The Life of the Messiah

The Life of the Messiah

in His Jewish Context

Volume 2

Based upon

Dr.Arnold Fruchtenbaum’s

teaching of

The Life of Messiah from a Jewish Perspective

available as a DVD series from

Eric Vear

2017-03

Unless otherwise noted

Scripture is 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.

This work began in 2010, and is based on Dr. Arnold Fructhenbaum’s DVD series The Life of the Messiah from a Jewish Perspective. And Dr.Fruchtenbaum is the primary source for the understanding of the Jewish context of the gospels found herein. The outline and much of the content are taken from His teaching. These are used with his permission.

In 2016 and 2017 Ariel Ministries publishedthe first two volumes of Dr. Arnold Fructhenbaum’sYeshua: The Life of Messiah from a Messianic Jewish Perspective. Two more volumes are scheduled to be published, along with a single volume abridged version.Ariel’s Harmony of the Gospels is a companion to these volumes and is also available on their website

As my understanding of what he teaches has grown, and my understanding of the gospels themselves has grown, I have edited the text to reflect thatnew understanding. I have also changed the presentation of the material to suit the needs of my students and my teaching style.

This is still a work in progress as you will be able to observe when you read it. So I trust you will download a more up to date copy from time to time. You can find it at

I also have a harmony of the gospels that matches these notes. You can find it at

You can contact me at

My hope and prayer is that you will find it useful, both in your own understanding of the Life of the Messiah, and in your teaching of it to others.

Last updated 2017-02-08

May God,

Who inspired the gospel writers,

give you understanding of what they wrote.

Contents

IVThe Training of the Twelve by the King, § 72-95

A.The Feeding of the 5,000, § 72, Mark 6:30–44; Matthew 14:13–21; Luke 9:10–17; John 6:1–13

B.Messiah’s Rejection of the Galileans Offer to make Him King, § 73, Mark 6:45–46; Matthew 14:22–23; John 6:14–15

C.The Training through the Storm, § 74, Mark 6:47–52; Matthew 14:24–33; John 6:16–21

D.The Reception in Gennesaret, § 75, Mark 6:53–56; Matthew 14:34–36;

E.Instruction Concerning the Bread of Life, § 76, John 6:22–71

F.Instruction Concerning Defilement, § 77, Mark 7:1–23; Matthew 15:1–20; John 7:1

G.The Reception in Tyre and Sidon, § 78, Mark 7:24–30; Matthew 15:21–28

H.The Reception in Decapolis, § 79, Mark 7:31–8:9; Matthew 15:29–38

I.The Rejection in Magadan, § 80, Mark 8:10–12; Matthew 15:39–16:4

J.The Warning against Rejection, § 81, Mark 8:13–26; Matthew 16:5–12

K.The Confession of Peter, § 82, Mark 8:27–30; Matthew 16:13–20; Luke 9:18–21

L.Instruction Concerning the Death of the King, § 83, Mark 8:31–37; Matthew 16:21–26; Luke 9:22–25

M.Instruction Concerning the Kingdom, § 84-85

N.Instruction Concerning Elijah, § 86, Mark 9:9–13; Matthew 17:9–13; Luke 9:36b

O.Instruction Concerning Faith, § 87, Mark 9:14–29; Matthew 17:14–20; Luke 9:37–43a

P.Instruction Concerning the Death of the King , § 88, Mark 9:30–32; Matthew 17:22–23; Luke 9:43b–45

Q.Instruction Concerning Sonship, § 89, Matthew 17:24–27

R.Instruction Concerning Humility, § 90, Mark 9:33–37; Matthew 18:1–5; Luke 9:46–48

S.Instruction Concerning Exclusiveness and Pride, § 91, Mark 9:38–50; Matthew 18:6–14; Luke 9:49–50

