One New Man: The Messianic Community

This is the sermon given in Memphis, Tennessee on 26 April 2025 at Brit Hadasha Messianic Synagogue. What is community and how do we represent it and the Lord who bought us?

https://youtu.be/NpOhjEDBWho?si=OhKPTHhzx44wRDvG

Thanks for watching. The text is (mostly) here:

Shabbat shalom! I’m very grateful to John, the elders, and all the volunteers here at B’rit Hadasha for the welcome today and the opportunity to preach this Shabbat.  

I’ve been a messianic Jew for 54 years, and what I see across the world in our congregations, and what I want to speak about today from our Bible reading is community. You even have that on your bulletin as a subtitle of who you are!

For you, when you hear that word, certain things might come to mind, like the neighbourhood where you live or the community of your particular sport you play. The Ephesian reading makes clear the mystery of community, that being that Gentiles, that is, people who are not Jewish, can be fellow heirs and fellow members of the Body of Christ.

 We have been living in a world under threat since October 7 last year, and yet, in the midst of all the pain and suffering, we can still have a positive perspective. How, you might wonder? Because this whole season is not a surprise to the Almighty; He knows the end from the beginning, and He knew what would happen the last few months across the world. 

He is not without compassion; He cares greatly, and He wants us to care, as individuals and as congregations as well. And that thought brings me to my topic today—living in community or more specifically-- What is the Messianic Community: (sometimes called) One New Man?

What makes up a community?

I believe there are certain characteristics which have to be noticed, embraced and maintained in the world for a gathering or any entity for that matter, to be labelled community. These three are commonality, communication, and unity. I’m sure there are many others which you might speak about after the meeting today, but today let me focus on those three. Especially since they are so clear in the Word.

To put this in context, let me read this from the previous chapter in Ephesians:

“For by grace you have been saved through faith; and that not of yourselves, it is the gift of God; not as a result of works, so that no one may boast. For we are His workmanship, created in Messiah Jesus for good works, which God prepared beforehand so that we would walk in them. Therefore remember that formerly you, the Gentiles in the flesh, who are called “Uncircumcision” by the so-called “Circumcision,” which is performed in the flesh by human hands — remember that you were at that time separate from Christ, excluded from the commonwealth of Israel, and strangers to the covenants of promise, having no hope and without God in the world. But now in Christ Jesus you who formerly were far off have been brought near by the blood of Christ. For He Himself is our peace, who made both groups into one and broke down the barrier of the dividing wall, by abolishing in His flesh the enmity, which is the Law of commandments contained in ordinances, so that in Himself He might make the two into one new man, thus establishing peace, and might reconcile them both in one body to God through the cross, by it having put to death the enmity. AND HE CAME AND PREACHED PEACE TO YOU WHO WERE FAR AWAY, AND PEACE TO THOSE WHO WERE NEAR; for through Him we both have our access in one Spirit to the Father. So then you are no longer strangers and aliens, but you are fellow citizens with the saints, and are of God’s household, having been built on the foundation of the apostles and prophets, Messiah Jesus Himself being the corner stone, in whom the whole building, being fitted together, is growing into a holy temple in the Lord, in whom you also are being built together into a dwelling of God in the Spirit.” (Ephesians 2.8-22)

Seven Ephesian images

Before we go on, let me show you 7 images or pictures of the community here in the book of Ephesians, then let me zoom in on the OneNewMan features taken from this reading in chapter 2. The seven are:

1.              Eph. 1:22—Assembly: Greek Ekklesia (compare Acts 19:32, 39, 41) 

2.              Eph. 1:23—Body: The body of Christ 

3.              Eph. 2:10—Workmanship: Masterpiece (Poem)

4.              Eph. 2:19—Family: Household 

5.              Eph. 2:21—Temple: Building 

6.              Eph. 5:25–27—Bride: Wife – bride of Christ 

7.              Eph. 6:10–13—Army: Soldiers 

Yes, God loves each of us, individually, but don’t miss this, God loved the world so much that he sent his son. Each of these 7 is a picture not of a private person, but of a band, a conglomerate, a group. Yes, each head only has one body, but I am not the Body of Messiah; we are. Yes a building is singular, but the Temple of the Lord is many bricks and mortar, and together we are one. Our religion is personal, yes, but it’s not private. We are in this thing together.

Arthur Katz who died in 2007, was a Jewish believer in Jesus, and a long-time friend. He wrote in his classic “True Fellowship: Church as Community” the need for the Body of Messiah to be real and honest in this regard. He said, “church as community is radically and excruciatingly demanding, and yet, in this environment, there is the glorious possibility for this kind of existential fellowship with believers.” (page 9) He was a challenge to all things status quo, and thus a challenge to me in my ministry. He insisted that the church, as a Sunday club, was insignificant and irrelevant if that were all she was. He eventually moved from any major city and along with a select group, formed a community in Minnesota that radically lived out everything they were learning. So what he said in his books was written in the crucible of their life together, thus he gained a certificate of kashrut, and I welcomed that. 

