Salvation and Eternal Life According to the Jewish Jesus

 

When I became a minister, everything I preached had one purpose – save unbelievers! I believed we (all Christians) had been commissioned by Jesus to do this – “Go into all the world and preach the Gospel to everyone!

 

Saved people go to Heaven and unbelievers go to Hell!

 

That was the message we took to the world. It was not just a belief system – it was our reality. We believed there were only two kinds of humans -- believers and unbelievers. It was as simple as that! Now let’s see what Jesus said about salvation.

 

The Great Day of Judgment

Matthew 25:31-46

 

³¹ When the Son of Man comes in his glory, and all the angels with him, he will sit on his glorious throne. ³² All the nations will be gathered before him, and he will separate the people one from another as a shepherd separates the sheep from the goats. ³³ He will put the sheep on his right and the goats on his left.

 

Be sure to note that all the nations of the earth are being judged and everyone is standing with members of their own nation. Everyone with be placed in either the group on the right or the group on the left. Now pay close attention to the criteria that determined in which group people were placed.

 

³⁴ Then the King will say to those on his right: “Come, you who are blessed by my Father; take your inheritance, the kingdom prepared for you since the creation of the world. ³⁵ For I was hungry and you gave me something to eat, I was thirsty and you gave me something to drink, I was a stranger and you invited me in, ³⁶ I needed clothes and you clothed me, I was sick and you looked after me, I was in prison and you came to visit me.”

 

Did you recognize that the things the people did were acts of TZEDAQAH (tze-doc-kah)? They were acts that protected lives, preserved lives, made lives more functional and restored the SHALOM of the community. What Jesus said next confirms that conclusion.

 

³⁷ Then those who did acts of TZEDAQAH will ask him: “Lord, when did we see you hungry and feed you, or thirsty and give you something to drink? ³⁸ When did we see you a stranger and invite you in, or needing clothes and clothe you? ³⁹ When did we see you sick or in prison and go to visit you?”

 

They had no doubt they would done those things, but they didn’t remember him.

 

⁴⁰ The King will reply: “Amen! Let me explain! Whatever you did for one of the least of these brothers and sisters of mine, you did for me!”

 

This was a reference to “all humans being part of the Creator’s family” in Genesis 1. Every member was made in “image of God.” His vision for all members of His family is that they experience life in a SHALOM community – an environment in which lives are complete, healthy, wholesome; relationships are harmonious and mutually beneficial; homes are safe; places are secure and restful; members are loyal and committed to each other and the community.

 

⁴¹ Then the King will say to those on his left: “Depart from me, you who are cursed, into the eternal fire prepared for the adversary and his messengers. ⁴² For I was hungry and you gave me nothing to eat, I was thirsty and you gave me nothing to drink, ⁴³ I was a stranger and you did not invite me in, I needed clothes and you did not clothe me, I was sick and in prison and you did not look after me.”

 

⁴⁴ They also asked: “Lord, when did we see you hungry or thirsty or a stranger or needing clothes or sick or in prison, and did not help you?”

 

⁴⁵ The King will reply: “Amen! Let me explain! Whatever you did not do for one of the least of these, you did not do for me.”

 

⁴⁶ Then those who did not do acts of TZEDAQAH will go away to eternal punishment, but those who did acts of TZEDAQAH will go to eternal life.

 

Who will be saved? Those who did acts of TZEDAQAH will be saved!  That is the only answer Jesus gave. But, be sure to remember, this is a parable teaching wisdom, not a commandment or a law. Jesus was teaching people how to walk with God in this life.

 

Chances are good that you now realize your beliefs about salvation didn’t come from Jesus. I had the same experience. It changed my beliefs about what my future would be like, what God wanted me to do, and what Jesus wanted me to do. It also changed my salvation message to this -- Choose Life 1^st by Doing Things that are Good (TOV)!

 

May your SHALOM increase,

Jim Myers

 

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Words that Transform Our Understanding of Jesus and His Movement

 

“The Jesus Movement” was the original group of Jews that followed Yeshua, the Jewish Jesus of history, in the early first century CE. His movement can only be understood through the meanings of a handful of Hebrew words that were the foundation of his message. Once the Greek translations of the Gospels of Matthew, Mark and Luke began to circulate among Gentile churches, the message of Jesus changed.

