WEBVTT 00:03.060 --> 00:09.880 Growing up, we always understood that we had our Bible and the Gentiles had their 00:09.880 --> 00:13.480 Bible, the New Testament, and that they were two completely separate books. 00:14.160 --> 00:20.540 Because the only people I knew who were believers in Jesus were all people in our 00:20.540 --> 00:24.740 public school who were Italian Catholic, I imagined that Jesus was Italian. 00:25.100 --> 00:26.980 My best friends across the street were Catholic. 00:27.540 --> 00:29.980 And actually, I didn't know about that. 00:29.980 --> 00:35.380 I didn't know about anything having to do with religion or even Jesus. 00:35.980 --> 00:41.800 And they informed me that I would not be able to go to heaven, but I would be able 00:41.800 --> 00:42.620 to go to purgatory. 00:42.880 --> 00:45.420 One of the things I loved to read was Greek mythology. 00:45.820 --> 00:50.080 All the great heroes of Greek mythology, Hercules and Perseus and Theseus, 00:50.400 --> 00:53.080 they're all these half-men, half-gods. 00:53.260 --> 00:56.660 You know, honestly, that's kind of the way Jesus came across to me. 00:56.660 --> 01:03.580 There's this God, and he finds this Mary, and they have a child, and it's Jesus, 01:03.740 --> 01:04.600 the Son of God. 01:04.700 --> 01:11.000 I mean, it just came across as very... not monotheistic and not Jewish at all. 01:11.900 --> 01:17.020 The mix of my neighborhood was 50% Jewish and 50% Catholic. 01:17.440 --> 01:19.700 We were told, you cannot read the New Testament. 01:20.040 --> 01:22.600 If you believed in Jesus, you were Christian. 01:22.600 --> 01:28.040 I was asking the rabbi who God is and some of my teachers who God is and my friends 01:28.040 --> 01:30.080 of all kinds of different friends who God is. 01:30.200 --> 01:31.260 You know what I never really did? 01:31.720 --> 01:33.860 I never really asked God who he is. 01:36.420 --> 01:39.180 My mother's family came from Minsk. 01:39.320 --> 01:43.340 They escaped from the pogroms, and they brought their Orthodox Jewishness 01:43.340 --> 01:44.420 to America. 01:44.420 --> 01:50.480 And that's how I grew up, as an Orthodox Jew, with the bar mitzvah, Hebrew school, 01:51.200 --> 01:52.820 and all that went with that. 01:53.560 --> 01:56.740 Love didn't seem to be a part of the picture. 01:57.500 --> 02:03.420 Our whole household was full of anger, throwing things, yelling, slamming doors. 02:03.740 --> 02:07.960 I was not loved, nor was I loving. 02:08.940 --> 02:14.700 Growing up, I learned nothing about Christianity, nothing about Jesus. 02:15.040 --> 02:16.980 I didn't learn too much about God either. 02:17.460 --> 02:22.720 When I was about 19 years old, somebody recommended I go into town in San 02:22.720 --> 02:25.120 Diego and buy a Bible. 02:25.440 --> 02:35.520 In the New Testament, I saw that Jesus said, Come to me, all of you who are 02:35.520 --> 02:38.800 heavily burdened, who have trials and troubles. 02:39.040 --> 02:41.560 Come to me, and I will give you rest. 02:42.380 --> 02:46.660 And I realized that without the help of God, the love of God, and the healing of 02:46.660 --> 02:48.480 God, I couldn't get there. 02:48.560 --> 02:49.580 I couldn't make things better. 02:50.700 --> 02:55.400 I think that was the greatest experience in my life, that understanding. 02:55.880 --> 02:58.220 I'd never seen a New Testament before. 02:58.220 --> 03:01.580 And I began right at the beginning with the Gospels. 03:01.980 --> 03:05.980 And as I read, it wasn't the Greek mythology that I was expecting. 03:06.540 --> 03:07.400 It was Yeshua. 03:08.000 --> 03:12.360 He was talking to all the people right there in Israel, His Jewish brothers and 03:12.360 --> 03:12.720 sisters. 03:13.000 --> 03:15.160 And He was teaching them from the Torah. 