Hebrew is Helpful to know Jesus

Hebrew is important to understand Jesus and His ministry. The people that Jesus ministered to and worked with were mostly Hebrew. Jesus used common rabbinical teaching methods in His teachings, such as the frequent use of the hyperbole like in (Mt 7:3-5 or 19:24).

Another example is the expression in Mt 6:23 (KJ) "eye be evil" is not about poor eyesight or witchcraft but rather the Jewish understanding that an "evil eye" meant stinginess or jealousy

Click here to see the biblical evidence that Jesus’ primary language was Hebrew.

Click here to see a list of some of the Hebrew Scriptures Jesus quoted.

Jesus says, "This cup is the new covenant in My blood; do this, whenever you drink it, in remembrance of Me." 1 Co 11:25 (NI) These words made sense to some of the Jewish people Jesus was speaking to, if not at the time, then later after His blood was shed at His crucifixion. Some understood that blood was important in a covenant between God and man. They remembered that in previous covenants there was a symbolic remembrance. With Noah it was the rainbow (Ge 9:13) and with Abraham it was circumcision (Ge 4-14) and now with Jesus it was the cup in the last supper. Some understood that a blood sacrifice offering of a lamb was normal in Abraham's day (Ge 22:7-8) and at the time of the Passover (Ex 12:3-21) and in Temple worship (Lev 9:3). Some connected these facts when John the baptizer saw Jesus and referred to Him as, "the Lamb of God, who takes away the sin of the world". (Jn 1:29 NI) Unfortunately, many Jewish people did not understand as God complained about people who hear but do not "understand"(Is 6:9), including some Jewish followers of Jesus who subsequently stopped following Him after His comments about blood (Jn 6:53-66). Apparently the sad result for the Jewish people who did not understand or for other reasons did not turn to Jesus as a people was the destruction of the second Temple and being exiled form the Promised Land for 1,878 years. If you care about God's Chosen Jewish people, please include taking spiritual authority over demons for them in your daily prayers.

As a follower of Jesus it is good to be considered special or chosen by God. Jesus teaches us that all that is required is to "BELIEVE" in Him to have eternal life (Jn 3:16 NI) and yet some Christians suggest it is even easier and all that is necessary is God's grace. Jesus teaches us that only a "FEW" will make it to eternal life (Mt 7:14 NI). How can we be part of that special few? Some of Jesus' teachings are difficult to "UNDERSTAND" for various reasons (Mt 13:13-19 NI). People who write commentaries or explanations of Jesus' teachings may avoid some teachings or try to give logical explanations that sound good. The best way to understand what is in the bible is to use the bible if at all possible to understand what is recorded in the bible. When Jesus' words originally spoken in Hebrew were recorded in Greek there was no Hebrew-Greek dictionary available. The best source for understanding how to translate the Hebrew words into Greek was the Hebrew bible (aka The Old Testament) that was translated into Greek, called the Septuagint. When Jesus says, "For many are called, but few are chosen" (Mt 22:14 (NKJ), the word "called" is also translated as "invited" or "summoned". The word "chosen" is usually translated "few are chosen". A popular explanation of this verse is that many are invited but few accept the invitation1. The Greek word eklektos, which is, translated "chosen", when we check it in the Septuagint and refer to the original Hebrew word for better understanding; we find eklektos is the Greek translation of many different Hebrew words. For example, in Genesis 41:2 the Hebrew word bari, translated eklektos, refers to the "choice" cows; in Judges 20:16 the Hebrew word bachuwr, also translated eklektos, refers to "select" men or soldiers; Isaiah 22:7 the Hebrew word mibchar, also translated eklektos, refers to the "most beautiful" or "nicest" valleys; Isaiah 43:20 the Hebrew word bachiyr, also translated eklektos, refers to God's "chosen" people. There is no doubt that Jesus was saying many are "called" but few are "choice, special, extra nice" or "chosen".

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