You see, when I came to faith in Yeshua in 1971 there was one model which I saw and which made sense. I had been a hippie, striking so as to shut down the campus of Washington University in St Louis, an activist who was among those who burned down the ROTC building, and soon afterwards, left university to find my own way. In May of 1971 I found Messiah or rather was found by Him and immediately was part of what you saw in last year’s movie, “The Jesus Revolution”, that is the Jesus movement as it was labelled. Our meetings were Sunday nights in the basement of a Presbyterian church, where hundreds of us former hippies gathered to sing Bible verse choruses led by guitars with drums (that was new then), and regular meetings all week in homes and coffee shops. No one went to one meeting a week; we gathered seemingly everywhere. 

We made fun of denominations, since most of us got saved outside of those institutions. Jesus was all we wanted, oh, and the fellowship of the saints. We sang together; we prayed together; we believed God together for greater and greater things. And He didn’t disappoint us. Life was community. 

Bowling Alone

I know I am going against the modern grain but everything I know about the Kingdom of God is upside down. It’s not the societal norm to follow a Jewish carpenter who lived 2,000 years ago and ended his personal preaching career with a small handful of followers watching him die, who then ran away after his crucifixion and hid away for fear of the same ending happening to them. In Australia it’s not normal to be religious and maintain personal commitments to holy living in a city which touts its LGBTQ enthusiasm around Mardi Gras in the City. You know about homosexual fervour in San Francisco and Rio, even in Tel Aviv, well, we have a major showing in Sydney as well.  It’s not easy even to attend congregation on a regular basis in the 21^st Century what with children’s birthday parties and internet holiday deals to Pensacola along with any sporting event or the latest Nordstrum half-yearly sale starting earlier on weekends.

In his year 2000 book entitled “Bowling Alone,” Robert Putnam showcases the trends already evident then, with the beginnings of the internet and resultant loss of personal space and time, that people were less and less willing to join clubs. The title alone indicates the reality, that people would go to a bowling alley then, and bowl a few lines, but wouldn’t join a league. That trend Putnam saw 25 years ago has only increased dramatically in our day. Social media has made us increasingly alone. The antidote to this is community.

So, when I talk today about the community nature of the people of God, I’m hopeful that you will listen with your spirit, and that B’rit Hadasha will see significant growth in this area, and that the community of faith in Memphis and the messianic movement worldwide will move forward in this in 2025 and long beyond!

 

Commonality

First things first. The development of community requires commonality. That means we share common experiences, with common results, no matter from what background we come. The apostle Paul wanted the Ephesian believers to understand this. He said, 

“But now in Christ Jesus you who formerly were far off have been brought near by the blood of Christ. For He Himself is our peace, who made both groups into one and broke down the barrier of the dividing wall”          Jewish people like me and Gentiles like the abundance of the Ephesians, and dare I say most of you here today, come from very different backgrounds, different views of God, different hopes and dreams, AND YET, we are One in Messiah. God has broken down the barriers and made us to share in the same life source. Because of Jesus, our commonality is fixed. Hallelujah!

Isaiah had already prophesied that in Isaiah 49. God called Israel to be His servant, but then made clear a missional call, that Israel and Isaiah were not only to reach Jewish people. He said, “He says, “It is too small a thing that You should be My Servant to raise up the tribes of Jacob and to restore the preserved ones of Israel; I will also make You a light of the nations so that My salvation may reach to the end of the earth.”

Paul wrote we are “fellow citizens” and share as “the whole building, being fitted together, is growing into a holy temple in the Lord.” Fit together. Even though my people, the Jewish people, were the first ones of the commonwealth, we are called to bring in others, and to be citizens together. Common experiences now due to our relationship to our UnCommon God and Saviour Yeshua the Messiah. 

Communication

Not only do we share common realities and the common relationship with our Messiah, we also have real communication. Again from Art Katz, 

“More often than not, there is an unspoken agreement between pastors and their flock: “You present a biblical message; we will pay the bill and have a Sunday service that will leave our lives free from any kind of demand.” He cites our school education systems which “are content with the mere verbalization of material.” (page 32)

When I say communication, I am talking about more than verbalization. Sharing our hearts with one another; sharing real hurts and real life, that’s how the Body of Messiah makes a difference in these days. 

Philip Yancey wrote in the magazine Christianity Today 25 years ago about sharing life together and took lessons from the 12 step folks who were meeting in the basement of the church he attended in Chicago. 

