Who was Y'shua?
Part 1 – Laying the foundation
We begin our study during his childhood.
Luke 2:21 And when eight days were completed for him to be circumcised, his name was called Y’shua... 22 And when the days of her cleansing according to the law of Moses were completed, they brought him to Jerusalem to present him to The Almighty. 23 as it has been written in the law of The Almighty, “Every male who opens the womb shall be called set-apart to The Almighty” 24 and to give an offering according to what is said in the law of The Almighty, “A pair of turtledoves or two young pigeons.”… 39 And when they had accomplished all according to the law of The Almighty, they returned to Galilee, to their city Nazareth…
We see that Y'shua was circumcised on the eighth day and was presented at the Temple according to the Law of Moses written in Leviticus 12.
Did Y’shua keep the Jewish Festivals?
Luke 2:41 And his parents went to Jerusalem every year at the Festival of the Passover. 42 And when he was twelve years old, they went up to Jerusalem according to the practice of the festival… 46 And it came to be… that they found Him in the Temple, sitting in the midst of the teachers, both listening to them and asking them questions.
John 2:23 And when He was in Jerusalem at the Passover, at the festival…
John 5:1 After this there was a festival of the Jews, and Y’shua went up to Jerusalem.
John 7:2 And the festival of the Jews was near, the Festival of Booths… 14 and about the middle of the festival Joshua went up into the Temple, and he was teaching.
Matthew 26:17 And on the first of Unleavened Bread the taught ones came to Y’shua, saying to him, “Where do you wish us to prepare for you to eat the Passover?”
Part 1 Summary:
We find that Y'shua was Jewish. He and his parents observed the Jewish Festivals and Sabbaths.
Part 2 – Laying the foundation “corner” stone” – Y'shua the teacher
In this portion we will establish what may be Y’shua’s primary purposes; Teaching.
We begin by defining teacher in the New Testament. We will use Matthew 10 verse 24.
24 The disciple is not above his master, nor the servant above his Lord. (King James)
The Greek word for "disciple" in this verse is math-ay-tes. Strongs # G3101 defined as “a learner or pupil”
The Greek word for "master" in this verse is didaskalos. Strongs # G1320 defined as “an instructor or teacher” from G1321 did-as'-ko which is defined as “to teach”.
The plain (common sense) translation for this verse would be:
“The student is not above his teacher, nor the servant above his master”.
In every verse we will reference for teacher, this same translator bias is introduced. Please study this out for yourself.
Here are examples:
Matthew 22:15 Then the Pharisees went and plotted how to trap him in his words. 16 And they sent to him their students with the Herodians, saying, “teacher, we know that you are true, and teach the way of Elohim in truth, and it does not concern you about anyone, for you are not partial to any man. 17 “Then say to us, what do you think? Is it right to pay taxes to Caesar, or not?”
Matthew 22:23 On that day Sadducees, who say there is no resurrection, came to him and asked him, 24 saying, “teacher, Mosheh said that if anyone should die, having no children, his brother shall marry his wife and raise offspring for his brother.
Matthew 22:34 But the Pharisees, having heard that He had silenced the Sadducees, were gathered together, 35 and one of them, one learned in the Torah, did question, trying him, and saying, 36 “teacher, which is the great command in the Torah?”
We see that those who were learned in the torah, the Pharisees, Sadducees and Scribes, referred to Y’shua as “teacher” and asked him to elaborate on torah principles usually as a test of his torah knowledge.
What did Y’shua teach?
Matthew 5:17 “Do not think that I came to destroy the law or the Prophets. I did not come to destroy but to complete. 18 “For truly, I say to you, till the heaven and the earth pass away, one jot or one tittle shall by no means pass from the law till all be done. 19 “Whoever, then, breaks one of the least of these commands, and teaches men so, shall be called least in the reign of the heavens; but whoever does and teaches them, he shall be called great in the reign of the heavens.
Matthew 19:16 And see, one came and said to him, “Good teacher, what good shall I do to have everlasting life?” 17 And he said to him, “Why do you call me good? No one is good except One – Elohim. But if you wish to enter into life, guard the commands.” 18 He said to him, “Which?” And Y'shua said, “You shall not murder,’ ‘You shall not commit adultery,’ ‘You shall not steal,’ ‘You shall not bear false witness,’ 19 ‘Respect your father and your mother,’ and ‘You shall love your neighbour as yourself.’ ”
Mark 12:28 And one of the scribes coming near, hearing them reasoning together, knowing that he had answered them well, asked him, “Which is the first command of all?” 29 And Y’shua answered him, “The first of all the commands is, ‘Hear, O Israel, YHWH our Elohim, YHWH is one. 30 ‘And you shall love YHWH your Elohim with all your heart, and with all your being, with all your mind, and with all your strength.’ This is the first command. 31 “And the second, like it, is this, ‘You shall love your neighbour as yourself.’ There is no other command greater than these.” 32 And the scribe said to him, “Well said, teacher. You have spoken the truth, for there is one Elohim, and there is no other besides Him.
When and where did Y’shua teach?