03:15.580 --> 03:19.840 I saw that Jesus loves the Jewish people. 03:20.240 --> 03:21.340 He was born Jewish. 03:21.720 --> 03:22.840 He lived as a Jew. 03:23.780 --> 03:26.300 He preached and taught to the Jews. 03:26.300 --> 03:33.820 I started to move back to loving the Jewish people, my people, who I had 03:33.820 --> 03:34.300 rejected. 03:35.160 --> 03:40.700 And I saw that Jesus was rejected, but He continued to love back. 03:41.100 --> 03:43.900 I had no idea about this idea of forgiveness. 03:44.360 --> 03:47.840 Jesus gave His life for mankind, for the world. 03:48.400 --> 03:49.780 That's how much He loved us. 03:51.380 --> 03:52.840 Here's the first sentence. 03:52.840 --> 03:54.060 It says, 04:00.960 --> 04:04.540 So three people are mentioned and they're all Jewish. 04:05.360 --> 04:06.460 I was very shocked. 04:06.980 --> 04:11.040 And as I continued to read, I'm reading the story of a Jewish man who was born in 04:11.040 --> 04:16.840 a Jewish village, in a Jewish country, and one day walks into a synagogue and 04:16.840 --> 04:19.900 announces that He is the Messiah. 04:19.900 --> 04:24.840 I never really asked God to reveal Himself to me in a way where I can truly 04:24.840 --> 04:26.980 understand who He is. 04:27.460 --> 04:31.960 So on May 3rd, 1981, about 10 a.m., I did just that. 04:32.120 --> 04:36.320 I got down alone in my dorm room and I picked a verse that was both in the Hebrew 04:36.320 --> 04:37.700 Scriptures and the Newer Covenant. 04:38.680 --> 04:41.840 The verse is, And I said, 04:50.360 --> 04:53.120 And all I can say is this, at that point, I just knew. 04:53.620 --> 04:57.680 All my questions, all my arguments, everything just faded away. 04:58.660 --> 05:01.800 I just knew that He is Moshiach. 05:02.640 --> 05:04.280 I never felt more Jewish. 05:04.900 --> 05:07.680 Because what can be more Jewish than believing in the God of Abraham, 05:07.920 --> 05:08.640 Isaac, and Jacob? 05:08.780 --> 05:12.120 The God of Moses, the God of David, the God of Jeremiah, the God of Isaiah, 05:12.800 --> 05:14.180 the Jewish Messiah, Yeshua. 05:24.780 --> 05:30.820 The identity of Yeshua, as you can see, has been a topic of great struggle for our 05:30.820 --> 05:31.160 people. 05:31.920 --> 05:37.040 You might have a few questions yourself about who He is and what that means to you 05:37.040 --> 05:37.720 in your life. 05:38.400 --> 05:43.040 Let's start with what He said about Himself and then look at what the Hebrew 05:43.040 --> 05:45.520 prophets said about Him in the Bible. 05:46.220 --> 05:49.760 First, He said, He is the only way to God. 05:50.500 --> 05:51.700 In the book of John, He said, 05:57.580 --> 06:00.500 He saves us from death and judgment. 06:01.120 --> 06:08.060 In Luke, He proclaimed to a woman, The other guests began to say among 06:08.060 --> 06:14.340 themselves, He is life eternal. 06:15.040 --> 06:15.960 Yeshua said, 06:25.200 --> 06:28.500 He is the judge of all. 06:28.940 --> 06:29.560 He said, 06:35.960 --> 06:37.820 He is God. 06:38.200 --> 06:41.740 As Matthew in his gospel says, quoting from Isaiah the prophet, 06:45.560 --> 06:51.180 And they shall call His name Immanuel, which is translated God with us. 06:51.960 --> 06:54.380 In Isaiah 9-6, the prophet again says, 07:09.060 --> 07:14.860 And finally, in the book of John, Yeshua said of Himself, Assuredly, 07:14.960 --> 07:18.560 I say to you, before Abraham was, I am. 07:19.200 --> 07:29.220 And in the gospel of John, chapter 10, Yeshua says, He is Lord. 07:29.860 --> 07:30.740 What does that mean? 07:31.220 --> 07:34.200 It means that He is the ruler over all. 07:34.860 --> 07:38.300 Yeshua obeyed the Father's direction and so should we. 07:38.760 --> 07:40.820 He never said, follow your heart. 07:41.080 --> 07:43.140 He said, follow me. 07:43.140 --> 07:45.560 Yeshua isn't a philosophy. 