 

In my previous email I discussed three things people who participate in our Bible studies bring to the meeting with them -- beliefs about the Bible, an English vocabulary, and life experiences. People reading the Greek Gospels brought with them -- beliefs about the Gospels, a Greek vocabulary, and life experiences from a variety of Gentile cultures. For over 1,800 years Christians did not have access to the Hebrew message of Jesus.

 

Science changed everything, beginning with archaeology. At the end of the 19^th century CE, there were only about 20 ancient Greek manuscripts of books in the New Testament. Today, as the result of the work of archaeologists, we have access to over 6,000 Greek manuscripts. Science-based linguistic models were not part of the translating process before the 20^th century. Until then, authority of religious institutions determined how words were translated. Reconstructing the Hebrew words behind the Greek words was unknow to church members until the late 20^th century – and with that many things began to change.

 

There are a few Hebrew words that cannot be translated by using one English word. The way to solve this problem is to use transliterations of those Hebrew words and memorize their definitions. Add those transliterations to your vocabulary. Doing this with three key Hebrew words Jesus used many times in his teachings will transform your vision of him and his movement. Today I demonstrate the impact three words can have on a Bible study. Our study today focusing on three blessings in the Sermon on the Mount (Matthew 5).

 

1. SHALOM – A social environment in which lives are complete, healthy, wholesome; relationships are harmonious and mutually beneficial; homes are safe; places are secure and restful; members are loyal and committed to each other and the community.

 

2. TOV (toe-v) – Acts that protect lives, preserve lives, make lives more functional, and increase the quality of life.

 

3. TZEDAQAH (tzeh-doc-kah) – Acts that are TOV and restore the SHALOM of a community by eliminating things that are breaking the SHALOM.

 

If I left out the transliterations in the definition of TZEDAQAH and included their meanings, this is how I would have to translate it!

_________________________________

 

“Acts that protect lives, preserve lives, make lives more functional, and increase the quality of life; restore the social environment in which lives are complete, healthy, wholesome; relationships are harmonious and mutually beneficial; homes are safe; places are secure and restful; members are loyal and committed to each other and the community.

 

Acts that eliminate things that make lives incomplete, unhealthy, unwholesome; things that create conflicts in relationships and benefit only one person at the expense of the others; make homes unsafe; make places insecure and chaotic; cause members to be unfaithful and uncommitted to each other and the community.”

_________________________________

 

When Jesus said “TZEDAQAH;” he meant all of those things! So, what English word do we find in our Bibles instead of TZEDAQAH? It is the translation of a Greek word that is translated either “righteous” or “righteousness.” Do those words mean what Jesus taught? Apply the information about to the blessings Jesus opened the Sermon on the Mount with.

 

^5:6 Blessed are those who hunger and thirst for acts of TZEDAQAH.
They shall be filled.

 

What are those people thirsting for? Read the long definition of TZEDAQAH above. The people blessed here are not only “hungry and thirsty for food and water;” they are hungering and thirsty “for the people doing acts of TZEDAQAH to come forward.” They are the poor and oppressed, but they were also Jews who knew about TZEDAQAH and SHALOM. This blessing was a promise from Jesus to them and a call to action for his followers.

 

^5:10 Blessed are those who pursue opportunities to do acts of TZEDAQAH.
They are the Kingdom of God.

 

This blessing sums up what Jesus and his movement were about. His vision was masses of people bursting forth and becoming actively engaged in pursuing opportunities to do acts of TZEDAQAH. Wow! What a powerful vision!

 

^5:9 Blessed are the SHALOM Makers,
They shall be called Sons of God.

                                                                                                           

SHALOM Makers are actively engaged in guarding and restoring the SHALOM of the community. This is a team effort! Now, take another look at the blessings, and then consider the answers for the questions below:

 

1. Do they describe what Christians what are taught to do today?

 

2. What would societies be like if groups of people were constantly engaged in doing those things?

 

My next email will be about what Jesus taught about salvation and the afterlife.

 

May you increase SHALOM,

Jim Myers 

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Finding the True Meaning of the Word “Love”

 

 (This article by Rabbi Jeffrey Leynor was published in May 2014.)

In the late 1990’s, I brought my two young children in for play therapy to help them process my divorce. That day, I met a woman who would literally save my life and transform me forever.

