There used to be 18 prayers in the Amidah and then one was added
against the "minim", those disloyal Jews who were accused
of changing to a new religion.
On
the other hand, Yeshua himself had a great problem with the teachers
of Rabbinic Judaism. He constantly argued with them. In the sermon
on the mountain, he repeated over and over," you have heard
that the ancients say…but I say to you."
In
both cases, man has changed G-d's message and replaced it for their
own purposes. In D'varim 13 Moses warns us to not add nor subtract
anything from the Word of G-d, a repeat of D'varim 4:2.
Our
Rabbis having compiled the "Sheveh al Peh the Oral Torah, a
commentary of Torah along with their stories and legends and they
have given it more authority than the Torah itself. Their own opinion
now carries more weight than the Word of G-d. Yeshua came and argued
with the religious Jews of the day and they didn't appreciate what
he had to say. Yeshua never had problems with the regular Jews who
followed him by the thousands hungering for his teachings.
It
is important to know that it is man who invents religious doctrines
imposing their own opinions in trying to explain what they think
are contradictions in the Scriptures or what they simply to not
understand. Whenever we become smarter that G-d, we add another
mistake, which is similar to telling a lie. It always takes more
lies to cover up the first one.
How
many Christian sects exist today? Years ago, the Baptists alone
wrote that there were 1777 Baptist sects. Add to that the Pentecostal,
Protestant, Catholic sects. New groups are popping up every day
who say that they have the truth.
In
Judaism, there are 4 basic groups Orthodox, Conservative, Reform
and Reconstruction and we also have many sects; however it does
not have a bad connotation as it does in Christianity. It simply
means that we are following the teachings of our own rabbis. When
Yeshua came, he didn't start a new religion, he simply had his own
sect within Judaism as was the custom.
For
2000 years, the other religion has been telling us that being a
Jew is wrong; that we have to convert to their religion to believe
in their god. Judaism of course, reacted to this message. In D'varim
13: 2-12, Moses clearly tells us that if a prophet arises who tells
us to go after other gods we are to kill them. Reading this portion
we get a better understanding of why our people react against anyone
who is Jewish and who says that he/she has changed religions.
It
is a sad story that arose at the time of the Roman destruction of
Jerusalem. Rabbi Akiva proclaimed that the Bar Kociba, was the messiah
and renamed him Bar Kochba (son of the star). The Messianic Jews
had been warned about this by Yeshua and were told to escape to
the mountains of Petra. They would not fight along side of a false
messiah and from that time on they become "minim" and
traitors.
Emperor
Constantine then made Christianity the legal religion, outlawing
Judaism. The persecution of the Jews who were their competitors
became the reality of the day. John Chrysostom, the early church
father wrote "the only good Jew is a dead Jew" leading
the way for the anti-Semitism of Martin Luther and Hitler. Anti-Semitism
is a product of hatred due to some who think that they are protecting
G-d.
There
are three principles I would like to bring to you concerning…
1) You
cannot protect or defend G-d. He does not need your
defense.
2) Before you bring any god into your home, be sure he is
the true G-d.
3) The majority does not dictate truth or what is right.
When
Yeshua fought the religious establishment, he was battling the majority.
As a Messianic Jew, my greatest battle comes when I question the
principles of the organization I am serving.
For
2000 years we Jews have had a gospel preached to us that if we don't
accept a foreign god, we are dead and going to hell. The Inquisition
did that. We were tortured to the point of death and finally those
who said that they accepted their Jesus Christ were given a quick
death. At least the soul would be in heaven. We often see that a
converted Jew becomes a worse fanatic than one who is born into
that religion. Sadly enough, the founder of the Inquisition was
Tomas de Torquemada whose grandmother was a Jewess. Pablo Christiani
who held the famous disputation with Rabbi Nachmanides was born
to a pious Jewish family and converted to Catholicism during the
13th century.
In
this congregation, I am not preaching a religion to you. Religion
is man-made. What I want us to learn is the true "Derech ha
Chaim" the way of life; true Emunah is walking with the G-d
of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob. There are many things which are written
which we don't understand but it doesn't mean that we don't believe
it. I have studied and taught about electricity as professor of
thermodynamics but until today I cannot understand it nor explain
it.
Socrates
said. "What I know is that I don't know anything". The
smartest people are very humble. They know that G-d is love and
that He does what He wants to do. Who are we to contend with G-d?
I
believe that Yeshua was sent to live among us, to show us the way
to live, to die for us so that our sin could be forgiven; he resurrected
and that he will be coming back.
It
is my prayer that we can receive this message and be transformed.
Some of us are still holding on to our own truths instead of G-d's
Truth. We have accepted these truths because someone told them to
us instead of verifying it in G-d's Word. It is like believing an
old wife's tale. Many doctrines which you have accepted are simply
not Biblical. Pray that G-d would cleanse your hearts to serve Him
more faithfully. Where are your idols?
I
am tired of religious people who constantly tell me how wrong I
am and how right they are. Is there anyone of you who has not sinned?
Sin is not only what is obvious and lust is more than sex and good.
What vice are you hooked to? TV? Work? Complaining? Video games?
Sin is sin and we need help from G-d and to be in constant relation
with Him. It is a daily struggle.
G-d
did not choose us because we were good or because we responded to
Him. He knew us and chose us long before the foundations of the
earth. He loved us first; He died for us before we knew Him. Be
careful not to buy a foreign religion…it won't save you. Know
that Truth, and the Truth shall set you free.
Rabbi
Percy Johnson
Netanel
ben Yochanan
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©
2008 Use by Permission
Kehilat
She’ar Yashuv
