I'm Shalom. Holy Scriptures and Israel is a ministry designed to share with the Jewish people the good news of the Lord Jesus, Yeshua the Messiah, and to instruct Christians on the Jewish roots of their faith. And now, teaching God's Word from a Hebrew messianic perspective, here is Gideon Levitam. Shabbat Shalom everyone. I would like you to open your Bibles today to the Gospel of Mark. We are studying in the wonderful Gospel of Mark. Marcos was the one that presented Yeshua, the Messiah, as the servant of the Lord. In Hebrew we call it Eved Adonai, Eved Yehovah. He is the one that is the true servant of God, a servant of the Lord who came from heaven to provide redemption for mankind. Yeshua was the only one who never sinned. the perfect man who came from heaven in order to redeem people such as you and I to himself. Well, we have arrived to the 10th chapter of the Gospel of Mark. So I would like you to please open the Brit HaChadashah, the New Covenant to Mark chapter 10. And I would like to read the first 31 verses of this chapter. And so follow me as I'm reading, please. And he arose from thence, this is Yeshua, and he cometh into the coast of Judea by the further side of Jordan. And the people resorted unto him again, and as he was wont, he taught them again. And the Pharisees came to him and asked him, Is it lawful for a man to put away his wife? And they were tempting him. And he answered and said unto them, What did Moses command you? And they said, Moses suffered to write a bill of divorcement and to put her away. And Yeshua, Jesus, answered and said unto them, For the hardness of your heart he wrote you this precept. But from the beginning of the creation, God made them male and female. For this cause shall a man leave his father and his mother and cleave to his wife. And their twain shall be one flesh. So then they are no more twain, but one flesh. What therefore God hath joined together, let no man put asunder. And in the house his disciples asked him again of the same matter. And he saith unto them, Whosoever shall put away his wife, and marry another, committeth adultery against her. And if a woman shall put away her husband, and be married to another, she committeth adultery. And they brought young children to him, that he should touch them. And his disciples rebuked him that brought them. And when Yeshua saw it, he was much displeased and said unto them, Suffer the little children to come unto me and forbid them not. For of such is the kingdom of God. Verily I say unto you, Whosoever shall not receive the kingdom of God as a little child, he shall not enter therein. And He took them up in His arms, and He put His hands upon them, and He blessed them. And when He was gone forth into the way, there came one running, and kneeled to Him, and asked Him, Good Master, what shall I do that I may inherit eternal life? And Yeshua said unto him, Why callest thou Me good? There is none good but one that is God. Thou knowest the commandment. Do not commit adultery, do not kill, do not steal, do not bear false witness, defraud not, honor thy father and thy mother. And he answered and said unto him, Master, all these have I observed from my youth. Then Yeshua, beholding him, loved him. He said unto him, One thing thou lackest, go thy way, sell whatsoever thou hast, and give it to the poor, and thou shalt have treasure in heaven. And come, take up the cross, and follow me. And he was sad at that saying. He went away grieved, for he had great possessions. And Yeshua looked around about, and saith unto his disciples, How hardly shall they that have riches enter into the kingdom of God! And the disciples were astonished at his words, but Yeshua answered again, and saith unto them, Children, how hard is it for them that trust in riches to enter into the kingdom of God? It is easier for a camel to go through the eye of a needle than for a rich man to enter into the kingdom of God. And they were astonished, out of measure, saying among themselves, who then can be saved? And Yeshua looked upon them, saith, With men it is impossible, but not with God, for with God all things are possible. Then Peter began to say unto him, Lo, we have left all, and have followed thee. And Yeshua answered and said, Verily I say unto you, there is no man that hath left a house, or brethren, or sisters, or fathers, or mother, and wife, or children, or land for my sake, and the Gospels, but he shall receive a hundredfold now, in this time, houses and brethren and sisters and mothers and children, and lands with persecution, and in the world to come eternal life. But many that are first shall be last, and the last shall be first. And this is the end of the reading for this ministry meeting. Fascinating passage in Mark chapter 10. Now, beloved brothers and sisters, as we study the Gospel of Mark, we learn very quickly that Yeshua the Messiah is just ended, you might say, in this 9th chapter and now the 10th chapter. He ended his ministry in the Galil, in the northern parts of Arlen, the land of Israel. And now he is on a journey to the city of Yerushalayim, Jerusalem. And why is it? Because in the city of Yerushalayim, in the city of Jerusalem, the Lord Jesus, the Messiah will have to pay for the sin of this world. The reason that he came from heaven, after all, is to accomplish redemption. He came not only to fix the physical needs of men, to give the blind man sight, and the lame man could walk, and the dead can be raised, and death can hear, but he came to do far more than to improve our physical bodies. He came in order to pay for the price of the sin and