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BibleTruth.cc "Teachings of Messiah" Series What Would Jesus* Do? *Though "Jesus" was not really Messiah's name How to Walk as Messiah Walked Table of Contents Yahusha Upheld the Torah (Law) Yahusha Wore Tzitzit (Tassles) Yahusha Observed the Appointed Times and Went to Yerushalayim For the Feasts Yahusha Would Not Eat Pork or Anything "Unclean" If He Were Walking Among Us Today, Would Yahusha Be a Christian? "W.W.J.D." is a popular saying in Christianity which grew from the need of an easy way to remember what a Christian should do in any given situation. Because of the contradictory teachings and hypocritical behavior of those who follow Jesus, the younger generation of believers grew attached to this saying, "What Would Jesus Do?" When you want to know what the appropriate Christian response to something is, the answer is thought to be found in the response to the question, "What would Jesus do?" This appears to have been a satisfying method for finding the solution to the difficult questions about appropriate "Christian" behavior. Young Christian people, to this day, still wear bracelets and jewelry with the initials "WWJD" which for them is a reminder to ask themselves, "What would Jesus do, if he were in my situation?" The problem with this method of determining correct behavior is that those asking the question do not have clear insight into what He would do. Its left up to the best guess of the person evaluating this question. The answer to the question, "WWJD?," is most often left up to the deficient understanding of ignorant and unlearned students. In other words, if you are taught that "Jesus" did away with the law of unclean eating, then you might respond in a situation where someone offers you a pork chop, "if its good enough for Jesus, then its good enough for me"! A better question our young people should be asking themselves is, "What DID Jesus do?" The record of Scripture tells us exactly what Messiah did, where he went, what he ate, how he talked, and what he taught about a wide variety of subjects. So the real answer to "What Would Jesus Do?" will be much more accurately answered by asking, "What DID Jesus do?" It is much easier and more consistent with Scripture to ask what Messiah actually DID do, rather than leave it to someone's guess as to what he might do. In Scripture, we have some very plain and easy to understand indicators as to what the Messiah actually did and how he walked and talked. And yet, to be more accurate, we should implant into our thinking and speaking the use of his actual, real Hebrew name, which is Yahusha (see our study on his name at http://bibletruth.cc/the_Messiahs_name.htm). So we might rephrase our reminder, "What Did Yahusha Do?" or "WDYD?" In fact, the Scriptures instruct us to ask ourselves, "What did Yahusha do?" The one who says he resides in Elohim ought himself to walk just as Yahusha walked. (1 Yochanan 2:6). What John (his Hebrew name is Yochanan) is teaching us is that we who claim Yahusha (a.k.a. "Jesus") as Savior and Master are supposed to be walking in his footsteps - that is, DOING what He did! We are not told to guess what his might do, but to actually DO the things that he did. The followers of Messiah are told to "walk in the light." Let nobody deceive you with empty words, for because of these things Elohim's wrath comes on the sons of disobedience. Therefore do not be partakers with them, for you were at one time darkness, but now you are light in Yahuwah. Walk as children of the light-- for the fruit of the light consists in all goodness, righteousness, and truth-- trying to learn what is pleasing to Yahuwah (Ephesians 5:6-10). But if we walk in the light as he himself is in the light, we have fellowship with one another and the blood of Yahusha his Son cleanses us from all sin (1 Yochanan 1:7). What does it mean to "walk in the light"? The Scriptures also teach us that: Walking in the light is described above as walking "in all goodness, righteousness and truth." In short, it means walking in love. And walking in love is equivalent to obeying his commandments: Now this is love: that we walk according to his commandments. This is the commandment, just as you have heard from the beginning; thus you should walk in it (2 Yochanan 6). The Law agrees with this. (We should actually say that Yochanan agrees with the Law). For the Law tells us to follow Yahuwah by obeying his commandments: You must follow Yahuwah your Elohim and revere only him; and you must observe his commandments, obey him, serve him, and remain loyal to him (Devarim 13:4). So when Yochanan tells us to walk as Messiah walked, he is telling us to keep the commandments. The apostle Paul tells us the same: Be imitators of me, just as I also am of Messiah (1 Corinthians 11:1). Paul does not want his listeners to follow "Paul", per se. The idea he communicates is that we should be doing as Messiah did. When his contemporaries saw Paul doing what Messiah did, they were to follow