“As an alcoholic once told me, "I have to publicly declare 'I am an alcoholic' whenever I introduce myself at the group. It is a statement of failure, of helplessness, and surrender. Take a room of a dozen or so people, all of whom admit helplessness and failure, and it's pretty easy to see how God then presents himself in that group." The historian of Alcoholics Anonymous titled his work Not-God because, he said, that stands as the most important hurdle an addicted person must surmount: to acknowledge, deep in the soul, not being God. No mastery of manipulation and control, at which alcoholics excel, can overcome the root problem; rather, the alcoholic must recognize individual helplessness and fall back in the arms of the Higher Power. "First of all, we had to quit playing God," concluded the founders of AA; and then allow God himself to "play God" in the addict's life, which involves daily, even moment-by-moment, surrender. Bill Wilson, the cofounder of Alcoholics Anonymous, reached the unshakable conviction, now a canon of twelve-step groups, that an alcoholic must "hit bottom" in order to climb upward.”

The ram’s horn (the shofar) is blown on Rosh Hashanah and other times during the year, not only to make us Jewish people aware of the time of events, but often for us to gather. Some of you might remember when church bells would ring on Sunday morning at certain intervals, to call everyone to gather. These calls to worship are communication methods. And they invite us to communicate with God together and to listen to God together. And at least at morning teas, to communicate with one another. Communities are in communication with each other, and listening, they respond to be with one another. 

Unity

To be sure we all won’t agree on everything. Any of you in any relationship with a schoolteacher, with a spouse, with teenaged children or parents, knows that perfect agreement down the line is not the only way to be united. Real community is more like musical harmony rather than unison. One of the most recognizable and ancient sounds of the church is the Gregorian chant. 

Gregorian chant is monophonic, or unison, liturgical music of the Roman Catholic Church, and used to accompany the text of the mass and the canonical hours, or divine office. Gregorian chant is named after St. Gregory I, during whose papacy (590–604) it was collected and codified.

In the church, in the Reformation, church music widened and harmony replaced unison. Have you ever been in a significant, large gathering when the musical band stopped playing, but we kept singing? I was in the Superdome in New Orleans in 1987 and 30,000 people sang God’s praises at a major conference. At one point, the musicians stopped playing while the people kept singing. It was enormous and powerful. I imagined heaven. I experienced heaven that evening. Unity was demonstrated in four-part harmony. Powerful!

Paul wrote the Ephesians “For He Himself is our peace, who made both groups into one and broke down the barrier of the dividing wall”

You might remember the triad:

In Essentials Unity, 

In Non-Essentials Liberty, 

In All Things Charity

Unity is possible because of our Righteous Messiah. Look, you may know that anti-Semitism has been increasing in the world the last few years, even in Australia. Cemetery damaging, bus and train episodes of hostility, stabbings overseas in closed Jewish communities, fire bombings and shootings in synagogues are on the rise. A natural reaction by people experiencing this hostility is to withdraw, to pull back from interaction with the ‘other.’ So when you remember that Gentiles in Roman days were the bad guys to the Jewish people, then Paul’s OneNewMan mystery concept is radical. His appeal for unity is outrageous. And yet, it’s not only possible; it’s required for a godly community.

Jewish community

For Jewish people, the idea of the Jewish community starts with birth and circumcision when a little Jewish boy is welcomed into the community and it never ends even after his burial. We use a tallit at both services; we read prayers from a siddur, and everyone can know on what page we are reading. Everyone is included, at Bar and Bat Mitzvah celebrations, and at weddings and funerals. The identification of a Jewish person in life and death is labelled clearly, from a boy’s 8^th day through to the rocks and Hebrew writing on the gravestone. A quorum (the term in Hebrew is a minyan) is required to pray certain prayers, in Orthodox Jewish circles, that’s 10 men. A knocker is sent around neighbourhoods if only 8 or 9 men are gathering. We need 10. A person needs to be supported by the community; 4 or 7 people simply will not do. 

Of course, Yeshua, our Messiah had this comment about the minyan. “Wherever two or three are gathered in my name, there am I in the midst of them.” (Matthew 18.20) He is not saying He won’t listen if you only have one of you; He’s answering the minyan difficulty, saying a community can be two or three; you don’t need 10 men. You can have 10 ladies. You can have 2 ladies; God will see community in what you are doing, in a gathering, in shared life together. 

Conclusion: So What?

I’m telling you all this and I’m telling me this. I’m a student of this sermon today as well. God is speaking to me about what matters in these last days. He is asking me to care and to speak with and to be common with those in my community. He is calling us to be humble and receive each other, to accept one another, to serve one another. What the world is looking for in these fire-stormed days is a community of hope and love which extends itself in service to those outside, and which welcomes former outsiders into their fold. Each one of you who like me was not born a messianic Jew, and who is now joined in fellowship here, each of you experienced some of this commonality and unity; you share in communication about these things with others. You were welcomed early on in your visiting here. And the real test of your loyalty is your involvement with the newbies, and helping them be folded into this selfsame community. 