T.Instruction Concerning Forgiveness, § 92, Matthew 18:15–35

U.The Challenge by the Brothers, § 93, John 7:2–9

V.The Journey to Jerusalem, § 94, Luke 9:51–56; John 7:10

W.Instruction Concerning Discipleship, § 95, Matthew 8:19–22; Luke 9:57–62

VTHE OPPOSITION TO THE KING, § 96-112

A.The Conflict at the Feast of Tabernacles, § 96, John 7:11–52

B.The Conflict Over the Law, § 97, John 7:53–8:11

C.The Conflict Over the Light, § 98, John 8:21–59

D.The Conflict Over His Person, § 99, John 8:21–59

E.The Conflict Over the Healing of the Man Born Blind, § 100, John 9:1–41

F.The Conflict Over the Shepherd, § 101, John 10:1–21

G.The Witness of the Seventy, § 102, Luke 10:1–24

H.The Conflict Over the Question of Eternal Life, § 103, Luke 10:25-37

I.The Example of Fellowship, § 104, Luke 10:38–42

J.Instruction in Prayer, § 105, Luke 11:1–13

K.Conflict Over Healing of the Dumb Man, § 106, Luke 11:14–36

L.The Conflict Over Pharisaic Ritualism, § 107, Luke 11:37–54

M.Instruction of the Disciples, § 108-111

N.The Conflict at the Feast of Dedication, § 112, John 10:22–39

VITHE PREPARATION OF THE DISCIPLES BY THE KING, § 113-130

A.The Withdrawal from Judea, § 113, John 10:40–42

B.Instruction Concerning Entrance into the Kingdom, § 114, Luke 13:22–35

C.Instruction in a Pharisee's House, § 115, Luke 14:1–24

D.Instruction Concerning Discipleship, § 116, Luke 14:25–35

E.Instruction Concerning God's Attitude toward Sinners, § 117, Luke 15:1–32

F.Instruction Concerning Wealth, § 118, Luke 16:1-31

G.Instruction Concerning Forgiveness, § 119, Luke 17:1-4

H.Instruction Concerning Service, § 120, Luke 17:5-10

I.The Resurrection of Lazarus: The First Sign of Jonah, § 121 - 123

J.Instruction in Prayer, § 124, Luke 18:1–14

K.Instruction on Divorce, § 125, Mark 10:1–12; Matthew 19:1–12

L.Instruction on Entrance into the Kingdom, § 126, Mark 10:13–16; Matthew 19:13–15; Luke 18:15–17

M.Instruction on Eternal Life, § 127, Mark 10:17-31; Matthew 19:16–20:16; Luke 18:18–30

N.Instruction Concerning His Death, § 128, Mark 10:32–45; Matthew 20:17–28; Luke 18:31–34

O.The Healing of the Blind Men, § 129, Mark 10:46–52; Matthew 20:29–34; Luke 18:35–43

P.Instruction Concerning the Kingdom Program, § 130, Luke 19:1–28

End Notes

The Life of the Messiahin His Jewish Context2017-02-081

IVThe Training of the Twelve by the King, § 72-95

In the first three divisions of His life we saw:

1. The introduction of the King or the coming of the King.

Here we found the birth narratives, His infancy, baptism, and temptation.

This is God’s official presentation of Jesus as the Messianic King.

1. The Authentication of the King.

Jesus began to present Himself to Israel as the promised Messiah and authenticated Himself with miracles, signs, and wonders. He went from city to city and synagogue to synagogue, proclaiming His messiahship and offering the messianic kingdom to Israel.

However, He was opposed the Pharisees.

1. The Controversy over the King.

The leadership of Israel officially rejected Him, because, while He kept the Mosaic Law perfectly, He rejected Pharisaic Judaism.

In response to His rejection, He changed the nature of His ministry radically.

Now we come to the fourth major division of the Messiah’s life where the focus is on the training of the twelve by the King. Now He is training them for their future mission, which we find recorded in the book of Acts. This training will continue until we reach section 94 where He journeys to Jerusalem.

A.The Feeding of the 5,000, § 72, Mark 6:30–44; Matthew 14:13–21; Luke 9:10–17; John 6:1–13

He begins His training of the twelve in section 72 with the feeding of the 5,000.

Occasion

What was the occasion for this miracle?

Read Luke 9:10 and Mark 6:30-32.

What were the apostles doing here?

Jesus had sent them out in pairs to proclaim the message of the mystery kingdom. Now they have returned to Jesus, and they give an account of all that they had done and taught.

Why does Jesus take the disciples away to a secluded place?

Mark adds in verse 31 that there were so many people coming and going that they did not even have time to eat. Therefore, Jesus, taking the apostles with Him, went away in a boat to a secluded place at a city called Bethsaida on the other side of the Sea of Galilee.

