Tag Archives: old testament

The Lord’s Covenant With Man

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When Christ came to give man a covenant

It was a journey through the Old and New testament

The greatest covenant is Jesus giving man the holy sacrament

He the Lord God was proving to man a divine statement

This was not to bring fire , destruction and judgement

But through his love and grace brought about love and justification

This is the reason for this season of love

Christmas and sensation

Of the babe in Bethlehem brought about grace and peace to the nation

With him in our heart the wondrous God makes a transformation

Dearest Lord of Covenant let your name be known

Help those forlorn

To bring love and cheer to those you hold dear

Wipe away every sad tear

Thank you for those who need you you are near

Now and forever our mighty King and Saviour

Amen

Christian Theatre

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A hypothetical discussion between a Messianic Jew and a Pentecostal Irish Belfast Bible College graduate regarding their views on the Old and New testaments of the Bible

“In the beginning was the Word and the Word was with God and the Word was God. He was with God in the beginning” John 1:1,2

Before time ever existed one thing existed and that was the Word. Jesus was the Word made flesh and dwelt among us. Before time existed Jesus existed therefore logically speaking the Word made flesh which is Jesus existed before time existed.

The play unfolds:-

There are two very important people I would like to introduce to you. One is Methuselah middle aged with salt and pepper hair, a big moustache and a bigger tummy with five children four girls and one boy and a wife named Hannah. Names of children are Sarah, Rebecca, Rachel, Abigail and a son named Isaac. Methuselah has recently come to accept Jesus as Lord and Saviour and so has his family they are Messianic Jews who have come to Northern Ireland on holiday.

My next friend is Paul, who likes to think of himself as apostle Paul because of the prophesies he has received from his Pentecostal brothers and sisters from the Elim Pentecostal Church. He is six feet tall, blue/grey eyes with glasses, very thin and scanty blond hair. He is in his late thirty’s. Paul is single and has a Bachelor’s degree in theology from Belfast Bible College. He is hoping to go to Israel as a missionary. Paul met Methuselah in Jerusalem when he went there on holiday and is hoping to get to know Sarah as a prospective bride. Paul and Methuselah have arranged to meet for coffee at Star bucks.

Their conversation begins :-

Meths:- Shalom Paul ( gives Paul a warm hug)

Paul:- Praise the Lord brother and stretches out his hand to shake hands but is overwhelmed by Methuselah’s big hug.

Meths:- How are you Paul? When are you planning on coming to Israel, the land flowing with milk and honey as Psalms 48:1,2 says “ Great is the Lord and greatly to be praised. In the city of our God. In His holy mountain beautiful elevation. The joy of the whole earth is mount Zion on the sides of the North. The city of the great King.”

Paul:- Can’t imagine why God would send Jesus to that wee little land to fulfil his purpose in all the earth. He could have come to Northern Ireland ya know it is so green and welcoming, ya know man I am not patriotic but why the Middle East?

Meths:- Laughs out loud Oye ,Oye ,Oye, now you want to turn Jesus Irish. Jesus was born in a manger in Bethlehem in that wee little land of Israel, through Him all the nations of the earth will be blessed as it says in Luke 2:30-32 “ For mine eyes have seen your salvation, which you have prepared before all the peoples. A light to bring revelation to the Gentiles and the glory to your people Israel.”

Paul:-Jesus is all that matters, once we have Jesus who came to save the world from sin and sickness and we thankfully, glory to God, do not need the law. As Martin Luther says (Ahem clears his throat and puts on his most important look) We are saved by grace and not by the law.

(Just then a beautiful blond waitress comes up to take their order, Paul adjusts his glasses and stares at the waitress unable to speak.) So Methuselah gives the orders of two cappuccinos. Paul keeps staring at the waitress till she goes back.

Meths:-Paul you might as well hang a sign around your neck that says ’single and looking intently’. Now coming back to what you said about the law, A.G. Herbert in his book ‘The Authority of the Old Testament says “ it is never said that the Mosaic law is now seen not to have been the law of God at all, on the contrary it is God’s law and it is holy and righteous and good. It is never said that the prophets are right and the law wrong, nor is the moral law endorsed and the ceremonial law repudiated, on the contrary Jesus has come not to destroy but to fulfil both the law and the prophets.”