sins of this world. Let me remind you that just in the previous chapter, in Mark chapter 9, Yeshua said in verse 12, you remember what he said? And I'm going to read it. And he answered, and he told them, Elias verily will come first to restore all things. And how is it written? Of the Son of Man, that he must suffer many things, and be set at naught. In other words, the Son of Man had to suffer and to die. In verse 31 of Mark chapter 9, Yeshua taught His disciples, and He said unto them, The Son of Man is delivered to the hands of men, and He shall be killed, they will kill Him, and after He is killed, He shall rise again on the third So, beloved brothers and sisters, we always have to bear in mind the purpose and the reason why the Lord Yeshua, the Lord Jesus, the Messiah came to this world. He came in order to provide redemption. For all have sinned and come short of the glory of God. All mankind have gone against God. God needed a way whereby He can restore humanity to Himself. And He did so by sending the Messiah of Israel, the Savior of this world, in order to provide redemption, to mankind so we can see now in chapter 10 where we are today how the lord is focused on heading on to the city of jerusalem in fact the verse i did not read today this is verse 32 of mark chapter 10 they were in the way going up to jerusalem to yerushalayim they are on the way to the city of Jerusalem where the Lord will become a ransom for many. But as he goes away, chapter 10 is a very interesting chapter because in this chapter the Lord Yeshua is teaching again He's teaching as he's being opposed on the way and as he has conflict with those that oppose him and he's teaching principle, biblical principle that has to be learned by the disciples of all, these Hebrew disciples and by you and I today. The first lesson he teaches, while he arrives finally to the coasts of Judea, is the teaching of the importance of the relationship of marriage. I don't have to tell you, beloved brothers and sisters, that today, in these days that we live in, in the last days of the church age, Marriage is literally almost broken in the world in which we live in today. How many marriages have been broken? Not only by the unbelieving world, even by those who belong to Yeshua, to Jesus, the Messiah. And the Lord Jesus is being confronted by the Pharisees and he's answering something that helps us all to understand this essential principle that God wants us to learn. So in verses 1 to 12, he teaches of the importance of the institution of marriage. Marriage was not instituted by men, marriage was instituted by God himself. Marriage was not an invention of men, but marriage was given to us by God for our own blessing, for our own encouragement, for our own safety and security and joy and to fulfill the things that God have intended for mankind. So you notice in verse 1, he arrives to the coast of Judea. Notice it says, and he arose thence, and he cometh unto the coast of Judah, not far from the other side of Jordan, and the people resort unto him again. The word here, by the further side of Jordan, it's in Hebrew we say, me'ever la'yarden, on the other side of Jordan. So he's arriving to the other side of the Jordan River. Many people already now in this Judea are coming and gathering around him. And you notice again, he teaches. Notice at the end of verse 1, he taught them again. He taught them again. We find it in chapter 4. We find it in chapter 9. We're going to find it in chapter 11. He's teaching. He's teaching. Brothers and sisters, when you come into our meetings, Holy Scriptures and Israel meetings, we are coming to learn from the Word of God. And we all can be blessed as we learn, because we learn from the greatest teacher that ever lived, the Messiah himself, our Lord Jesus the Messiah. So he taught them. He taught them as he is teaching them. There is opposition. So it says here in verse 2, the Pharisees, they come unto him, the Pharisees are the Purushim, the spiritual leaders of our own nation Israel. They opposed him at his first coming, they didn't accept him as the Mashiach. So they opposed him and they really tried to cause him to stumble. Does he really know what he is saying? Is he truly the one who claimed to be the Mashiach, the Messiah? So they came to him and they asked him, is it lawful for a man to put away his wife? in verse 2 and verse 2 clearly tells us that they were actually tempting him trying to find some fault in the person of Yeshua our Messiah well you notice that beloved brothers and sisters how wise our Messiah our Lord Yeshua is he's answering them but he's answering them with a question it's a very Jewish thing to do Throughout scripture you find out when somebody asks you a question, usually in Israel and among our Jewish people we respond with a question. And in a sense it's like really challenging someone to come up with another answer. So he said to them in verse 3, he answered and he said unto them, what did Moses commend you? Moses, he takes us all the way to the law. Genesis, Exodus, Leviticus, Numbers, Deuteronomy, that's the law of Moshe, Torah Moshe. He takes them all the way back. And you notice how the words that Moses said years earlier, is the words that apply to those men who came and challenged Yeshua, the Messiah. What did Moshe? What did Moses command you? So, of course, they knew Torah to Moshe, the law of Moses, and they responded in verse 4, and they said to him, Moses suffered to write a bill of divorcement and to put her away. Now you notice that they come with a passage that is found in the book of Deuteronomy. So