a new message for Yom Kippur 2016 meditation (5): we have shalom with God

Romans 5 Tree of Life Version (TLV)

Shalom with God through Messiah
Therefore, having been made righteous by trusting, we have shalom with God through our Lord Yeshua the Messiah. [a] 2 Through Him we also have gained access by faith into this grace in which we stand and boast in the hope of God’s glory. 3 And not only that, but we also boast in suffering—knowing that suffering produces perseverance; 4 and perseverance, character; and character, hope. 5 And hope does not disappoint, because God’s love has been poured into our hearts through the Ruach ha-Kodesh who was given to us.

6 For while we were still helpless, at the right time Messiah died for the ungodly. 7 For rarely will anyone die for a righteous man—though perhaps for a good man someone might even dare to die. 8 But God demonstrates His own love toward us, in that while we were yet sinners, Messiah died for us. 9 How much more then, having now been set right by His blood, shall we be saved from God’s wrath through Him. 10 For if, while we were yet enemies, we were reconciled to God through the death of His Son, how much more, having been reconciled, shall we be saved by His life. 11 And not only that, but we also boast in God through our Lord Yeshua the Messiah, through whom we have now received reconciliation.

Yet Sin Reigns through Death
12 So then, just as sin came into the world through one man and death through sin, in the same way death spread to all men because all sinned. 13 For up until the Torah, sin was in the world; but sin does not count as sin when there is no law. 14 Nevertheless death reigned from Adam until Moses, even over those who had not sinned in a manner similar to the violation of Adam, who is a pattern of the One to come.

15 But the gracious gift is not like the transgression. For if many died because of the transgression of one man, how much more did the grace of God overflow to many through the gift of one Man—Yeshua the Messiah. 16 Moreover, the gift is not like what happened through the one who sinned. For on the one hand, the judgment from one violation resulted in condemnation; but on the other hand, the gracious gift following many transgressions resulted in justification. [b] 17 For if by the one man’s transgression, death reigned through the one,[c] how much more shall those who receive the overflow of grace and the gift of righteousness reign in life through the One, Messiah Yeshua.

18 So then, through the transgression of one, condemnation came to all men; likewise, through the righteousness of one came righteousness of life to all men. 19 For just as through the disobedience of one man, many were made sinners, so also through the obedience of one man, many will be set right forever.[d]

20 Now the Torah came in so that transgression might increase. But where sin increased, grace overflowed even more— 21 so that just as sin reigned in death, so also grace might reign through righteousness, to eternal life through Messiah Yeshua our Lord.

Footnotes:

1.    Romans 5:2 cf. Isa. 54:17.

2.    Romans 5:17 Lit. judgment from one to condemnation . . . gift from many trespasses to acquittal.

3.    Romans 5:17 cf. Gen. 2:17; 3:6, 19.

4.    Romans 5:19 Lit. made righteous, cf. Rom. 1:17.

John 5 Tree of Life Version (TLV)

Healing on Shabbat
5 After this there was a Jewish feast, and Yeshua went up to Jerusalem. 2 Now in Jerusalem there is a pool by the sheep gate, called Bethzatha in Aramaic,[a] which has five porches. 3 In these a crowd of invalids was lying around—blind, lame, disabled. (4 )[b]

5 Now a certain man had been an invalid there for thirty-eight years. 6 Seeing him lying there and knowing he had been that way a long time, Yeshua said to him, “Do you want to get well?”

7 The invalid answered Him, “Sir, I have nobody to put me into the pool when the water is stirred up. While I’m trying to get in, somebody else steps down before me!”

8 Yeshua tells him, “Get up! Pick up your mat and walk!”

9 Immediately, the man was healed! He took up his mat and started walking around. Now that day was Shabbat, 10 so Judean leaders were saying to the man who was healed, “It’s Shabbat! It’s not permitted for you to carry your mat.”

11 But he answered them, “The man who made me well told me, ‘Pick up your mat and walk.’”

12 They asked him, “Who is the man who told you, ‘Pick up your mat and walk’?” 13 But the man who had been healed didn’t know who it was, for Yeshua had slipped away into the crowd in that place.

14 Afterwards, Yeshua finds him in the Temple. He said to him, “Look, you’ve been healed! Stop sinning, so nothing worse happens to you.” 15 The man left and told the Judean leaders that it was Yeshua who had made him well.

Sent by the Father
16 Because Yeshua was doing these things on Shabbat, the Judean leaders started persecuting Him. 17 But Yeshua said to them, “My Father is still working, and I also am working.” 18 So for this reason the Judean leaders kept trying even harder to kill Him—because He was not only breaking Shabbat,[c] but also calling God His own Father, making Himself equal with God.

19 Therefore Yeshua answered them, “Amen, amen I tell you, the Son cannot do anything by Himself. He can do only what He sees the Father doing. Whatever the Father does, the Son does likewise. 20 For the Father loves the Son and shows Him everything He does. He will show Him even greater works than these, so that you will be amazed. 21 For just as the Father raises the dead and gives them life, so also the Son gives life to whomever He wants. 22 The Father does not judge anyone, but has handed over all judgment to the Son 23 so that all should honor the Son, just as they honor the Father. Whoever does not honor the Son does not honor the Father who sent Him.

