WHY JESUS WENT TO THE CROSS
WHY JESUS WENT TO THE CROSS
By John Holmes
CHRISTIANITY . . . A UNIQUE SEPARATE ENTITY.
In the Church today, many have been taught the doctrine of the Church being a completely independent entity. Where did this come from? The Constantinian church, at its earliest existence, separated itself from its Hebrew roots. If we follow such a lead and embrace the idea of separation, we are faced with major conflict within God’s word.
Recognizing, for instance, the Church is not mentioned even once in the prophets, it becomes impossible to explain its absence while continuing to propagate the doctrine of separation or independence.
The conundrum is simple: if the Church is an independent entity with millions of adherents worshipping the Son of God well over one thousand years, what kind of God would not know about it in advance? When sharing with the prophets about all the events involving His people all the way through the Messiah’s thousand year reign, how could our all-knowing, all-seeing Father not include the Church when He shared His plan for eternity with the prophets?
In addition, the New Covenant related scriptures, mentioned in both the Old and New Testaments don’t mention the Church at all. It only mentions the House of Israel and the House of Judah . . . the Northern and Southern kingdoms. Knowing God is very specific in His Word, if one is a party to the New Covenant, it seems very difficult to twist scripture to justify another entity other than these two groups . . . even in a footnote.
Because the scripture is so specific, believers in “the Church is a separate entity” are faced with a crossroads in their faith. Either they ignore scripture – or – they engage in deeper study to find the true relationship between those included in the New Covenant and the believers calling themselves “the Church.”
DIDN’T GOD SEE THE CHURCH COMING?
DID HE HAVE BAD VISION OR DO WE?
With “the Church” not being included in the prophets and the New Covenant scriptures not including them either, our God, who knows the end from the beginning , must have made a major blunder leaving out millions of believers. Therefore, our God who created the universe and who can be so accurate on all the prophecies already been fulfilled, must have known about “the Church” from the beginning as well. All this indicates “the Church” must be in the prophets but described in such a way the “separate entity” adherents don’t see it.
Investigating the latter brings us to Paul’s writings where he tells the Ephesians, when they became believers, they became citizens of the commonwealth of Israel. What is he telling them (and us)? He’s saying they have a different lineage than their natural one. He says the same thing to the Corinthians when he tells the non-Hebrew Corinthians their fathers were present at the giving of Torah at Sinai/Horeb.
Paul doesn’t stop with the two examples above, in Romans he continues the concept with references to both adoption and grafting in.
At this point the reader might be wondering how all this could matter in a discussion of Yeshua / Jesus’ dying on the cross. Since God, in His book, gives all the details necessary for understanding the principles He wants His people to know, we need to continue as Bereans (since all New Testament doctrines must be supported and taken from in the Old). The understanding is simple. As taught in seminaries today, conflict comes either from mis-translation or mis-interpretation. Regarding these two possibilities, we have to consider the possibility the person(s) espousing false doctrine might be, as Yeshua / Jesus put it, “…of your father the devil.” Peter also addresses this saying, “they that are unlearned and unstable wrest, as they do also the other scriptures, unto their own destruction.”
Going on now, Paul’s teaching combined with the new covenant teachings provides us with the understanding of when one embraces Yeshua / Jesus as our personal Messiah, we are adopted / grafted into either the House of Israel or the House of Judah. Bereans could have pointed to the mixed multitude joining the Hebrews in the Exodus and becoming members of the various twelve tribes, as allegorical of believers joining themselves to a Jewish Messiah as Paul references it.
For those who haven’t studied it out, the twelve tribes later divided themselves into two separate groups: The House of Israel and the House of Judah.
Important for our understanding at this point, these two entities are in and out of prophecy to the very end.
The conclusion here, based upon the combined information above, is believers are referenced in the prophets as either the House of Judah or the House of Israel. To help identify which of the two our modern mixed multitude might be grafted into, we find help in history.
HOUSE OF ISRAEL . . . GONE!
When Yeshua / Jesus came in the first century, the House of Israel had been kicked out of the land; God had divorced them . This means Yeshua / Jesus was ministering in the territory of the House of Judah. This being said one has to wonder why He said, in Matthew 15:24, “I am not sent but unto the lost sheep of the house of Israel.”