I'd like you to turn to Deuteronomy chapter 24, please, beloved brothers and sisters. In the first four verses of Deuteronomy chapter 24, We learn what Moshe said, what Moses said to the people of Israel some years earlier, some 1500 years before Yeshua came. Israel came out of the land of Egypt, they arrived to Mount Sinai, they received the law, the commandments that God gave to our people Israel. Now in the book of Deuteronomy, Moses rehearsed before Israel all the commandments that God had given. And here it said in chapter 24 of the book of Deuteronomy, When a man has taken a wife, verse 1, and married her, and it come to pass that she find no favor in his eyes, because he had found some uncleanness in her, then let him write a bill of divorcement, and give it in her hand, and send her out of his house. And when she is departed out of his house, she may go and be another man's wife. And if the latter husband hate her, and write her a bill of divorcement, and giveth it unto her hand, and sendeth her out of his house, or if the latter husband dieth which took her to be his wife, He says, verse 4, Her former husband which sent her away may not take her again to be his wife after that she is defiled. For that is abomination before the Lord, and thou shalt not cause the land to sin which the Lord thy God have given unto thee. Now let's pause here for a moment. It is amazing to see how Moses, Moshe, gave this instruction to the people of Israel. But I wanted to understand, beloved brothers and sisters, that the instruction that Moses gave to our forefathers Israel was not because God had condoned Divorce or separation, you might say, because God does not find pleasure in divorce. But apparently, he allows this to happen not in order to protect the man, but in order to protect the woman because of the abuse that men may have committed in those days. And I'm going to show you this in a moment. Go back to the Gospel of Mark for a moment, and in Mark chapter 10, verses 5 to 9, Yeshua explains the reason why Moses had given to the people of Israel, our own nation of old, why he had permitted the putting away. So we read, Here in verse 5, Mark 10 and verse 5, And Yeshua answered and said unto them, For the hardness of your heart He wrote you this precept. But from the beginning of the creation God made them male and female. For this cause shall a man leave his father and mother and cleave to his wife, and their twain shall be one flesh, or then they are no more twain, but one flesh. What therefore God has joined together, let no man put asunder. Now you notice how the Lord Yeshua answering is actually giving us fourfold reason why Moshe gave to our forefathers Israel the ability to give a bill of divorcement and to allow to send his wife away. Now let me just tell you, from history we know, even in those days, there were two major schools, rabbinical schools in Jewish history. In those days, when Yeshua came to the nation of Israel some 2,000 years ago, There was the two schools, the school of Shammai and the school of Hillel. Hillel was Rabbi Hillel, Rabbi Shammai, and there were two major schools of teaching about how do we interpret the law that God had given to the people of Israel. Hillel, for example, he was less harsh about this passage in Deuteronomy chapter 24, while Shammai was more strict. In other words, those who follow the Hillel teaching, Rabbi Hillel teaching, they were more lenient in that thought of the marriage and separation. And on the other hand, Shammai was more strict. And so if you remember that when we read Deuteronomy chapter 24 it says that when a man has taken a wife, verse 1, and he married her and it came to pass that she found no favor in his eyes because he has found some uncleanness in her. So the word uncleanness in here, for the Hillel and for the Shammai schools, they took it in a different way. The uncleanness for the Shammai was really had to do with more like something immoral that she have done. On the other hand, for the Hillel school, it was more, if she burned the toast, or if she had done something that I'm not pleased with, I can give her a bill of divorce and I can send her away. Can you just imagine for a moment? If you are married and your wife made some breakfast for you and you were not happy with the way she made the breakfast, she repeated it too many times and you decided, as it says here, that you find no favor with her anymore, you can put her away. But that is not what the Bible teaches. The Bible never condones putting away a wife and giving her a bill of divorce unless something major has happened. The Lord Jesus the Messiah is trying to show the Pharisees that she received a bill of divorce, but not for any little thing that she has done. In fact, if you notice in Deuteronomy chapter 24, it's always speaking about the husband. He gives the wife a bill of divorcement. You never find that the wife give the husband a bill of divorcement. It is always the man who was, you might say, a prominent position those days in the days of the law. But never God ever condone that in those days, in fact, the reason that he allowed the people of Israel to give the Bill of Divorcement is to protect the woman from the way a man might behave in treating his wife in a wrong way. In other words, if the man already made a decision and he doesn't find favor in his wife anymore and he's blaming her for some uncleanness, Which as far as he's concerned, it's not necessarily an immoral activity. It might have been something that you have done something wrong. So God demanded from the man, if he