Wednesday, October 12, 2011

The Preservered of Jacob and the Gentile Believers

Since the books of the new testament are also Jewish in origin, most books are letters addressed to Greek and Jewish congregations of believers, it’s not at all unusual that Jewish believers would accept them as inspired. The two groups as delineated by both what are called the old and new testaments, cannot be separated. Isaiah 49:6:


“It is too light a thing that you should be my servant to raise up the tribes of Jacob and to bring back the preserved of Israel; I will make you as a light for the nations, that my salvation may reach to the end of the earth.” The word salvation here is the Hebrew word yeshua ישועתי



Jesus (Yeshua) was named Salvation. The nickname in English from the Greek is Jesus, for the Arabs it was Issa. But when Jesus walked on earth no one said “Jesus” or “Issa”, those all came later.  It was Yeshua and to the Hebrew ear it was Salvation. We have to answer why was he named Jesus Christ, that is, ‘Salvation, the Anointed One?’

If you have ever watched a movie about Jesus that is in English, he is always called Jesus:  From Hebrew, to Greek, to English. There the entire meaning of the name is lost.  Pretending you were back in the days when Jesus walked in the world and the language was English rather than Hebrew and what would you hear?  "Look here comes Jesus Christ!"?  How about, "Look, here comes Yeshua the Messiah!"? No, you would hear, "Look here comes Salvation, the Anointed One!"

Because we have been separated from the Jewishness of the texts, we have been separated from knowing all the fullness that these text have for us. So whether you say Jesus, Yeshua or Salvation, it is the same name and the same Son of God. Those that believe in him are of the same fold.





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