20201017 Parsha Bereshit – The Word Became Flesh
This morning we begin a new Torah Cycle wherein we start reading in Genesis 1:1 and each week progress through the first five books of the Bible. In every Jewish Synagogue in the world we are reading from the same Torah Portion each week. As a Messianic Congregation we also read from the Brit Chadashah, the New Testament. The reading from the Apostolic writings can vary from congregation to congregation and from all the various organizations that publish a reading plan.
We all know the main theme of Bereshit and that being creation of our world and the worlds that surround us. The imagery of creation can easily overwhelm even the most imaginative mind. And yet there is an aspect of creation that we can and should grasp and understand. Who was the creator? It was Yeshua and He was deity. How do we know?
1) Scripture Reveals It…
In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God… And the Word became flesh and tabernacled among us. We looked upon His glory, the glory of the one and only from the Father, full of grace and truth. – John 1:1,14
Philippians 2:7-8 But He emptied Himself—taking on the form of a slave, becoming the likeness of men and being found in appearance as a man. (8) He humbled Himself—becoming obedient to the point of death, even death on a cross.
Hebrews 2:14, 17 Therefore, since the children share in flesh and blood, He Himself likewise shared the same humanity— (17) Therefore He had to be made like His brothers in all things, so He might become a merciful and faithful Kohen Gadol in matters relating to God…
The Word was with God and Word was God.
Scripture reveals that Yeshua was God and also…
Yeshua is deity, and yet He willingly became human, flesh and blood like you and me.
Fully God… and – fully man….
That was a hard concept even in the first century. John addressed it again in…
1 John 1:1 What was from the beginning, what we have heard, what we have seen with our eyes, what we have looked at and touched with our hands, concerning the Word of life—
When you look at the life of Yeshua, you see that he lived it as a man.
2) His Life Demonstrates It…
- Yeshua was conceived in a womb
- He was born just like you & me
- And he came out of the womb bloody and slimy just like you and I did
- Yeshua had to depend on His parents, to fed Him, Bath Him and change His dirty diapers
- Yeshua had to learn to walk and no doubt took many falls on that journey
- He had to learn to talk… I wonder what His first word was?
- Yeshua got tired and he slept
- He got hungry and he ate
- He got thirsty and he drank
- If you hit Him – He bruised
- If you cut Him he bled
- If you killed Him – he died.
To think of Yeshua in such a light is uncomfortable to some. But personally, I like to think of him like that. It gives me a sense of knowing Him better.
I like the Yeshua who danced at weddings. Turned water into the finest wine ever made….or the finest Welches grape juice if you are a Baptist or Pentecostal.
I like the Yeshua who played with children, laughed and told them stories. I can imagine him walking with His disciples and saying “hold up guys, I got a rock in my sandal”.
Yeshua being a man, makes all the difference in the world…
Why? Because:
- A) Yeshua The Man, Allows You To See God…
John 1:18 No one has ever seen God; but the one and only God, in the Father’s embrace, has made Him known.
He has shown us what God is like.
Before Yeshua no one had ever seen God. Even Moses, who spoke with God as a man speaks face to face could not see Him in all his glory. He would have died.
It is really hard for finite creatures (like us) to wrap our brains around an infinite God. He is too big, well beyond our comprehension.
But I can relate to Yeshua. That’s why He became a human being.
Yeshua as a human helps us to know that God cares for us, loves us, is concerned about every aspect of our lives.
- B) Yeshua The Man, Allows You To See Yourself
QUESTION – how do you see yourself this morning?
My guess is that the way you see yourself today is closely connected to the way that you think the world sees you. So, this morning, do see yourself as;
Important? Valuable? Desirable? Acceptable? Significant?
Do you see yourself as someone who is worth being with? Maybe so. But I suspect that the opposite might be true. You don’t see yourself in a positive light. You don’t feel important, valuable, or desirable.
Yeshua the man, allows you and me to see ourselves. To see ourselves not as the world sees, not as other people see us and not as we see ourselves (because of past sin and failure)…but as God sees us… awesome, loved by God, precious, valuable and significant to Him.
Look at yourself like Yeshua looks at you, someone worthy to die for.
- C) Yeshua The Man, Shows You Who You Can Become
Tired of that old life? Don’t fret. Yeshua the man shows you who you can become…
One of the best words in the English language is ”New”.
It’s great to start a new year;
- get a new car,
- move into to new house,
- learn new things
- read new books
- hear new songs
- start a new relationship,
- get a new beginning
AND – do you know what…? GOD – seems to be pretty fired up about the word new too.
Throughout the bible we see God talking about; New names… New songs… A new covenant, New wine & new wineskins… A new heavens & new earth, Behold I am making all things new
Those who become Believers in Yeshua become new persons.
2 Corinthians 5:17 Therefore if anyone is in Messiah, he is a new creation. The old things have passed away; behold, all things have become new.
- D) Yeshua The Man, Destroyed Death and the devil…
Hebrews 2:14-17 Therefore, since the children share in flesh and blood, He Himself likewise shared the same humanity—so that through death He might break the power of the one who had the power of death (that is, the devil) and free those who by fear of death were in bondage all their lives. For surely He is not concerned about angels, but about the seed of Abraham. (17) Therefore He had to be made like His brothers in all things, so He might become a merciful and faithful Kohen Gadol in matters relating to God, to make atonement for the sins of the people.