Paul:- That’s good, Aha, Jesus never came to die for our sins in the Old Testament. In the Old Testament they had sacrifices ,the Mosaic law and of course the prophets. But I says I like the apostles filled with the Holy Spirit doing signs and wonders in Jesus’ name.

Meths:- ( shakes his head) My dear boy let me take you through a journey back to the time of prophets and prophesies and how the Holy Spirit worked in the Old Testament. The prophets filled with the Holy Spirit played a very significant role in the life of the Jewish people and therefore in our lives as well. As I said earlier Jesus is the fulfilment of the Law that was prophetic. Now let me take you to I Samuel 16:13 ( Methuselah takes out his Bible from his brown brief case) ‘Samuel took the horn of oil and anointed him in the midst of his brothers and the Spirit of the Lord came upon David from that day forward.’ How did David kill the Lion and the bear 1 Samuel 17:49 ? The answer is simple dear boy because the Holy Spirit was on David. In the Old Testament the Holy Spirit was not a free gift to all people only a chosen few were filled with the Holy Spirit and they were the Prophets, Priests, and Kings. The moment Samuel anointed David with oil, David had a change in perspective from David the Shepherd boy to David the King. Now lets go to your favourite part of scripture Luke 3:22 ” And the Holy Spirit descended in bodily form like a dove upon him and a voice from Heaven which said “ You are my beloved Son; in you I am well pleased”. From that significant moment in Jesus’ life, Jesus had the ability to work miracles and now this is my point dear boy, which portion of scripture did Jesus read at the synagogue in Nazareth after being endowed with power from on high? He read Isaiah 61:1,2 and if the Old Testament was just the Law and Jesus just came to give us amazing grace why would He read Isaiah 61:1,2 ? A prophecy concerning Himself. Now lets go to Zechariah 9:9 “Rejoice greatly O daughter of Zion, Shout daughter of Jerusalem, See your King comes to you righteous and having salvation gentle and riding on a donkey on a colt, The foal of a donkey.” This prophecy was fulfilled in Matthew 21:7,8 where Jesus sat on the donkey as He approached Jerusalem and the crowds lay their cloaks before Him on the road and Jesus entered Jerusalem riding on the donkey just as the law had foretold. Jesus fulfilled the law and the law was prophetic. Therefore dear son you cannot have the new without the old. Like two sides of a coin ( as Methuselah flicks a coin in the air and catches it)

Paul:- Sips his cappuccino, looks at the young couple who have just entered Star bucks and gives a gives a big sigh. He pauses for a moment, takes a big gulp of cappuccino and chokes as it is really hot, he gulps a mouthful of cold water wipes his eyes, puts his glasses back on and continues. According to J P Fokkelman in his book Reading Biblical Narrative

“ The narrative art of the New Testament can be found in the four gospels and the Acts of the Apostles. These books have been written in the Greek of the Hellenistic world of the first century. All of them move around two land marks, Firstly the person of Jesus Christ and secondly the group of texts that for Jesus, His disciples and the writers of the gospels and the letters constitute the Holy scriptures, The Hebrew Bible. Paradoxically, we can only speak of the Old Testament after a New Testament has been written and recognised as a canon.

Meths:- Dear boy, what are you trying to prove? We had the law first Exodus 20 :1-17, the prophesies, example Isaiah 61:1-3 and Isaiah 53. The Old Testament foreshadowed the New. The Old Testament was the foundation on which the New Testament was built. The New Testament is a prophetic fulfilment of the Old Testament. Jesus is the Word made flesh who paid the ultimate sacrifice for our sins to fulfil the law and the prophets. Now coming back to a more personal level, You remember the time Rebecca was sick with typhoid I just prayed the Psalms with tears especially Psalm 42. ‘Tears have been my food’ when we did not have enough food in the house for our children to eat but by praying and fasting ( not optionally) God took us through that time when we were in Russia and brought us to the promised land of Jerusalem. Those prayers from the Old Testament worked and now we are here in Northern Ireland on holiday drinking Cappuccino.

