PneumaReview.com: Please tell our readers briefly about your conversion experience.

Carol Kaminski: I grew up in Australia in a Christian family, but my parents got divorced when I was young, and they stopped going to church. I continued to attend youth group at the local Baptist church and God provided wonderful “spiritual parents” who invited me to events and youth group camps. I received great Bible teaching, and when I was in my late teens, I responded to a gospel message and met Jesus. My life changed that day, and I have been walking with the Lord for over four decades.

PneumaReview.com: What ministries have you participated in since you became a Christian?

Carol Kaminski: Shortly after becoming a Christian, I got involved in youth ministry in my local church and helped to lead worship. I also led Bible studies and lived in a Youth for Christ home for homeless young women. When I was in my mid-twenties, I felt God calling me to go to Bible college. I studied at the Bible College of Victoria (now called Melbourne School of Theology) for several years, and then God called me to study overseas, which is what led me to study at Gordon-Conwell Theological Seminary. After completing two master’s programs at the seminary, the Lord opened up an opportunity for me to do further study at Cambridge University in England. After completing my doctorate, I began teaching at the seminary, which is what I’ve done for the past two decades.

PneumaReview.com: A major focus of your work now is CASKET EMPTY. Please tell us the significance of the name as well as a bit about the ministry.

PneumaReview.com: Casket Empty is being used around the world. What languages have portions, or in some cases the complete CASKET EMPTY timelines been translated into?

Carol Kaminski: The Casket Empty material has been translated into several languages, including Chinese, Korean, Arabic, Farsi, Thai, and more recently, Spanish. God has been blessing this material and it has been a wonderful way to contribute to the global church. I was in Thailand at the beginning of this year and had the opportunity to train pastors and church leaders using the Casket Empty curriculum. What a blessing!

PneumaReview.com: You recently had a major commentary on 1 & 2 Chronicles published. Please tell us about some of the features of that commentary.

Carol Kaminski: Sometimes people are surprised to learn that I have written a commentary on Chronicles because it is one of the more neglected books in the Old Testament. I’ve always loved the stories of Israel’s kings like Asa and Jehoshaphat. They are such great kings who trusted in God amid insurmountable circumstances. It was great blessing to write a commentary on this theologically rich book. My commentary has been published in Zondervan’s Story of God Bible Commentary. What I love about this series is that each book is interpreted within the redemptive story of the Bible, so this means that books are not interpreted in isolation, but each one is interpreted in the context of Scripture. Another distinctive feature of the series is that each volume has forty percent devoted to application. This is unusual for a commentary on the Old Testament, but it is one of the great benefits of the series. This means that every chapter in Chronicles has a section on application!

PneumaReview.com: In addition, you have also written an eight-week Bible study based on these books. What is the format of the study, and how can it best be used?

Carol Kaminski: I wrote a Bible study on Chronicles because I wanted to make sure that the material would be accessible in the local church. My Bible study is called Cultivating Godliness because this title highlights so many of the important themes in Chronicles, like prayer, seeking the face of God, crying out to God for help, and singing joyfully to God. Through this book, God is calling his people to focus on his kingdom, and to cultivate prayer, seeking God, and trust in him. The Bible study is eight weeks, and each week one of these key topics is explored, so it’s a great opportunity for people to dive deeper into Chronicles in a small group setting.

PneumaReview.com: Do you think most Christians read 1 & 2 Chronicles in the course of a year? If you don’t think they do, why are these books neglected?

Carol Kaminski: I think Chronicles has been neglected for two reasons. First, since some of the stories are already in Samuel and Kings, people assume that there is nothing new in Chronicles or that it simply repeats material from these other books. But there are many additional stories in Chronicles that are not found in Samuel or Kings. Most importantly, the familiar stories have been applied to Israel’s new context, and we find may sermons and sermonettes in Chronicles that are rich in theology and applicable for our lives

The second reason why Chronicles has been neglected is that it begins with nine chapters of genealogies, and that tends to put off most people! But in the commentary, I explain how to understand the opening genealogies because they really do have a theological purpose. I think once people start to understand why they are included, the genealogies make more sense.

PneumaReview.com: What advice would you give to believers to help them see the value of these two biblical books?

Carol Kaminski: I would encourage someone to start to read through Chronicles, perhaps initially skipping over the genealogies to begin with, but to focus on the lives of Israel’s kings and the themes that are highlighted. People will find that these topics are highly relevant for our lives, and they provide wonderful examples for us, showing us what it means to walk with the Lord and trust in him.

