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Hebrews 9:13-14 For if the blood of goats and bulls, and the sprinkling of defiled persons with the ashes of a heifer, sanctify for the purification of the flesh, how much more will the blood of Messiah, who through the eternal Spirit offered himself without blemish to God, purify our conscience from dead works to serve the living God. Unlike all the other offerings, which are performed by the altar of the Temple, the offering of the red heifer is to be done outside the Temple. This alludes to Yeshua who was also 'offered' outside the Temple. In the second half of the first century C.E., the Sadducee leadership executed James the Righteous, the brother of the Master and leader of the Israeli community of believers. This event initiated a severe persecution of the Israeli believers in the Rabbi from Nazareth. As the Master had prophesied, the disciples became outlawed in the Synagogues and in the Temple where they had until then worshipped side by side with other Jews (Luke 21:12; John 16:2). They also faced official excommunication from the rest of the Jewish community. At that time the writer of the Letter to the Hebrews' community in disarray desperately tries to encourage Yeshua's disciples. As they lost their rights to attendance in the Temple below along with representation by its earthly High Priest, the author encourages the Nazarenes to look to the Temple and High Priesthood which are above. He contrasts the offerings below, which serve to purify the flesh for attendance at the earthly Temple, with the offering of Yeshua whose blood could clean their conscience for attendance at the heavenly Temple: the throne of the Almighty, all through representation by a heavenly High Priesthood (Hebrews 9:13-14; 4:16). In this light, their loss seemed like a gain! Today Jewish Messianic believers still face excommunication from Jewish orthodoxy at large. Some very small but very vocal orthodox minority even actively works to deny present-day Jewish believers their emigration rights to the Land or to its social benefits. It is important to mention here that it is from such a circle that Paul, the apostle to the Gentiles came from. Abba does seem to have a sense of humour! In the same manner as the first century believers did, we the Jewish believers of today must also allow our eyes to, for a moment, forego the temporal realities below and embrace the eternal realities above. We must also, as the Master taught us, respond to evil with good (Isaiah 53:7; Romans 12:21). Because we are sure of our rights, commission, and destiny, we know that we can, and should 'stand' firm for who we are, even while turning the other cheek (Matthew 5:39; Ephesians 6:13-14). We absolutely must refuse to ourselves the indulging temptation to answer evil with anger and hatred. Even so, as the red heifer offered outside the Temple, let us go to him (Yeshua) outside the camp and bear the reproach he endured (Hebrews 13:13). As offered first-borns of the congregation of the First-Born (Revelations 7:4; 14:4; Hebrews 12:23), let us follow Him and be offered as He was, excommunicated, outside the temple, and allow the Father to work through us His plan of universal redemption to the Jew first, then to the Gentiles (Romans 1:16). Patrick Gabriel Lumbroso www.thelumbrosos.com
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