Arguing for the Faith?
for he powerfully refuted the Jews in public, demonstrating by the Scriptures that Jesus was the Christ. Acts 18:28 NASB
Refuted – The Greek term here is a real combination. It brings together a preposition, a particle and a verb to produce diakatĕlĕgchŏmai. The three parts are important. First, dia is the preposition for “through,” that is, to act as a channel. Second, kata means, “according to,” or “down,” and is sometimes used as an exclamation. Finally, the root verb is ĕlĕgchō, meaning “to admonish, refute.” So we get the sense, “admonishing through effort according to.” Paul tried his very best to show that the objections of these men were without foundation. But he didn’t stop there. He took the debate one step further by demonstrating that Yeshua was the expected Jewish Messiah from the Scriptures. Of course, that can only mean from the Tanakh.
Two things are important here. First, Paul’s arguments should not be taken to mean that he was in conflict with all Jews. That obviously cannot be the case since most of the early followers of the Messiah were Jewish. Furthermore, Paul himself confirms his deeply held Jewish understanding of faith and practice. In this case, Paul is debating those Jews who refused to acknowledge that the Messiah had come in the person of Yeshua. Of course, we can easily understand why they rejected Paul’s claim. A large number of Jews of the first century believed that the coming of the Messiah would have immediate political and national consequences.[1] Since Yeshua obviously did not fulfill these expectations, he could not qualify. Furthermore, the Sadducees rejected the idea of a resurrection before the last judgment, and Paul’s claim about a bodily resurrection of Yeshua would also be a theological impasse. What’s important here is the recognition that there were seemingly good reasons to reject Paul’s claims. Paul was not arguing about salvation. He was arguing about the person of the Messiah. It would be a grave mistake to think that Paul was trying to persuade these Jews to be “saved.” It would be an equally grave mistake to imagine that these particular men represented all the Jews Paul encountered.
If we read this verse with Christian filters, we might think that Paul debated the Jews about “accepting Jesus as their savior.” But this certainly isn’t true. The issue was strictly, “Is this man the Messiah?” That’s why Paul can spend several years in the synagogue community debating the claim. No one thought Paul was presenting some new way of salvation. YHVH had revealed His plan through the prophets centuries before, and Paul certainly did not think he was giving Jewish believers a new way for the forgiveness of sin. The fact that these people are in the synagogue already implies that they believe in the One True God and are observing His commandments. That’s why Paul can argue his case from the Tanakh. These people accepted it as their authority. Now it was simply a matter of how it should be interpreted in the present time. Could you do what Paul did and demonstrate that Yeshua is the Messiah from the Tanakh?
Topical Index: Jews, salvation, Messiah, debate, Acts 18:28
[1] See my article on this: https://skipmoen.com/2017/08/a-jewish-messiah/
no… a very small & lonely n & o………anti- missionaries seem to take anything I thought was credible and dash it to pieces. help am I the only one sinking in this?
No, you’re not alone. I’m in the same boat.
Isaiah 53 is a powerful prophetic glimpse of our Messiah Yeshua. The anti missionaries would certainly disagree. I’ve had encounters with some and they can be vicious. But that doesn’t change the truth. If even the Apostle Paul found it challenging to persuade them, i trust we should see that as encouragement to soldier on. But, yes… it certainly can be intimidating at times.
There are some Rabbis in Israel who are training for study in the temple, and they are including some Messianic Rabbi eye for their understanding of these chapters of Isaiah, because of the Enlightenment that they have. I love what God is doing.
Hey Brett. That will mean they are going back to an Aaronic Priesthood and High Priest, wherein they will be in the bloodline of Aaron, with animal sacrifices, right?
Skip, you say Shaul was not trying to get the Jews to “accept Jesus as their savior”, a new way of salvation, or a new way for the forgiveness of sin. They already knew the One true God and were obeying His commandments. Why then do they need to know Yeshua is the Messiah of Israel? What is the Jewish understanding of the purpose of the Messiah? How does knowing this about Him make a difference to a Jew? Why does a Messianic believer need to explain Yeshua is the Messiah through the Tenakh to a Jew? They will know soon enough, won’t they?