PneumaReview.com: Please identify some of the major themes in 1 & 2 Chronicles for us.

Carol Kaminski: I’ve already mentioned some of the themes like prayer, seeking the face of God, crying out to God for help, but there are also other themes like generosity, listening to wise counsel, and unity. The book also presents a vision for God’s people, who are called to be a worshipping and witnessing people among the nations. So, there’s also a global vision in Chronicles, this is why it begins with all those genealogies!

PneumaReview.com: What do these books have to say to the church today?

Carol Kaminski: The book of Chronicles was written during the final period of the Old Testament. God’s people had been in exile in Babylon for seventy years and now they have returned and rebuilt the temple. But life has not been easy back in Jerusalem. God’s people are living under the Persian Empire. They must rebuild their homes and start all over again. And there is no king ruling on the throne in Jerusalem. But it is during this time of transition and upheaval that God calls his people to focus on his heavenly kingdom and to cultivate godly habits in the covenant community. In our context, we haven’t been into exile, but we are facing a major transition because our Christian values that used to be so much part of our culture have become increasingly secular. The question for us is: How do we live in this new context? The book of Chronicles can help us. The Chronicler, inspired by God’s Spirit, is presenting a vision of God’s everlasting kingdom with worship at the center. This is surely a much-needed vision for us today!

PneumaReview.com: Where can people learn more about Casket Empty and your books on 1 & 2 Chronicles?

Carol Kaminski: People can find out more about Casket Empty by going to our website casketempty.com. My commentary on 1-2 Chronicles is available on Amazon simply by Googling “Chronicles” with my last name “Kaminski.”

A guest article by Brandon Biggs

The book of Song of Solomon has often been misunderstood and misinterpreted throughout history.  This article seeks to remedy this situation by providing a thoughtful and scholarly reflection upon the theme of romantic love within the book, and by expanding upon the two sub-themes associated with it—pleasure and danger.

This article begins by exploring the various interpretations of the Song of Solomon throughout history with their strengths and weaknesses.  As this article will show, the natural/literal interpretation suits the Song best.

The article progresses to explore the major theme of romantic/erotic love that is the crux of the entire book, and then to explore the sub-themes of the pleasure of romantic love and the danger of romantic love as they relate to the interpretation of the book.

As previously stated, the Song of Solomon has been often misunderstood and misinterpreted, and it is the goal of this article to leave the reader with a higher level of understanding as it relates to divine revelation and human interaction.

I. Introduction

The Song of Songs/Solomon has intrigued readers and scholars for centuries. The interpretation of the book has proved to be one of the most controversial topics in all of Old Testament criticism. The reader must assume an interpretative framework for this book or the message will be obscured by subjectivity. However, this is no easy task. Many learned scholars have proposed elaborate defenses for various interpretations of the book. The various methods of interpretation are as follows:

a) Allegorical

b) Typological

c) Drama

d) Natural/Literal

The allegorical approach of interpretation seems quite plausible, until one looks at the larger message of the book. Nowhere in the book of Song of Solomon are the words “YaHWeH,” “Adoni,” “El,” or “Elohim” to be found. Furthermore, “Allegorical writing usually gives hints that it is allegory….None of these elements is present in the Song of Songs.”¹ Also, it seems that those who wish to allegorize the book as a picture of God’s love for Israel only do so to conveniently avoid the intensely physical and erotic nature of the book.

Second, while many make no distinction between allegory and typology, there is a clear difference. The former seeks to impose a hidden spiritual meaning, while the latter seeks to identify a New Testament figure fulfillment of the Old Testament foreshadowing. Though the Old Testament routinely and frequently gives a typology of Christ, this does not seem to be the case with the Song of Songs. If the book were a foreshadowing of Christ it would seem that the New Testament writers would have identified it as such.

Third, the dramatic interpretation supposes that the book is a liturgical song or drama that was performed at a wedding ceremony. This interpretation has serious flaws. For example, “The long speeches, the lack of character development and of a plot developing to dramatic climax and resolution, all militate against the Song being considered ‘drama’.”²

Therefore, it seems that the literal, or, natural, approach to interpretation (i.e. erotic love between the lover and the beloved) is to be favored. This will be the presupposition of this author as the theme of this book is explored.

The one theme of romantic love will be explored with special attention being given to the poetic language that describes such love within the book of Song of Songs.

