Resurrection of Messiah

Inside the empty garden tomb of Messiah Yeshua in Jerusalem.

by David Cook

Long ago, God promised the Good News of redemption via Messiah’s atoning death; as a ransom for all our sins.  In the holy Scriptures, we read of God’s righteous Servant Yeshua and His victory over death by His resurrection from the dead; which was foretold by the Jewish prophets in the Tanakh.  Sha’ul of Tarsus (known to many as the apostle Paul) also wrote about Messiah Yeshua, who is God’s beloved Son and a descendant of King David;

2 God promised this Good News long ago

through his prophets in the holy Scriptures.

3 The Good News is about his Son.

In his earthly life he was born into King David’s family line,

4 and he was shown to be the Son of God

 when he was raised from the dead by the power of the Holy Spirit.

Romans 1:2-4 NLT

In the Tanakh we read prophecies about the suffering, death and resurrection of Yeshua our Lord; the promised Messiah.  In Daniel chapter 9 we read about important events that were predetermined in heaven that would transpire in the holy city of Jerusalem;

Seventy sevens are determined for your people and for your holy city, to finish transgression, to make an end of sins, to atone for iniquity, to bring in everlasting righteousness, to seal up the vision and prophecy, and to anoint the most Holy.  25 Therefore know and understand that from the issuing of the decree to restore and rebuild Yerushalayim until Messiah the Prince there will be seven sevens and sixty-two sevens.  The streets and the wall will be rebuilt, despite treacherous times.  26 After sixty-two sevens the Messiah will be put to death and have nothing.  Daniel 9:24-26 HSV

The angel Gabriel brought an important communique from heaven to Daniel, foretelling that sin would be atoned for in the future and that everlasting righteousness is available for those who have faith like Abraham.  Gabriel prophesied that the Messiah would make an end of sins and finish transgression, and be put to death.  Yeshua our Savior redeemed us from the debt of our sin with His own blood.  The prophet Isaiah wrote extensively of the suffering and crucifixion of God’s Righteous Servant; Yeshua the promised Messiah.

Surely our griefs He Himself bore,
And our sorrows He carried;
Yet we ourselves esteemed Him stricken,
Smitten of God, and afflicted.
5 But He was pierced through for our transgressions,
He was crushed for our iniquities;
The chastening for our well-being fell upon Him,
And by His scourging we are healed.
6 All of us like sheep have gone astray,
Each of us has turned to his own way;
But the Lord has caused the iniquity of us all
To fall on Him.

Isaiah 53:4-6 NASB

In the book of Zechariah we read that Yehovah of hosts foretells that in the last days Jerusalem will be attacked by many nations.  The Yehoavh of hosts is the Lord of heaven’s army, He will “set about to destroy all the nations that come against Jerusalem”;

9 And in that day I will set about to destroy all the nations that come against Jerusalem.  10 “I will pour out on the house of David and on the inhabitants of Jerusalem, the Spirit of grace and of supplication, so that they will look on Me whom they have pierced; and they will mourn for Him, as one mourns for an only son, and they will weep bitterly over Him like the bitter weeping over a firstborn.  Zechariah 12:9-10 NASB

The Yehovah of hosts is Yeshua, the resurrected Messiah; who will return and fight the wars of God for His people.  The Lord of hosts prophesied that the house of David and the inhabitants of Jerusalem, “will look on Me whom they have pierced”.  They will mourn for the Lord of hosts and will weep bitterly over Him like someone who mourns for an only son.

Nicole C. Mullins – My Redeemer Lives

One night while Messiah Yeshua was fulfilling His ministry on earth, a Pharisee named Nicodemus who was a ruler of the Jewish people; sought answers on how to enter the kingdom of God.  Yeshua explained to him;

16 “For God so loved the world, that He gave His only begotten Son, that whoever believes in Him shall not perish, but have eternal life. 17 For God did not send the Son into the world to judge the world, but that the world might be saved through Him. 18 He who believes in Him is not judged; he who does not believe has been judged already, because he has not believed in the name of the only begotten Son of God.  John 3:16-18 NASB

When Messiah Yeshua returns to rescue the remnant of Israel, the house of David and the people living in Jerusalem; will see that Yeshua is their Messiah and will mourn and weep bitterly.  Isaiah explains that God’s righteous Servant, Yeshua the Messiah; was suffering on our behalf, to atone for our sins.  Each and every one of us has turned away from God to go his own way.  Like straying sheep that are lost and are away from the flock and are in need to be rescued by the Good Shepherd.