decided to put her away, to give her a bill of divorcement that she will show to everyone. Hey listen, I've been put away because my husband put me away, not because anything wrong that I have done. It is to protect the woman from that which could happen to her if her husband put her away. So the Lord is telling them, God gave you this allowance not because He intended it from the beginning, but it's because of the hardness of your heart. You have been behaving in such a bad way that God have allowed Moshe to give this bill of divorcement to the wife in order to protect the wife from the mischievous behavior of her own husband. If she did something wrong, if she didn't clean the house well enough, if she burned the toast maybe, if she have done something wrong with this and the husband all of a sudden doesn't find pleasure, she doesn't please him, she doesn't find favor in his eyes. Deuteronomy 24 verse 1, then he said, oh this is unclean, this is unkosher, this is not right, therefore I will put her away. But if he does so, he must give her this Bill of Divorcement in Hebrew is called the Book of Divorcement explaining why he had to put her away so when someone else is there he will know that this woman haven't done anything wrong in that sense but her husband find no more favor in her in fact it says in Deuteronomy chapter 24 and verse 2 and when she depart out of his house she may go and be another man's wife. Her husband had done wrong in the way he had treated his wife. Now the Lord Jesus, the Messiah, Take it further and he's now showing to us that really that is not what God had intended. Divorce and putting away is not something that God found pleasure in. And so notice that he takes them beyond Moses. Moses, Deuteronomy chapter 24, he take them further and further and further all the way to creation. And in the days of creation, He says, and notice I'm back in Mark chapter 10 in verse 6, 7, 8 and 9 of Mark chapter 10, He takes them all the way to the beginning. He says, but from the beginning, Of the creation, all the way to the creation of Adam and Eve, God made them male and female. Notice the underline, male and female. You remember He created Adam from the dust of the earth, then He put Adam to sleep, and then out of his rib He built a woman by the name of Chava. Man, a woman. Ish, Isha. Adam, Chava. Male and female. And then he said, in verse 7, for this cause shall a man leave his father and mother and cleave unto his wife. In verse 8 he said, and the two will become one flesh, so then they are no more twain, but one flesh. You see, God instituted marriage. He is the one that wanted to have family and blessing to the human race. But we've all messed it up. We, as men, humanity, we have gone in the wrong direction. We have gone too far beyond what God has intended. But God, from the beginning, has intended that there will be a male and a female, a man and a woman, Adam and Eve, man and woman, and He will bring them together, and the two will become one flesh. And then he says in verse 9, What therefore God has joined together, let no man put asunder. Now I want to make another remark here about Deuteronomy 24 and verse 1. Sometimes people use this expression in verse 1 of Deuteronomy 24, If she found no favor in his eyes because he had found uncleanness in her, Then he will give her a bill of divorcement. So people usually say that must be a sexual immorality or fornication. Now let me tell you brothers and sisters, under the law anyone who had been finding in a situation such as this committing fornication he and she would be stoned. You read it in various passages in the Tanakh. You will find it, for example, in Leviticus 20 verse 10 and Deuteronomy 22 and verse 22. That could not apply to fornication because fornication would immediately, according to the law, demand the killing, the stoning of those who committed fornication under the law some years ago. So it could not apply to fornication here, it could only apply that the man put his wife because she has done something wrong that he does not like. and therefore he had to give her the bill of divorcement in order to protect her from being punished or being abused by other people in the time of her divorcement so the application here is people put away another person or a man put away another person simply because he doesn't like her anymore he doesn't feel the same as he used to be years before And God wanted to maintain the marriage no matter what. He wanted the united husband and wife to be maintained together. And here the Lord Jesus now gives us additional information that we find here in the next verses. Verses 10, And here, beloved brothers and sisters, He gives us the only ground biblically for divorce that is found here as instructed by the Lord. And I'm reading. He says in verse 10, As he sat in the house with his disciples, and they came and asked him about the same matter. The disciples wanted to know, Lord, how do we handle this situation? What is it really? Help us to understand better what you mean when you say, Wherefore, if God joined them together, let not man put them asunder. So the Lord is explaining to them in verses 11 and 12. And this time, beloved brothers and sisters, He really elevates the woman, not only the man, but He elevates now the woman as well. And He says unto them, verse 11, Whosoever shall put away his wife, and marry another, committing adultery against her. Verse 12, If a woman shall put away her husband and marry another, she committing adultery. In other words, this time it's no longer like it was under the law where men