The Gospel of
Luke, Chapter 6 – Christogenea on Talkshoe, June 29th, 2012
Last week discussing
Luke chapter 5 we saw at the end of that chapter that Christ pointed
out the resistance of people to change from their tired old worn-out
doctrines. He did so by illustrating the love of people for the old
wine – representing the doctrines which they are accustomed to,
over an acceptance of the new wine which is the revelation of truth
in Him. He said at Luke 5:39 “And
no one drinking the old desires the new, for ‘the old’, one says,
‘is good’.” We have seen for 2,000 years now the willingness of
people to cling to the same old Pharisaical ideas, found also in the
Roman Catholic church and wherever there is a professional
priesthood, rather than read their Bibles and see the clear message
of the gospel. Christ said “If you love Me, keep My commandments”.
He vociferated those commandments. We must love God, our parents, and
our brethren, or racial kindred. That is all that we must
do. The other commandments repeated in the New Testament mostly tell
us what we must
not
do, things such as steal, murder, and commit adultery. Everything
else that the professional priesthood claims that we must do is a
doctrine of man, and not a New Covenant commandment of our God. That
is especially true of the sacramental rituals. Yet the New Testament
scriptures also tell us that we do not need the priesthood itself:
for we are all priests unto Yahweh our God, when we serve our
brethren and our White Adamic nations. When we submit ourselves to
professional priests, to do their desires, they become our masters
and we are disconnected from our God, because no man can serve two
masters.
1 And it came to
pass on a Sabbath that He was passing through a planted field, and
His students had been plucking and eating the grain, rubbing off
the husks with their hand.
Here the text follows
the papyrus known as P4, and the Codices Sinaiticus (א),
Vaticanus (B), and Washingtonensis (W). But the Codices Alexandrinus
(A), Ephraemi Syri (C), Bezae (D), and the Majority Text all have the
word δευτερόπρωτος (1207) here, rather than the Greek
form of “Sabbath”, which Liddel & Scott explain as “the
first Sabbath after the second day of the feast of
unleavened bread”. The reading of those manuscripts which it has
followed explain why the King James version here has the words “the
second sabbath after the first”, which make no sense whatsoever,
and does not agree with the parallel accounts in the other gospels.
The word σπόριμος
(4702) appears only here in the New Testament, and in the parallel
accounts at Matthew 12:1 and Mark 2:23, is an adjective, “sown,
to be sown, fit for sowing...” (Liddel & Scott)
and so here in the plural as a Substantive, though wanting the
Article, “a planted field” but literally “the plants” or
“plantings”. Therefore the phrase is literally “passing through
plantings”.
The word στάχυς
(4719) is “an ear of corn” (Liddel & Scott) or “an
ear of corn (or growing grain)” (Thayer) and is very often
“corn” by many translators of the classics found in the Loeb
Library. Yet what Americans think of “corn”, the native grain
unknown (from all that I’ve read to this day, although there are
some contrary revisionist theories) to the inhabitants of the
Greco-Roman world and indigenous to our continent, is not the British
idea. To the British, who are responsible for our early Bible
translations, our Greek lexicon, many of the translations in
Harvard’s Loeb Library, and so a very large part of our Greek
scholarship, “corn” is “Any of various cereal plants or grains,
especially wheat or oats” (The American Heritage College
Dictionary, cf. corn1 2.). So here στάχυς is always
“grain”.
The word ψώχω
(5597) also appears only here in the New Testament, and it is
properly “to rub out” (Liddel & Scott). Here I have
inferred the words “off the husks”, endeavoring to fully
render the intended meaning related to the grain. This is one of very
few places where italicized words appear in the Christogenea New
Testament.
We see the law which
allows this taking of grain from another's field in Deuteronomy
23:24-25: “24 When thou comest into thy neighbour's vineyard, then
thou mayest eat grapes thy fill at thine own pleasure; but thou shalt
not put any in thy vessel. 25 When thou comest into the standing corn
of thy neighbour, then thou mayest pluck the ears with thine hand;
but thou shalt not move a sickle unto thy neighbour's standing corn.”
2 Then some of the
Pharisees said “Why do You do that which is not lawful on the
Sabbaths?”
The Codex Bezae (D) has
“Look, why do Your students do that which is not lawful on the
Sabbaths?”, among many other interpolations which shall be ignored
here.
Deuteronomy 5:12-15:
“12 Keep the sabbath day to sanctify it, as the LORD thy God hath
commanded thee. 13 Six days thou shalt labour, and do all thy work:
14 But the seventh day is the sabbath of the LORD thy God: in it thou
shalt not do any work, thou, nor thy son, nor thy daughter, nor thy
manservant, nor thy maidservant, nor thine ox, nor thine ass, nor any
of thy cattle, nor thy stranger that is within thy gates; that thy
manservant and thy maidservant may rest as well as thou. 15 And
remember that thou wast a servant in the land of Egypt, and that the
LORD thy God brought thee out thence through a mighty hand and by a
stretched out arm: therefore the LORD thy God commanded thee to keep
the sabbath day.”
Should people be
expected to starve for the sake of the Sabbath? And if one passes a
field and plucks a berry or some grain to eat it, because one
hungers, is that actually to be considered work?
Is it
the spirit of the law of the sabbath to prohibit that smallest
enjoyment? Or does the law force one to hunger in the circumstances
in which he is found? That is where the Pharisees differ with Christ
in their interpretations of the law. However, there is more to this
story than simply interpretations of the law. Hosea chapter 2 tells
us that Yahweh would take away the Sabbaths, among other things, even
though the people of the 70-weeks remnant kingdom continued in them,
which included Christ Himself and the apostles.
