Leading Like Yeshua – Servanthood

 

In Yochanan 20:17-28, we read about the important topic of leadership and we get some important lessons on leadership from our Messiah.

We read first of Ya’akov and Yochanan, the sons of Zavdai and their desire for a prominent role of leadership in the Messianic kingdom:

Then Zavdai’s sons came to Yeshua with their mother. She bowed down, begging a favor from him. He said to her, “What do you want?” She replied, “Promise that when you become king, these two sons of mine may sit, one on your right and the other on your left.” But Yeshua answered, “You people don’t know what you are asking. Can you drink the cup that I am about to drink?” They said to him, “We can.” He said to them, “Yes, you will drink my cup. But to sit on my right and on my left is not mine to give, it is for those for whom my Father has prepared it.” (vv. 20-23)

Yeshua’s response demonstrates that Ya’akov and Yochanan were not aware that leadership, as Yeshua demonstrated it was a path of sacrifice.

In the next verses we get some important words from Yeshua on what a leader should be:

But Yeshua called them and said, “You know that among the Goyim, those who are supposed to rule them become tyrants, and their superiors become dictators. Among you, it must not be like that. On the contrary, whoever among you wants to be a leader must become your servant, and whoever wants to be first must be your slave! For the Son of Man did not come to be served, but to serve — and to give his life as a ransom for many.” (vv. 25-28)

The path to follow to be a leader like Yeshua is not the path of seeking power or position for selfish motives to be a tyrant or to be a leader without taking into account that there is sacrifice required. Yeshua lays out here that leadership requires one to be a servant and to like our Messiah demonstrate a life of leading by serving others.

With Passover just about a month ago, I am reminded of Yeshua giving his talmidim an important lesson in leadership which took place at Passover:

Yeshua was aware that the Father had put everything in his power, and that he had come from God and was returning to God. So he rose from the table, removed his outer garments and wrapped a towel around his waist. Then he poured some water into a basin and began to wash the feet of the talmidim and wipe them off with the towel wrapped around him. (Yochanan 13:3-5)

In this lesson on leadership we see our Messiah taking on the role of a slave and washing the talmidim’s feet, in this Yeshua’s teaching on leadership became a visual demonstration.

As we look to the future of Messianic Judaism we must seek to build up the next generation of leaders. For those of us in their 20’s and 30’s who will have to be these next generation leaders we must follow our Messiah’s example and grow as servant-leaders. For our mentors and teachers we need your support and help to stay on the right path and if we stumble off the path like Ya’akov and Yochanan did, like Yeshua did point us back to the right path.

So then let us seek to be like our Messiah and follow his example and lead by serving and may we each play our role in building a mature Messianic Judaism for the future!

Developing Halacha – Creating Messianic Judaism for the Future

One of the fruits of the discussions among Messianic rabbis over the issue of Messianic Jewish conversion is seeking to answer the question:

If we are converting non-Jews, what are we converting them to?

The answer to this question is: to Judaism, has led to further questions over the issue of what standards of practice these converts will be called to live and what Messianic Judaism’s halacha will be.

This is an exciting fruit of the Messianic Jewish conversion development process that there is actual discussion and development of a Messianic Jewish halacha and this is an important part of the further maturation of our movement as a Judaism.

This is a vital step in our development to be the Judaism for Yeshua in the 21st century and beyond!

The Messianic Jewish Rabbinical Council (http://www.ourrabbis.org) has made the huge step of working out the bounds of Messianic Judaism life via their Standards of Observance which is a document detailing the development of communal Torah values for Messianic Judaism.

You can read more on the development of Messianic Jewish Halacha and download a copy of the Standards at:

http://ourrabbis.org/main/halakhah-mainmenu-26/introduction-mainmenu-27/sources-mainmenu-28

The Dual Redemption – A Pesach Reflection on the Afikoman.

I hope that you have had a happy and kosher Pesach.

This is a reflection and meditation on Pesach from my last seder with my family:

As we came to after the meal and my nephew handed me the afikoman bag, I sensed something special needed to be said and I knew that unlike past seders that this afikoman held a new revelation about the holiday and about the great sacrifice of our Messiah.

As I told about the afikoman being hidden away and redeemed and relating how there is belief that the early Messianic Jews added the eating of the afikoman to the seder as Yeshua said to be done “in remembrance of me”, it hit me anew that this was a more powerful time and spiritual experience then I had realized in the past.

I passed the afikoman matzo around the table and then looking intently at my piece of matzo began with the words of our Messiah:

“This is My body which is given for you; do this in remembrance of Me.”
(Luke 22:19)

It profoundly hit me that in the midst of the sacred time of Passover where we remember and celebrate the redemption from Egypt that on another level we are also at this point in the seder reflecting on the redemption from sin that was bought for us by the self sacrifice of our righteous Messiah, Yeshua. In essence after the meal there is a holiday within a holiday and a redemption story within a redemption story and it took my Pesach to a new level of holiness and experiencing God’s goodness and love in such a profound way.