He was oppressed and He was afflicted,
Yet He did not open His mouth;
Like a lamb that is led to slaughter,
And like a sheep that is silent before its shearers,
So He did not open His mouth.
8 By oppression and judgment He was taken away;
And as for His generation, who considered
That He was cut off out of the land of the living
For the transgression of my people, to whom the stroke was due?
9 His grave was assigned with wicked men,
Yet He was with a rich man in His death,
Because He had done no violence,
Nor was there any deceit in His mouth.
10 But the Lord was pleased
To crush Him, putting Him to grief;
If He would render Himself as a guilt offering,
He will see His offspring,
He will prolong His days,
And the good pleasure of the Lord will prosper in His hand.
11 As a result of the anguish of His soul,
He will see it and be satisfied;
By His knowledge the Righteous One,
My Servant, will justify the many,
As He will bear their iniquities.
12 Therefore, I will allot Him a portion with the great,
And He will divide the booty with the strong;
Because He poured out Himself to death,
And was numbered with the transgressors;
Yet He Himself bore the sin of many,
And interceded for the transgressors.

Isaiah 53:7-13 NASB

The prophet Isaiah wrote that not only will God’s righteous Servant, suffer and die for our sins; but He will live again!  Messiah Yeshua will see His offspring, namely those who believe in Him will be born again to eternal life! [1]  These are the children of God, as many as believe in and received Yeshua the Messiah as Lord.  The apostle John wrote concerning Yeshua’s offspring;

10 He came into the very world he created,

but the world didn’t recognize him. 

11 He came to his own people, and even they rejected him.

12 But to all who believed him and accepted him,

he gave the right to become children of God.

13 They are reborn—not with a physical birth

resulting from human passion or plan,

but a birth that comes from God.

John 1:10-13 NLT

In Isaiah 53:10 we read that Messiah’s Father will “prolong his days” throughout all eternity.  God’s righteous Servant, Yeshua our Savior makes many of the unrighteous; righteous by faith.  By God’s grace, the just Messiah who is God’s righteous Servant foretold of in Isaiah 53 is the One who justifies the unjust.

Yeshua the Messiah Himself prophesied that He would suffer, be crucified and rise again on the third day;

“The Son of Man must suffer many things and be rejected

by the elders and chief priests and scribes, and be killed,

and on the third day be raised.”

Luke 9:22 ESV

The empty garden tomb of Yeshua the Messiah located in Jerusalem, outside the city walls and close to the Damascus Gate.

“the Son of Man must be delivered into the hands of sinful men

and be crucified and on the third day rise.” 

Luke 24:7 ESV

In Psalm 16, King David wrote that Yehovah God would not allow His “Holy One” to undergo decay;

Nor will You allow Your Holy One to undergo decay.

Psalms 16:10 NASB

God’s “Righteous Servant” written of by Isaiah in chapter 53 verse 11 is the “Holy One” written of by King David in Psalms 16:10.  Yehovah’s “Holy One” is Messiah Yeshua, who is without sin.  Yeshua did not undergo decay since He rose from the dead on the third day.  Messiah Yeshua is my Adonai. [2]  As Job declared long ago, I know my Redeemer lives!

“As for me, I know that my Redeemer lives,
 And at the last He will take His stand on the earth.
26 “Even after my skin is destroyed,
Yet from my flesh I shall see God;
27 Whom I myself shall behold,
And whom my eyes will see and not another.

