The Path to Freedom: Having Faith God will Deliver Us

As we read the story about Moses receiving the call from God to return to Egypt after being exiled for 40 years in the land of Midian, we witness God’s amazing hand at letting the people of Israel out from the oppression of Pharaoh king of Egypt.

As we read about plague after plague God sends on Pharaoh, his servants and the Egyptians, it can be hard to comprehend the effects of all these afflictions. Can we imagine having gnats, flies and frogs cover the earth?

Frogs over the Land
1Then the Lord said to Moses, “Go to Pharaoh and say to him, ‘Thus says the Lord, “Let My people go, that they may serve Me. 2But if you refuse to let them go, behold, I will smite your whole territory with frogs. 3The Nile will swarm with frogs, which will come up and go into your house and into your bedroom and on your bed, and into the houses of your servants and on your people, and into your ovens and into your kneading bowls. 4So the frogs will come up on you and your people and all your servants.” ’ ” 5Then the Lord said to Moses, “Say to Aaron, ‘Stretch out your hand with your staff over the rivers, over the streams and over the pools, and make frogs come up on the land of Egypt.’ ” 6So Aaron stretched out his hand over the waters of Egypt, and the frogs came up and covered the land of Egypt. 7The magicians did the same with their secret arts, making frogs come up on the land of Egypt.

8Then Pharaoh called for Moses and Aaron and said, “Entreat the Lord that He remove the frogs from me and from my people; and I will let the people go, that they may sacrifice to the Lord.” 9Moses said to Pharaoh, “The honor is yours to tell me: when shall I entreat for you and your servants and your people, that the frogs be destroyed from you and your houses, that they may be left only in the Nile?”

10Then he said, “Tomorrow.” So he said, “May it be according to your word, that you may know that there is no one like the Lord our God. 11The frogs will depart from you and your houses and your servants and your people; they will be left only in the Nile.” 12Then Moses and Aaron went out from Pharaoh, and Moses cried to the Lord concerning the frogs which He had inflicted upon Pharaoh. 13The Lord did according to the word of Moses, and the frogs died out of the houses, the courts, and the fields. 14So they piled them in heaps, and the land became foul. 15But when Pharaoh saw that there was relief, he hardened his heart and did not listen to them, as the Lord had said.

The Plague of Insects
16Then the Lord said to Moses, “Say to Aaron, ‘Stretch out your staff and strike the dust of the earth, that it may become gnats through all the land of Egypt.’ ” 17They did so; and Aaron stretched out his hand with his staff, and struck the dust of the earth, and there were gnats on man and beast. All the dust of the earth became gnats through all the land of Egypt. 18The magicians tried with their secret arts to bring forth gnats, but they could not; so there were gnats on man and beast. 19Then the magicians said to Pharaoh, “This is the finger of God.” But Pharaoh’s heart was hardened, and he did not listen to them, as the Lord had said.

20Now the Lord said to Moses, “Rise early in the morning and present yourself before Pharaoh, as he comes out to the water, and say to him, ‘Thus says the Lord, “Let My people go, that they may serve Me. 21For if you do not let My people go, behold, I will send swarms of flies on you and on your servants and on your people and into your houses; and the houses of the Egyptians will be full of swarms of flies, and also the ground on which they dwell. 22But on that day I will set apart the land of Goshen, where My people are living, so that no swarms of flies will be there, in order that you may know that I, the Lord, am in the midst of the land. 23I will put a division between My people and your people. Tomorrow this sign will occur.” ’ ” 24Then the Lord did so. And there came great swarms of flies into the house of Pharaoh and the houses of his servants and the land was laid waste because of the swarms of flies in all the land of Egypt. (Exodus 8:1-24)

Can we imagine having intense storms with hail and lightning which have not been seen in Egypt before?
The Plague of Hail
18Behold, about this time tomorrow, I will send a very heavy hail, such as has not been seen in Egypt from the day it was founded until now. 19Now therefore send, bring your livestock and whatever you have in the field to safety. Every man and beast that is found in the field and is not brought home, when the hail comes down on them, will die.” ’ ” 20The one among the servants of Pharaoh who feared the word of the Lord made his servants and his livestock flee into the houses; 21but he who paid no regard to the word of the Lord left his servants and his livestock in the field.

22Now the Lord said to Moses, “Stretch out your hand toward the sky, that hail may fall on all the land of Egypt, on man and on beast and on every plant of the field, throughout the land of Egypt.” 23Moses stretched out his staff toward the sky, and the Lord sent thunder and hail, and fire ran down to the earth. And the Lord rained hail on the land of Egypt. 24So there was hail, and fire flashing continually in the midst of the hail, very severe, such as had not been in all the land of Egypt since it became a nation. 25The hail struck all that was in the field through all the land of Egypt, both man and beast; the hail also struck every plant of the field and shattered every tree of the field. 26Only in the land of Goshen, where the sons of Israel were, there was no hail. (Exodus 9:18-26)


Can we imagine living for three days in complete darkness?
Darkness over the Land
21Then the Lord said to Moses, “Stretch out your hand toward the sky, that there may be darkness over the land of Egypt, even a darkness which may be felt.” 22So Moses stretched out his hand toward the sky, and there was thick darkness in all the land of Egypt for three days. 23They did not see one another, nor did anyone rise from his place for three days, but all the sons of Israel had light in their dwellings. (Exodus 9:21-23)

No, most of these plagues are beyond our ability to imagine. We whine and complain when our phone does not work or the internet goes down—things which Pharaoh and the Egyptians would never ever consider a necessity.

And then there came the final plague—the death of the firstborn.
The Last Plague
1Now the Lord said to Moses, “One more plague I will bring on Pharaoh and on Egypt; after that he will let you go from here. When he lets you go, he will surely drive you out from here completely. 2Speak now in the hearing of the people that each man ask from his neighbor and each woman from her neighbor for articles of silver and articles of gold.” 3The Lord gave the people favor in the sight of the Egyptians. Furthermore, the man Moses himself was greatly esteemed in the land of Egypt, both in the sight of Pharaoh’s servants and in the sight of the people.

4Moses said, “Thus says the Lord, ‘About midnight I am going out into the midst of Egypt, 5and all the firstborn in the land of Egypt shall die, from the firstborn of the Pharaoh who sits on his throne, even to the firstborn of the slave girl who is behind the millstones; all the firstborn of the cattle as well. 6Moreover, there shall be a great cry in all the land of Egypt, such as there has not been before and such as shall never be again. 7But against any of the sons of Israel a dog will not even bark, whether against man or beast, that you may understand how the Lord makes a distinction between Egypt and Israel.’ (Exodus 11:1-7)

29Now it came about at midnight that the Lord struck all the firstborn in the land of Egypt, from the firstborn of Pharaoh who sat on his throne to the firstborn of the captive who was in the dungeon, and all the firstborn of cattle. 30Pharaoh arose in the night, he and all his servants and all the Egyptians, and there was a great cry in Egypt, for there was no home where there was not someone dead. 31Then he called for Moses and Aaron at night and said, “Rise up, get out from among my people, both you and the sons of Israel; and go, worship the Lord, as you have said. 32Take both your flocks and your herds, as you have said, and go, and bless me also.” (Exodus 12:29-32)

When the Israelites are preserved if they put the blood of a lamb on their doorposts and remain inside their dwelling, a great victory comes to the Israelites. Despite this triumph, it is recorded in Jewish literature, only 20% of the Israelites leave Egypt. Yes, that’s right. It is recorded 4 our of every 5 Israelites remain behind in Egypt. Despite God’s many wonders, it was easier to remain in the land of slavery than to leave the comfort and safety of the unknown to travel to freedom.

Fleeing from the enemy; pushed up against the sea
After God delivers Israel from the hand of Pharaoh, the Israelites travel into the wilderness. Before they are able to completely escape the clutches of Pharaoh, the find themselves trapped between the sea of Reeds and Pharaoh’s army. The situation looks bleak. God did 10 incredible miracles and now everything is going to end. If the Israelites are captured, they will be executed by Pharaoh and his army. There seems to be no hope.

10As Pharaoh drew near, the sons of Israel looked, and behold, the Egyptians were marching after them, and they became very frightened; so the sons of Israel cried out to the Lord. 11Then they said to Moses, “Is it because there were no graves in Egypt that you have taken us away to die in the wilderness? Why have you dealt with us in this way, bringing us out of Egypt? 12Is this not the word that we spoke to you in Egypt, saying, ‘Leave us alone that we may serve the Egyptians’? For it would have been better for us to serve the Egyptians than to die in the wilderness.”

The Sea Is Divided
13But Moses said to the people, “Do not fear! Stand by and see the salvation of the Lord which He will accomplish for you today; for the Egyptians whom you have seen today, you will never see them again forever. 14The Lord will fight for you while you keep silent.”

15Then the Lord said to Moses, “Why are you crying out to Me? Tell the sons of Israel to go forward. 16As for you, lift up your staff and stretch out your hand over the sea and divide it, and the sons of Israel shall go through the midst of the sea on dry land. 17As for Me, behold, I will harden the hearts of the Egyptians so that they will go in after them; and I will be honored through Pharaoh and all his army, through his chariots and his horsemen. 18Then the Egyptians will know that I am the Lord, when I am honored through Pharaoh, through his chariots and his horsemen.”

19The angel of God, who had been going before the camp of Israel, moved and went behind them; and the pillar of cloud moved from before them and stood behind them. 20So it came between the camp of Egypt and the camp of Israel; and there was the cloud along with the darkness, yet it gave light at night. Thus the one did not come near the other all night.