07:46.180 --> 07:47.000 He's a person. 07:47.440 --> 07:52.060 He showed us by example the way of life and commanded us to follow Him. 07:52.640 --> 07:56.080 Aristotle said to his disciples, follow my teachings. 07:56.660 --> 08:00.460 Socrates likewise said to his disciples, follow my teachings. 08:01.160 --> 08:04.280 Buddha said to his disciples, follow my meditations. 08:05.000 --> 08:08.360 Confucius said to his disciples, follow my sayings. 08:08.820 --> 08:12.500 And Muhammad says to his disciples, follow my noble pillars. 08:12.500 --> 08:17.360 But Yeshua says to his disciples, follow me. 08:18.320 --> 08:23.320 At His first coming, He died for our sins, sacrificing Himself to save our souls. 08:23.880 --> 08:28.600 He saved us from God's judgment for our sin and through His Holy Spirit gives us 08:28.600 --> 08:32.760 new life and the strength to overcome temptation and trials. 08:35.780 --> 08:40.520 Yeshua introduced a new way, not just following the Torah or religious rules, 08:40.520 --> 08:45.100 but by obeying God from the heart, going beneath the surface of the 08:45.100 --> 08:48.620 commandments to the very heart of what God wants for our lives. 08:49.480 --> 08:51.960 Do not commit adultery became do not lust. 08:52.380 --> 08:56.400 And you shall not kill became don't hate or be angry without cause. 08:57.120 --> 09:01.760 Yeshua went past the surface to the core issues that drive us to sin. 09:02.320 --> 09:06.540 The prophet Jeremiah said that God would write His law upon our hearts. 09:06.540 --> 09:10.940 Our tendency is to focus on correcting the outward actions. 09:11.480 --> 09:16.920 But Yeshua wants to change our heart and desires so that we are motivated to pursue 09:16.920 --> 09:18.580 Him and His ways. 09:19.960 --> 09:25.400 And one day, Yeshua will return as our King and reign on His rightful throne in 09:25.400 --> 09:25.840 Jerusalem. 09:26.620 --> 09:30.980 This is something every Jewish person understands about the Messiah. 09:30.980 --> 09:37.220 But most Jewish people don't know that the Bible predicted two comings of the 09:37.220 --> 09:37.640 Messiah. 09:38.320 --> 09:43.820 The Messiah would come first as a humble servant and return as a conquering King. 09:44.580 --> 09:50.660 For example, in Isaiah 53, the prophet prophesies that the Messiah would die for 09:50.660 --> 09:52.780 our sins as a perfect sacrifice. 09:53.600 --> 09:55.940 He would take our punishment upon Himself. 09:56.640 --> 09:58.720 Sounds a bit like the story of Yeshua, right? 09:58.720 --> 10:03.400 And there is a host of other prophecies that all point to our Messiah, 10:03.620 --> 10:03.840 Yeshua. 10:04.220 --> 10:09.120 And we encourage you to watch the attached study resources to dive into this in more 10:09.120 --> 10:09.500 detail. 10:10.220 --> 10:14.820 But these prophecies bring up two important and related topics. 10:15.560 --> 10:18.400 The deity of Messiah and the unity of God. 10:18.940 --> 10:23.000 As mentioned before, Yeshua claimed to be God in the flesh. 10:23.580 --> 10:27.060 This idea turns many Jewish people off to Jesus. 10:27.060 --> 10:33.160 This could have easily done so to me, but I understood that the Bible prophesied 10:33.160 --> 10:37.440 that the Messiah would be God in the flesh, what Christians call the 10:37.440 --> 10:37.900 incarnation. 10:38.780 --> 10:43.420 This is the teaching of Yeshua Himself and also the message of the prophets. 10:44.000 --> 10:48.360 Again, Isaiah not only told us that a virgin will conceive and bear a son, 10:48.880 --> 10:52.840 and you shall call His name Immanuel, God is with us. 10:52.840 --> 10:58.260 But He also spoke of another child which would be born and be named Wonderful 10:58.260 --> 11:03.480 Counselor, Mighty God, Everlasting Father, and the Prince of Peace. 