This is a big deal
- Because God the Son, became a man
- Because He was like us in every respect
- Because He was flesh and blood
- Because He lived a sinless life
- Because he offered that life and as payment, as a sacrifice for our sins…
The devil has been defeated
Death has been destroyed!
Mercy has been given
AND – His amazing grace has been unleashed in the world…
Where, O death, is your victory? Where, O death, is your sting?” The sting of death is sin, and the power of sin is the law. But thanks be to God! He gives us the victory through our Lord Yeshua.
Therefore, my dear brothers and sisters, stand firm. Let nothing move you. Always give yourselves fully to the work of the Lord, because you know that your labor in the Lord is not in vain. – 1 Corinthians 15:55-58
Resisting the pressure of socio-political culture, Jonathan Isaac of the Orlando Magic stood for the national anthem on July 31, the lone player or coach in that game who did not kneel. Isaac stood with his hands behind his back, and it was no surprise to his teammates, who know that he is an ordained minister. According to CNN.com, In a post game interview, he stated…
“…I’m standing and not wearing a (BLM) T-shirt to get something done… to get out of the realm of skin color… to see all the things that we all do each and every day that aren’t right, and come to an understanding that at the end of the day, the answer to it all, to all of our problems, to all of everything that goes on in our world is Jesus.” – Jonathan Isaacs
YES – because of Yeshua the man… WE – are free!
Free from sin
Free from guilt
Free from shame
Free from popular opinion
Free from condemnation
Free from the fear of dying
Free from the fear of living
Free from a life of wishful thinking
Our hope is not wishful thinking, instead it is an confidently expected outcome.
Yeshua the man destroyed death and the devil..
- E) Yeshua The Man, Understands Everything That You Will Ever Experience …
QUESTION – have you ever felt like no one really understood what you were going through?
You have a problem, you’re being tempted, you’re in a struggle, you’re facing a crisis…AND – you feel like you’re all alone…
Sure – you try to talk to people, but most of the time all you get back is blank stares. either people don’t get it, don’t WANT to get it, or they can’t do anything about it! And sometimes you get the “I’ll be praying for you” line that is just a dismissal.
Hebrews 4:14-16
Therefore, since we have a great Kohen Gadol who has passed through the heavens, Yeshua Ben-Elohim, let us hold firmly to our confessed allegiance.
(15) For we do not have a kohen gadol who is unable to sympathize with our weaknesses, but One who has been tempted in all the same ways—yet without sin.
(16) Therefore let us draw near to the throne of grace with boldness, so that we may receive mercy and find grace for help in time of need.
ABOUT – sixty years ago C. S. Lewis imagined someone objecting here:
“Hey, if Yeshua never sinned, then he doesn’t know what temptation is like. He lived a sheltered life and is out of touch with how strong temptation can be.”
Here is what Lewis wrote in response to that objection:
“A silly idea is current that good people do not know what temptation means. This is an obvious lie. Only those who try to resist temptation know how strong it is. . . .
A man who gives in to temptation after five minutes simply does not know what it would have been like an hour later. That is why bad people, in one sense know very little about badness. They have lived a sheltered life by always giving in. . . .
Jesus, because He was the only man who never yielded to temptation, is also the only man who knows to the full what temptation means.”
If Yeshua had not become a man, we would not have a God who really, fully and experientially understood us. Although God, would have knowledge of human life (because he created it), we might still be able to hurl the accusation,
“God you just don’t understand what it’s like to be me. You can’t possibly understand the temptations I struggle with.
AND – besides that I am handicapped by all kinds of weaknesses, problems and pain that you’ve never faced, because you’re all-powerful.
AND GOD – if you can’t understand me you can’t really help me. AND – you certainly have no right to judge me.”
BUT – the fact is that “the Word became flesh and lived among us.” AND THEREFORE – no matter what we face, whether it’s temptation, weaknesses, or suffering Yeshua can and does say “Been there… Dealt with that…Wore out the T-shirt…I can help! ”
YES – TO THOSE…
- Who feel alone
- Who had a friend betray them
- Who are tempted by (lust, money, popularity, power)
- Who are weeping over the death of a loved one
- Who had best intentions misunderstood and twisted
- Who are stressed by the demands of life
- Who experience disappointments and setbacks or had everyone walk away when they needed them the most
- Who are in physical pain
- Who have had family members think they are crazy
- Who have had loved ones who actually WENT crazy.
- Who have had their name and reputation slandered by other people
- Whose lives seemed to be filled with sorrow and grief
- Who don’t have a lot of money or material things
- Who find it so hard to do the right thing and to follow God’s will
Yeshua the man says; “Been there… Dealt with that…I can help! ”
Let me read Hebrews again.
Hebrews 4:14-16
Therefore, since we have a great Kohen Gadol who has passed through the heavens, Yeshua Ben-Elohim, let us hold firmly to our confessed allegiance.
(15) For we do not have a kohen gadol who is unable to sympathize with our weaknesses, but One who has been tempted in all the same ways—yet without sin.
(16) Therefore let us draw near to the throne of grace with boldness, so that we may receive mercy and find grace for help in time of need.
Let’s Pray