21Then Moses stretched out his hand over the sea; and the Lord swept the sea back by a strong east wind all night and turned the sea into dry land, so the waters were divided. 22The sons of Israel went through the midst of the sea on the dry land, and the waters were like a wall to them on their right hand and on their left. 23Then the Egyptians took up the pursuit, and all Pharaoh’s horses, his chariots and his horsemen went in after them into the midst of the sea. 24At the morning watch, the Lord looked down on the army of the Egyptians through the pillar of fire and cloud and brought the army of the Egyptians into confusion. 25He caused their chariot wheels to swerve, and He made them drive with difficulty; so the Egyptians said, “Let us flee from Israel, for the Lord is fighting for them against the Egyptians.”
26Then the Lord said to Moses, “Stretch out your hand over the sea so that the waters may come back over the Egyptians, over their chariots and their horsemen.” 27So Moses stretched out his hand over the sea, and the sea returned to its normal state at daybreak, while the Egyptians were fleeing right into it; then the Lord overthrew the Egyptians in the midst of the sea. 28The waters returned and covered the chariots and the horsemen, even Pharaoh’s entire army that had gone into the sea after them; not even one of them remained. 29But the sons of Israel walked on dry land through the midst of the sea, and the waters were like a wall to them on their right hand and on their left.

30Thus the Lord saved Israel that day from the hand of the Egyptians, and Israel saw the Egyptians dead on the seashore. 31When Israel saw the great power which the Lord had used against the Egyptians, the people feared the Lord, and they believed in the Lord and in His servant Moses. (Exodus 14:10-31)

Verse 31 seems to be a poignant one. The Israelites only began believing in God once the Sea of Reeds was parted and God drowned their enemies. This seems unbelievable to many people. How could God do so many miracles, and yet, the Israelites had so little faith?

The answer is that they were hardened under the harsh hand of slavery. They lived in constant fear. The Egyptians punished them and treated them cruelly. It is often easier to stay in an abusive relationship than to flee to safety because there is comfort in the known, even if that comfort comes at a high cost.

For the Israelites, being rescued from Egypt was still not enough. Throughout the 40 years in the wilderness, the Israelites constantly whined and complained to Moses that it would have been better for them to stay in bondage in Egypt. Do we do the same thing? Does God rescue us from oppression and then we lament to God how hard our life is?

Often freedom comes at a high price. We must travel on an unfamiliar path. We must be brave and be willing to fail. We must trust God and know that even if it takes 40 years to reach the Promised Land, God is faithful. He will not break His oath. He will guide us and lead us.

The Woman with the Issue of Blood

Introduction
As Jesus travels across Israel, He performs numerous miracles. Some of these incredible feats are recorded for us in Scripture. Others have been lost to history. While it is easy to gloss over many of the details of these events, it is important to carefully dissect every word written. Parchment is expensive. Few used to know how to write. Whatever was written down in our blessed Bible is there for a reason. We should be diligent students to read and understand how each word, each detail gives us great insight into our Messiah's teachings. If we truly take the time to unpack the layers and layers of meaning behind each story, we will find a rich multitude of treasures.

The woman with the issue of blood is told is three separate narratives in Matthew 9:20-22, Mark 5:25-34 and Luke 8:43-48. Each telling gives us different insight into the story. Although all three stories are about the same miraculous healing, they each present the story with different details and information.  Like interviewing witnesses to a historic event, we will find each narrative has a unique flavor and perception. To get a full picture, we need to read each narrative.

The Scripture
Matthew 9:20-22
And a woman who had been suffering from a hemorrhage for twelve years, came up behind Him and touched the fringe of His cloak; for she was saying to herself, "If I only touch His garment, I will get well." But Jesus turning and seeing her said, "Daughter, take courage; your faith has made you well." At once the woman was made well.


Mark 5:25-34
A woman who had had a hemorrhage for twelve years, and had endured much at the hands of many physicians, and had spent all that she had and was not helped at all, but rather had grown worse--after hearing about Jesus, she came up in the crowd behind Him and touched his cloaked. For she thought, "If I just touch His garments, I will get well." Immediately the flow of her blood was dried up; and she felt in her body that she was healed of her affliction. Immediately Jesus, perceiving in Himself that the power proceeding from Him had gone forth, turned around in the crowd and said, "Who touched My garments?" And His disciples said to Him, "You see the crowd pressing in on You, and You say, 'Who touched me?'" And He looked around to see the woman who had done this. But the woman fearing and trembling, aware of what had happened to her, came and fell down before Him and told Him the whole truth. And He said to her, "Daughter, your faith has made you well; go in peace and be healed of your affliction."

Luke 8:43-48
And a woman who had a hemorrhage for twelve years, and could not be healed by anyone, came up behind Him and touched the fringe of His cloak, and immediately her hemorrhage stopped. And Jesus said, "Who is the one who touched Me?" And while they were all denying it, Peter said, "Master, the people are crowding and pressing in on You." But Jesus said, "Someone did touch Me, for I was aware that power had gone out of Me." When the woman saw that she had not escaped notice, she came trembling and fell down before Him, and declared in the presence of all the people the reason why she had touched Him, and how she had been immediately healed. And He said to her, "Daughter, your faith had made you well; go in peace."


Exploring the text
A certain woman: In many Bible translations, the word "certain" is omitted from the text. However, this is an important word. It means this woman was not a stranger. She was a woman known to the authors. All three accounts have the same wording, "a certain woman". Hence, we can be sure this woman was known to many in the Jewish community. In many of Jesus' story, names are not given. Although we can wonder why we do not know this woman's name, we can be grateful we do not have her name. Without a name, this story can be expanded to include many folks with various medical conditions similar to this woman's. Without knowing this woman's name, we can insert our name or a loved one's name into the story. Although this woman's identity was known at the time, its concealment allows us to imagine and present this story as a means of hope for those going through trying medical ordeals.


Blood: Blood is an immensely important concept in Scripture. We are told, "The life of the flesh is in the blood" (Leviticus 17:11) and "For as for the life of all flesh, its blood is identified with its life" (Leviticus 17:14). Thus, we can see from Scripture, blood is connected with life.

Now this certain woman had an irregularity with her blood. She was bleeding for 12 years. Although I have no concrete evidence for this, I am going to tell you this woman's issue of blood symbolizes the woman was dead. Immediately preceding all three narratives, we are told a man named Jairus, who has a little girl at the point of death. The story about the little girl, who happens to be 12 years old, is interrupted by this woman with a blood issue who also happens to be afflicted for 12 years. When the woman is healed, we are immediately told Jairus's daughter dies. We can extrapolate from this, when the woman's blood issue is resolved, i.e., she is brought back to life, the 12 year old girl perishes. The woman's issue of blood was as though she was living the life of a dead person.


An issue of blood: In the Torah (the first five books of the Bible--Genesis, Exodus, Leviticus, Numbers and Deuteronomy), there are specific rules and guidelines one must follow concerning various conditions. One of these conditions specifically laid out is a woman who is bleeding. In Leviticus 15:19-30, we read the following:

"When a woman has a discharge, if her discharge in her body is blood, she shall continue in her menstrual impurity for seven days; and whoever touches her shall be unclean until evening. Everything also on which she lies during her menstrual impurity shall be unclean, and everything on which she sits shall be unclean. Anyone who touches her bed shall wash his clothes and bathe in water and be unclean until evening. Whoever touches any thing on which she sits shall wash his clothes and bathe in water and be unclean until evening. Whether it be on the bed or on the thing on which she is sitting, when he touches it, he shall be unclean until evening. If a man actually lies with her so that her menstrual impurity is on him, he shall be unclean seven days, and every bed on which he lies shall be unclean.

Now if a woman has a discharge of her blood many days, not at the period of her menstrual impurity, or if she has a discharge beyond that period, all the days of her impure discharge she shall continue as though in her menstrual impurity; she is unclean. Any bed on which she lies all the days of her discharge shall be to her like her bed at menstruation; and every thing on which she sits shall be unclean, like her uncleanness at that time. Likewise, whoever touches them shall be unclean and shall wash his clothes and bathe in water and be unclean until evening.

When she becomes clean from her discharge, she shall count off from herself seven days; and afterward she will be clean. Then on the eighth day she shall take for herself two turtledoves or two young pigeons and bring them to the priest, to the doorway of the tent of meeting. The priest shall offer one for a sin offering and the other for a burnt offering. So the priest shall make atonement on her behalf before the LORD because of her impure discharge." (Leviticus 15:19-30)

Unclean
Before we examine the above text, first we need to know what it means to be unclean. To be unclean is not a sin. It is simply a state of not being pure. When one was unclean, he had the ability to make others unclean. Think of uncleanness like a piece of fruit covered in mud. If you place the dirty fruit next to a clean piece of fruit, if the two touch, the clean fruit will now become dirty. The only way both can become clean is by washing them off in water.

This same concept applies to people being unclean. If a person is unclean and touches a clean person, now the clean person is unclean. The only way for the person to get clean who became unclean by contact with an unclean person (or the unclean person's belongings) is by washing and waiting a set period of time. Now there is nothing physical which is being washed off. It is a spiritual cleansing, although it is done in water. The process is called mikvah in Hebrew, baptizo in Greek. In English, baptizo is transliterated into English as baptize. (When John the Baptist was calling people to be immersed in the Jordan River, this was not a new concept. The Hebrews were already familiar with this process as they "mikvah" when they are in a state of spiritual uncleanness.)