I strongly feel that if we do not reach out to our long-estranged brothers and seek to heal the breach, Yeshua cannot come. He is waiting on us to complete His Body. It is not all the fault of the Jewish community that we do not agree; we bear an equal part of the blame. The time of our ignorance of this has been winked at, but now we are called to repent for this fracture. The world is only going to be convicted of the gospel when they see that we are. That “we” includes our brothers in that community, whom He still loves. Until then, we are going to continue to ‘agree’ with them only on the insistence that we “anti-missionary” them, too.
We may be struggling through all the reasons that we are estranged, and IN AGREEMENT with them on that estrangement (bad problem inherent in dialectics of this nature), and it may look awful for a while, but I stand with what I interpret is a desire on Skip’s part to find a way to heal the breach of many generations, even if we have to try all the ‘wrong’ ways first. If we don’t, we are going to continue to be guilty of the fracture, too, but how many of us can say that we are totally innocent of that fracture, and therefore not liable before the Judgment? This is a problem that I see it is going to take everybody working together on; it’s a Body problem, so we need to learn how to act like one. When Messiah comes the second time, it is going to be too late for everybody. Surely that is why He waits. On us. Mercy!
I’m a newbie here, and I’ll only stick my neck out but so far. The observation I have noted is that most devout people of the Jewish faith are much more grounded in their word than most non-jews are in their faith. They are commanded to be so. When they obey that command and make the word a “frontlet” before their eyes, they are a formidable force. I believe we have our work cut out for us when we witness to them. Kinda like bringing a knife to a gunfight. Paul (certainly a learned and pious rabbi) couldn’t make a lot of headway with the learned Jews of his day. This gives one pause. Perhaps God is pointing something out to us by showing us our inadequacies. Now, where to start? After all we have a command also.
I agree with you Glenn. The way I see it (and I know I am not the only one), the Jewish community is our litmus test to show how far we are from the faith that was once delivered to the saints (as we are theirs when it comes to Messiah). The vast majority of the first wave of converts in the early church, both within and without Palestine, were Jews. There were extensive communities from the diasporas all over the planet, and within the first century MILLIONS of them became believers. Outside of the elite in Judea itself ( which I believe was part of the point Skip was making, too), that reception was a lot different.
The apostles had something we don’t. If we were to conduct an honest investigation into what that may be, we may be able to discover the missing key. The current Messianic community is obviously still lacking it (which means that we are not there yet ourselves). I personally don’t feel we have option of side-stepping this issue. I think we will know when we have found it by the reception in today’s Jewish community (hard test!). Not there yet!
I agree with you Laurita, I think the typical “Christian” is relatively ignorant, having been one myself! My goal is to learn how to think like a Hebrew which in and of itself is obviously impossible but worth trying to understand as the Torah is THEIR religion, not ours.
Clearly the Messianic message was primarily intended for the “people in the street” and the Gentiles, the downtrodden, not the Scribes or the conservative members of the Pharisee sect that controlled the Sandhedrin in the era of Yeshua who were constantly criticized by Yeshua for their strict interpretations of what they decided that these people should do, but not do themselves.
Every time I read the collective term “the Jews” and many more misleading or mistranslated words in the NT my hackles go up and I wonder how many interpreters, editors, people with an agenda accidentally or otherwise altered their copy to support their doctrine to what we read today in Greek (English), for two to three hundred years until Constantine and particularly the blood thirsty Theodosius said “no more. I am your god now, obey ME or you are dead!” The Popes agreed with the pagan emperors and the ancient libraries went up in flames. Why? Hmm. I know. I have been there. I have seen it, I have been part of it. The power and the glory lives!
The best part of being in the body of Christ is that He is the head. He sends through His Spirit to all the parts his lifes blood, the directions and timming for action. Of course he also ” prefers obedience to sacrifice”…
My thoughts exactly!
