Scripturalism vs Judaism #4

[Transcript begins at 13:04 of the audio]

Some of the things I’m going to cover today are brought out from this booklet called David’s Greater Son by Howard Rand, which is the same group that put out Judah’s Scepter, Joseph’s Birthright by J.H. Allen. This is the Destiny group and Herbert Armstrong got a lot of his material from there, but never told us. 

If Jesus lived today, who would be after Him? 

From The Midnight Messenger

Wanted: Jesus Christ—by the FBI, the NEA, the ADL, the IRS, FDA, OSHA, etc. 

• Wanted by the FBI for teaching that there’s a higher power and authority than the government 
• Wanted by the FDA for turning water into wine without a license 
• Wanted by the EPA for feeding a crowd of 5,000 in the wilderness without a permit 
• Wanted by the AMA for practicing medicine without a license 
• Wanted by the NEA for teaching without a certificate 
• Wanted by the SPCA for driving hogs into the sea; cruelty to animals 
• Wanted by the IRS for failing to report income 
• Wanted by the ADL for calling the Pharisees the children of hell 
• Wanted by the NAACP for teaching people to work and depend on God rather than the welfare dole 
• Wanted by the NOW Gang for never having chosen a woman as an apostle 
• Wanted by the Federal Reserve for driving the moneychangers out of the temple 
• Wanted by the Abortion Rights League for saying that whosoever harms children that it would better that they had never been born 
• Wanted by the US Judicial System for refusing to swear an oath or bearing witness against Himself 
• Wanted by the Human Rights Bureau for condemning all other religions as false by announcing that no one can get to the father except through Him 

Wanted: Dead! Bounty offered! Thirty pieces of silver in the form of welfare benefits, government pensions, IRS exemptions, witness protection program and media fame 

Just a little something to think about!

The reason that I chose the title Scripturalism vs Judaism is so that everyone will know that I’m not against Jews as people. To illustrate that I need to give you this example: The account goes something like this: 

Belinda Davis—who attends our congregation—knows a mutual counselor in the Workman’s Rehabilitation Compensation Program—which in California, by the way, is a tremendous mess—but nevertheless, she was commenting on how many counselors there are in this profession that are Jewish. She has a co-worker, or at least a co-worker once removed, who is the daughter of two Jewish parents, and she was born in Israel. In the conversation that Belinda had with her, she announced that she was Muslim and married to a Pakistani. You talk about a mixed up world!

When Belinda asked her how that happened, she said that one day in Israel she was standing outside the synagogue on a cold, windy and dusty day, with the wind blowing like crazy, and all the men were inside the synagogue and all the women were outside the synagogue, because they couldn’t go in the synagogue. She said ‘phooey with Judaism’ so to speak. So, she does not want to be called a Jew because, even though she’s a genetic Jew, she is not a practicing Judaizer or she doesn’t practice Judaism. She wants to be called an Israeli who is of the Muslim faith! 

Sidebar: This book The Origins of Christianity and Judaism also takes credit for Mohammedism. 

The reason that I call this Scripturalism vs Judaism is that I do not want anyone who is a Jew or who knows a Jew personally to think that I am hostile or against them. Just like a person could not help it if one of their relatives happened to be a mass-murderer. That does not condemn you because you’re a relative of that person, unless you were out there helping to commit the murders, or whatever the case may be. 

God has called us out of the world, we are to come out of the world! In coming out of the world, even John the Baptist told those Jews of his time, ‘Do not say that we are Abraham’s seed.’ The long and the short of it is it doesn’t matter who you were before God called you, or what you were before God called you. Even Job had to realize and understand that all of the good things he did he had to repent of! Why? Because the good that we do in the world is not the good that comes from God! 

Let’s get into this one today: Why Jesus Never Was a Pharisee. As I mentioned, everyone sends me everything. I’ve got one here, and this is a man that I knew years ago, Keith Hutt. He puts out a little magazine called Truth of the Matter. Here is another one that was sent to me earlier, Yeshua was an Orthodox Jew.

Remember when we went through the series The Covenants of God where it was proclaimed the Jesus was Jewish. Jesus lived in a Jewish home. Jesus grew up in a Pharisaical synagogue. Everything that Jesus did was Jewish through and through—thoroughly. Part of that leads to this: 

Article: (The Truth of the Matter): 

Most people today when they read this Scripture… [Matt. 23:1-3] …fail to realize the full impact of what was written. Yeshua was actually preaching to His disciples and He said that He wanted them to obey the religious instructions and laws, which the Pharisees taught. Just because there were some Pharisees who abused their positions as leaders, does not mean that the Pharisees as a sect were wrong in their teachings. Nor does it dismiss that Yeshua clearly said to observe and do whatever they say. 

I’ll just mention here that if you have a New American Standard Version of the Bible, it says, ‘they have seated themselves down in Moses seat.’ We’ll cover that when we get to it. 

