Welcome to Shema

1. Welcome to Shema Bless the Lord! Bless the Lord who is worthy to be praised for all eternity!

2. Shema Israel, AdonaiEloheinu, AdonaiEchad. Baruch shemk’vodmalchutol’olamva’ed. Shema

3. Hear, O Israel, the LORD our God, the LORD is One! Blessed be the name of His glorious kingdom, forever and ever. Amein. Shema

4. When Yeshua had finished these sayings, he left Galilee and headed for the region of Judea beyond the Jordan River. Big crowds followed him, and he healed them. The Pharisees went to put him to the test. They said, “Is it legal for a person to divorce his wife on the grounds of ‘Any Matter?” Matthew 19:1-6 The Source with Hebraic adaptation by Rabbi Lutton

5. Yeshua answered, “Haven’t you read that he who created in the beginning made people male and female, and said, ‘for this reason a person will leave his father and mother and be united with his wife and the two will become a single body? Thus they are no longer two but a single body. So then what God has united, no one is to break apart!”

6. They asked, “Why then did Moses command that a certificate of divorce is to be given upon divorce?” • “Because you are hard-hearted!” Yeshua answered. “That’s why Moses permitted you to divorce your wives, but it wasn’t so from the beginning. Matthew 19:7-12

7. In fact, whoever divorces his wife, unless it’s on the grounds of ‘General Sexual Immorality’, and marries someone else, commits adultery.” • His disciples said to him, “If this is the situation with husband and wife, it’s better not to get married at all!”

8. But Yeshua answered, “This doesn’t apply to everyone, but only to those to whom it has been given. Now, there are eunuchs who were born that way from their mother’s womb, and there are eunuchs who were made that way by human intervention, and there are eunuchs who have made themselves eunuchs for the sake of Heaven’s Realm. If it applies to you, then accept it! In Aramaic, the word translated “eunich” can also mean something closer to “faithful/devotee” and since being a eunich is forbidden under Torah it is more likely Yeshua was speaking to single-minded celibate devotion to God.

9. Yeshualeft there and went across the Jordan River into the district of Judea. Crowds of people came to see him. He taught them – this was what he usually did. Some Pharisees came and put Yeshua to the test by asking him, “Is it permitted for a man to divorce his wife?” Mark 10:1-9

10. “What did Moses command you?” Yeshua asked in response. • “Moses permitted him to write her a certificate of dissolution and divorce her,” they said. • Yeshua replied, “Moses wrote you this order because of your hardheartedness.

11. But from the beginning of creation ‘He made them male and female. For this reason a person would leave his father and mother and join himself to his wife, and the two would become a single body, so that they’re no longer two, but one single body. So then people must not split apart what God has joined together.”

12. When they were back in the house, the disciples kept asking Yeshua about this matter. He said, “If someone divorces his wife and marries someone else, he commits adultery against her, and if a woman divorces her husband and marries someone else, she has committed adultery.” Mark 10:10-12

13. People kept bringing little children to Yeshua so that he could touch them, but the disciples rebuked these people. When Yeshua saw this, he was annoyed. “Let the little children come to me!” he exclaimed. “Don’t stop them! God’s Realm is like them! There is absolutely no way that someone who doesn’t accept God’s Realm like a little child will ever enter it.” Mark 10:13-16

14. He hugged the little children, laid hands on them and blessed them.

15. People were also bringing young children to Yeshua because they wanted him to touch them. When the disciples saw this, they rebuked them. But Yeshua called all the young children over and said, “Let the young children come to me - don’t prevent them! God’s Realm belongs to young children like these. Luke 18:15-17

16. There is absolutely no way that someone who doesn’t accept God’s Realm like a little child will ever enter it.”

17. Then little children were brought to him so he could lay hands on them and pray, but the disciples objected. “Leave the little children alone!” Yeshua insisted. “Don’t stop them coming to me. This, that is to say, the little children coming to me, is a good analogy of Heaven’s Realm.” He laid hands on them and left. Matthew 19:13-15

18. As Yeshua was setting out, someone ran up to him and fell on his knees in front of him. He asked, “Good Teacher, what do I have to do to inherit eternal life?” • “Why do you call me good?” Yeshua asked. “No one’s good, except God. You know the commandments – ‘Do not murder, do not commit adultery, do not steal, do not give false evidence, do not commit fraud, honor your father and mother.’” Mark 10:17-31

19. He said, “Teacher, I have kept all these since I was a young man!” • Yeshua looked hard at him and his heart warmed to him. He said, “There’s one thing you come up short in – go away, sell all your riches and give it to the poor, and you will have a money bank in heaven! Then come and follow me.”