that example that Paul was demonstrating. So, ultimately, we who follow Messiah should be walking, talking and living the same way the Messiah walked, talked and lived. The Scriptures are replete with examples of what Yahusha actually did. Yahusha Upheld the Torah (Law) First and foremost, Messiah Yahusha made it very clear at the onset of his public ministry that he was not "doing away with the Law": Do not think that I have come to abolish the Torah or the Prophets. I have not come to abolish these things but to fulfill them. I tell you the truth, until heaven and earth pass away not the smallest letter or stroke of a letter will pass from the Torah until everything takes place. So anyone who breaks one of the least of these commands and teaches others to do so will be called least in the kingdom of heaven, but whoever obeys them and teaches others to do so will be called great in the kingdom of heaven (Mattityahu 5:17-19). Many in Christian circles believe that Messiah "did away with the law of Moses." For this reason, Christian teachers and preachers insist that followers of Messiah do not have to obey the commandments of Scripture. But nothing could be further from the truth. Messiah Yahusha declared that he had come to "fulfill" the Torah (Law) and the Prophets. What this means is that he had come to live his life in complete obedience and compliance to the specifications of the Law of Moses. Furthermore, he had not come to "abolish" those laws of Moses. So, he was "fulfilling" the Law by demonstrating that the obedience to the Law of Moses is the correct way to express faith and loyalty to the Almighty. As such, he was modeling this "walk" for his disciples. And he instructs his disciples to do as he was doing. In fact, to further underline the importance he was placing to one's obedience to the Law of Moses and the Prophets, Messiah insisted that the greatest in his kingdom (the kingdom of heaven) is the one who performs all of the commandments of the Law, including the very least of them. Even the very smallest stroke of a pen and the smallest letter of the Law of Moses was NOT to be altered, because those details are to be in force until heaven and earth pass away. (And the last time I looked, the heaven and the earth are still here with us to this day!) This teaching is in perfect harmony with the Law which stipulates that nothing is to be added to the Law and nothing is to be taken away from the Law: Now, Yisrael, pay attention to the rules and right-rulings I am about to teach you, so that you might live and go on to enter and take possession of the land that Yahuwah, the Elohim of your ancestors, is giving you. Do not add a thing to what I command you nor subtract from it, so that you may keep the commandments of Yahuwah your Elohim that I am delivering to you (Devarim [Deuteronomy] 4:1,2). If Yahusha had changed anything with regard to the Law of Moses, he could not have been the Messiah. The Torah and the Prophets clearly portray the Messiah as one who will teach the Law to the Gentiles (nations): Many peoples will come and say, "Come, let us go up to the mountain of Yahuwah, to the house of the Elohim of Jacob. He will teach us his ways, so that we may walk in his paths." The Law (Hebrew, "Torah" - instruction) will go out from Zion, the word of Yahuwah from Jerusalem (Yeshayahu {Isaiah] 2:3). In this prophecy, Isaiah shows that during the Messianic reign, Messiah will be teaching the Law as correct behavior for believers and even disputes are to be settled by the right-rulings of the Torah. It should not surprise anyone who has this understanding of the Law that Yahusha went on in the Sermon on the Mount to describe his correct interpretation of the Law. He spoke of adultery and insisted that even looking at a woman with thoughts of committing adultery with her was to be avoided. He spoke of murder and taught that even being angry with another was to be shunned, because the thought of murder leads to the act of murder. He compared the Law of Moses to "light", a "candle", and "salt." He spoke of "loving your enemies", "giving to the poor", "praying", "trusting in Yahuwah" (not to worry), and using righteous judgment in your dealings with others. He even summarized the Torah and the Prophets by "instituting" the Golden Rule (which is not a new Law, but merely a summary of the Law of Moses). So, if you should wonder, "What would Jesus do?", you should take a good look at what Yahusha did, and walk in that path. After all, he is Lord, isn't he? If teaching and walking in the ways of the Law of Moses is good enough for the Messiah, then its good enough for you and me. Yahusha Wore Tzitzit (Tassles) One of the "least of the commandments" that Yahusha Messiah spoke of in the Sermon on the Mount is that of wearing tassels on the four corners of your garment. Remember that Yahusha said "anyone who breaks one of the least of these commands and teaches others to do so will be called least in the kingdom of heaven." Therefore, the followers and disciples