Author: Steven R. Bruck
Which Commandments Did Yeshua Say Count the Most?
I think we all know which commandments Yeshua said are the most important, right? Isn’t it from Matthew 22:37-40?
Well, if that is so, then why does he give a totally different set of commandments in three separate gospels when asked what does someone have to do to be saved?
If you prefer to watch a video, click on this link: Watch the video.
Let’s start in Matthew 22, when Yeshua is asked which is the most important commandment of all? He replies (CJB):
‘You are to love Adonai your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your strength.’ This is the greatest and most important mitzvah. And a second is similar to it, ‘You are to love your neighbor as yourself.’ All of the Torah and the Prophets are dependent on these two mitzvot.”
So here Yeshua is telling us that to love God and each other is paramount. Now, traditional Christian teaching tells us that this is all we need to do. Love God and love each other, the message of Christ is to love- and that’s it! Nothing else is required. Love God, love each other, and you’re in!
They interpret this verse to mean these are the only two commandments we need to do.
But that’s not right, is it? Yeshua never said these are the only commandments, just that they are the most important ones. And, when he added that all the others pivot on these two, that means he expects that we will follow all the other commandments BECAUSE we love God and each other.
But if these are the most important, then why did he tell the rich man who asked what he needed to do to enter God’s kingdom (Matthew 19:18, Mark 10:17, and Luke 18:19) something different?
In all three Gospels, Yeshua’s answer to the man includes these commandments:
Don’t commit adultery, don’t murder, don’t steal, don’t give false witness, honor your mother and father, (this additional one was only in Matthew) and love your neighbor as yourself.
So, nu? If Yeshua said that to love God and each other are the most important commandments, which all the others will pivot on, why tell the rich man something different? In fact, these commandments are straight from the Big Ten, whereas the ones Yeshua said were most important were from the Torah, but not listed in the Big Ten.
Hmmm…now we have to ask ourselves “What do we do?” Which are the commandments we are to really need to strive to obey?
It seems that we should love God, then love each other, then come the Big Ten. That makes sense, doesn’t it?
But wait a minute! Didn’t James say if we break one commandment, we break them all (James 2:10)? So, even loving God, loving each other, and obeying the ones Yeshua quoted from the Big Ten isn’t enough?
Shaul (Paul) tells the Romans that no one can be saved by the law (Romans 3:23), which he knew from his vast knowledge of the Tanakh, for there are numerous places where we are told, over and over by different people that everyone sins, and no one is without sin.
I mean, there are some 613 commandments in the Torah! We can’t do the ones involving the temple service, which is about 1/3 of them, and some are just for women and some just for men, some just for the Cohen Hagadol (High Priest), which leaves less than a hundred or so for us simple folk.
Oy! That’s still a lot to do, so once again we ask, “What do we do?”
There is no longer a temple in Jerusalem where we can be forgiven under the sacrificial system, which (according to the Torah) was the only place we could bring our sacrifice to receive forgiveness (thank God for sending Yeshua, who replaced that requirement, making forgiveness available to everyone, everywhere, at any time.)
The answer, I suppose, is that we do the best we can to obey all the commandments that God gave in the Torah that apply to us. You see, the Torah is the only place in the entire Bible (this includes the New Covenant) where God tells us what he wants us to do. We can be secure in the knowledge that if we accept Yeshua as the Messiah God promised to send, repent of the sins we commit and ask forgiveness by means of Yeshua’s blood, which was shed for us, then we can be forgiven of that sin.
Yeshua only repeats what God said, and Shaul only wrote to Gentiles what they needed to do initially, expecting (as did the Elders who wrote the letter in Acts 15) that the Gentiles would learn the rest of what God wants them to do as they grew more knowledgeable in the Word and more spiritually mature.
Christianity has taught the opposite of what Yeshua and Shaul taught; Yeshua and Shaul taught the people to obey God, but Christianity has taught the people to ignore what God said and, instead, follow the tenets, rituals, and holidays that men have created.
It is up to you to decide what you will do: you can either worship God by obeying his commandments as best as you can, knowing he will forgive you (through Yeshua) when you screw up, or worship a Christian rebranding of the true Messiah, kneeling before graven images, praying to people instead of God, and ignoring nearly everything God told about how he wanted you to live, choosing to obey man-made tenets, celebrate man-made holidays, and perform man-made rituals.
