Rabbi Schneider - Unwavering Faith
Studying messianic prophecy, beloved, it's more than an academic endeavor. Because when we see the divine origin of the Word of God, which is realized in seeing how Messiah Yeshua fulfills the ancient writings, it establishes us in our faith. Now, I know that in the previous episodes I've been talking about this, but I want to just drill something down again today one more time, so that you get how serious of a situation we are living in in our present culture. The doctrines, the apostolic doctrines of the church fathers, the apostolic doctrine of the New Testament writers has been so degraded today. The church has undergone so much compromise over the years, that if we don't come back to the written word of God, we're going to be like chaff driven away by the wind. It's the Word of God that sanctifies us. Yeshua said, "The words that I speak, they are spirit and life". The New and Old Testaments record the words of God.
So we are considering the words of God. Particularly what we're considering is how there were prophecies in the Tanakh, in the Hebrew Bible, or the Old Testament about the Messiah: what He would look like, when He would come, what line He would come through, in other words, it was through the line of Abraham, Isaac, Jacob, David, Judah, etc., where He would be born, different things that He would accomplish in His ministry. All these things were recorded in the Hebrew Bible. And what we're doing in this series is we're looking at these things that were recorded in the Hebrew Bible, and then we're showing in the Bri't Chadashah or the New Covenant, New Testament Scriptures how indeed Yeshua fulfilled these Old Testament writings.
Now, taking a step back again today, what I'm teaching on, as I indicated, is greater than just an intellectual study. What it's doing is it's grounding us in God's Word. When we see how Yeshua fulfilled the Hebrew Bible, when we see how God's Word is grounded in history, that Yeshua really came-it's a historical fact-and He came in such a way to exactly fulfill these Old Testament prophecies in proportions that were astronomically impossible. In other words, there's no way that it could have been happenstance that a man was born that these prophecies were fulfilled in. It's something that could have only happened if in fact Yeshua's coming into the world was supernatural, which in fact, we studied two weeks ago. The supernatural birth of Yeshua, how Miriam or Mary was impregnated by the Holy Spirit, and how that really brought to climax, the beginning of our faith with Abraham, when he and Sarah conceived Isaac when it was impossible for them to conceive because they were both past the age of childbearing.
Abraham was 100, she was 90. It was impossible for them to have children anymore. But because God was doing something supernatural, He caused them to conceive when it was a scientific impossibility. So how much more then would there be a supernatural birth process when Messiah Himself the most unique being in the planet was born? Of course, there'd be a supernatural marking on His birth. We talked about that several weeks ago. So we're putting it all together. But the value beloved of understanding this is more than just showing how you can link this scripture with that scripture. It's to ground you in the word. I want to call you back to the Word, to the apostolic faith. You see, just because everybody else is doing it, it doesn't mean that it's right. Just because the world says that it's okay to live this way, it doesn't make it right. Just because the world agrees that this is okay, it doesn't make it right. We have to go back to the apostolic faith.
What does the Word of God teach? So even as you're seeing now how Yeshua fulfilled Old Testament prophecies, solidifying in your own heart and mind the authenticity of the Word of God, I want you now to take that same confidence that you're gaining by seeing the integrity of God's Word, I want you to take that same confidence in God's Word and apply it to your thinking about everything else. It doesn't matter necessarily what a pastor says. It doesn't matter what the group says. It doesn't matter what's going on in the Christian culture. What does God's Word say? You see, today in the Christian culture because people are not submitted to the Lord, yet they want an experience with God so they can feel good, what do they do? They turn up the amplifiers in the worship service. It's a shortcut, beloved. True anointing doesn't come from turning up the amplifiers in a worship service. It is a shallow mistake. It's a shallow facade. True anointing comes from submitting to the Word of God, to obedience. The Bible says God gives the Holy Spirit to those that obey Him. The Holy Spirit is a free gift, but we grow in the empowerment through obedience.
So, once again, today, as I show you messianic prophecy, as I show you how Yeshua completes the Hebrew Bible, I want you to take that confidence now that you're gaining from God's Word in seeing how Yeshua fulfills God's Word, and I want you now to take God's Word and apply it to how you're thinking about every area of your life. And don't take a shortcut because the world is generally wrong. The world is not giving you an authentic voice of God's will. Because the world compromises. "Straight and narrow as a way that leads to life," Yeshua said, "and few there be that find it". So let's now look at God's Word, gain confidence from God's word.