Paul:- Takes of his glasses and wipes the tears from his eyes and blows his nose loudly on the Star Bucks serviette. Well Methuselah, it is great having you in Noren Ireian…. I agree with you dear brother that we need the Old Testament to have the New Testament,

Let us pray, Paul clears his throat and prays with the loud voice that people turn around and stare “ Dear God of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob, Thank you for the privilege of knowing Yahweh, Emmanuel God with us and at the same time have the sweet communion with the Holy Spirit. He then pauses and says God give me a wife soon, with a hint to Methuselah, adds someone from the Holy land he again pauses and says in the words of the song by Keith Christianson “ We believe in the Father, who created all that is and we believe the universe and all there is is His. As a loving heavenly Father, He yearned to save us all to lift us from the fall we believe. We believe in Jesus the Father’s only son existing before time had begun a sacrifice for sin, He died and rose again to ransom sinful men we believe. We believe in the Spirit who makes believers one, our hearts are filled with His presence the Comforter has come. The kingdom unfolds in His plan, unhindered by quarrels of man His church upheld by his hand we believe. Though the earth be removed and time be no more these truths are secure, God’s word shall endure whatever may change these things are sure we believe. So if the mountains are cast down into the plains when Kingdoms all crumble this one remains, Our faith is not subject to seasons of man with our fathers we proclaim. We believe our Lord will come as He said, The land and the sea will give up their dead His children will reign with Him as their head, we believe, we believe.

Amen

Bibliography

1.Herbert A. G. The Authority of the Old Testament, Faber and Faber Ltd

2.Fokkelman J.P Reading Biblical Narrative, An Introductory Guide, John Knox Press 1995

3.Walter C Kaiser Jr. The Old Testament Documents, Inter varsity press 2001

4. Harrison RK Introduction to the Old Testament , The Tyndale Press 1969

A hypothetical discussion between a Messianic Jew and a Pentecostal Irish Belfast Bible College graduate regarding their views on the Old and New testaments of the Bible

by in christianity, Uncategorized and tagged , , , , , , , , , | 2 Comments

“In the beginning was the Word and the Word was with God and the Word was God. He was with God in the beginning” John 1:1,2

Before time ever existed one thing existed and that was the Word. Jesus was the Word made flesh and dwelt among us. Before time existed Jesus existed therefore logically speaking the Word made flesh which is Jesus existed before time existed.

The play unfolds:-

There are two very important people I would like to introduce to you. One is Methuselah middle aged with salt and pepper hair, a big moustache and a bigger tummy with five children four girls and one boy and a wife named Hannah. Names of children are Sarah, Rebecca, Rachel, Abigail and a son named Isaac. Methuselah has recently come to accept Jesus as Lord and Saviour and so has his family they are Messianic Jews who have come to Northern Ireland on holiday.

My next friend is Paul, who likes to think of himself as apostle Paul because of the prophesies he has received from his Pentecostal brothers and sisters from the Elim Pentecostal Church. He is six feet tall, blue/grey eyes with glasses, very thin and scanty blond hair. He is in his late thirty’s. Paul is single and has a Bachelor’s degree in theology from Belfast Bible College. He is hoping to go to Israel as a missionary. Paul met Methuselah in Jerusalem when he went there on holiday and is hoping to get to know Sarah as a prospective bride. Paul and Methuselah have arranged to meet for coffee at Star bucks.

Their conversation begins :-

Meths:- Shalom Paul ( gives Paul a warm hug)

Paul:- Praise the Lord brother and stretches out his hand to shake hands but is overwhelmed by Methuselah’s big hug.

Meths:- How are you Paul? When are you planning on coming to Israel, the land flowing with milk and honey as Psalms 48:1,2 says “ Great is the Lord and greatly to be praised. In the city of our God. In His holy mountain beautiful elevation.  The joy of the whole earth is mount Zion on the sides of the North. The city of the great King.”

Paul:- Can’t imagine why God would send Jesus to that wee little land to fulfil his purpose in all the earth. He could have come to Northern Ireland ya know it is so green and welcoming, ya know man I am not patriotic but why the Middle East?

Meths:- Laughs out loud Oye ,Oye ,Oye, now you want to turn Jesus Irish. Jesus was born in a manger in Bethlehem in that wee little land of Israel, through Him all the nations of the earth will be blessed as it says in Luke 2:30-32 “ For mine eyes have seen your salvation, which you have prepared before all the peoples. A light to bring revelation to the Gentiles and the glory to your people Israel.”

