Love Israel

Speaker 1

Shalom. And welcome to Via Hafta Yisrael, a Hebrew phrase which means you shall love Israel. We hope you'll stay with us for the next 30 minutes as our teacher, Dr. Baruch, shares his expository teaching from the Bible.

Dr. Baruch is the senior lecturer at the Zarah Avraham Institute, based in Israel. Although all courses are taught in Hebrew at the institute, Dr. Baruch is pleased to share this weekly address in English.

To find out more about our work in Israel, please visit us on the web at loveisrael.org—that's one word, loveisrael.org.

Now here's Baruch with today's lesson.

Speaker 2

If you do not perceive the word of God correctly, you will behave foolishly. And we see a good example of this today. Take out your Bibles and look with me to the Gospel of Luke, chapter 22. The Gospel of Luke and chapter 22. Now, we began this chapter two weeks ago, and we saw that the emphasis was Passover. And we learned from the teachings of Messiah that Passover revolves around death. Passover comes, there's going to be death at each house. Now, that death can come in two different ways. It can come the preferred way, which is the death of that Passover lamb. But if in Egypt, that first Passover, one family did not keep the Passover, did not bring death upon that lamb and dealt with the blood properly, what would happen? Their firstborn. Firstborn of their family and also of their animals. That firstborn would die. So Passover comes in its death. And Messiah shared with his disciples that he was going to suffer on Passover, that he was going to be crucified, laying down his life in order that you and me, that we could have eternal life.

But the disciples, they did not perceive his words properly. And therefore, what were they debating? There arose among them a dispute. We'll come to that in a moment. What was this dispute? Who would be the greatest? Now just think for a moment. Messiah, who loves them perfectly. Who loves you perfectly, who died for them and died for all of us. He speaks about him suffering, being crucified, a barbaric and cruel way of dying. And what are they discussing among themselves? He would be gone. Which one of them would be the greatest? How inappropriate. How foolish. And again, if we don't perceive the word of God properly, we are going to both speak and behave foolishly.

Well, look with me to this portion of Scripture, Luke's gospel, chapter 22. And now we're ready for verse 24. It says here, "But there came about also dispute among them to who of them would seem to be the greatest?" They wanted to be great in this world. They totally misunderstood. They did not perceive what he was talking about. We saw last week that the emphasis of his teaching was not on greatness in this world. This world is going to be eventually destroyed by God. God's wrath and his judgment is going to fall upon this world. And in a moment we learn in the Book of Revelation, chapter 19, that the wealth of this world is going to become worthless. So do not labor after things that are material, things that are physical, things that belong to this world. He is going to establish a kingdom. We should be interested in those kingdom blessings, in those kingdom promises. That's what we should be thinking about.

But it says here that there arose a dispute among them in regard to who among them would be thought of as the greatest. Look now to verse 25. "But," and this means in contrast to their thoughts, "but he said to them, the kings of the nations or the Gentiles, they lord over them. And also the one who are exercising authority over them, they are called a benefactor." Now notice that a benefactor is someone that is generous, someone that is helping. But what do we see here in this world? Well, they give themselves a nice title. But those who are exercising authority, they really are benefiting from those that they are ruling over. We know that these leaders, such as kings and those who are in authority, they take taxes. And those taxes go to make the governmental leaders very wealthy. And we're seeing more and more today how those who are in government, they're not public servants anymore, but the public serves them and pays for a very high standard of living.

So Messiah is saying, this is how the world functions, but you ought not be worldly minded. You are called to be kingdom minded. And then he goes on and notice what he says in verse 26, speaking about his disciples, how he has trained them, how he has taught them. He says, "But you not thus," meaning, don't behave in this way, don't have a worldly perspective, don't have worldly objectives, but be different. He says, "But the one great among you, let him be the younger." Now, normally within a family, it is that firstborn, the elder, that is honored. He receives that double portion for his inheritance. And the younger one is in a subservient position. He is called to be humble. And therefore what he says here about being the younger, he means you be humble, don't be after getting it all, but rather be subservient. And he's going to demonstrate that in a moment.

Look at the next part of this verse, at the end of verse 26, when he says, "and the one who rules." And this is someone who is like a governor, one who has a position of authority. Therefore the one that governs, let him be as the servant. Here again, understand that even though he's in this position of leadership, he should think of himself as a servant. And who gave a great example of this? Well, we're going to see that it's Messiah. He was a servant leader. Look at this next verse, verse 27, where it says, "For among you, the greatest." So he says, a question among you, who's the greatest? "The one who is reclining or the servant." Now, if we take it literally, he says, as we continued, "Not the one reclining, but I am in your midst as the servant."

So Messiah's giving us an example. He says, in this world, who's the greatest? The one who's reclining at the table. And servants are ministering to them and taking care of their wants and desires. Well, that's the worldly perspective. But that's not how Yeshua behaves. Because what did he do? Well, we all know about Yeshua. How during the same type time of year, during the Passover, what did he do? In John's Gospel, we read about how him being the king of kings and the Lord of Lords, what did he do? The Scripture says he girded himself. Now, that is an action that a servant takes in order to work. So Messiah, he was going to lay down his life. But on the night that he was betrayed, what did he do? He girded himself and he washed the feet of all the disciples, one of the most humble and lowly positions within the house to wash the feet of the guests. And this shows his humility.

