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SRO - What a Crowd!
Rosh Hashanah (Jewish New Year) is an
opportune time to share a message of New Life in the New Year. This year
was no different. It was ‘SRO’-Standing Room Only. With a packed
auditorium and chairs having to be placed in the hallways to accommodate
the overflow of people, you could feel the excitement in the air. Sam’s
message from Genesis 22 is the traditional portion of Scripture for Rosh
Hashanah. The story is about Abraham offering his ‘only son, Isaac’ as a
sacrifice, and at the last moment God providing a substitute: “And
Abraham lifted up his eyes, and looked, and behold behind him a ram
caught in a thicket by his horns: and Abraham went and took the ram, and
offered him up for a burnt offering in the stead of his son” (Gen
22:13). Known as “The Akedah”, or “The Binding of Isaac”, this passage
presents the first example of substitutionary atonement in Scripture.
Rosh Hashana begins a ten day period of ‘soul searching’ leading up to
Yom Kippur, The Day of Atonement: reminding us that we are accountable
before God. From Genesis 22, Sam pointed out that not only was Abraham’s
faith tested, but Isaac’s was as well. Even as a strong young man, while
he was being bound on the altar as the sacrifice, Isaac never questioned
or resisted his aged father’s intentions. Now that’s faith! Though Isaac
was the good, submissive son, we may ask why such a faithful person
would need a sacrifice?
We all recognize that the worst of sinners need forgiveness through
Messiah’s atonement, but we must also remember that even the best of
people are in need of forgiveness, for all have sinned and fallen short
of the glory of God (Romans 3:23). Genesis 22 teaches us that even the
best of people are accountable before God. This is the reason why
Messiah came to Israel. Out of all the nations, Israel was given the
oracles of God, therefore the Jewish people were the most ‘morally
educated’ in the world. Still, even the most moral of people need the
Savior. And if this is true for the best of people, how much more do the
rest of us need the Messiah! So at Rosh Hashana we blow the shofar, the
ram’s horn, to remember that God has provided the Lamb, even for the
‘best of us.’
There were a number of people who responded to the invitation. Afterward
I was introduced to Sarah*, a Jewish woman who had been invited by a
believing friend. Sarah shared that she had always thought of herself as
a good person, but through the message she realized her need for Yeshua.
We all rejoiced to hear of her trusting in Yeshua, and I gave her
discipleship books for her further study.
Yom Kippur: Behold My
Servant
Our Yom Kippur (Day of Atonement) service
was also well attended, and again the need for a larger facility was all
too apparent. The message was from Isaiah 52:13 through 53:12, and Sam
shared how this passage clearly describes the life and ministry of
Yeshua the Messiah (53:1-4), His death (v.5-8) and burial (v.9), and His
resurrection and exaltation (v.10-12). Sam went on to explain how Isaiah
53 has a Yom Kippur motif. Historically, prior to 1100 AD the
traditional teaching of Isaiah 53 clearly referred to Messiah, as found
in the official rabbinical paraphrase bible called the Targum. Here in
Isaiah 52:13 the Targum begins the passage by saying, “Behold my
servant, Messiah.”
Blood of the Sacrifice
Isaiah 52:15 says “So shall he
(Messiah) sprinkle many nations.” This sprinkling ties directly to
the Yom Kippur sacrifices found in Leviticus 16:14,15, and in 19;
“And he (the High Priest) shall sprinkle of the blood upon it (the Mercy
Seat) with his finger seven times, and cleanse it, and hallow it from
the uncleanness of the children of Israel.”
Messiah our Scape-Goat
Isaiah 53:4 says, “Surely he hath borne
our griefs, and carried our sorrows,” and 53:11, “by his
knowledge shall my righteous servant
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justify many; for
he shall bear their iniquities.” These verses reveal how Messiah
bore our sins, and reflects the idea of the Yom Kippur ‘scapegoat’ found
in Leviticus 16:22; “And the goat shall bear upon him all their
iniquities unto a land not inhabited...” This parallels Isaiah
53:6; “All we like sheep have gone astray; we have turned every one
to his own way; and the LORD hath laid on him (Messiah) the
iniquity of us all” (see 2 Cor. 5:21).
Coincidence?
In one of the more salient points of his
message, Sam explained how Messiah’s final sacrifice as our ‘Scapegoat’
has inadvertently been authenticated in historical Jewish commentaries.
In the Talmud, the traditional rabbinical commentary on the Torah, we
find that each year on Yom Kippur the scapegoat, called the Azazael, had
a red thread attached to its horn. If the sacrifice was accepted by God,
the scarlet thread would mysteriously turn white.
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But regarding this red thread
attached to the scapegoat horn we read: “For forty years before the
destruction of the Temple the thread of scarlet never turned white, but
it remained red” (Rosh Hashanah 31b, Yoma 39b). Thus by their own
standard, the traditional Jewish community recognizes that God did not
accept the Yom Kippur atonement for the 40 years before the Temple’s
destruction which occurred in 70 AD. If we back up forty years that
would be 30 AD, which is when Yeshua died for sins. His is the final
atonement, and the last and only sacrifice that God will accept for our
sins.
Yeshua is Lord!
There were a number of people who
responded to the invitation at the Yom Kippur service. However, we
didn’t find out until several weeks later how the teaching about ‘the
scape goat and the scarlet thread’ impacted one young lady in attendence.
Julie* has been attending Hope of Israel for about a year. As a Jewish
woman she had many questions, and had been searching the Scriptures.
Julie related to Sam, “At the Yom Kippur service I was impressed with
the fact that the scarlet thread on the scapegoat did not turn white
after Yeshua died. After checking the reference you quoted, and
recalling the Scriptures I had read, I knew in my heart that Yeshua is
the promised Messiah.” Julie acknowledged to Sam that she had placed her
faith in Yeshua and wanted to grow in her new faith. And she is doing
just that. Julie is attending Hope of Israel Congregation and is
committed to her one-on-one discipleship studies! So thank you for your
prayers and standing with us we reach out in a way that Jewish people
can clearly understand that Yeshua is Messiah and Lord. Shalom.
Y
* Names changed to protect privacy of individuals. |