of Messiah should be doing what Messiah did and teaching what Messiah taught. The Law of Moses (Hebrew, "Mosheh") provides a way for all who are attached to Yahuwah to remember to do the commandments: YHWH also spoke to Mosheh, saying, "Speak to the sons of Yisrael, and tell them that they shall make for themselves tassels on the corners of their garments throughout their generations, and that they shall put on the tassel of each corner a cord of blue. It shall be a tassel for you to look at and remember all the commandments of YHWH, so as to do them and not follow after your own heart and your own eyes, after which you played the harlot, so that you may remember to do all My commandments and be holy to your Elohim. I am YHWH your Elohim who brought you out from the land of Mitzraim to be your Elohim; I am YHWH your Elohim." (Bemidbar [Numbers] 15:37-41) This simple instruction to wear fringes (tassels, Hebrew, "tzitzit") with a blue chord on the four corners of one's garment was to be a reminder to the sons of Israel that they were to always be doing the commandments. Messiah Yahusha upheld the Torah, taught the Torah to his disciples, and walked in the instructions of the Torah always, including this one. There are a number of testimonies in the New Testament gospels which indicate that Yahusha wore these tassels on the corners of his garment. After they had crossed over, they came to land at Gennesaret. When the people there recognized him, they sent word into all the surrounding area, and they brought all their sick to him. They begged him if they could only touch the edge of his cloak, and all who touched it were healed (Mattityahu 14:34-36). This testimony indicates that there was something special about the edge of Yahusha's garment that people wanted to touch to be healed. (For more info about this, see our article, http://bibletruth.cc/tzitzit.htm) Another reference to his tzitzit is found in Matthew 9: But a woman who had been suffering from a hemorrhage for twelve years came up behind him and touched the edge of his cloak. For she kept saying to herself, "If only I touch his cloak, I will be healed." But when Yahusha turned and saw her he said, "Have courage, daughter! Your faith has made you well." And the woman was healed from that hour (Mattityahu 9:20-22) Here, Messiah heals a woman, who merely touched the tzitzit of his garment. Since Yahusha obeyed the instruction of Scripture to wear tzitzit on the corners of his garment, and since He is the role model of all who seek salvation, then followers of Messiah should be consistently exhibiting this behavior, too. If you ask, What Would Jesus Do?, I think the answer is clear by what Yahusha did: As a regular habit, Yahusha wore tzitzit on the four corners of his garment. Another regular habit or custom which Messiah always observed was the setting apart of the seventh day. The Sabbath was to be observed by all who attach themselves to Yahuwah in covenant. It is the day which was blessed and set-apart at Creation to be a memorial of the creative and redemptive acts the Almighty performs on behalf of his people. Messiah was always found in the synagogues on the Sabbath or ministering to people on the Sabbath. We never see him plowing a field or buying groceries or doing any kind of laborious activities on the seventh day. In fact, the gospel accounts of the ministry of Yahusha mention more about his Sabbath activities than any other. There is a clear emphasis on his redemptive acts on the Sabbath. Mark's gospel begins with Messiah going to synagogue on the Sabbath: Then they went to Capernaum. When the Sabbath came, Yahusha went into the synagogue and began to teach. The people there were amazed by his teaching, because he taught them like one who had authority, not like the experts in the law (Mark 1:21-22). And again... When the Sabbath came, he began to teach in the synagogue. Many who heard him were astonished ... (Mark 6:2). Luke tells us that this was his regular habit: Now Yahusha came to Nazareth, where he had been brought up, and went into the synagogue on the Sabbath day, as was his custom. He stood up to read, and the scroll of the prophet Yesha'yahu was given to him (Luke 4:16, 17). Yahusha also healed many people on the Sabbath which caused several disputes about proper Sabbath observance. One thing is for certain about this: Yahusha never annulled or disavowed the observance of the Sabbath. If someone should ask you, What would Jesus do?, you could correctly respond by stating what Yahusha actually did: He always kept the Sabbath as a set-apart day. Yahusha Observed the Appointed Times and Went to Yerushalayim For the Feasts Not only did Yahusha always keep the Sabbath day and properly observe it, He also regarded the appointed times on the Hebrew calendar. During creation week on the fourth day, we are told that the sun and moon were put in place to act as markers for the appointed times: Elohim said, "Let there be lights in the expanse of the sky to separate the day from the night, and