Yeshua was not giving a bad piece of advice here when He said to follow the Pharisees’ teachings. 

But if you will look at it carefully, the scribes come first, don’t they; ‘scribes and Pharisees.’ 

He was giving the conditions that each person must meet in order to keep His words and be His disciples. 

How can you be His disciples if you follow the Pharisees? 

Neither were the Pharisees unrighteous people. They were, as Yeshua said, the one’s who sat in Moses seat. They had the right teachings on the Law of Moses, and were Biblically correct in their religious beliefs, practices and teachings. In fact, even Yeshua—or Jesus—Himself was a Pharisee. 

Now you know what I’m getting into, brethren. Because, when you understand the background of all the things, this is going to really make a lot of sense to you. Anyone who says that Jesus was not a Pharisee in any way, the articles call you an anti-Semite. Is that not the same thing that happens today? Yes!

Just to project forward a little bit in the book that Carl Franklin just researched, he found out the origin of anti-Semitism. What do you suppose the origin of anti-Semitism is? The Christian church rejecting the teachings of the Pharisees way back when! So, they scream bloody murder when anyone raises an eyebrow. 

What people have done down through time is misunderstood and though Yeshua did not like the Pharisees or their religion. This attitude, however, is merely another form of anti-Semitism, people who go around putting down the Pharisees and hide behind Yeshua. Those who do it are only doing so because they hate Jews. 

Not so! What did Jesus say when He was on the cross? Father, forgive them, they know not what they do!

You see that Yeshua was perfectly in unity with them. The Orthodox of today even still call themselves Hasidim as did the Pharisees just before the Maccabees. So to say that Yeshua was a Pharisee is the same thing that He was a Hasidic Jew or an Orthodox Jew. He lived an Orthodox Jewish life. He commanded His disciples to live an Orthodox Jewish life. That command still holds for us today. The fact that Yeshua, Paul and the other apostles attended synagogue services shows that they were Pharisee or Orthodox. 

This brings us to the development of Orthodox Judaism. As time went on, the Pharisees became known as Orthodox Jews. Orthodox Judaism was the only sect of Judaism until more recent centuries when the reform and the conservative Judaism came about. 

That is blatant total ignorance historically! 

The apostles were those who had the full truth of Yahweh in their day, but even they did not cease to called themselves Pharisees. 

Paul did say, ‘I’m a Pharisee’ (Acts 23). But he totally renounced it in Philip. 3. The reason he said ‘I’m a Pharisee’ was to divide the delegation, which came from Jerusalem to try and get him killed when he came before the king. He wasn’t saying that he was a ‘practicing’ Pharisee. The article ends with these words: 

The apostles were orthodox, Messianic Jews and likewise, Yeshua’s true followers still must be today Orthodox Messianic Jews. If you’re not an Orthodox Messianic Jew—one of them, part of their group—you are not a true follower of Jesus Christ. 

Here’s another article (from The Truth of the Matter): 

Likewise, Yeshua was a Pharisee and when He saw the Pharisees not living up to what He taught, He came down on them the hardest. He did this because they were His brethren. He felt closer to them, and even loved them more than any other people. 

Are we not special?

Also, they had the Truth and Yeshua understood that the Pharisees who were sinning knew better than to do what they were doing against Yahweh’s law. People cannot see this. What people have done down through time is misunderstood and thought that Yeshua did not like the Pharisees or their religion. This attitude however is merely another form of anti-Semitism. People who go around putting down the Pharisees hide behind Yeshua to do it and are only doing it because they hate the Jews. 

I’ve got all kinds of stuff. I’m way over prepared for these sermons. I’ll leave a lot of the reading up to you. 

Who was Jesus really? I’m going to make a statement here, and I don’t want anyone to be offended. Jesus was not a religious Jew, practicing Judaism! He was of the tribe of Judah, the house of David. That, we will see, will be a distinct difference. 

We’re going to show today that Jesus Christ is not, could not have been, never would have been a Pharisee!

• Jesus never joined any of their religious parties 
• Jesus was never taught by them 

That’s why He chose Mary! Where? Nazareth! Where? In Galilee! We’re going to understand some of these Scriptures a little bit more clearly as we go through today. 

John 3:31: “He Who comes from above is above all. The one who is of the earth is earthy, and speaks of the earth. He Who comes from heaven is above all; and what He has seen and heard, this is what He testifies; but no one receives His testimony. The one who has received His testimony has set his seal that God is true… [you might put ‘All men are liars!’] …for He Whom God has sent speaks the words of God…” (vs 31-34). 

I challenge anyone who believes that Jesus was a Pharisee. You show me one place in the Bible where He ever gave a command that the Pharisees gave and said we’re to follow what they commanded us to do. 

Verse 34: “For He Whom God has sent speaks the words of God…” Did the Pharisees speak the words of God? No! They added all their own traditions on top of it and isolated it!