20. But at this his face fell. He went away sad, as he had a lot of property. Yeshua looked around and said to his disciples, “It’s so hard for rich people to enter God’s Realm!” • The disciples were shocked at what he said. But Yeshua said again, “Students, it’s so hard to enter God’s Realm! Pigs might fly before a rich person enters God’s Realm!”

21. The disciples were even more amazed and said to each other, “So who can get saved?” • Yeshua looked at them and said, “With people it’s impossible, but not with God – everything’s possible with God!” • Peter started saying to him, “We’ve left everything and followed you!”

22. “Let me tell you,” Yeshua said, “there’s no one who’s left their home, brothers, sisters, mothers, fathers, children or properties for me and the Good News will fail to receive 100 times as much in this present life – homes, brothers, sisters, mothers, children and properties.

23. They’ll get persecutions along with it in this life, but they’ll also get eternal life in the time to come. But many people who are the most important will be the least important, and the least important will be the most important.”

24. A certain ruler asked Yeshua, “Good teacher, what must I do to inherit eternal life?” • “Why do you call me good?” Yeshua asked. “Only God is good – no one else is! You know the commandments: ‘Do not commit adultery, do not murder, do not steal, do not tell lies about others, honor your father and mother.’ Luke 18:18-25

25. “I’ve kept all these since I was a young man,” he said. • When Yeshua heard this, he said, “There’s still one thing you need to do. Sell up everything you have and give it to the financially poor, and you will have a money bank stored up in the heavenly places. Then come on, follow me!”

26. When the ruler heard this, he became quite miserable, because he was extremely wealthy. Yeshua looked at him and said, “It’s a really difficult thing for wealthy people to enter the God’s Realm! In fact, pigs might fly before a rich person enters God’s Realm!”

27. The people who heard this exclaimed, “Then who can be saved?” • Yeshua answered, “Things that are impossible for people are possible for God.” • “But we left everything we had to follow you!” Peter protested.

28. Yeshua replied, “Anyone who gives up their home, wife, brothers, parents or children for the sake of God’s Realm will get much more – and multiplied many times over - in this present life. They will also get eternal life in the age to come.”

29. Someone asked him, “Teacher, what good thing can I do to get eternal life?” • “Why do you ask me about what is good?” Yeshua answered. “There is One who is good; but if you really want life, keep the commandments!” • “Which ones?” they asked. Matthew 19:16-19

30. Yeshua said, “‘You must not murder,’ ‘You must not commit adultery,’ ‘You must not steal,’ ‘You must not tell lies about people,’ ‘Honor your father and mother,’ and ‘Love your neighbor the same way you love yourself.’”

31. “I’ve kept all these commandments! What’s left to do?” the young man exclaimed. • Yeshua answered, “If you want to be complete, go and sell your belongings and give them to the financially poor, and you will have a money bank in the heavenly places. Then come and follow me!”

32. But when the young man heard that he went away sad, as he had a lot of possessions. • Yeshua said to his disciples, “For a fact, it is hard for a rich person to enter Heaven’s Realm! Let me emphasize this: pigs might fly before a rich person enters Heaven’s Realm!”

33. When his disciples heard this, they were besides themselves with terrible shock and exclaimed, “Well then - who can be saved?” • Yeshua looked straight at them and said, “It’s impossible with people, but with God everything is possible!” • Then Peter said, “Hey, we have left everything and followed you – so what do we get out of it?”