Job 19:25-27 NASB

Hillsong – Stronger

The apostle Peter gave this sermon in Jerusalem at the portico of Solomon, which was at the eastern edge of the outer court of the Jewish temple; [3]

But the things which God announced beforehand by the mouth of all the prophets, that His Christ would suffer, He has thus fulfilled. 19 Therefore repent and return, so that your sins may be wiped away, in order that times of refreshing may come from the presence of the Lord; 20 and that He may send Jesus, the Christ appointed for you, 21 whom heaven must receive until the period of restoration of all things about which God spoke by the mouth of His holy prophets from ancient time. 22 Moses said, ‘The Lord God will raise up for you a prophet like me from your brethren; to Him you shall give heed to everything He says to you. 23 And it will be that every soul that does not heed that prophet shall be utterly destroyed from among the people.’ 24 And likewise, all the prophets who have spoken, from Samuel and his successors onward, also announced these days. 25 It is you who are the sons of the prophets and of the covenant which God made with your fathers, saying to Abraham, ‘And in your seed all the families of the earth shall be blessed.’ 26 For you first, God raised up His Servant and sent Him to bless you by turning every one of you from your wicked ways.”            Acts 3:18-26 NASB

Yeshua gave this promise of the hope of resurrection from the dead and eternal life for those who would come to Him and believe;

No one can come to Me unless the Father who sent Me draws him; and I will raise him up on the last day. 45 It is written in the prophets, ‘And they shall all be taught of God.’ Everyone who has heard and learned from the Father, comes to Me. 46 Not that anyone has seen the Father, except the One who is from God; He has seen the Father. 47 Truly, truly, I say to you, he who believes has eternal life.  John 6:44-47 NASB

[1] Yeshua explained to Nicodemus, a Jewish Pharisee how to be “born again” in John 3:1-18.

[2] Psalms 110:1&5, Messiah is King David’s Adoni mentioned in verse 1 and his Adonai in verse 5.

[3] Second Temple, Court of the Gentiles, the Portico of Solomon.  http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Second_Temple

Abram believed the Lord

By David Cook

Long ago there was a man named Terah who had a son named Abram who lived in Ur of the Chaldeans in the land of Mesopotamia.  Abram married Sarai, they wanted to have a child but she was unable to conceive and bear children.  In the book of Genesis the first book in the Bible, Moses wrote;

Then the Lord said to Abram; “Get out of your country, leave your relatives, your father’s house and come into the land that I will show you.  I will make of you a great nation, I will bless you and make your name great; and you will be a blessing.  I will bless those that bless you; and curse him that curses you.  In you, all of the families of the earth will be blessed.”   So Abram left Haran, as the Lord had instructed him to do; and Lot went with him.  Abram was seventy-five years old when he went out from Haran.  Abram took Sarai his wife, and his nephew Lot, and all their belongings they had accumulated and the servants and other people that joined them in Haran and they left and began the journey to go into the land of Canaan.  They continued their journey and entered the land of Canaan.  Then Abram passed through the land to the place of Shechem, to the plain of Moreh.  At that time the Canaanite people lived in the land.  The Lord appeared to Abram and said; “To your descendant I will give this land.”  So at that place, Abram built an altar for the Lord who appeared to him.  Then he left and went to a mountain on the east of Bethel, and set up his tent.  Bethel was on the west and Ai on the east, there Abram built an altar to the Lord and called on the name of the Lord.  Then Abram traveled on and continued toward the south.  There was a famine in the land; so Abram went down into Egypt to stay there for a while, since the famine in Canaan was severe.  Genesis 12:1-10 HSV

“Abram believed the Lord;

and the Lord counted it to him as righteousness.” 

–Moses in Genesis 15:6

 Later in Genesis chapter 15 we read;

After these events the word of the Lord came to Abram in a vision; “Do not be afraid, Abram; I am your shield, and your extremely significant and enormous, long lasting reward.”  Abram said, “Lord God, what will you give to me, since I have no children, and the manager of my house is Eliezer of Damascus?  You have not given me a child, one born in my house is my heir.”  Apprehend this, the word of the Lord came to Abram; “This one will not be your heir; but he that will come from your own body will be your heir.”  The Lord brought Abram outside and said; “Look up toward heaven and count the stars if you are able to count them; so will your descendants be.”  Abram believed the Lord; and the Lord counted it to him as righteousness. He said to him; “I am the Lord that brought you out of Ur of the Chaldeans, to give you this land to inherit it.”  Genesis 15: 1-7 HSV

What are we to conclude about Abram who later is called Abraham and is known as the “father of faith”?  Saint Paul explains; —What then shall we say that Abraham, our forefather, discovered in this matter?  If, in fact, Abraham was justified by works, he had something to boast about—but not before God.  What does the Scripture say? “Abraham believed God, and it was credited to him as righteousness.”  Now when a man works, his wages are not credited to him as a gift, but as an obligation.  However, to the man who does not work but trusts God who justifies the wicked, his faith is credited as righteousness.  Romans 4:1-5 NIV

So Abraham found righteousness with God because he believed God, he was justified by faith, not because he kept the law because the law had not been given yet.