“…and God gives not the Spirit by measure unto Him. The Father loves the Son and has given all things into His hand. The one who believes in the Son has everlasting life; but the one who does not obey the Son shall not see life, for the wrath of God remains on him” (vs 34-36). 

John 8:23: “And He [Jesus] said to them, ‘You are from beneath…” Who is He speaking to? The religionists! The Pharisees! The Sadducees! The scribes! The whole bunch!

“…I am from above…. [never had a part with them] …You are of this world; I am not of this world. That is why I said to you that you shall die in your sins; for if you do not believe that I AM, you shall die in your sins” (vs 23-24). 

One of the things that many of the churches today are proclaiming is that the Jews can have salvation through their law. Did you know that? That’s what the Jews have always held! That’s what they’ve always claimed, but that is not true!

John 7:15—this is when Jesus went up in the temple and taught: “And the Jews were amazed, saying, ‘How does this man know letters, having never been schooled?’” 

One thing I’ve understood in all the research that I’ve done is that all the Pharisaical schools were in Jerusalem. That’s where they were. So, when it says, “…having never been schooled”—learned!

He didn’t learn at their hands. If Jesus was a Pharisee, surely He had to have been taught by Pharisees, then He would have been accepted by them. We’re going to see that Satan offered that to Him. We’re going to look at a Scripture that we’ve looked at I don’t know how many times. When we look at it this time, we’re going to really understand the full import of what it means. 

Verse 16: “Jesus answered them and said, ‘My doctrine is not Mine, but His Who sent Me…. [So therefore, God the Father was a Pharisee. Is that right?] …If anyone desires to do His will, he shall know of the doctrine, whether it is from God, or whether I speak from My own self. The one who speaks of himself is seeking his own glory; but He Who seeks the glory of Him Who sent Him is true, and there is no unrighteousness in Him. Did not Moses give you the Law, and not one of you is practicing the Law?….’” (vs 15-19). 

Who is He talking to? Pharisees, scribes, Sadducees, the people who were there!

John 5—You know the account. There was a man who was impotent for 38 years. Jesus healed him and told him to pick up his bedroll and walk. He picked it up and walked and was carrying it on the Sabbath Day and the Jews accused Him of commanding the man to break the Sabbath. 

John 5:16: “And for this cause, the Jews persecuted Jesus and sought to kill Him, because He had done these things on a Sabbath. But Jesus answered them, ‘My Father is working until now, and I work’” (vs 16-17). 

Let’s put that in modern day terminology in relationship to the Pharisees. Did you know that an Orthodox Jew will not light a stove. He will not turn on an electric light. If you go to the so-called ‘Holy Land’ today you will come into an elevator and you will see a Jew standing there waiting. They will ask you to push the button for the floor to which they want to go, because they carry the ‘not work’ to the total extreme. If they ran the universe, instead of God, every Sabbath they would shut the sun down. You would turn it off because the sun is still working, isn’t it? Energy is still going, isn’t it? Yes, it is!

• Is God, on the Sabbath Day, working to uphold the universe? Yes!
• Is it lawful and legal for God to work on the Sabbath to uphold the universe? Yes!
• Is it the kind of work that we would do? No!We don’t have that capacity!
• Is it not a greater thing to heal a man on the Sabbath Day? 
• Is that not a work? 

This is what He’s talking about; the kind of work to heal and to restore! So, it blew their minds! 

Verse 18: “So then, on account of this saying, the Jews sought all the more to kill Him, not only because He had loosed the Sabbath… [according to their traditions] …but also because He had called God His own Father, making Himself equal with God.” The Jews cannot fathom that to this day! 

Verse 19: “Therefore, Jesus answered and said to them, ‘Truly, truly I say to you, the Son has no power to do anything of Himself, but only what He sees the Father do….’” 

It’s interesting, because this is a present tense participle verb in the Greek, which means whatsoever He is seeing the Father doing, that is what He is doing likewise. He saw the Father. The Father taught Him. It’s interesting that these things are in the book of John. 

John 8:27: “But they did not know that He was speaking to them of the Father.” If they knew the Father before then, why didn’t they understand it?

Verse 28: “Then Jesus said to them, ‘When you have lifted up the Son of man, then you yourselves shall know that I AM, and that I do nothing of Myself. But as the Father taught Me, these things I speak’” (vs 27-28). 

Let’s understand something very, very important concerning Jesus never having been a Pharisee. We’re going to see after we’re done here that Satan tried to get Him to be one. One of Jesus’ temptations was only a temptation of the kind that we have understood and also of a kind of temptation that we have not understood. 