Your choice, but if you ask me, I will have to say it is probably safer to do as God says then to do as people say.
Thank you for being here and please share these messages with everyone you know to help this ministry continue to grow. Subscribe to my website (while you’re there please buy my books), also to my YouTube channel, and join my Facebook group called “Just God’s Word” (but make sure you agree to the rules to be let in).
Ans please give me some feedback- positive or negative- to let me know someone is actually reading this stuff.
Thats it for today, so l’hitraot and Baruch HaShem!
Which Commandments Did Yeshua Say Count the Most?
I think we all know which commandments Yeshua said are the most important, right? Isn’t it from Matthew 22:37-40?
Well, if that is so, then why does he give a totally different set of commandments in three separate gospels when asked what does someone have to do to be saved?
If you prefer to watch a video, click on this link: Watch the video.
Let’s start in Matthew 22, when Yeshua is asked which is the most important commandment of all? He replies (CJB):
‘You are to love Adonai your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your strength.’ This is the greatest and most important mitzvah. And a second is similar to it, ‘You are to love your neighbor as yourself.’ All of the Torah and the Prophets are dependent on these two mitzvot.”
So here Yeshua is telling us that to love God and each other is paramount. Now, traditional Christian teaching tells us that this is all we need to do. Love God and love each other, the message of Christ is to love- and that’s it! Nothing else is required. Love God, love each other, and you’re in!
They interpret this verse to mean these are the only two commandments we need to do.
But that’s not right, is it? Yeshua never said these are the only commandments, just that they are the most important ones. And, when he added that all the others pivot on these two, that means he expects that we will follow all the other commandments BECAUSE we love God and each other.
But if these are the most important, then why did he tell the rich man who asked what he needed to do to enter God’s kingdom (Matthew 19:18, Mark 10:17, and Luke 18:19) something different?
In all three Gospels, Yeshua’s answer to the man includes these commandments:
Don’t commit adultery, don’t murder, don’t steal, don’t give false witness, honor your mother and father, (this additional one was only in Matthew) and love your neighbor as yourself.
So, nu? If Yeshua said that to love God and each other are the most important commandments, which all the others will pivot on, why tell the rich man something different? In fact, these commandments are straight from the Big Ten, whereas the ones Yeshua said were most important were from the Torah, but not listed in the Big Ten.
Hmmm…now we have to ask ourselves “What do we do?” Which are the commandments we are to really need to strive to obey?
It seems that we should love God, then love each other, then come the Big Ten. That makes sense, doesn’t it?
But wait a minute! Didn’t James say if we break one commandment, we break them all (James 2:10)? So, even loving God, loving each other, and obeying the ones Yeshua quoted from the Big Ten isn’t enough?
Shaul (Paul) tells the Romans that no one can be saved by the law (Romans 3:23), which he knew from his vast knowledge of the Tanakh, for there are numerous places where we are told, over and over by different people that everyone sins, and no one is without sin.
I mean, there are some 613 commandments in the Torah! We can’t do the ones involving the temple service, which is about 1/3 of them, and some are just for women and some just for men, some just for the Cohen Hagadol (High Priest), which leaves less than a hundred or so for us simple folk.
Oy! That’s still a lot to do, so once again we ask, “What do we do?”
There is no longer a temple in Jerusalem where we can be forgiven under the sacrificial system, which (according to the Torah) was the only place we could bring our sacrifice to receive forgiveness (thank God for sending Yeshua, who replaced that requirement, making forgiveness available to everyone, everywhere, at any time.)
The answer, I suppose, is that we do the best we can to obey all the commandments that God gave in the Torah that apply to us. You see, the Torah is the only place in the entire Bible (this includes the New Covenant) where God tells us what he wants us to do. We can be secure in the knowledge that if we accept Yeshua as the Messiah God promised to send, repent of the sins we commit and ask forgiveness by means of Yeshua’s blood, which was shed for us, then we can be forgiven of that sin.