Scripture taken from the ╬ HSV – Holy Scripture Version™, Copyright © 2009 by David M. Cook, all rights reserved.  Used by permission.

Scripture taken from the HOLY BIBLE, NEW INTERNATIONAL VERSION®. Copyright © 1973, 1978, 1984 Biblica. Used by permission of Zondervan. All rights reserved.  The “NIV” and “New International Version” trademarks are registered in the United States Patent and Trademark Office by Biblica. Use of either trademark requires the permission of Biblica.

Children of Abraham

We discover in the book of Hebrews that– without faith it is impossible to please God, because anyone who comes to him must believe that he exists and that he rewards those who earnestly seek him. [1] Hebrews 11:6 NIV

By faith Abraham, when called to go to a place he would later receive as his inheritance, obeyed and went, even though he did not know where he was going. By faith he made his home in the promised land like a stranger in a foreign country; he lived in tents, as did Isaac and Jacob, who were heirs with him of the same promise. For he was looking forward to the city with foundations, whose architect and builder is God. By faith Abraham, even though he was past age—and Sarah herself was barren—was enabled to become a father because he considered him faithful who had made the promise. And so from this one man, and he as good as dead, came descendants as numerous as the stars in the sky and as countless as the sand on the seashore. [2] Hebrews 11:8-12 NIV

God gave His law-the Torah through Moses; but God’s grace and truth came through Yeshua the promised Messiah!

“For of His fullness we have all received, and grace upon grace.

For the Law was given through Moses;

grace and truth were realized through Jesus Christ.”

[3] John 1:16-17 NASB

Saint Paul reasons with believers in the Lord Jesus the promised Messiah from the scriptures; –So then, does He who provides you with the Spirit and works miracles among you, do it by the works of the Law, or by hearing with faith?  Even so Abraham BELIEVED GOD, AND IT WAS RECKONED TO HIM AS RIGHTEOUSNESS.  Therefore, be sure that it is those who are of faith who are sons of Abraham.  The Scripture, foreseeing that God would justify the Gentiles by faith, preached the gospel beforehand to Abraham, saying, “ALL THE NATIONS WILL BE BLESSED IN YOU.”  So then those who are of faith are blessed with Abraham, the believer.  For as many as are of the works of the Law are under a curse; for it is written, “CURSED IS EVERYONE WHO DOES NOT ABIDE BY ALL THINGS WRITTEN IN THE BOOK OF THE LAW, TO PERFORM THEM.”  Now that no one is justified by the Law before God is evident; for, “THE RIGHTEOUS MAN SHALL LIVE BY FAITH.”  However, the Law is not of faith; on the contrary, “HE WHO PRACTICES THEM SHALL LIVE BY THEM.”  Christ redeemed us from the curse of the Law, having become a curse for us–for it is written, “CURSED IS EVERYONE WHO HANGS ON A TREE”– in order that in Christ Jesus the blessing of Abraham might come to the Gentiles, so that we would receive the promise of the Spirit through faith. [4] Galations 3:5-14 NASB

All the nations have been blessed in Abraham, because from his seed, that is his descendant Yeshua the promised Messiah comes the blessing of forgiveness of sins and righteousness and eternal life for those who believe God like Abraham.

Scripture taken from the NEW AMERICAN STANDARD BIBLE®, Copyright © 1960,1962,1963,1968,1971,1972,1973,1975,1977,1995 by The Lockman Foundation. Used by permission.

Scripture taken from the HOLY BIBLE, NEW INTERNATIONAL VERSION®. Copyright © 1973, 1978, 1984 Biblica. Used by permission of Zondervan. All rights reserved.  The “NIV” and “New International Version” trademarks are registered in the United States Patent and Trademark Office by Biblica. Use of either trademark requires the permission of Biblica.