Now I want to encourage you, think for yourself in the Holy Spirit, and don't be a casualty by compromising with the world. Because many will fall away from the faith during the season that we're in. Jesus predicted that. And they'll think that they're in the right. They'll think that they're right because everyone else is telling them they're right. No. Beloved, let's go back to the apostolic faith. Where's the apostolic faith? It's in this book. It's in the Bible. Paul said, "If anybody comes preaching to you a different gospel than the one that I'm preaching, let him be accursed". Okay, enough introduction. Last week, I left off on the supernatural birth of Yeshua showing how it was written in the Hebrew Bible.
I talked about how the Hebrew Bible predicted in the book of Micah chapter 5, verse 2 that the Messiah would be born from Bethlehem. It's an amazing thing that Micah said. "The one that's going to come out of Bethlehem, He's going to be from eternity". That Yeshua wasn't just a man. He's the God-man. He's the Alpha and the Omega. He's God clothed in humanity. Matthew quotes Micah 2 in Matthew chapter 2 speaking of Yeshua being born in Bethlehem, quoting this Hebrew prophecy from long ago to steer the reader, to steer the reader and those that were listening to come to the conclusion that Jesus is that one and we must follow Him. We must pick up our cross, lay our life down, and follow Him. There is no other way.
You see, Jesus said to the rich man that wanted to follow Him, "Listen, I'm trying to do the right thing. I'm trying to be a good person. I believe that you're the one. I believe that you're the one that was prophesied. I believe that you fulfill the Messianic prophecies. I believe you. What should I do now"? It's a question for you and I today. We're seeing how Jesus fulfilled the prophecies. He was born where Micah said He would be born. He was born supernaturally just as the Hebrew Scriptures prophesied in the book of Isaiah chapter 7 that a virgin would conceive. Quoted once again by Matthew. We see how He fulfill the prophecies. So we say, "Yes, Lord, what do I do"? That's what the rich man said. And what did Yeshua say to the rich man? He said, "Go and sell everything you have. Go and sell all your possessions. And then," He said, "Come and follow me". And the rich man walked away, and he was grieved. He couldn't do it.
What's the point? The point is that Yeshua is saying, "If you want to follow me, you need to be willing to give up everything: your life, your reputation. Whatever things you think are supporting you in life, whatever you're clinging to for your confidence, whatever you're clinging to for your security, whatever you're clinging to for your life that's other than Me," He said, "Unless you give those things up, you cannot truly follow Me". This is the same thing that Paul said. He said he was a Hebrew of Hebrews. Circumcised the eighth day from the tribe of Benjamin, educated under the leading sage of his day, Gamaliel. He said, "But about whatever those things were," he said, "I gave them up". And he said, "I consider them but rubbish that I might be found in Him, Yeshua, knowing Him, the power of His resurrection and the fellowship of His sufferings".
So we're getting convinced that Yeshua is fulfilling the Messianic prophecies. But what should our response be? Just to be happy that we understand how Old Testament Scriptures fit together with New Testament Scriptures? Beloved, that's not enough. We, now being convinced that Yeshua did fulfill the Old Testament Scriptures, we need to take His challenge upon our lives now. That challenge when He said to the rich man, when He said, "Go sell all your possessions, come and follow me". In other words, Yeshua said, "You need to let go of everything in your life right now. Whatever was gained, you needed to count it as loss to follow me. And then you could be my disciple. And then you'll experience the eternal life that I came and so badly desire to pour out upon you". You see, this is more than an academic study. So let's let the Messianic scriptures bring us to a place of commitment to let everything else go to follow Him. There is no other way. Jesus said unless we pick up our cross, deny ourselves and follow Him, we cannot be His disciple.
All right, let's get right in now in next messianic prophecy. The book of Malachi chapter 3, here's what we read. "Behold," chapter 3, verse 1, "I'm going to send my messenger, and he will clear the way before Me. And the Lord, whom you seek, will suddenly come to His temple; and the messenger of the covenant, in whom you delight, behold, He is coming,' says the LORD of hosts". Malachi 4:5. "Behold, I'm going to send you Elijah the prophet before the great and terrible day of the LORD". So what is the Messianic prophecy? The prophecy, which Jewish people have understood for hundreds and hundreds of years, is that before Messiah is revealed, Elijah the messenger of God would come and prepare the way for His coming.
Get it again. The messianic prophecy is that before Messiah would appear in the earth, Elijah the Hebrew prophet would come first, clear the way for Him and prepare the world for His coming. This is why when Jewish people celebrate Passover every year, and perhaps some of you have been to Passover services or a Passover celebration meal before, Seder as we call it Hebrew, this is why during the Passover Seder, the Passover meal we set a place at the table that's empty. And that place setting that's empty is for Elijah. Why do we do that at Passover? Because we believe that even as the Lord delivered Israel out of Egypt 3,500 years ago, He is going to deliver the children of Israel again when the Messiah comes.
