These studies cover the writings by the closest shelakhim (apostles) of Yeshua haMashiakh (Jesus the Christ). Commonly called the “New Testament,” this standard canon includes the four Gospels, the letters and the Apocalypse (Revelation).
There are parallels between the “punch lines” of the parables of the narrow door, narrow gate and 10 virgins. Some think the key to the oil in the 10 virgins parable is the Spirit, and some say it’s the Torah. Rather, it’s knowing God, which involves equal measures of both Torah and God’s Spirit.
Yeshua heals a woman with a back deformity, but the condition may have also been symbolic of the spiritually oppressed. Kingdom parables of the mustard seed and yeast in dough teach that God will build the kingdom from humble, oppressed beginnings to become greater than any superpower.
Yeshua gave an important message in the Temple on the Festival of Dedication — Chanukah — and the scribes and Pharisees asked Yeshua at that time an important question about His being the Messiah. What did He tell them, and why didn’t He directly answer their question? The lessons of Chanukah applied then and to the coming Day of the LORD.
The only winter celebration mentioned in the Gospels is the festival of Dedication, or Chanukah. Yeshua was at the Temple during that eight-day celebration and stated boldly, “I and the Father are one” (John 10:30). This caps a string of clashes between Yeshua and certain religious leaders — recorded in John 7-10 and covering a two-month period from Sukkot, or the festival of Tabernacles, to Chanukah — over whether Yeshua was the Messiah.
Many ask something like, “Why do the good die young and the evil seem to live forever?” Yeshua answered two questions about whether sin brought on two tragedies at that time by saying those weren’t punishment for sin, but all need to take notice that a big disaster for Israel — Rome’s destruction of Yerushalayim — was coming and need turn back to God.
Some believers in God’s Messiah become enraptured with Bible study and/or prophecy to understand “hidden” meaning and timelines for the Day of the Lord. In Luke 12 and Matthew 6, Yeshua continued a parable-filled teaching on how God wants one to be truly prepared for that day: preparing one’s heart and mind then doing God-ordained tasks in the real world.
God instructs His people to open their hands and share the abundance of God’s blessings with those who need help. Yeshua weaved together teachings on greed, charity and wealth.