would give a bill of divorcement. This time he is saying that if a man or a woman will have adultery committed, that's the only ground upon whereby One can put away his wife or her husband. So the Lord is teaching here these amazing truths about marriage and the marriage union. And the encouragement for us here is to seek the mind of the Lord on those things. The prophet Malachi told Israel that God hates divorce. I hate putting away. God desired the maintenance of a marriage union for the blessing of the family, the people of God. And therefore, beloved brothers and sisters, there is an encouragement from this passage to seek the help of God. to build up a marriage, to support one another, to seek the welfare of the husband and the welfare of the wife. And I don't have to tell you, Ephesians chapter 5, husbands love your wife as the Messiah loved the assembly and gave himself for her. To the wife he says, wife be subject to your own husband because this is right before the Lord and maintain harmony of a marriage union which was instituted by God already in the Garden of Eden some years ago when He created Adam and Eve. And sadly, very sad, look at the human history. Look what happened in human history. Look how many homes have been hurt. Look how much pain has been brought into many homes, into many situations in life. And why it is? because we failed to submit to the Lord's direction as it had been given to us in His Word. So the Lord is teaching concerning the marriage union in verses 1 to verse 12, but He's moving along. He's now, as he's teaching there on the coast of Judea, they brought him the children. In the next verses, verses 13 to 16, Yeshua is now teaching not only of the importance of the marriage union, But the importance of becoming, all of us, all people need to become as children by simply believing God and God's word. So they brought children, young children unto him in verse 13, that he should touch them. And his disciples rebuked those that brought them. So you notice that as he is teaching his disciples in the house, then others brought many children to him in order for him to touch them. Interesting the word to touch them. Why? It is because the touching and putting his hands upon the head, you might say, or the shoulders of the children, the boys and the girls, and it is imputing blessing. to them. We find that in the history of Israel very much. Jacob took his sons and he brought them close to him and he blessed them. It was he took the two sons, if you remember the two sons of Yosef and he put his hands on them and he blessed them. And it is a custom that have been done for many years among the people of Israel. Putting the hands on the children and blessing the children. Wishing them God's blessing. Wishing them to prosper in their life and to live for the God of our fathers. This is a custom that have been practiced by the leaders of Israel, by the parents, by the fathers, by the rabbis. And it is a custom that has been passed on from generation to generation. So now, as the people bring the children unto the Lord, the disciples were not too happy. And why they were not too happy? Perhaps they wanted the Lord Yeshua to rest a little bit, He was very busy. They may have meant well. But as they brought the children, they rebuked those who brought them, and they hindered them to come to Yeshua their Messiah. But the Lord is now teaching a second lesson. Not only that it is very, very important to maintain the marriage union as it had been given by divine design, But now, in addition to that, we all need to learn the importance of becoming like children by simply believing and depending upon God for whatever He is providing for us. So, when Yeshua saw that the disciples rebuked those that brought the children, He was very much displeased, and he said unto them, Suffer the children to come unto me, and forbid them not, for of such is the kingdom of God. Verily I say unto you, Whosoever shall not receive the kingdom of God as a little child, he shall not enter in. Now here is the second lesson, beloved brothers and sisters. We're not talking about a rebellious child here. We're not talking about the child that is here disobeying his parents. The thought is here is that the children are an example or representation of those who are in need. Those who are independent upon others. The parents, they are in need of complete help and support and nourishment. The baby needed the parents to carry them, the mother to nourish them. It is a picture of the need for us all to simply come to God by faith, believing and trusting Him that He is the one that is going to bring us into a relationship with Him. And so in these verses, how wonderful it is to see that the Lord said to them, unless you receive the Kingdom of God as this little child, you shall not enter in. They teach us of the importance of simply believing God's Word. Not seeking to enter into the kingdom of God with my own merits and activities and abilities and maybe a relationship with someone else. We all have to come to God on the basis of faith and faith alone. We need to become like these little children to simply trust in God and enter into the kingdom of God simply by faith. in him. Could you turn with me to Isaiah chapter 40 for a moment? In the 40th chapter of the book of Isaiah, we read of the future day when the Lord will restore Israel to himself. And there we notice how he's speaking about the little children or the young ones. It says, notice, in chapter 40, in verse 11, He shall feed his flock like a shepherd. He shall gather the lambs with his