I have either heard or read on more than one occasion that Yeshua DID practice the ritual handwashing ceremony of the Pharisees which is centered in upon in Matthew chapter 15 and Mark chapter 7. Each time I hear someone who follows the oral "law" of the Jews today they focus in on the fact that the Pharisees asked Yeshua why his disciples did not wash their hands (in the ritual prescribed manner) prior to eating bread. It is reasoned that if they asked about his disciples that he must have followed the tradition, but not his disciples.

This understanding even on the surface lacks tremendously. Just going on to read the context in each chapter shows that Yeshua did not see the practice as being binding. There is nothing in either chapter that insinuates that Yeshua did practice the washing. On top of this we have a clear text in Luke 11:37-40 that shows Yeshua DID NOT practice the washing when invited to dine with none other than a Pharisee.

"As He was speaking, a Pharisee asked Him to dine with him. So He went in a reclined at the table. When the Pharisee saw this, he was amazed that He did not first perform the ritual washing before dinner. But the Lord said to Him, "Now you Pharisees clean the outside of the cup and dish, but inside you are full of greed and evil. Fools! Didn't He who made the outside make the inside too?" [HCSB]

It is abundantly clear that Yeshua did not follow the traditional hand washing ritual, and this is because it was not part of the only true Torah, that which was written. 

Why do certain people continue to proclaim that Yeshua followed the traditions (oral)? I have to believe it is because these people carry the same spirit as many first century Pharisees. They for some reason believe the oral traditions carry weight and are in some manner acts of obedience toward the Creator, and acts of holiness towards themselves. 

Matthew Janzen

Naaman was a man in the Bible who had a serious skin disease and desired to be healed. According to 2 Kings 5:1-14 he eventually got around to going to the prophet Elisha's house to seek a healing. The Prophet sent a servant out to meet Naaman and this servant gave Naaman Elisha's words - "Go down to the Jordan river and dip yourself in it seven times." At first Naaman was furious, proclaiming to the servant that he thought the prophet would come out and do something flashy to heal Naaman's disease. He then remarked that there were better rivers to dip in and asked why he couldn't just go to them to cleanse himself. Eventually, he did have enough faith to be healed of his disease, but the healing only came after obedience to the inspired words of the prophet.

Some things in the Bible seem simple, plain, and even foolish at first glance. However we may look at certain biblical instructions, do we have enough faith to follow them? Will we be as Naaman was at first or will we be as Naaman was at the last?

Matthew Janzen

I was talking to a fellow the other day about doing some work for him and I told him I had Sunday (Easter Sunday) open. His response was, "You remember it's Easter right?" My response was, "Yes, I know. I do not celebrate Easter." He must have not celebrated it either because in a few minutes I will be leaving to go to his house for work. 

To many people it seems strange to not celebrate Easter, but instead work on the day, but this would have been the practice of Yeshua the Messiah and every single follower of Yeshua in the 1st century Christian faith. No one, let me repeat, not one single follower of Yeshua in the 1st century (in the New Testament Scriptures) celebrated Easter. Easter didn't have anything to do with Yeshua, but it had everything to do with the custom of the heathens who honored the spring fertility goddes by such names as Ashtoreth, Astarte, Eostre, Ishtar, etc. All the sunrise services, egg hunts, easter bunnies, etc. stem from worship to this goddess.

If Yeshua the Messiah, nor his apostles and followers celebrated Easter then why should we? If they didn't think it to be important to their true worship and faith, why should we? Do you realize that while Yeshua lived (as well as His disciples) there were people on the earth and possibly in close proximity to Jerusalem that did celebrate Easter? Did you know that the people who celebrated it were not followers of Yahweh at all? Did you realize that people actually hunted eggs, had sunrise services, and depicted "easter" bunnies before and during the time of Yeshua for heathen, pagan worship? 

Is Yahweh honored in the celebration of Easter? Not in the least bit, He is rather dishonored. To take such paganism and attempt to attach it to the resurrection of the Son of Yahweh is a stench in Yahweh's nostrils. You don't mix the holy with the unholy. You don't proclaim a feast to Yahweh and then build a golden calf to help you out in your worship (Exodus 32). Father help us to see the error of our ways more and more.

Matthew Janzen

This post was written by a fellow brother in the faith. It is a response to someone who wrote a very brief essay which downplayed the significance of the law/torah of Yahweh. Hope you all enjoy!
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What is sin? According to 1 John 3:4 sin is the transgression of the law. If the Messiah destroyed the effectiveness of the law, then how do we define sin? I think all one must do is read the verse above. I agree that the law will not justify anyone; it is a schoolmaster to bring people to the Messiah, but I don't agree that it condemns us. As a matter of fact, it liberates us. Hence the reason James says, "...the one who look intently into the perfect law of FREEDOM and perserveres in it, and is not a forgetful heaer but a doer who acts - this person will be blessed in what he does." (James 1:25).

The author of the email says, "the law is perfect" but then goes on to say that it condemns us. The law only condemns those who break it. I don't for one minute think that there is a man alive who keeps the law perfectly, but there are many who do not care if they keep it at all. By not acknowledging this perfect law that the Messiah himself kept, we place ourselves into bondage over an over again, trampling the blood of our precious Savior in the ground. Just because the law does not justify you doesn't mean it doesn't provide a plan for active holiness. If we say that we live by the spirit we must walk by the spirit (Romans 7). Furthermore if our Messiah kept the law perfectly, and we are supposed to model our lives after him, then why would anybody not want to keep the law? Once again, it is not the law that condemns us, but the debt we owe to the law that nailed the unblemished lamb to the tree. Our sin put him on the tree and if we are to repent and turn from it we can't continue to break God's law, knowing that's the very reason Christ died. So if Christ died for our sin, "Do we then cancel the law through faith? Absolutely not! On the contrary we uphold the law." (Romans 3:31)

From our own Messiah's mouth we hear this, "For I assure you: Until heaven and earth pass away, not the smallest letter or one stroke of a letter will pass from the law until all things are accomplished." (Matthew 5:18) It baffles me to think that this sinless Messiah (God's annointed) would be lying. I think it would be wise to look at Paul's writings again and rethink this view. By the way, Paul was a law keeper too. In Acts 21:24 the apostles are talking to Paul and they says this: "Take these men, purify yourselves with them, and pay for them to get their heads shaved. The neveryone will KNOW that what they were told about you amoun ts to nothing, but that you yourself are also careful about observing the LAW."

This email is not meant to be critical but to rebuke false teaching. Paul tells Timothy, "I solemnly charge you: proclaim the message; persist in it whether convenient or not; rebuke, correct, and encourage with great patience and teaching." (2 Timothy 4:2) I am afraid that "...certain men are turning the grace of our Lord into a license to sin and denying our only Master and Lord, Yeshua the Messiah. (Jude 1:4).

Sorry for the lengthy reply, I hope this give you another angle to look at things. I encourage you to be like the Bereans and search the scriptures daily to see if these things are so (Acts 17:11).

With so much love,
TJ Martin