Link > Chapter 24 ˙Commentary and Notes

"God runs the world in the End Days like a fine silver filigree" Rabbi Nachman

The times of ignorance God overlooked but now commands all people everywhere to return again to Him as their Teacher and Guide in life. See Acts 17 with Ezekiel 37.

Matthew 24:1-2  

Yehoshua/Jesus left the Temple and was walking away when his talmudim/disciples came up to him to call his attention to its buildings.  "Do you see all these things?" he asked...

Yehoshua left the Temple and was walking away.  He did not offer the prophecies that follow concerning the Temple and the end of the world, its judgement and salvation, to those who were worshipping within the Temple on that occasion — those who did not expect judgement to come first on the House of the Lord/Hashem.

His talmudim/disciples were also unprepared for this and were not expecting it, yet their preparation was in following Yehoshua.  He gave his prophecies to his talmudim/disciples only when he was questioned by them.  He was walking away from the Temple because he was about to leave Jerusalem desolate (Zephaniah 3) and return to his Father who had sent him.

Had Yehoshua failed because he was not received by his own, and therefore the Temple would have to be destroyed?  No!  It was unto this end that he was sent into the world.  The Temple would be destroyed because it was made to be one in the word of prophecy with his body.  As his body would be raised again, so the Temple would be raised again.

Out of Yehoshua's death would be salvation for Israel.  Out of his rejection would be the reconciling of the world.  All of Matthew 24 should be read in this light.

Since the Temple was built to be destroyed, why was it built at all?  Heaven and Earth were created in order that God might dwell with/ את /Et his dear creatures.  This is the pattern of purpose for the Dwelling Place of God that is revealed through the Temple.

God did not make the world in vain but to be inhabited, Isaiah 45:18.  God created the corruptible world to be a seed that He could re-create into an incorruptible world.  Even if death entered through sin, as indeed it did, God would re-create the world through redemption, which indeed He did and is continuing to do by unfolding and revealing that redemption.  This is the pattern of judgement and salvation revealed by the history and the future of the Temple.

Matthew 24:2 specifically

"Do you see all of these things..?"  Our experience of the Time World / Temple is an aspect itself of that very Time World / Temple.  Yehoshua's teaching and prophecy framed that experience for his talmudim/disciples and for us.  We must experience death and resurrection with minds and hearts and souls and strength that is, altogether as one Adam, learning.  Don't allow this to be too deep for you.  Understand it.  Our experiencing redemption as conscious souls, learning repentance, through history, through prophecy, through being subject to judgement, through justice, through mercy, all this is essential to re-creation, the re-creation of the Time World, the Temple above and below, the regeneration of the seed of the universe.

Link > Chapter 1 ˙Commentary and Notes on vs. 22-23

Chapter 1 Text
Matthew 1:22-23 Now all this was done, that it might be fulfilled which was spoken of the Lord by the prophet, saying, Behold, a virgin shall be with child, and shall bring forth a son, and they shall call his name Emmanuel, which being interpreted is, God with us.

We read in Isaiah 7:14 Therefore the Lord himself shall give you a sign; Behold, a virgin shall conceive, and bear a son, and shall call his name Immanuel. That is the King James Version.  In the Jewish Publication Society translation we have: Therefore the Lord Himself shall give you a sign: behold, the young woman shall conceive, and bear a son, and shall call his name Immanuel.  The Hebrew is: לכן יתן אדני הוא לכם--אות  הנה העלמה הרה וילדת בן וקראת שמו עמנו אל ...  We are led to the following considerations:


Christian theology when clearly understood is not actually suggesting that the question of Yehoshua's divinity is the same question as the question of the virgin birth at all.  Clarifying this allows us to ask the question of what the miracle or sign actually is that Isaiah was prophesying to the House of David.  We will see that the sign that Isaiah spoke of in chapter 7 verse 14 actually did point to the King Messiah, but not in exactly the way that has been usually imagined.

The issue of the Virgin Birth has continued through all the centuries of Christianity.  In contention with the traditional Christian theology of the incarnation it is common to find in Judaism a simple and straight forward statement, something like, "When Mashiach comes he will be a human being born of human parents like every other human being."

Today, it is possible to point out that the real issue or issues to do with the Christian theology of the incarnation may not actually have to do with the question of the translation of Isaiah 7:14 at all.  This is because everyone should agree after fully considering the question that even where there is no father involved a child born of a woman is a human being like every other human being.  All orthodox Christian theology asserts this.  The modern science of cloning should clarify everyone's thinking about this.

The confusion only arises when people think that if there was no human father involved then God had to be the father, as it were.  If cloning can take place from a mother without a father then this notion is dismissed.  This is not to suggest that Yehoshua was a clone of Miriam with only the gender changed.  Rather, this is only to say that cloning shows that these kind of things are possible in the natural realm.

What was Isaiah saying, then, to King Ahaz and to the whole House of David? Hebrews 1:13 will help us to understand this.  We see there the understanding that Isaiah had in announcing to the House of David that God Himself would give them the sign of this child.  When Isaiah spoke to King Ahaz and said, "I and the children that God has given me," he understood that he was not only speaking in his own voice about himself and the prophetic significance of his literal children but that he was also speaking prophetically in the voice of Mashiach and the solidarity between him and his disciples as a prophetic testimony in Israel.