So we're waiting for that next deliverer Moses, we're celebrating the Passover, was used of the Lord to deliver Israel out of Egypt 3,500 years ago. But we're now waiting for another deliverer. And we know that the other deliverer will not come until Elijah comes first to announce His coming. Let me say it again. We find in the book of Malachi that before Messiah comes, Elijah is going to come and announce His coming. Jewish people have recognized this as a messianic prophecy forever. And that's why the place is set during Passover for Elijah to come and announce that Messiah is here. We even at the Passover Seder have a little child run to the door, you know, the house where we're at, or the building, look outside to see if Elijah is coming. It's like inviting Elijah to come back so that Elijah can come and announce Messiah is here. So what happens? Yeshua comes.
The Jewish people say, "Listen, if you're the Messiah, where's Elijah? Because we know that Elijah's going to announce Messiah is coming. And so if you are the Messiah Jesus, why hasn't Elijah come"? So Yeshua said in the book of Matthew chapter 11, verse 14, "If you're willing to accept it, John himself", He's speaking of John the Baptist (Yohanan the Immerser), "is Elijah, who was to come". So they're saying, "You can't be the Messiah". Many of the unbelieving Jewish people were saying to Him because Elijah hasn't come. He just said, "Aah, he did come". Yohanan, John the Immerser, John the Baptist is Elijah who was to come. Listen what Yeshua said in Matthew 17:10-13 along these same lines. "And His disciples asked Him, 'Why then do the scribes say that Elijah must come first?' and He answered and said, 'Elijah is coming and will restore all things; but I say to you'", which tells us Elijah is coming again before a second coming, but listen, "'but I say to you,'" Yeshua said in verse 12, "'that Elijah already came, and they did not recognize him, but did to him whatever they wished. So also the Son of Man is going to suffer at their hands.' Then the disciples understood that He had spoken to them about John the Baptist".
Listen what John himself said about himself in the gospel of John chapter 1, verse 23. He said about himself, "I am a voice of one crying in the wilderness, 'make straight the way of the Lord.'" Directly fulfilling the prophecy and in the book of Isaiah, the Lord was going to send a messenger before Him to make the way straight. So this is just an amazing, amazing, just a fullness to me. As a Jewish person, I stand against such unbelief in terms of my people. So few of my people have recognized that Yeshua is the Jewish Messiah. In fact, it's so sad and unfortunate, and it hurts me so much that for me, as soon as I received Jesus as Messiah in 1978 at the age of 20 years old, 42 years ago now, I was disqualified for my people as even being a Jew anymore.
We're seeing how perfectly Yeshua fulfilled all of Israel's prophecies about the coming Messiah. We're declaring that Yeshua is the Messiah that was to come. We're declaring that Yeshua is the king of Israel. He's the only Messiah that Israel will ever have. And yet because I and others like me as Jewish people believe that Yeshua is the Messiah, we have been disqualified as being Jewish by the Jewish people. And you know what's so sad, church? Unfortunately, even within the church, there are those that look at me and others like me, Jews, that have received Jesus as the Messiah.
Even Christians look at Jewish believers like myself as somehow not being authentically Jewish anymore. How can that be? If Jesus really is the Jewish Messiah, and I have received Him as a Jew, how can someone look at me and say to me, "You're no longer Jewish" even in the church? How can the church no longer look at Jewish believers as being authentically Jewish anymore? Do you have to not believe in Jesus to be authentically Jewish? I'm speaking to you now church. But deep in your psyche, that's how many of you see it. You look at me and say, "He's not really authentically Jewish. He believes in Jesus". I mean, think about how preposterous that is. If Jesus is the Hebrew Messiah, if He's the one when He died on the cross with the sign over His head that said, "Yeshua of Nazareth, King of the Jews," if He's really alive, if He is who He said He was, if He's coming back to be revealed to the whole world as the King of the Jews, how can I as a Jew that have put my faith in Him no longer be considered Jewish?
Some of you might need to ask yourself that question. Yes, I was born a Jew, raised a Jew, came into this world by two Jewish parents, I'm 100% Ashkenazi Jew, meaning that my ancestors came out of Europe. Again, Bar Mitzvahed a conservative synagogue, all my friends were Jewish. I'm totally Jewish. I believe that Yeshua is the Jewish Messiah and the king of Israel. And I'm here to say to you I'm still a Jew. That's why I've grown these peyos, these sideburns. I'm making a statement on the earth, listen, you can be a Jew and believe in Jesus. And more than that, believing in Jesus for a Jew is the most beautifully Jewish thing, at least for me, this is me personally, that a Jew could ever do. I love you, beloved. God bless you and Shalom.