Jesus brought change...
Matthew 11:1-6
After Yeshua had finished instructing the twelve talmidim, he went on from there to teach and preach in the towns nearby.
2 Meanwhile, Yochanan the Immerser (John the Baptist), who had been put in prison, heard what the Messiah had been doing; so he sent a message to him through his talmidim, 3 asking, “Are you the one who is to come, or should we look for someone else?” 4 Yeshua answered, “Go and tell Yochanan what you are hearing and seeing — 5 the blind are seeing again, the lame are walking, people with tzara’at (leprosy) are being cleansed, the deaf are hearing, the dead are being raised, the Good News is being told to the poor — 6 and how blessed is anyone not offended by me!”
"Blind are seeing again, the lame are walking, the deaf are hearing." All of these words were spoken spoken by the prophet Isaiah in chapter 35:5-6
Then the eyes of the blind will be opened,
and the ears of the deaf will be unstopped;
then the lame man will leap like a deer,
and the mute person’s tongue will sing.
For in the desert, springs will burst forth,
streams of water in the ‘Aravah;
"The dead are being raised," are words also spoken by Isaiah in chapter 26:19
Your dead will live, my corpses will rise;
awake and sing, you who dwell in the dust;
for your dew is like the morning dew,
and the earth will bring the ghosts to life.
"The Good News is being told to the poor" are more Words Jesus quoted from the prophet is Isaiah found in chapter 61:1
The Spirit of Adonai Elohim is upon me,
because Adonai has anointed me
to announce good news to the poor.
He has sent me to heal the brokenhearted;
to proclaim freedom to the captives,
to let out into light those bound in the dark;
The Complete Jewish Bible does a great job of referring us back to Words of God spoken through the prophets, or Words from Torah. When we see these references to all that Jesus used from the "Old Testament," we should see that these Words have not been abolished or done away with. Jesus is using them to show how He is fulfilling them.
Another piece we are missing in some communities of faith is the idea of immersion. John the Baptist was an "immerser." He was a person who taught people the Words from Torah and wanted them to change from the inside out. The immersions that took place were a symbolic cleansing of what was happening to the heart. People were repenting and turning from ways that were not of God. The immersion, which was a mikvah cleansing, was the outward physical act of an inward change.
There is more that I could expound on today, but I don't like these devotionals to get too long. I pray that you can focus on asking yourself what HE wants you to change. The last Words in todays portion say, "and how blessed is anyone not offended by me!” Don't be offended by what He says. Stop and reflect on what it is that He needs from you. Jesus CHANGED people. Are you changed?
Shabbat Shalom,
Rose
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