Yeshua only repeats what God said, and Shaul only wrote to Gentiles what they needed to do initially, expecting (as did the Elders who wrote the letter in Acts 15) that the Gentiles would learn the rest of what God wants them to do as they grew more knowledgeable in the Word and more spiritually mature.
Christianity has taught the opposite of what Yeshua and Shaul taught; Yeshua and Shaul taught the people to obey God, but Christianity has taught the people to ignore what God said and, instead, follow the tenets, rituals, and holidays that men have created.
It is up to you to decide what you will do: you can either worship God by obeying his commandments as best as you can, knowing he will forgive you (through Yeshua) when you screw up, or worship a Christian rebranding of the true Messiah, kneeling before graven images, praying to people instead of God, and ignoring nearly everything God told about how he wanted you to live, choosing to obey man-made tenets, celebrate man-made holidays, and perform man-made rituals.
Your choice, but if you ask me, I will have to say it is probably safer to do as God says then to do as people say.
Thank you for being here and please share these messages with everyone you know to help this ministry continue to grow. Subscribe to my website (while you’re there please buy my books), also to my YouTube channel, and join my Facebook group called “Just God’s Word” (but make sure you agree to the rules to be let in).
Ans please give me some feedback- positive or negative- to let me know someone is actually reading this stuff.
Thats it for today, so l’hitraot and Baruch HaShem!
Video for Which Commandments Did Yeshua Say Count the Most?
The Difference Between Blood Descendant and Adopted Child
Let me place my Disclaimer out there right now- this message is mostly just my opinion. You can disagree, or agree, and in either case, if you have biblical justification for your opinion, please let me know.
If you prefer to watch me opine in a video, click on this link: Watch the video.
OK, Shaul tells the Galatians (Galatians 3:29) that if they are in Messiah, then they are also heirs of Abraham. This is his conclusion from his previous explanation about how there is no longer slave or free, Gentile or Jew, but only one type of person when we accept Yeshua as our Messiah because from that point forward, we are all one in the body of the Messiah.
But there is a difference between an adopted child and a blood relative. It doesn’t matter on a spiritual level, but it does on a physical one.
I am not an adopted son of Abraham because I am Jewish, through and through, both sides, DNA proven. In fact, I even have the Levitical allele, so I know I am a Levite.
(If you’re not familiar with this, years ago they studied the DNA of Jews whose last name was any form of Levi or Cohen, and matched that to other Jewish DNA samples, and found there is a definitive difference between the DNA of Jewish males who have a Levitical sounding last name and those who do not.)
The issue I have is with the traditional Christian teaching, which has been promulgated throughout the centuries, that adopted children of Abraham are entitled to all the promises God made to him but are not subject to the Torah because they are “in Christ” and, as such, not under the law but under Grace.
Oh, how I hate that saying- “not under the law but under Grace”- because it has led so many thousands upon thousands of people away from the narrow gate by making them think they can do whatever they always did and be saved.
Don’t you know? Grace is not exception from obeying the law, but the opportunity to be forgiven when we disobey the law!
Does an adopted child in a family get to ignore the rules that the natural born children are subject to following?
I don’t think so!
So, what makes Christians who claim to be children of Abraham think they can ignore the Torah, which was given by God to the children of Abraham to learn and live and teach to the world as God’s chosen nation of priests? (Exodus 19:6) And what do priests do? They teach you how to worship! That’s why God gave the children of Abraham the Torah- not just for them, but for them to learn, live, and bring to the world so that everyone can be saved.
The only real difference between an adopted child of Abraham and one that is natural born is a physical one, dealing with circumcision (as Shaul explained to the Galatians and also mentioned, as I recall, to the Romans), and circumcision is not needed in order to be saved. If an adopted child wants to undergo that, fine- so long as it is not done to be “correct”, i.e., to earn the right to say they are under the covenant. That is the wrong reason, as Shaul explained to the Galatians.
Think about it…do you really have to be circumcised to be under the same covenant God made with Abraham?
My opinion is that the Abrahamic Covenant is not as important to a person’s relationship with God as the Mosaic Covenant is. Why not? Well, because Abraham was only required to do B’rit Milah, whereas Moses was given God’s instructions for the way to live our lives: how to worship him and how to treat each other.
