The Secret Codes in Matthew: Examining Israel’s Messiah, Part 15: Matthew 18:21-20:34, by Kevin M. Williams
The solution? Compassion. How can we sing, “Noel, noel, born is the King of Israel,” while the Jewish community fears him and those who follow him? I read a sad bumper sticker not long ago. It said, “God, protect me from your followers.” This could be the prayer of every Jewish person. How can we sing, “O come, O come, Emmanuel, and ransom captive Israel,” when the local Jewish community doesn’t even recognize Jesus as Jewish, let alone as “Emmanuel—God with us?”
The only way the stain of blood that taints our name and mars the reputation of our Savior to the apple of his eye is to reach out in genuine friendship—with Messiah-like compassion—and help them see that today’s Church has shed it’s serpent’s skin to be the emissary Yeshua has called her to be.
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In Part 16, we begin the final week of Yeshua’s life on earth with the triumphal entry into Jerusalem, and how even then he was meeting Jewish expectations of the coming Redeemer.
Endnotes
1 A Commentary on the New Testament from the Talmud and Hebraica, Matthew-1Corinthians, John Lightfoot, Hendrickson Publishers, 1997, p. 259
2 “Jesus” is the Anglicized form for Yeshua, which means “salvation.” Since this text seeks to put Jesus in his Hebraic context, the name Yeshua is used throughout except when used in specific quotes.
3 The Quill of the Heart: Loving your Fellow Jew: Patience or Compassion, The Cofetz Chaim Heritage Foundation, no copyright, pp. 36-37
4 The Blessing, Gary Smalley & John Trent, Pocket Books; ©1986, p. 27
5 Ibid.
6 Jewish New Testament Commentary, David H. Stern, Jewish New Testament Publications, ©1992, p. 60
7 Our Hands are Stained with Blood, Michael L. Brown, Destiny Image, ©1992, p.p. xxi-xiv.
Category: Biblical Studies, Fall 2004, Pneuma Review
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