The final chapter in this unique commentary on the Gospel to the Hebrews. Messianic teacher Kevin Williams discusses the Roman execution of Messiah, the forsakenness of the sacrifice, changing the Sabbath, the Great Commission and other insights in this closing chapter.

Then the soldiers of the governor took Jesus into the Praetorium and gathered the whole Roman cohort around Him (Matthew 27:27).

It is important to note the lack of Jewish names and perpetrators in this verse, or those that follow. Those who cling onto the obscene notions of the Jewish population as “Christ killers,” and therefore worthy of not only God’s scorn but Christian oppression as well, should carefully note these violent and insufferable acts of the Gentiles.

As noted in part 21, the trail of Yeshua was a mockery, conducted by a handful of spiritually blinded Jewish leaders. They certainly passed a false sentence, but it was the Roman cohort that stripped, mocked, spat on, beat, and crucified Him. The horrific scenes made so vivid in Mel Gibson’s 2004 production of The Passion of the Christ, are guilts all mankind shares.

They gave Him wine to drink mingled with gall; and after tasting it, He was unwilling to drink (Matthew 27:34).

For some, this might contradict an earlier promise by Yeshua at the Passover: “But I say to you, I will not drink of this fruit of the vine from now on until that day when I drink it new with you in My Father’s kingdom” (Matthew 26:29). If the Messiah said he would not drink of the “fruit of the vine,” that is to say, wine, then why did he drink this wine/gall mixture?

First of all, Yeshua did not “drink,” He tasted. Once He tasted it, “He was unwilling to drink.” If there is an exact explanation to settle any disparity, this should suffice.

There may be a deeper spiritual significance beyond the words on the page, however. Proverbs 31:6 reads, “Give strong drink to him who is perishing, and wine to him whose life is bitter.” Within the Israeli religious culture of the day, that verse was interpreted thusly, “When a person is lead out to be executed he is given a glass of wine containing a grain of frankincense, in order to numb the senses, as it is written, ‘Give strong drink unto him who is perishing, wine to those bitter of soul.’” (Sanhedrin 43a).

For those witnesses there, the religious theology of Sanhedrin 43a may well have been the filter through which they processed the crucifixion. Yeshua had been offered the prescribed drink to “numb his senses” and to deaden a “bitter soul.” But Yeshua’s soul was not bitter, and from His perspective, death was not permanent. He wanted his senses to be as sharp as possible, for He was about the business of fulfilling God’s Plan.

“And about the ninth hour Jesus cried out with a loud voice, saying, ‘Eli, Eli, Lama Sabachthani?’ that is, ‘My God, My God, Why Hast Thou Forsaken Me?” (Matthew 27:46).

It should not be missed that this was “about the ninth hour” a very significant moment in the Temple, as well as throughout the Scripture: often referred to as the ninth hour, eventide, the evening oblation, or the evening sacrifice (see Joshua 7:6-10, I Kings 18:36, 38, Daniel 9:21, Ezra 9:5-6, and Acts 10:30-31. Editor’s Note: read Kevin William’s article “The Ninth Hour” from the Summer 2000 issue of the Pneuma Review). In the Hebrew it is known as the minchah as is still commemorated every day by observant Hebrews through the “evening” prayers at 3:00 p.m.

An examination of Messiah’s night-time trial before the Sanhedrin, pointing to the fulfillment of Messianic prophecy and the travesty of justice that took place.

Then Jesus said to them, “You will all fall away because of Me this night, for it is written, ‘I will strike down the shepherd, and the sheep of the flock shall be scattered.’ But after I have been raised, I will go before you to Galilee” (Matthew 26:31-32).

As we shall soon see, Peter rejected that he would be “scattered,” rather than taking the comfort Yeshua² offered that even though He would be struck down, He would rise again. To further His comfort, the Messiah tried to help them see that this scattering would fulfill the words of the prophet Zechariah (13:7). The coming execution was—as Yeshua had attempted to help them see before—an inevitable part of the noble plan God had ordained before the foundation of the world.

We also see here in Yeshua, a man who is fully prepared to step through the doors of destiny, without flinching, and still filled with compassion for His disciples.

But Peter answered and said to Him, “Even though all may fall away because of You, I will never fall away.” Jesus said to him, “Truly I say to you that this very night, before a cock crows, you shall deny Me three times.” Peter said to Him, “Even if I have to die with You, I will not deny You.” All the disciples said the same thing too (Matthew 26:33-35).