What was the sign of a child being born in a special prophetic way in Israel to say to King Ahaz and to the House of David?  In essence it was to say that they were not to depend on the power or might found in the order of this world but on the supernatural power of God in order to establish the throne of David in Jerusalem forever, for the power of the world to come is much greater than the power of this world and God is manifesting it in establishing the House of David.

Now this is the light in which the birth of Yehoshua is to be read in accordance with the Scripture, in accordance, specifically with the prophecy of Isaiah referred to in these verses.  Ultimately the divinity of Yehoshua will be revealed in this way but it will be the divinity of his humanity that is revealed and not his divinity despite his humanity.  Nor will it be revealed in this way to the logic of the natural religion of the human mind, which offends the Jewish mind taught by the Torah.  Rather it will be revealed in this way, in due time, according to the plan and purpose of the Scriptures, to Israel, and therefore in a way that converts the gentile imagination and religious logic rather than appealing to it.  We do not naturally have the ability to imagine the relationship of Mashiach with God as his Father, nor to understand it at all.  We can learn it but only from him as the Father makes it known.  And he has designed to fully make it known according to the Scriptures first to Jerusalem then to all Israel and then unto the ends of the earth.

It is because of this that Isaiah says of those, especially those of the House of David, who, when tested by the threat of King Sennacherib of Assyria turned to sorcery rather than to The Torah and the Testimony of God given to the fathers, that they possessed no light of dawn. (Isaiah 8:20)  By this poetic term of prophecy he referred to Mashiach.  We read in the Book of the Revelation of Yehoshua HaMashiach that he promises the Morning Star to those who overcome their trials.  This is not a mere reference to the first star of the morning.  It is a reference to the dawning of the light of eternity, of the world to come, that dawn to which Isaiah referred.  In Revelation 22:16 we read;

I Yehoshua have sent my angel to testify unto you these things in the assemblies. 

I am the root and the offspring of David, 

and the bright and morning star.

With this see Psalms 110:3 Thy people shall be willing in the day of thy power, in the beauties of holiness from the womb of the morning: thou hast the dew of thy youth.

For further notes on this subjcet see my Evernote Covenant Files

Link > Matthew Chapter 22

Chapter 22

1 And again Jesus spoke to them in parables, saying,

2 “The kingdom of heaven may be compared to a king who gave a wedding feast for his son,

3 and sent his servants to call those who were invited to the wedding feast, but they would not come.

4 Again he sent other servants, saying, ‘Tell those who are invited, See, I have prepared my dinner, my oxen and my fat calves have been slaughtered, and everything is ready. Come to the wedding feast.’

5 But they paid no attention and went off, one to his farm, another to his business,

6 while the rest seized his servants, treated them shamefully, and killed them.

7 The king was angry, and he sent his troops and destroyed those murderers and burned their city.

8 Then he said to his servants, ‘The wedding feast is ready, but those invited were not worthy.

9 Go therefore to the main roads and invite to the wedding feast as many as you find.’

10 And those servants went out into the roads and gathered all whom they found, both bad and good. So the wedding hall was filled with guests. 

11 “But when the king came in to look at the guests, he saw there a man who had no wedding garment.

12 And he said to him, ‘Friend, how did you get in here without a wedding garment?’ And he was speechless.

13 Then the king said to the attendants, ‘Bind him hand and foot and cast him into the outer darkness. In that place there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth.’

14 For many are called, but few are chosen.” 

15 Then the Pharisees went and plotted how to entangle him in his talk.

16 And they sent their disciples to him, along with the Herodians, saying, “Teacher, we know that you are true and teach the way of God truthfully, and you do not care about anyone's opinion, for you are not swayed by appearances.

17 Tell us, then, what you think. Is it lawful to pay taxes to Caesar, or not?”

18 But Jesus, aware of their malice, said, “Why put me to the test, you hypocrites?

19 Show me the coin for the tax.” And they brought him a denarius.

20 And Jesus said to them, “Whose likeness and inscription is this?”

21 They said, “Caesar's.” Then he said to them, “Therefore render to Caesar the things that are Caesar's, and to God the things that are God's.”

22 When they heard it, they marveled. And they left him and went away. 

23 The same day Sadducees came to him, who say that there is no resurrection, and they asked him a question,

24 saying, “Teacher, Moses said, ‘If a man dies having no children, his brother must marry the widow and raise up children for his brother.’

25 Now there were seven brothers among us. The first married and died, and having no children left his wife to his brother.

26 So too the second and third, down to the seventh.

27 After them all, the woman died.

28 In the resurrection, therefore, of the seven, whose wife will she be? For they all had her.” 

29 But Jesus answered them, “You are wrong, because you know neither the Scriptures nor the power of God.

30 For in the resurrection they neither marry nor are given in marriage, but are like angels in heaven.

31 And as for the resurrection of the dead, have you not read what was said to you by God:

32 ‘I am the God of Abraham, and the God of Isaac, and the God of Jacob’? He is not God of the dead, but of the living.”

33 And when the crowd heard it, they were astonished at his teaching. 

34 But when the Pharisees heard that he had silenced the Sadducees, they gathered together.

35 And one of them, a lawyer, asked him a question to test him.

36 “Teacher, which is the great commandment in the Law?”

37 And he said to him, “You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind.

38 This is the great and first commandment.

39 And a second is like it: You shall love your neighbor as yourself.

40 On these two commandments depend all the Law and the Prophets.” 

41 Now while the Pharisees were gathered together, Jesus asked them a question,

42 saying, “What do you think about the Christ? Whose son is he?” They said to him, “The son of David.”