24 “Amen, amen I tell you, whoever hears My word and trusts the One who sent Me has eternal life. He does not come into judgment, but has passed over from death into life. 25 Amen, amen I tell you, an hour is coming and is now here, when the dead will hear the voice of Ben-Elohim. Those who hear will live! 26 For just as the Father has life in Himself, so also He has granted the Son to have life in Himself. 27 Also He has given the Son authority to judge, because He is the Son of Man.

28 “Do not be amazed at this, for an hour is coming when all who are in their graves will hear His voice 29 and come out![d] Those who have done good will come to a resurrection of life, and those who have done evil will come to a resurrection of judgment. 30 I can do nothing on My own. Just as I hear, I judge; and My judgment is just, for I do not seek My own will, but the will of the One who sent Me.”

The Father Testifies about the Son
31 “If I testify about Myself, My witness is not valid. 32 There is another who testifies about Me, and I know that the testimony He gives is true. 33 You have sent to John, and he has testified to the truth. 34 I do not receive the testimony of man, but I say these things so that you may be saved. 35 He was the lamp that was burning and shining, and you wanted to rejoice for a while in his light.

36 “But the testimony I have is greater than that from John. The works the Father has given Me to finish—the very works I am doing—testify about Me, that the Father has sent Me. 37 And the Father who sent Me has testified concerning Me. You have never heard His voice nor seen His form. 38 Nor do you have His Word living in you, because you do not trust the One He sent. 39 You search the Scriptures because you suppose that in them you have eternal life. It is these that testify about Me. 40 Yet you are unwilling to come to Me so that you may have life!

41 “I do not accept glory from men. 42 But I know you, that you do not have the love of God in yourselves. 43 I have come in My Father’s name, and you do not receive Me. But if another comes in his own name, you will receive him. 44 How can you believe, when you receive glory from one another and you do not seek the glory that comes from God alone?

45 “Do not think that I will accuse you before the Father. The one who accuses you is Moses, in whom you have put your hope. 46 For if you were believing Moses, you would believe Me—because he wrote about Me. 47 But since you do not believe his writings, how will you believe My words?”[e]

Footnotes:

1.    John 5:2 Lit. in Hebrew. Bethesda (Heb.) means House of Mercy. Bethzatha (Aram.) means the place of poured out water.

2.    John 5:4 ASV adds: They waited for the water to be moved. Other mss. also add verse 4: because an angel of the Lord sometimes went to the pool and moved the water. Then, whoever went into the water first was healed from whatever disease he had.

3.    John 5:18 cf. Mk. 2:27; Lk. 13:16.

4.    John 5:29 cf. Ezek. 37:12; Ps. 16:10; Dan. 12:2.

5.    John 5:47 cf. Deut. 18:15-19.

Tree of Life Version (TLV)Tree of Life (TLV) Translation of the Bible. Copyright © 2015 by The Messianic Jewish Family Bible Society.

a new message for Yom Kippur 2016 meditation (2): according to Torah

Romans 2 Tree of Life Version (TLV)

God’s Judgment on Unrighteousness

2 Therefore you are without excuse, O man—every one of you who is judging. For by whatever you judge another, you condemn yourself. For you who judge practice the same things. ^a]”>[a] 2 We know that God’s judgment on those who practice such things is based on truth. ³ But you, O man—judging those practicing such things yet doing the same—do you suppose that you will escape the judgment of God? ⁴ Or do you belittle the riches of His kindness and tolerance and patience—not realizing that God’s kindness leads you to repentance?

⁵ But by your hard and unrepentant heart, you are storing up wrath for yourself on the day of wrath, when God’s righteous judgment is revealed. ^b]”>[b] 6 He will pay back each person according to his deeds. ^c]”>[c] 7 To those who by perseverance in doing good are seeking glory, honor, and immortality—eternal life. ⁸ But to those who are self-seeking and do not obey the truth, but obey unrighteousness—wrath and fury. ⁹ There will be trouble and hardship for every human soul that does evil—to the Jew first and also to the Greek. ¹⁰ But there will be glory, honor, and shalom to everyone who does good—to the Jew first and also to the Greek.¹¹ For there is no partiality with God.^d]”>[d]

¹² For all who have sinned outside of Torah will also perish outside of Torah, and all who have sinned according to Torah will be judged by Torah. ¹³ For it is not the hearers of Torahwho are righteous before God; rather, it is the doers of Torah who will be justified.¹⁴ For when Gentiles, who do not have the Torah, do by nature the things of the Torah, they are a law to themselves even though they do not have the Torah. ¹⁵ They show that the work of the Torah is written in their hearts, their conscience bearing witness and their thoughts switching between accusing or defending them ¹⁶ on the day when God judges the secrets of men according to my Good News through Messiah Yeshua.