let them be signs to indicate seasons and days and years, and let them serve as lights in the expanse of the sky to give light on the earth." It was so. Elohim made two great lights--the greater light to rule over the day and the lesser light to rule over the night. He made the stars also. Elohim placed the lights in the expanse of the sky to shine on the earth, to preside over the day and the night, and to separate the light from the darkness. Elohim saw that it was good. There was evening, and there was morning, a fourth day (Beresheit [Genesis] 1:14-19). The Hebrew word translated seasons ( ~ydIę[]Am ) is pronounced "moadim" and means, "appointed times, seasons." So we see that at creation, Elohim already had in mind these "appointed times." The Law gives us more detail about what these moadim, or appointed times, are: Speak to the sons of Yisrael and tell them, 'These are Yahuwah's appointed times which you must proclaim as set-apart assemblies--my appointed times: Six days work may be done, but on the seventh day there must be a Sabbath of complete rest, a set-apart assembly. You must not do any work; it is a Sabbath to Yahuwah in all the places where you live. These are Yahuwah's appointed times, set-apart assemblies, which you must proclaim at their appointed time. In the first month, on the fourteenth day of the month, at twilight, is a Pesach offering to Yahuwah. Then on the fifteenth day of the same month will be the festival of unleavened bread to Yahuwah; seven days you must eat unleavened bread..." (Vayiqra [Leviticus] 23:2-6). These are the times which the Almighty established to announce the good news that He was executing to provide redemption from sin. The Messiah was to come and perform the works of redemption on the very days of these appointed times. Pesach, or Passover, as mentioned in the passage above, was the very time when Yahusha was slain as the Passover Lamb to provide forgiveness of sins. Messiah Yahusha stated emphatically that he had come to fulfill the Law and the Prophets. Part of that fulfillment was in the keeping of those days. Yahusha always observed the appointed times and went up to Jerusalem at the appointed feasts, just as Scripture requires: Now the Jewish feast of Pesach was near, so Yahusha went up to Yerushalayim. He found in the temple courts those who were selling oxen and sheep and doves, and the money changers sitting at tables. So he made a whip of cords and drove them all out of the temple courts, with the sheep and the oxen. He scattered the coins of the money changers and overturned their tables. To those who sold the doves he said, "Take these things away from here! Do not make my Father's house a marketplace!" (Yochanan 2:13-16). The commandment of the Law was that every male was to "go up" to Jerusalem at each of the three annual festivals - Pesach in the first month of the spring, Shavuot (Pentecost) in the third month of the year, and at Sukkot in the seventh month. Yochanan (John) records the activities and travelings of Messiah as the backdrop and outline of his gospel. Near the beginning of his ministry of preaching the gospel, Messiah went up the Jerusalem according to the commandment. Yochanan mentions twice that he was in Yerushalayim during Pesach: Now while Yahusha was in Yerushalayim at the feast of the Pesach, many people believed in his name because they saw the miraculous signs he was doing (Yochanan 2:23). The next festival after Passover is Shavuot, the feast of Weeks (also known as Pentecost). Yochanan records that Yahusha went up to Jerusalem for that feast, too. This was the second feast of the year when all males are required to "go up" to Yerushalayim: After this there was a Jewish feast, and Yahusha went up to Yerushalayim. Now there is in Yerushalayim by the Sheep Gate a pool called Bethzatha in Aramaic, which has five covered walkways (Yochanan 5:1,2). Later on in the year, and the next feast mentioned in Yochanan's gospel, is that of Sukkot (also known as Tabernacles): Now the Jewish feast of Tabernacles was near (Yochanan 7:2). As the time for Sukkot was approaching, his brothers were coaxing Yahusha to make himself known while in Jerusalem. But he replied, "You go up to the feast yourselves. I am not going up to this feast because my time has not yet fully arrived." When he had said this, he remained in Galil. But when his brothers had gone up to the feast, then Yahusha himself also went up, not openly but in secret. So the Jewish leaders were looking for him at the feast, asking, "Where is he?" (Yochanan 7:8-11). So, again, in obedience to the commandment, Yahusha went to Jerusalem for the feast. The next festival observed by Jews was the Dedication, as described in the book of Esther. Naturally, Yahusha went up for this feast, too: Then came the feast of the Dedication in Yerushalayim. It was winter, and Yahusha was walking in the temple area in Shlomo's Portico. The Jewish leaders surrounded him and asked, "How long will you keep us in suspense? If you are the Messiah, tell