Thanks agin Skip. A marvelously composed and clear rendering. After forwarding a link to @Gds tbl. to a dear friend with a master’s in biblical exegesis, I re-read perhaps for 2-3 time your biography and comments on participating in this community. It’s been a few years for me now. Im both gratefull and remain engaged. Not sure I am in full agreement on many things commented on herein. but that is not the point. It is in the exploration that true life is found. That is really the Hebraic way I am learning…
“But what about you?” he asked.
“Who do you say I am?”
Yeshua obviously knew the answer.
2000 years later and most of us still aren’t sure.
(And what about the “few that find it.”?)
Skip…any chance you would elaborate on why you say… “It would be a grave mistake to think that Paul was trying to persuade these Jews to be “saved.” ”
I’m guessing there are are a lot of us who would like further clarification. Thanks.
Judi, you are the only one sharp enough to pick up on Skip’s suggestion that Paul considered the Jews salvation was already assured as Abraham’s children. Paul was attempting to offer salvation to the gentiles, or the other children of Abraham mentioned in Genesis. Read Pamela Eisenbaum’s book titled Paul was not a Christian for a full explanation. I have no idea if her theory is right or wrong, but it certainly seems possible. This book is well researched and her credentials make her ideas credible.
I could be wrong, but I thought the Sadducees denied resurrection altogether.
Skip, thank you very very much for asking challenging questions and teaching your readers some of how to find truth, but I pray that you, please, MAKE THE MYSTERY CLEAR, if you can.
Doing that was very important to the apostle Shaul. He appealed to the followers of Messiah:
“…..keep praying for us as well, that God may open up to us a door for the message, to PROCLAIM THE MYSTERY OF MESSIAH—for which I am in prison. Pray that I may MAKE THE MYSTERY CLEAR, AS I OUGHT TO SPEAK”. [Col 4:3-4]
Please don’t just ask questions, teach how to search for the truth, refute false doctrine, or just refer readers to the archives, but clearly proclaim, as it ought to be, the mystery of Messiah. Or please give biblical justification for not doing so, if you clearly know and understand the mystery. If you don’t, I understand. Apparently most all of us are still somewhat in the same “boat”. And we can’t give what we don’t got.
This is not a “dig”. It is an affirmation and appreciation with an earnest, scripturally based appeal. What is the matter with this appeal, please? With what are you, whoever you are, disagreeing?
Jerry and Lisa, with all due respect, I would like to ask, what are you here for? Have you learned anything from anybody here yet?
Do you really think you already ‘know’ enough about Skip (and the rest of us, too) that you don’t need to take the time and effort to get to truly know us? If you had taken that time before you addressed Skip or any of us that you have addressed already, you would have been able to address us as friends. How can you call the above “affirmation” if you don’t actually know what Skip has said he is doing? What, exactly, are you “appreciating” if you then proceed to take him to task for every element of what you just espoused appreciation for? We are all so human, here, and when the human (yetzer ha’ra) in any of us acts out, even in the guise of religiosity, the rest of us humans do know it.
I am not sure what wounds you previously have suffered in the house of your friends, but they must have been grievous for you to be so guarded and defensive and alienated. We are not enemies! We need you; we really do, but we need you as friends; not as holy spirits. Each of us already come with one of those.
This is likewise an invitation to explore the site; get to know what Skip says about himself, and what others here have to say, too. None of us bite here, so if you are looking for a fight, please look somewhere else. We are all too different, as others have pointed out, to be able to indulge in that satisfaction. Try seeking to find common ground instead of division with us. That is what we are trying to do. If you talk too much, it becomes harder to hear others. I talk a lot. I should know.
John 3:6, 3:36, 6:47, 6:68,
John 4:36, 11:25, 17:3
Romans 6:23
1 John 2:25, 5:22
Proverbs 8:35, 10:11,
All these give guidance to understand that what is sought is eternal life, which is in Christ.