Hosea 2: “1 Say ye
unto your brethren, Ammi; and to your sisters, Ruhamah. 2 Plead with
your mother, plead: for she is not my wife, neither am I her husband:
let her therefore put away her whoredoms out of her sight, and her
adulteries from between her breasts; 3 Lest I strip her naked, and
set her as in the day that she was born, and make her as a
wilderness, and set her like a dry land, and slay her with thirst. 4
And I will not have mercy upon her children; for they be the children
of whoredoms. 5 For their mother hath played the harlot: she that
conceived them hath done shamefully: for she said, I will go after my
lovers, that give me my bread and my water, my wool and my flax, mine
oil and my drink. 6 Therefore, behold, I will hedge up thy way with
thorns, and make a wall, that she shall not find her paths. 7 And she
shall follow after her lovers, but she shall not overtake them; and
she shall seek them, but shall not find them: then shall she say, I
will go and return to my first husband; for then was it better with
me than now. 8 For she did not know that I gave her corn, and wine,
and oil, and multiplied her silver and gold, which they prepared for
Baal. 9 Therefore will I return, and take away my corn in the time
thereof, and my wine in the season thereof, and will recover my wool
and my flax given to cover her nakedness. 10 And now will I discover
her lewdness in the sight of her lovers, and none shall deliver her
out of mine hand. 11 I will also cause all her mirth to cease, her
feast days, her new moons, and her sabbaths, and all her solemn
feasts.”
I did not treat this at
length in my presentation of the prophecy of Hosea, where I
concentrated on the historical fulfillment of the words of the
prophet concerning the children of Israel. The Septuagint at Hosea
2:11 says “And I will take away all her gladness, her feasts, and
her festivals at the new moon, and her sabbaths, and all her solemn
assemblies.” Now it should be clear as to why Paul said in
Colossians chapter 2: “16 Therefore no one must judge you in food
and in drink, or in respect of feast or new month or of the Sabbaths,
17 which are a shadow of future things. Whereas the body is of the
Anointed”. Hosea 2:11 clearly states that the sabbaths and feast
days would be taken away by Yahweh. The actions of Christ were a sign
of the fulfillment of Hosea 2:11, and although we have no record of
Christ explicitly stating as much, Paul apparently understood it. We
as Christians should seek to follow the laws of our God, and we
should do so voluntarily. That includes the law of the Sabbath. When
we do, it is certainly to our benefit and our credit. But we are not
saved by keeping the law: rather, we are only saved by the mercy of
our God.
3 And replying
Yahshua said to them “Neither have you read that which David did
when he and those who were with him had hungered. 4 As he entered
into the House of Yahweh, and taking the bread of the presentation he
had eaten and had given to those with him, which is not lawful to eat
except only for the priests.”
Or “Have you not
read...?”, both the NA27 and the King James Version, along with
other versions, have the statements of Christ at verses 3 and 4
together as a question, which is a valid alternative reading.
The law concerning the
bread which Christ refers to is found in Leviticus chapter 24: “5
And thou shalt take fine flour, and bake twelve cakes thereof: two
tenth deals shall be in one cake. 6 And thou shalt set them in two
rows, six on a row, upon the pure table before the LORD. 7 And thou
shalt put pure frankincense upon each row, that it may be on the
bread for a memorial, even an offering made by fire unto the LORD. 8
Every sabbath he shall set it in order before the LORD continually,
being taken from the children of Israel by an everlasting covenant. 9
And it shall be Aaron's and his sons'; and they shall eat it in the
holy place: for it is most holy unto him of the offerings of the LORD
made by fire by a perpetual statute.”
The account where David
and those with him ate the presentation bread of the tabernacle is
found at 1 Samuel chapter 21: “1 Then came David to Nob to
Ahimelech the priest: and Ahimelech was afraid at the meeting of
David, and said unto him, Why art thou alone, and no man with thee? 2
And David said unto Ahimelech the priest, The king hath commanded me
a business, and hath said unto me, Let no man know any thing of the
business whereabout I send thee, and what I have commanded thee: and
I have appointed my servants to such and such a place. 3 Now
therefore what is under thine hand? give me five loaves of bread in
mine hand, or what there is present. 4 And the priest answered David,
and said, There is no common bread under mine hand, but there is
hallowed bread; if the young men have kept themselves at least from
women. 5 And David answered the priest, and said unto him, Of a truth
women have been kept from us about these three days, since I came
out, and the vessels of the young men are holy, and the bread is in a
manner common, yea, though it were sanctified this day in the vessel.
6 So the priest gave him hallowed bread: for there was no bread there
but the shewbread, that was taken from before the LORD, to put hot
bread in the day when it was taken away.”
5 Then He said to
them: “The Son of Man is Prince of the Sabbath.”
Isaiah 58: “13 If
thou turn away thy foot from the sabbath, from doing thy pleasure on
my holy day; and call the sabbath a delight, the holy of the LORD,
honourable; and shalt honour him, not doing thine own ways, nor
finding thine own pleasure, nor speaking thine own words: 14 Then
shalt thou delight thyself in the LORD; and I will cause thee to ride
upon the high places of the earth, and feed thee with the heritage of
Jacob thy father: for the mouth of the LORD hath spoken it.”
If the Sabbath day
belongs to Yahweh, and if Christ calls Himself “Lord of the
Sabbath”, then indeed Christ must be indirectly asserting that He
is Yahweh God Incarnate. He must also be indirectly asserting that He
has the authority and is indeed showing the fulfillment of Hosea 2:11
and the prophecy which says that the Sabbath requirement is taken
away. In its place, He urges us to do well on the Sabbath, following
His example. In the Christian covenant, we should serve our brethren,
the body of Christ, which is the true tabernacle of our God - on the
Sabbath day and every day.
