Talmidim Emor

Talmidim Emor

Luke 22:31-23:38

Luk 22:31  Adonai said, “Shim`on, Shim`on, behold, Hasatan asked to have you, that he might sift you as wheat,

We must not forget that hasatan is not going to be thrown out of heaven until the midpoint of the tribulation.  Until that time, he is still quite busy accusing us night and day in front of the Throne of Elohim.

Luke, c ontinued:

Luk 22:32  but I prayed for you, that your faith wouldn’t fail. You, when once you have turned again, establish your brothers.”

Adonai knows that we are going to fail – but we can use these lapses to warn and teach our brethren about whatever pitfalls we have experienced.

Luke, continued:

Luk 22:33  He said to him, “Adonai, I am ready to go with you both to prison and to death!”

Luk 22:34  He said, “I tell you, Kefa, the rooster will by no means crow today until you deny that you know me three times.”

Luk 22:35  He said to them, “When I sent you out without purse, and wallet, and shoes, did you lack anything?” They said, “Nothing.”

Luk 22:36  Then he said to them, “But now, whoever has a purse, let him take it, and likewise a wallet. Whoever has none, let him sell his cloak, and buy a sword.

We must deal with the real world, and be prepared for whatever may happen to us.   Our dealings with the real worls include “a purse,” that is, an education in a skill, trade, or profession in which to earn a living, “a cloak,” and whatever else we may need for travel, including passports, and “a sword,” which may mean literal physical protection, but for most of us probably means “the Word,” a good copy of scripture that we have underlined and annotated in order to be able to teach others.

Luke, continued:

Luk 22:37  For I tell you that this which is written must still be fulfilled in me: ‘He was counted with the lawless.’ For that which concerns me has an end.”

This refers, of course, to Isaiah 53:

Isa 53:1 Who hath believed our report? and to whom is the arm of YHWH revealed?   Isa 53:2  For he shall grow up before him as a tender plant, and as a root out of a dry ground: he hath no form nor comeliness; and when we shall see him, there is no beauty that we should desire him.   Isa 53:3  He is despised and rejected of men; a man of sorrows, and acquainted with grief: and we hid as it were our faces from him; he was despised, and we esteemed him not.   Isa 53:4  Surely he hath borne our griefs, and carried our sorrows: yet we did esteem him stricken, smitten of Elohim, and afflicted.   Isa 53:5  But he was wounded for our transgressions, he was bruised for our iniquities: the chastisement of our peace was upon him; and with his stripes we are healed.   Isa 53:6  All we like sheep have gone astray; we have turned every one to his own way; and YHWH hath laid on him the iniquity of us all.   Isa 53:7  He was oppressed, and he was afflicted, yet he opened not his mouth: he is brought as a lamb to the slaughter, and as a sheep before her shearers is dumb, so he openeth not his mouth.   Isa 53:8  He was taken from prison and from judgment: and who shall declare his generation? for he was cut off out of the land of the living: for the transgression of my people was he stricken.   Isa 53:9  And he made his grave with the wicked, and with the rich in his death; because he had done no violence, neither was any deceit in his mouth.   Isa 53:10  Yet it pleased YHWH to bruise him; he hath put him to grief: when thou shalt make his soul an offering for sin, he shall see his seed, he shall prolong his days, and the pleasure of YHWH shall prosper in his hand.   Isa 53:11  He shall see of the travail of his soul, and shall be satisfied: by his knowledge shall my righteous servant justify many; for he shall bear their iniquities.   Isa 53:12  Therefore will I divide him a portion with the great, and he shall divide the spoil with the strong; because he hath poured out his soul unto death: and he was numbered with the transgressors; and he bare the sin of many, and made intercession for the transgressors.

Here Yeshua is applying Isaiah 53 directly to Himself, which the audience would have understood as referring to Messiah ben Yosef, the Suffering Servant.

Luke, continued:

Luk 22:38  They said, “Adonai, behold, here are two swords.” He said to them, “That is enough.”

Luk 22:39  He came out, and went, as his custom was, to the Mount of Olives. His talmidim also followed him.

Luk 22:40  When he was at the place, he said to them, “Pray that you don’t enter into temptation.”

Luk 22:41  He was withdrawn from them about a stone’s throw, and he knelt down and prayed,

Luk 22:42  saying, “Father, if you are willing, remove this cup from me. Nevertheless, not my will, but yours, be done.”

Luk 22:43  An angel from heaven appeared to him, strengthening him.

Luk 22:44  Being in agony he prayed more earnestly. His sweat became like great drops of blood falling down on the ground.

