Month: April 2023

by Dr. Donna Beccia Carick

April 7, 2023

Yeshua spent 100% of his time going from village to village, teaching the Torah and the Prophets, healing people from their diseases, and delivering them from demonic strongholds. The public loved him. The Sanhedrin didn’t. Several Pharisees were angry because Yeshua had raised Lazarus from the dead. Such a crime! They were worried that he was gaining a whole lot of followers, way too fast, and the Roman government might come against the Jewish people because a Jewish man was leading an insurrection. That was their claim, anyway.

Some members of the Sanhedrin got together to discuss their vindictive plan. They bribed Judas with silver, so he would testify against Yeshua. Judas directed an army of 600 Roman soldiers to “capture” him while he was praying in the Mount of Olives, just after he had celebrated the “Last Supper” before the “Fast of the Firstborn,” in preparation for Passover.

Peter was a viable witness who could testify that Yeshua was innocent. He lost it when he saw the massive number of Roman soldiers, and he cut off one soldier’s ear. Yeshua told Peter to calm down, and then healed the soldier’s ear. Peter later crumbled under fear and denied he ever knew Yeshua.
By Torah Law, a person being accused of a crime punishable by death must have a proper trial, during the daytime, in a proper court. There must be two or three witnesses who testify against the criminal. After the trial, if the person was convicted, there had to be a “cooling off” period to allow the person to gather additional witnesses on their behalf.

The Torah laws were not followed. The JUDGES were the accusers––that’s illegal. They had decided Yeshua’s fate of death before they hauled him in for questioning––that’s illegal. They took Yeshua to Caiaphas’ home in the middle of the night––that’s illegal. They used Judas’ testimony against Yeshua––but Torah law said that a bribed person could not testify. They dragged people from off the streets to make up testimonies against Yeshua––that’s illegal. Their only possible credible witness was Peter, who knew Yeshua personally, but he was a liar––he had denied knowing him. They took their trumped up charges to Pilate––that Yeshua claimed he was the Son of God––but Pilate didn’t care because the Emperor Caesar considered himself to be a god. Pilate said Yeshua was innocent, so they tried another approach––they called him an insurrectionist against Rome. They eventually got their way, and Yeshua was crucified––because he did not protest or defend himself. HE DIED WILLINGLY, laying down his life for you and me.

Will we lay down our life for him?

Yeshua was slaughtered at the exact time and manner that the Passover lambs were being slaughtered for the Passover meal. They had to be skinned, hung, and roasted––Yeshua’s skin was ripped off his back from flogging, he was hung on a cross, dehydrated from extreme loss of blood and excessive thirst, roasting under the hot afternoon sun.

Man earned spiritual death by eating from the forbidden tree. Yeshua gave us spiritual life by hanging from a tree.

by Dr. Donna Beccia Carick

April 9, 2023

Today, across the world, people are celebrating the resurrection of Yeshua HaMashiach (in Hebrew), that is, Jesus the Christ. During his ministry, he had many followers and many who opposed him––no different than today.

The Judean leaders challenged him with a question (see John 20:18-20): “What sign do You show us, since You are doing these things?” Yeshua replied: “Destroy this Temple, and in three days I will raise it up.” He was talking about the temple of His body. So, after He was raised from the dead, His disciples remembered that He was talking about this. Then they believed the Scripture and the word that Yeshua had spoken.

Some time later, Yeshua was informed that his dear friend, Lazarus was extremely ill. Before Yeshua arrived at his home, Lazarus had already died. Yeshua reassured Martha, the sister of Lazarus (see John 11): “I am the resurrection and the life! Whoever believes in Me, even if he dies, shall live.” In front of many witnesses, Yeshua called Lazarus to come out of his tomb. Lazarus came alive again, and with his body bound in burial wrappings, he hobbled out of his tomb.

Before the resurrection of Lazarus, Yeshua had already been gaining followers, but now the number of his followers was increasing exponentially. His ministry was perceived as quite a threat to some of the religious leaders.

John 11:47-48 says:

So the ruling kohanim and Pharisees called a meeting of the Sanhedrin. “What are we doing?” they asked. “This Man is performing many signs! If we let Him go on like this, everyone will believe in Him, and the Romans will come and take away both our holy place and our nation.”

John 11:53 says, “So from that day on, they plotted to kill Him.”

John 12:10-11 says, “So the ruling kohanim made plans to kill Lazarus also, because on account of him many of the Jewish people were going and putting their trust in Yeshua.”

Ironically, it was the resurrection of Lazarus that brought the death of Yeshua, and his subsequent resurrection. According to the first-century historian, Josephus, many eyewitnesses saw Yeshua alive again three days after his crucifixion (the books of Josephus have been published widely). Pontius Pilate said the same thing in a letter he wrote shortly after the resurrection (his letter is contained in the British Museum).

The resurrection of Lazarus was the evidence that Yeshua’s teachings were true. The resurrection of Yeshua was the absolute proof of his words, “I am the resurrection and the life! Whoever believes in Me, even if he dies, shall live.” If that wasn’t enough proof, right after Yeshua’s resurrection, many others woke up from death and came out of their tombs, and were seen by many eyewitnesses (Matthew 27:52-53). Then Yeshua appeared, in his resurrected body, “to over five hundred people at one time” (1 Corinthians 15:6).

Yeshua, in his resurrected body, visited with his disciples and many others for forty days. One of those appearances included Sha’ul (Paul), a Pharisee (the strictest sect of Judaism, and the strongest proponents of a belief in the resurrection and an afterlife). Sha’ul was a very public threat to Yeshua’s followers. One day, Sha’ul was on his way to capturing followers of Yeshua, to “bring them as prisoners to Jerusalem” (Acts 9:2), and suddenly, in the middle of the road stood Yeshua, in his resurrected body (1 Corinthians 15:8). Imagine this! Sha’ul was facing Yeshua, whose teachings he deeply opposed, and Yeshua was proving him right, that there really is a resurrection!

The resurrection of Yeshua is what sets him apart from any other religious leader. Buddha did not resurrect. Mohammad did not resurrect. Joseph Smith did not resurrect. Yeshua DID. And after forty days of appearances in his resurrected body, Yeshua ascended into the clouds as hundreds watched him depart. He promised them he would return, at the end of the age, to gather together his followers to live eternally with him.

Yeshua claimed to be the Messiah. One day, he asked his disciples the question (Luke 9:20-21), “who do you that say I am?” Peter answered, “The Messiah of God.” How do WE answer that question? What does his resurrection mean to you or me?  

Yeshua’s life was so central that calendars were reset to “BC”, “Before Christ”, and “AD”, meaning, “after the Lord.” Yeshua’s life changed the world. Question is, does it change MY world, or YOUR world? What we believe determines how we live, how we die, and whether we will live again.

John 14:6 –– Yeshua said, “I am the way, the truth, and the life! No one comes to the Father except through Me. Did Yeshua give us enough proof?   Can we trust his words?