6 Then it happened
on another Sabbath that He entered into the assembly hall to teach,
and there was a man there and his right hand was withered. 7 But the
scribes and the Pharisees were closely observing Him, if He would
heal on the Sabbath, in order that they would find to bring an
accusation against Him. 8 But He knew their reasonings, and said to
the man having the withered hand: “Arise, and stand in the middle.”
And rising up he stood. 9 Then Yahshua said to them: “I inquire of
you, whether it is lawful on the Sabbath to do good or to do bad, to
save or to lose a life?” 10 Then looking around at them all, He
said to him: “Extend your hand.” And he did so, and his hand was
restored.
The Codices
Alexandrinus (A) and Bezae (D) have “his hand was restored as the
other”, the Codex Washingtonensis (W) has “his hand was restored
to health”, and the Majority Text has further “his hand was
restored to health as the other”. The text follows the papyrus P4,
and the Codices Sinaiticus (א),
and Vaticanus (B).
11 And they were
filled with a want of understanding, and discussed with one another
what they could do to Yahshua.
The Codex Bezae (D)
reads the final clause of this verse: “...and they debated with one
another how they may destroy Him.” The text of this passage in Luke
may have been read “and they discussed with one another what they
could do with Yahshua.” Luke does not necessarily indicate that
they were already plotting to kill Him, although the reading in the
Codex Bezae interpolates as much. However in Mark's record of this
event, such a sentiment certainly is expressed. Mark 3:1-6 record
this event, and upon the healing of the man with the withered hand
Mark relates this at verse 6: “And the Pharisees departing
immediately with the Herodians gave counsel against Him, how they may
destroy Him.”
In all of the gospels
there are many later mentions of a plot to kill Christ. Christ
revealed to His apostles as recorded in Matthew chapter 17 and Mark
chapter 9 that men would kill Him. Around the same time, we see in
Luke 13:31 the statement that “The same day there came certain of
the Pharisees, saying unto him, Get thee out, and depart hence: for
Herod will kill thee.” Later in His ministry, in the Gospel of John
we read of the plot of the leaders to kill Him from the time that he
raised Lazarus from the dead, which happened in the closing months of
His ministry, before that final fateful Passover. John 11:53 finishes
his account of that event with the statement that “Therefore from
that day they [meaning the high priests and the Pharisees] determined
that they would kill Him.” We also see in Luke chapter 22 :2 where
it says “And the chief priests and scribes sought how they might
kill him; for they feared the people.” But here in Luke and in Mark
chapter 3 we see that the Pharisees were plotting to kill Him at this
much earlier time.
12 And it came to
pass in those days that He departed for a mountain to pray, and was
passing the night in the prayer of Yahweh. 13 And when day came He
called to His students, and chose out twelve
from among them whom He then named “ambassadors”:
14 Simon whom He also named Petros and Andreas his brother,
and Iakobos, and Iohannes, and Philippos, and Bartholomaios, 15 and
Maththaios, and Thomas, and Iakobos son of
Alphaios, and Simon who is called the “zealot”, 16 and Iouda the
brother of Iakobos, and Ioudas Iskarioth who had
become a traitor.
This is the first time
that ἀπόστολος (652), appears in Luke. The word is common
in classical Greek and it is basically “a messenger,
ambassador, envoy...” (Liddel & Scott), which I
have chosen to always translate “ambassador” and not merely to
transliterate “apostle” as so many other translators prefer to
do. I did not choose “messenger” so as not to confuse the term
with another common Greek word, ἄγγελος (32), or “angel”,
which is most literally a messenger.
While Matthew does not
describe the apostles and list them until a later time, in the tenth
chapter of his Gospel, the chronology of this event as it appears in
Luke is indeed supported by Mark chapter 3, in relation to the
healing of the man with the withered hand. However Mark's list of the
twelve original apostles differs somewhat. Here is Mark 3:16-19: “16
And He made these the twelve: Simon whom He also labeled with the
name 'Petros', 17 and Iakobos the son of Zebedaios and Iohannes the
brother of Iakobos and He labeled them with the name 'Boanerges',
which is 'Sons of Thunder', 18 and Andreas and Philippos and
Bartholomaios and Maththaios and Thomas and Iakobos the son of
Alphaios and Thaddaios and Simon the Kananean 19 and Ioudas
Iskarioth, he who also betrayed Him.” Mark does not record the
sermon which Christ gave to His students and the multitude of
followers at this time.
Mark calls the second
Simon “the Kananean”, or “man of Kana”, while Luke calls him
“the zealot”. Mark wants Jude, whom Luke calls “Iouda the
brother of Iakobos” , where Mark then lists Thaddaios
immediately after James the son of Alphaios. It is possible that
Thaddaios is another name for Jude, seeing where he is listed. Or it
is also possible that Luke, who did not record this except through
various witnesses years later, whereas Mark's testimony comes
directly from Peter, did not know of a Thaddaios who had later been
replaced by Jude. This is more plausible, since it is unlikely that
Thaddaios had three names: Jude, Thaddaios, and Lebbaeus. Matthew at
10:3 in his gospel calls him “and Lebbaeus, whose surname was
Thaddaeus ”. Thaddaios is Lebbaeus but Thaddaios is not Jude. It is
also more plausible since Thaddaios was not considered the brother of
James the son of Alphaios by either Mark or Matthew, however Jude is
listed as the brother of James the son of Alphaios, and calls himself
the brother of James in his epistle. John puts Jude among the
disciples of Christ in John 14:22.
Where Luke says
“Iakobos son of Alphaios” and then “Iouda the brother
of Iakobos”, the relationships are only implied and are not at all
explicit in the Greek. There is no place where Alphaios is mentioned
in connection with Iakobos where the relationship is explicitly
stated, here or in either Matthew 10:3, Mark 3:18, or Acts 1:13.