11:03.860 --> 11:09.300 And we know this is referring to Messiah as Isaiah tells us in the very next verse 11:09.300 --> 11:12.720 that this person would reign on David's throne forever. 11:13.500 --> 11:15.400 And that is a very long time. 11:16.160 --> 11:19.460 Clearly, Isaiah believed the Messiah would be God in the flesh. 11:19.460 --> 11:24.820 And this is why as a Jewish person, I can accept it, because I see it taught 11:24.820 --> 11:26.060 in the Hebrew Scriptures. 11:30.380 --> 11:34.600 We also understand that the Bible speaks of the nature of God as triune, 11:35.120 --> 11:40.580 three persons, the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit, distinct and yet the 11:40.580 --> 11:40.840 same. 11:41.520 --> 11:45.700 Some would try to argue that this puts followers of Yeshua at odds with Judaism 11:45.700 --> 11:47.580 and the teachings of the Torah. 11:47.580 --> 11:54.300 But the subject of God's complex unity is not foreign to the Torah or even modern 11:54.300 --> 11:55.340 Judaism today. 11:55.880 --> 11:57.980 So what does the Hebrew Bible say? 11:58.560 --> 12:03.120 Our opinions only carry weight if they agree with the Word of God. 12:03.440 --> 12:08.180 So we need to start at the beginning and build our understanding from the bottom 12:08.180 --> 12:09.060 up. 12:09.760 --> 12:15.340 The fundamental Jewish confession of faith called the Shema is taken from Deuteronomy 12:15.340 --> 12:16.060 6-4. 12:16.060 --> 12:21.700 Shema Yisrael, Adonai Eloheinu, Adonai Echad. 12:22.280 --> 12:27.400 Or in English, Hear O Israel, the Lord our God, the Lord is one. 12:27.900 --> 12:33.720 The Hebrew word Echad is translated one here, but it refers to a compound unity. 12:34.100 --> 12:37.900 Just as in English we could say one team or one couple. 12:38.200 --> 12:42.380 It could mean a single unity, of course, but when used in this instance, 12:42.620 --> 12:44.620 it refers to something more. 12:44.620 --> 12:47.580 Let's give a few practical examples. 12:48.280 --> 12:54.140 According to Genesis 2-24, when a man is united to a woman, the two become Echad, 12:54.440 --> 12:57.220 one flesh, clearly a compound unity. 12:57.880 --> 13:02.520 So also in Exodus when God instructs Moses to join the many pieces of the tabernacle 13:02.520 --> 13:06.040 together so that it will be one, Echad. 13:06.040 --> 13:12.340 The Shema was simply a way of saying to our people Israel that the Lord alone was 13:12.340 --> 13:15.000 to be our God, He and no other. 13:15.520 --> 13:20.940 The persons of this divine unity are understood to be co-eternal, co-essential, 13:21.440 --> 13:22.160 and co-equal. 13:22.820 --> 13:28.080 God's triunity is not some neatly spelled out doctrine or a trite little teaching to 13:28.080 --> 13:30.300 be explained in 30 seconds or less. 13:30.300 --> 13:36.060 It's like asking a Hasidic rabbi, is the Shekhinah God, or is the Memrah 13:36.060 --> 13:38.480 God, or are the Sefirot God? 13:38.980 --> 13:42.400 These are deep theological and philosophical issues. 13:43.060 --> 13:49.360 Honestly, describing God and understanding the deepest nature of His being is like a 13:49.360 --> 13:51.820 fly trying to figure out nuclear medicine. 13:52.380 --> 13:57.040 There's still so much we don't know, but what we do know through the Word is 13:57.040 --> 13:59.180 what we're trying to reveal to you today. 13:59.180 --> 14:04.340 And because this is such a complex concept, we have some extra resources 14:04.340 --> 14:07.040 available in our study guide to go deeper. 14:10.480 --> 14:15.280 The Gospel of John gives a beautiful description of the unity of God and the 14:15.280 --> 14:19.980 person of Yeshua when he says, In the beginning was the Word. 14:20.380 --> 14:23.920 The Word was with God, and the Word was God. 14:24.420 --> 14:26.140 He was with God in the beginning. 