What I find interesting is that I keep reading of how this is only possible outside ourselves, something to be awarded… when Paul explains in a few places it is something we need to be clothed in, grow into, permit to manifest…
1 Cor 15:21 and further reads as if Paul is explaining that as Yeshua died and was reformed into the eternal body so should we embark on this journey. It is all personal and as Laurita says we need each other to learn to walk on this path of transformation from dead works unto being the example of resurrection for others.
No one can call or tell another they have the answer. We need to be the living epistle to honour, praise and glorify salvation through a lifestyle not through a knowledge superiority as we all have the same scriptures and just need to connect our own life saving dots. Yeshua was the example, obedience to him is to also become an example.
Me I have no other tool than different translations of the bible, I for one appreciate the linguistic clarification and corrections shared on this blog. Something I seldom find in churches as no one wants to hear a view that makes them God’s scribbling pad as he writes on our hearts we just try to become more informed.
I have learnt that when I am in total disagreement I have three options; Withdraw, Condemn or Make a fool out of myself as I may have too few facts to reflect in more depth.
This is not digging for understanding it is a pathway of blossoming in fullness through applied trust and faith.
Welcome at the last super.
Take and do is better than trying to take and share… Look how this eagerness resulted in the crucification which exactly what we do on a daily basis whenever we take to share rather than taking to do….
In Christ all is new… Including knowledge and way of doing the religious things.
When we keep doing the same rituals we will keep reaping the same minimum standards of God’s interactions with us, I learnt that the hard and very costly way. Until I realized that I am Job and the rest scriptures and others inputs are but data I need to work through to acknowledge that I only truly need God to manifest in my life.
Now I keep seeking new data until the day I can experience that blessing of life eternal as Job did when he learnt how to pray correctly…
I have no idea if this is correct but according a concordance the word ‘Testimony’ can be used instead of ‘Mystery’. How much differently does the scripture read when we read it as ‘Testimony ‘!
Today I feel like I am able to demonstrate Yeshua is the Messiah from the Tanakh, or at least I can make a much better case than I used to be able to do. But for me to get to this place required really studying the Tanakh more, beginning in Genesis 1, and continuing past the Torah, into both the historical books and the prophets and staying out of the New Testament for a while, until I had a sound foundation of the Tanakh as a whole, to include what it means to be “the Messiah”.
I also had to undergo a huge paradigm shift as it relates to the nature of Yeshua. I think this issue is the biggest stumbling block in our modern culture: the origin of Yeshua. Is he begotten of a man or isn’t he?
As long as he is identified as being a supernatural being, not having been begotten of a man, then I don’t think the gap can be bridged between the Old and New Testaments. But once we are able to see him as he was viewed in the days of the Apostles, then I believe it can be done, and those who have eyes to see will see how Yeshua lives up to that title/office.
A really helpful resource to me in the past year has been the Clementine Recognitions in conjunction with the New Testament writings.
Skip, have you written or considered writing a book on defending Messiah from the Tanahk?
Several dear Sisters and Brothers are being influenced by anti-missionaries. I am doing the best I know in bringing them back, however, I do not know enough and I am losing ground. And help you can offer would be welcomed! Thank you!
May Yehovah continue to bless you and the work you are doing for His Beautiful Kingdom!
Do not loose faith. Paul provides a clear understanding on dealing with the sharing of knowledge… We sow but the words we know and keep doing what we believe is right. When the time is right God grants the growth and manifestation. We never loose ground we just keep filling voids and nurturing our own faith.
Remember that the Kingdom is likened to a planted seed. It dies, germinates, presses through the ground as a sprout, open ups to reveal the promise of growth, the grows for the required preparation years (often we never live to see the results) then when the time is right the tree blossoms and bears the fruit that bear the seed for the next era.
When the conditions are right the seed will fall on fertile soil. We are but sower not land or thought or mind manipulator’s.
I haven’t thought of this, but I know someone who is the perfect one to do the job.
Did you talk to him/her?
Did you mean with regard to a book showing Yeshua is the Messiah from the Tanakh? If so, the answer is YES, and you can visit his web site at
eshavbooks.org
Yes I did. I haven’t visited Bob’s website for a while and have never seen the Messiah seminar before.Thank you.