Matthew 4:23 And Y’shua went about all Galil, teaching in their synagogues, and proclaiming the Good News of the reign…
Matthew 9:35 And Y’shua went about all the cities and villages, teaching in their synagogues, and proclaiming the Good News of the reign…
Matthew 13:54 And when he had come to his own country, he taught them in their synagogue, so that they were astonished and said, “Where did this one get this wisdom and miracles? 55 “Is this not the son of the carpenter? Is not his mother called Mary? And his brothers James and Joseph and Simon and Judah? 56 “And his sisters, are they not all with us? Where then did this one get all this?” 57 … But Y’shua said to them, “A prophet is not unappreciated except in his own country and in his own house.”
Mark 1:21 And they went into Capernaum, and immediately on the Sabbath He went into the synagogue and taught.
Luke 6:6 And it also came to be on another Sabbath, that He entered into the synagogue and taught…
Matthew 8:2 And see, a leper came, and bowed before Him, saying, “Master, if You desire, You are able to make me clean.” 3 And stretching out His hand Y’shua touched him, saying, “I desire it. Be cleansed!” And immediately his leprosy was cleansed. 4 And Y’shua said to him, “See, mention it to no one. But go your way, show yourself to the priest, and offer the gift that Moses commanded, as a witness to them.”
We see that Y'shua was considered a Jewish Rabbi by most. He taught torah principles and claimed that nothing would pass from the torah until the heavens and earth were taken away. He taught in Synagogues and at the Temple.
Part 3 – The Building
Luke 6:47 "Everyone who is coming to me, and is hearing my words and is doing them, I shall show you whom he is like: 48 "He is like a man building a house, who dug deep and laid a foundation on the rock. And when a flood came, the stream burst against that house, but was unable to shake it, for it was founded on the rock. 49 "But the one hearing and not doing, is like a man who built a house on the earth without a foundation, against which the stream burst, and immediately it fell. And the ruin of that house was great."
Y’shua’s message here is clear; for the building to stand firm it must have a strong foundation (the hearing of his words and doing them) this is the difference between the building standing firm or crumbling.
John 8:26 "I have much to say and to judge concerning you. But He who sent me is true, and what I heard from Him, these Words I speak to the world." 27 They did not know that he spoke to them of the Father. 28 So Y’shua said to them, "When you lift up the son of man, then you shall know that I am he, and that I do none at all of myself, but as my Father taught me, these words I speak. 29 "And He who sent me is with me. The Father has not left me alone, for I always do what pleases Him."
Before continuing on, we need to clarify the meaning of the statements “What I heard from Him” and “As my Father taught me”. Pay particularly close attention to verse 46 in Luke 2.
Luke 2:41 And his parents went to Yerushalayim every year at the Festival of the Passover. 42 And when he was twelve years old, they went up to Yerushalayim according to the practice of the festival. 43 When they had accomplished the days, as they returned, the child Y’shua stayed behind in Yerushalayim. And his parents did not know it, 44 but thinking he was in the company, they went a day’s journey, and were seeking him among the relatives and friends. 45 And not having found him, they returned to Yerushalayim, seeking him. 46 And it came to be, after three days, that they found him in the Set-apart Place, sitting in the midst of the teachers, both listening to them and asking them questions. 47 And all who heard him were astonished at his understanding and answers. 48 And having seen him, they were amazed. And his mother said to him, “Son, why have you done this to us? See, your father and I have been anxiously seeking you.” 49 And he said to them, “Why were you seeking me? Did you not know that I had to be in the matters of my Father?” 50 But they did not understand the word which he spoke to them.
Y’shua was sitting in the midst of the torah teachers listening to them and asking questions. This should have our mind asking the question: If the Father taught him everything, why was he spending time listening to and asking questions of these torah scholars? The answer is simple; Y’shua’s eyes and ears were opened by the Father, which allowed him to see, hear and understand. He was taught indirectly, not directly by the Father as most assert or assume. He was given proper discernment.
What impact should these words of Y’shua have on the truth seeker today? In the above verses we see that Y’shua states that his and our Father is greater than himself, and that the Father alone is worthy of our esteem (Matthew 19:17). We see that the commandments are still to be kept and that they lead to life (Matthew 19:17-19 & Matthew 12:29-31), which directly contrasts with the doctrines of most religions today which teach that the law has been done away (something Y’shua never taught).
John 12:44 Then Y’shua cried out and said, "He who believes in me, believes not in me but in Him who sent me. 45 "And he who sees me sees Him who sent me. 46 "I have come as a light into the world, so that no one who believes in me should stay in darkness. 47 "And if anyone hears my Words but does not watch over them, I do not judge him. For I did not come to judge the world but to save the world. 48 "He who rejects me, and does not receive my Words, has one who judges him: the word that I have spoken shall judge him in the last day. 49 "Because I spoke not from myself, but the Father who sent me has given me a command, what I should say and what I should speak. 50 "And I know that His command is everlasting life. Therefore, whatever I speak, as the Father has said to me, so I speak."
If any words or teachings appear to contradict the message Y’shua proclaimed, we know that they are either twisted, mistranslated, or have been added to validate personal doctrines.
Y’shua came to uphold the Fathers commands, not to do away with them. He learned the torah and prophets from his youth. He is to be the example we use when we build our house.
Rev 12:17 And the dragon was enraged with the woman, and he went to fight with the remnant of her seed, those guarding the commands of Elohim and possessing the witness of Y’shua Messiah.
Rev 14:12 Here is the endurance of the set-apart ones, here are those guarding the commands of Elohim and the belief of Y’shua.
Have a solid foundation. Do not allow yourself to be deceived.
