The men were amazed, and said, “What kind of a man is this, that even the winds and the sea obey Him?” Matthew 8:27 NASB What kind of man – We are not equipped to encounter real holy men. Peter once exclaimed how wonderful it was to see his Messiah in the presence of the…
Therefore you are to be perfect, as your heavenly Father is perfect. Matthew 5:48 NASB Perfect – If I tell you that Yeshua drew this statement from Leviticus 19:2, you would discover rather quickly that the verse in the Tanakh does not require us to be perfect. It says, “You shall be holy, for I…
Remember the sabbath day, to keep it holy. Exodus 20:8 NASB To keep holy – Pay close attention to the verse. Notice that the act of remembering has a purpose. That purpose is leqaddesho, “to keep holy.” We remember in order to sanctify. That’s not our usual thinking about Shabbat. We often think that Shabbat…
You will know them by their fruits. Grapes are not gathered from thorn bushes nor figs from thistles, are they? Matthew 7:16 NASB Fruits – Of course we all know that the real test of faithfulness to God is found in the fruit of one’s life. Love, joy, peace, long-suffering; all that good stuff we…
“And for their sake I consecrate myself, that they also may be sanctified in truth.” John 17:19 ESV Consecrate – “The language is equally appropriate to the preparation of a priest and the preparation of a sacrifice; it is therefore doubly appropriate to Christ.”[1] Barrett’s comment about the Greek word hagiazo is now so commonplace…
But the wisdom from above is first pure, then peaceable, gentle, reasonable, full of mercy and good fruits, unwavering, without hypocrisy. James 3:17 NASB Pure – James, Paul and John agree. They each use this rather rare Greek word for the same thing – moral purity. Paul uses it in 1 Timothy 5:22. John uses…
“Therefore you are to be perfect, as your heavenly Father is perfect.” Matthew 5:48 NASB Perfect – It will come as no great shock to you that none of us can meet this standard. No one is perfect. In fact, it seems quite obvious that no human being is capable of being perfect. Perhaps that’s…
k’doshim tihiyu ki kadosh ani YHWH eloheychem Wayyiqra 19:2 Tanakh I am holy – The verse is Leviticus 19:2 in transliterated Hebrew. You might recognize the word kadosh (it occurs twice). tihiyu is the verb hayah (you shall be). When Yeshua refers to this verse in His pronouncement in Matthew 5:48, He has Torah observance…
“Therefore you are to be perfect, as your heavenly Father is perfect.” Matthew 5:48 NASB Perfect – Yeshua’s demand seems perfectly reasonable, right? You and I can be perfect, can’t we? God demands it. We are accountable. Therefore, we should do it. When I was much younger, this verse scared me to death. I knew…
And I, I shall set My face against that man, and shall cut him off from the midst of his people, because he has given of his offspring to Molek, so as to defile My sanctuary and to profane My holy Name. Leviticus 20:3 (my translation) Holy – “Above all, the name of God is…
