Hear Jonathan Settel

"Yahshua the Rabbi"


Yahshua of Nazareth. What does He look like? What was His culture when He walked on this earth 2000 years ago? Was He a "Church" man? Could we have a wrong mind-set about Him? Do we have misconceptions of His dress, His life-style? What will He be like when He returns?

The 'lovely' Xmas story we hear at school makes everyone feel good, but were there really three kings? Did His birth take place in the middle of winter? What other concepts have we misunderstood? Why have we arrived at these conclusions?
We have, in fact, a Hebrew Gospel, written and enacted by the Hebrew race. Gentiles have a place, but the body of faith throughout the generations has been founded upon a Hebraic life-style and customs. This truly Jewish Man, Yahshua, came to show us the correct way of life and to die for our sins.

Let us examine a few misconceptions we have today as we look upon this Man who was and is "King of the Jews" and King of all Israel as the scriptures states clearly:

Matt.2:6"...a Ruler who will shepherd (A.V."rule") my people Israel"

Yahshua the Rabbi, or as He is known by many, Jesus of Nazareth. Do we know this person? It is possible to have a religious concept or image of Him in our mind, which is far from the truth, and which actually can prevent us coming to know Him in a deeper and more intimate way? What did He look like when He walked on this earth 2000 years ago? What was His culture? Was He a "Church" man? Could we have a wrong mind-set about Him? Do we have a desire to know Him as He really is? and be ready to accept the truth about what He was like as He walked this earth 2000 years ago?

My own concepts have changed radically. This wholly Jewish man has been misinterpreted and often misrepresented in my thinking. Jesus was Jewish. He had a Jewish name, Yahshua. He had a law-keeping mother and father. He lived, ate, spoke, in a totally Jewish manner, He lived within a Hebraic culture. In some places, the gospel appears to have been ‘Gentil-ised’ We see pictures of a blond, blue-eyed Saviour - but He did not stem from the Anglo Saxon race. We need to study phrases like "the hem of His garment" and thus discover that the ‘hem’ of His garment could have been alluding to Tallit worn by every God conscious Jewish man of His day.

The work of the holy Spirit in our day is bringing believing people back to the correct concepts of their Master. There is a restoration taking place. Originally, believers in Yahshua were almost all Jewish, and were considered as just another of the many Jewish sects present in those days. Gentiles have a place, but it is wrong to think of them being separate from the Body of faith throughout the generations, founded upon the Hebrew Torah and customs. We will look briefly at three points; His background, His actions, and lastly, His teachings.

His background


Looking into His background, Yahshua was born of Jewish parentage, of the House of David. Luke 2:4 “Joseph also went…for he was of the house of David…”

His parents were zealous keepers of the Law, the five books of Moses, the Torah. Luke 2:21-24 “…on the eighth day, when it was time for His(Yahshua’s) b’rit-milah, (circumcision) He was given the name Yahshua…” “ Luke 2: 27 “…when the parents brought in the child Yahshua to do for him what the Torah required…” The family regularly travelled the many miles to Jerusalem where it was customary to keep the Feasts. Luke 2:41 ”Every year Yahshua’s parents went to Jerusalem, for the festival of Pesach.(Passover)…”
His parents regularly attended the Feasts of Yahweh three times in the year as stated in Lev. 23.and Deut. 16 Luke 3:41 “Now his parents went to Jerusalem every year at the feast of the Passover …when He was twelve years old, after the custom of the feast”

Yahshua was brought up in Jewish ways and taught to observe the Law. He was Jewish through and through.
His cousin John’s parents were part of the priesthood and worked in the temple area. Luke 1:5, 67. "…a certain priest named Zacharias, of the course of Abia; and his wife was of the daughters of Aaron, and her name was Elisabeth" It was told to Miryam Yahshua’s mother, that He would be king of Israel. "…He shall reign over the house of Jacob for ever; and of His Kingdom there shall be no end"

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