Moreover, being unclean does NOT mean you have sinned! The woman with the issue of blood touches Jesus. Although Jesus is now unclean, He has NOT sinned. He does not need to bring a sin offering to the Temple. Uncleanness is simply a state in which a person must ritually wash and wait a set period of time before being clean. Being unclean has nothing to do with physical dirt or sin.

Isolation
You can see from the guidelines given in Leviticus 15, if a woman was unclean due to her menstrual blood, people would stay away from her (otherwise they would be unclean). Perhaps in today's society, it would not be a big deal to be unclean and have to take a shower, launder our clothes in the washing machine and wait until evening to become clean. However, in ancient times, this endeavor would have been a tiresome process. Water would have to be draw from a well or cistern and carried to the home. The water would need to be heated and doled out into various tubs--one for the clothes and one for yourself. It would have been an energy and time consuming process. And to think you have to do this EVERY TIME you touched the unclean person or the unclean person's belongings.

One could say, "Well, I am not going through this process. I will just stay in a state of uncleanness." One could do this. However, you MUST BE CLEAN to go to the Temple, share in the Temple sacrifices and gather with others for the feasts. So, a person living with the woman with the issue of blood could stay unclean for most of the year, but there would be specific times in which the woman would be abandoned by even her closest family and friends in order for them to stay clean.

Moreover, the woman, since was was in a constant state of uncleanness, could not for 12 years go to any religious gathering. She would have been barred from the Temple, excluded for all holidays and would not have been able to join in for circumcision, bar-mitzvahs, weddings or any other life cycle event which would include the presence of a religious official. The woman with the issue of blood would have been a social outcast. She would spend her days at home with few, if any, visitors. Although she was physically alive, she was socially dead.

Marriage relations
The woman with the issue of blood would have had very strained marriage relations. If she was married when this blood issue arose, her husband would have had a bad relationship with his wife. The woman, since she was having menstrual bleeding, would not have been able to become pregnant. A male child was the family's insurance policy the family name and the fortune would continue into the future. Without an heir, specifically a male heir, the woman had no guarantee of her future when her husband died. Israel had no social welfare system. If you did not have a son to provide and care for you, whenever your husband ceased to exist, the woman would have been forced to the streets as a beggar.

Also, the since the woman was constantly bleeding, her husband could not lay in the same bed with her without becoming unclean for sever days. It would be a huge inconvenience to figure out if being unclean for the next seven days would affect his ability to celebrate a life cycle event or if he had a need to go to the Temple. Additionally, just living in the same house with the woman meant the man would inevitably be unclean from touching anything his wife touched. If the woman was married before the issue of blood began, her husband probably divorced her.

Moreover, the man could not have sexual relations with the woman without both of them being cut off from society. "If there is a man who lies with a menstruous woman and uncovers her nakedness, he has laid bare her flow, and she has exposed the flow of her blood; thus both of them shall be cut off from among their people" (Leviticus 20:18).

(To be cut off means to be shunned. There would be no communication between the shunned person and his family. The person would be excluded from the nation of Israel.)


Twelve years: As previously stated, the woman was suffering from her affliction for 12 years. We also are told a man named Jairus had a daughter who was 12 years old. One can imagine when Jairus's daughter was born, this woman began suffering from her illness. When we imagine a child being born and growing through their toddler years and into grade school and becoming a preteen, we can grasp how long 12 years of life is. It is not just a number. It is a large amount of time in which a person grows and changes. Although these changes are often hard to see in adults, we do continue to evolve mentally, physically and spiritually. For all the important landmarks of this young girl's life, the woman with the issue of blood would have been alone and abandoned. While the little girl was surrounded by numerous family and friends, the woman was ostracized to the fringes of society. If the woman lived or died, few people would know due to her isolation.


Spent all she had on physicians: In Mark 5:26, we are given precious insight into the woman's finances. What resources she had, she spent every penny on medical cures. She sought after physicians, but she found no relief. She only continued to get worse. This is a very poignant point in the story. The woman desperately wanted to get better. She did not accept her medical situation and do nothing. She went to doctor after doctor looking for a cure. But she found nothing.

My heart breaks reading this verse. I think about all the people I have seen chase from medical professional to medical professional trying to find answers to mysterious medical ailments. They are seeking relief from their symptoms which seem to never end. They desperately want to be well...and yet, healing never comes.

This verse reminds me of Scripture which rebukes us for putting our trust in man. "It is better to take refuge in the LORD than to trust in man. It is better to take refuge in the LORD than to trust in princes" (Psalm 118:8-9). So often we seek out all of man's ways first. When everything else fails, we turn to God.

Instead, we should first come to God with our worries and afflictions. He is our Healer. "Saying, 'If you diligently listen to the voice of the LORD your God, and do that which is right in His eyes, and give ear to his commandments and keep all his statues, I will put none of the diseases on you that I put on the Egyptians, for I am the LORD, your healer'" (Exodus 15:26).

Touching the "fringe" of His garment: This is perhaps one of the most misunderstood verses in all the Gospels. I have seen paintings of a woman kneeling in the dust of the road, reaching through people's feet to touch Jesus' hem of his garment at his ankles. I have heard preachers go on and on about how this woman would have had to crawl on her hands and knees, a true act of servitude, to reach Jesus' garment at his feet. As lovely and idealistic as these images may be, they are all wrong. What is translated in English as "fringe", "border" or "hem" are all trying to capture their idea of tzitzit (tzitziyot in the plural).

Tzitzit
Most Christians are very unfamiliar on the subject of tzitzit. These are strings, usually braided, which hang off the edges of their garments. Usually they are hung from a belt around the waist or attached to the hem of a shirt. They may also be hung off the end of a prayer shawl. Wherever they are attached, they need to be visible to the person wearing them. If the tzitzit were worn around Jesus' ankles, He would not be able to see them. The reason people wear tzitziyot is to remind them of God's commandments. This is all explained in Numbers 15, verses 32 through 41.

"Now while the sons of Israel were in the wilderness, they found a man gathering wood on Shabbat. Those who found him gathering wood brought him to Moses and Aaron and to all the congregation; and they put him in custody because it had not been declared what should be done to him. Then the LORD said to Moses, 'The man shall surely be put to death; all the congregation shall stone him with stones outside the camp.' So all the congregation brought him outside the camp and stoned him to death with stones, just as the LORD had commanded Moses. The LORD also spoke to Moses, saying, 'Speak to the sons of Israel, and tell them that they shall make for themselves tassels on the corners of their garments throughout their generations, and that they shall put on the tassel of each corner a cord of blue. It shall be a tassel for you to look at and remember all the commandments of the LORD, so as to do them and not follow after your own heart and your own eyes, after which you played the harlot, so that you may remember to do all My commandments and be holy to your God. I am the LORD your God who brought you out from the land of Egypt to be your God; I am the LORD your God." (Numbers 15:32-41)

Going back to the woman with the issue of blood, she very likely did not touch the fabric around Jesus' ankles. She most likely touched the tzitzit near his waist. Since the tzitzit are usually four sets of tassels (one tassel on the front right, one tassel on the front left, one tassel on the back right and one tassel on the back left), the woman most likely grabbed one of the tassel sets on the back of Jesus' garment. She could have easily touched it and gone undetected due to the large crowd surrounding Jesus.

Fulfilling Prophecy
She said, "If I but touch his clothes, I will be made well.": The woman with the issue of blood knew Scripture. Specifically, she knew the book of Malachi which includes this prophecy: "But for you who fear My name, the sun of righteousness will rise with healing in its wings; and you will go forth and skip about like calves from the stall" (Malachi 4:2).

A few notes about this text:
In Hebrew, the word translated as "sun" can also be translated as "servant". The "wings" of the garment are the tzitzit. There is no gender neutral in Hebrew. Things are he or she. The text actually translates as "with healing in his wings".

The woman with the issue of blood believes Jesus is the servant of righteousness. She believes if she touches the "wings" (aka, tzitzit), she would receive healing. When Jesus tells her to go, for her faith has made her well, the faith Jesus is speaking about is the woman's acting out and believing the prophecy written down in Malachi 4:2.


Verses about Healing
Psalm 30:2
O LORD my God, I cried unto You, and You have healed me.

Psalm 66:16
Come and hear, all you who fear God, and I will declare what he has done for my soul.

Psalm 103:2-5
Bless the LORD, O my soul, and forget not all His benefits, who forgives all your iniquities, who heals all your disease, who redeems your life from destruction, who crowns you with lovingkindness and tend mercies, who satisfies your mouth with good things so that your youth in renewed like the eagle's.

Bartimaeus: A Blind Man Who Spiritually Sees

In the Gospel of Mark and Luke, we read about a man named Bartimaeus. He is near the city of Jericho. The narrative is short. The man is blind. He cries out to Jesus. Jesus heals the man. A similar story is also told in the Gospel of Matthew. However, in Matthew’s account there are two blind men, and both ask to receive their sight. For this study, we will focus on Mark and Luke’s account.

Mark 10:46-52
46 Then they *came to Jericho. And later, as He was leaving Jericho with His disciples and a large crowd, a beggar who was blind named Bartimaeus, the son of Timaeus, was sitting by the road. 47 And when he heard that it was Jesus the Nazarene, he began to cry out and say, “Jesus, Son of David, have mercy on me!” 48 Many were sternly telling him to be quiet, but he kept crying out all the more, “Son of David, have mercy on me!” 49 And Jesus stopped and said, “Call him here.” So they *called the man who was blind, saying to him, “Take courage, stand up! He is calling for you.” 50 And throwing off his cloak, he jumped up and came to Jesus. 51 And replying to him, Jesus said, “What do you want Me to do for you?” And the man who was blind said to Him, “Rabboni, I want to regain my sight!” 52 And Jesus said to him, “Go; your faith has made you well.” And immediately he regained his sight and began following Him on the road.