If you are not yet a believer in Jesus, and listening today, either online or here in the congregation, then this issue of belonging to a community is available. Most sociologists today, like Putnam 25 years ago, almost shout of the need for people to belong. Keep coming back here; keep listening; keep opening yourself to the real Gospel story. Perhaps this morning you sense a desire to do more than log in; perhaps you want what we have, a personal living relationship with the Almighty. If so, pray right there in your pew, asking God to make you born again, and receiving Yeshua as your personal Saviour and Lord. Today can be your day of new beginnings. The people of God around you here will welcome you. They will receive you and help you walk this new life out in Memphis or wherever you live. 

Jews for Jesus

You know that I’m here also representing the missionary organization Jews for Jesus. And we are not only an agency, we are a community as well. And we long to bring others, especially Jewish people, into relationships with us and with the Lord Himself. Paul highlights the Lord as the One who performed this initially, in 2.4-8.

“But God, being rich in mercy, because of His great love with which He loved us, even when we were dead in our transgressions, made us alive together with Messiah (by grace you have been saved), and raised us up with Him, and seated us with Him in the heavenly places in Messiah Jesus.”

Here we read that the Lord saved us, He made us alive together with Messiah. All because He loved us. Even when we were dead! Hallelujah. 

Let me show you this 2-minute video about partnerships specifically in Israel and this is working around the nation and around the world.

(Show video)

And we are seeing Jewish people come to that same conclusion in these days. Whether in Budapest or Tel Aviv and Jerusalem, in New York City and Ukraine. Even in Sydney, and our community of faith is living and growing. Your prayers for us will help. Your financial support will help.  

 The need to meet up with more Jewish people who are really interested in the Gospel is now. So I ask the churches to support us, one by one, to facilitate that.  You can use this square to donate up the back, or to buy products, like the latest book by David Brickner. Let’s keep talking. Let’s share together our commonality, our communication, our unity in Messiah. 

My new friends in Memphis, thanks for the invitation and your love for the Lord. Friends, thanks for filling out that white card and giving it to me, and thus your letting me speak to you again via our Jews for Jesus newsletter. If you are listening online, write to me at 60 Haight Street, San Francisco. 94102.  (or email me bob@jewsforjesus.org.au )Shabbat shalom!

And from here, let us go and gather others, in the spirit of Isaiah’s words to go to others and bring them to the Lord, in the mystery of Jew and Gentile together in Messiah, 10^th-generation Colonialists and newcomers to country, people who don’t act like, smell like, eat food like us. Let us exalt his name together forever, o sing his praises, magnify the Lord.

Day 6 Good Friday 2025. What Kind of God calls Good Friday "good"?

Day 6 is nicknamed "Good Friday" and the events and the sayings of the day have MUCH to say to us in 2025. What do you think?

If you are on Facebook, share the link there using this Bit ly  link:  https://bit.ly/BobGF2025 

Day 5 Holy Week 2025. What is Maundy Thursday and what is Passover?

Arrest, trial, illegal yet, Passover

Day 2 Monday of Holy Week ...in Jerusalem

What's going on with the Cleansing of the Temple when Yeshua tosssed the moneychangers out? Who is he? Who are they? What lessons do we learn?

Palm Sunday 2025

This week is titled "Holy Week" by many. This is the first of 8 short videos to talk about what actually happened that week in Jerusalem about 2,000 years ago and what, if any, that has to do with us. 

Watch this one, and each in order, please.

If I could speak..... with Sarah Silverman

 Another blog of a ‘what if’ variety

Over the years, I’ve seen a celebrity in sport or literature or movies/television and wondered aloud what I would say to that person if I could have say, 20 minutes with him/her. Today I’m wondering what I would say to Sarah Silverman if I had that time … you never know. What prompts this? 

I’m writing this blog post while on a United airlines flight from Sydney to San Francisco. I watched a Paul Reiser comedy show for an hour, then when it finished, the algorithm invited me next to watch the “Sarah Silverman: Someone you love” comedy special filmed in Boston in 2023. I always liked her on Saturday Night Live and when she shows up on other people’s shows, she’s very funny, very Jewish, usually a bit raw around the edges, and watchable, too. The flight is 14 hours, and after our lunch was served and collected, I thought, “why not?” It’s only 58 minutes after all.

 

The setting: the special “My Struggle”

The show starts with Sarah off stage, sharing final thoughts with her two small children, husband and the nanny named Colleen. The son is young, pre-teen, but wearing a Hasidic Jewish beard and fedora and says, “You are a disgrace to my people.”  She brushes it aside. OK, I thought, this could be a device. The kid doesn’t come back, but the idea does.

 

Within the first 20 minutes, Sarah tells us that she grew up in New Hampshire and used to attend church when she stayed over Saturday night with school friends. The takeaway from her experience back then was that the church used the concept of hell to keep people in check.  Fear and terror are what she remembers.