However since the brothers of Christ are explicitly mentioned in
several places, James must be the son of Alphaios, which is the
primary use of the Greek construction in the first place. The
relationship of Jude to this James is certain since this surely is
the Jude of Matt. 13:55 and Mark 6:3, where the relationship of both
Jude and James to Yahshua is explicitly stated, and he is also the
Jude of the epistle (Jude), where the author explicitly calls himself
the “brother of James”.
Iouda and Iakobos, or
Jude and James, are the brethren of Christ, and His half-brothers
through his mother Mary. It is evident, as we have illustrated many
times here, that Mary had several children later in life: at least
three sons and two daughters, after she gave birth to Christ, whom
both Luke (2:7) and Matthew (1:25) call her firstborn son.
After Christ, whom Luke says was supposed to be the son of Joseph,
James and his other brothers must be sons of Mary by Alphaios, and
there is a good Biblical reason for that which goes beyond this
identification here. If Joseph was the legitimate heir to the throne
of David, and if later he had other sons, those other sons would have
a claim to that throne since Christ was not Joseph's genetic son. For
this same reason, both Cain and Abel were trying to fill the office
of priest in Genesis chapter 4. Yet if Joseph had no other sons, and
Mary's later children are sired by another husband, then Christ is
indeed Joseph's only legitimate heir, although He was actually raised
up by Yahweh for Joseph. Therefore if Joseph died before he had other
sons, Christ can be considered a son raised up as an heir to Joseph
by Yahweh Himself, even though the conception happened before Joseph
actually died. So while Mary indeed had other children later in life,
she must have had them by another man, and here we see that James is
mentioned as the son of Alphaios.
About “Ioudas
Iskarioth who had become a traitor”, the Codices Alexandrinus (A),
Washingtonensis (W) and the Majority Text all have the word
“Iskariotes”. The Codex Bezae (D) has “Skarioth”. The papyrus
known as P4, and the Codices Sinaiticus (א)
and Vaticanus (B) have Iskarioth. The word is certainly a
transliteration into Greek of the Hebrew words “ish” (Strong’s
Hebrew #377) and “Kerioth” (Strong’s Hebrew #7152), which
Strong himself notes, albeit with less certainty and citing #7149
instead of #7152, at his definition of the word Ἰσκαριώτης
(2469). The city Kerioth is mentioned in the Old Testament at Joshua
15:25, Jeremiah 48:24 and 41, and Amos 2:2. Iskarioth surely means
“man of Kerioth”. The town of Kerioth was on the original border
of Judah and Idumaea, and was one of those towns of Judaea that the
Edomites had moved into. The nature of Judas is revealed, when Christ
states rhetorically “Have I not chosen you twelve? Yet one from
among you is a false accuser [devil]!” This is recorded at John
6:70. John again records of Christ at John 13:10-11 that “10
Yahshua says to him [to Peter]: 'He who is bathed does not have need
except to wash the feet, but is entirely clean. And you are clean,
but not all!' 11 For He knew the man betraying Him. For this reason
He said that 'You are not all clean'.” If Judas was not clean, he
could not have been an Israelite, since Yahweh promised to cleanse
all Israel without exception. Therefore the scriptural evidence is
overwhelming, that Judas Iscariot was an Edomite.
17 And descending
with them He stood upon a level place [He was finished with His
prayers], and a great crowd of His students, and a great multitude
of people from all of Judaea and Jerusalem and the seacoast of Turos
and Sidon, 18 who had come to hear Him and to be healed from their
diseases. And those being disturbed by unclean spirits had been
cured.
The Codices Sinaiticus
(א)
and Washingtonensis (W) have in part “Jerusalem and the regions
beyond,and the seacoast of Turos and Sidon”. The Codex Bezae (D)
appends to verse 17 the following: “...and a great multitude of
people from all of Judaea and other cities coming”, and wants the
words “who had come” at the beginning of verse 18.
Here we find the
circumstances described are the same as those which are found in
Matthew at the end of chapter 4 and starting from chapter 5, and
therefore this must be the same Sermon on the Mount which Matthew had
recorded. While there are differences in what is said, they are
easily accounted for when it is realized that Luke must have had a
different witness to the words than Matthew did. It cannot be assumed
that either Luke or Matthew were there to hear it themselves. Luke
first appears in the historical narrative of the New Testament in
Acts chapter 16. Matthew describes his own selection as an apostle in
chapter 9 of his gospel. Luke admits getting his gospel from
eyewitnesses, and Matthew must have gotten the material for the early
chapters of his gospel from other witnesses as well. Once it is
realized that different witnesses may well have supplied the account
of the Sermon on the Mount for the two gospel writers who recorded
it, it is easy to imagine why the words of Christ are presented
differently in each. While Christ surely said all that was recorded,
different witnesses would remember different parts of His discourse,
and have different perspectives concerning what they should record
since evidently neither record is complete.
While we cannot assume
that all of these people here gathered were Israelites, it can be
assumed that at least most of them were. The 42,000-plus people who
returned from Babylon had indeed grown into a people which was strong
enough to break the yoke of the Greek Seleucid kings of Syria by the
time of the Maccabees circa 155 BC, which was over 350 years from the
building of the second temple. Thereafter they remained free until
Roman times, approximately 90 years later when they also put up a
considerable resistance to Rome but did not prevail. Even when Rome
took Jerusalem, which was achieved by Pompey in 63 BC, it was with a
very large faction of Judaeans on the side of the Romans, during a
civil war between those who supported the Pharisees and those who
supported the Sadducees. So, aside from the absorption of Edomites,
Canaanites, and other diverse peoples by this time – some whom must
have even been remnants of old Israel who escaped captivity, the
Judaeans as a people must have been spread back through all of these
places before the time of Christ, which the pages of Josephus also
help to establish.