Verse 40: “‘But now you seek to kill Me, a man who has spoken the Truth to you… [that’s generally what gets you in trouble] …which I have heard from God… [He heard this from God the Father] …Abraham did not do this. You are doing the works of your father.’ Then they said to Him, ‘We have not been born of fornication…. [the same thing they teach today, absolutely, without a doubt] …We have one Father, and that is God.’ Therefore, Jesus said to them, ‘If God were your Father, you would love Me…’” (vs 40-42)—which means that if Jesus were a Pharisee He could not love God!

John 5:36: “But I have a greater witness than John’s; for the works that the Father gave Me to complete, the very works that I am doing, themselves bear witness of Me, that the Father has sent Me. And the Father Himself, Who sent Me, has borne witness of Me. You have neither heard His voice nor seen His form at any time. And you do not have His Word dwelling in you, for you do not believe Him Whom He has sent. You search the Scriptures, for in them you think that you have eternal life; and they are the ones that testify of Me. But you are unwilling to come to Me, that you may have life. I do not receive glory from men; but I have known you, that you do not have the love of God in yourselves” (vs 36-42). 

Those are pretty strong words, brethren! Those are powerful words. I tell you, for anyone in Judaism, it sets them right on edge! I’ll state it here right now—and I don’t care if it offends anybody—Judaism is a ‘religion of denial’ of the fact of the existence of Christ! They are fighting us today to destroy us any way they can, and I will prove that if you have the patience to bear with me through all of this series! If you don’t, then you have to ask: Are you intellectually honest? Jesus said, ‘I gave the Truth to you. I didn’t come of Myself, but He sent Me.’ 

John 8:43: “Why don’t you understand My speech? Because you cannot bear to hear My words…. [Why can you not hear?] …You are of your father the devil, and the lusts of your father you desire to practice….” (vs 43-44). 

What is the origin of Judaism? A perversion of the Truth of God by Satan the devil! The inner-sanctum of Judaism is cabalism where they worship of the devil! Those are strong words, and some people are going to get madder than chickens thrown into the water. But just like chickens thrown into the water, they’re cackling, running and screaming so much they don’t have time to think. 

“…He was a murderer from the beginning, and has not stood in the Truth because there is no Truth in him. Whenever he speaks a lie, he is speaking from his own self; for he is a liar, and the father of it” (v 44). 

So therefore, if Jesus became a Pharisee He would have to become a liar. If He were taught in Pharisaical schools, He would have been taught Pharisaical lies. 

• Do you understand why He was kept up north? 
• Do you understand why He only visited Jerusalem and did not live in Jerusalem? 

Verse 45: “And because I speak the Truth, you do not believe Me…. [same thing today, exactly] …Which one of you can convict Me of sin? But if I speak the Truth, why don’t you believe Me? The one who is of God hears the words of God. For this reason you do not hear, because you are not of God” (vs 45-46). 

(go to the next track) 

Verse 47: “The one who is of God hears the words of God. For this reason you do not hear, because you are not of God.”

Again, since we read this about the Orthodox Pharisee and the so-called sacred names, I’ll just give a little summary: 

1. The only pure sacred language that could ever have been, if you want to argue about sacred languages, is the one that God have to Adam and Eve when He created it in their minds. You would have to say that would be the only one. No one knows what that language was. 
2. At the Tower of Babel God created all languages. 

So therefore, all languages are sacred languages. Have to be because God created them, if you want to use that reasoning. That’s why when God calls people of different nations and different languages He does not require them to use Hebrew names, and He reduced it to the simplest forms of ‘Our Father’—because He is our Father—and Jesus Christ—the Son of God. The reason He did that was to make sure that Pharisaism did not take over the Church. 

Was Jesus a Jew in the sense that He was a practicing ‘religious’ Jew! Jesus sure enough was of the tribe of Judah, and we know later of the descendants of Judah became to be called Jews. But Jesus was strictly pronounced—prophesied about—in the Old Testament, and in the New Testament called: 

• the Son of God 
• the Son of man 
• the Son of David 

That becomes important because the house of David, in a special covenant and blessing with God and from God, that the rest of the Jews did not have. It was prophesied that out of the stem of Jesse, who was the father of David… (Isa. 11:1). 

Matthew 12:22: “Then was brought to Him one who was possessed by a demon, blind and dumb; and He healed him, so that the one who had been blind and dumb both spoke and saw. And the multitudes were all amazed, and said, ‘Is this the Son of David?’…. [they knew who and where the Messiah was to come from] …But when the Pharisees… [Did Jesus agree with them or they with Him? No!] …heard this, they said, ‘This man does not cast out demons except by Beelzebub, prince of the demons’” (vs 22-24). IF Jesus were a Pharisee, He would have had to been a follower of the devil!

• Did He, at any time, follow Satan the devil? NO!
• Did Satan offer it to him? Yes!

Matt. 21 is when He was coming into Jerusalem. This is what angered—oh, this upset and put on edge—the Pharisees, the scribes and Sadducees on edge! 