 

She was thirteen years my junior, the most beautiful, smartest, most competent and grown up woman I had ever met.  I was stressed out, angry, hurt and approaching 500 pounds, but oddly enough, that first day there were sparks. I was very attracted to her and sensed the same thing from her.  How could this be? Women like Karen don’t fall for men like me! In my eyes I had the terrible twos, too old, too fat and two kids!

 

Over the next number of months, Karen joined my congregation in Richardson. She became very involved and studied for her adult bat mitzvah as her son Austin studied for his bar mitzvah.  Karen was a single mom and Austin never had a “dad” in his life.  During this time Karen and I started seeing one another and Austin flourished having a stable male figure in his life.  As time went on, Karen and I fell in love.

 

I didn’t understand it then and I don’t know if I’ll ever fully understand it, but she saw passed my terrible twos. She loved me, as I was. We decided to marry. She then put me on her medical insurance and nursed me through having the gastric bypass. I shrank from being the size of three people down to the size of one, (OK, maybe one and one quarter!).   Life was good. Besides the birth of my two children, this was the happiest time in my adulthood.

 

For two years and eight months there was real joy. Karen became a second mom and great model for my children and I became Austin’s “pops.” In May of 2004, Karen suffered a brain aneurysm, which left her in a permanent vegetative state. I never saw another look of recognition or heard her voice again. She died in my arms three months later.

 

They say “hindsight” is everything. Karen came to save my life and deposit her most precious possession with me. I have been truly blessed. I have three amazing children and have known the true meaning of “love.” When we in the modern world hear the word love, we think of an emotion, but when we look to the Bible we see a different meaning. In the Hebrew Bible, the word for “love” is “Ahavah.” The root in Hebrew is “Hav”, which means “to give” -- to love is to give. 

 

The Hebrew Scriptures have a strikingly pragmatic character. There, “love” includes conscious acts done in behalf of the person who is loved. So, to love the Lord and loving your neighbor and yourself involve concrete acts. This is what both the Jewish tradition and the Jewish Jesus teach.

 

Real love is the guide as we walk through the darkness.

 

Choose Life, Do TOV!

Rabbi Jeffrey Leynor

http://tovcenter.org

What Did Evil Mean to Jesus?

 

In my last email, What Did Good Mean to Jesus, I used Psalm 34:13-14 as a context to understand what “good” meant. In the Psalm below, I use transliterations of three key Hebrew words that are very important in the teachings of Jesus. Their English translations are in ^superscript.      

 

Keep your tongue from RAH ^evil,

and your lips from speaking deceit ^MIRMAH.

Depart from RAH ^evil and do TOV ^good;

seek SHALOM ^peace and pursue it.

 

In order to accurately understand the movement and teachings of the Jewish Jesus of history (Yeshua), a “Kingdom of Heaven Vocabulary” is a prerequisite. It gives you not only “meanings of words;” it also gives you the ability to “recognize actions that reflect them” in the teachings of Jesus. Below is what “good” (TOV) to Jesus:

 

Thinking about, talking about, and doing things

that protect lives, preserve lives, make lives more functional,

and increase the quality of life.

 

In my previous email I pointed out that “good” is part of a standard we are taught as young children – “good / bad.” The meaning of “bad” is dependent upon the meaning of “good.” In the ancient Hebrew language of the Jewish Scriptures and the teachings of Jesus, the opposite of TOV (good) is RAH which is translated “evil.” Therefore, for Jesus, this is the meaning of “evil” (RAH):

 

Thinking about, talking about, and doing things

that destroy lives, harm lives, make lives less functional,

and decrease the quality of life.

 

Now let’s use this information to update our translation of Psalm 34:13-14.

 

Keep your tongue from talking about things that destroy lives,

harm lives, make lives less functional, and decrease the quality of life,

and your lips from speaking deceit.

 

Depart from things that destroy lives, harm lives,

make lives less functional, and decrease the quality of life.

 

Do things that protect lives, preserve lives,

make lives more functional, and increase the quality of life.

 

Seek SHALOM ^peace and pursue it.

 

I will discuss the meaning of “SHALOM” in my next email.

 

Thank you for Exploring with me,

Jim Myers

 

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What Did Good Mean to Jesus?

