In many ways I am thankful for our time in the Hebrew Roots Movement, simply for the perspective we gained. I find it so difficult to express in words the magnitude of the contrast between a law-based approach to the Word of God and a Christ centered one (so this post might be a jumbled mess). In the HRM our eye was filled with the Torah and the modern nation of Israel. I was recently looking over the website of a self-proclaimed Messianic “prophet” and had to dig long and hard to find any mention of Yeshua. I finally found Him mentioned almost in passing, and no New Testament scriptures were referenced anywhere in all his teachings that I could find. I asked him via email what he believed regarding Yeshua, and he agreed we were reconciled to God through His atonement, yet this fact was not worthy of addressing in his writings. (And of course not applicable if we refuse to obey the Law of Moses.) Plenty of criticism of Christianity for not keeping the Torah, and other such things, but no gospel. Not even a false one. Our focus was not much different. Of course we claimed faith in Jesus, but we seldom spoke of Him unless it was how He upheld the Law in some way.
Reading the gospels now, we sense so strongly the tension Jesus created when He began to declare His authority both in Word and in demonstration. The point of contention truly was His authority. The religious leaders were not remotely interested in genuine righteousness or justice. The Torah put them in the “seat of Moses” so they were not about to let anyone rob them of the influence and authority this gave them. When Jesus challenged them and the Law itself, establishing His own authority as God, they sought to kill Him. They said..”What will we do? Look.. the whole world is following after Him!” Even Pilate sought to set Him free “For he knew that it was out of envy that they had delivered him up. ” Matt. 27:18.
John tells how they came to take Him in the Garden and He asked, “Who are you looking for?” They said, “Jesus of Nazareth.” He said… “I AM”. My Bible translates it “I am he” but the footnote says the pronoun is not there in the Greek. John 18:6 says that when He spoke this, they drew back and fell to the ground. This is the name of God. Did it occur to them they were seeking to kill God in order to sustain their own authority? Isn’t this the bottom line for all of us? We all have chosen our own authority at some point over God’s. When we have done so, we also are members of the angry mob yelling “Crucify Him!’
Jesus declared I AM several times through the gospels. It seems like a subtle way to say.. “I am God, and this is what God is for you.” I AM the bread of life, I AM the water of life, I AM the light of the world. In all these things He was showing Himself to be the sustenance of our humanity, our true Source for life and light, and the fulfillment of all the types and shadows contained both in the Law and in the mighty acts of God in the past to sustain and deliver His people. At the end He prayed to the Father, “I have made your name known to them.”
Have you ever watched a mystery unfold in a movie? I enjoy movies where you really can’t predict the outcome. They hold your attention till the very last minute when everything is finally explained. The climax of the whole story is to know the TRUTH about what had taken place. We read the Old Testament now with full knowledge of how Jesus fulfilled it. We lose sight of the climax factor in the story. Try to imagine reading the Bible for the first time with no knowledge of the outcome as you read. Do you realize how HUGE Jesus is to the scope of the story the whole Bible tells? He is just not one of many interesting stream of characters, He is the climax of the history of the entire human race! How on earth can we shove him under the table as essential for salvation, but unnecessary in knowing God and His will for us? How can we look to a contract with an ancient people for our ultimate revelation of who God is? This is a good definition of insanity now that I look back on it.
So many gain followers by merchandising secrets, but the truth about God is no longer a secret or a mystery! It has been declared and made manifest in His Son! Instead we get bored with that simplicity and try to find some other complex hidden thing that no one else has ever found in the 2000 years of the faith. I promise you. There is no new truth under the sun. Lies are often recycled, but truth has been made plain. We can grow deeper in it – but it doesn’t move.
I have been working through the Gospel of John several times and am seeing a very interesting picture I hope I have time to write about soon – if I can get a working outline. Jesus truly is everything.
8thDay4Life 