If you ask me, any male Gentile who is not circumcised, but wants to live as Yeshua (Jesus) really did live, to do as he really did do, will not have to buy a large package of Birds Eye Frozen Peas (a real lifesaver after having procedures done down there) but just obey the Torah as best as he can.
Do you know what they call a Jewish baby who isn’t circumcised? A girl!
Do all females who accept Yeshua as their messiah have to undergo the female type of circumcision (the kind that is done to certain Muslim women) in order to be an adopted child of Abraham?
Of course not! But they are just as “saved” as the men are.
As Shaul pointed out, Abraham was NOT circumcised when God called him out of the pagan lifestyle he had been living. God accepted Abraham as a righteous person based on his faith and, for the record, his obedience, as well. Read Genesis 26:4-5, which is where God renewed the promise he made to Abraham with Isaac and stated that Abraham obeyed all that God told him to do.
Abraham was considered righteous not just because he was faithful, but because he proved his faith through obedience, which many centuries later was confirmed by the brother of the Messiah (James 2:17).
So, there you have it- male blood descendants of Abraham have the obligation to undergo B’rit Milah when they are 8 days old (good thing it’s at 8 days, because if they asked me when I was 35, I would seriously have to think about it!), but Gentile males who accept Yeshua as their Messiah and want to be adopted children of Abraham do not have to be circumcised in their flesh, only in their heart.
And, for the record, being circumcised in your flesh, alone, doesn’t save you.
There is a difference between blood descendants of Abraham and adopted children, but that isn’t what is going to make a difference in your salvation. The Abrahamic Covenant doesn’t provide you what you need to be saved, but the Mosaic Covenant does.
Thank you for being here and please subscribe to this ministry on my website and my YouTube channel. Buy my books, share these messages with everyone you know, and join my Facebook group called “Just God’s Word” (but you must agree to the rules to join).
And remember… I always welcome your comments.
That’s it for this week, so l’hitraot and (an early) Shabbat Shalom!
Video for The Difference Between Blood Descendant and Adopted Child
Is Your Spiritual Modem Using Dial-Up or Fiber?
For those who aren’t tech-savvy, dial-up service, which you might know better as DSL, was how we used to connect to the Internet, and always had that tweetle-like noise as it was connecting.
It was as slow as molasses flowing uphill against the wind in November… in Maine!
Now, fiber optic is the speediest form of connection we have today, and about ten times faster than the old DSL connection.
So, nu? What the heck does this nerdy stuff have to do with God?
If you prefer to watch a video, click on this link: Watch the video.
Being a nerd, myself, I was wondering about this: since our connection with God is (for most of us) through prayer, is the prayer relationship we have with God one that is sluggish as DSL or speedy as fiber?
For example, when praying, do you go through a series of Shakespearean statements like this example:
Oh Lord, thou art the great one. I prayeth to thee now, seeking thy goodness, to be gracious to me and giveth thy servant all that thy servant requesteth of thee.
Or do you do as I do, which is simply to say something along the lines of:
Lord, thank you for the blessings you give and please hear my request.
Can you see what I mean? Dial-up or fiber?
Now, I am not condemning anyone who wants to pray as they used to pray in the Bible, but do you really think that you get any extra points for that? In truth, didn’t Yeshua tell us to pray in a simple, precise manner?
In Matthew 6, isn’t the template he gave us for how to pray rather simple? When we read in 1 Kings 8:22-53, when Solomon prayed to God at the dedication of the Temple, now that was a prayer! But geeze! It went on and on, and it had to because, well, what else were the people there going to do?
It’s not like they had a plane to catch, or that they had to get back home in time to watch the game on TV.
And that prayer is beautiful, but let’s face it- Solomon was the wisest king of all time praying at the dedication of the most glamorous temple ever built to the one true God. I mean, okay, let’s not cut that one short.
But when you and I pray to God in the privacy of our home, or car, or wherever, and especially when praying publicly in your house of worship… well, c’mon. Let’s get real- that’s not the same.
I believe (and you can disagree with me- that’s OK) that God isn’t listening for fancy speech or ornate prayer, but rather for a humble and heartfelt need that we bring before him for help. I really believe that all God wants is a simple request, a request for just what we need, humbly coming before him and acknowledging that we are unfit, and come before him in the righteousness of Yeshua, our Messiah, whose sacrifice made it possible for us to approach the Holy One of Israel.
