The revelation of Yeshua in Passover

I do not know that I am worthy to tell the story that I am about to tell, but the bible is filled with God using the weak and ungainly to accomplish his work. I only know that I have been charged by God and a man to share this story with you, and that is the role given me to play in the awesome revelation that begins to sweep across the lives of men and nations. I can only write these words for you to read, it is Jehovah who reveals. I pray that those who sincerely want to believe will take away blessings and divine revelation contained in this story.

On the day that I heard and indeed saw this story unfold before my eyes, a river of tears flowed down my face. It was the most fulfilling Easter that I had ever experienced, and my knowledge of the deep tradition of Easter and Passover was deepened. A realization of a mystery that shrouds and spans thousands of years, and an intimate knowing of the sacrifice of Jesus was upon me.

My friends, do you believe in coincidences? I most assuredly do not.

On Easter Sunday I was late to Church. As I drew near to my Church, it occurred to me that since the service would be over in about 30 minutes, I could drive to my Uncle’s church which lasts much longer. As I contemplated, I realized that my fuel tank was empty, and that my Uncle’s church was all the way in another town. The convenient thing to do would have been to park my car and go to my Church instead of driving all the way to my Uncles Church on an empty gas tank. It seemed like a simple enough decision, right? But God works in mysterious ways.

It is very important that we see the hand of God in our lives, and know the way in which God communicates with us. Personally, I know that God speaks to me through difficult circumstances. Whenever I am faced with a problem or a hard decision, God is either trying to tell me something or emphatically placing an exclamation point on something he has already told me. And so the moment I was faced with either going to my church which was right around the corner, or going to my Uncles Church on the other side of town with an empty gas tank, I immediately knew what God was telling me to do: Go, by faith, to your Uncles Church, and receive a fuel more powerful than anything your car requires. And so I went.

Little did I know that I was on the verge of a divine revelation.

The guest speaker at the service was a messianic Jew by the name of Neriyah Arabov. Messianic Jews are Jews that believe that Jesus is the Messiah. The messiah long prophesied by the prophets from Moses to Isaiah, and the messiah for whom many Jews, even till today still wait.

And so he stood before the congregation with a table before him. The table contained all that one needs for a Passover ritual, and as he performed the Passover ritual before us, he showed us the spiritual significance of every act that was performed.

For those who do not know, the Passover is a ritual performed by Jewish people to remember the night that the Angel of death passed over all who had the blood of a lamb marked upon their door. This was the final plague that God sent upon Pharaoh and the people of Egypt. “For I will pass through the land of Egypt this night, and will smite all the firstborn in the land of Egypt, both man and beast; and against all the gods of Egypt I will execute judgment; I am the lord. And the blood shall be to you a token upon the houses where ye are; and when I see the blood, I will pass over you, and the plague shall not be upon you to destroy you, when I smite the land of Egypt”. Exodus Chapter 12 verses 12 and 13.

As Neriyah performed these rituals which can be found here http://www.chosenpeople.com/docs/GB/HelpingYou/Feasts/Passover/index.html he went over the washing of hands, explaining that at the Passover feast with his disciples, instead of washing his hands Jesus washed the feet of his disciples. He made us understand that in those days, there was a slave that stood at the door and washed the feet of all who came into the house. That by washing his disciples’ feet, Jesus not only showed extreme humility, but also took upon the place of a slave.

Perhaps the most eye opening part of all of the rituals that Neriyah performed that day was something called “Afikomen”. On the table there are three pieces of Motza (A kind of bread), but only the middle piece is taken out and broken in half, wrapped in a napkin and hidden to be taken out later, after the meal. After the meal, the children are sent to look for it. After a while, the head of the house retrieves it and breaks it into little pieces and distributes a small piece for everyone to eat. For over 2 thousand years Jewish people, while waiting for the messiah, have performed this tradition without realizing that Jesus Christ is at the center of this ritual. Luke 22:19 says “And he took bread, gave thanks and broke it, and gave it to them saying, ‘This is my body given for you; do this in remembrance of me’”.