Paul:-Jesus is all that matters, once we have Jesus who came to save the world from sin and sickness and we thankfully, glory to God, do not need the law. As Martin Luther says (Ahem clears his throat and puts on his most important look) We are saved by grace and  not by the law.

(Just then a beautiful blond waitress comes up to take their order, Paul adjusts his glasses and stares at the waitress unable to speak.) So Methuselah gives the orders of two cappuccinos. Paul keeps staring at the waitress till she goes back.

Meths:-Paul you might as well hang a sign around your neck that says ’single and looking intently’. Now coming back to what you said about the law, A.G. Herbert in his book ‘The Authority of the Old Testament says “ it is never said that the Mosaic law is now seen not to have been the law of God at all, on the contrary it is God’s law and it is holy and righteous and good. It is never said that the prophets are right and the law wrong, nor is the moral law endorsed and the ceremonial law repudiated, on the contrary Jesus has come not to destroy but to fulfil both the law and the prophets.”

Paul:- That’s good, Aha, Jesus never came to die for our sins in  the Old Testament. In the Old Testament they had sacrifices ,the Mosaic law and of course the prophets. But I says I like the apostles filled with the Holy Spirit doing signs and wonders in Jesus’ name.

Meths:- ( shakes his head) My dear boy let me take you through a journey back to the time of prophets and prophesies and how the Holy Spirit worked in the Old Testament. The prophets filled with the Holy Spirit played a very significant role in the life of the Jewish people and therefore in our lives as well. As I said earlier Jesus is the fulfilment of the Law that was prophetic. Now let me take you to I Samuel 16:13 ( Methuselah takes out his Bible from his brown brief case) ‘Samuel took the horn of oil and anointed him in the midst of his brothers and the Spirit of the Lord came upon David from that day forward.’ How did David kill the Lion and the bear 1 Samuel 17:49 ? The answer is simple dear boy because the Holy Spirit was on David. In the Old Testament the Holy Spirit was not a free gift to all people only a chosen few were filled with the Holy Spirit and they were the Prophets, Priests, and Kings. The moment Samuel anointed David with oil, David had a change in perspective from David the Shepherd boy to David the King. Now lets go to your favourite part of scripture Luke 3:22 ” And the Holy Spirit descended in bodily form like a dove upon him and a voice from Heaven which said “ You are my beloved Son; in you I am well pleased”.  From that significant moment in Jesus’ life, Jesus had the ability to work miracles and now this is my point dear boy, which portion of scripture did Jesus read at the synagogue in Nazareth after being endowed with power from on high?  He read Isaiah 61:1,2 and if the Old Testament was just the Law and Jesus just came to give us amazing grace why would He read Isaiah 61:1,2 ? A prophecy concerning Himself. Now lets go to Zechariah 9:9 “Rejoice greatly O daughter of Zion, Shout daughter of Jerusalem, See your King comes to you righteous and having salvation gentle and riding on a donkey on a colt, The foal of a donkey.” This prophecy was fulfilled in Matthew 21:7,8 where Jesus sat on the donkey as He approached Jerusalem and the crowds lay their cloaks before Him on the road and Jesus entered Jerusalem riding on the donkey just as the law had foretold. Jesus fulfilled the law and the law was prophetic. Therefore dear son you cannot have the new without the old. Like two sides of a coin ( as Methuselah flicks a coin in the air and catches it)

Paul:- Sips his cappuccino, looks at the young couple who have just entered Star bucks and gives a gives a big sigh. He pauses for a moment, takes a big gulp of cappuccino and chokes as it is really hot, he gulps a mouthful of cold water wipes his eyes, puts his glasses back on and continues. According to J P Fokkelman in his book Reading Biblical Narrative

“ The narrative art of the New Testament can be found in the four gospels and the Acts of the Apostles. These books have been written in the Greek of the Hellenistic world of the first century. All of them move around two land marks, Firstly the person of Jesus Christ and secondly the group of texts that for Jesus, His disciples and the writers of the gospels and the letters constitute the Holy scriptures, The Hebrew Bible. Paradoxically, we can  only speak of the Old Testament after a New Testament has been written and recognised as a canon.