19 And all the crowd
sought to touch Him, because power comes out from Him and heals all.
This statement is
substantiated later on, in Matthew chapter 9, Mark chapter 5, and in
Luke chapter 8, where in all three gospels we see described the woman
with the issue of blood who merely sought to touch the hem of His
garment, and when she did, she was healed.
Psalm 103: “1 Bless
the LORD, O my soul: and all that is within me, bless his holy name.
2 Bless the LORD, O my soul, and forget not all his benefits: 3 Who
forgiveth all thine iniquities; who healeth all thy diseases; 4 Who
redeemeth thy life from destruction; who crowneth thee with
lovingkindness and tender mercies; 5 Who satisfieth thy mouth with
good things; so that thy youth is renewed like the eagle's. 6 The
LORD executeth righteousness and judgment for all that are oppressed.
7 He made known his ways unto Moses, his acts unto the children of
Israel. 8 The LORD is merciful and gracious, slow to anger, and
plenteous in mercy.” None of this ever changed with the New
Covenant, which is made for those same people. Also, the mercy of
Yahweh God towards Israel is without exception. We must bear that in
mind reading its promises.
20 Then He, raising
His eyes to His students, said “Blessed are the poor, because yours
is the Kingdom of Yahweh. 21 Blessed are those hungering now, because
you shall be filled! Blessed are those weeping now, because you shall
laugh!
Proverbs 28: “26 He
that gives to the poor shall not be in want: but he that turns away
his eye from him shall be in great distress.”
From Zechariah chapter
11, which has everything to do with the establishment of the New
Covenant, from verse 7: “And I will feed the flock of slaughter,
even you, O poor of the flock.”
From Ezekiel chapter
34: “16 I will seek that which was lost, and bring again that which
was driven away, and will bind up that which was broken, and will
strengthen that which was sick: but I will destroy the fat and the
strong; I will feed them with judgment. 17 And as for you, O my
flock, thus saith the Lord GOD; Behold, I judge between cattle and
cattle, between the rams and the he goats. [The rams are all saved,
the goats all go into the Lake of Fire, Matthew chapter 25.] 18
Seemeth it a small thing unto you to have eaten up the good pasture,
but ye must tread down with your feet the residue of your pastures?
and to have drunk of the deep waters, but ye must foul the residue
with your feet? 19 And as for my flock, they eat that which ye have
trodden with your feet; and they drink that which ye have fouled with
your feet. 20 Therefore thus saith the Lord GOD unto them; Behold, I,
even I, will judge between the fat cattle and between the lean
cattle. 21 Because ye have thrust with side and with shoulder, and
pushed all the diseased with your horns, till ye have scattered them
abroad; 22 Therefore will I save my flock, and they shall no more be
a prey; and I will judge between cattle and cattle. 23 And I will set
up one shepherd over them, and he shall feed them, even my servant
David; he shall feed them, and he shall be their shepherd. 24 And I
the LORD will be their God, and my servant David a prince among them;
I the LORD have spoken it.”
David was a type for
Christ, and here in Ezekiel the reference is to Christ Himself. Note
that David, before he was made a king, was a shepherd of his father's
flocks, and so it is with Christ. From 1 Samuel 16: “19 Wherefore
Saul sent messengers unto Jesse, and said, Send me David thy son,
which is with the sheep.”
22 Blessed are you
when men hate you and when they separate from you and they reproach
and they cast out your name as evil because of the Son of Man: 23
Rejoice in that day and leap, for behold, your reward is great in
heaven! For in accordance with these same things did their fathers do
to the prophets.
Luke 21:16-17: “16
But you shall be handed over even by parents and brethren and kinsmen
and friends, and they shall kill some of you, 17 and you shall be
hated by all on account of My Name.”
2 Chronicles 36: “15
And the LORD God of their fathers sent to them by his messengers,
rising up betimes, and sending; because he had compassion on his
people, and on his dwelling place: 16 But they mocked the messengers
of God, and despised his words, and misused his prophets, until the
wrath of the LORD arose against his people, till there was no
remedy.” Yet the mystery of this iniquity is explained in Jeremiah
chapter 2, Ezekiel chapter 16, and in the lesson of the good and bad
figs in Jeremiah chapter 24.
Ezekiel 16: “1 Again
the word of the LORD came unto me, saying, 2 Son of man, cause
Jerusalem to know her abominations, 3 And say, Thus saith the Lord
GOD unto Jerusalem; Thy birth and thy nativity is of the land of
Canaan; thy father was an Amorite, and thy mother an Hittite.” The
people of Judah had race-mixed with all of those accursed by Yahweh.
So it was in ancient Palestine, and the jews of today are the
descendants of these very same bad figs.
The enemies of Yahweh
our God have always accounted those who told the truth as criminals.
So it was in the days of the prophets of ancient Israel, and so it is
with those who tell the truth today. The apostles and the martyrs
were not slain by the Romans because they were preaching peace, love
and joy. The Reformers were not persecuted by the popes because they
were sinful in the eyes of God. It is the
Kenite-Canaanite-Edomite-Jew dragon which always gives its power to
the beast. Wherever the beast rules, evil is given legitimacy for the
sake of empire, and freedom becomes an imposed tyranny. The famous
question, “why can't we all just get along?”, is a product of
anti-Christian propaganda. The idea of Libertarianism is also an
anti-Christian concept. The true Christian resists evil, rejects it
from his community, and naturally becomes the enemy of a wicked
state.
24 “But woe to you
who are wealthy, because you hold your consolation! 25 Woe to you who
are full now, because you shall hunger! Woe to those laughing now,
because you shall mourn and you shall weep!
