1. The Unfinished Business of Healing Israel
2. The “Rest” of the story…
3. On the one hand…on the other hand
4. This upside-down world that we live in
5. Don’t Worry! Messiah will turn the world right-side up

The unfinished business of healing Israel:

וּכְרֶגַע שָׁב הָאִישׁ לְאֵיתָנוֹ וַיִּשָּׂא אֶת־מִשְׁכָּבוֹ וַיִּתְהַלָּךְ וְהַיּוֹם הַהוּא יוֹם הַשַּׁבָּת׃ וַיֹּאמְרוּ הַיְּהוּדִים אֶל־הָאִישׁ הַנִּרְפָּא שַׁבָּת הַיּוֹם אָסוּר לְךָ לָשֵׂאת אֶת־מִשְׁכָּבֶךָ׃ וַיֹּאמְרוּ הַיְּהוּדִים אֶל־הָאִישׁ הַנִּרְפָּא שַׁבָּת הַיּוֹם אָסוּר לְךָ לָשֵׂאת אֶת־מִשְׁכָּבֶךָ׃ וַיִּשְׁאָלֻהוּ מִי זֶה הָאִישׁ אֲשֶׁר אָמַר לְךָ שָׂא אֶת־מִשְׁכָּבְךָ וְהִתְהַלֵּך׃ וְהַנִּרְפָּא לֹא יָדַע מִי הוּא כִּי סָר יֵשׁוּעַ וַיֵּלֶךְ־לוֹ כִּי הָיָה הָמוֹן רַב בַּמָּקוֹם הַהוּא׃ וַיְהִי אַחֲֲרֵי־כֵן וַיִּמְצָאֵהוּ יֵשׁוּעַ בְּבֵית הַמִּקְדָּשׁ וַיֹּאמֶר אֵלָיו הִנֵּה נִרְפָּא־לָךְ אַל־תּוֹסִיף לַחֲטֹא פֶּן־תְּאֻנֶּה אֵלֶיךָ רָעָה גְּדוֹלָה מִזֹּאת׃ וַיֵּלֶךְ הָאִישׁ וַיַּגֵּד לַיְּהוּדִים כִּי־יֵשׁוּעַ הוּא אֲשֶׁר רְפָאוֹ׃ וְעַל־כֵּן רָדְפוּ הַיְּהוּדִים אֶת־יֵשׁוּעַ (וַיְבַקְשׁוּ הֲמִיתוֹ) כִּי־עָשָׂה אֵלֶּה בַּשַּׁבָּת׃ וַיַּעַן אֹתָם יֵשׁוּעַ אָבִי פֹּעֵל פְּעֻלָּתוֹ עַד־עָתָּה וְגַם־אָנֹכִי פֹּעֵל׃

Instantly, the man regained his strength, picked up his bed, and walked. That day was the day of Shabbat. The Yehudim said to the man who was healed, “It is Shabbat today. It is forbidden for you to carry your bed.” He answered them saying, “The man who restored me to health said, ‘Carry your bed and walk.’” They asked him, “Who is this man that said to you, ‘Carry your bed and walk?’” The man who was healed did not know who He was. For the Salvation of Adonai (Yeshua) had departed and went away because there was a large crowd in that place. Afterward, Yeshua found him in the Holy Temple and said to him, “Look, you are healed.” Do not continue to sin, or else something worse than this may happen to you.” The man went and told the Yehudim that Yeshua was the one that healed him. Thus, the Yehudim pursued Yeshua and sought to put Him to death because He did things like these on Shabbat. Yeshua remarked to them, “My Father carries out His action even until now, and I also take action.”

One of humankind’s greatest problems is that people do not realize that they are sick in the spiritual realm and even if they do, they do not want to be cured. The paralyzed man is a prophetic type of a future Israel. The paralyzed man who was healed is symbolic of a yet future Israel whose people know they need spiritual healing and who want the healing. These people are even willing to be healed on Shabbat! They (we) just lack the necessary means to be healed. So who is it in our prophetic “present” who can connect us to the miraculous healing waters of the mercy and grace of Adonai? Messiah possesses the means to heal us. His Word is the necessary means that activates the miraculous healing power of the Holy Spirit. The Holy Spirit is the One that manifests His healing works (stirrings of the waters of grace). The Holy Spirit of Promise (Ruach HaKodesh ka’sher dibber) is the One who in the spiritual realm cleanses us from sin and restores us to a right relationship with Adonai. The Divine Spirit of Life (Ruach Elohim Chayim) is the One who guarantees us that we will be raised in physical perfection on the day of resurrection; then will our entire being, spirit, soul, mind, and body be made perfect; so that we will forever be perfect as our Father in heaven is perfect.