43 He said to them, “How is it then that David, in the Spirit, calls him Lord, saying, 

44 “‘The Lord said to my Lord,

Sit at my right hand,

until I put your enemies under your feet’?

45 If then David calls him Lord, how is he his son?”

46 And no one was able to answer him a word, nor from that day did anyone dare to ask him any more questions.

Chapter 22 ˙ Commentary and Note

Chapter 22 ˙ Commentary and Notes

go to Chapter 22

∆

Matthew 22:45

Matthew 22:41: ¶While the Pharisees were gathered together, Jesus asked them,

42 Saying, What do you think about Mashiach? whose son is he? They answered him, The Son of David.

43 He saith unto them, How then does David in spirit call him Lord, saying,

44 The LORD said unto my Lord, Sit yourself on my right hand, till I make your enemies your footstool?

45 If David then call him Lord, how is he his son?

46 And no man was able to answer him a word, neither durst any man from that day forth ask him any more questions.

The reason for the division of the House of Israel and the House of Judah was the chastisement upon the House of David.  This chastisement resulted in the expression, "the tabernacle of David, which is fallen down," Acts 15:16 > Amos 9:11,12.

Yehoshua asks the Torah teachers about this, "saying, What do you think about Mashiach? whose son is he?  There was a teaching that there was a Mashiach who was the son of Joseph as well as a Mashiach who was the son of David.  Yehoshua does not mention this teaching explicitly.  Instead, he directly addresses the question of in what sense Mashiach should be called the son of David.  If Mashiach is greater than David, how then can David fully represent all that Mashiach is?  One might ask if David can represent all that Moshe is, and yet Mashiach is also represented by what Moshe is.  As Moshe says, Mashiach is a prophet like unto him.

Indeed, the fall of the House of David is just in this, that the House of David builds the Temple of God but cannot represent all the Mashiach is, who is the builder of the Eternal Temple of God which will never be destroyed.  It is for this very reason that all of those righteous men of faith who represented the likeness of Mashiach before hand must be looked at together, Joseph, Moshe, Aaron, and David, in order to even begin to fully represent Mashiach.   Those traditions concerning Mashiach ben Yoseph, therefore, which speak of one who is along side of Mashiach ben David must be taken as allegories and brought together into one for an interpretation of revelation.  In this way we will see one picture of  one Mashiach.  

We can begin to do this by looking at the Tribe of Benjamin and the place of the Tribe of Benjamin in relation to the Tribe of Judah in the chastisement upon the house of David.  There is great depth to this subject in Scripture.  We may say that the Benjamites adhered to the House of Judah, which is an aspect of there being 10 tribes lost in the captivity of the northern kingdom not 11 tribes.  However, it is the concealment of the mystery of the 10 tribes in through their captivity that matters most.  It is the mystery itself of only 10 tribes being given to Jeroboam, while only one tribe was preserved to the House of David that matters most.  In truth, this whole story, which is the story of thefall of the House of David, or the booth of David, is itself representative of the prophetic picture of Mashiach.  In order to fully learn what Yehoshua wanted the teachers of the Torah to learn we must learn to understand this whole story, to which the Tribe of Benjamin is the key.

To continue studying this subject,
go to the page: Tribe of Benjamin - Key To Redemption
This page can be found on my site entitled, Notes On The One Eternal Covenant.