So, my point today is that when we pray, in my (probably) less-humble-than-it-should-be opinion, we should all maintain the KISS rule (Keep It Simple, Schlemiel) because God already knows what we want, and he knows better than any of us what we really need, and I really don’t think he is impressed by spectacular verbiage or King James style pronunciations.
God wants humble, honest, and worshipful prayer; ya know what? -when it comes down to it, you don’t even need to speak. Just let your heart talk for you.
Thank you for being here and please share these messages with everyone you know to help this ministry continue to grow. Subscribe on my website and YouTube channel, buy my inexpensive books (if you like these messages, you will like my books), and join my Facebook group called “Just God’s Word” (you must agree to the rules to be let in).
And remember that I always welcome your comments.
That’s it for today, so l’hitraot and Baruch HaShem!
Video for Is Your Spiritual Modem Using Dial-Up or Fiber
False Praise
Is there such a thing as false praise?
I think there is: it’s when someone says something so very, very “praiseful” (is that really a word?), but their intention is not to praise but to receive praise.
If you prefer to watch a video, click on this link: Watch the video.
For example, let’s go to Luke 11:27, where after teaching about how a house divided against itself cannot stand, and that evil spirits may repossess a person even after being cleansed, this happened:
As Yeshua was saying these things, a woman in the crowd raised her voice to call out, “How blessed is the mother that gave birth to you and nursed you from her breast!” But he said, “Far more blessed are those who hear the word of God and obey it!”
Did you notice how Yeshua pretty much ignored the praise?
And this isn’t the only time he did something like that.
In Luke 14:15, Yeshua is at a dinner and teaching that those who exalt themselves will be humbled, and those who humble themselves will be exalted, when someone at the table says:
How blessed are those who eat bread in the kingdom of God!
Yeshua again ignores this comment and goes directly into a drash (parable) about the man who had invited people to a banquet, but when they all came up with an excuse, he invited beggars and the lame so that his house would be full, and none of the ones he did invite would be allowed in.
I may be a little off-center with this, but I feel that the way Yeshua reacted to these praises, which was to let them go by without acknowledging them, was because he recognized the praise was meant not to glorify him or God, but intended so that the one giving it would be acknowledged.
I believe Yeshua recognized this as false praise because the one praising wanted to be the one receiving praise.
Again, I confess this may be a pet-peeve of my own, but I have often heard people say things that I feel- in my spirit- is not genuine praise for God or Yeshua but said in order for the one praising to receive the praise of others.
“Oh, that is such a wonderful thing to say! That person must be so spiritually aware.”
“Oh, my! What wonderful praise to be given.”
“I wish I had said that- they’re so spiritually mature and wise.”
Haven’t you seen this in your house of worship? Aren’t there those who give praise like they were handing out candy on Halloween?
Now, don’t get me wrong! I praise God all the time and believe there is nothing better to do than praise God. But I don’t think it should be done in the way Yeshua accused the Pharisees of doing it- having longer tzitzit, making a public spectacle of their worship, trying to appear so spiritual, but all that in order to receive praise from people.
Okay, I’m a cynical person- so, sue me! But I absolutely know for sure that there are people who do things to appear spiritual and worshipful, but underneath it all, their praise is designed to receive, not to give.
They don’t fool me, and I know they don’t fool God.
So, nu? What’s today’s take-away?
When you praise, do so the way Yeshua said in Matthew 6; privately, so that your father in heaven will reward you. He warns us that those who seek public approval or recognition will receive it, but that is all they will get. So, if you feel a genuine desire to praise God or Yeshua, do so under your breath- don’t worry, they will hear you.
If you ask me, the best praise we can give to God is simply to act the way God wants us to act.
People don’t mean what they say, they mean what they do, so let people see your praise to God all the time by the way you act.
Thank you for being here and please subscribe to this ministry on both my website and my YouTube channel. Buy my books, join my Facebook group called “Just God’s Word” (but make sure you agree to the rules to be let in), and share these messages with everyone you know.
And remember that I always welcome your comments.
That’s it for this week, so l’hitraot and (and early) Shabbat Shalom!