The Crowd

Read what happens next in Mark 6:33 and John 6:2.

How did the crowd respond to their departure?

They actually ran around the sea to arrive at Bethsaida ahead of Jesus in the boat!

The fact that it is a large crowd here indicates that the interest of the people is still quite high in spite of their leaders’ rejection of Jesus.

Why were they following Him?

John gives us some insight into their motivation in verse 2. They are following Him primarily because of the signs which He was performing on those who were sick. We will learn more about their motives in section 76, the discourse on the Bread of Life, where we will see that they are following Him for the wrong motive.

Jesus response to the crowd

Read Mark verse 34 and Luke verse 11b.

Mark says that He felt compassion for them. And he gives the reason: because they were like sheep without a shepherd.

How are they like sheep without a shepherd?

They have not yet decided whether to follow their old shepherds, or to follow this new one. We saw this in section 70 when Jesus sent the apostles out in pairs. Because the people are not yet following their leaders in rejecting Jesus, and they are in a state of indecision about His Messiahship, therefore they are like sheep without a shepherd.

How does Jesus respond to them?

Luke says, He began speaking to them about the kingdom of God and curing those who had need of healing.

Feeding

Jesus also recognises their personal need for food.

Matthew, Mark, and Luke all tell us that the events that follow occurred as the day was drawing to a close and the sun began to set.

They are responsible to feed the people

Read Mark verses 35-37

Now the disciples ask Jesus to send the crowds away to the surrounding villages to buy food for themselves. And Jesus responds by saying to them: They do not need to go away; you give them something to eat.

By saying thisHe makes them responsible to feed the people. You give them something to eat.

Private

Now read John verses 3-6.

There are several important details here, details which are often overlooked.

Where does Jesus go, and who does He take with Him?

Jesus goes up on the mountain and sits down with His disciples. Consequently, although there is a crowd of at least five thousand, the conversations with His disciples are quite private, and the lesson He is teaching is specifically for them.

Passover

Secondly, notice that John says: Now the Passover, the feast of the Jews, was near.

Why does John mention this detail?

This is the third Passover to occur during Jesus’ ministry. And since His ministry began at the time of Passover, this event marks the beginning of the third year of His ministry.

However, this is not John’s primary reason for mentioning how near the Passover is.

Therefore …

This statement is followed by the word therefore.

What does that indicate?

John tells us about the Passover because it explains the reason for what Jesus is about to say and do. It means that the miraculous feeding of the crowd that follows is going to happen because the Passover is near.

Now why would that be?

This crowd has been following Him all day without food and so they would be quite hungry. Not only that, it is a three day journey up to Jerusalem where they are about to go for the Passover. Therefore, they would need a good meal before they begin that journey.

Philip’s test

Why did Jesus question Philip: where are we to buy bread, so that these may eat?

John says that Jesus Himself knew what He was intending to do. He knew He was going to perform a miracle to provide food for the crowd. Therefore, the purpose of the question was notto find out where there was bread, but to test Philip, as John also records.

In fact, He is pointing out to the disciples that there just isn’t enough bread to be bought!

Therefore, by asking this question, He is drawing their attention to the lack of bread and to the lesson He is about to teach them.

Purpose

His purpose is not limited to satisfying the need of the crowd for food.

His purpose is to teach them the nature of the ministry He will be entrusting to them, and to instruct them concerning divine provision for that ministry.

They are incapable of doing it themselves

Now why did Jesus direct this question specifically to Philip?

This is his home territory, and so Philip knows that there just is not enough food available to purchase for the crowd.

Now read verses 7-9 in John’s account to see Phillip’s response.

He says it would cost more than 200 denarii and there still would not be enough bread! One denarius was one day’s wages, so to feed all these people would cost more than 200 day’s wages.

Then Andrew pipes up and says that they have five barley loaves and two fish, but what are these for so many people.

In this way, Jesus has made them responsible to feed the crowd, but all they have is two fish and five loaves. They are incapable of doing it themselves.

The miracle

Now Jesus performs the miracle to feed the crowd.

Read Luke’s account here, verses 14b – 17, noticing how He does it.

How did He feed the crowd?

Jesus gave thanks, and broke the bread and fish, and then He kept giving it to the disciples who distributed it to the people until they were all satisfied. He provided the food and gave it to the disciples, who in turn gave it to the people.