Matthew 21:9: “And the multitudes, those who were going before and those who were following behind, were shouting, saying, ‘Hosanna to the Son of David!…. [a well-known fact; it had to be publicly known fact] …Blessed is He Who comes in the name of the Lord. Hosanna in the highest!’ Now, when He entered Jerusalem, the entire city was moved, saying, ‘Who is this?’ And the multitudes said, ‘This is Jesus the prophet, the one Who is from Nazareth of Galilee’” (vs 9-11). 

When you’re in Jerusalem, I tell you it’s like going down South and singing Yankee Doodle Dandy and asking them to take down the Confederate flag! 

Verse 15: “But when the chief priests and the scribes saw the wonderful things that He did, and the children shouting in the temple and saying, ‘Hosanna to the Son of David,’ they were indignant, and said to Him, ‘Do You hear what they are saying?’ Then Jesus said to them, ‘Yes! Have you never read, “Out of the mouths of little children and infants You have perfected praise”?’” (vs 15-16). The Son of David!

Now He really gets them. This galls them to no end! Notice who He was talking to: 

Matthew 22:41: “While the Pharisees were assembled together, Jesus questioned them, saying, ‘What do you think concerning the Christ? Whose son is He?’ They said to Him, ‘The Son of David.’…. [they all knew] …He said to them…” (vs 41-43). 

He’s going to throw them a curveball. This is like a rookie coming up against one of the greatest pitchers in the world; his first at bat in the major leagues and he gets struck-out looking at him. 

“…‘How then does David in spirit call Him Lord, saying, “The LORD said to my Lord, ‘Sit at My right hand, until I make Your enemies a footstool for Your feet”? Therefore, if David calls Him Lord, how is He his Son?’ And no one was able to answer Him a word, neither dared anyone from that day to question Him anymore” (vs 43-46). 

IF He was a Pharisee, should He not have revealed that to them so that they would know? 

David’s Greater Son by Howard Rand 

It would be well here to perhaps qualify the distinctions, which should always be made in the use of terms. Judah, as already pointed out, was one of the twelve sons of Jacob. In this use of term, it merely designates a man whose name was Judah. Later the families and descendants of each of the twelve sons of Jacob bore the name of that son as a tribal distinction. So, the posterity of Judah became known as the tribe of Judah; that is the family or clan of Judah. 

David’s father’s house was one of the families of this tribe. In selecting David to be anointed king, God chose a family out of the tribe of Judah to be separated from the clan of Judah and became the royal house, which was to furnish rulers for his people. The remaining families of the tribe of Judah became known as the house of Judah. 

You’ve got the house of Israel, the house of Judah, and the house of David!

Thus we see that the tribe of Judah was divided into two houses, the house of David and the house of Judah. Three houses therefore emerged as a result of the selection, separation and organization of the descendants of Jacob. The ten-tribe northern kingdom, the house of Israel, consisted of ten tribes, each named after a son a Jacob. Levi, the priestly tribe, remained separate from all of these houses for men of this tribe were scattered about all Israel, officiated in their priestly and Levitical capacity among all tribes. 

As will be shown later, Benjamin, one of the tribes of the house of Israel, was loaned to the house of David and along with the house of Judah, remained loyal to the throne of David when the rest of the house of Israel revolted, setting up a government of their own in Samaria. This occurred at the time of the division of the kingdoms: the northern kingdom, the house of Israel; and the southern kingdom, the house of Judah in the year 970B.C. 

At the end of the 70-year captivity of the Babylonian captivity, a remnant of the house of Judah returned to Palestine with the tribe of Benjamin and some of the royal descendants of David as well as a few of the tribe of Levi. This group constituted the nation of the Jews, even though all were not Jews—by racial house of Judah line…. 

the sons of Judah

…The Benjaminites were a separate tribe in Israel and therefore not Jews. The royal seed were of the house of David and, therefore, not Jews. The priests were of the tribe of Levi and, therefore, not Jews. 

After the return from Babylon, certain ones of the house of Judah and some of the priests inner-married with the inhabitants of the land. 

Then it goes into discussing some of the results of the inner-marriage there. Some of the things I agree with, some of the things I don’t agree with and so forth. But just to show that we’re not the only ones that understand that. 

All things have to balance out. The key there is in this particular section of Matt. 1 is if you count Jacob, the father of Joseph—then you have two fathers for Joseph. If you count him as the husband, rather than the father, then you only have 13 generations. It is the term for man—‘aner’—can mean either one. 

Matthew 4:1—this is right after he was baptized: “Then Jesus was led up into the wilderness by the Spirit in order to be tempted by the devil.” 

I saw a picture of this area of the wilderness and it’s really amazing. They have stones, which look like loaves of bread; all over, they just cover the ground—it’s amazing! When the devil says to make these into bread, there it is all right out there. 

Verse 2: “And when He had fasted for forty days and forty nights, afterwards He was famished. And when the tempter came to Him, he said, ‘If You are the Son of God, command that these stones become bread.’ But He answered and said, ‘It is written…” (vs 2-4). 