 

Sarah and her friend Heidi in New York City were recently walking near Washington Square Park, when she saw a group of Catholic children leaving school and shouts after them, “There is no hell!” She feels it her duty to correct the misinformation campaign of the church. 

 

What if I’m wrong?

She does pull back a little from that line of thinking, admitting that although she is sure there is no hell, “Maybe I’m wrong.” She is sure and gains affirmation from “this is a godless crowd” but then hedges her bets, “I have ‘God’ people in my life; my sister is a rabbi.” Even so, she works hard to convince the crowd of her non-belief in hell, and then subsequently in God himself. 

 

“Maybe there is a hell. If the burden of proof were on me, no, I can’t prove there is no hell.” That’s a spark of humility that is so refreshing and something for Sarah to consider. What if you are wrong, dear Sarah? Our people have lived throughout the centuries tossed to and fro in lands and religions and sometimes horrible persecutions by peoples who don’t know God. Don’t let the misanthropes of the Scouts or some of the Catholics rob you of the opportunity to know the Lord. And no, I can’t prove there is a God, but if there were a God, I would imagine that we would see ‘design’ in nature and in our purposes. We would see things like ‘love’ and ‘thankfulness’ and ‘kindness’ as moral and good. If there were a God, then some of us who follow him would want others to join us, so we would be evangelising and sharing the Good News message with others. If there were a God.

 

The Jewish situation

At 30 minutes, she tells a story of staying at a fancy schmancy Hawaiian hotel and their prevention of Jews being in the pool. Why? It is due to a strange diarrhea theme.  Sarah uses it to address antisemitism. I was surprised when she used the pool image to mean, “No Jews allowed.” She insisted and sought crowd affirmation that every Jew in the audience had diarrhea at least every 14 days of their lives. That’s not my experience, and I found the stereotype interesting. She asks one particular audience member, Kim Martin-Epstein, if he’s “ever gone 14 days without having diarrhea? That would be absurd,” she avers.

 

She used that pool story as a launchpad for more discussion of Jewish topics like Hanukkah and the idea of miracles at all! She says, “I don’t know why people hate Jews so much. I mean, I get, a little, but SO much?” 

 

She references Hitler’s book which is called Mein Kampf, which means “My Struggle,” Sarah says, “is there a more Jewish sounding book than that?” She wondered if she should title this comedy special “My Struggle” so that when it’s translated into German, …. That perpetual smile showed up again. Love it.

 

Remembering the only line of her son, she self-criticises her godlessness by saying that she is “selling out her culture for laughs.”  When she spoke about her podcast the last couple of years, she describes herself as being “so Jewy” on it. She avers that her increase in that is due to the increase in antisemitism worldwide. 

 

Believe with your whole heart

In light of the hell conversation and the abortion protesters, she says of herself, “I know what it is to believe in something with your whole heart…so that you want other people to believe it, too.” That’s righteous (her choice of words) for sure. Sarah, the faith some of us Jews have in Yeshua, our messiah, is available for you and your family and Heidi and everyone you mentioned in today’s show. I do believe in Jesus. He is our messiah. He did forgive me of all my sins, and he wants you to know him and follow him. 

 

My takeaways, if I could speak with Sarah 

1)        Sarah, in the same way you wanted to correct the misinformation with your ‘no hell’ shout at Washington Square Park, I would like to challenge you quietly and respectfully to read one of the biographies of Jesus for yourself. Like John’s bio. It’s sometimes called ‘The Gospel According to St John.’ Read what that Jewish man had to say, and catch his perspective on what he saw and heard. It couldn’t hurt.

2)        It IS a struggle to be Jewish and maybe even more so to be a Jew for Jesus. It doesn’t get us on a comedy circuit, and sometimes it’s a bit lonely out here, but it’s been worthwhile for me these 50 years of my faith journey.

3)        You don’t have to mock our people, or as you say, “sell out” your culture for laughs. We are a funny people and have many quirks. Even the phrase “Jews for Jesus” could be a whole set in another special down the road for you. But beyond the possible comedy of our name, the first followers of the Jewish messiah were not Catholics, but Jews. Not from Rome or Salt Lake City or New Hampshire, but from around Israel. 

4)        When God shows you his awesome love, I expect you to believe with your whole heart, and what a day of rejoicing that will be, for you, your partner, and all in your spheres of influence. 

 

Final thoughts

I’m sure that many of my followers on FB, insta or this Blog would be super offended at the themes and the at least R-rated language. Sarah speaks easily about bodily functions, sexual activity, and such. If you would be bothered by this, please give this special a miss. Also I wonder if Andrew Mendelson who is listed in the credits as being the Editor is related to me. You never know.