Luke 18:35-42
35 Now as Jesus was approaching Jericho, a man who was blind was sitting by the road, begging. 36 But when he heard a crowd going by, he began inquiring what this was. 37 They told him that Jesus of Nazareth was passing by. 38 And he called out, saying, “Jesus, Son of David, have mercy on me!” 39 Those who led the way were sternly telling him to be quiet; but he kept crying out all the more, “Son of David, have mercy on me!” 40 And Jesus stopped and commanded that he be brought to Him; and when he came near, He asked him, 41 “What do you want Me to do for you?” And he said, “Lord, I want to regain my sight!” 42 And Jesus said to him, “Regain your sight; your faith has made you well.” 43 And immediately he regained his sight and began following Him, glorifying God; and when all the people saw it, they gave praise to God.

Bartimaeus

Bartimaeus is two words. It is “bar” which means son and timaeus which is a person’s name. Timaeus is the Latinized form of the Greek name Timaios. Timaios is derived from the word timao, which means to honor. So, Bartimaeus means son of honor.

Jericho
Jericho is located in the West Bank. It is located in the Jordan Valley. The Jordan River lies to the east and Jerusalem is to the west. Since 1967, Jericho has been under Israeli occupation. However, administrative control was handed over to the Palestinian Authority in 1994. It is believed to be one of the oldest inhabited cities in the world. It has the oldest known protective wall in the world. Springs in and around the city have attracted inhabitants to this area for thousands of years.

Jericho is the place where the Israelites crossed over the Jordan River and defeated this city in the Promised Land. Israel sends two spies into the area and they search out Jericho. They find shelter in the home of Rahab the harlot. Rahab is questioned by the city guards as to the whereabouts of the Israeli spies. She lies and says they have left the city. For Rahab’s protection of the spies, she is told to gather her family and friends into her house which is on the city wall. A scarlet cord is placed outside her window. (Joshua 2:1-21)

This is the city in which Israel circled the city for six days. On the seventh day, they circled it seven times, and then God caused the walls of the city to fall. Israel defeated the city. Rahab’s household is saved when Israel attacks the city. (Joshua 6:1-25)

The Importance of Rahab
Rahab married Salmon from the tribe of Judah. They have a son named Boaz. Boaz married a Moabite woman named Ruth. Ruth and Boaz had a son called Obed. Obed had a son named Jesse. Jesse had a son named David. David is a man after God’s own heart. He was the second King of Israel after King Saul.

When Bartimaeus calls Jesus the Son of David, it should not be lost on the reader the importance of Jericho in David’s lineage. David’s great-great grandmother is Rahab from Jericho.

A Blind Man
Blind was and still is today an affliction which often has no cure. Once eye sight is lost, it cannot be regained. Blindness is one medical challenge which is seen as being lifelong.

Being cured from blindness is viewed as being miraculous in the Bible. Once a person lost his sight, there was no hope of regaining it. If a blind person regained his sight, it was often questioned if the person was actually blind to begin with since curing blindness meant a miracle must have occurred.

Having one’s sight restored is often described as something God does as one of His promises when the kingdom is restored.


Psalm 146:8-10
The LORD openeth the eyes of the blind: the LORD raiseth them that are bowed down: the LORD loveth the righteous:

The LORD protects the strangers; He supports the fatherless and the widow, But He thwarts the way of the wicked.

The LORD will reign forever, Your God, O Zion, to all generations. Praise the LORD!


Isaiah 29:18-23
And in that day shall the deaf hear the words of the book, and the eyes of the blind shall see out of obscurity, and out of darkness.

  19The afflicted also will increase their gladness in the LORD,
            And the needy of mankind will rejoice in the Holy One of Israel.
      20 For the ruthless will come to an end and the scorner will be finished,
            Indeed all who are intent on doing evil will be cut off;
      21Who cause a person to be indicted by a word,
            And ensnare him who adjudicates at the gate,
            And defraud the one in the right with meaningless arguments.
      22 Therefore thus says the LORD, who redeemed Abraham, concerning the house of Jacob:
            “Jacob shall not now be ashamed, nor shall his face now turn pale;
      23 But when he sees his children, the work of My hands, in his midst,
            They will sanctify My name;
            Indeed, they will sanctify the Holy One of Jacob
            And will stand in awe of the God of Israel.

Isaiah 32:1-4
1Behold, a king will reign righteously
            And princes will rule justly.
      2 Each will be like a refuge from the wind
            And a shelter from the storm,
            Like streams of water in a dry country,
            Like the shade of a huge rock in a parched land.
      3 Then the eyes of those who see will not be blinded,
            And the ears of those who hear will listen.
      4 T he mind of the hasty will discern the truth,
            And the tongue of the stammerers will hasten to speak clearly.


Isaiah 42:5-8
    5 Thus says God the LORD,
            Who created the heavens and stretched them out,
            Who spread out the earth and its offspring,
            Who gives breath to the people on it
            And spirit to those who walk in it,
      6 “I am the LORD, I have called You in righteousness,
            I will also hold You by the hand and watch over You,
            And I will appoint You as a covenant to the people,
            As a light to the nations,
      7 To open blind eyes,
            To bring out prisoners from the dungeon
            And those who dwell in darkness from the prison.
      8 “I am the LORD, that is My name;
            I will not give My glory to another,
            Nor My praise to graven images.




Son of David
The title, “Son of David” is a messianic title. If someone was thought to be the messiah, they were called the Son of David. This title is taken from 2 Samuel 7, when Nathan tells David a prophecy.

Now it came about, when the king lived in his house, and the Lord had given him rest on every side from all his enemies, 2 that the king said to Nathan the prophet, “See now, I live in a house of cedar, but the ark of God remains within the tent.” 3 Nathan said to the king, “Go, do all that is in your mind, for the Lord is with you.”

4 But in the same night, the word of the Lord came to Nathan, saying, 5 “Go and say to My servant David, ‘This is what the Lord says: “Should you build Me a house for My dwelling? 6 For I have not dwelt in a house since the day I brought up the sons of Israel from Egypt, even to this day; rather, I have been moving about in a tent, that is, in a dwelling place. 7 Wherever I have gone with all the sons of Israel, did I speak a word with one of the tribes of Israel, whom I commanded to shepherd My people Israel, saying, ‘Why have you not built Me a house of cedar?’”’

8 Now then, this is what you shall say to My servant David: ‘This is what the Lord of armies says: “I Myself took you from the pasture, from following the sheep, to be leader over My people Israel. 9 And I have been with you wherever you have gone, and have eliminated all your enemies from you; I will also make a great name for you, like the names of the great men who are on the earth. 10 And I will establish a place for My people Israel, and will plant them, so that they may live in their own place and not be disturbed again, nor will malicious people oppress them anymore as previously, 11 even from the day that I appointed judges over My people Israel; and I will give you rest from all your enemies. The Lord also declares to you that the Lord will make a house for you. 12 When your days are finished and you lie down with your fathers, I will raise up your descendant after you, who will come from you, and I will establish his kingdom. 13 He shall build a house for My name, and I will establish the throne of his kingdom forever. 14 I will be a father to him and he will be a son to Me; when he does wrong, I will discipline him with a rod of men and with strokes of sons of mankind, 15 but My favor shall not depart from him, as I took it away from Saul, whom I removed from you. 16 Your house and your kingdom shall endure before Me forever; your throne shall be established forever.”’” 17 In accordance with all these words and all of this vision, so Nathan spoke to David. (2 Samuel 7:1-17)

The most important verses are 12-15. Note, God says a descendant will come from David, and God will establish His kingdom. He shall build a house for My name, and I will establish his kingdom forever. This means, the person God is going to raise up will be a ruler forever and ever. In other words, Messiah is going to come from King David’s lineage. Also note in verse 14, it says God will be his father and this ruler will be a son of God. When he does wrong, God will discipline him with a rod of men and with strokes of sons of mankind.

Isaiah’s Promise
The prophet promised that one day a new branch would grow up from the old stump of the Davidic dynasty. A new king would arise from the House of David:

“Then a shoot will spring from the stem of Jesse, and a branch from his roots will bear fruit. The Spirit of the LORD will rest on Him, the spirit of wisdom and understanding, the spirit of counsel and strength, the spirit of knowledge and the fear of the LORD.” (Isaiah 11:1-2)

The prophets called the new shoot the mashiach, which means anointed one. The prophets anointed the kinds of Israel with oil to symbolize the LORD’S spirit resting upon them to rule the nation. The word mashiach has the same meaning as our English word Messiah and the transliterated word Christ, which both mean anointed one. Moreover, the word mashiach also referred to the king of Israel. Thus, the name Jesus Christ could be translated as Jesus the King and the name Christ Jesus as King Jesus.

The community of Israelites who returned and rebuilt Jerusalem after the captivity in Babylon hoped their governor Zerubbabel, a descendant of David who had returned with them from Babylon, might be the promised king, the shoot from the stump of David’s house. He was not. Judah’s political subjugation to Persia prevented the possibility of restoring the crown.

Generations passed. The heirs to the throne of David continued to wait. Empires rose and fell. Still no Davidic king emerged.