us plainly." Yahusha replied, "I told you and you do not believe. The deeds I do in my Father's name testify about me. But you refuse to believe because you are not my sheep. My sheep listen to my voice, and I know them, and they follow me. I give them eternal life, and they will never perish; no one will snatch them from my hand. My Father, who has given them to me, is greater than all, and no one can snatch them from my Father's hand. The Father and I are one." (Yochanan 10:22-30). And finally, Yochanan records the events surrounding the Pesach the following spring, when Yahusha went up to Yerushalayim (again!), at which time he was betrayed and put to death: Now the Jewish feast of Pesach was near, and many people went up to Yerushalayim from the rural areas before the Pesach to cleanse themselves ritually. Thus they were looking for Yahusha, and saying to one another as they stood in the temple courts, "What do you think? That he won't come to the feast?" (Now the chief priests and the Pharisees had given orders that anyone who knew where Yahusha was should report it, so that they could arrest him.) (Yochanan 11:55-57) And again, The next day the large crowd that had come to the feast heard that Yahusha was coming to Yerushalayim. So they took branches of palm trees and went out to meet him. They began to shout, "Hosanna! Blessed is the one who comes in the name of Yahuwah! Blessed is the king of Yisrael!" (Yochanan 12:12,13). The record of the gospels explicitly records the obedience of the Messiah to the commandments of the Law of Mosheh. Nowhere is there any indication that Yahusha was doing away with the appointed times, the Sabbath, or any other part of the Law of Mosheh. He carefully and habitually DID those things which are commanded in Scripture. If someone should ask, What Would Jesus Do? in regards to holiday observances, we need merely to look at the record of Scripture to see that Yahusha always performed the commandments of the Law - even those regarding times and religious observances. Yahusha Would Not Eat Pork or Anything "Unclean" Nowhere in the Gospels, or anywhere else in the New Testament Scriptures, does it tell us that Messiah Yahusha ate pork, ham hocks, pig's feet, or anything else in the air, sea or on the land that the Law tells us is unclean. The only word that the Gospels record for us regarding what he ate indicates that he ate unleavened bread, regular bread and fish. There is nothing else recorded about his eating habits. But we do know that he always upheld the Torah (Law), taught the Torah to his disciples and lived in full compliance to the instructions of the Torah. Now it is clear that the Torah explicitly forbids anyone in covenant relationship with Yahuwah to eat pork, shellfish, lobster, or any of the other "delicacies" fed to the masses in public restaurants and eateries, about which the Law says is an abomination in the sight of the Almighty. Some Christian scholars have deceived many into thinking that "Jesus declared all things clean." But this lie must be exposed for what it is. These false teachers have been masquerading as angels of light and have led many innocent people down a path that is destructive and offensive to Yahuwah the Father. For a thorough examination of the Instructions of Scripture regarding thing unclean, and a detailed study on what the Messiah said about eating, see our article on http://bibletruth.cc/health_and_diet.htm. If He Were Walking Among Us Today, Would Yahusha Be a Christian? Hmmmm? This question has hardly ever been asked before. But we must ask this question. The assumption is that Christians are "little Christs." And "little Christs" do what Christ did. Right? Well, let's find out. Perhaps the best way to illustrate our answer to this question is to list, side by side, what Christians do and what Yahusha did when he walked among us:
This is just the short list of the differences between the Messiah of Scripture and the Christians who claim the name of the Messiah. There are many, many other differences, as well. Really, nothing Christians do in their walk or talk resembles in any way what Messiah taught his disciples to do. Messiah was a Torah observant, Sabbath-keeping Jew. Christians want nothing to do with the Law of Mosheh or the Sabbath or the set-apart appointed times, or any of the other specifications of the Instructions handed down through Moses. If Messiah Yahusha were walking among us today, he would most certainly NOT be a Christian, because Christianity is diametrically opposed to all that he taught and did. "What Would Jesus Do?" is a provocative question. It is best answered by re-phrasing the question as, "What Did Yahusha Do? When we see how Yahusha walked, talked, how he observed the commandments and which days he honored, we will know how we should walk, talk, worship and live. May all who love him obey his commandments, just as he said, "If you love me you will obey my commandments."
Written by David M Rogers
www.BibleTruth.cc
Published: November 2007 |