 

Now I press the button, send this Blog, and move on to the next algorithmic recommendation, Seth Meyers (who is ¼ Jewish, and married to a Jewish lawyer) in his Dad Man Walking special. 

Zachor: Purim, Women's Day and Remembering

 

Zachor: Shabbat and command

i.                           Introduction

Shabbat shalom to each of you here in Perth and those of you watching and listening to this talk from somewhere else around the globe. 

Today is International Women’s day and that in itself is likely a highlight for half of you. We here at the Perth Messianic Assembly are part of a global Jewish movement and thus the national and dare I say international pandemic of antisemitism is also front and centre in our concerns. Antisemitism is racism. And it’s advancing in Australia and globally in unprecedented and almost unbridled strength since 7 October 2023. 

ii.                       Antisemitism abounds

The news media reports it. The government decries it and dances around avoiding taking a significant stand lest some of their constituents vote them out in the next election which here in WA is happening just now. Universities around the globe advance the notion of free speech and then get caught with tent cities of opposition to the very institution that grants them alleged freedoms. Heads roll as public outcry demands leadership do something or be stood down. Racism is a violent reality with no apparent end in sight.

On 9 October 18 months ago, the organization “Never Again is Now” was launched by my friend, Anglican minister and Jewish believer Mark Leach in Sydney. Some of you might have been involved in his new organization here in Perth rallies even a fortnight ago, as they are seeking to change all that. More associations are also speaking out. An institute in the US is dedicated to stamping out antisemitism. Zachor Legal Institute, is one such agency. It is a legal think tank and advocacy organization, taking the lead in the legal battle against antisemitism and the delegitimization of Israel, including the Boycott, Divestment and Sanctions Movement (BDS). It is based in Bozeman, Montana in the US. Their main staff are three: Marc Greendorfer, (Yeshiva Law 1996), Ron Machol, the head of all non-legal issues and a high-tech leader, and Vanessa Hites, (School of Law, University of Chile, NYU.) 

iii.                  Zachor now and in the Older Testament

Their organization is named Zachor. The Hebrew word, ‘zachor’ means ‘remember.’ This group caught my eye this week, since today in synagogues worldwide the ordinary readings in Torah are supplemented by an additional reading. This supplementing happens during all 6 weeks before Passover every year. How long is that? Think about this, 6 weeks x 7 days is 42 days, and whether the Jews had this in place, or more likely we borrowed this countdown from the Church in its 40+ days Lenten expression which begins annually with Ash Wednesday (in 2025 a few days ago), it’s unclear. What we have is the first bonus reading today. The parsha is renamed “Zachor” and begins with the citation from Deuteronomy chapter 25. There we read: “Remember what Amalek did to you along the way when you came out from Egypt” (.17)

זָכ֕וֹר אֵ֛ת אֲשֶׁר־עָשָׂ֥ה לְךָ֖ עֲמָלֵ֑ק

Then the text continues, 

¹⁸ how Amalek met you along the way and attacked among you all the stragglers at your rear when you were faint and weary; and he did not fear God. Therefore it shall come about when the LORD your God has given you rest from all your surrounding enemies, in the land which the LORD your God gives you as an inheritance to possess, you shall blot out the memory of Amalek from under heaven; you must not forget.” (Dt. 25:18-19)

The quick story is bracketed with these words, “remember” and “don’t forget.”   

זָכ֕וֹר and לֹ֖א תִּשְׁכָּֽח

That sounds like the same thing, doesn’t it? If I forget I’m not remembering and if I remember, I’m not forgetting. But listen, each of us responds to commands differently. Some of you need to hear “Don’t covet” while others of you need to hear “Be content with what you have.” Some need to hear “Don’t commit adultery” and others require “Love your spouse.” Both are accurate; both teach us. Both are mandates, but depending on your personality, we often either choose to hear, or dare I say, only hear things in the positive or the negative. Either way, the result is the same. Make it happen. Don’t do the wrong. Make it happen.

OK, that sounds situational and a matter of compliance. And today’s command to remember and not forget has to do with this particular enemy of the Jewish people, Amalek. 

iv.          Amalek and Purim

Who was he? The leader of an ancient people who lived in the south of Canaan, in the Negev, a fierce and warlike Bedouin people, who made themselves foes of Israel during the Exodus. Then later they were marauders in Israeli territory who were defeated both by Saul (1 Sam. 15) and by David (1 Chr. 18). The head of the people of course was a grandson of Esau (Gen. 36.12) who apparently was later connected with Ephraim’s territory (Jg. 5.14)

OK, so today we remember Amalek and we don’t forget him. Oh, this coming week we celebrate Purim, the festival of lots, and eat certain foods, as almost always happens on a Jewish holiday. Do you remember that story, too? A quick retelling is warranted today on International Women’s Day.