Jesus was a Scripturalist! He was the Word, the living Word of God; He believed in the Scriptures. He inspired the Scriptures. 

“…‘Man shall not live by bread alone, but by every word that proceeds out of the mouth of God’” (v 4). Scripturalism!

This is the whole theme of the whole book of Matthew. We’re going to find that that’s what it is. 

Verse 5: “Then the devil took Him to the Holy city and set Him upon the edge of the temple, and said to Him, ‘If You are the Son of God, cast Yourself down; for it is written, “He shall give His angels charge concerning You, and they shall bear You up in their hands, lest You strike Your foot against a stone”’” (vs 5-6). 

What else could have happened here? Where were they? At the pinnacle of the temple in Jerusalem!

• What does it say about the Lord coming to His temple? 
• What is the prophecy? 

Satan the devil was offering to not only fulfill that Scripture, but if he would have cast Himself down and landed on His feet, what do you think Satan would have proclaimed? He would have proclaimed Him as the Messiah and could have fulfilled: 

Malachi 3:1: “‘Behold, I will send My messenger, and he will prepare the way before Me. And the Lord, Whom you seek, shall suddenly come to His temple, even the Messenger of the covenant…’” 

This was not just a temptation whether He would obey God or Satan. It was a temptation whether He would be the true Messiah or become the false messiah. Just think what Satan could have done if Jesus would have obeyed him. 

What else did He say? And don’t you think that all the scribes, Pharisees and Sadducees would have come around and said ‘this is the Messiah’? Yes, they would have! He would have been the Messiah on Satan’s terms. He would have then been part of the followers of Satan, of whom He said the scribes and Pharisees were. Then He would have testified on His own instead of God, and He would have been a false messiah. That’s what the temptation was about. 

It never really dawned on me until I put the Scriptures together this way, going to John 8 and coming here and seeing that, yes, He was there at the temple. It would fulfill that Scripture that ‘He suddenly came to His temple.’ The priests would have said, ‘Look at this, He just appeared out of nowhere.’ 

Matthew 4:7: “Jesus said to him, ‘Again, it is written, “You shall not tempt the Lord your God.”’ After that, the devil took Him to an exceedingly high mountain, and showed Him all the kingdoms of the world and their glory, and said to Him, ‘All these things will I give You, if You will fall down and worship me’” (vs 7-9). We find in Luke 4 where He says, ‘It is given to me and I give it whomsoever I will.’

One thing we’ve not understood that Judaism was working on a universal type religion to take over the world at the time that Jesus came! We didn’t know that, but we now have it in this book that was published in 1990. 

• Jesus was offered the world 
• He was offered false Messiahship! 
• He was offered a false kingdom! 

All of these things! If you worship Satan you become his son. You are of your father the devil! We need to understand how profound and serious this stuff was. 

Verse 10: “Then Jesus said to him, ‘Be gone, Satan! For it is written… [This is quoting what man shall do; that He’s quote to Himself, because Satan will never worship God]: …“You shall worship the Lord your God, and Him alone shall you serve.”’ Then the devil left Him; and behold, angels came and ministered to Him” (vs 10-11). 

Then Jesus shows His disciples and future apostles out of Galilee. I’ll state again, the only apostle that was chosen out of Judea was Judas Iscariot. I’ll read you some connection there with the priesthood. That’s why he was able to get into the high priest and betray Jesus. 

Verse 23: And Jesus went throughout all Galilee… [deliberately avoiding Jerusalem and Judea] …teaching in their synagogues…” 

They probably had the greatest number of Scripturalists. That’s not to say they didn’t have the Pharisees there’ they had some, I’m sure. 

“…and preaching the Gospel of the Kingdom, and healing every disease and every bodily ailment among the people. Then His fame went out into all Syria… [up into the north] …and they brought to Him all who were sick, oppressed by various diseases and torments, and possessed by demons, and lunatics, and paralytics; and He healed them” (vs 23-24). 

Again, something totally separate and different that He was doing. Why do you suppose the Pharisees said that He was ‘doing this by Beelzebub’? Because they couldn’t do it! Rather than admit that this came from God, so they could repent and follow Him, you deny it with a lie! That’s why He said they were on the verge of committing the unpardonable sin. 

Verse 25: “And great multitudes followed Him from Galilee, and Decapolis… [on the east side of the Sea of Galilee from Jerusalem] …and Jerusalem, and Judea, and beyond the Jordan.” 

This presented a problem to the Pharisees. If there’s any one thing that the Jews have always done, always do and still do to this day, they use the politics of the nation that they reside in! You don’t do anything unless it’s done by their politics. We’ll see that Paul ran smack into the middle of that. 

