Torah / Yeshua

                                                            Contributed by Tricia Pollok

Often when someone is strongly disagreeing with me that we are to obey the written Torah, and the Instructions of YHVH given to Israel through Moses, I ask this question: "Who is Yeshua/Jesus"? They usually give me a variety of answers and I ask them how they interpret these verses:

John 1:1 "In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with Elohim, and the Word was Elohim."

John 1:14 "And the Word (Torah) became flesh and pitched His tent among us, and we saw His esteem, esteem as of an only brought-forth of a father, complete in favour and Truth."

Yeshua is defined in these verses as the Torah made Flesh...shouldn't we keep that definition in mind when we are reading the rest of the book of John?

When someone becomes a new Christian, people usually tell them to go home and read the book of John. John is one of my favorite books in the New Testament. It is full of SO much Truth! Unfortunately, by not understanding that Yeshua is the Living Torah, defined in the very first verse of the book of John, most people will read the rest of the book with no understanding at all. We must allow the Bible to define itself...in John 1:1, 14, Yeshua is defined as the Living Word. Did you realize that NONE of the New Testament was written at the time that Yeshua and John (and Paul) walked the earth? Therefore, we know that the Word, is the Torah. Yes, that's right...Paul taught from the Torah...and recognized that Yeshua was the LIVING Torah.

Please read these verses in John with the understanding of the definition that Yeshua is the Torah in the Flesh (refer back to John 1:1, 14). I will insert a few words to highlight for understanding...It's pretty eye-opening.

John 15

"I (Torah) am the true vine, and My Father is the gardener.

2“Every branch in Me (Torah) that bears no fruit He takes away. (yes, there are those following Torah who do NOT bear fruit) And every branch that bears fruit He prunes, so that it bears more fruit.

3“You are already clean because of the Word (Torah) which I (the Living Torah) have spoken to you.

4“Stay in Me (Torah), and I stay in you. As the branch (that's you) is unable to bear fruit of itself, unless it stays in the vine (Torah), so neither you, unless you stay in Me (Torah).

5“I (Torah) am the vine, **you** are the branches. He who stays in Me (Torah), and I in him, he bears much fruit. Because without Me (Torah) you are able to do naught! (NOTHING)

6“If anyone does not stay in Me (Torah), he is thrown away as a branch and dries up. And they gather them and throw them into the fire, and they are burned. frown emoticon

7“If you stay in Me (Torah), and My Words (Torah) stay in you, you shall ask whatever you wish, and it shall be done for you.

8“In this My Father is esteemed, that you bear much fruit, and you (the branches in Torah) shall be My taught ones.

9“As the Father has loved Me (Torah), I have also loved you. Stay in My love.

10“If you guard My commands (Torah), you shall stay in My love, even as I have guarded My Father’s commands and stay in His love.

11“These words I have spoken to you, so that My joy might be in you, and that your joy might be complete.

18“If the world hates you, you know that it hated Me (Torah) before it hated you.

19“If you were of the world, the world would love its own. But because you are not of the world, but I chose you out of the world, for that reason the world hates you.

20“Remember the word that I said to you, ‘A servant is not greater than his master.’ If they persecuted Me (Torah), they shall persecute you too. If they have guarded My Word (Torah), they would guard yours too.

21“But all this they shall do to you because of My Name (Torah), because they do not know Him who sent Me (the Living Torah).

22“If I had not come and spoken to them, they would have no sin, but now they have no excuse for their sin.

23“He who hates Me (Torah) hates My Father as well. (isn't that terrifying?)

24“If I did not do among them the works which no one else did, they would have no sin. But now they have both seen and have hated both Me and My Father,

25but...that the word might be filled which was written in their Torah, ‘They hated Me without a cause.’

26“And when the Helper comes, whom I shall send to you from the Father, the Spirit of the Truth, who comes from the Father, He shall bear witness of Me,

27but you also bear witness, because you have been with Me from the beginning.

We cannot bear fruit unless we are in HIM (Torah). Those not in Him (Torah) are gathered and burned in the fire (verse 6).