It was hard to complete the recitation of the above verse, because of the full impact of the meaning of these words and that in essence Yeshua was bringing a new broader meaning and more to our observance of Passover by this revelation and the full reality the following day when he gave his life for us.

So as we are now approaching the end of Pesach may each of us take some time in the next day to take in the wonder of God’s redemptive work in our lives, he brought Israel out of Egypt with an outstreched arm and a mighty hand and roughly 1500 years later he would bring both Israel and the Nations another redemption, from slavery to sin and death, this redemption brought with his outstreched arms and mighty hands nailed to a Roman cross.

How great is God’s love?

I can’t put into words, so I will just sit back and in wonder just sit quietly and reflect on all he has done and all He will do in the future and may we all live lives that glorify our Messiah and magnify the God of Israel.

May God bless you and keep you and grant you His peace…

The Lamb that was slaughtered…

In Revelation 5:1-14, we come to a timely reading that fits well with Passover, a story of a sacrificed lamb or as Dr. David Stern translated it in the Jewish New Testament, a “slaughtered lamb”.

Though the use of “slaughtered” is much more graphic than sacrificied, I think it is fitting, especially as we have considered the redemption from Egypt and the sparing of the firstborn because of the blood of the slaughtered lambs whose blood placed on the doorposts marked out a home of those who took hold of God’s provision.

In this reading we come to a vision from thebook of Revelation, as Yochanan tells of an event where the unfolding of his story and the events of his book are
on hold being that there is a sealed scroll that needs to be opened to continue the events of the story and the unfolding of his “revelation of Messiah Yeshua”.
Yochanan says that an angel called out asking if anyone was worthy to open the scroll and was greeted with no answer, which caused Yochanan to weep.  Then we read:

One of the elders said to me, “Don’t cry.
Look, the Lion of the tribe of Judah, the
Root of David, has won the right to open
the scroll and its seven seals.” Then I saw
standing there with the throne and the four
living beings, in the circle of the elders, a
Lamb that appeared to have been
slaughtered.

Revelation 5:5-6

The one who was worthy was the Lion of the tribe of Judah, the Root of David, a reference to Yeshua, our righteous Messiah. We will see that his worthiness to take the scroll was based on his being the Lamb that was slain. It is the “slaughtered lamb” that has proven himself through his suffering and death that can take his place as the one to keep the story going and to continue the unfolding or revelation of the Messiah and his workings in the world.It is not easy for us, now separated for nearly 2000 years from the Temple sacrifices and the annual killing of thePassover lamb, to take in fully the depth of what “sacrifice” really means. Even at a higher level is the self-sacrifice of our Messiah that took place during the Passover, nearly two millennia ago. Though we may not have experiential knowledge, it is important for us to do the best we can to take in the great sacrifice and how the death of Yeshua played a vital role in his future place where he will reign as King Messiah. His worthiness to rule all the created order was confirmed by his willingness to suffer and die to bring atonement for Israel and the Nations.

As we come to Pesach, the celebration of redemption from Egypt may we be mindful also of the second redemption, the redemption that was brought about by Yeshua, who was the great Passover lamb.

May we honor him, who is worthy to play his role as the Lion of the Tribe of Judah, because of his being the “slaughtered Lamb,” and joyfully join the chorus with these words:

Worthy is the lamb that was slain, and has
redeemed us to God by his blood, to
receive power, and riches, and wisdom,
and strength, and honor, and glory, and
blessing! Blessing, and honor, glory, and
power, be unto him who sits upon the
throne, and unto the Lamb, forever and
ever.

Revelation 5:12-13

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Conclude Pesach with a Seudat Mashiach/Messiah’s Feast (click below for free PDF)

Hagaddah Shel Seudat Mashiach

Eating Matzo – Building a Credible Messianic Judaism

As we are now just about to begin Passover, I want to share what is one of my most life changing stories relative to my observance of Passover.

In June 1989, I was in Chicago taking some classes and also visiting the local Messianic congregations. One night I and a few other people went to a local neighborhood to invite people to come to visit the local Messianic congregation.

At one door I came to, the door was answered by a young man about 17 or 18, I think his name was Elliot.

I introduced myself and then told him that I wanted to let him know about the local Messianic Jewish congregation. I told him that we had Shabbat services and that we celebrated the Jewish holidays like Passover.

He responded, “Do you eat only matzo during Passover?”

I and my companion responded, “No, just at the seder, not the whole week of Passover”.

That was basically the end of our conversation.

At the time it hit me that if we ate matzo during the whole week of Passover then our message could have been seen as more credible.

Starting the following Pesach in 1990 to the present, I have made it a point to only eat matzo during Passover and when I have had my own apartment on my own I have also kashered the whole house for Pesach.