More on this later, but first it should be noted, historians, beginning with Josephus, record the House of Judah believers were very numerous by the time of the destruction of the temple (70 AD). Some say the believing Jews numbered close to 50%. It was after this, the Sanhedrin under Rabbi Akiva did away with the priesthood and the teaching of Torah, in favor of the substitution of man-made rabbinic doctrine. And, by the way, these teachings were what Paul and Yeshua / Jesus criticized calling them “traditions” and saying they were contrary to Scripture . The descendants of the faction following the traditions of the House of Judah became the Orthodox of today. Believing Jews, on the other hand, were driven out of the congregations by this and moves which followed.
Back now to the House of Israel, they were taken captive by the Assyrians and moved out of The Land. This was the implementation of the divorce. And so, as described by Hosea , the House of Israel will no longer be in the family of God. He will show them no mercy either . The Father was done looking the other way at their following other gods.
DOES GOD FOLLOW HIS OWN RULES?
In the first chapter of Hosea, however, after saying all these things, God suddenly reverses himself and says the House of Israel will come back and be called the Sons of God. This raises the question, how can God, in just a few verses completely reverse Himself? Is He schizophrenic? Not in the slightest. He isn’t breaking any of His own rules either. Could this be, however, “the mystery of the Gospel?” It certainly could be. How can God, who follows His own rules, break His own rules?
RESOLVING THE CONTRADICTION
Paul, in Romans 7, gives us the answer. When he begins, he says this is only going to be understood by those who understand Torah . So, to understand what he is referencing, we need to look at what Deuteronomy says about a divorced wife . Paul is teaching from Deuteronomy where it forbids a husband to take back his divorced wife, and ties it directly to Yeshua / Jesus’ death. He points out the divorce (“law of the husband”) no longer applies to the woman once the husband dies. He then talks about how the resurrected husband (Yeshua / Jesus) can take her back .
God (and Yeshua / Jesus) didn’t break any of His own rules when He said the divorced woman could come back. The Northern Kingdom (House of Israel), which He had previously divorced, was no longer divorced because of Yeshua / Jesus’ selfless act of allowing Himself to be punished and executed for the sins of the House Israel. Then, as Paul points out, Yeshua / Jesus became “one new man” who would break no law by taking the House of Israel as His bride (again).
NEW COVENANT MEANS REUNIFICATION OF THE FAMILY
Hosea records God’s end-times plan of reunification . Ezekiel likewise, prophetically describes two sticks coming together in the hand of the Messiah , and describes the sticks as the two houses. The reunification is clearly pictured here.
PASSOVER LAMB, WHAT’S ALL THAT ABOUT?
And, finally, where does Passover come into play? In Egypt, who was saved by the Passover Lamb? His blood saved all the firstborn. And, if the Passover lamb’s sacrifice saved the first born, what does it have to do with the Church, the House of Israel, or the House of Judah? Our God, in His infinite wisdom, came up with another proof about the Northern Kingdom.
Throughout scripture we find three names used interchangeably for the Northern Kingdom: “the House of Israel (which we’ve mainly referenced here), Ephraim (which is frequently used), and occasionally Joseph. Here is yet another link to our Passover: Jeremiah 31:9, says, “…for I am a father to Israel, and Ephraim is my firstborn.” This is who Yeshua / Jesus said He came for. Why? To save all who believe He sacrificed Himself for His bride! Remember He said He came only for the lost sheep of the House of Israel.
CONCLUSION
Yeshua / Jesus our Passover lamb and our bridegroom, died on the cross to end the first covenant which included a rule saying a divorced woman could not be taken back by her husband (even if He is the son of God). Because believers are adopted into
Ezekiel 37:16-24 the previously divorced sinful House of Israel, He died for the sins of our forefathers and us too. His resurrection allowed a lawful New (marriage) Covenant which includes all believers.
For one to say, “The Church is separate from this,” is to exclude oneself from His Covenant!
But wait! Let’s let our Father have the final word. In Isaiah 56:3, we do find His ruling on the whole matter where He says, “Neither let the alien, that hath joined himself to the LORD, speak, saying: ‘The LORD will surely separate me from His people…”