The descendants of David held on to the promises. They kept careful records of their genealogies because they knew that the coming Messiah must be born from their family. Their genealogical records were like legal deeds to the throne of Israel. Before anyone could claim to be a candidate for Messiah, he must first prove his ancestry was from the house of David. This is the reason why rabbinic literature uses the title Son of David as a name for the Messiah. This also explains why Matthew calls Jesus “the Messiah, Son of David”. To say Jesus is a son of David means He is an heir to the royal dynasty and a legitimate contender for the throne of David.

The early Believers, Jesus’ first followers and His family members all recognized Him as a Davidic heir. Paul states, “He was born of a descendant of David according to the flesh” (Romans 1:3).

If Jesus was not a descendant from David, He is not Messiah at all. God entered into an eternal covenant with King David, promising him that his family and his throne will endure forever, and the throne of Israel will belong to his seed. The true and rightful king must come from David’s house.

Bartimaeus calling Jesus the Son of David
When Bartimaeus calls Jesus the Son of David, he is proclaiming Jesus is Messiah. People in the crowd try to silence Bartimaeus, by he yells louder. It is interesting that Bartimaeus is blind. He could not see Jesus. Of everyone in the world, he should have been one of the last people to recognize the Messiah by sight. However, he seems to be the only person in the crowd to recognize Jesus as Messiah.

This situation reminds me of Isaiah 6:9-10:
9 And He said, “Go, and tell this people:
‘Keep on listening, but do not understand;
And keep on looking, but do not gain knowledge.’
10 Make the hearts of this people insensitive,
Their ears dull,
And their eyes blind,
So that they will not see with their eyes,
Hear with their ears,
Understand with their hearts,
And return and be healed.”

Although these people could see, their eyes were blind. Bartimaeus was blind, but he was the only one who could see Jesus for who He was.


Back to the Gospels…
Immediately preceding both Luke and Mark’s account of Bartimaeus, we are told about Jesus’ sufferings He will experience in Jerusalem.

Mark 10:32-34
Now they were on the road going up to Jerusalem, and Jesus was walking on ahead of them; and they were amazed, and those who followed were fearful. And again He took the twelve aside and began to tell them what was going to happen to Him, 33 saying, “Behold, we are going up to Jerusalem, and the Son of Man will be handed over to the chief priests and the scribes; and they will condemn Him to death and will hand Him over to the Gentiles. 34 And they will mock Him and spit on Him, and flog Him and kill Him; and three days later He will rise from the dead.”

Luke 18:31-34
31 Now He took the twelve aside and said to them, “Behold, we are going up to Jerusalem, and all the things that have been written through the prophets about the Son of Man will be accomplished. 32 For He will be handed over to the Gentiles, and will be ridiculed, and abused, and spit upon, 33 and after they have flogged Him, they will kill Him; and on the third day He will rise.” 34 The disciples understood none of these things, and the meaning of this statement was hidden from them, and they did not comprehend the things that were said.

When reading Luke 18 and Mark 10, we should be reminded about the messianic prophecy given to King David which states his offspring will be disciplined and will be disciplined with strokes given by man. Jesus says such in both Luke 18:34 and Mark 10:34 that He will be flogged. Flogging is being thrashed with a whip or a stick. By Jesus stating what type of punishment He will receive, we should again be reminded that Messiah is prophesied to suffer similar punishment.

For He grew up before Him like a tender shoot,
 And like a root out of dry ground;
 He has no stately form or majesty 
That we would look at Him,
 Nor an appearance that we would take pleasure in Him.
3 He was despised and abandoned by men,
 A man of great pain and familiar with sickness;
 And like one from whom people hide their faces, 
He was despised, and we had no regard for Him.
4 However, it was our sicknesses that He Himself bore,
And our pains that He carried;
 Yet we ourselves assumed that He had been afflicted,
 Struck down by God, and humiliated.
5 But He was pierced for our offenses,
 He was crushed for our wrongdoings;
 The punishment for our well-being was laid upon Him,
 And by His wounds we are healed.
(Isaiah 53:2-5)


Throwing off his cloak
In Mark 10:50, we are told Bartimaeus threw off his garment. We can easily overlook this as something unimportant; however, this details is VERY important.

During the Temple period, people who wanted to beg had to be certified by the Temple officials. Not anyone could beg. You must have a limitation such as being lame or blind which impeded you from gaining employment. Unlike today where anyone can hold a sign and beg for money, during the Temple period you had to be declared to be a beggar.

To beg, you were given a special garment. It was an outer cloak which the person had with him at all times. The cloak was the outer symbol that the person was certified by the Temple to beg. If you did not have the cloak, you could not beg, or could not beg legally.

When Bartimaeus throws off his cloak, he is telling everyone around him that he will no longer need to beg. He is going to be healed. He will be made well. He will be able to work and make money to support himself. This is a profound statement about his faith. If Jesus did not heal him, Bartimaeus would have lost his ability to beg. The cloak would have been lost in the crowd. He was blind and would have had a very hard if not impossible time trying to find the garment again. Bartimaeus may have been able to get another cloak from the Temple, but it would have been a lengthy process, with the intervening time being a period in which he could not beg for money.


Your faith has made you well
Jesus tells Bartimaeus his faith has made him well. We have seen Bartimaeus demonstrate his faith by loudly proclaiming Jesus is Messiah when he called Him “Son of David”. Also, when Bartimaeus throws off his beggar’s garment, again, Bartimaeus knows Jesus can and will heal him.

If we were Bartimaeus, would we be willing to give up our security blanket—perhaps our retirement savings, car or home—in an instant because we had so much trust and faith that Jesus could give us a better life. Bartimaeus had a tremendous amount of faith. Although he was blind, he could see clearly who the Messiah was and who would be able to do what man and medicine had not been able to do—to heal Bartimeaus and allow him to see the world with his eyes.

John 9:39-41
39And Jesus said, “For judgment I came into this world, so that those who do not see may see, and that those who see may become blind.” 40Those of the Pharisees who were with Him heard these things and said to Him, “We are not blind too, are we?” 41Jesus said to them, “If you were blind, you would have no sin; but since you say, ‘We see,’ your sin remains.

God heals the blind and those crying for help
I will exalt You, Lord, for You have lifted me up,
And have not let my enemies rejoice over me.
2 Lord my God, I cried to You for help, and You healed me. (Psalm 30:1-2)


The Lord opens the eyes of those who are blind;
The Lord raises up those who are bowed down;
The Lord loves the righteous.
9 The Lord watches over strangers;
He supports the fatherless and the widow,
But He thwarts the way of the wicked.
10 The Lord will reign forever,
Your God, Zion, to all generations.
Praise the Lord! (Psalm 146:8-10)


“Behold, My Servant, whom I uphold;
 My chosen one in whom My soul delights.
I have put My Spirit upon Him;
 He will bring forth justice to the nations.
2 He will not cry out nor raise His voice,
Nor make His voice heard in the street.
3 A bent reed He will not break off
And a dimly burning wick He will not extinguish;
He will faithfully bring forth justice.
4 He will not be disheartened or crushed
Until He has established justice on the earth;
And the coastlands will wait expectantly for His law.”
5 This is what God the Lord says,
Who created the heavens and stretched them out,
Who spread out the earth and its offspring,
Who gives breath to the people on it
And spirit to those who walk in it:
6 “I am the Lord, I have called You in righteousness,
I will also hold You by the hand and watch over You,
And I will appoint You as a covenant to the people,
As a light to the nations,
7 To open blind eyes,
To bring out prisoners from the dungeon
And those who dwell in darkness from the prison.
8 I am the Lord, that is My name;
I will not give My glory to another,
Nor My praise to idols.
9 Behold, the former things have come to pass,
Now I declare new things;
Before they sprout I proclaim them to you.” (Isaiah 42:1-9)

Jesus' Birth: The Light of the World

As we explore the Scriptures surrounding the birth of our Messiah, it can be very easy for us to gloss over many important facts and tidbits laid forth in the text. It can be easy to allow ourselves to be lead astray by common errors which, when Scripture is examined closely, are a misconception of the verses. In this study, I hope to shed some light on some of the events which surrounded the birth of our LORD and Savior.

Mary's Prayer
Perhaps one of the most magnificent prayers in all the Bible, the prayer Mary, the mother of Jesus, utters in the Gospel of Luke chapter one verses 46-55 is one treasured by many. Unknown to many readers, Mary's prayer is actually a proclamation of her faith and knowledge of Scripture. Mary's song of praise closely mirrors another woman's exultation to God...a faithful servant of the LORD called Hannah.

Barren for many years, Hannah is married to her husband, Elkanah (1 Samuel 1). Unfortunately, Elkanah also has another wife named Penninah. Penninah had many children. And let's recall to mind that children in ancient times were an insurance that the family would continue to live on in future generations. Inheritance was passed down through sons. A woman who did not have children was destined for poverty. Upon her husband's death, no one would care for the wife. Without a welfare system, the wife would be forced to live as a beggar.

Hannah prayed to God for a son and promised to give the child back to the LORD. Upon giving birth and raising the child until he was weaned, Hannah dedicates her son, Samuel, to the LORD. Hannah makes the journey to the Tabernacle and places her son in the custody of the high priest, Eli. Hannah then gives a tremendous song of thanksgiving to the LORD.