Meths:- Dear boy, what are you trying to prove? We had the law first Exodus 20 :1-17, the prophesies, example Isaiah 61:1-3 and Isaiah 53. The Old Testament foreshadowed the New. The Old Testament was the foundation on which the New Testament was built. The New Testament is a prophetic fulfilment of the Old Testament. Jesus is the Word made flesh who paid the ultimate sacrifice for our sins to fulfil the law and the prophets. Now coming back to a more personal level, You remember the time Rebecca was sick with typhoid I just prayed the Psalms with tears especially Psalm 42. ‘Tears have been my food’ when we did not have enough food in the house for our children to eat but by praying and fasting ( not optionally) God took us through that time when we were in Russia and brought us to the promised land of Jerusalem. Those prayers from the Old Testament worked and now we are here in Northern Ireland on holiday drinking Cappuccino.

Paul:- Takes of his glasses and wipes the tears from his eyes and blows his nose loudly on the Star Bucks serviette. Well Methuselah, it is great having you in Noren Ireian…. I agree with you dear  brother that we need the Old Testament to have the New Testament,

Let us pray, Paul clears his throat and prays with the loud voice that people turn around and stare “ Dear God of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob, Thank you for the privilege of knowing Yahweh, Emmanuel God with us and at the same time have the sweet communion with the Holy Spirit. He then pauses and says God give me a wife soon, with a hint to Methuselah, adds someone from the Holy land he again pauses and says in the words of the song  by Keith Christianson  “ We believe in the Father, who created all that is and we believe the universe and all there is is His. As a loving heavenly Father, He yearned to save us all to lift us from the fall we believe. We believe in Jesus the Father’s only son existing  before time had begun a sacrifice for sin, He died and rose again to ransom sinful men we believe. We believe in the Spirit who makes believers one, our hearts are filled with His presence the Comforter has come. The kingdom unfolds in His plan, unhindered by quarrels of man His church upheld by his hand we believe. Though the earth be removed and time be no more these truths are secure, God’s word shall endure whatever may change these things are sure we believe. So if the mountains are cast  down into the plains when Kingdoms all crumble this one remains, Our faith is not subject to seasons of man with our fathers we proclaim. We believe our Lord will come as He said, The land and the sea will give up their dead His children will reign with Him as their head, we believe, we believe.

Amen

Bibliography

1.Herbert A. G. The Authority of the Old Testament, Faber and Faber Ltd

2.Fokkelman J.P Reading Biblical Narrative, An Introductory Guide, John Knox Press 1995

3.Walter C Kaiser Jr. The Old Testament Documents, Inter varsity press 2001

4. Harrison RK Introduction to the Old Testament , The Tyndale Press 1969

Priesthood

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For this Melchizedek, king of Salem, priest of the Most High God, met Abraham returning from the slaughter of the kings and blessed him, and to him Abraham apportioned a tenth part of everything. He is first, by translation of his name, king of righteousness, and then he is also king of Salem, that is, king of peace. He is without father or mother or genealogy, having neither beginning of days nor end of life, but resembling the Son of God he continues a priest forever.

Hebrews 7: 1-3

The first priest in the Bible was not a Levite but the father of priests. The priest without genealogy  the priest who existed before time existed. Could this high priest from the Old Testament come as the Lamb for sacrifice in the New Testament?

Melchizedek, King of Salem brought out bread and wine.

Genesis 14:18-20

He brought out what would one day happen in the future as He made a covenant with Abraham son of man.
Melchizedek who I personally believe is the pre-incarnate Christ made a covenant with humanity. Melchizedek  the pre-incarnate Christ makes a covenant with Abraham the father of nations. That one day Abraham’s seed which we are may be justified through grace. The bread depicting His body and the wine His blood. That one day Christ will suffer and die for humanity. This was a symbolic prophecy.
Therefore this covenant with Abraham was of utmost significance because this covenant with Abraham which is linked with the covenant of Christ with the Church. When the heavenly bridegroom comes for His bride the Church.
Now coming back to Melchizedek, who is this King and priest with no genealogy? I believe He is Christ our Lord. Why did this King and priest make a covenant  with Abraham? So that the Father of nations depicting humanity would one day enter the holy of holies through the blood and body of Christ who died on the cross.
I believe that the meeting with Melchizedek and Abraham is the day time did a paradigm-shift. When Jesus walked back into time to meet this man called Abraham and the day Abraham walked into the future. The meeting of the two climaxed with a spiritual bang  and Melchizedek blessed the father of many nations. When  Melchizedek blessed Abraham He blessed us all because we are the children of Abraham.