He wasn’t scared of dying, per se.  He wasn’t scared of pain or suffering.  But what was going to happen was something that had not been done, ever, before or during space and time – Elohim was going to de-emanate a significant portion of Himself, 7 of the 10 layers that separate us from the Ain Sof, the Eternal, which lives outside of space and time and the universe.  This was not a “symbolic” event – it was a real death, wherein those 7 sephirot ceased to exist, relegated to Unbeing.  It would be like purposefully putting youself in a coma with only the bare minimal life support left to run the universe and not being sure you could bring yourself out of it.  Hasatan never guessed anything like this would happen – it was a complete coup d’etat on Yeshua’s part (Hasatan is, after all, the “ruler” of this world).

There was a real chance this experiment could fail and the state of Unbeing would be permanent, at which point the universe would be running on autopilot and hasatan would reign unopposed, or worse, the Universe would implode and destroy itself without the fully emanated support it had been receiving from Elohim – which is why hasatan never imagined Elohinm would actually do it. After all, the whole point of this exercise was to AVOID destroying mankind again.  He loves us – He didn’t want that to happen.  Sure, he could have made a new universe, but is saying “You can have another child,” really any consolation to a parent?  Of course it isn’t.  He wanted to save US, WE OURSELVES, because He really and truly does LOVE us – just like a parent would do anything to save a child.   The plan was brilliant, and dangerous.

Why, you ask?  Because Elohim won’t violate His own laws – and the Uncertainty Principle is built into the very atomic structure of the space/time continuum.   But He can use those same laws against those who oppose Him.  The fate of the universe on a technicality?  Yes, and Elohim pulled it off, too.

Luke, continued:

Luk 22:45  When he rose up from his prayer, he came to the talmidim, and found them sleeping because of grief,

Luk 22:46  and said to them, “Why do you sleep? Rise and pray that you may not enter into temptation.”

Luk 22:47  While he was still speaking, behold, a multitude, and he who was called Yehudah, one of the Twelve, was leading them. He came near to Yeshua to kiss him.

Luk 22:48  But Yeshua said to him, “Yehudah, do you betray the Son of Man with a kiss?”

Luk 22:49  When those who were around him saw what was about to happen, they said to him, “Adonai, shall we strike with the sword?”

Luk 22:50  A certain one of them struck the servant of the Kohen Gadol, and cut off his right ear.

Luk 22:51  But Yeshua answered, “Let me at least do this”–and he touched his ear, and healed him.

Luk 22:52  Yeshua said to the chief Kohanim, captains of the temple, and elders, who had come against him, “Have you come out as against a robber, with swords and clubs?

Luk 22:53  When I was with you in the temple daily, you didn’t stretch out your hands against me. But this is your hour, and the power of darkness.”

Hasatan was led into the trap – thinking he could kill the heir and take possession of the vineyard, like the evil servants in the parable.

Luke, continued:

Luk 22:54  They seized him, and led him away, and brought him into the Kohen Gadol’s house. But Kefa followed from a distance.

Luk 22:55  When they had kindled a fire in the middle of the courtyard, and had sat down together, Kefa sat among them.

Luk 22:56  A certain servant girl saw him as he sat in the light, and looking intently at him, said, “This man also was with him.”

Luk 22:57  He denied Yeshua, saying, “Woman, I don’t know him.”

Luk 22:58  After a little while someone else saw him, and said, “You also are one of them!” But Kefa answered, “Man, I am not!”

Luk 22:59  After about one hour passed, another confidently affirmed, saying, “Truly this man also was with him, for he is a Gelili!”

Luk 22:60  But Kefa said, “Man, I don’t know what you are talking about!” Immediately, while he was still speaking, a rooster crowed.

Luk 22:61  Adonai turned, and looked at Kefa. Then Kefa remembered Adonai’s word, how he said to him, “Before the rooster crows you will deny me three times.”

Luk 22:62  He went out, and wept bitterly.

It appears that denying Messiah is not “blasphemy,” and is therefore pardonable.  But I don’t recommend doing it.  Peter had a chance to repent – you may not have that chance when the time comes.  When our persecutions and tribulations comes, we must be strong and not be afraid to give up our earthly life – because we’ll get back eternity in exchange.

Luke, continued:

Luk 22:63  The men who held Yeshua mocked him and beat him.

Luk 22:64  Having blindfolded him, they struck him on the face and asked him, “Prophesy! Who is the one who struck you?”

Luk 22:65  They spoke many other things against him, insulting him.