Matt. 5 becomes very important because Jesus is bringing out the most important thing concerning Scripturalism. This is why Matthew wrote it this way. Let’s understand something about Matthew. Matthew was a Levite—not practicing, by the way. He wasn’t at the temple, he was a—IRS agent—tax collector! Which means that he didn’t speak Aramaic or Hebrew to write it, because everything he had to do was done in Greek, because he had to report everything in Greek. That’s why the book of Matthew was written in Greek. In writing this, he is determining and establishing the teachings of Jesus of Scripturalism, plus the very meaning and spirit of everything that the Scriptures stood for. 

Matthew 5:17: “Do not think that I have come to abolish the Law or the Prophets; I did not come to abolish, but to fulfill…. [do not mean do away with] …For truly I say to you, until the heaven and the earth shall pass away, one jot or one tittle shall in no way pass from the Law until everything has been fulfilled” (vs 17-18). 

Why did He have to say this? Because the Jews considered their traditions of greater value than the Laws of God! He was about to do away with all of their traditions and all of their teachings. But He wanted to make it absolutely clear He was not going to do away with the Laws of God. 

Verse 19: “Therefore, whoever shall break one of these least commandments [of God] and shall teach men so, shall be called least in the Kingdom of Heaven…” 

In the Greek less than nothing! If you’re less than nothing then you don’t exist, because even a zero is a number. 

“…but whoever shall practice and teach them, this one shall be called great in the Kingdom of Heaven. For I say to you, unless your righteousness shall exceed the righteousness of the scribes and Pharisees, there is no way that you shall enter into the Kingdom of Heaven” (vs 19-20). 

Did Jesus practice Pharisaism? Absolutely not! He wouldn’t make it into the Kingdom of God. How could He ever preach it? Couldn’t! He said this for two reasons: 

1. He’s going to do away with all of the their teachings and He’s going to strip back those traditions from the Law! 
2. He’s going to show what the Law really means! 

Next time I’m going to read from the Code of Jewish Law some of the things that are absolutely ridiculous! What kind of righteousness is God giving us through Christ? The righteousness of Christ!Does that exceed the righteousness of the Pharisees? Yes, indeed!

Now let’s see how that is applied, because it has to be from the heart. I want to cover something that is most fundamental to Christianity. This is one we will come to time and time again and will help us to understand more and more of what God wants us to do. 

John 14:15: “If you love Me, keep the commandments—namely, My commandments.” The righteousness of the scribes and Pharisees was keep the Law!

Today, a lot of Churches of God say keep the Law and you have the love of God! NO! Love does not issue from law! Law issues from love! That is profound. 

We will see the kind of loving attitude we are to have, which then will keep the Laws of God in the way that they were intended to keep them. Notice how every one of these things strikes a nail into the coffin of Pharisaism; strikes a nail into the coffin of Judaism. 

Matthew 5:1: “But seeing the multitudes, He went up into the mountain; and when He sat down, His disciples came to Him. And He opened His mouth and taught them… [later the crowds came up and they were amazed at what He was teaching] …saying, “‘Blessed are the poor in spirit, for theirs is the Kingdom of Heaven’” (vs 1-3). 

One who doesn’t have an exalted and uplifted spirit. It doesn’t mean a whimpering nincompoop either, on the other hand. It just means the person does not have an exaggerated opinion of himself—poor in spirit! That also means that all riches come from God. It also means that you understand that all spirituality comes from God and not yourself. 

Verse 4: “Blessed are those who mourn, for they shall be comforted.” 

I’ll tell you one thing, that with true Christianity there is a considerable amount of mourning that you go through in your whole life’s experience. Not only for the sins you see going on, but also through the things that you go through because of your life in following God. There are going to be some things that you’re going to mourn about. 

Verse 5: “Blessed are the meek, for they shall inherit the earth…. [here’s the whole basis of the teachings of Christ] …Blessed are those who hunger and thirst after righteousness, for they shall be filled” (vs 5-6). 

Compare that with v 20: “For I say to you, unless your righteousness shall exceed the righteousnessof the scribes and Pharisees, there is no way that you shall enter into the Kingdom of Heaven.” 

You have to hunger and thirst after righteousness, which is God’s way vs the way of the scribes and Pharisees. 

Verse 7: “Blessed are the merciful, for they shall find mercy…. [if there’s anything a Pharisee is not, that is merciful] …Blessed are the pure in heart…” (vs 7-8). 

That takes quite a bit. (tie in Psa. 51). They have no doublespeak; they’re not double-minded; they are not living a life of sin, etc. 

“…for they shall see God” (vs 7-8). This is fantastic, what He’s saying here! What did He tell the Jews? No man has seen God at any time! or heard His voice! He’s telling His disciples that if they’re pure in heart they’re going to see God! 

Verse 9: “Blessed are the peacemakers, for they shall be called the sons of God.” 