Matthew chapter 12

Matthew 12:
1 At that time Jesus went on the sabbath day through the corn; and his disciples were an hungred, and began to pluck the ears of corn, and to eat.
2 But when the Pharisees saw it, they said unto him, Behold, thy disciples do that which is not lawful to do upon the sabbath day.
3 But he said unto them, Have ye not read what David did, when he was an hungred, and they that were with him;
4 How he entered into the house of God, and did eat the shewbread, which was not lawful for him to eat, neither for them which were with him, but only for the priests?
5 Or have ye not read in the law, how that on the sabbath days the priests in the temple profane the sabbath, and are blameless?
6 But I say unto you, That in this place is one greater than the temple.
7 But if ye had known what this meaneth, I will have mercy, and not sacrifice, ye would not have condemned the guiltless.
8 For the Son of man is Lord even of the sabbath day.
9 And when he was departed thence, he went into their synagogue:
10 ¶And, behold, there was a man which had his hand withered. And they asked him, saying, Is it lawful to heal on the sabbath days? that they might accuse him.
11 And he said unto them, What man shall there be among you, that shall have one sheep, and if it fall into a pit on the sabbath day, will he not lay hold on it, and lift it out?
12 How much then is a man better than a sheep? Wherefore it is lawful to do well on the sabbath days.
13 Then saith he to the man, Stretch forth thine hand. And he stretched it forth; and it was restored whole, like as the other.
14 ¶Then the Pharisees went out, and held a council against him, how they might destroy him.
15 But when Jesus knew it, he withdrew himself from thence: and great multitudes followed him, and he healed them all;
16 And charged them that they should not make him known:
17 That it might be fulfilled which was spoken by Esaias the prophet, saying,
18 Behold my servant, whom I have chosen; my beloved, in whom my soul is well pleased: I will put my spirit upon him, and he shall shew judgment to the Gentiles.
19 He shall not strive, nor cry; neither shall any man hear his voice in the streets.
20 A bruised reed shall he not break, and smoking flax shall he not quench, till he send forth judgment unto victory.
21 And in his name shall the Gentiles trust.
22 ¶Then was brought unto him one possessed with a devil, blind, and dumb: and he healed him, insomuch that the blind and dumb both spake and saw.
23 And all the people were amazed, and said, Is not this the son of David?
24 But when the Pharisees heard it, they said, This fellow doth not cast out devils, but by Beelzebub the prince of the devils.
25 And Jesus knew their thoughts, and said unto them, Every kingdom divided against itself is brought to desolation; and every city or house divided against itself shall not stand:
26 And if Satan cast out Satan, he is divided against himself; how shall then his kingdom stand?
27 And if I by Beelzebub cast out devils, by whom do your children cast them out? therefore they shall be your judges.
28 But if I cast out devils by the Spirit of God, then the kingdom of God is come unto you.
29 Or else how can one enter into a strong man's house, and spoil his goods, except he first bind the strong man? and then he will spoil his house.
30 He that is not with me is against me; and he that gathereth not with me scattereth abroad.
31 ¶Wherefore I say unto you, All manner of sin and blasphemy shall be forgiven unto men: but the blasphemy against the Holy Ghost shall not be forgiven unto men.
32 And whosoever speaketh a word against the Son of man, it shall be forgiven him: but whosoever speaketh against the Holy Ghost, it shall not be forgiven him, neither in this world, neither in the world to come.
33 Either make the tree good, and his fruit good; or else make the tree corrupt, and his fruit corrupt: for the tree is known by his fruit.
34 O generation of vipers, how can ye, being evil, speak good things? for out of the abundance of the heart the mouth speaketh.
35 A good man out of the good treasure of the heart bringeth forth good things: and an evil man out of the evil treasure bringeth forth evil things.
36 But I say unto you, That every idle word that men shall speak, they shall give account thereof in the day of judgment.
37 For by thy words thou shalt be justified, and by thy words thou shalt be condemned.
38 ¶Then certain of the scribes and of the Pharisees answered, saying, Master, we would see a sign from thee.
39 But he answered and said unto them, An evil and adulterous generation seeketh after a sign; and there shall no sign be given to it, but the sign of the prophet Jonas:
40 For as Jonas was three days and three nights in the whale's belly; so shall the Son of man be three days and three nights in the heart of the earth.
41 The men of Nineveh shall rise in judgment with this generation, and shall condemn it: because they repented at the preaching of Jonas; and, behold, a greater than Jonas is here.
42 The queen of the south shall rise up in the judgment with this generation, and shall condemn it: for she came from the uttermost parts of the earth to hear the wisdom of Solomon; and, behold, a greater than Solomon is here.
43 When the unclean spirit is gone out of a man, he walketh through dry places, seeking rest, and findeth none.
44 Then he saith, I will return into my house from whence I came out; and when he is come, he findeth it empty, swept, and garnished.
45 Then goeth he, and taketh with himself seven other spirits more wicked than himself, and they enter in and dwell there: and the last state of that man is worse than the first. Even so shall it be also unto this wicked generation.
46 ¶While he yet talked to the people, behold, his mother and his brethren stood without, desiring to speak with him.
47 Then one said unto him, Behold, thy mother and thy brethren stand without, desiring to speak with thee.
48 But he answered and said unto him that told him, Who is my mother? and who are my brethren?
49 And he stretched forth his hand toward his disciples, and said, Behold my mother and my brethren!
50 For whosoever shall do the will of my Father which is in heaven, the same is my brother, and sister, and mother.

Link > Matthew Chapter 10 ˙Commentary and Notes

This chapter is the foundation for the Great Assignment.

There is a special site in the Mellow Wolf Publications ring dedicated to The Great Assignment, which is often referred to as The Great Commission.  In due course detailed commentary on the verses of this chapter will appear here.  At any time you may go to this site, The Great Assignment, for commentary on this subject.

10:16
Anyone who speaks in the name of Yehoshua HaMashiach will position themselves by doing so in the position of Yehoshua in relation to the world.

Link > Matthew Chapter 10

Chapter 10

1 And when he had called unto him his twelve disciples, he gave them power against unclean spirits, to cast them out, and to heal all manner of sickness and all manner of disease.

2 Now the names of the twelve apostles are these; The first, Simon, who is called Peter, and Andrew his brother; James the son of Zebedee, and John his brother;

3 Philip, and Bartholomew; Thomas, and Matthew the publican; James the son of Alphaeus, and Lebbaeus, whose surname was Thaddaeus;

4 Simon the Canaanite, and Judas Iscariot, who also betrayed him.

5 These twelve Jesus sent forth, and commanded them, saying, Go not into the way of the Gentiles, and into any city of the Samaritans enter ye not:

6 But go rather to the lost sheep of the house of Israel.

7 And as ye go, preach, saying, The kingdom of heaven is at hand.

8 Heal the sick, cleanse the lepers, raise the dead, cast out devils: freely ye have received, freely give.

9 Provide neither gold, nor silver, nor brass in your purses,

10 Nor scrip for your journey, neither two coats, neither shoes, nor yet staves: for the workman is worthy of his meat.

11 And into whatsoever city or town ye shall enter, enquire who in it is worthy; and there abide till ye go thence.

12 And when ye come into an house, salute it.

13 And if the house be worthy, let your peace come upon it: but if it be not worthy, let your peace return to you.

14 And whosoever shall not receive you, nor hear your words, when ye depart out of that house or city, shake off the dust of your feet.

15 Verily I say unto you, It shall be more tolerable for the land of Sodom and Gomorrha in the day of judgment, than for that city.