 

As a person with a Christian Biblical Heritage, the words of Jesus have always been very important to me. But I didn’t know that the Hebrew words he spoke were buried beneath many layers of English translations of Greek words from ancient manuscripts of Matthew, Mark and Luke. I was reading Greek words written by scribes translated by English translators, instead of the Hebrew words of Jesus translated into English.

 

Yeshua, the Jewish Jesus of history, was a very knowledgeable teacher of the Hebrew scrolls of Jewish Scriptures. He used a style of teaching, in which he often “hinted at” things recorded in those scrolls, gave a “commentary” about them, and ended with ways to apply that information in life experiences.

 

Without an awareness of “those hints,” however, we are unable to “hear his teachings.” But, thanks to the hard work of many scholars from multiple disciplines over the past 150 years, we can now “hear the teachings of Yeshua, the Jewish Jesus of history” again.

 

A scroll that was very important to Yeshua contained Psalm 34; he “hinted at” sections of it many times. Below are verses 13 and 14.

 

Keep your tongue from RAH ^evil,

and your lips from speaking deceit ^MIRMAH.

Depart from RAH ^evil and do TOV ^good;

seek SHALOM ^peace and pursue it.

 

“TOV” is the Hebrew word translated “good” -- one of the most important words in the English language. “Good” is part of a standard we were taught as very young children – “good / bad.” The meaning of “bad” is dependent upon the meaning of “good.” It is a fact that people subconsciously move towards “good” and away from “bad.” This is what “do good” meant to Yeshua:

 

Think about, talk about, and do things

that protect lives, preserve lives, make lives more functional,

and increase the quality of life.

 

● If people did those “good” things, would life in America be better or worse?

 

● Would life in your town be better or worse?

 

● Would life in your family be better or worse?

 

● Would your life be better or worse if just you did “good”?

 

WWJD? He would do good.

 

Shalom,

Jim Myers

 

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Three Essential Hebrew Words Bible Readers Must Know Part 2

 

The Story of TZEDAQAH

 

TZEDAQAH is a difficult word for English speakers to understand. At first glance it appears to mean something that simply makes no sense -- a combination of charity and justice. In English, charity is voluntary while justice is mandatory. This problem was created when translators incorrectly linked the Hebrew word charity to TZEDAQAH. They should have linked it to loyalty.

 

TZEDAQAH is a combination of loyalty and justice.

 

1. Loyalty to the community in conduct and honesty.

 

2. Justice by eliminating things that decrease SHALOM or create disorder in the community.

 

There is a far cry between TZEDAQAH, with its implications of social justice, and the word “charity.” In the case of “charity”, the recipient sees himself beholden to the donor, whose action is voluntary. TZEDAQAH, on the other hand, has to be performed as a matter of obligation and the recipient is in no way indebted to the donor. The needy have a right to TZEDAQAH, while those possessing means have a duty to give it. Even a person who receives TZEDAQAH must in turn give TZEDAQAH.

 

In the Jewish culture, people do not ultimately own everything. What people have is ultimately God's and He merely lends it to people. He gives it to people in trust and one of the conditions of that trust is that “people must share what they own with people who have less than they have.”

 

TZEDAQAH is the foundation of social justice because acts of TZEDAQAH fulfill legal and moral obligations of community members to do what is right in all relationships. Acts of TZEDAQAH are concrete acts, not abstract notions.

Members of the community must be taught about TZEDAQAH because it is not an inherent human characteristic. It is a learned trait resulting from the sustained performance of obligations through the constant pursuit of justice by performing acts of TZEDAQAH.

 

TZEDAQAH & SHALOM

 

Isaiah’s prophesy (32:11-18) helps us see the big picture better.

_____________________________________

 

“Tremble, you complacent ones! Quake, O confident ones. Strip yourself naked and put cloth around your loins. Beat your breasts, lamenting for pleasant fields and fruitful vines.

 

Thorns and briers shall spring up on the land of My people, even over the houses of joy in the jubilant cities, because the palace has been forsaken, the multitude of the city has been abandoned, rampart and tower are instead caves until forever, a joy for wild donkeys, a pasture for flocks – until the Spirit is poured upon us from on high.