We can learn this much from Peter, at least: it can be all too easy to boast in the flesh, even with the best of intentions. What Peter—and subsequently the other disciples—were saying, was that the prophetic promise of Zechariah and the affirmation of God’s Messiah could be overthrown by their own human strength.

This example of human arrogance and lack of spiritual discernment—even from those closest to the Redeemer—leads to a precarious path upon which we may all stumble if we do not constantly test our hearts and our deeds against the Word and the Word made flesh.

To say, “I would never …” is tantamount to throwing down the gauntlet to the Enemy of our souls, an invitation for Satan to test our resolve. How many times have you heard the words, “Well, I’d never” do such-and-such, only to see that very vow overturned in their life. We are all, in some way or another, like Peter.

Then Jesus came with them to a place called Gethsemane, and said to the disciples, “Sit here while I go and pray over there.” And He took with Him Peter and the two sons of Zebedee, and He began to be sorrowful and deeply distressed (Matthew 26:26-37).

Yeshua takes with him Peter, James and John to Gat-Sh’manim in the Hebrew, Gethsemane in its English approximation: the oil press.

In Job 24, we read about the wicked and their sins, and that they produce oil within their walled cities, as at Gethsemane, but in verse 13 we find that they, “rebel against the light; They do not want to know its ways, Nor abide in its paths.”

Here, in the place of the oil press, the Light of the World would feel squeezed. In one hand he held the unswerving loyalty of a heavenly host, and in the other, the impending doom of anguish and humiliation for being nothing other than a healer, a teacher, and a restorer of the Scriptures. God’s unrivaled ambassador, heralding the kingdom of heaven with all its glories, was to face such torture and pain as our modern sensitivities can scarcely imagine.

Messiah celebrates his final Passover on earth, teaching us much about His own identity as the Paschal Lamb.

And it came about that when Jesus had finished all these words, He said to His disciples, “You know that after two days the Passover is coming …” (Matthew 26:1-2a).¹

Passover: the overriding event in Israel at the time of Yeshua’s² crucifixion receives scant attention in the gospel accounts. Hundreds of thousands of fathers and husbands, often with their 12-year-old sons, would travel to Jerusalem to make the Paschal sacrifice required in Exodus 12. But in the period when Matthew was written, among the Jewish people, little needed to be said. Matthew’s audience was well acquainted with the traditions, symbols, and significance of Passover and the weeklong observance of the Feast of Unleavened Bread. For such an audience, Pesach—as Passover is called in the Hebrew—required no exposition.

2,000 years removed from Israel and the temple, from young innocent lambs and the ritual slaughter, from the weeklong observances of matzah bread and the inherently Hebraic perspective, our modern understanding and therefore, appreciation of events in Israel may be lacking.

In this section of The Secret Codes in Matthew: Examining Israel’s Messiah, we return to the root and core—the very foundation if you will—upon which the entire structure of redemption was built. This foundation—yesod in the Hebrew—is rich with imagery, and a testimony to the awesome foresight and design of its Great Architect, the Almighty Father, who built so firm a foundation. “Therefore thus says the Lord God, ‘Behold, I am laying in Zion a stone, a tested stone, A costly cornerstone for the foundation, firmly placed. He who believes in it will not be disturbed’” (Isaiah 28:16).

Every year, in Jewish homes around the globe, it is expected to not merely participate in the Seder, the order of service for Passover, but to engage in the observance as if actually participating in the events. May this be true for us as well, as we step into the culture and history of biblical Israel.

___

“You know that after two days the Passover is coming, and the Son of Man is to be delivered up for crucifixion” (Matthew 26:2).

Yeshua’s execution was a foregone conclusion. Not only had Yeshua told them on more than one occasion, 1 Peter 1:20 reminds us, “He was foreknown before the foundation of the world.” The plan of salvation had been set in motion long before Matthew, Moses, or Adam.

Yet with every perfect work of God, the Adversary of our souls contrives counterfeits to distract and derail men and women of otherwise good conscience. Out of this divine promise that “the Son of Man is to be delivered up for crucifixion” came the fabricated lie of the Jews as “Christ Killers,” a bitter root in Church history that has defiled too many for too long. This deceit became a rationalization for the Church to persecute the Jewish people and remains a blot on our religious history that should not be overlooked or forgotten.

As Jewish men, women, and children were marched into Nazi concentration camps, they read signs that said, “You killed our God, now we kill you.” Even today, some still live who read those signs in their lifetime and have endured “Christian” hatred.

