Man’s Tradition Changing the Sign of Messiah

Jonah in the belly of the whaleDid you ever need God to nudge you to do something? If you’re anything like me, it’s a daily occurrence.

This morning I was preparing for our Torah study. The portion we are studying involves the two men Joshua sent to spy out the land and Rahab’s story.

Rahab tied a scarlet cord in her window to be the sign identifying her dwelling. It would be the sign that saved her and all who were in her house – much like the blood of the lamb on the Israelites’ doorposts on the first Passover.

The early tradition of believers took to this sign, seeing the redeeming blood of Messiah in the scarlet cord as the sign of the future redemption of Gentiles. Irenaeus wrote, “Rahab the prostitute was saved, together with everyone in her house, through faith in the scarlet sign…”

That’s when God nudged me. “Did you forget something?”

I had. Almost two weeks prior I was in a discussion on Facebook about the importance of Yeshua being buried for three days. The author indicated it was very important, but then went on to say that He died on Friday, Nissan 14 and rose on the third day, Sunday.

Being who I am and what I’ve learned in recent years, I just couldn’t let that go. Here is my response:

Actually, Yeshua could not have died on a Friday and risen on Sunday. That is not three days and three nights as He said in Matthew.

Traditionally, we’ve understood Friday as being crucifixion day because it was “preparation day” (preparing for the Sabbath).

However, most of God’s feasts are Sabbaths, so the day before any feast day is a day of preparation.

Interestingly, the rabbis looked into the original Passover to ascertain on what day of the week it occurred. They determined the first Passover sacrifice took place on a Wednesday.

Another important note is that in Judaism (and biblically) the day starts at sunset.

We know Yeshua rose on the first day of the week (sometime after sunset Saturday). Counting back 3 days and 3 nights (as He said) we see He was crucified on a Wednesday – the same day the rabbis determined was the original.

Isn’t that just like God?

In answer to this, the author came back with a rather convoluted answer (one that I used to use myself), showing how a portion of the day counted as a whole day, etc. Yet, no matter how you push the words around, three days and three nights is still three light periods and three dark periods.

Granted, some say that a portion of the day counted as the entire day, but that still leaves us with only 2 dark periods unless, as some say, you count the darkness that fell when He died as a dark period, but that’s pushing the words too far for credibility.

I get it. We want to see symbolism for Yeshua all over the Hebrew Scriptures whether it is a scarlet cord, or the binding of Isaac, or Joseph in Egypt. But when it comes to the sign for Messiah, we really need to let the Word speak for itself.

Yeshua said, “An evil and adulterous generation clamors for a sign, yet no sign shall be given to it except the sign of Jonah the prophet. For just as Jonah was in the belly of the great fish for three days and three nights, so the Son of Man will be in the heart of the earth for three days and three nights.”

When we change that sign to line up with what we believe, we nullify God’s Word, we make Yeshua a liar, and we make the same mistake as the Pharisees – lifting the traditions of men above the Word of God.

 

6 Responses to Man’s Tradition Changing the Sign of Messiah

  1. Questor June 18, 2017 at 4:26 pm #

    Logically put. The emotionalism around the ‘days of Messiah’ are extreme, I think because people want to be right, more than they want to be exact.

    It’s the same thing about the Last Supper…people who do not understand the need for Yeshua to die when the other lambs were being sacrificed during that crucial Passover simply want the Last Supper to BE Passover…because that is what they grew up believing.

    • Ro Pinto June 19, 2017 at 12:20 am #

      My rabbi dove into the 3 days 3 nights, as well as the Essene calendar and discovered the Last Supper would have been a real Passover according to the Essenes.

      I am so amazed at how many times Yeshua commended the various sects on what they were doing right and pointed out their errors – to bring them together as one people.

  2. Questor June 19, 2017 at 1:02 am #

    The night before a traditional Passover is also the Fast of the First Born, which is commonly turned into a feast in rewards for a heavy amount of study, which makes more sense to me than the Essene Calendar, since Yeshua was being executed according to the Temple Calendar…however wrong it might be to the Essenes. But either way, one can have a feast day.

    The fact that Yeshua would not drink the 4th cup also lends credence to them using the Essene Calendar for personal celebration…IF it was a 4th cup, and not just the normal bread and wine for an Erev Shabbat dinner.

    I don’t have a problem with why they feasted…only that it was not the Temple Passover, since the symbolism used was of the official variety. Does your Rabbi think that Yeshua was an Essene?

    • Ro Pinto June 19, 2017 at 7:16 am #

      No, he doesn’t. But his study is not just about the Essenes. He discovered that the rabbis sought to find out the day when Israel came to Mt Sinai and the first Passover.

      If what he proposes about Yeshua’s final days, then it lines up exactly with the original Passover (with the exception of the feast of the Essenes) including the great miracle of the choosing of the lamb.

      He is very learned, but a humble young man. He translated 5 books for the Tree if Lufe version bible. He has asked anyone to challenge his points in the teaching because he just wants the truth. I encouraged him to put it online because it’s too good to keep it to our own shul.

      Hopefully he’ll do that.

      • Questor June 19, 2017 at 9:46 pm #

        If he is writing anything down, I would love to read it!

        • Ro Pinto June 19, 2017 at 9:50 pm #

          I will certainly keep you posted.

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