arm. He will carry them in his bosom, and he shall gently lead those that are with young. This is a messianic prophecy that speaks of the second coming of the Messiah when Israel will be restored. And even the little lambs, the young ones, He will lead them, He will feed them, He will carry them, He will provide. for the young ones. What a lesson it is, beloved brothers and sisters, for you and I as we are reading these texts today. The importance of coming to the Lord simply to trust Him by faith. and as little children to enter into the kingdom of God. Verily I say unto you, whosoever shall not receive the kingdom of God as a little child, he shall not enter therein. And so he took them, verse 16, up in his arm and he blessed them. Notice, he carried them up and he eventually blessed these children. And again, the blessing of the children is something that was common among the people of Israel, like Jacob, like Isaac, like Abraham of old, who blessed their children, their families, when they have sought to bless their children. So, we finish with lesson number 1, verses 1 to 12. Marriage is honorable, and God desires the marriage union to be maintained. Number two, verses 13 to 16, Yeshua taught about the importance of becoming like children and trusting God by faith in order to enter into a relationship with himself. And the third lesson that I would like to mention to us all today, dear brothers and sisters, is in verse 17 to verse 31. I will kind of put it together in order for us to understand the lesson. And the lesson is the importance of recognizing that we have a need, who we are before God. That's one of the reasons why people are not getting saved today, many do not get saved today, is because they don't recognize their true condition before the Lord. Many think that they are right and God is supposed to accept them no matter what. They never look at themselves as people who fail and have sinned. They look at themselves and they say, I'm a pretty decent individual, I've accomplished a lot in my life, therefore God should accept me and should not reject me. Here we learn a lesson of the importance of seeing truly who we are before God. What God thinks of us. You know when Paul quoted Psalm 14, For all have sinned and come short of the glory of God. Paul knew why he's saying what he's saying. God is holy, men had failed, men departed from Him, and in order for men to be restored, men have to admit, men and women, people need to admit who they are before God. But here's a man who did not see that. And so verse 17 of Mark chapter 10 we read when he was gone forth into the way he was heading to Jerusalem there came one running and kneeled to him and asked him good master what shall I do that I may inherit eternal life here's a man we do not know actually who he is we don't have his name but here's a man the Gospel of Luke and the Gospel of Matthew said that he was a rich young ruler he was a ruler in Israel he was well to do and he's approaching sincerely to Yeshua the Messiah he's actually running to him verse 17 not only that he's running, he's falling on his knees and he's saying to Yeshua, he's calling him good master Rabbi Tov You are a good master, you are a good teacher And then he says, what shall I do? That I will inherit eternal life Now you can see that he was sincere He is running to Yeshua, he recognized something unique about him He is calling him Rabbi In fact, he is calling him Good Rabbi, Rabbi Tov And then he is saying to him, asking him a question The question was, you know, Rabbi, I would like to have eternal life, what can I do that I will inherit eternal life? The word eternal life in Hebrew is Chayei Olam. I want to inherit eternal life. I want to live forever. Not only now, here and now, but I want to live forever and ever. I want to have eternal life. Rabbi, good Rabbi, what shall I do that I will inherit eternal life? Notice, beloved brothers and sisters, this one single word. What shall I do? That word do needs to be underlined. In other words, what he was assuming that if he is going to earn eternal life and to have it, to have this assurance that he is going to have eternal life, he has to do something. That's why today, in the world in which we live in, whether it is the Jewish world, or whether it is the Gentile world, the nations of the world, many would tell you that there are certain good things that they are doing that the day gonna come when they're gonna stand before God, God will evaluate like a scale, the things that they have done good against the things that they have done bad. And if the scale of the good things will be heavier, then God will accept them and give them eternal life and allow them to enter into his presence, into heaven. But the Lord is really teaching an amazing lesson. He never said that it's not good to do good. He never said that it's not good or it's not right to have good deeds in the life of mankind. But he's teaching the principle that is important for everyone that is living here in this world to understand about the condition of our hearts before God. He said, you notice the Lord is always going back to the Bible, back to the Hebrew Scripture. And you notice what he says in verse 18, first of all he said to him, in verse 18 and 19, he said to him, you know, why do you call me good? Why do you call me good? There is none that is good, but one that is God. He first of all saying, why do you call me good? By the way, even the Rabbi, the Rabbis would say, don't call me good Rabbi. I'm a Rabbi, I'm a teacher, but I'm no good Rabbi. Because there's only one