That's why he says, what's the greater one? The one that's reclining, the one that's being served, or the servant? If you want to be great, we need to follow his example and be a servant. That's what he's telling us in this passage. He says, look now to verse 28. "But you," speaking to the disciples, "but you are the ones who have reigned with me in my trials or temptations." What he's saying is, you've seen me go through all the things I've gone through, all this rejection, all of this hatred, all of these difficult things that Messiah has experienced. He says, you have been with me through all of these trials.

But I look now at verse 29, "But I have appointed you just as My Father has set me." What has he set before Messiah? We see here my kingdom. So Messiah is speaking here about how he is going to be the one that receives a kingdom, a kingdom that my Father has given to me, he set and entrusted to me. Look now to verse 30, where he says, "In order that you shall eat and you shall drink at my table in my kingdom and upon thrones you shall sit, judging." Notice what it says in the best Greek manuscripts. "Judging not just Israel, but it says here the 12 tribes of Israel." Now do you see what is happening here? It is humility and a spirit of servanthood that positions us to rule.

And it says if you are attached to Messiah, that you are part of his kingdom, people, then you are going to eat at his table and drink at his table. And just like the Father has appointed him to be king over that kingdom, that we are going to judge the 12 tribes of Israel. Now I say we. It's not us, but rather it is those 12 disciples. And of course, Judas, we know is going to be replaced. And we see the evidence of this. Meaning these 12 are going to rule. Where we see the evidence of this in the book of Revelation, when we look at the new Jerusalem, because there's 12 gates. And upon these gates are the 12 tribes of Israel. But the foundation of these gates are the 12 apostles. And we know that this humility is going to position themselves to serve, to minister and to be great in the kingdom of God.

Look now to verse 31. "But the Lord said, Simon, Simon." Now he's speaking directly to Peter, but he calls him not Peter. That's not this rock, but Simon. Why? Because in Hebrew, that word Shimon comes from a Hebrew verb which means to hear. And it demands a response. And here's the problem with Peter. He's not listening. In fact, none of the disciples are. They're not paying attention to what Messiah has been teaching them. They don't have the perspective, the mindset that Messiah wants them to have. And when we are not thinking properly, when we are not discerning the words of God, Scripture, what did I say at the beginning of this study? We will behave foolishly and we will think improperly. And that's what the scripture is teaching us. It's teaching us that Peter is not thinking rightly. He is just like all the other disciples. He's caught up in this pride. He's caught up in his desire to be great. He wants to be the replacement. He wants to take over.

They totally fail in understanding. Yes, Messiah is going to die, but he is going to rise. And even though eventually he will ascend back into heaven, we see that if we're going to really be faithful to him, we're called to be humble, we're called to be servants. Not to lord over people, not to be exercising authority, but rather to serve in the name and the character of Messiah. So Peter is far from that, just like all the disciples. But he addresses specifically Peter in this passage. Look again at verse 31. "But the Lord said," isn't it interesting that it's not the term Yeshua, it's not the term Messiah, but it's the term Lord. Now, the Lord is just that. He is sovereign and what he knows is everything. And therefore we should take seriously all of his words. We should understand that he knows all things. And therefore as God, we should respond to his instructions. The disciples aren't doing that.

The question is, now, what about Peter individually? So the Lord said to Shimon, "Shimon, Shimon, behold, Satan." And it's a very strong word. It's best translated, demanded. We would use the Hebrew word "lidrosh" in order to capture the meaning of this word. So it says, "Behold." That is a term of pay attention. Something important is about to be said. And what is that? Satan has demanded you. What does Satan want to do? It says to sift you as wheat. Now God is going to allow this in order to bring Peter to humility. Again, God is sovereign. What does that mean? It does not mean that everything that happens in this world is God's will. There are many things that happen which God is not connected to. And none of that attacks his sovereignty.

And Messiah and God the Father are free to use whatever, including even evil. They don't do evil, but they can use evil for his purposes. And what I mean by that is this: God. There's a very important word we find in the scripture that the word of God uses. It's the Hebrew word "la ha folk." It means to turn upside down. It's a word of change. And what God frequently does and what the Son of God frequently does is this: they take that which is evil, that which is not good, and they change it. They overturn it into something that's good. This speaks about God's sovereignty. See, many people think that God has to control everything. And everything that happens has to be according to his plan. No, God is able to accomplish ultimately his will, even though many things that happen are not pleasing to him. There is much sin in this world. There's much evil in this world. But what is he going to do? He is going to use that. He never does evil, he's never the cause of evil. But he can allow evil and praise him that he can change evil into good.