Therefore,He gives the apostles the responsibility to distribute what He provides.

Twelve baskets full

All four gospels record that the people were filled or satisfied and when they gathered the leftovers it turns out that there were twelve baskets full of the pieces of bread and fish. It began with just five loaves and two fish and there ends up being twelve basketsful left over.

Matthew 14:21 points out there were about five thousand men who ate, besides women and children. So the crowd was much bigger than 5,000.

Jesus’ purpose

We see here that Jesus had two purposes in performing this miracle. And when we get to section 76, where He gives a discourse on the Bread of Life, we will see that there was also a third purpose.

Firstly, Mark tells us that He had compassion on the people, so one of His purposes was to feed the people.

Secondly, He used the miracle as an object lesson for the disciples, drawing their attention to three things they were to learn from it.

1. Firstly, they are responsible to feed the people (Luke 9:13).
2. Secondly, they are incapable of doing it themselves (John 6:5-9).
3. Thirdly, they are responsible to distribute what He provides (Matthew 14:19).

B.Messiah’s Rejection of the Galileans Offer to make Him King, § 73, Mark 6:45–46; Matthew 14:22–23; John 6:14–15

Disciples sent away

Read Matthew verses 22-23.

Matthew and Mark both begin immediately. As soon as the baskets full of left over pieces of bread and fish had been collected, He sent the disciples away in a boat to cross over to the other side of the sea.

Mark adds that they were to go to Bethsaida. But, you ask, were they not already at Bethsaida? Yes! In fact, there are two cities named Bethsaida. The one where the five thousand were fed is in Gentile territory on the north eastern side of the Sea of Galilee. The one they are now going to is on the north western side of the sea in Jewish territory, near Capernaum. As we will see in the next section, John gives their destination as Capernaum.

King!

Read John’s account, verses 14-15.

Why does John begin by saying, therefore? What is he pointing back to as the reason for what follows?

The people have just eaten as much bread and fish as they wanted, until they were filled. Jesus miraculously provided all this food for them.

How do they respond to this?

They now want to make Jesus the king of Galilee. Moreover, as John points out in verse 15, they intended to make Him king by force.

However, He rejects the offer and departs for the mountains to pray.

Reasons

Why did He reject their attempt to make Him king?

He rejected the offer for three reasons.

1. Time

The unpardonable sin has already been committed. The nation has passed the point of no return and the unpardonable sin remains unpardonable.

He has already withdrawn His offer to establish the Messianic Kingdom from this generation.

1. Place

The Messiah was to be enthroned in Jerusalem, not in the Galilee. Psalm 2:6, for example says: “But as for Me, I have installed My King upon Zion, My holy mountain.”

1. Motive

Their motivation is wrong as we will see more fully in section 76, which records Jesus’ discourse on the Bread of Life.

So it was the wrong time, it was the wrong place, and it was the wrong motive.

C.The Training through the Storm, § 74, Mark 6:47–52; Matthew 14:24–33; John 6:16–21

In this section we have the fifth of John's seven signs. And as we will see, this is a lesson for the disciples about dependence on the Messiah.

The situation

Read John 6:16-18; then Mark verse 47 and Matthew verse 24; and notice the circumstances in which the disciples find themselves.

1. We see in John 6:16-17 that they started to cross the sea when evening came, that is at about sunset.
2. John notes that it was already dark. And Matthew says they were a long distance from land.
3. Then a storm suddenly blew up, as is typical of this sea. And the boat is being battered by the waves.

Now read Mark verse 48.

1. Mark and Matthew both record that it was now the fourth watch of the night. That would be between 3 and 6 in the morning. They set out in the first watch. And a watch is 3 hours long. So, if they are now in the fourth watch they have been on the sea for about 9 hours.
2. Now Mark says that Jesus saw them straining at the oars, for the wind was against them.

Actually the Greek is far more graphic than our translation indicates. The word for straining is basanizo, which is the verb form of the noun, basanos, which means an examination by torture or torment. So the verb means to torture, afflict with pain, vex, or harass. It is also used metaphorically as it is here, and indeed, as Matthew uses it when we read that the boat was being battered by the waves. Literally, that would be the boat was being tortured by the waves.