From the Wisdom of
Sirach 31: “4 The poor laboureth in his poor estate; and when he
leaveth off, he is still needy. 5 He that loveth gold shall not be
justified, and he that followeth corruption shall have enough
thereof. 6 Gold hath been the ruin of many, and their destruction was
present.”
If you are wealthy, you
have more than likely used the gifts which God has blessed you with
to your own advantage. From James chapter 5: “1 Come on, those who
are wealthy now, weep, crying out upon your coming hardships! 2 Your
wealth is putrefied and your garments have become moth-eaten! 3 Your
gold and silver are corroded and their corrosion shall be for a
testimony to you and it shall eat your flesh as fire. You have saved
up for the last days. 4 Behold, the wages of the laborers reaping
your fields which have been withheld by you cry out, and the cries of
the harvesters have entered into the ears of the Prince of Armies! 5
You have lived luxuriously and lewdly upon the earth: you have
nourished your hearts in a day of slaughter! 6 You have condemned,
you have murdered the righteous, who did not oppose you!” According
to James, if one is rich, one has evidently short-changed those in
his employ, so that he himself can live luxuriously.
The most basic
difference between a well-off Christian and a rich anti-Christ, in my
opinion, is that the well-off Christian seeks to be a good steward
and to use his wealth in order to help his kindred and his community
in meaningful ways. On the other hand, the wealthy jew seeks to use
his wealth in order to gain still more power and control over the
people and community around him.
Revelation 7: “16
They shall hunger no longer, nor shall they thirst any longer, nor
shall the sun fall upon them nor any burning heat, 17 because the
Lamb who is in the midst of the throne shall shepherd them and shall
guide them to fountains of living waters, and Yahweh shall wipe every
tear from their eyes!”
26 Woe when all men
speak well to you, for in accordance with these same things did their
fathers do to the false prophets!
When you seek to please
men, you become a compromiser and end up negotiating the Truth of
God. So it was in ancient Israel, and so it is to this day, even in
some circles within Christian Identity.
27 “But I say to
you, to those listening, love your enemies. Do well to those hating
you. 28 Speak well to those cursing you. Offer prayers for those
abusing you. 29 To him striking you upon the cheek, you offer also
the other. And from him taking your cloak, do not also forbid your
shirt. 30 You must give to each who is asking, and from him
taking your belongings do not demand back.
Christ is speaking to
“those listening”, or “to those who are hearing”. In John
chapter 10 He said: “25 … I have spoken to you and you do not
believe! The works which I do in the name of My Father, these things
testify concerning Me. 26 But you do not believe, because you are not
My sheep! 27 My sheep hear My voice, and I know them and they follow
Me, 28 and I give to them eternal life and they are not lost forever
and one shall not snatch them from My hand.” In Matthew chapter 13
He said: “Because to you it is given to know the mysteries of the
kingdom of the heavens, but to those it is not given. 12 For he who
has, it shall be given to him and he shall have abundance. But he who
does not have, even that which he has shall be taken from him! 13 For
this reason I speak to them in parables, because seeing they shall
not see and hearing they shall not hear nor shall they understand”.
Christ Himself also said in Matthew chapter 15 that “I have not
been sent except to the lost sheep of the house of Israel!”
David hated the enemies
of God, and yet we see in Acts 13:22 this quote from the Old
Testament, where Yahweh God testifies that “I have found David the
son of Jesse, a man after mine own heart, which shall fulfil all my
will.” From Psalm 139 we see these words of David: “19 Surely
thou wilt slay the wicked, O God: depart from me therefore, ye bloody
men. 20 For they speak against thee wickedly, and thine enemies take
thy name in vain. [Pronouncing “Jesus” does not make one a
Christian!] 21 Do not I hate them, O LORD, that hate thee? and am not
I grieved with those that rise up against thee? 22 I hate them with
perfect hatred: I count them mine enemies. 23 Search me, O God, and
know my heart: try me, and know my thoughts: 24 And see if there be
any wicked way in me, and lead me in the way everlasting.” Likewise
the apostle John tells us in his second epistle that “9 Each who
going forth and not abiding in the teaching of Christ has not Yahweh.
He abiding in the teaching, he also has the Father and the Son. 10 If
one comes to you and does not bear this teaching, do not receive him
into the house and do not speak to welcome him! 11 For he speaking to
welcome him takes a share in his evil works.”
Therefore we are not to
be forced into interpreting these words of Christ as if we should
apply them to everyone on the face of the planet. We are not to love
or to have community with the enemies of Yahshua Christ our God. We
are not to interpret these words in any manner in application to
anyone outside of the “lost sheep of the house of Israel”,
because if Christ came for them only, then these words apply to them
alone. Christians are to love their race first, and then share
everything they have in order to provide for their kindred brethren
in Christ. All others are excluded.
31 “And just as
you wish that men would do to you, you likewise do to them. 32 And if
you should love those loving you, what benefit is it to you? For even
the wrongdoers love those loving them. 33 And indeed if you should do
good to those doing you good, what benefit is it to you? Even the
wrongdoers do this. 34 And if you should loan to from whom you hope
to receive, what benefit is it to you? Even the wrongdoers loan to
wrongdoers that they would receive back their belongings.
If we treat all of
those of our race, whether friend or foe, whether near or remote, as
we ourselves want to be treated, then our Father in heaven shall
reward us for it. If we accept a loss of our property for the
advantage of our racial brethren, then our Father in heaven shall
reward us for it.
35 But you should
love your enemy and do good and loan nothing hoping return and your
reward will be great, and you shall be sons of the Highest, because
He is kind to the ungrateful and the wicked.