So he says, what does Satan want to do? Satan wants to sift you as grain, as wheat. What is that sifting all about? A separation. And let's just affirm something right now. I'll make it personal to me. There are things in my life that God does not like, that God does not want to be there. And therefore growing and maturing in the faith means that I need to let go of these things. And when I'm stubborn and rebellious and don't, what happens? God is free to allow Satan. He doesn't cause Satan, but he's free to allow Satan to sift me in order to rid me. And this is what God is allowing with Peter. And it says here that Satan has sought in a very strong way, he has demanded to sift you as wheat.

But look at the next verse, verse 32. "But I." Who's speaking? Yeshua. "But I have prayed concerning you in order that your faith should not fall and you when you return." Now what he's saying, he's trying to encourage Peter. He's saying, I have prayed that your faith won't fall, meaning it won't fail. In fact, he gives him encouragement by saying, "and when you turn," meaning when you turn back, when you repent, that word turning is indeed a word of repentance. He says, "and when you have turned, what should you do?" Well, because Satan has sifted you, there are things that are going to be removed from you, primarily your pride. And he says that you would do something. Look at the end of verse 32, "that you would strengthen your brethren," meaning the other disciples.

Because what do we know? Well, we all know the verse that the shepherd is going to be struck. And what's going to happen to the sheep? They are going to scatter. So they're all going to scatter. They're all going to fail. They're all going to deny. But Peter, Messiah is saying to him, "Peter, I want you to strengthen the brethren. You're going to fail. You're going to fail miserably. But, but after you turn back," meaning after you realize your error, that you repent and you strengthen your brethren.

Verse 33. "But he said to him." Who's talking now? Peter. Peter said to him, "Lord, with you I am prepared also into prison, also into death, to be led." What he's saying is this: I get it. I understand what you're saying. And I'm ready right now to be brought into prison and to be put to death. Now, Peter says this, but we're going to know something. We're going to know that that is not true. Peter thinks too highly of himself. And this is the problem. That's a problem with me and it's a problem with you. Because God has just told Peter you are going to encounter the enemy and he's going to sift you like wheat. But my prayer for you is that after, number one, that your faith won't fail totally. And afterwards, after you have turned back, meaning turn to the faith again, that you've been strengthened in your faith, that you strengthen the brethren.

But what does Peter say? Peter says this. He says, "Lord, with you I am prepared even into prison and even into death to be led." Verse 34. "But he said, I say to you, Peter, the rooster will not crow today, before which three times you will deny that you know me." Now what's interesting here is this word for know. Again, grammar is so important. And when we look at this word for knowing, it is in the perfect tense. What is this saying? Messiah is telling Peter before the rooster is going to crow today three times you are going to deny me that you know me. Now, this denial of knowing me. The word here is in the perfect tense for knowing, which means Peter is going to say I didn't know him in the past, I don't know him now, and I will never know him in the future. That is a strong way.

Now we know in other gospels when Peter is confronted and denies his knowledge and his relationship with Messiah, he even does so cursing. And the strongest way, he denies being part of the disciples of our Lord and Savior. Why does he do that? Because he's not thinking properly. He's thinking worldly. He's thinking according to being great rather than being a servant. And anytime that we lose track of who we are in the Messiah, we have been given a ministry. What does that mean? We're called to serve. He gives us an objective. We have a ministry of reconciliation, proclaiming the truth, a truth that reconciles sinners to a holy God.

And that's only possible through the context of this section of Luke's Gospel. We're talking about Passover. We're talking about redemption. It is only possible to be reconciled to God eternally through redemption. And specifically the redemption that comes through one individual, Messiah, Yeshua, Jesus Christ. It is only through his blood, not the blood of bulls and goats and sheep and calves, but rather the blood of the Son of God poured out for you and me only through that blood that came for the purpose of redemption as it was spilled and shed. Passover, the festival of redemption, so that we could be eternally redeemed to God with a kingdom hope, with a kingdom assurance.

And that kingdom change that comes into our life not only makes us a new creation, but you know what else it does? Because we are a new creation, we will think differently. We will not want to lord over people, not want to be about exercising our own authority. But we will be individuals that are humble and understand that we have a call upon our life. And that call is to serve. To serve God. To serve the Son of God by being faithful to his call upon our life. To proclaim reconciliation through the blood of Messiah the Redeemer, and to give people the assurance that through Messiah we can have a certain kingdom hope. We don't have to doubt, but we can have assurance that we, through the redemptive work of the Messiah, that we are brought into the family of God whereby we are his eternal sons and daughters.

What does that mean? It means that we have a kingdom inheritance. And all of this truth came within the context of Passover. I'll close with this. Passover is about change. It took the servants of Pharaoh which were without hope and brought them and made them into the servants of the living God. And that's what Passover is all about. Passover is a holiday of change. It can take you who are lost in your sins and make you alive for the Kingdom of God. Not just for a season,

Speaker 1

Well, we hope you will benefit from today's message and share it with others. Please plan to join us each week at this time and on this channel for our broadcast of LoveIsrael.org again.

To find out more about us, please visit our website LoveIsrael.org. There you will find articles and numerous other lectures by Baruch. These teachings are in video form; you may download them or watch them in streaming video.

Until next week, may the Lord bless you in our Messiah Yeshua, that is Jesus, as you walk with Him. Shalom from Israel.