16 ¶Behold, I send you forth as sheep in the midst of wolves: be ye therefore wise as serpents, and harmless as doves.

17 But beware of men: for they will deliver you up to the councils, and they will scourge you in their synagogues;

18 And ye shall be brought before governors and kings for my sake, for a testimony against them and the Gentiles.

19 But when they deliver you up, take no thought how or what ye shall speak: for it shall be given you in that same hour what ye shall speak.

20 For it is not ye that speak, but the Spirit of your Father which speaketh in you.

21 And the brother shall deliver up the brother to death, and the father the child: and the children shall rise up against their parents, and cause them to be put to death.

22 And ye shall be hated of all men for my name's sake: but he that endureth to the end shall be saved.

23 But when they persecute you in this city, flee ye into another: for verily I say unto you, Ye shall not have gone over the cities of Israel, till the Son of man be come.

24 The disciple is not above his master, nor the servant above his lord.

25 It is enough for the disciple that he be as his master, and the servant as his lord. If they have called the master of the house Beelzebub, how much more shall they call them of his household?

26 Fear them not therefore: for there is nothing covered, that shall not be revealed; and hid, that shall not be known.

27 What I tell you in darkness, that speak ye in light: and what ye hear in the ear, that preach ye upon the housetops.

28 And fear not them which kill the body, but are not able to kill the soul: but rather fear him which is able to destroy both soul and body in hell.

29 Are not two sparrows sold for a farthing? and one of them shall not fall on the ground without your Father.

30 But the very hairs of your head are all numbered.

31 Fear ye not therefore, ye are of more value than many sparrows.

32 Whosoever therefore shall confess me before men, him will I confess also before my Father which is in heaven.

33 But whosoever shall deny me before men, him will I also deny before my Father which is in heaven.

34 Think not that I am come to send peace on earth: I came not to send peace, but a sword.

35 For I am come to set a man at variance against his father, and the daughter against her mother, and the daughter in law against her mother in law.

36 And a man's foes shall be they of his own household.

37 He that loveth father or mother more than me is not worthy of me: and he that loveth son or daughter more than me is not worthy of me.

38 And he that taketh not his cross, and followeth after me, is not worthy of me.

39 He that findeth his life shall lose it: and he that loseth his life for my sake shall find it.

40 ¶He that receiveth you receiveth me, and he that receiveth me receiveth him that sent me.

41 He that receiveth a prophet in the name of a prophet shall receive a prophet's reward; and he that receiveth a righteous man in the name of a righteous man shall receive a righteous man's reward.

42 And whosoever shall give to drink unto one of these little ones a cup of cold water only in the name of a disciple, verily I say unto you, he shall in no wise lose his reward.

Link > Matthew Chapter 10 ˙Commentary and Notes

Link > Matthew Chapter 11

Chapter 11

1 And it came to pass, when Jesus had made an end of commanding his twelve disciples, he departed thence to teach and to preach in their cities.

2 Now when John had heard in the prison the works of Christ, he sent two of his disciples,

3 And said unto him, Art thou he that should come, or do we look for another?

4 Jesus answered and said unto them, Go and shew John again those things which ye do hear and see:

5 The blind receive their sight, and the lame walk, the lepers are cleansed, and the deaf hear, the dead are raised up, and the poor have the gospel preached to them.

6 And blessed is he, whosoever shall not be offended in me.

7 ¶And as they departed, Jesus began to say unto the multitudes concerning John, What went ye out into the wilderness to see? A reed shaken with the wind?

8 But what went ye out for to see? A man clothed in soft raiment? behold, they that wear soft clothing are in kings' houses.

9 But what went ye out for to see? A prophet? yea, I say unto you, and more than a prophet.

10 For this is he, of whom it is written, Behold, I send my messenger before thy face, which shall prepare thy way before thee.

11 Verily I say unto you, Among them that are born of women there hath not risen a greater than John the Baptist: notwithstanding he that is least in the kingdom of heaven is greater than he.

12 And from the days of John the Baptist until now the kingdom of heaven suffereth violence, and the violent take it by force.

13 For all the prophets and the law prophesied until John.

14 And if ye will receive it, this is Elias, which was for to come.

15 He that hath ears to hear, let him hear.

16 ¶But whereunto shall I liken this generation? It is like unto children sitting in the markets, and calling unto their fellows,

17 And saying, We have piped unto you, and ye have not danced; we have mourned unto you, and ye have not lamented.

18 For John came neither eating nor drinking, and they say, He hath a devil.

19 The Son of man came eating and drinking, and they say, Behold a man gluttonous, and a winebibber, a friend of publicans and sinners. But wisdom is justified of her children.

20 ¶Then began he to upbraid the cities wherein most of his mighty works were done, because they repented not:

21 Woe unto thee, Chorazin! woe unto thee, Bethsaida! for if the mighty works, which were done in you, had been done in Tyre and Sidon, they would have repented long ago in sackcloth and ashes.

22 But I say unto you, It shall be more tolerable for Tyre and Sidon at the day of judgment, than for you.

23 And thou, Capernaum, which art exalted unto heaven, shalt be brought down to hell: for if the mighty works, which have been done in thee, had been done in Sodom, it would have remained until this day.

24 But I say unto you, That it shall be more tolerable for the land of Sodom in the day of judgment, than for thee.

25 ¶At that time Jesus answered and said, I thank thee, O Father, Lord of heaven and earth, because thou hast hid these things from the wise and prudent, and hast revealed them unto babes.