Does Messiah pay taxes? Journey through the Gospel to the Hebrews with Kevin Williams and find out.

The Olivet Discourse can be compared to a fine painting by one of the masters. That might sound odd, but everyone can look at the same piece of artwork from very different perspectives with opinions that range from matters of personal taste to the highly educated evaluation of each individual brush stroke. Eschatology is much the same.

With so many end-time theories and theologies from which to formulate an opinion, this portion of Scripture can be very polarizing. When you consider the views on how the end times will unfold: from pre-tribulation, mid-tribulation, pre-wrath, and post tribulation theories, as well as amillennial doctrines—the palette is loaded with numerous hues and tones. Many love God’s Masterpiece—His picture of the last days—but everyone does not appreciate it equally or from a singular perspective.

This series, The Secret Codes in Matthew, operates on the premise that Matthew’s gospel was written as evidence to the Jewish people that Yeshua (Jesus) was the long-awaited Messiah of Israel. It is with that continuing premise in mind that Matthew 24 is examined, attempting to understand Yeshua’s words as his contemporaries did.

How the rapture will or will not occur, or in the preterists’ case “already occurred” will not be discussed here, but rather will be left to others. For this author, how things unfold are keenly interesting but minimally important. The crux of the life of a disciple is to “seek first His kingdom and His righteousness,” to “love the lord your God with all your heart, and with all your soul, and with all your mind” (Matthew 22:37),¹ and to “love your neighbor as yourself” (Matthew 22:39), all of which—of course—are timeless principles established millennia before in the Old Testament. Being occupied means that when the events of Matthew 24 arrive—whatever your theological bent—you will be found faithful.

___

And Jesus answered and said to them, “See to it that no one misleads you. For many will come in My name, saying, ‘I am the Christ,’ and will mislead many” (Matthew 24:4-5).

It is interesting to note that some of our Christian brethren 500 years ago—in the throes of the Reformation—viewed this passage thusly: “The Church will have a continual conflict with infinite miseries and offences, and furthermore, with false prophets, until the day of victory and triumph comes.”² Indeed, with 1,500 years behind them already, these commentators—already in the thick of polarizing change that shook the foundations of Europe—were experiencing the truths of some of Yeshua’s prophecies in Matthew 24 on a daily basis.

In this installment of this unique commentary on the Gospel to the Hebrews, Yeshua asks His examiners a question, “What do you think about the Christ, whose son is He?”

Now while the Pharisees were gathered together, Jesus asked them a question, saying, “What do you think about the Christ, whose son is He?”

They said to Him, “The son of David.”

He said to them, “Then how does David in the Spirit call Him ‘Lord,’ saying, ‘The Lord said to My Lord, “Sit at My right hand, until I put Thine enemies beneath Thy feet”’?

“If David then calls Him ‘Lord,’ how is He His son?” And no one was able to answer Him a word, nor did anyone dare from that day on to ask Him another question (Matthew 22:41-46).

As we begin part 18 with a cunning yet indirect declaration of Jesus’ messiahship, it seems prudent to remember the purpose of this series. Matthew is out to demonstrate that this man from Galilee was the long awaited Messiah of Israel. His gospel is written for the Jewish people to help them discover the reality of their Redeemer.

Here are a few thoughts on what transpires as Yeshua (Jesus) artfully dissuades the Pharisees from troubling Him with more questions.

First, Yeshua gives us an insight into the character of King David when He states that David was “in the Spirit.” That is an interesting commentary on the 110th Psalm. The Old Testament text does not say that David was “in the Spirit,” but the Messiah—the Word made flesh—clearly establishes that the King of Israel was “in the Spirit.” There is no argument on this point from the Pharisees. Those who might criticize the Pharisees for being “non-spiritual,” need to understand that they do not make Yeshua’s commentary a point of contention. There appears to be a tacit agreement that a person could/can be “in the Spirit.” For those of us today, it also helps establish that before the giving the Holy Spirit at Pentecost, there were those who could operate “in the Spirit.”

Next, Yeshua is an artful asker of questions—a very Jewish trait. In our society we have a tendency to talk more than we ask; we lecture more than we engage. In the Hebrew culture—then as well as now—this is not so. The Messiah asks an easy question, “What do you think about the Messiah, whose son is He?” This question is one to which all Jewish people knew the answer, regardless of religious sect. The Messiah (Christos in the Greek) will be the son of David. There is no argument here and thus Yeshua paints these learned men into a proverbial corner.