14:26.140 --> 14:31.780 All things were made through Him, and apart from Him nothing was made that 14:31.780 --> 14:33.140 has come into being. 14:33.820 --> 14:37.920 In Him was life, and the life was the light of man. 14:38.820 --> 14:42.180 The Word became flesh and tabernacled among us. 14:42.800 --> 14:48.680 We looked upon His glory, the glory of the one and only from the Father, full of 14:48.680 --> 14:49.480 grace and truth. 14:50.220 --> 14:54.440 Out of His fullness we have all received grace on top of grace. 14:54.440 --> 14:56.800 Torah was given through Moses. 14:57.380 --> 15:00.260 Grace and truth came through Yeshua, the Messiah. 15:00.980 --> 15:06.800 No one has ever seen God, but the one and only God in the Father's embrace has made 15:06.800 --> 15:07.680 Him known. 15:08.360 --> 15:09.000 Wow! 15:09.540 --> 15:14.040 That's a ton to unpack, but let's focus on a few key points. 15:14.640 --> 15:17.680 First, the description of Yeshua as the Word. 15:18.440 --> 15:22.340 John said that this Word became flesh and tabernacled among us. 15:23.120 --> 15:26.820 Just as God pitched His tent in the midst of His people Israel through the 15:26.820 --> 15:31.520 tabernacle and temple, while remaining God in heaven and filling the universe with 15:31.520 --> 15:36.840 His presence, so He pitched His tent among us through His Son Yeshua, while remaining 15:36.840 --> 15:40.200 God in heaven and filling the universe with His presence. 15:40.900 --> 15:46.800 The concept of God's fullness dwelling in the Messiah in bodily form presents no 15:46.800 --> 15:48.540 problem when properly understood. 15:48.540 --> 15:53.680 For just as the glory of God filled the tabernacle and temple without in any way 15:53.680 --> 15:59.620 emptying, depleting, or lessening God, so also His glory filled the Messiah 15:59.620 --> 16:03.740 without in any way emptying, depleting, or lessening Him. 16:04.480 --> 16:09.280 Again, we can go much deeper with this, and we have more resources attached in the 16:09.280 --> 16:10.680 study guides on our site. 16:10.680 --> 16:16.240 The concept, simply put, is that the Father and the Son are one, as Yeshua 16:16.240 --> 16:18.220 stated in John 14, 9. 16:18.780 --> 16:21.160 He who has seen Me has seen the Father. 16:21.860 --> 16:25.960 Remember the Creator of the world who created all things and dwells in 16:25.960 --> 16:28.060 dimensions still unknown to our world. 16:28.480 --> 16:30.820 He's not just a simple character to define. 16:31.200 --> 16:33.240 It's unity with diversity. 16:36.220 --> 16:41.540 So we've touched on many of the various aspects of Yeshua, that He's Lord, 16:41.920 --> 16:45.740 salvation, divinity, and one in the unity of God. 16:46.200 --> 16:50.960 But quite possibly, one of the most important aspects for us to understand is 16:50.960 --> 16:54.260 that Yeshua is our husband, the lover of our soul. 16:54.720 --> 16:56.080 Wait, hold up. 16:56.240 --> 16:58.280 That just got a little weird. 16:58.820 --> 17:00.040 I'm God's bride? 17:00.040 --> 17:03.000 It might seem strange for some of us to think that way. 17:03.460 --> 17:06.540 But if you look throughout the Torah, the prophets, and the New Testament, 17:06.880 --> 17:08.340 you will see the same theme. 17:08.920 --> 17:12.720 Remember in the book of Hosea, God said He would betroth us to Him 17:12.720 --> 17:17.620 forever, and that He would call Him Ishi, My husband, and no longer Baali, 17:17.960 --> 17:18.640 My master. 17:19.360 --> 17:22.500 The prophet Isaiah said, Your Maker is Your husband. 17:22.760 --> 17:24.820 Adonai Tzevaot is His name. 17:25.120 --> 17:27.480 The Holy One of Israel is Your Redeemer. 