34. “In the new creation, when the Son of Man sits on his glorious throne, you, my followers, will also sit on twelve thrones, judging the twelve tribes of Israel!” Yeshua answered. “And everyone who has left houses, brothers, sisters, fathers, mothers, children or farms, on account of me, will get back a hundred times more than they gave, and will inherit eternal life.

35. Many prominent people will end up unimportant, and unimportant people will end up prominent.

36. “This is a story about Heaven’s Realm. It is like a landowner who went out early in the morning to hire workers for his vineyard. After he agreed with the workers on the normal day’s wage, he sent them into his vineyard. At nine o’clock in the morning he went out and saw other people standing around in the marketplace doing nothing. Matthew 20:1-7

37. He said to them, ‘You can all go into the vineyard too, and I’ll pay you the going rate.’ • “And off they went. He went out again at noon and three in the afternoon, and did the same thing. About five in the afternoon he went out and found other people standing around. He asked them, ‘Why have you been standing around here all day doing nothing?’

38. “‘Because no one hired us!” they replied. • “‘You go into the vineyard too!’ he told them. • “When evening came, the owner of the vineyard said to his manager, ‘Call the workers and give them wages, beginning with the last and working your way to the first.’

39. “The manager turned to one of his workers and explained, ‘My friend, I’m not doing you an injustice! Didn’t you agree with me on a normal day’s wage? Take what’s yours and go away. I want to give this last person the same as you. Surely I have a legal right to do whatever I like with my own things? Or are you jealous because I am kind?’” “So the last will end up first and the first will end up last!”

40. Now it was the Feast of Dedication at Jerusalem. It was winter, and Yeshua was walking in Solomon’s Roofed Colonnade in the Temple. Certain Jews surrounded him. “How long are you going to keep us in suspense?” they demanded. “If you really are the Anointed One, then tell us plainly!” John 10:22-30

41. Yeshua answered, “I did tell you, but you didn’t believe me. The deeds I do in my Father’s Name speak for me! But you don’t believe, because you are not my sheep. My sheep listen to my voice - I recognize them and they follow me. I certainly give them eternal life and they will never perish – no one can snatch them out of my hand.

42. My Father, who has given them to me, is greater than everything – no one is able to snatch them out of my Father’s hand. I and my Father are One.”

43. Yet again certain Jews picked up stones to stone him. Yeshua said, “I have shown you many wonderful deeds originating from the Father – which one of these do you want to stone me for?” • “We’re not stoning you for any of these!” certain Jews answered. John 10:31-39

44. “We’re stoning you for blasphemy, since you yourself, a mere human, claim that you’re God!” • Yeshua responded, “Hasn’t it been written in your Law, ‘I have said that you are gods.’ Note he called them ‘gods’. Note that it was to them that the God’s Word came, and the Scripture can’t be broken.

45. So why do you tell me, the One that the Father made sacred and sent into the world, that I’m blaspheming because I said I’m God’s Son? If I don’t do my Father’s work you don’t have to believe me! But if I do his work, although you don’t believe me, you should believe the work!

46. Then you would come to know me and realize that the Father is with me, and I am with him.” • So they tried again to grab him, but he escaped from their clutches.

47. Yeshua went back across the Jordan River to the place where John had been baptizing in the early days. He stayed there. Many people came to him. They said, “John didn’t perform any miraculous signs, but everything he said about this one was true!” • In that place many people believed him. John 10:40-42

48. There was a certain person who was sick. His name was Lazarus and he was from the village of Mary and her sister Martha. This Mary, whose brother Lazarus was now sick, was the same one who had poured perfumed lotion on the Lord and wiped his feet with her hair. So the sisters sent word to Yeshua: “Lord, your friend is sick.” John 11:1-3

49. When Yeshua heard this, he said, “This sickness won’t end in death. Rather, it will bring honor to God: God’s Son will be honored through it.” Yeshua loved Martha, her sister and Lazarus. But when he heard that Lazarus was sick, he stayed where he was for two more days. After that he said to his disciples, “Let’s go back to Judea.” John 11:4-8

50. “Hang on, Rabbi,” they exclaimed, “it was only a short time ago that certain Jews wanted to stone you, and you want to go back there!”