You see, the Jewish people were in trouble in Shushan and all the 127 provinces of the Persian empire. The king’s prime minister was evil and had made the king to make declarations against the Jewish people. We had to bow to the king and his images or face the consequences. A young Jewish beauty named Hadassah (renamed to be Esther) stood up to the challenge and she helped save our people. That should make the Top Ten on International Women’s Day, don’t you reckon?

The prime minister was named Haman and you know what to do when you hear his name, right? Stomp it out, grogger over it, get his name out of the house. In Scripture he is called an Agagite (Esther 8.3). That’s his people’s identity. Who was Agag? He was once the king of the Amalekites (1 Sam 15). So Haman is from the people whom we are to remember and not forget today. No wonder next week’s story will feature this episode in Israel’s history.

V. Beyond the victim

But here’s a nuance that today I want to highlight, so that when we are long separated from one another, you will benefit greatly from this d’rash even more.

You see, simply remembering the enemies of our Jewish people often makes us ever the victims. Psychologically, a victim who perpetuates the wrongs done to him will remain a victim and live to reference the Star Wars classic ‘on the dark side.’

Now I don’t want to diminish the remembrance of Haman, Agag, Amalek and all the enemies of the Jewish people, lest we forget that we must be ever vigilant in response. Think of Pharaoh or Hitler. We remember Hamas in our day and we must be aware and decry. We must not forget. Don’t get me wrong. But where else is our vigilance?\

vi.          Zachor the Almighty and his deeds

Let me see if I can put this in perspective. 

We as Jews are also mandated to remember who God is, what he did for us in various times of our history. If we forget, we will be punished or go into exile or lose our way. Remembrance is key to any highlight reel of Jewish story.

Think back to Gideon (Judges 8) and let it sink in.

“Then it came about, as soon as Gideon was dead, that the sons of Israel again played the harlot with the Baals, and made Baal-berith their god. Thus the sons of Israel did not remember the LORD their God, who had delivered them from the hands of all their enemies on every side; nor did they show kindness to the household of Jerubbaal (that is, Gideon) in accord with all the good that he had done to Israel.” (.33-35)

If we don’t remember, we lose. Captivity happens. Failure attends us. Life leaves us. We lose.

Zachor Haman. Zachor Amalek. AND Zachor GOD. Zachor what God did and Zachor WHO HE IS. Zachor Hashem! Zachor.

Listen to these words in Torah. 

“Take heed to yourself, and diligently keep yourself, lest you forget the things your eyes have seen, and lest they depart from your heart all the days of your life. And teach them to your children and your grandchildren” (Dt. 4.9)

פֶּן־תִּשְׁכַּ֨ח

Later in chapter 4, again, “Take heed to yourselves, lest you forget the covenant of the LORD your God which He made with you, and make for yourselves a carved image in the form of anything which the LORD your God has forbidden you.”(4.23)

And again Moses said, “beware, lest you forget the LORD who brought you out of the land of Egypt, from the house of bondage. (6.12)

Get it? Remember, zachor God! One more from Moses, “And you shall remember the whole way that the Lord your God has led you these forty years in the wilderness, that he might humble you, testing you to know what was in your heart, whether you would keep his commandments or not.” (Dt. 8.2)

Isaiah even joins the chorus with “Remember the former things” (Isaiah 46:9)

Asaph, the music director under King David wrote, “I will remember the deeds of the Lord, yes, I will remember your wonders of old.” (Ps. 77.11)

David wrote, “I remember the days of old, I meditate on all that you have done; I ponder the work of your hands.” (Ps. 143.5)

vii.               A counsellor speaks

Sarah Puebla is a biblical counsellor in the USA. She’s part of the Association of Biblical Counsellors (https://biblicalcounseling.com/) I found her article entitled, “The Power of God and The Power of Remembering” extremely helpful. (https://bit.ly/RememberingPuebla)

She cites a couple of biblical texts, especially Psalm 77 where the psalmist is despairing and then says, “When I remember God, I moan; when I meditate my spirit faints. 

You hold my eyelids open; I am so troubled that I cannot speak.” (77.1-4)

That doesn’t sound like she wins, does it? In fact, Puebla says, “These four verses are the perfect description of the body, mind, and spirit of one who is suffering and is spiralling down into hopelessness. We feel no comfort. Sleep leaves us and refuses to ease our eyelids shut. We feel faint, dry-mouthed and lacking in any words. As troubling and difficult these verses may be to read, just seeing them written in God’s Word should bring about a small amount of hope that the Lord recognizes these are real and tangible. But we must not stop there. We must seek and remember.”

