness of sins. All men are called upon to repent and be baptized completely committing themselves to walk in faith and obedience toward God - Yehovah. That total commitment to God - Yehovah involves considering the old man as dead and living out life as a new creation dedicated to serving God - Yehovah in all things.

Paul's gospel set forth a full, clear, unqualified present forgiveness of sins and the believer's entire deliverance from this present evil world. A complete cutting of every sinful link with the world, and entire deliverance from the present power and rule of sin. All true-hearted believers must strive for personal holiness – put off sin, and seek to become more like the lord Jesus, realizing he is the way, the truth, the life, and the light that shines forth from his indwelling presence in us. In doing so we will be showing forth the character of the lord Jesus as expressed in the fruit of the spirit – love, joy, peace, long-suffering, gentleness, goodness, faith, meekness, and self-control...

A man/woman who believes in the lord Jesus and walks in committed obedience to his words has the life of God's - Yehovah's anointed one communicated to him, dwelling in him and flowing out from him in all that he/she goes about doing in this world. To be in God's anointed one and have him indwelling us enables us to act by the power of the Holy Spirit to walk in the spirit and put aside the works of the flesh. To live in the world, but not to be of the world. It is then we are to go out to seek and save the lost, to deliver them from the power of Satan's influence in their lives and offer them a way to deliverance from sin and entrance into the Kingdom of God. Our God and Father Yehovah will give us the enabling power of His Spirit to go forward sending forth the message of salvation for we know that whatever He asks us to do He will always provide us with the means and power to accomplish what He asks of us!