1 Samuel 2:1-10:
"Then Hannah prayed and said,
'My heart exults in the LORD;
My horn is exulted in the LORD,
My mouth speaks boldly against my enemies,
Because I rejoice in Your salvation.
There is no one holy like the LORD,
Indeed, there is no one besides You.
Nor is there any rock like our God.
Boast no more so very proudly,
Do not let arrogance come out of your mouth;
For the LORD is a God of knowledge,
And with Him, actions are weighed.
The bows of the mighty are shattered,
But the feeble gird on strength.
Those who were full hire themselves out for bread,
But those who were hungry cease to hunger.
Even the barren gives birth to seven,
But she who has many children languishes.
The LORD kills and makes alive;
He brings down to Sheol and raises up.
The LORD makes poor and rich;
He brings low, He also exalts.
He raises the poor from the dust,
He lifts the needy from the ash heap
To make them sit with nobles,
And inherit a seat of honor;
For the pillars of the earth are the LORD'S,
And He sets the world on them.
He keeps the feet of His godly ones,
But the wicked ones are silenced in darkness;
For not by might shall a man prevail.
Those who contend with the LORD will be shattered;
Against them He will thunder in the heavens,
The LORD will judge the ends of the earth;
And He will give strength to His king.
And He will exalt the horn of His anointed.'"

I wish I had the technological skill to do a side-by-side comparison of Hannah's song of praise and Mary's prayer of thanksgiving, but I do not seem to possess this talent. Instead, I urge you to do your own comparison of these two passages of Scripture. It is amazing to see all the parallels between the two prayers.

Many often attribute Mary as a woman of great faith. However, we can truly see this in the words Mary utters to our LORD. She knows Scripture and uses Hannah's prayer as a foundation for her own words of praise. Mary is an excellent example for us. We should know and use Scripture in our own prayers. The Bible is full of numerous songs of praise and prayer. In fact, there is an entire Book called Psalms which has verse after verse of prayers and supplications. We should be like Mary and know the text so well that when we send prayers up to God, we can quote Him His own words in our prayers.


Joseph Putting Away Mary
As we continue exploring the texts surrounding Jesus' birth, we come to the following passage:
"Now the birth of Jesus Christ was as follows: when His mother Mary had been betrothed to Joseph, before they came together she was found to be with child by the Holy Spirit. And Joseph her husband, being a righteous man and not wanting to disgrace her, planned to send her away secretly" (Matthew 1:18-19).

At first glance, one may assume that Joseph, when he found our Mary was pregnant, did not want to be burdened with having a harlot for a wife. One can assume that Joseph was trying to divorce Mary in a way in which her family's reputation would be tarnished as little as possible. However, Joseph wanting to send Mary away privately (and thus divorcing her) was indeed a very righteous act.

In Torah, there are strict guidelines in which a husband could follow in the event he questioned the virginity of his bride.

"If any man takes a wife and goes in to her and then turns against her, and charges her with shameful deeds and publicly defames her, and says, 'I took this woman, but when I came near her, I did not find her a virgin,' then the girl's father and her mother shall take and bring out the evidence of the girl's virginity to the elders of the city at the gate. The girl's father shall say to the elders, 'I gave my daughter to this man for a wife, but he turned against her; and behold, he has charged her with shameful deeds, saying, "I did not find your daughter a virgin." But this is the evidence of my daughter's virginity.' And they shall spread the garment before the elders of the city. So the elders of that city shall take the man and chastise him, and they shall fine him a hundred shekels of silver and give it to the girl's father, because he publicly defamed a virgin of Israel. And she shall remain his wife; he cannot divorce her all his days.

But if this charge is true, that the girl was not found a virgin, then they shall bring out the girl to the doorway of her father's house, and the men of her city shall stone her to death because she has committed an act of folly in Israel by playing the harlot in her father's house; thus you shall purge the evil from among you" (Deuteronomy 22:13-21).

As one reads the Torah, the punishment for a bride being found to not have been a virgin was to be stoned to death. Moreover, her father's house was defamed when the stoning took place on the doorstep of her father's home. Joseph did not want to bring this disgrace upon Mary or her family. We see what a noble and honorable man Joseph was when he discovered Mary's pregnancy, for which the punishment for the non-virgin bride was to be stoned to death.

Moreover, Joseph was a man of great faith because he believed the words an angel spoke to him. "But when he had considered this, behold, an angel of the LORD appeared to him in a dream, saying, 'Joseph, son of David, do not be afraid to take Mary as your wife; for the Child who has been conceived in her is of the Holy Spirit. She will bear a Son; and you shall call His name Jesus, for He will save His people from their sins...And Joseph awoke from his sleep and did as the angel of the Lord commanded him, and took Mary as his wife, but kept her a virgin until she gave birth to a Son; and he called His name Jesus" (Matthew 1:20-21, 24-25).

Joseph could have simply dismissed the angel and the words uttered. However, Joseph believed the angel. Furthermore, Joseph was probably well versed in Scripture and knew the prophecy proclaimed in Isaiah 7:4: "Therefore the Lord Himself will give you a sign: Behold, a virgin will be with child and bear a son, and she will call His name Immanuel." Perhaps when the angel spoke to Joseph, Joseph made the connection that his wife, Mary, was the chosen one to bring forth the Messiah. Perhaps, this, in addition to the words of the angel, persuaded Joseph to remain with Mary and proceed with the marriage. Either way, Joseph believed God, and he was rewarded with his actions by being Jesus' earthly father.

 

Chanukah 2020

Chanukah is one of my favorite times of the year. It is a season of rejoicing, a season of thanksgiving, a season of praising the LORD. Chanukah begins at sundown on Thursday, December 10 and ends at sundown on Friday, December 18.

Fast facts about Chanukah:

·        It occurs on the 25th of Kislev (the ninth month on the Jewish calendar)

·        It lasts eight days and eight nights

·        It is called the Festival of Lights or the Festival of Dedication

·        Chanukah means in Hebrew "dedication"

·        Chanukah spelled in Hebrew is chet-nun-vav-caf-hey

·        The root word of Chanukah is chet-nun-vav-caf (pronounced "Enoch" in English).

·        Enoch was in the seventh generation from Adam. He lived 365 years before God took Enoch. "And Enoch walked with God, and he was no longer, for God had taken him" (Genesis 5:24).

·        Although many Christians believe Chanukah is not a biblical holiday, this is simply not true.

·        Chanukah has happened in the past and is prophesied to happen again in the future.

(Side note: In Judaism, everything happens in cycles. Things which have happened in the past will repeat themselves. This can be seen in the Torah reading in which the Torah is read through in a single year and then is rolled up to the beginning and started all over again.

Additionally, this concept can been observed in Scripture: "The thing that hath been, it is that which shall be; and that which is done is that which shall be done: and there is no new thing under the sun" Ecclesiastes 1:9. Chanukah has happened in the past; thus, the events of Chanukah will repeat themselves and happen in the future.)

The Number Eight

In the Bible, the number eight often signifies dedication and new beginnings. There are seven days in the week. The eighth day of the week signifies the start of another week.

2 Peter 2:5 and did not spare the ancient world, but saved Noah, one of eight people, a preacher of righteousness, bringing in the flood on the world of the ungodly.

God saves Noah and eight people when God brings a flood to destroy the world. After the world has been washed cleaned, eight people are the start of a new beginning to the world's population.

Exodus 22:29-30 You shall not delay to offer the first of your ripe fruits, and of your liquors: the firstborn of your sons shall you give unto me. Likewise shall you do with your oxen, and with your sheep: seven days it shall be with his dam; on the eight day you shall give it to Me.

For seven days a person may keep his firstborn sons and animals and first fruits of his produce, but on the eighth day, the items are to be dedicated to God.

Genesis 17:9-12 God said further to Abraham, “Now as for you, you shall keep My covenant, you and your descendants after you throughout their generations. This is My covenant, which you shall keep, between Me and you and your descendants after you: every male among you shall be circumcised. And you shall be circumcised in the flesh of your foreskin, and it shall be the sign of the covenant between me and you. And every male among you who is eight days old shall be circumcised through your generations, a servant who is born in the house or who is bought with money from any foreigner, who is not of your descendants.

The covenant of circumcision was given to Abraham in which males on the eighth day of life were to circumcised. Jewish tradition asserts that the eighth day is chosen for this important covenant because it means the child has survived through one full week which included a Shabbat. Once the young infant experienced God’s holy day, he could then enter into God’s covenant.

Leviticus 9:1, 23, 24 And it came to pass on the eighth day, that Moses called Aaron and his sons, and the elders of Israel; And Moses and Aaron went into the tabernacle of the congregation, and came out, and blessed the people: and the glory of the LORD appeared unto all the people. And there came a fire out from before the LORD, and consumed upon the altar the burnt offering and the fat: which when all the people saw, they shouted, and fell on their faces.

It was on the eighth day after Aaron and his sons were consecrated to become priests to the LORD that the glory of the LORD appeared at the tabernacle in the wilderness.

Leviticus 23:33-36 Again the LORD spoke to Moses, saying, “Speak to the sons of Israel, saying, ‘On the fifteenth of this month is the Feast of Booths [Tabernacles] for seven days to the LORD. On the first day is a holy convocation; you shall do no laborious work of any kind. For seven days you shall present an offering by fire to the LORD. On the eighth day you shall have a holy convocation and present an offering by fire to the LORD: it is an assembly. You shall do no laborious work.