Luk 22:66  As soon as it was day, the assembly of the elders of the people was gathered together, both chief Kohanim and scribes, and they led him away into their council, saying,

Luk 22:67  “If you are the Messiah, tell us.” But he said to them, “If I tell you, you won’t believe,

Luk 22:68  and if I ask, you will in no way answer me or let me go.

Luk 22:69  From now on, the Son of Man will be seated at the right hand of the power of Elohim.”

Luk 22:70  They all said, “Are you then the Son of Elohim?” He said to them, “You say it, because I AM.”

Luk 22:71  They said, “Why do we need any more witness? For we ourselves have heard from his own mouth!”

I like this translation.  The other gospels try and fudge the matter, but I am convinced that what Yeshua said to the Cohen HaGadol was “ayeh asher ayer,” which would have given them fits and claiming to be Elohim might certainly be considered blasphemy, whereas just claiming to be the Messiah is not.   The Rabbis themselves under the direction of R. Akiva declared Simeon bar Kochba to be the Messiah not 60 years later, and both prior to and after Yeshua there were those who claimed to be Messiah and were supported and accepted by members of the Sanhedrin.  It’s not blasphemy per se to make that claim.

Luke, continued:

Luk 23:1 The whole company of them rose up and brought him before Pilate.

Luk 23:2  They began to accuse him, saying, “We found this man perverting the nation, forbidding paying taxes to Caesar, and saying that he himself is Messiah, a king.”

Luk 23:3  Pilate asked him, “Are you the King of the Judeans?” He answered him, “So you say.”

Luk 23:4  Pilate said to the chief Kohanim and the multitudes, “I find no basis for a charge against this man.”

Now, in real life Pilate was bloodthirsty thug who crucified people just for fun, according to Josephus and other contemporary documents.  It is highly likely that the Roman Church has tampered with the texts to make their writings appear acceptable to Roman authorities, casting the blame for Yeshua’s death on Jews and not on Rome.  But in real life Pilate executed so many people for no reason at all that he was eventually recalled to Rome and exectued himself for giving the Emperor a bad name, as Roman records show.  He never showed leniency to anyone voluntarily.

Luke, continued:

Luk 23:5  But they insisted, saying, “He stirs up the people, teaching throughout all Yehudah, beginning from the Galil even to this place.”

Luk 23:6  But when Pilate heard Galil mentioned, he asked if the man was a Gelili.

Luk 23:7  When he found out that he was in Herod’s jurisdiction, he sent him to Herod, who was also in Yerushalayim during those days.

Luk 23:8  Now when Herod saw Yeshua, he was exceedingly glad, for he had wanted to see him for a long time, because he had heard many things about him. He hoped to see some miracle done by him.

Luk 23:9  He questioned him with many words, but he gave no answers.

Luk 23:10  The chief Kohanim and the scribes stood, vehemently accusing him.

Luk 23:11  Herod with his soldiers humiliated him and mocked him. Dressing him in luxurious clothing, they sent him back to Pilate.

Luk 23:12  Herod and Pilate became friends with each other that very day, for before that they were enemies with each other.

Secular records don’t bear this out, either.

Luke, continued:

Luk 23:13  Pilate called together the chief Kohanim and the rulers and the people,

Luk 23:14  and said to them, “You brought this man to me as one that perverts the people, and see, I have examined him before you, and found no basis for a charge against this man concerning those things of which you accuse him.

Luk 23:15  Neither has Herod, for I sent you to him, and see, nothing worthy of death has been done by him.

Luk 23:16  I will therefore chastise him and release him.”

Luk 23:17  Now he had to release one prisoner to them at the feast.

Luk 23:18  But they all cried out together, saying, “Away with this man! Release to us Bar-Abba!”–

Luk 23:19  one who was thrown into prison for a certain revolt in the city, and for murder.

Luk 23:20  Then Pilate spoke to them again, wanting to release Yeshua,

Luk 23:21  but they shouted, saying, “Crucify! Crucify him!”

Luk 23:22  He said to them the third time, “Why? What evil has this man done? I have found no capital crime in him. I will therefore chastise him and release him.”

Luk 23:23  But they were urgent with loud voices, asking that he might be crucified. Their voices and the voices of the chief Kohanim prevailed.

It may be that Pilate was aware that this was a trumped-up charge, seeing as Yeshua taught his disciples that they did not need to heed the authority of the Pharisees and Chief Priests, but it is doubtful it really took much in the way of persuasion to get him to give a death sentence.