Of course, all of the
children of Adam are already children of Yahweh (Luke 3:38; Acts
17:28), and especially the children of Israel (Deuteronomy 14:1).
Statements such as this one which says “you shall be sons of the
Highest” are assurances of the recognition of those of our race as
children of God, when their behavior merits such recognition. (Romans
8:1-17 and 9:4; Galatians 4:4-5; Ephesians 1:5). Galatians 4:4-5: “4
And when the fulfillment of the time had come, Yahweh had dispatched
His Son, having been born of a woman, having been subject to law, 5
in order that he would redeem those subject to law, that we would
recover the position of sons.” We recover our position as sons by
seeking to do the will of our Father.
36 “You must be
compassionate just as your Father is compassionate. 37 And you must
not judge, that you would not be judged. And you must not condemn,
that you would not be condemned. Acquit, and you shall be acquitted.
The first sentence of
verse 37 may be better read in its context: “And you do not bring
to trial, that you would not be brought to trial” (compare Paul’s
remarks at I Cor. 6:1-11). While κρίνω (2919) is basically to
judge, it means so in the sense “IV...2. to bring to trial,
accuse...Passive to be brought to trial...3. to pass
sentence upon, to condemn” (Liddel & Scott), and
especially here, being used with verbs meaning “to condemn” and
“to acquit”. Judgment and condemnation here are used in the legal
sense, not in the moral sense, and the statement having to do with
acquittal demonstrates as much. The word rendered “to acquit”
twice here is ἀπολύω (630), “to loose from...undo
2. to set free from, release or relieve from...to
acquit...” (Liddell & Scott), and with the verbs “to
judge” and “to condemn” it certainly should be “to acquit”,
where the King James Version. Has rendered it as to forgive.
On the other hand ἀφίημι (863), and not ἀπολύω, is the
usual verb translated as forgive in the A.V.
Many would pervert the
meaning of the text here, attempting to force one into accepting
people of all sorts, or with all kinds of wicked proclivities. These
are perverted minds who would twist the word of God in order to
legitimize the practice of all unseemliness for themselves. Rather we
are not to judge the wicked, but to expel them from our community,
separating ourselves from them so that Yahweh may judge them (i.e. 1
Cor. 5:9-13; Rev. 22:15).
Christ told us in
Matthew chapter 13 to forgive the repentant sinner as often as he may
sin against us. Paul told us how to handle unrepentant sinners in 1
Corinthians chapter 5, where he writes “9 I had written to you in
the letter, not to associate with fornicators: 10 not at all with the
fornicators of this Society, or with the covetous, or rapacious, or
idolaters, seeing that you are therefore obliged to come out from the
Society. 11 But presently I have written to you not to associate with
any brother if he is being designated a fornicator, or covetous, or
an idolater, or abusive, or drunken, or rapacious; not even to eat
with such a wretch. 12 What is it to me to judge those outside? Not
at all should you judge those within you. 13 But those outside Yahweh
judges; 'you will expel the wicked from amongst yourselves.'”
Therefore we forgive our repentant brethren of their errors, and we
expel those who are unrepentant from our community, praying that God
judges them. Perhaps we should also pray that they somehow repent and
are spared such earthly judgment.
38 Give, and it
shall be given to you. A good measure pressed, shaken, overflowing
shall they put into your bosom. For in the measure which you measure
shall it be measured in return to you.”
Some of the manuscripts
have “For in that same measure by which you measure shall it be
measured in return to you.” The measure by which you judge others
is the measure by which you yourself shall be judged. If you are
unforgiving towards your people, then Yahweh your God shall be
unforgiving with you.
Matthew chapter 18: “23
Therefore is the kingdom of heaven likened unto a certain king, which
would take account of his servants. 24 And when he had begun to
reckon, one was brought unto him, which owed him ten thousand
talents. 25 But forasmuch as he had not to pay, his lord commanded
him to be sold, and his wife, and children, and all that he had, and
payment to be made. 26 The servant therefore fell down, and
worshipped him, saying, Lord, have patience with me, and I will pay
thee all. 27 Then the lord of that servant was moved with compassion,
and loosed him, and forgave him the debt. 28 But the same servant
went out, and found one of his fellowservants, which owed him an
hundred pence: and he laid hands on him, and took him by the throat,
saying, Pay me that thou owest. 29 And his fellowservant fell down at
his feet, and besought him, saying, Have patience with me, and I will
pay thee all. 30 And he would not: but went and cast him into prison,
till he should pay the debt. 31 So when his fellowservants saw what
was done, they were very sorry, and came and told unto their lord all
that was done. 32 Then his lord, after that he had called him, said
unto him, O thou wicked servant, I forgave thee all that debt,
because thou desiredst me: 33 Shouldest not thou also have had
compassion on thy fellowservant, even as I had pity on thee? 34 And
his lord was wroth, and delivered him to the tormentors, till he
should pay all that was due unto him. 35 So likewise shall my
heavenly Father do also unto you, if ye from your hearts forgive not
every one his brother their trespasses.”
39 Then He spoke to
them a parable: “Is any one blind able to guide the blind? Would
they not both fall into a ditch? 40 There is no student above the
teacher, but all having been restored he shall be as his
teacher.
Of course no Christian
should seek to exalt himself above Christ, but we all should seek to
be like Him. The word καταρτίζω (2675) in the King James
Version here is perfect. The word means “to adjust or
put in order again, restore...II. to furnish
completely...” (Liddell & Scott) and while according to
that same source it was used in the perfect passive participle,
κατηρτισμένος, from the time of Herodotus to mean
well-furnished or complete, yet I would assert that
each of the children of Israel being restored, shall indeed be
complete. The word καταρτίζω also appears in 2 Corinthians
13:9 and at Ephesians 4:12, among other places.