Jewish People Fall Short Too

¹⁷ But if you call yourself Jewish and rely upon the Torah and boast in God ¹⁸ and know His will and determine what matters because you are instructed from the Torah— ¹⁹ and you are sure that you are a guide to the blind, a light to those who are in darkness, ²⁰ a corrector of the foolish, a teacher of the immature, having in the Torah the embodiment of knowledge and the truth—

²¹ you then who teach another, do you not teach yourself?
You who preach not to steal, do you steal?
²² You who say not to commit adultery, do you commit adultery?
You who detest idols, do you rob temples?
²³ You who take pride in the Torah,
through your violation of the Torah, do you dishonor God?
²⁴ For as it is written, “the name of God is slandered among the nations because of you.”^e]”>[e]

²⁵ Circumcision is indeed worthwhile if you keep the Torah; but if you break the Torah, your circumcision has become uncircumcision. ^{f]”>[f] 26} Therefore, if the uncircumcised keeps the righteous decrees of the Torah, will not his uncircumcision be counted as circumcision? ^g]”>[g]27 Indeed, the one not circumcised physically who fulfills the Torah will judge you^h]”>[h] who—even with the written code^i]”>[i] and circumcision—break the Torah.²⁸ For one is not a Jew who is one outwardly, nor is circumcision something visible in the flesh. ²⁹ Rather, the Jew is one inwardly, and circumcision is of the heart—in Spirit not in letter. His praise is not from men, but from God.^j]”>[j]

Footnotes:

a)   Romans 2:2 cf. 2 Sam. 12:5-7; Matt. 7:1-2.

b)   Romans 2:6 cf. Deut. 32:34-35.

c)   Romans 2:7 cf. Ps. 62:12, Prov. 24:12, Matt. 16:27, 2 Cor. 5:10, Col. 3:25, 2 Tim. 4:14, 1 Pet. 1:17, Rev. 2:23.

d)   Romans 2:11 cf. Deut. 10:17.

e)   Romans 2:24 Isa. 52:5b(LXX).

f)   Romans 2:26 cf. Jer. 9:24-26.

g)   Romans 2:27 cf. Deut. 10:16; 30:6; Jer. 4:4.

h)   Romans 2:27 cf. Matt. 12:41-42; 19:28; Lk. 11:31; 22:30.

i)   Romans 2:27 Lit. letter.

j)   Romans 2:29 cf. Gen. 29:35; 49:8.

John 2 Tree of Life Version (TLV) Water to Wine 2 On the third day, there was a wedding at Cana in the Galilee. Yeshua’s mother was there,2 and Yeshua and His disciples were also invited to the wedding. 3 When the wine ran out, Yeshua’s mother said to Him, “They don’t have any wine!” 4 Yeshua said to her, “Woman, what does this have to do with you and Me? My hour hasn’t come yet.” 5 His mother said to the servants, “Do whatever He tells you.” 6 Now there were six stone jars, used for the Jewish ritual of purification, each holding two to three measures. a]”>[a] 7 Yeshua said to them, “Fill the jars with water!” So they filled them up to the top. 8 Then He said to them, “Take some water out, and give it to the headwaiter.” And they brought it. 9 Now the headwaiter did not know where it had come from, but the servants who had drawn the water knew. As the headwaiter tasted the water that had become wine, he calls the bridegroom 10 and says to him, “Everyone brings out the good wine first, and whenever they are drunk, then the worse. But you’ve reserved the good wine until now!” 11 Yeshua did this, the first of the signs, in Cana of the Galilee—He revealed His glory, and His disciples believed in Him. Yeshua Purges the Temple 12 After this Yeshua went down to Capernaum with His mother, brothers,b]”>[b] and disciples, and they stayed there a few days. 13 The Jewish feast of Passover was near, so Yeshua went up to Jerusalem. 14 In the Temple, He found the merchants selling oxen, sheep, and doves; also the moneychangers sitting there. 15 Then He made a whip of cords and drove them all out of the Temple, both the sheep and oxen. He dumped out the coins of the moneychangers and overturned their tables. 16 To those selling doves, He said, “Get these things out of here! Stop making My Father’s house a marketplace!”17 His disciples remembered that it is written, “Zeal for your House will consume Me!”c]”>[c] 18 The Judean leaders responded, “What sign do You show us, since You are doing these things?” 19 “Destroy this Temple,” Yeshua answered them, “and in three days I will raise it up.” 20 The Judean leaders then said to Him, “Forty-six years this Temple was being built, and You will raise it up in three days?” 21 But He was talking about the temple of His body. 22 So after He was raised from the dead, His disciples remembered that He was talking about this. Then they believed the Scripture and the word that Yeshua had spoken. 23 Now when He was in Jerusalem for the Passover, during the feast, many believed in His name, seeing the signs He was doing. 24 But Yeshua did not entrust Himself to them, because He knew all men. 25 He did not need anyone to testify about man, for He knew what was in man. Footnotes: a)   John 2:7 About 20-25 gallons; 1 measure is about 9 gallons. b)   John 2:12 Some mss. say brethren. c)   John 2:17 Ps. 69:10(9). Tree of Life Version (TLV)Tree of Life (TLV) Translation of the Bible. Copyright © 2015 by The Messianic Jewish Family Bible Society.

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