26 Even so, Father: for so it seemed good in thy sight.

27 All things are delivered unto me of my Father: and no man knoweth the Son, but the Father; neither knoweth any man the Father, save the Son, and he to whomsoever the Son will reveal him.

28 ¶Come unto me, all ye that labour and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest.

29 Take my yoke upon you, and learn of me; for I am meek and lowly in heart: and ye shall find rest unto your souls.

30 For my yoke is easy, and my burden is light.

Link > Matthew Chapter 11 ˙Commentary and Notes

Link > Matthew Chapter 11 ˙Commentary and Notes

Matthew 11 ˙Commentary and Notes


Matthew 11:2a
All that is necessary is honesty - to honestly be the believer you are.  It is this that will put one "on the side of" Mashiach.  Even such a great prophet as Yochanan (John) honestly sought what he needed for his faith.  This is always the way forward. This is always the way to serve God in coming up to and following after Mashiach.  It is the only way to live even now in heavenly places with him in the company of his martyrs.

This is also Yochanan (John) seeking for the one promised by Moshe for the sake of leading toward him.  That is to say, this is Yochanan fulfilling his calling to incarnate the spirit of Eliyahu (Elijah).  He is seeking not only for his own sake but in doing so is seeking also for the sake of leading - preparing the way...  We do the same, according to the measure of the grace of God, when we act in the same honesty of seeking faith.


Matthew 11:2b  
"Or should we expect someone else?"  The question as asked by Yochanan (John) is an expression of the perfect spirit of the perfect human relationship that must exist between Israel and the Redeemer of Israel - and therefore between all of us, all sinners, and Mashiach.  This exchange could easily be transposed into the story of Moshe coming to be the redeemer of Israel in Egypt.  Without this completely human relationship there can be no revelation of God.



Matthew 11:4
Yehoshua is not going to resolve the mystery of Mashiach for Yochanan or for Israel except by death and resurrection - and then only finally by the immersion of all Israel in his death and resurrection.  For the time being, at that time, he will say prophetically to Yochanan, "the blind receive their sight...".  By these prophetic acts of healing he is saying to Israel that the full revelation of God does not come as an appeal to the perceiving mind but comes to heal the mind that is utterly blind and does not know it.


Since Yehoshua comes to bring the revelation of God he comes to the blind, since he comes to seeing Israel, seeing Israel is blind because she does not see all that she thinks she sees, since he comes to the blind world, the blind world will not be able to remain safely blind but will have to risk seeing, the blind world will see, indeed, the whole world will be filled with the revelation of God.  "Tell Yochanan what you hear and see...".


Yochanan's question, which allows for this perfect teaching of Yehoshua allows for it because it is a perfect question, (not a question of a doubting or failing prophet); we must be humble and honest and not imagine divinity but rather learn true humanity first through the Torah of the Mashiach of Israel, only in this way will we acquire the spiritual eyes required to receive the revelation of God through Mashiach.  The generation of regenerating faith is through the natural human relationship of Jews or converts with the one bringing the word of God.  Without the mediation of the natural human relationship regenerating faith does not occur.

Matthew 11:9

"More than a prophet..." This means that there is an aspect of Eliyahu (Elijah), and therefore of Yochanan, wherein the spirit of Eliyahu is the spirit of the Mashiach.  As Moshe was a singularly anointed prophet, so was Elijah, that is to say, especially anointed by the Spirit of God.  To say that Moshe, Elijah or John the Baptist had the Spirit of Mashiach is very much like saying that Joseph was a type of Mashiach, even though the one ultimate Mashiach must come from the tribe of Judah.  Now all of these others named, except Yochanan, were not of the tribe of Yehudah (Judah).  Now it is this background that informs us as to the deeper meaning of followers and students of Yehoshua the Mashiach being described as having the Spirit of Mashiach and as being called Messianic.

Matthew 11:11

"Kingdom of heaven..."  That is to say, the Eden of God, which was the Grace of God's Goodness, the source of the river that came dividing into four and which watered the Garden of  that Grace, the Garden of Eden, the place of Adam's beginning on Earth.  
Behind this teaching is the mystery of the story of Leah and Rachel.  Israel labored for Rachel but before he could take her fully unto himself it was necessary for him to be given Leah by God.  For Laban the prosecutor of Israel, the adversary, had given Israel Leah in order to dominate and control him through condemnation.  Now to Israel, Rachel clearly represented the kingdom, as promised to him and before him to Isaac and before Isaac to Abraham.  Israel hoped that through Rachel he would receive the promise.  Indeed, through Rachel he will receive the promise and the Kingdom of Heaven will belong to Israel, but this will only be through Leah being unified with Rachel, with Leah as the Grace of God toward Israel being rectified with Israel's natural love and hope and labor for Rachel, for the promise of the Kingdom.

Matthew 11:13

"...until John..." That is to say, until that very moment, and so it would be until the death and resurrection of Yehoshua.

Matthew 11:17

"We played the pipe...we sang a dirge..."  You did not dance, you did not mourn because of the bias of your attitude.  Otherwise our playing and singing would have influenced you.  So also, it is the bias of sin that prevents human beings from hearing the beautiful voice and the sorrowful sigh of Yehoshua.

