Exploring the Book of Ya’aqov, Pt. 1

From יַעֲקֹב, Ya’aqov, a slave of God and of the Master יֵשׁוּעַ, Yeshua the Messiah; to the Twelve Tribes of Yis’rael who are in the Dispersion: שָׁלוֹם, shalom. Count it all joy, my brothers, when you fall into various ways of testing, knowing that the proving of your faith brings about perseverance in you. And let the perseverance have a maturing work, so that you may be mature and complete, lacking in nothing.
(יַעֲקֹב Ya’aqov 1:1-4, mjlt)

Ya’aqov had every right to brag. Being the brother of Yeshua, he also garnered a great deal of respect and influence as an authoritative voice among the Emissaries. And yet, when he wrote his powerful letter to the Jewish believers “who had been scattered abroad from the oppression that came after Stephen” (Acts 13:19, mjlt), he identified himself in his greeting simply as “a slave of God and of the Master יֵשׁוּעַ, Yeshua the Messiah.” More than a mere statement of humility, acknowledging one’s position as a “slave” emphasizes and elevates the position of one’s “Master.” It speaks categorically as to whose purpose one will serve, and whose will one will subvert. It is from this lowly vantage point that Ya’aqov is fully qualified to address the plight of his brothers and sisters, and to advise them in their behavior and actions as they live their own lives as slaves of Messiah. Read more

Do you remember when you first came to Yeshua? Perhaps you were a child at the time, and you were taught to trust God and love Him as a father—a love and trust that followed you into adulthood; a love and trust that you continue to rely upon as a son or daughter of God.

Or perhaps when you first came to Yeshua, you were a teenager or an adult, and you came to Him as your savior and friend. You began to learn over time to increasingly trust Him as your protector and constant companion—a mighty defender, and an approachable, compassionate and caring God.

And certainly, for as long as we follow Him, God is and always will be all these things: our father, our savior, our friend.

But as disciples of Messiah, we must also not forget the price of our discipleship, which means that we are more than just God’s friend, more than just His children, and more than just the goal of His salvation.Indeed, as Messiah’s disciples, He is also our Master, and we, therefore, His slaves. We show our gratitude, then, for God’s fatherhood, friendship and salvation by devoting our lives—and enslaving ourselves—to the Messiah.

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This month, all over the world, most Jewish families will be recounting their ancestors’ ancient Exodus from Egypt through the annual tradition of the Passover seder. Sadly, many of them will also fail to hear of the true meaning of God’s salvation and sacrifice.

According to the Torah, it is not only Israel’s responsibility to perform the Passover sacrifice each year, but also parents’ responsibility to explain the purpose of the sacrifice to their children, as captured in the following father/son exchange from Perfect Word Ministries’ Messianic Passover Haggadah, Behold the Lamb.

son: Abba, “what is this ‘avodah [ceremony, rite] you have?” (Exodus 12:26)

abba: It is “a sacrifice of Pesach [Passover] to Adonai, who passed over the houses of the sons of Yis’rael [Israel] in Egypt when He struck down the Egyptians, and our houses He delivered” (Exodus 12:27).

son: Abba, why are we to “take of the blood, and put it on the two side-posts and on the lintel over the houses in which we eat it?” (Exodus 12:27)

abba: It is to remember that “the blood has become as a sign for” us—that when Adonai saw “the blood, He passed over” us, “and a plague for destruction was not on us when He struck the land of Egypt” (Exodus 12:13).

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