Neriyah let us see that the Jews refer to the first bread as Abraham, the second as Isaac and the third as Jacob, for their forefathers. But the first is the father, the second is the son (Jesus), and the third is the Holy Spirit! It is indeed the second (Middle motza) that is taken out and broken, just as Jesus was broken for us.

Now look at this sequence from the initial moment the motza is wrapped and hidden, until when it is brought out…

For Jesus the Messiah would have taken the middle one of the three pieces of motza, the piece that stood for the priest or mediator between God and the people, broken it as His body would be broken, wrapped half in a linen napkin as he would be wrapped in linen for burial, hidden it as he would be buried, brought it back as he would be resurrected, and distributed it to everyone seated with him, as He would distribute His life to all who believe. As He did this, he was conscious that this middle piece of motza represented His own, spotless body given for the redemption of His people. As the motza is striped and pierced, His own body would be striped and pierced, and it is by those wounds that we are healed (Isaiah 53:5). This middle piece of motza, or the Afikomen, is our communion bread. http://www.chosenpeople.com/docs/GB/HelpingYou/Feasts/Passover/index.html

As I watched, listened and understood, I began to realize the immersion of Jesus in the middle of a ritual practiced by millions for thousands of years; an immersion that has been an occasion for omission by many that have practiced this ritual. I began to see the veil that the devil has put over the eyes of men, to blind us to truths that surround us.

But the revelation would continue…

Neryiah’s Story

And so Neriyah began to tell us his story, and how he came to acknowledge Jesus Christ as the son of God. Neriyah went to school in Russia, and being the only Jew in his school he was often ridiculed by his peers. Upon graduation, he came back to Tel Aviv in Israel to live, and was happy to be amongst others much like him. Little did he know that he was about to have an experience that would set him apart once again.

Someone spoke to him telling him that Jesus Christ is indeed the Messiah. At first he did not believe it, and even if he wanted to he was very reluctant to be “different” again, even in the land of Israel. The Jews take their prophets very seriously, and the one who spoke to him showed him the book of Isaiah where the prophet spoke of the messiah. And it reads…

“Who hath believed our report? And to whom is the arm of the lord revealed? For he shall grow up before him as a tender plant, and as a root out of dry ground; he hath no form or comeliness and when we shall see him, there is no beauty that we should desire him.

He is despised and rejected of men; a man of sorrows, and acquainted with grief: and we hid as it were our faces from him; he was despised and we esteemed him not” Isaiah 53 verses 1 to 3.

My brothers and sisters, i pray that you see the prophecy that the messiah would be despised and rejected by his own people. He will not be physically attractive and so they would not be drawn to him. He would know sorrow and grief, and the people will hide their faces from him and have no esteem for him. But it continues….

“Surely he hath borne our griefs, and carried our sorrows: yet we did esteem him stricken, smitten of God, and afflicted.”

“But he was wounded for our transgressions; he was bruised for our iniquities: the chastisement of our peace was upon him; and with his stripes we are healed. All we like sheep have gone astray; we have turned everyone to his own way; and the lord hath laid on him the iniquity of us all”. Isaiah 53 verses 3 to 6.

It continues by saying that the messiah would carry our griefs and sorrows, and be wounded for our transgressions. And as Neriyah listened, he began to see that only Yeshua- Jesus Christ! Fit this description.

When Neriyah gave his life to Christ, his family disowned him. Having no where to go, he came to America to stay with the Chosen People Ministries. He learned English and went to school. Neriyah returned to Tel Aviv where he is the Pastor of a Church and lives till this day with his wife and children.

After the birth of his second Child, Neriyah had kidney failure and went on dialysis. Neriyah told God that he knows that he was not saved so that he could die right away. And so the message of his condition was sent to many people, as help was requested.

One day a woman from Indiana, U.S.A showed up saying that God told her to give Neriyah one of her kidneys.

She said that she had read about Neriyah, and as she was praying one day, the lord Jesus appeared to her. She said that Jesus said to her “Will you give Neriyah one of your kidneys?” She was at a loss for words. And Jesus said to her “I am not telling you to give him one of your kidneys. If you refuse I will just ask someone else. But I am giving you a chance; will you give Neriyah one of your kidneys?” And she said yes! Yes! Yes, and flew down to Tel Aviv to donate her Kidney to Neriyah. It is the one he carries on his side till this day, and he named his third daughter Cynthia after this lady.