The greatest peace you make is the peace between you and God and helping other people to make peace, and themselves and God, because the ‘carnal mind is an enemy of God; not subject to the Law of God, neither indeed can be!’ 

Verse 10: “Blessed are those who have been persecuted for the sake of righteousness, for theirs is the Kingdom of Heaven. Blessed are you when they shall reproach you, and shall persecute you, and shall falsely say every wicked thing against you, for My sake” (vs 10-11). 

If you haven’t experienced that, you will! It’ll happen! And when it does don’t give up and be discouraged!

Verse 12: “Rejoice and be filled with joy, for great is your reward in heaven; for in this same manner they persecuted the prophets who were before you.” That’s something!

When you really sit down and go through this and understand this, you’re going to see that Jesus is picking out Scriptures, which He inspired before, and now He’s bringing it all together in the true and proper understanding of the righteousness of God. 

So, if you want to have a little extra Bible study in this, then you get out your ‘handy-dandy’ concordance and look up these things during the week and you will see that, yes, everyone of these things are somewhere, mostly in the Psalms. 

Verse 13: “You are the salt of the earth…” 

There are some very interesting things about salt. Salt is needed, many times unseen. As it is with Christians, sometimes we’re unseen. Sometimes we are seen like a big hunk of salt sticking out someplace, but nevertheless we’re the ‘salt of the earth. 

“…but if the salt has become tasteless, with what shall it be salted?….” (v 13). 

In other words, what’s the use of what God is doing, unless there are those who truly love Him and will follow Him? 

“…For it no longer has any strength, but is to be thrown out and to be trampled upon by men. You are the light of the world….” (vs 13-14). 

Here’s another aspect of it. We are to be the ‘light of the world.’ What did Jesus say about those who were serving two masters? If the light that is in you be darkness, how great is the darkness! We can’t weld Judaism to true Christianity. 

“…A city that is set on a mountain cannot be hid. Neither do they light a lamp and put it under a bushel-basket, but on the lampstand; and it shines for all who are in the house. In the same way also, you are to let your light shine before men, so that they may see your good works, and may glorify your Father Who is in heaven” (vs 14-16). 

Our lives are to be that kind of outward thing that is commendable by other people; one who is blameless and so forth. Sometimes that will get you in trouble, because people will want you to lie, cheat and steal and do things like that. So, your light may become a blazing thing, indeed! 

Scriptures from The Holy Bible in Its Original Order, A Faithful Version

Scriptural References: 

1)     John 3:31-36 

2)     John 8:23-24 

3)     John 7:15-19 

4)     John 5:16-19 

5)     John 8: 27-28, 40-42 

6)     John 5:36-42 

7)     John 8:43-47 

8)     Matthew 12:22-24 

9)     Matthew 21:9-11, 15-16 

10) Matthew 22:41-46 

11) Matthew 4:1-6 

12) Malachi 3:1 

13) Matthew 4:7-11, 23-25 

14) Matthew 5:17-20 

15) John 14:15 

16) Matthew 5:1-6, 20, 7-16 

Scriptures referenced, not quoted: 

• Acts 23 
• Philippians 3 
• Isaiah 11:1 
• Luke 4 
• Psalm 51 

Also referenced: 

Books: 

• A Portable God: Origin of Christianity and Judaismby Rebecca Moore 
• Code of Jewish Law by Ganzfried & Goldin 

Magazine: Truth of the Matter

Sermon: Covenants of God

Booklets: 

• David’s Greater Sonby Howard Rand (destinypublishers.com) 
• Judah’s Scepter, Joseph’s Birthright by J.H. Allen 

Article: The Midnight Messenger

FRC:bo 

Transcribed: 4-18-12 

Reformatted/Corrected: 2/2020

All Scriptures from The Holy Bible in Its Original Order, A Faithful Version by Fred R. Coulter

Scriptural References:

• John 3:31-36
• John 8:23-24
• John 7:15-19
• John 5:16-19
• John 8: 27-28, 40-42
• John 5:36-42
• John 8:43-47
• Matthew 12:22-24
• Matthew 21:9-11, 15-16
• Matthew 22:41-46
• Matthew 4:1-6
• Malachi 3:1
• Matthew 4:7-11, 23-25
• Matthew 5:17-20
• John 14:15
• Matthew 5:1-6, 20, 7-16

Scriptures referenced, not quoted:

• Acts 23
• Philippians 3
• Isaiah 11:1
• Luke 4
• Psalm 51

Also referenced:

• Book: A Portable God: Origin of Christianity and Judaism by Rebecca Moore
• Book: Code of Jewish Law by Ganzfried & Goldin
• Magazine: Truth of the Matter
• Sermon: Covenants of God
  
• Booklet: David's Greater Son by Howard Rand (destinypublishers.com)
• Booklet: Judah's Scepter, Joseph's Birthright by J.H. Allen

FRC:bo
Transcribed: 4-18-12
Reformatted/Corrected: 2/2020