The Feast of Tabernacles (also known as the Feast of Booths or Sukkot) is a seven day celebration with the eighth day being a special day of assembly. The eighth day of the feast is also known as Simchat Torah. Every year the entire Torah is read once through completely. On Simchat Torah, the Torah scroll has reached the end of the last book of the Torah (the Book of Deuteronomy) and is completely unwound. The Torah scroll is then re-wound back to the very beginning to Genesis 1:1, and the Torah reading cycle is started all over again.

The Letter Chet

In the Hebrew alephbet, there are 22 letters. Each letter is assigned a number. Aleph is the first letter of the alephbet and is given the number one. Bet is the second letter and is given the number two. The eighth letter of the Hebrew alephbet is chet.

The word for life in Hebrew is chayim (chet-yod-yod-mem)

The word for grace in Hebrew is chen (chet-nun)

In Hebrew, God plays a word game with Noah’s name (spelled nun-chet in Hebrew) and flips the two letters to spell grace (chet-nun) in the Book of Genesis. (And remember that Noah was one of eight people saved through the world-wide flood.)

Genesis 6:8 But Noah (nun-chet) found grace (chet-nun) in the eyes of the LORD.

Chanukah in the Bible

Many Christians believe Chanukah is not a biblical event and does not appear in the Bible. This is quite erroneous. The word Chanukah appears multiple times in the Tanakh (Old Testament). The word "Chanukah" does not appear in our English translations because like most Hebrew words in our Bible, it is translated into English. Chanukah is translated into the English word "dedication".

1500 BC: Moses Tabernacle: Moses chanukah (dedicates) the tabernacle to the LORD
Numbers 7:1 And it came to pass on the day that Moses had fully set up the tabernacle, and had anointed it, and sanctified it, and all the instruments thereof, both the altar and all the vessels thereof, and had appointed them, and sanctified them;

Numbers 7:88 And all the animals for the sacrifice of the peace offerings were twenty-four bulls, sixty rams, sixty goats, and sixty lambs of the first year. The was the dedication (chanukah) of the altar after it was anointed.

1000 BC: Solomon's Temple: On the eighth day Israel chanukah (dedicates) the altar to the LORD
2 Chronicles 7:1-2 When Solomon had finished praying, fire came down from heaven and consumed the burnt offering and the sacrifices; and the glory of the LORD filled the temple. And the priests could not enter the house of the LORD, because the glory of the LORD had filled the LORD'S house.

2 Chronicles 7:8-9 Also at the same time Solomon kept the feast seven days, and all Israel with him, a very great congregation, from the entering in of Hamath unto the river of Egypt. And on the eighth day they held a sacred assembly, for they observed the dedication (chanukah) of the altar.

500 BC: Rebuilt Temple
Ezra 6:3a, 5a, 16 In the first year of Cyrus the king the same Cyrus the king made a decree concerning the house of God at Jerusalem, Let the house be built, the place where they offered sacrifices, and let the foundations thereof be strongly laid; And also let the golden and silver vessels of the house of God, which Nebuchadnezzar took forth out of the temple which is at Jerusalem, and brought unto Babylon, be restored, and brought again unto the temple which is at Jerusalem, And the children of Israel, the priests, and the Levites, and the rest of the children of the captivity, kept the dedication (chanukah) of this house of God with joy.

In short, Moses chanukah the tabernacle to the LORD in the wilderness, then Solomon's temple is chanukah to the LORD and when the temple is rebuilt in 500 BC it is chanukah to the LORD. Again and again, Israel has celebrated chanukah (dedication) of God's place of worship. When the future temple is rebuilt in Jerusalem, there is no doubt there will be another chanukah (dedication) celebration to the LORD.

Additionally, many Christians will protest Chanukah is not a biblical holiday because Jesus did not celebrate it. However, again, this is a fallacy. In John 10:22-24 we read, "Now it was the Feast of Dedication (chanukah) in Jerusalem, and it was winter. And Jesus walked in the temple, in Solomon's porch. Then the Jews surrounded Him and said to Him, "How long do You keep us in doubt? If You are the Messiah, tell us plainly"

Chanukah has happened in the past, and it will happen again in the future.

In the Gospel of Matthew in chapter 24, Jesus and His disciples sit on the Mount of Olives. Jesus' disciples ask about signs which are to come about Messiah's second coming. What most Christians do not understand is that Jesus is describing a future chanukah. By exploring texts about a previous chanukah which happened around 168 BC, we can understand Jesus' warning about the chanukah that is yet to come. 

 

 

Jesus' Miracles: The man with the withered hand

Introduction
Jesus loved to teach stories using both parables and every day common occurrences. During Jesus' time, there were as many different divisions within Judaism as there are denominations of Christianity today. Some held strictly to the Torah (the first five books of the Bible). Others held the Talmud--an interpretation of the Torah which gives commentary and expands on the teachings given in the Torah--above the Torah. This caused erroneous teachings to spread.

When we read about the "Pharisees", please remember there were about seven different factions of Pharisees. We can see this today if someone wrote about "Lutherans". There are numerous Lutherans--evangelical, Missouri Synod, reformed, orthodox, conservative, etc. So, when Jesus criticizes the Pharisees, he is not criticizing all the Pharisees. Some of Jesus' most devote followers were Pharisees such as Joseph of Arimathea and Nicodemus.

The Man with the withered hand
When reading any of Jesus' teachings, we need to keep in mind the context. The story of the man with the withered hand occurs in Mathew, Mark and Luke all within the framework of what it means to guard the sabbath. All three narratives have Jesus questioning if His actions are lawful to do on the Shabbat. All three narratives give the story about the disciples going through a field on a shabbat and picking grain to eat. Jesus then proclaims He is the Lord of the sabbath before the story of the man with the withered hand begins.


The Narratives
Matthew 12:8-14
"For the Son of Man is Lord of the Sabbath. Departing from there, He went into their synagogue. And a man was there whose hand was withered. And they questioned Jesus, asking, "Is it lawful to heal on the Sabbath?"--so that they might accuse Him. And He said to them, "What man is there among you who has a sheep, and if it falls into a pit on the Sabbath, will he not take hold of it and lift it out? How much more valuable then is a man than a sheep! So then, it is lawful to do good on the Sabbath." Then He said to the man, "Stretch out your hand!" He stretched it out, and it was restored to normal, like the other. But the Pharisees went out and conspired against Him, as to how they might destroy Him."

Key Points
1. Jesus is asked if healing on shabbat follows Torah.

There is no place in Torah which explicitly states if healing on the shabbat is permissible. However, many Rabbis and Jewish scholars have always permitted healing on the shabbat. For example, although we are to remember shabbat, keep it holy and not work, doctors and other people in the medical field are allowed to work. If a person needs emergency medical care, a medical professional can administer care to the individual.

2. Jesus asks what man if he has a sheep would not rescue it from a pit if it fell into it on a shabbat.
Jesus answers the question he was asked in a very simple manner. If an animal was in a life or death situation, it was permissible to rescue the animal even if it was shabbat. Again, this goes back to the basic concepts taught about shabbat which included saving animals if they were in trouble, feeding and watering the animals, etc.

3. Jesus asks the crowd how much value does a man's life have than livestock which is bought and sold as property.

4. Lastly, Jesus asks if it follows Torah to heal on the shabbat.
The crowd would have known this answer. If was indeed permitted to do good on the shabbat, which included healing the sick and injured.


Luke 6:5-11
And He was saying to them, "The Son of Man is Lord of the Sabbath." On another Sabbath He entered the synagogue and was teaching; and there was a man there whose right hand was withered. The scribes and the Pharisees were watching Him closely to see if He healed on the Sabbath, so that they might find reason to accuse Him. But He knew what they were thinking, and He said to the man with the withered hand, "Get up and come forward!" And he got up and came forward. And Jesus said to them, "I ask you, is it lawful to do good or to do harm on the Sabbath, to save a life or to destroy it?" After looking around to them all, He said to him, "Stretch out your hand!" And he did so; and his hand was restored. But they themselves were filled with rage, and discussed together what they might do to Jesus."

Key Points
1. The scribes and the Pharisees were watching Jesus
We are given a little bit more insight into this story. Not only were the Pharisees present, but also the scribes. Scribes were extremely knowledgeable about Torah. They were the ones who transcribed the Torah. (Remember, they were no printing presses. If a Torah scroll needed to be replaced or if an additional copy needed to be made, it had to written out by a scribe. So, if there was anyone who knew what was written in the Torah, the scribes were the ones who knew.

2. The scribes and the Pharisees are trying to set a trap for Jesus.
They want to catch Jesus violating Torah. If they can find a way in which Jesus violates Torah, they can have Jesus executed based on Deuteronomy 13:

"You shall follow the LORD your God and fear Him; and you shall keep His commandments, listen to His voice, serve Him, and cling to Him. But that prophet or that dreamer of dreams shall be put to death, because he has counseled rebellion against the LORD your God who brought you from the land of Egypt and redeemed you from the house of slavery, to seduce you from the way in which the LORD your God commanded you to walk. So you shall scourge the evil from among you." (Deuteronomy 13:4-5)

3. Jesus knows what the scribes and Pharisees are thinking.
Jesus acts in such a way to make fools out of the scribes and Pharisees. Jesus will show how He is God and how He is not violating Deuteronomy 13.



Mark 2:28-3:6
So the Son of Man is Lord even of the Sabbath. He entered again into a synagogue; and a man was there whose hand was withered. They were watching Him to see if He would heal him on the Sabbath, so that they might accuse Him. he said to the man with the withered hand, "Get up and come forward!" And He said to them, "Is it lawful to do good or to do harm on the Sabbath, to save a life or to kill?" But they kept silent. After looking around at them with anger, grieved at their hardness of heart, He said to the man, "Stretch out your hand." And he stretched it out, and his hand was restored. The Pharisees went out and immediately began conspiring with the Herodians against Him, as to how they might destroy Him." 