The “Rest” of the story…

“Now it was the Sabbath on that day.” The original purpose of the Sabbath was that everything might exist in a state of perfect “rest.”

This means that all of creation was originally made to ultimately exist in a state of perfection; a state of perfect order and harmony with our Creator, who is our heavenly Father who dwells in heaven. However, in the midst of this Divine process something went wrong. What went wrong? A third of the angels in heaven used their gift of free-will to rebell against Adonai; and the Son of Adonai, Adam, also used his free-will to rebel against His Father, the Creator. Consequently: This work of rebellion against the flawless state of “Rest” (שָׁבַת) that Adonai created has required a Divine response. Therefore, although the Rest that Adonai has created remains perfectly intact, His flawless Divinely constructed Sabbath day (יֹּום הַשְּׁבִיעִי) of uniform harmony still exists and always will exist as a perfect state of consciousness and relational being. The Problem is: The children of Adam (due to the sin of disbelief in the Grace of Adonai) are no longer compatible with it. Therefore, although Adonai has already constructed a place (a state of being) of truly exquisite and perfect Rest, wherein those who enter-in dwell in the Presence of the Holy One forever in a state of unending Joy: Imperfect, fallen, corrupt Man isn’t fit to move in!

This is the problem of the reality of the Sabbath: Man is the problem!

This why the Messiah said, “My Father is working until now, and I Myself am working.” The Messiah and our Father in heaven are constantly working to help and heal redeemed humanity so that one day we will all be fit to enter into the eternal Rest that our Father in heaven has made for us. The eternal Shabat (Rest), not to be confused with Shabbat (referring to the ‘seventh’ day), was made for Man. Not Man was made for the Shabat; or for that matter the sabbath as well. This is so because the observances on the seventh day exist as a “symbol” of the Rest. They are not the actual reality of the Rest. Therefore, think of the seventh day observances as a very important “dress rehearsal” of the Rest. Yet, the irony is that due to our imperfect predicament of misunderstanding of the actual spiritual meanings of Shabbat we are not ready to fully enter-in to the Reality of this wondrous eternal state of rest.

On the one hand…on the other hand:

Unfortunately, the Messiah’s thick-headed priestly and rabbinical colleagues were just too “concrete” (childish) in their thinking to grasp these abstract (adult) concepts. So they began to attack, with their faulty thinking, even the Holy Spirit’s work of healing a sick man on Shabbat. The critics were right. On the one hand there is a concept of the Rest that must be meticulously observed. The Rest is complete and should not be disturbed with the desecrations of work. On the other hand the critics were wrong. The Messiah was right. There is a concept of the “fall” of Adam-Andrew-Man and that requires there be work, constant and abiding, by the heavenly Father and Messiah our Savior, until Man is fully made fit and complete: sufficient to perfectly enter-in to the Rest that was in great love made by our heavenly Father for us. To illustrate this great dilemma of the dual need for us to observe Shabbat while also ‘working’ on our spiritually healing humanity, the Messiah deliberately healed a suffering woman on Shabbat:

וַיְהִי הוּא מְלַמֵּד בְּיוֹם הַשַּׁבָּת בְּבֵית כְּנֵסֶת אֶחָד׃ וְהִנֵּה אִשָּׁה אֲשֶׁר בָּהּ רוּחַ־חֳלִי כִּשְׁמֹנֶה עֶשְׂרֵה שָׁנָה וְהִיא כְפוּפָה וְלֹא יָכְלָה לָקוּם קוֹמָה זְקוּפָה׃ וַיַּרְא יֵשׁוּעַ וַיִּקְרָא אֵלֶיהָ וַיֹּאמֶר לָהּ אִשָּׁה הֵחָלְצִי מֵחָלְיֵךְ׃ וַיָּשֶׂם יָדָיו עָלֶיהָ וּכְרֶגַע קָמָה וְתִּתְעוֹדָד וַתְּשַׁבַּח אֶת־הָאֱלֹהִים׃ וַיִּכְעַס רֹאשׁ הַכְּנֵסֶת עַל־אֲשֶׁר רִפָּא יֵשׁוּעַ בַּשַּׁבָּת וַיַּעַן וַיֹּאמֶר אֶל־הָעָם שֵׁשֶׁת יָמִים הֵם אֲשֶׁר תֵּעָשֶׂה בָהֶם מְלָאכָה בָּאֵלֶּה בֹּאוּ וְהֵרָפְאוּ וְלֹא בְּיוֹם הַשַּׁבָּת׃ וַיַּעַן הָאָדוֹן וַיֹּאמֶר אֵלָיו הֶחָנֵף הֲלֹא יַתִּיר אִישׁ מִכֶּם בַּשַּׁבָּת אֶת־שׁוֹרוֹ אוֹ אֶת־חֲמֹרוֹ מִן־הָאֵבוּס וְיוֹלִיכֵהוּ לְהַשְׁקֹתוֹ׃ וְזֹאת אֲשֶׁר הִיא בַּת־אַבְרָהָם וַאֲשֶׁר הַשָּׂטָן אֲסָרָהּ זֶה שְׁמֹנֶה עֶשְׂרֵה שָׁנָה הֲלֹא תֻתַּר מִמּוֹסְרוֹתֶיהָ בְּיוֹם הַשַּׁבָּת׃ וַיְהִי כְּאָמְרוֹ אֶת־הַדְּבָרִים הָאֵלֶּה נִכְלְמוּ כָּל־מִתְקוֹמֲמָיו וַיִּשְׂמַח כָּל־הָעָם עַל־כָּל־הַנִּפְלָאוֹת הַנַּעֲשׂוֹת עַל־יָדוֹ׃

And He was teaching in one of the synagogues on the Shabbat. And there was a woman who for eighteen years had had a sickness caused by a spirit; and she was bent double, and could not straighten up at all. When Jesus saw her, He called her over and said to her, “Woman, you are freed from your sickness.” And He laid His hands on her; and immediately she was made erect again and began glorifying Adonai. But the synagogue official, indignant because Yeshua had healed on the Shabbat, began saying to the crowd in response, “There are six days in which work should be done; so come during them and get healed, and not on the Shabbat day.” But the Lord answered him and said, “You hypocrites, does not each of you on the Shabbat untie his ox or his donkey from the stall and lead him away to water him? And this woman, a daughter of Avraham as she is, whom the Accuser (Satan) has bound for eighteen long years, should she not have been released from this bond on the day of Shabbat?” As He said this, all His opponents were being humiliated; and the entire crowd was rejoicing over all the glorious things being done by Him.

In this instance the Messiah was teaching in one of the synagogues on the Sabbath. And there was a woman who for eighteen years had had a sickness caused by a spirit; and she was bent double, and could not straighten up at all. When the Messiah saw her, He called her over and said to her:

Woman, you are freed from your sickness!

And He laid His hands on her; and immediately she was made erect again and began glorifying Adonai. But the synagogue official, indignant because the Messiah had healed on Shabbat began saying to the crowd in response, “There are six days in which work should be done; so come during them and get healed, and not on the Sabbath day.”

But the Lord answered him and said:

“You hypocrites, does not each of you on Shabbat untie his ox or his donkey from the stall and lead him away to water him? And this woman, a daughter of Abraham as she is, whom Satan has bound for eighteen long years, should she not have been released from this bondage on the day of Shabbat?”

This upside-down world that we live in:

Rightfully so, when the Messiah pointed out that His colleagues flawed halakhot treats an ox and a donkey better than Adonai’s own beloved children, all His opponents were humiliated; and the entire crowd rejoiced (as I do) over all the glorious things that Messiah has taught us and done for us.