Matthew 11:25

"...You have hidden these things..."  Yehoshua sets up a picture of Little Children vs. Wise Teachers, and it is the little children and not the wise teachers who first realize that they are in need of eye surgery by God.  The true prophet, Yochanan, the one greater than a prophet is like a little child and asks a little child's humble question.  Those who are wise and know their orthodox theology and would never sound like an ignorant child or a heretic would not ask the prophet's question.

Matthew 11:27 and Acts 2:36 / 4:11,12

Acts 2:36: Therefore let all the house of Israel know assuredly, that God has made that same Yehoshua, whom you have executed, both Adonai and Mashiach.

Acts 4:11: This is the stone which was set aside by you builders, which now has become the cornerstone.

12: And there is salvation in no other person: for there is no other name under heaven given among the human race by which we must be saved.

This alludes to the eternal relationship of God and His Word but is not immediately about this.  The Word become flesh and lived among us.  This is the testimony of Holy Scripture.  It is a man who is made Lord/Adonai of heaven and earth in being raised from the dead and thereby made the Anointed one of the God of Israel, the King Mashiach of his people Israel.  It is in this that the revelation of all things for salvation is given to us.  

Acts 2:36 is not simply stating that Yehoshua is now being revealed as who he really is, as if his humanity were a disguise.   Since the time when these Scriptures were written it has become possible for these things to be considered directly by the natural mind.  When anyone reads these words in Acts and jumps to the idea that Yehoshua is Lord because he is the eternal Son of God they have effectively blocked the conversion of their mind from the natural understanding to the revelation of God and of all things brought in the Word himself.  If the Son of God was knowable by the natural mind he would not have needed to become flesh and live among us.  He would not have needed to make an atonement for Israel and be raised from the dead.  The Holy Scripture has no argument with those who deduce from it by the power of the natural mind that he is the Son of God and that there is an eternal relationship between God and His Word.  The Holy Scripture differs with the natural mind in the way it states this and therefore in the way this is made known, in other words, what it means to say this.

Acts 2:36 begins, "Therefore…:  This "therefore" can be understood to say in effect, "Do not imagine that you can understand the relationship between the Father and the Son by your natural mind or in any way except through this Good News of Israel and Her Messiah.  Do not imagine that you can understand the relationship between the Creator and His creation in any way except through this Good News of Israel and Her Messiah."  It is clear, just as in 4:11, that Peter/Kefa is addressing the leaders of Israel and the nation corporately.  He is telling them their Good News.  John/Yochanan records Yehoshua speaking about this very thing, saying, John 5:19: "Truly, truly, I say to you, the Son can do nothing of his own accord, but only what he sees the Father doing.  For whatever the Father does, that the Son does likewise."  This is the true and only principle of revelation.  Yehoshua taught how this principle would be made clear in the  Good News of Israel through him: John 8:28: "When you have lifted up the Son of Adam, then you will know that I am he, and that I do nothing on my own authority, but speak just as the Father taught me."  It is not our natural mind that knows these things but the mind given to us through regeneration by the Holy Spirit, who comes to us by virtue of the death, resurrection and concealment in Heaven of a unique human being, Yehoshua, the Lord/Adonai and Mashiach of Israel.  In order to come to the great high level of knowledge of the relationship of the Father and the Son we have our knowledge humbled to the lowest level of our own death and regeneration through him.  Because of this we have that word in 1st Corinthians 12:3, "No one can say that Yehoshua is Lord/Adonai except by the Holy Spirit."

All of this teaching, this truth and this reality was foretold by prophecy in Israel, as it is written:  "

As one cannot say that their knowledge of the Good News is certain and complete unless it is according to the Torah, so one cannot say that their knowledge of the Torah is certain and complete unless it is according to the Good News.  This is Yehoshua's message to the teachers of the Torah.  This is the message of Matthew 11:27:  "All things are delivered unto me by my Father: and no one knows the Son, but the Father; neither does anyone know the Father, except the Son, and anyone to whom the Son will reveal Him."

Matthew 11:30

The light burden of light... The light burden is only to listen to Jesus/Yehoshua without bias...

Link > Chapter 7 with Commentary and Notes

Matthew 7 ˙Commentary and Notes

See Also On Matthew chapters 7&8:

Few and Many series No. 1 Yehoshua Heals Many

INTRODUCTION TO CHAPTER 7: ONE HAVING AUTHORITY
"In that day one will say to me, Lord, Lord…"  What scribe could ever think to say this?  Who but one who knew himself to be the Messiah and the Messiah to be the Word of God could think to say this?  Now then, if those to whom he spoke did not know that he was the Messiah - and would be made by God to be the King Messiah in Jerusalem- in what way would they understand this saying?  Might one such as Moses say this?  Were some taught to understand the place in Israel of the soul of the great Tzaddik?  Would this teaching give them understanding of this saying of Yehoshua?

Here in this saying, Yehoshua clearly says that his words and his teachings have the force of the Torah of Moses, for in order to enter into the eternal Kingdom of the God of Israel one must be accounted as a doer of the word of God given through Moses.  Here Yehoshua is saying that only those who do his words, also, will enter into the Kingdom of his Father, the God of Israel.

Link > Matthew Chapter 6 ˙Commentary and Notes

Matthew 6 ˙

Commentary and Notes

SUMMARY OVERVIEW OF OBSERVATIONS FOR MATTHEW 6


Perfecting the very best lines of the teaching of the Pharisees, Yehoshua gives instruction concerning the intention of the heart in performance of the commandments of the Torah.  Today the teaching that there is a need for kavunah, devotion of the heart, in the performance of the mitzvot is well established in Judaism.  However, Yehoshua's teaching concerning the need for the singularity of the eye, of the heart, of a Godly mind in viewing the world, leads directly toward an understanding of the Torah that leads directly to faith in him and his death and resurrection for Israel.  