This is a vital lesson for us all to learn and that our message about Yeshua as Messiah is more credibly declared by those whose lives showing forth the living reality of being one who walks Torah as a follower of Yeshua. This encounter and the subsequent 22 years of eating matzo throughout Pesach have been a powerful learning experience and a powerful way of living out my commitment to God and also a tangible way to demonstrate a life living Messianic Judaism.

In the act of eating only matzo and avoiding all chametz on Passover we are not only observing God’s Torah which is our duty on it’s own but we are also demonstrating that as followers of Yeshua we are walking in God’s way and thereby we are making our Messiah known as the One followed by adherents of a Torah honoring Messianic Judaism.

Our brethren in Chabad speak of Torah living as taking “baby steps” for those seeking to enter a more observant life or another way “one mitzvah leads to another”.  This was my starting point into kosher living and exploring kashrut beginning with just eating matzo during Passover led me to leave behind eating pork and shellfish and later on to only eating kosher certified meat.  But the first step to ordering my diet by Torah began with eating matzo throughout Pesach.  May this encourage you to make the “baby steps” you need to make to begin your Torah living journey.

So eat matzo and celebrate the freedom of the Pesach season.

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Conclude Pesach with a Seudat Mashiach/Messiah’s Feast (click below for free PDF)

Hagaddah Shel Seudat Mashiach

Pesach – Concluding with the Messiah’s Feast

The Seudat Mashiach or “Messiah’s Feast” is a final meal of Passover that is focused on the Messiah and his role as bringing the final redemption.

The celebration of the Seudat Mashiach began with the Baal Shem Tov, founder of the modern Hasidic movement in Judaism. I was unfamiliar with this custom until just before Pesach in 2002, I saw and ad in the LA Jewish Journal for the local Chabad houses having Seudas Moshiach gatherings on the final day of Passover. I did some research and found out that the meal consisted of matzah and 4 cups of wine, like the Passover seder, with this seder focusing on the redemption to be brought by King Messiah.

As the description of the Seudat Mashiach from the teachings of the Lubavitcher Rebbe Menachem Schneerson says:

“The last day of Pesach is the conclusion of that which began on the first night of Pesach. The first night of Pesach is our festival commemorating our redemption from Egypt by the Holy One, Blessed be He. It was the first redemption, carried out through Moshe Rabbeinu, who was the first redeemer; it was the beginning. The last day of Pesach is our festival commemorating the final redemption, when the Holy One, Blessed be He, will redeem us from the last exile through our righteous Moshiach, who is the final redeemer. The first day of Pesach is Moshe Rabbeinu’s festival; the last day of Pesach is Moshiach’s festival.” (Cited in Likkutei Sichos, Vol. XXII, p. 34.)

I then began to construct an order of service for a final meal of Passover that focused on the predictions, coming and future return of our righteous Messiah, Yeshua. Using the Passover hagaddah as a guide I developed a Hagaddah Shel Seudat Mashiach. In it is a service that begins with Messianic prophecies foretelling the coming of Messiah, passages from the book of Yochanan and Luke telling of the first coming of Yeshua and concluding with readings from Revelation telling of the coronation of King Messiah. It is a great time of dwelling in the final hours of Pesach, a time of remembering redemption from Egypt, to focus on the redemption from sin that was brought by Yeshua.

It is a new and yet old practice, new in that I began working on it about 8 years ago and old being that the original practice began over 200 years with the Baal Shem Tov, it is better to call it a renewal.

May we all celebrate the redemption that Yeshua has brought us each day and may we be able to celebrate the Seudat Mashiach soon with our Messiah in Jerusalem, until then we will celebrate His great works here in exile as we await his appearing.

To download the most recent edition of the Hagaddah Shel Seudat Mashiach (click below):

Hagaddah Shel Seudat Mashiach

God’s Mighty Hand – The Messianic Redemption

The Seudat Mashiach is a final meal of Passover that is focused on the Messianic redemption.  It is dedicated to the glory of the God of Israel, who in His great love and unbounded mercy sent to us Yeshua, our Righteous Messiah at the right time, in the right place, born within the context of Jewish life and Torah faithfulness to be our Redeemer.

In Egypt, God’s mighty hand brought Israel out of slavery to the Egyptians.

In Yeshua, God’s mighty hand again brought freedom, this time from sin and death, with His mighty hand nailed to a Roman stake.

Seudat Mashiach is a celebration of the life and work of Yeshua and may we be do the work necessary to build a Messianic Judaism for the future that is a fitting place for the name of the God of Israel to be honored and in so doing may we be worthy to experience the soon return of our Messiah and that glorious day when all time is Shabbat.

Click below to download a free PDF of a Hagaddah for a Messiah’s Feast to conclude Pesach.

Hagaddah Shel Seudat Mashiach