אָז יוֹסִיפוּ הַיְּהוּדִים לְבַקֵּשׁ אֶת־נַפְשׁוֹ כִּי מִלְּבַד אֲשֶׁר חִלֵּל אֶת־הַשַּׁבָּת גַּם אָמַר כִּי הָאֱלֹהִים הוּא אָבִיו וַיִּדַּמֶּה לֵאלֹהִים׃ וַיַּעַן יֵשׁוּעַ וַיֹּאמֶר אֲלֵיהֶם אָמֵן אָמֵן אֲנִי אֹמֵר לָכֶם לֹא־יוּכַל הַבֵּן לַעֲשׂוֹת דָּבָר מִנַּפְשׁוֹ בִּלְתִּי אֵת אֲשֶׁר־יִרְאֶה אֶת־אָבִיו עֹשֶׂה כִּי אֶת־אֲשֶׁר עֹשֶׂה הוּא גַּם־הַבֵּן יַעֲשֶׂה כָּמֹהוּ׃כִּי הָאָב אֹהֵב אֶת־הַבֵּן וּמוֹרֶה אֹתוֹ כֹּל אֲשֶׁר יַעֲשֶׂה וְעוֹד מַעֲשִׂים גְּדוֹלִים מֵאֵלֶּה יוֹרֵהוּ לְמַעַן תִּתַּמָּהוּ׃

Thus, the Yehudim pursued Yeshua and sought to put Him to death because He did things like these on Shabbat. Yeshua remarked to them, “My Father carries out His action even until now, and I also take action.” Then the Yehudim sought His life even more, because not only did He profane the Shabbat, but He also said that Adonai is His Father and compared Himself to Adonai. Yeshua answered and said to them, “Amen, amen, I say to you, the Son is not able to do anything of Himself except what He sees His Father doing. For what the Father does, the Son will also do likewise. For the Father loves the Son and teaches Him all that He is to do, and He will teach Him even greater deeds than these so that you will be amazed.

No more need be said about the necessity of the work of spiritual healing on Shabbat than to observe that the religious elite of Messiah’s time were, on the Sabbath, “seeking all the more to kill Him” (the Messiah, the Anointed One of Adonai). What an upside-down world we live in!

Don’t Worry! Messiah will turn the world right-side up:

אָמֵן אָמֵן אֲנִי אֹמֵר לָכֶם לֹא־יוּכַל הַבֵּן לַעֲשׂוֹת דָּבָר מִנַּפְשׁוֹ בִּלְתִּי אֵת אֲשֶׁר־יִרְאֶה אֶת־אָבִיו עֹשֶׂה כִּי אֶת־אֲשֶׁר עֹשֶׂה הוּא גַּם־הַבֵּן יַעֲשֶׂה כָּמֹהוּ׃ כִּי הָאָב אֹהֵב אֶת־הַבֵּן וּמוֹרֶה אֹתוֹ כֹּל אֲשֶׁר יַעֲשֶׂה וְעוֹד מַעֲשִׂים גְּדוֹלִים מֵאֵלֶּה יוֹרֵהוּ לְמַעַן תִּתַּמָּהוּ׃

“Amen, amen (אָמֵן אָמֵן) , I say to you, the Son can do nothing of Himself, unless it is something He sees the Father doing; for whatever the Father does, these things the Son also does in like manner. For the Father loves the Son, and shows Him all things that He Himself is doing; and the Father will show Him greater works than these, so that you will marvel.”

The Messiah is the only one who has ever perfectly prayed, understood, and fully obeyed the Shema unity-prayer.

The Righteous One is truly a House (Temple) that is fit for the Holy One to dwell-in forever. He is the New Adam who will never sin against Adoanai. He is the true Son that the Father deserves. And He is the One that we must (be healed to) become like. Messiah, the Beloved Son, does “nothing of Himself.”

Messiah is the Perfectly Obedient One:

The whole of Messiah’s being exists as an eternal servant: one who always hears, understands, and obeys Adonai Avinu.

He only desires to do the will of Adonai. He “hears” the Eternal Voice (Consciousness) of Adonai. Messiah “sees” (understands) all of the Divine meanings of the Holy One’s Voice (Consciousness). And the Messiah in His Spirit possesses all of the Divine power, will, and virtue to perfectly “obey” the Father and thereby perfectly carry out ‘His’ will. Therefore, Messiah is the Human Temple that the Father chooses to dwell in and to carry out all of His eternal will… What is the Eternal Father’s will? His will is to perfectly heal Adam, Andrew, Man. Why must Humankind be spiritually and physically healed? So that we might be permanently reconciled with our Father in heaven and then enter into His Rest that He has prepared for those who love Him!

Messiah in Rosh Hashanah & Yom Teruah Chapter 38 >>