that is good, and that is God Himself. Psalm 14, even you don't need to read the New Covenant, the New Testament, just read the Tanakh. Psalm 14 says that God looks from above to see if there is anyone that obey Him if there is anyone and He says there is no good not even one in fact let's say it this way there is no good not even you or not even I no good because man by nature has a sinful nature there is only one that is good and that is God and then he asked him and he said to him okay I'm telling you there is no good only God is good and why do you call me good only God you see what the Lord is saying here he doesn't mean by saying it that he's Not divine, that Yeshua is not God, God the Son. Of course, we know it throughout the earlier passages. We have already learned from the earlier passages that He always claimed to be God the Son who entered humanity and became a man. He is the Immanuel, the God with us. of Isaiah 7.14, Isaiah 9.6, He is the Son that was given, He is the Child that was born, and He is called El Gibor, the Mighty God. He is not saying to Him, Oh, I am not divine, I am not God. What He is really trying to draw Him If you can see me, the very fact that he kneeled to him and he felt it, he understood that he is more than just another man. But then he said to him, you know, he asked him, you know the commandments. God gave the law, the Decalogue, in Exodus chapter 20, Deuteronomy chapter 5. He says, you know the commandment, do not commit adultery, verse 19. Do not kill or do not murder, do not steal, do not bear false witness, defraud not and honor thy father and thy mother. You notice all these commandments is the second half of the ten commandments. There are six commandments out of the ten. Do not commit adultery, do not kill, do not steal, do not bear false witness, defraud not, or you shall not covet and then honor thy father and thy mother. It is in relationship between men to men. Don't harm others, honor your parents, don't steal, don't bear false witness, don't commit adultery, do not defraud. Everything that has to do between men and another fellow man. He says, did you hear the commandment? What does the Bible say? What does the law say? The law that God gave us says. Well, and you notice what this man, he answered him and he said in verse 20, Master, all these have I observed from my youth. He was saying that externally, he has done all these things. He didn't commit adultery, he didn't steal from anyone, he honored his parents, he didn't bear false witness, He didn't murder anybody. He was in a sense outwardly a pretty decent man. And you would say, remember the apostle Paul said, Shaul Paul, he said that I have been concerning the law, I was blameless, Shaul Paul said. and then later on he understood that even though he externally thinks I've done pretty decently things in my life but I have an internal problem the apostle Paul understood and the internal problem that he had that he was coveting and he said except the law said thou shall not covet Romans teaches us chapter 7 I would know that there is sin in me And this man apparently was basing his relationship with God upon the external things that he does. A pretty moral, pretty decent man. And you can commend him for that because he did externally, he was very, very upright, you might say. He was a moral man, he didn't commit adultery, he didn't steal, he didn't lie. He honored his parents. He was reverent to his parents. You might say a pretty moral man. But he didn't know his heart as before God. That is the problem, beloved brothers and sisters, that people have in general. We all have this problem by nature. We all have to realize that even though we have treated others pretty decent, we have behaved in a right way, but there is an embedded problem that we have. That David of old said, in sin did my mother conceive me. That Isaiah says, woe is me, for I am a man of unclean lips. And Peter said, depart from me, for I am a sinful man. And Job said, I abhor myself. That's the problem that he needed to learn. And so Yeshua, you notice how amazing. After Yeshua said to him, did you hear what the commandment said? He said, all these, notice, all these have I observed. I did it. And then Yeshua looked at him. And he said, he loved him. And he said, okay. I'm confident you may have done all these things externally, but let me tell you, I want you to do one more thing. And then notice in verse 21, he says, one thing you lack, he says, go your way, sell whatever you have, give it to the poor and you shall have treasure in heaven and come back, take up the cross and follow me. And then we read, he was very sad. of that saying, he went away grieved for he had great possession In other words, we learn that he had an internal problem, by the way, that we all have Thou shalt not covet He had great riches, he was a well-to-do man and by the way it had been said that he must have been the only man that left Yeshua sad and grieved anyone who came to the Lord and accepted him left him joyful here's a man that left the Lord he was sad and he left the Lord he was grieved and he was sad because he had great possession And by the way, the last commandment in Exodus chapter 20 verse 17, Thou shalt not covet. Covetousness comes from within. This is an internal problem, even though no one sees that. Yet, we have this internal problem of coveting. Desiring the things that are not ours. Wanting something that someone else has. Wanting more than what I have. Dissatisfied with the things that the Lord has allowed me to experience in my life. Be content with such things