Luke, continued:

Luk 23:24  Pilate decreed that what they asked for should be done.

Luk 23:25  He released him who had been thrown into prison for insurrection and murder, for whom they asked, but he delivered Yeshua up to their will.

Luk 23:26  When they led him away, they grabbed one Shim`on of Cyrene, coming from the country, and laid on him the stake, to carry it after Yeshua.

Luk 23:27  A great multitude of the people followed him, including women who also mourned and lamented him.

Luk 23:28  But Yeshua, turning to them, said, “Daughters of Yerushalayim, don’t weep for me, but weep for yourselves and for your children.

Luk 23:29  For behold, the days are coming in which they will say, ‘Blessed are the barren, the wombs that never bore, and the breasts that never nursed.’

Luk 23:30  Then they will begin to tell the mountains, ‘Fall on us!’ and tell the hills, ‘Cover us.’

Luk 23:31  For if they do these things in the green tree, what will be done in the dry?”

This is a prophecy of the Tribulation, concerning a limited nuclear exchange, as we see in Revelation:

Rev 6:12  I saw when he opened the sixth seal, and there was a great earthquake. The sun became black as sackcloth made of hair, and the whole moon became as blood.   Rev 6:13  The stars of the sky fell to the earth, like a fig tree dropping its unripe figs when it is shaken by a great wind.   Rev 6:14  The sky was removed like a scroll when it is rolled up. Every mountain and island were moved out of their places.   Rev 6:15  The kings of the earth, the princes, the commanding officers, the rich, the strong, and every slave and free person, hid themselves in the caves and in the rocks of the mountains.   Rev 6:16  They told the mountains and the rocks, “Fall on us, and hide us from the face of him who sits on the throne, and from the wrath of the Lamb,   Rev 6:17  for the great day of his wrath has come; and who is able to stand?”

This was not, however, a new prophecy – it was known to the prophets.

Hos 10:3  Surely now they will say, “We have no king; for we don’t fear YHWH; and the king, what can he do for us?”   Hos 10:4  They make promises, swearing falsely in making covenants. Therefore judgment springs up like poisonous weeds in the furrows of the field.   Hos 10:5  The inhabitants of Shomron will be in terror for the calves of Beit-Aven; for its people will mourn over it, Along with its Kohanim who rejoiced over it, for its glory, because it has departed from it.   Hos 10:6  It also will be carried to Ashur for a present to a great king. Efrayim will receive shame, and Yisra’el will be ashamed of his own counsel.   Hos 10:7  Shomron and her king float away, like a twig on the water.   Hos 10:8  The high places also of Aven, the sin of Yisra’el, will be destroyed. The thorn and the thistle will come up on their altars. They will tell the mountains, “Cover us!” and the hills, “Fall on us!“   Hos 10:9  “Yisra’el, you have sinned from the days of Gevah. There they remained. The battle against the children of iniquity doesn’t overtake them in Gevah.   Hos 10:10  When it is my desire, I will chastise them; and the nations will be gathered against them, when they are bound to their two transgressions.

Luke, continued:

Luk 23:32  There were also others, two criminals, led with him to be put to death.

Luk 23:33  When they came to the place that is called The Skull, they crucified him there with the criminals, one on the right and the other on the left.

Luk 23:34  Yeshua said, “Father, forgive them, for they don’t know what they are doing.” Dividing his garments among them, they cast lots.

This was also in prophecy, spoken by David:

Psa 22:13  They open their mouths wide against me, lions tearing prey and roaring.   Psa 22:14  I am poured out like water. All my bones are out of joint. My heart is like wax; it is melted within me.   Psa 22:15  My strength is dried up like a potsherd. My tongue sticks to the roof of my mouth. You have brought me into the dust of death.   Psa 22:16  For dogs have surrounded me. A company of evil-doers have enclosed me. They pierced my hands and my feet.   Psa 22:17  I can count all of my bones. They look and stare at me.   Psa 22:18  They divide my garments among them. They cast lots for my clothing…

Luke, continued:

Luk 23:35  The people stood watching. The rulers with them also scoffed at him, saying, “He saved others. Let him save himself, if this is the Messiah of Elohim, his chosen one!”

Luk 23:36  The soldiers also mocked him, coming to him and offering him vinegar,

Luk 23:37  and saying, “If you are the King of the Jews, save yourself!”

Luk 23:38  An inscription was also written over him in letters of Greek, Latin, and Hebrew: “THIS IS THE KING OF THE JUDEANS.”

Amen.

Next:  Epistle Emor.