Then the psalm reads as follows:

“I consider the days of old, the years long ago. I said ‘Let me remember my song in the night; let me meditate in my heart. Then my spirit made a diligent search. I will remember the deeds of the Lord; yes, I will remember your wonders of old. I will ponder all your work and meditate on your mighty deeds.” (77.5-6, 11-12)

She asks, “how do we do this?” Her dual answer is: “First, we turn to the written Word of God. “

Then, “Secondly, an important discipline in remembering is to think back on our own lives. As I have engaged counselees in this discipline, I have encouraged them to not only start in their trial now but also think back to what God has done in the past and journal about it. It can be a list form or prayer form, or journal form. It can even be a wall set aside in one’s home to display front and centre what God has done in the days, months, and years past. This practice has been invaluable in my own life as I have encountered tremendously difficult trials.”

 

viii.     Zachor in the Newer Testament

I would be remiss if we only looked at the Tenach today. We must hear the words of Messiah himself. He taught so much and lived so much. He accomplished so much. What are we to remember from Yeshua?

For that, we look to the end of this forty-day “Jewish Lenten” expression of time. You see, Yeshua gathered again with his disciples, his apprentices in Jerusalem on Passover. He had likely done so for several years, but on this occasion, we in history title it “The Last Supper.” That seder gave us what many in churches take today as the eucharist, the communion, the bread and wine, and they even use some of the words from that sacred memorial evening. 

What is Passover? It’s a Zikaron. Yes, same root, zachor. A memorial. Exodus 12 says, “Now this day will be a memorial to you, and you shall celebrate it as a feast to the LORD; throughout your generations you are to celebrate it as a permanent ordinance.” (12.14)

The Passover meal was to be zachored. It was to be a memorial of what God did. He saved us from Pharaoh. He took us out of Egypt. He marched with us through the Red Sea. Eventually he took us into our promised land. Zachor God!

So on this night, in Jerusalem, when Yeshua was celebrating the memorial of that deliverance and the Exodus itself, Yeshua instituted another memorial. Luke records it for us. “And when He had taken bread and given thanks, He broke it and gave it to them, saying, “This is My body which is given for you; do this in remembrance of Me.” And in the same way the cup after they had eaten, saying, “This cup which is poured out for you is the new covenant in My blood.” (Luke 22.19-20)

Another memorial within the former memorial. A subroutine of memorials. A wheel within a wheel. Remember. Don’t forget. 

Paul the Apostle told us nearly a generation later, “For as often as you eat this bread and drink the cup, you proclaim the Lord’s death until He comes.” (1 Cor. 11.26)

         Zachor Yeshua. His death and resurrection. His soon coming again. Zachor to proclaim him. Get your eyes off yourself, o victim. Get your eyes on the One who is our life. Yeshua our Messiah and ultimate Deliverer. 

ix.                   Conclusion: Remember and proclaim

Sarah Puebla’s entire article is worth a read. 

The entire Book of Psalms is worth a read.

The entire Bible is worth a read. 

God is worthy of our attention today. 

Please don’t only Zachor Amalek.  Please don’t live in a victim state. Please remember and don’t forget all the Lord has done for you. Remember Yeshua and his ultimate love for you and for all yours. 

Yes, there will be tough times and times when we are deep in sorrow. Yes, we will remember 7 October and 1 September 1939. Our people were evicted in1492 from Granada, Spain and in 1290 when we Jews were evicted out of England. We won’t forget Babi Yar. We will remember the evils done to us, even here in Australia in Melbourne and Sydney as we’ve seen on the television news recently. AND we will remember that were the Lord not on our side, we would have fallen again and again; we would be no more. We would have perished along with the Hivites and the Agagites and the Canaanites. 

But now, go beyond that. Remember God and his mercy. Remember his covenants, that he made with our fathers Abraham, Isaac and Jacob, with David and the ultimate new covenant, not like the covenant he made with Moses when we left Egypt (Jeremiah 31.31), but the new covenant Yeshua instituted that Pesach night in Jerusalem.  Remember the death and resurrection of our Messiah and love him with all your heart and soul. Proclaim the Lord’s death until he returns. 

The days are dark and evil. 

I close with these words from the Brit Hadasha, Jude verses 17 and following:

“But you, beloved, ought to remember the words that were spoken beforehand by the apostles of our Lord Jesus the Messiah, that they were saying to you, “In the last time there will be mockers, following after their own ungodly lusts.” These are the ones who cause divisions, worldly-minded, devoid of the Spirit. But you, beloved, building yourselves up on your most holy faith, praying in the Holy Spirit, keep yourselves in the love of God, waiting anxiously for the mercy of our Lord Messiah Jesus to eternal life. And have mercy on some, who are doubting; save others, snatching them out of the fire; and on some have mercy with fear, hating even the garment polluted by the flesh.” (Jude 17-23)

Thank you Ross and Mei. Thank you to each of you who keeps making PMA such a light on a hill here in Perth. Thanks for standing with us as we make the name of Yeshua known near and far in these troubled and troubling times. Zachor Messiah. 

Thank you and Shabbat shalom.