If a child is born with a critical disease even great medical attention may not save it.  So it is with the life of each mitzvah.  It must be born from a pure heart.  While an Israelite must always seek to obey the commandments of God, Yehoshua is teaching that no matter how perfect that obedience may be outwardly it must always, from the very beginning, be perfect inwardly also.  For this to be so, one must come always first to true repentance.  How is true obedience possible then, when the heart is truly its own worst enemy?   For it is not possible to perfect repentance for one's own sake but only for all Israel's sake.  And this must be done with understanding, so that it may be done for all Humanity's sake, or else it will not be done ultimately for God's sake.  But because the heart has already become needy and self-centred through sin, even when one attempts to repent it becomes necessary to deal endlessly with the challenge of correcting and perfecting one's own self from beginning with self-interest.  


There ends up being no way out of the trap of hypocrisy.  The only escape is to call upon the name of the Lord, to cry out to him for salvation, to repent through faith in his rectification of Humanity and his kavunah, his pure heart intention of doing all for the sake of God. For his heart is not moved at all for the sake of his own need, nor even primarily on account of his compassion for the need of the human race, but is moved purely for the sake of his Father's will.  This is the true meaning of our need for regeneration, it is our need to be attached to the Redeemer of Israel, as a branch is attached to the vine.


It is the nation of Israel, his nation which he will redeem with his own blood, that Yehoshua instructs to seek first the kingdom of God, to not be like the heathen, that is to say, all nations other than Israel.  And how then will the heathen be saved?  What salvation will they find?  How clearly it should be seen that there is no other salvation to find than the salvation that is in the Vine of Israel, the Vine to which the branches must cling in order to find perfect repentance, and perfect purity of heart in the performance of the mitzvot of God.  And if the heathen seek also to cling to this Vine and to the branches, how they will magnify this great salvation!  But if they seek to push the branches of Israel aside and take their place, how they will seem to nullify and conceal the glorious salvation that God would openly display!

Link > Matthew Chapter 1 ˙Commentary and Notes Introduction Short Version

 BABYLON, IRAQ

Matthew 1 ˙

Commentary and Notes

We begin with the three sections of 14 generations. What is the significance of this?

First, the section of the fourteen generations of Adam is defined as Israel. To see this we will compare this genealogy in Matthew with the one given in Luke, then we will explain this. Next the second section of the fourteen generations of Israel is defined as Israel in preparation for the Son of Adam. This is until the exile into Babylon. Then the third section of fourteen generations Israel is defined as Israel being brought to Mashiach and presented to Mashiach to become the bride of Mashiach as the Last Adam.

In summary, the three periods are:

1) Adam defined as now being comprehended in the nation of Israel.

2) Israel is given the definition of being a nation in preparation for Mashiach.

3) Israel is given the definition of being a nation being presented to Mashiach.

Daniel's prayer is altogether based on the prayer of Moshe for Israel, that God, having brought Israel out of Egypt, would not destroy Israel and replace Israel with another people, for the sake of God's own name.  Replacement theology implies a final rejection of Moses prayer and therefore also here of Daniel's prayer.  It interprets the 70 weeks as indicating a setting aside of Israel in one degree or another without recognizing that this is actually an interpretation that would constitute a negative reply to Daniel's prayer.

Insofar as the 70 weeks might be understood as indicating 490 years, relating this to the three groups of 14 generations set out in Mashiach's genealogy by Matthew, the correspondence is in that on the first level all is about the atonement in Mashiach's death and resurrection.  On the next level this whole period is, as it were, unfolded again and is seen with a different lens, representing the period from Mashiach until All Israel is saved.  The second level would involve an interpretation that followed the complete repentance and rectification of Israel.  In the sense of the first level the interpretation of the 70 weeks the interpretation would follow the most complete propitiatory meaning of Daniel 9:24: "Seventy weeks are determined upon thy people and upon thy holy city, to finish the transgression, and to make an end of sins, and to make reconciliation for iniquity, and to bring in everlasting righteousness, and to seal up the vision and prophecy, and to anoint the most Holy."  All of this would be understood to be referring to the work of Mashiach and the preparation of Israel for this work - which must be seen in this light to have begun with the calling of Abraham, God's word as given to Abraham and his seed and with the covenant made with Abraham which constituted Israel as Israel in preparation for the redemption.  This interpretation has not occurred to Christian theologians because they have not begun with the recognition that Mashiach did in fact make atonement for Israel corporately.

It is clear that the 70 weeks represents a symbolic number or symbolic way of designating a period.  It is more a spiritual period of time than a period as measured in this world, although there is a hidden correspondence between the spiritual measure and the natural measure.  If it is said that 490 years is a variety of this same number and specifies the time from the Babylonian captivity until Mashiach then it is a form of this number which refers to it at its most condensed state.  From this state it must be understood to be expanded to comprehend the whole time from Abraham to Mashiach.  This is the full period of the 42 generations.  It is when this same period is "spiritually doubled" that the 70 weeks are understood to extend to the end of days.  Thus, rightly understood, there is not a conflict between the historical and the future interpretation of the prophecy.

Link > Introduction < 1:18-24 > Mary As Israel

Link> Matthew Chapter 1 ˙Commentary and Notes Introduction Long Version