2 Corinthians 13:9, in
part: “… And this we also pray for: your restoration.”
Ephesians 4: “11 And
He has given the ambassadors, and the interpreters of prophesy, and
those who deliver the good message, and the shepherds - teachers, 12
towards the restoration of the saints, for the work of ministering
for building of the body of the Anointed, 13 until we all would
attain to the unity of the faith and of the acknowledgment of the Son
of Yahweh, at man perfected, at the measure of the stature of the
fullness of the Anointed”
41 Now why do you
see the stick in the eye of your brother, but the beam in your own
eye you do not perceive? 42 How are you able to say to your brother,
‘Brother, let me extract the stick which is in your eye’,
yourself not seeing the beam which is in your eye? Hypocrite! Extract
first the beam from your eye, and then you will see clearly to
extract the stick which is in the eye of your brother.
Those who would seek to
judge their brethren must be free of reproach themselves. For this
reason, among other things in 1 Timothy which he wrote in reference
to ministers and supervisors of the Christian assemblies, Paul wrote
of prospective ministers that: “In like manner reverent ministers,
not double-tongued, not addicted to much wine, not shamefully
desirous of gain, holding the mystery of the faith with a clean
conscience. But even they must be scrutinized first, then being void
of offense they must minister.” (1 Timothy 3:8-10). At the same
time men who are set in positions to judge must recognize that since
all men are sinners, they must judge their brethren mercifully, if
they themselves expect mercy when judged. From Romans 3:4: “...Yahweh
will be true, and every man a liar, just as it is written, 'that you
should be just in your words and you shall prevail when you are
judged.'”
43 “For there is
not a good tree making rotten fruit. Contrarily, neither is
there a rotten tree making good fruit.
Even though all men
sin, and all have sinned and fallen short of the glory of God, every
child of God has the capacity to do good with the right instruction
and guidance. Every child of God shall do good at the restoration.
Yet none of the enemies of God can ever do good, regardless of
instruction. They can never be pleasing to God. They are all bastards
born contrary to His will. The Gospel message is the dividing point
between the wheat and the tares. As John the Baptist said, recorded
in Matthew chapter 3: “10 But already the axe is laid to the root
of the trees: surely any tree not producing good fruit is cut down
and cast into the fire! 11 I indeed baptize you with water unto
repentance: but he that cometh after me is mightier than I, whose
shoes I am not worthy to bear: he shall baptize you with the Holy
Ghost, and with fire: 12 Whose fan is in his hand, and he will
throughly purge his floor, and gather his wheat into the garner; but
he will burn up the chaff with unquenchable fire.”
44 For each tree is
known by its own fruit. Indeed they do not gather figs from thorns.
Nor could they harvest grapes from bramble-bush. 45 The good man
brings forth good from the good treasure of the heart, and the wicked
brings forth evil from the wicked. From the abundance of the
heart his mouth speaks.
There are a lot of
apparently White people who do wicked things, who are really bastards
and not sons. Likewise, there are a lot of good White people who are
caught up in the world, who have never heard the real Gospel message,
and who have been taught to sin. Here we are told not to gather
grapes from thorns, or figs from thistles. We must seek out our
racial kindred and bring them to the Gospel. But we should never try
to find good fruit in bad trees. We should never bring the Gospel
message to those of other races, since those bad trees can never
produce good fruit. Yet since there are tares among the wheat, and
since until the harvest it is difficult to tell the tares and the
wheat apart, the Gospel must be allowed to do that which it is
supposed to do: to divide the wheat and the tares for us.
46 “Now why do you
call Me ‘Prince, Prince’ yet do not do the things which I say?
The judeo-Christians
all claim Christ as Lord and King, but most of them have no idea what
he has actually said.
47 Every one who
coming to Me and hearing My words and doing them, I will show to you
what he is like. 48 He is like a man building a house who dug up and
deepened and placed a foundation upon the bedrock. And a flood
coming, the river burst forth against that house, yet was not able to
shake it because it was well built. 49 But he who hears and does not
is like a man building a house upon the earth without a foundation,
which the river bursts forth against, and immediately it collapses,
and great comes the breaking of that house!”
From Psalm 18: “1 I
will love thee, O LORD, my strength. 2 The LORD is my rock, and my
fortress, and my deliverer; my God, my strength, in whom I will
trust; my buckler, and the horn of my salvation, and my high tower. 3
I will call upon the LORD, who is worthy to be praised: so shall I be
saved from mine enemies.... 30 As for God, his way is perfect: the
word of the LORD is tried: he is a buckler to all those that trust in
him. 31 For who is God save the LORD? or who is a rock save our God?
32 It is God that girdeth me with strength, and maketh my way
perfect.”
From 1 Corinthians
chapter 3: “11 For another foundation no one is able to place
besides that which is established, which is Yahshua Christ. 12 Now if
anyone builds upon that foundation gold, silver, precious stones,
timber, fodder, straw, 13 the work of each will become evident;
indeed the day will disclose it, because in fire it is revealed; and
of what quality the work of each is, the fire will scrutinize. 14 If
the work of anyone who has built remains, he will receive a reward.
15 If the work of anyone burns completely, he will suffer loss, but
he himself will be preserved, although consequently through fire.”
When we trust in Yahweh
our Rock, and build good things upon the foundation which He has
given us, then our works shall stand in the end. If we do not do so,
we shall face greater trials in this life, however we shall still see
the Kingdom of Heaven, if indeed we are born from above. Regardless
of our sin, anyone who would throw a child of Yahweh our God into the
Lake of Fire is a real murderer, for he hates his brother, and he who
hates his brother has not God.
A Commentary on the Acts of the Apostles is currently being presented by William Finck on Christogenea Internet Radio every Friday night at 8PM Eastern.