A Letter About This Man Called Jesus

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Hypothetically speaking I am a Pharisee writing a letter to a fellow Jew, a close friend studying this man called Jesus. Could this man a Nazarene be the Messiah?

The spirit of the Lord God is upon me, Because the Lord has anointed me.

He has sent me as a herald of joy to the humble ,To bind up the wounded of heart,

To proclaim release to the captives, Liberation to the imprisoned to proclaim a year of the Lord’s favou , And a day of vindication by our God, To comfort all who mourn.(Isaiah 61:1,2) The Jewish Study Bible

My dear friend and brother Eleazer,

Shalom! I bring greetings to you and your family. I hope you are doing well and your family is blessed and prosperous as always thanks to our great Yahweh. Yahweh be praised my wife and children are in good health and now Bengamin my oldest son is thirity three years old the same age as this man that caused such a religious revolution, this intriguing, mind boggling, baffling, downright rebel that caused so much of an uproar these past three years. Yet there was so much of love in him. So much of courage, compassion, wisdom but above all his love and devotion to Yahweh. Could this mortal man who claims to be the son of the Almighty, Yahweh creator of heaven and earth be the Messiah? I have seen his mother Mary, I have, I have seen his brothers and friends .Yet he is different, he belongs yet does not belong. It says in the book of Isaiah 7:14” Therefore the Lord Himself will give you a sign,the virgin will be with child and will give birth to a son and will call him Immanuel” Could this Mary have been a virgin rumour has it that she was when she was with child Jesus. He looked so different from his family, unlike Mary and Joseph and his strapping normal brothers. Could this be the divine birth that the prophets spoke about? He has flesh and blood like all men, yet this man is unlike all men.

Let me tell you why, long ago when I was the age of Bengmin I went to read the Torah at the temple, to the temple came a lovely young couple with a little baby.