17:27.480 --> 17:31.940 And in the book of Revelation, we see a common theme of the Bride of 17:31.940 --> 17:34.660 Messiah and the Married Supper of the Lamb. 17:35.100 --> 17:39.780 Many religions throughout history have seen God as a distant master and Lord, 17:40.180 --> 17:43.360 but God's desire is deeper and more personal. 17:43.980 --> 17:47.760 He is seeking a relationship built on faith and love. 17:48.060 --> 17:51.880 But I'm still a bit confused about the bride part. 17:52.340 --> 17:54.440 Well, don't let it trip you up. 17:54.640 --> 17:55.700 Let's break this down. 17:56.480 --> 18:01.080 Traditionally, the husband is the provider, protector, and leader of the 18:01.080 --> 18:01.340 home. 18:02.020 --> 18:05.960 Yeshua is all of that, and He loves you more than you can know. 18:06.500 --> 18:11.980 And if we could summarize the Bible into one central theme, one could say it's 18:11.980 --> 18:17.860 God's love story to mankind, His pursuit of our hearts to bring us back into a 18:17.860 --> 18:18.820 loving relationship. 18:18.820 --> 18:25.220 If we lose this point, then we easily find ourselves falling into dry and dead 18:25.220 --> 18:27.180 religious ritual and works. 18:29.160 --> 18:34.160 But how beautiful is it that God demonstrates His own love toward us and 18:34.160 --> 18:37.420 that while we were yet sinners, Messiah died for us. 18:37.760 --> 18:42.700 The good news of our Messiah is that God loves us so much that He paid the ultimate 18:42.700 --> 18:47.540 price so that we could be brought back into fellowship with Him again. 18:47.540 --> 18:50.200 And that's truly the point of it all. 18:50.600 --> 18:54.540 The beginning of the Bible tells the story of a relationship broken and trust 18:54.540 --> 18:55.100 severed. 18:55.340 --> 19:00.700 But the culmination of the scriptures in the last book of the New Testament is God 19:00.700 --> 19:04.340 dwelling with His people in perfect fellowship forever. 19:05.020 --> 19:07.060 But now to the important question. 19:07.680 --> 19:09.660 Who do you say Yeshua is? 19:10.140 --> 19:13.940 This is by far the most important question of your life. 19:13.940 --> 19:18.720 We've covered a lot in this short time and we encourage you to take a look at the 19:18.720 --> 19:19.660 scripture yourself. 19:20.340 --> 19:23.120 Get to know Yeshua through reading the Word of God. 19:23.920 --> 19:28.500 His Word is the best description, what's important to Him, what He values, 19:28.760 --> 19:29.440 what He's like. 19:30.000 --> 19:34.920 We have tons of resources available for you to dig in further into this question. 19:35.500 --> 19:40.120 And your discussion guide has links to other videos and resources that can help 19:40.120 --> 19:41.240 you on your journey. 19:41.240 --> 19:46.300 If you would like to connect with other believers in your area to talk some of 19:46.300 --> 19:50.180 these things through, connect with us over email, Facebook or WhatsApp. 19:50.740 --> 19:55.360 If you've decided who Yeshua is and want to take the next steps, there are many 19:55.360 --> 19:59.600 around you that have taken those same steps that would love to pray with you and 19:59.600 --> 20:01.760 help you in your journey to truth. 20:02.280 --> 20:05.700 And remember, you're loved and valued by God. 20:06.340 --> 20:08.640 Keep seeking and asking God for help. 20:09.240 --> 20:13.640 Next, we will be covering our prayer life, how we communicate with God. 20:14.240 --> 20:18.400 Make sure you take time in the week for your daily readings and the discussion 20:18.400 --> 20:19.000 questions. 20:19.720 --> 20:24.060 These resources can help you get daily focus and personal discovery in these 20:24.060 --> 20:24.440 truths. 20:25.280 --> 20:30.480 Just like anything in life, the effort you put in will be the result you get out.