Does Messiah pay taxes? Journey through the Gospel to the Hebrews with Kevin Williams and find out.

And Jesus answered and spoke to them again in parables, saying, “The kingdom of heaven may be compared …” (Matthew 22:1-2).

One consistent theme to Yeshua’s (Jesus’) ministry in the book of Matthew is the reality of the Kingdom of heaven. We do well to remember, that from the moment he walked out from his 40 days in the Judean wilderness he taught, “Repent, for the kingdom of heaven is at hand (Matthew 4:17).” The sovereignty of the Most High God was never a question. The validity and continuity of God’s revealed Word was not up for debate. The authority of the Kingdom was never doubted.

Rather, the manifest presence of the Kingdom of Heaven  was dearly desired by many Hebrews in those days—as well as today. The yearning was that God would establish His kingdom on earth, and that all the nations of the gentiles would be brought under His banner.

In both Yochanan’s (John’s) and Yeshua’s preaching the reason for urgency to repent is that the Kingdom of Heaven is near. The concept of the Kingdom of God is crucial to understanding the Bible. It refers neither to a place nor to a time, but to a condition in which the rulership of God is acknowledged by humankind.¹

We see this zealous belief reiterated in Yeshua’s disciples: “And so when they had come together, they were asking Him, saying, “Lord, is it at this time You are restoring the kingdom to Israel?” (Acts 1:6). Many believers look forward to the day of Messiah’s return, and the complete and absolute establishment of God’s Kingdom here on earth.

And yet “Thy Kingdom come …” drones throughout congregations in the western world in countless churches, denominations, and services. I say it “drones” because it has been said so many times, recited for so many years, and reiterated without conscious thought, that the words have lost their vigor.

Fearful it would be if the kingdom of God were in fact to come and settle on this green globe we call home. Many of the sins we enjoy so liberally would come home to roost in profound and terrible ways. The words “Thy Kingdom come” flow so swiftly from our mouths. Yet, the kingdom we are praying for would bring such change that many, I fear, would scarcely know how to cope. The Kingdom of God on earth means that the Judge is in our midst. His unswerving intolerance for sin would be the rule of the land.

If we read Ezekiel, the coming of the Kingdom of God means that the Temple will be restored, with all its injunctions, requirements, tithes, festivals and sacrifices. How many have even paused to contemplate what that would mean to their daily lives?

The coming Kingdom of God brings with it a level of accountability undreamed of by most, with the Messiah seated on His throne as the conquering King. Are we really ready to bend the knee, not merely in a Sunday-go-to-meetin’ kind of way, but in a manner that is wrought with submission in service to the One True King?

Does Messiah pay taxes? Journey through the Gospel to the Hebrews with Kevin Williams and find out.

And when they had approached Jerusalem and had come to Bethphage, to the Mount of Olives, then Jesus sent two disciples, saying to them, “Go into the village opposite you, and immediately you will find a donkey tied there and a colt with her; untie them, and bring them to Me. “And if anyone says something to you, you shall say, ‘The Lord has need of them,’ and immediately he will send them” (Mathew 21:1-3).

In Part One of The Secret Codes in Matthew, and nearly every volume since this study began, the assertion was made that the apostle Matthew wrote this gospel as a testimony to the Jewish people. The assumption when we first began was that this born anew tax collector wanted the Hebrews to recognize the Messiah of Israel in his text. The series’ title—The Secret Codes in Matthew—intimates that there are aspects of this book that, unless viewed from a Jewish perspective, remain secret to Gentile eyes.

The same is true in the passage above. Within Judaism of the day, there was great anticipation for the coming of the Messiah. Their theology taught that the Messiah might come on a white horse, in which case he would arrive as a victorious king. However, they also believed that he might arrive riding on a donkey, in which case, Israel would have been judged unworthy.

“Rabbi Alexandra said, ‘Rabbi Y’hoshua set two verses against each other; it is written, “And behold, one like to the son of man came with the clouds of heaven” (Daniel 7:13), while elsewhere it is written, “See, your king comes unto you, … humbly riding on a donkey” (Zecharaiah 9;9). [He resolved the paradox by saying that] if they deserve it [he will come] with the clouds of heaven, but if not, lowly and riding on an ass.’” (Sanhedrin 98a).