as you have. For He had said, I will never leave you nor forsake you. But we know our hearts. And even though nobody sees it. And externally we have done everything that seems to be right. but we have this internal problem. And that is what condemn us and show us that before God we are guilty. And so Yeshua now, and just please bear with me, Yeshua now, after he left, Yeshua looked around, notice verses 23. All the way to this verse 31, after He left, look what Yeshua is saying. And for this, you can just imagine, here is the disciples here, and Yeshua is the one that is instructing the disciples. In verse 23, He looked about and He said unto His disciples. He's now talking to His very own disciples who did follow Him. He says how hardly, Shall they that have riches enter into the kingdom of God? And the disciples were astonished at His words. Then Yeshua answered again, and He said unto them, Children, how hard it is for them that listen, for them that trust in riches. then the trust enriches to enter into the kingdom of God and he give them a very interesting remark he said it is easier for a camel to go through an eye of a needle than for a rich man to enter into the kingdom of God Now, over the generation, people came up with the idea that what the Lord really meant, it's not necessarily a little needle that a lady, you ladies are sewing and knitting, but that He meant something else, that there were gates in Jerusalem, and one of the gates is called the gate of the eye of the needle. Now, I don't think it is correct, because I've been many times, this is my city, there is not one gate that is called the eye of the needle, but in any rate, if this is true, in order for a camel to enter into the eye of a needle to this small door, he has to unload all what a camel has in order to be able even to crawl in and enter into that door that, assumingly, speaking about the eye of the needle. But beloved brothers and sisters, personally my understanding is really not that the Lord was calling any gate the eye of a needle. He simply wanted to illustrate it with the picture. A camel will never be able to enter into an eye of a needle that you ladies are using to knit or to sew. It is impossible. and therefore if one trusts in wealth or trusts in his or her works he or she will never be able to enter into the kingdom of God because it is not on the basis of works that we enter into a relationship with God we enter into a relationship with God on the basis of one work and that's the work that Yeshua, Jesus, our Messiah and our Lord have accomplished when he died for us on the shameful cross on the tree. And I'm just going to conclude with a verse or two in the book of Ephesians chapter 2, the apostle said to the brothers and sisters in Ephesus, he says, And it is through faith, and it is not of yourself, it is a gift of God. And then he adds, beloved brothers and sisters, in verse 9 of Ephesians 2, Not of works, lest any man should boast. Not of works, lest any man should boast. And so we conclude with this that the Lord Yeshua said to everyone there how hard it is for those who trust in riches. Not those who are rich. There's no problem to be a rich individual. The problem is not riches, the problem is trusting in riches for salvation. You know, there are many rich men and rich women that God have used to bless the Gospel, the work of the Lord. Abraham was a rich man, Isaac was a rich man, Jacob was a rich man. The issue is not their wealth, the issue is trusting in this wealth. and saying, I'm rich, I'm able to buy my way into the presence of God. Thank God for those who are well-to-do and God use them to be a blessing in the work of the Lord worldwide. And so, it says here at the end of these verses, in verse 28, Peter began and he said unto him, Lo, we have left all, and we have followed after thee. And Yeshua answered and said, Verily I say unto you, there is no man that has left house, or brethren, or sisters, or fathers, or mothers, and wives, and children for My sake and the Gospel's sake. But He shall receive hundredfold, now in this time, houses, and brethren, and sisters, and mothers, and children, and lands, and even with persecution, and in the world to come, He will receive eternal life. Many are first. shall be last and many that are last shall be first. Well, the third lesson is that we cannot trust ourselves in order to enter into a relationship with God. We must trust our Lord Yeshua, the Messiah, not our riches, not our doing, nor our accomplishment, but simply to recognize God, be merciful, to me, a sinner, accept Yeshua, the Messiah, embrace Him as our Lord and Savior, and we will have eternal life. As it is said, for God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth on Him shall not perish, but have everlasting life. Praise the Lord for the work that Yeshua had accomplished for us. Can we say Amen to that? so You have been listening to the Holy Scriptures and Israel with Gideon Levitam. Gideon teaches God's Word from a Hebrew messianic perspective. For more information about this ministry, write to Holy Scriptures and Israel, Box 1411, Niagara-on-the-Lake, Ontario, L0S 1J0, or visit our website at holyscripturesandisrael.com. You are also invited to Gideon's weekly Bible teaching on Fridays at 11 a.m. and 7 p.m. and Saturdays at 1 p.m. at Willowdale Christian Assembly Hall, 28 Martin Ross Avenue in Toronto. Holy Scriptures and Israel is made possible by your prayers and financial support. If you would like to support the program, visit holyscripturesandisrael.com. God bless you. Shalom, shalom. StSq2 2.60