Neriyah also told us that his Church in Tel Aviv is in distress because the lease on their building has expired, and they have no where else to go. As you can imagine Messianic Jews are a minority in Israel, and his congregation of about 100 people need all the encouragement they can get. For ways to help out please visit http://www.chosepeople.com/

As we began to pray in Church, I thought about everything that I had heard, because for years I have pondered the people Israel, God’s chosen people and how generation after generation come and go with knowing Jesus. I think about how God’s undying love continues to shine upon the Jewish people despite every hardship that they have faced. Neriyah asked us to pray for Israel, because there must be a revival in that place.

My brothers and sisters I am inspired to talk to you about revival. In the words of an esteemed evangelist I met that very day “When revival happens, things will not stay the same. There will be change”. There will be change: Spiritual, religious, structural, political. If you can name it, it will change in the time of revival.

We live in a world that has become even more deceived by the devil. The advent of technology has given us comforts that dull us to a reliance on God, has given us science that attempts to disprove the existence of God. The biggest lie that the devil has put into the hearts of men is that there is no God.

The devil knows that his time is almost up, and so in these last days he is pouring upon the world everything in his power. The bible calls him “The accuser of brethrens”. Know that whatever sin you commit, the devil magnifies before God.

But thank God for Yeshua. The bible calls Jesus our great intercessor. Cling to him that was broken and pierced for you, him that makes intercession for you. And my brothers and sisters pray for a revival in this wicked world we live in. In the book of Revelation Jesus says: “Behold, I come quickly: Hold fast that which thou hast, that no man take thy crown”. Revelations Chapter 3 verse 11.

Neriyah asked me to tell his story, that you may see the glory of God, and that you may know that there is a revival on its way. For Jews and Gentiles, for Israel, and we all who are the spiritual Israel.

There is one phrase that Jesus uses over and over in the book of revelation. And that phrase is this “Behold I come quickly…” In response John the apostle says “Amen. Even so, come, Lord Jesus.” Revelations 22 verse 20

As we prayed that day on Easter, i found myself repeating one phrase over and over "Lord Jesus, my Jesus". It inspired me to write this...

Lord Jesus. My Jesus…

You order the ways of my steps; you care for me when I’m down. You are the author of my faith, of my past, my future and my now.

You conceived of me in your mind, before I was conceived of on earth, you were the day of my birth and will be there upon my death.

And so through everything that transpires in this space between life and death, through every obstacle that I encounter in this space called a lifetime, I will always feel your presence; an awesome revelation called Emmanuel.

Lord Jesus! My Jesus…you came down from heaven to be us with all the burdens of man. You left your throne to free us; and to suffer was part of your plan.

Lord Jesus! My Jesus…how is it that you see us when we are surrounded by darkness? How is it that you feel us to the point of shedding your tears?

Lord Jesus! My Jesus…in Hebrew your name translates to Yeshua; and in Islam you are know as Issa. A good man they will call you, and even call you a prophet.

But Lord Jesus! My Jesus…how can they not see the messiah, the savior of the world? How can they not see divinity in the gentle Son of God?

Lord Jesus! My Jesus… you are beyond the mind of genius, and incomprehensible to the world. You are the one that leads us…a notion insensible to the wise.

Lord Jesus! My Jesus…oh the things that you teach us! I close my eyes and I see you, dispensing of truth with authority. That we must love our God and each other is ever your undeniable thesis.

Lord Jesus! My Jesus…

Thoughts of you bring tears down my face; no one else inspires such emotion. Knowledge of you fills up my heart, and your work puts me in motion.

You are a God of big and a God of small. Although you watch over the grand design of life, you still whisper to me in the hours of morning “My son you need your rest”.

I am for you; I write for you, help me to love you, as you ought to be loved and to live my life for you; until the day when I will see you as you truly are…the lord Jesus, my sweet Jesus.