In other words, if the Messiah were to arrive on a donkey, Israel would not deserve him. From our vantage, we might agree with great vigor, citing example after example of her transgressions. However, it would be wiser—and more harmonious with the will of the Holy Spirit—to ask ourselves if we deserved Him when He came to us? If the answer is “no” (as it should be), then we might be better served to join our Jewish brethren, arm-in-arm and in our sin, to greet the only One worthy to cleanse us of our collective iniquity.

To believe that Israel first needed to be worthy—either among the Jewish or Gentile peoples of the world—would supercede the Messiah’s divinely appointed purpose. A redeemed people would have no need of a Redeemer. Yeshua (Jesus) said it best when he said to them, “It is not those who are healthy who need a physician, but those who are sick; I did not come to call the righteous, but sinners” (Mark 2:17). May his name be praised for His goodness toward us!

So the Messiah’s arrival on the colt of a donkey fit perfectly with the Jewish religious thought of the day. They were not worthy—as none of us could claim to be.

Yeshua’s selection of a donkey and her colt not only found them unworthy by their own theology, but the colt may be significant for another reason. In David Stern’s Jewish New Testament Commentary, he writes, “Perhaps Mattityahu [Matthew] mentions two donkeys for a different reason, namely, to emphasize the immaturity of the colt, too young to be separated from its mother” (p. 62, brackets mine). This would indeed, be a lowly and unclean animal. Not at all a steed worthy of the King of kings.

Forgiveness. Fidelity. Laying on of hands. Kevin Williams puts these and other teachings of Jesus in their context, pulling back the veil of history and culture that is now far removed from us.

Then Peter came and said to Him, “Lord, how often shall my brother sin against me and I forgive men? Up to seven times?” (Matthew 18:21).

So begins the thorny issue of forgiveness. There are many views and many practices regarding forgiveness today. What we shall attempt to do here is to examine the issue from a biblical perspective and prayerfully, enrich our own understanding.

Peter’s question about forgiving someone up to seven times may have seemed quite magnanimous from his own perspective. The practice of the day was to forgive someone up to three times:

For they pardon a man once, that sins against another; secondly, they pardon him; thirdly, they pardon him; fourthly, they do not pardon him”¹

Our hero Peter likely feels he has gone above and beyond the call of duty by offering to forgive someone seven times! This contrasts Genesis 4:15 very well. Cain had killed his brother Abel and had been judged by God. Now he worried that others would try and kill him. But God decreed, “Therefore whoever kills Cain, vengeance will be taken upon him sevenfold.” By Peter’s era, it was common to take a negative in the Bible and give it a positive application. In other words, if vengeance should be sevenfold, then in contrast forgiveness ought to be sevenfold. Peter was likely quite proud of his conclusion.

But Yeshua (Jesus²) sees things differently. Just as Genesis 4:24 goes beyond sevenfold, “If Cain is avenged sevenfold, then Lamech seventy-sevenfold,” Yeshua goes even beyond Peter’s simple seven.

Jesus said to him, “I do not say to you, up to seven times, but up to seventy times seven” (Matthew 18:22).

For many disciples, this statement by Yeshua, left to stand on its own, seems to present a cart blanche obligation for Bible believers to forgive those who sin without requiring any repentance on the sinner’s behalf. There are many respected teachers who say that forgiveness is an obligation placed upon believers, a mark of their status as citizens of the kingdom of God, and the only healthy means to exist in a fallen world.

As reasonable as this might sound, it is not exactly the example the Bible lays out for us. If it were, who would ever need to come to faith in the Messiah? When men and women come to faith, there is recognition of their sin, recognition of the penalty of that sin, and a conscious decision to repent and ask forgiveness. It is at this point that God is moved with compassion and mercy is poured out. This is how the fullness of genuine forgiveness is exercised.

This was similarly true in the period of the tabernacle and temple. Individuals came to make their sin and guilt offerings, specific sacrifices intended to heal the rift sin had created between them and God. God did not need the fat of the lamb or the blood of the goats—God needs nothing. The sacrifices were (supposed to be) an active act on the part of the sinner to recognize their sin, its penalty, and to make a conscious decision to repent and ask forgiveness. This was not limited to three, seven, or seventy-times seven times. This divine freedom was available to the sinner every moment, of every day, of every year.

So the established and God-given biblical pattern was repent first and then be forgiven: a pattern repeated in the New Testament as both John the Baptist and Yeshua preach, “repent, for the kingdom of God is at hand.”