Now this couple caught my attention because they came to dedicate their new born baby at the temple. As they walked to the place of dedication they were greeted by my friend Simon, the man of prayer, who is always at the temple praying for the consolation of Israel. He came to the couple took the baby in his arms and said” For my eyes have seen your salvation which you have prepared in the sight of all people, a light for revelation to the gentiles and for glory to your people Israel” I was amazed and went to read the Torah just as I was about to open it Anna the prophetess went to greet them and I closed the Torah and went towards the young couple she took the child in her arms and spoke about the redemption of Israel through this baby. Being a Pharisee a devout one “hopefully” Yahweh be praised. I went towards this couple spoke to them and asked them the name of this baby and they said it was Jesus. Jesus said I registering the name in my memory as no one else I knew had that name .I lost track of that baby yet the vision of that baby and the words spoken by Simon and Anna the prophetess kept haunting my mind .I remember the way the baby looked at me and smiled. Many years later I went to the temple, as I always do for the feast of the Passover. I saw this sweet boy about twelve years old looking very excited to be at the temple. He came up to us after the sacrifices and this time and stern and he asked me to explain how the sins of the people can be atoned for by the blood sacrifice of an animal. He asked me why does the law need to be enforced ? I thought this child can cause a revolt .The wisdom of this child was phenomenal and I asked him his name. The child looked at me straight in the eye and said “Jesus”. Then I knew this was no ordinary child. As this child spoke to Nathaniel and Jeremiah, I took this child aside and asked, who are you? Why do you look so grave? The child did not answer my first question but He said I now know why I have come into this world.It is to save the Lost, one ultimate sacrifice to fulfil the Law. I did not know what he meant. This boy was one day going to cause a revolution. The purpose of the life of this young boy was revealed when He came to the temple that day. I kept track of the life of this young boy called Jesus. I heard that he took over Joseph’s business as a carpenter. I visited his store at Nazareth and Jesus was the best carpenter that lived in all of Jerusalem. Jesus welcomed me into his store and gave me fresh grape juice and I looked with amazement at the furniture he made, it was absolutely exquisite. This furniture was not made by human hands but had divine inspiration inlaid with mortal aspiration. As we talked on he kept murmuring that His time was yet to come. Yet in my heart I knew that the time was at hand. For this Jesus to cause a revolution as the prophets of old had foretold. I also heard about this prophet called John The Baptist who was calling people to baptism” which was an outward sign of inward change” after they repented of their sins he was baptising them in the Jordan river. Being a curious man I went to hear him, his message was powerful, it cut to my heart urging me to repent and be baptised yet I restrained my self. For I knew it was not my time. As I watched John the Baptist, Jesus and some of his followers came up to him .I was amazed to see that this fascinating, intriguing man Jesus condescended to be baptised by John in the Jordan river. I watched with amazement that as Jesus was coming out of the water, I heard thunder and a voice from nowhere yet everywhere said “ You are my son whom I love with you I am well pleased.” Then I saw a dove come and sit on his head. His whole face was alight and I knew I had witnessed a very special and significant moment. News about this man called Jesus became an obsession with me. I started asking people about him. I went to a synagogue talk about divine timing or was it fate Jesus a young man around thirty years of age read the Torah Isaiah 61:1,2” The spirit of the sovereign Lord is upon me, because the Lord has anointed me to preach good news to the poor . He has sent me to bind up the broken hearted, to proclaim freedom to the captives and release for the prisoners.” As He read these words his voice thundered in the synagogue and this Jesus had the audacity to say “today this scripture is fulfilled in your hearing.” Who did he think He was the son of God? Yet deep in my heart I knew this was no ordinary man. Even after what I heard at His baptism by John the Baptist. I had erased as the figment of my imagination. Yet through these divine appointments I studied him. Yahweh be praise. Then came a very big shock, that shook the very foundations of the ground around my feet.This Jesus started working miracles. Miracles, Yes this Jesus started drove out evil spirits from people. I followed Him to watch him more closely, whenever Jesus saw me watching Him with curiosity he gave me a slight nod and a wonderful smile, that warmed my heart. Jesus did not have an attitude of superiority” Look at me I am the one who works miracles” on the contrary Jesus was humble and full of compassion and touched a man with leprosy and healed him. It was a touch of love. A touch of compassion, a touch of peace for this man who was troubled in body and soul, Jesus touched this man and made him whole. This miracle touched the core of my being. This miracle spoke volumes to me about this man called Jesus.

Isaiah 53:5 “ But He was pierced for our transgressions, he was crushed for our inequities, the punishment that brought us peace was upon Him and by His wounds we are healed.” I heard about the arrest of Jesus and my heart raced and my tongue stuck to the roof of my mouth. This wonderful man Jesus, the man I studied and loved was now standing before Pilate. There was a revolt over this man Jesus. I could not enter into the palace of Pilate but waited outside. I heard the crowd cry crucify Him, crucify Him, my heart wept how could they do this to this awesome man.This man did cause a revolution but not the way I expected. He was going to die. If He was God why did he not do anything supernatural yet my friend Eleazar there was a reason, there was purpose, there was a plan. I stood at the foot of the cross, my spirit and my heart weeping. As He cried out “ Father into your hands I commit my spirit”. Then He breathed His last. I felt in my spirit the pain, the agony, for such a loss yet I knew it was not over. No this could not and can not be the end. More was yet to come ,Some of his disciples told me that He had risen, my heart was overjoyed and I believed. It was then that I believed. Did He appear to me ? No but I knew that I knew, that this Jesus was no longer dead but alive. How did I know? Because Jesus said I will raise this temple in three days that temple meant His body. That man Jesus was the Messiah. This man Jesus the son of God, lived walked and breathed the same air as ordinary men. This man Jesus was a Jew by birth but a gentile by heart. This man Jesus caused a revolution even today in the hearts and lives of people. This man Jesus is the Christ, The anointed one, The Messiah, The Redeemer. This man Jesus is my all in all God of creation. Yeshua be praised.

Your loving brother and friend

Eli