 

Then the desert becomes a fruitful field, and the fruitful field is counted as a forest. MISHPAT (justice) shall dwell in the desert, and TZEDAQAH shall reside in the fruitful field. The work of TZEDAQAH will be SHALOM, and the service of TZEDAQAH will be tranquility and safety until eternity. And My people will dwell in homes of SHALOM – safe homes in secure resting places.”

_____________________________________

Now let’s review what we learned in the discussions about TOV, TZEDAQAH and SHALOM -- and put the pieces together.

 

● Acts of TZEDAQAH measure TOV and increase SHALOM.

 

● Acts of TZEDAQAH demonstrate one’s loyalty and faithfulness to the community.

 

● Acts of TZEDAQAH are acts of justice because they eliminate things that decrease SHALOM or disrupt order in the community.

 

● Failure to do acts of TZEDAQAH measure evil and decrease SHALOM and/or disrupts order in the community.

 

● Failure to do acts of TZEDAQAH is being disloyal and unfaithful to the community.

 

● Failure to do acts of TZEDAQAH makes a person guilty of a crime because SHALOM is decrease.

 

A person who does acts of TZEDAQAH is called a TZADIQ –

a good and/or innocent person.

 

A person who fails to do acts of TZEDAQAH is called –

an evil and/or guilty person.

 

Understanding this is an absolutely essential requirement for understanding the Jewish Scriptures and the teachings of the Jewish Jesus.

 

The status of each person – innocent or guilty –

at the moment of death or on the Great Day of Judgment,

determines his or her ultimate destiny.

 

I will continue this discussion in my next email.

 

May your Shalom increase,

Jim Myers

 

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Three Required Hebrew Words for Every Bible Reader’s Vocabulary

 

The three Hebrew words above have no English equivalents. The English words used to translate them are not accurate meanings. At a minimum, it would take a sentence or more to convey the Hebrew meanings to English readers. In order to understand TOV, SHALOM, and TZEDAQAH in the context in which they appear, you need to do two things.

 

1. Add their transliterations and meanings to your vocabulary and use the transliterations when you read and discuss verses in which they appear.

 

2. Use an interlinear Bible (it has Hebrew and English words) to locate the Hebrew words or use BHC translations of Bible portions in your Bible studies. (See Website Page)

 

The Story of TOV

 

The Hebrew word TOV appears seven times in the first story in Genesis. The first appearance is in Genesis 1:4.

 

And God saw the light, that it was TOV.

 

Most translators translate “TOV” as “good.” Translators generally use lexicons (dictionaries) that list several English words as options for translating. In addition, we must look for “contextual meanings that emerge from the context in which they appear.” As I said above, TOV appears seven times in Genesis 1 and from that context this contextual meaning emerged:

 

“TOV is the standard the Creator used to

measure the results of His actions.

 

Acts that measure TOV protect lives, preserve lives,

make lives more functional, and/or increase the quality of life.”

 

As you can see, the English word “good” doesn’t reflect the meaning of the Hebrew word TOV.

 

The Story of Shalom

 

Dr. William Chomsky, Noam Chomsky’s father, provides the following meaning for “SHALOM.”

____________________________

 

“The word shalom, usually rendered by ‘peace,’ has in effect little in common with its English equivalent. Shalom does not have the passive, even negative, connotation of the word ‘peace.’ It does not mean merely the absence of strife. It is pregnant with positive, active and energetic meaning and association. It connotes totality, health, wholesomeness, harmony, success -- the completeness and richness of living in an integrated social milieu.”

____________________________

 

A description of “the completeness and richness of living in an integrated social milieu” was given in my previous email. It is the Creator’s vision of “what human life in His kingdom would be like.”

 

● People will reflect the image of God through their TOV acts. The will be actively engaged in protecting each other’s’ lives, preserving each other’s lives, making each other’s lives more functional, increasing the quality of life for each other.

 

● People will also be actively engaged as the Creator’s Co-Shepherds over all life on earth.

 

Acts that measure TOV increase SHALOM.

 

I will discuss TZEDAQAH in my next email. It is one of the most important words in the Hebrew Scriptures and the teachings of Jesus. But in closing I want to give you a chance to put what you learned above to work. Below is the BHC translation of Psalm 34:14. Using the above information, write your commentary about what the verse meant to the author and readers of the ancient Hebrew text.

 

Depart from evil and do TOV;

seek SHALOM and pursue it.

 

May you SHALOM increase,

Jim Myers

 

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