Key Points
1. Jesus asks if Torah permits to do good or do bad on the shabbat. He then asks if it is permissible to save a life or kill a life.
When reading Jesus' questions, we may be baffled. Of course, we see from Matthew's narrative it is permissible to do good on the shabbat. People were allowed to save the lives of their animals as well as other humans on shabbat. But now why is Jesus asking about doing bad, or killing on shabbat? Doesn't Torah say you should not murder? How would murdering on shabbat be permissible?

2. Jesus is grieved by their hardness of hearts.
Why is the term "hardness of heart" used in this narrative? Why you hear this phrase, what other major event in the Bible is it linking us back to?

3. All three narratives tell us Jesus told the man with the withered hand to stretch out his hand.
What major event in the Bible does this again refer us back to? By using this phrasing, what is Jesus demonstrating?

4. In all three narratives we are told this interaction infuriated the Pharisees. The Pharisees began seeking a way to kill Jesus.
What did Jesus do which enraged the Pharisees? Why did his deeds deserve death?


Shabbat
Before we venture too much father, we need to clarify what the word shabbat means.

When the word shabbat is mentioned in the Bible, it can mean several things. Shabbat is the name of the seventh day of the week, which in the USA we call Saturday. So, when the word shabbat is used, it can mean the seventh day of the week.

It is on the shabbat God commanded His people to rest. "Remember the sabbath day, to keep it holy. Six days you shall labor and do all your work, but the seventh day is a sabbath of the LORD your God; in it you shall not do any work, you or your son or your daughter, your male or your female or your cattle or your sojourner who stays with you. For in six days the LORD made the heavens and the earth, the sea and all that is in them, and rested on the seventh day; therefore the LORD blessed the sabbath day and made it holy." (Exodus 20:8-11)

There are a number of additional days in the Bible which God commands to be days of rest. These days are referred to as shabbat. "These are the appointed times of the LORD, holy convocations which you shall proclaim at the times appointed for them. In the first month, on the fourteenth day of the month at twilight is the LORD'S Passover. Then on the fifteenth day of the same month there is the Feast of Unleavened Bread of the LORD; for seven days you shall eat unleavened Bread. On the first day you shall have a holy convocation; you shall not do any laborious work. But for seven days you shall present an offering by fire to the LORD. On the seventh day is a holy convocation; you shall not do any laborious work.'" (Leviticus 23:4-8)

According to Luke's account, it states Jesus entered the synagogue on another shabbat. We will assume from the context, this was just a regular shabbat.

Healing and killing on shabbat
There are no verses in the Torah which specifically deal with healing a person. There are verses which mention helping a neighbor's animal.  "You shall not see your countryman's ox or his sheep straying away, and pay no attention to them; you shall certainly bring them back to your countryman. If your countryman is not near you, or if you do not know him, then you shall bring it home to your house, and it shall remain with you until your countryman looks for it; then you shall restore it to him. Thus you shall do with his donkey, and you shall do the same with his garment, and you shall do likewise with anything lost by your countryman, which he has lost, and you have found. You are not allowed to neglect them. You shall not see your countryman's donkey or his ox fallen down on the way, and pay no attention to them; you shall certainly him him to raise them up." (Deuteronomy 22:1-4)


All these could be done on shabbat. It would be sin for a person to not help his neighbor rescue an animal or help an animal find its way back to its owner.

The Rabbis also say practicing medicine is allowed on shabbat. If a person is sick, a doctor may treat the patient. Also, a pharmacist may administer medicine. A midwife may deliver a baby, etc. Today, this continues with emergency departments and hospitals still being open and operating on shabbat. If something happens in which a life is endangered, help is permissible on shabbat.

The Pharisees in this story seem to have twisted what was permissible. They believed if Jesus healed on shabbat, he would be breaking shabbat, although this was entirely allowed.

Jesus asks the Pharisees if it is permissible to heal or kill on shabbat. As we already discussed, it is allowed to heal on shabbat. Now the next puzzle is why did Jesus mention killing on shabbat. Isn't killing against God's Commands? (Exodus 20:13, Deuteronomy 5:17) To answer this question, we must know the Bible and must know when God killed people on shabbat.

Israel's Exodus from Egypt (Exodus 11-14)
On the 14th day of the month of Nisan, the Israelites were commanded to kill a lamb, roast it and place the blood of the lamb on the doorposts. When the sun sets (and it is now the 15th day of Nisan), the Israelites are to eat the lamb with bitter herbs and unleavened bread. It is on the 15th of Nisan in which the angel passes through Egypt. If blood is on the doorposts, the angel passes through. If there is no blood on the doorposts, the angel kills the firstborn in the house. 

Remember from our discussion about what shabbat was, the 15th day of Nisan was also called the first day of unleavened bread. The 15th day of Nisan is a day which is a holy convocation, a shabbat in which no work was to be done. So on the 15th of Nisan, God saved everyone who placed the blood on the doorposts of his house. God killed all the firstborns who did not place the lamb's blood on the doorposts. So, on shabbat, God both killed and saved people. God did both harm and good on the shabbat.

The Pharisees were extremely well versed in Scripture. When Jesus said if God could kill or save on the shabbat, they would have immediately thought about the Exodus story. They would have been reminded of Passover.

Moreover, it is tradition, the Israelites passed through the Red Sea on the 21st of Nisan. Remember, it was night when the Israelites passed through the sea. Early in the morning, the Egyptians followed. Once the Israelites safely reached the other side of the Red Sea, God allowed the Red Sea to swallow up the Egyptians. If you remember, the 21st day of Nisan would be the seventh day of the Feast of Unleavened Bread. If you remember from Leviticus 23, the seventh day of Unleavened Bread (Nisan 21) is a holy convocation, a shabbat on which no work was to be done. So, this is another example of a shabbat in which God saved His people, by allowing them to pass safely through the Red Sea and also killed people when He caused the Red Sea to swallow up the Egyptians. Again, the Pharisees would have known this. They would have been reminded about the Red Sea crossing when Jesus mentioned killing and saving on shabbat.

Their hardness of heart
We are told Jesus is grieved by the hardness of the Pharisees heart when they do not answer if God can kill or save on shabbat. Although the people at the synagogue would not have known Jesus' thoughts, Mark when writing this story would have again been conveying more insight into this story.

Harness of heart is a term only used to describe Pharaoh's heart regarding allowing Israel to go and sacrifice to God.

The word we translate as "hardened" when describing Pharaoh's heart is the Hebrew word kavad. It literally translates as to make heavy, to be weighty, to be burdensome. So when God "hardened" Pharaoh's heart, it actually means Pharaoh's heart became heavy. Kavad is used five times to describe Pharaoh's heart.

When Mark uses this phrase "hardening of hearts", he is making the connection that the Pharisees are playing the part of Pharaoh in this story.

Stretch out your hand
Of all the phrases Jesus could have used, he uses this very phrase "Stretch out your hand" which again is used in God's plagues upon Egypt and Israel's Exodus from Egypt. The Hebrew word is natah. It is used 17 times from Exodus 6 through Exodus 14. (Yes, if someone used the word natah, all those well versed in Scripture would IMMEDIATELY think about Moses and the Exodus!)

"Then the LORD said to Moses, "Why are you crying out to me? tell the sons of Israel to go forward. As for you, lift up your staff and stretch out your hand over the sea and divide it, and the sons of Israel shall go through the midst of the sea on dry land" (Exodus 14:15-16).

"Then Moses stretched out his hand over the sea; and the LORD swept the sea back by a strong east wind all night and turned the sea into dry land, so the waters were divided" (Exodus 14:21).


"Then the LORD said to Moses, "Stretch out your hand over the sea that the waters may come back over the Egyptians, over their chariots and their horsemen." So Moses stretched out his hand over the sea, and the sea returned to its normal states at daybreak, while the Egyptians were fleeing  right into it; then the LORD overthrew the Egyptians in the midst of the sea" (Exodus 14:26-27).

Why were the Pharisees enraged?
Taking the Exodus story into account, notice who is commanding Moses to stretch out his hand? The answer is God. So, when Jesus commands the man with the withered hand to stretch out his hand, Jesus is saying He is God. Now you may understand why the Pharisees are very angry. They believe Jesus is not God. They believe Jesus should be put to death. Jesus is claiming He is God! Jesus is telling the Pharisees He is not in violation of Deuteronomy 13 because HE IS GOD!

 "You shall follow the LORD your God and fear Him; and you shall keep His commandments, listen to His voice, serve Him, and cling to Him. But that prophet or that dreamer of dreams shall be put to death, because he has counseled rebellion against the LORD your God who brought you from the land of Egypt and redeemed you from the house of slavery, to seduce you from the way in which the LORD your God commanded you to walk. So you shall scourge the evil from among you." (Deuteronomy 13:4-5)

In Summary
The Pharisees are trying to trap Jesus. They are trying to make Jesus violate the Torah which would make Him sinful. It would negate Jesus' claim of being the Messiah. Instead, Jesus uses Deuteronomy 13 as a launching board to prove He is Messiah. Using the Exodus story, He makes the Pharisees Pharaoh/the Egyptians. The man with the withered hand is Moses. Jesus is God. Jesus humiliates the Pharisees. The Pharisees continue their plan to kill Jesus and find ways to trap him.