Hope for Finding Common Ground

I’m always excited to meet other believers in Yeshua, regardless of affiliation or relationship to the Messianic Jewish movement. Recently, we were getting to know another believing family, and over the course of those first few awkward moments of getting acquainted, the young father asked me, “So, what kind of music do you like?” Now, being a musician myself, this was not a strange question to me—in fact, it was one which I could readily answer. Yet within me, it struck a dissonant chord of superficiality. Here we were: two men in Yeshua, two fathers of sons, meeting for the first time, and our best point of connection was the kind of music I like?

While one’s taste in music may be shallow common ground for planting a relationship, believers in Yeshua have been known to build on less. But what about more substantial issues, such as controversial doctrines? Are shared beliefs on things like “once saved, always saved,” predestination, baptism, speaking in tongues, or whether or not Christians are required to keep Torah, enough to establish the foundation for deep, enduring relationships? Or perhaps we can find our camaraderie over slightly less contentious matters, such as style of worship, method of prayer, or manner of preaching?

But what happens when our tastes change? What if our doctrinal perspectives shift? How can a relationship built on personal preference or position papers survive such a transformation? Read more

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This Hanukkah: Hoopla or Holiness?

If you have not yet read my book The Real Story of Chanukah: Dedicated to the Death, you may not realize how closely the civil conditions of those days parallel the societal climate in which we presently live. For example, on page 24, I write,

In the political and cultural climate fostered under the “sinful offshoot” Antiochus Ephiphanes [the Greco-Syrian king who occupied Israel], the Jewish people began to test the waters of personal liberty as they explored alternative lifestyles outside of godly boundaries. A vocal, activist, minority within Israel—those who were overtly and shamelessly defiling the Torah—paraded their transgressions before the general population, inciting them also to go astray.

As the story unfolds, we come to find out that such exploration of “personal liberty” and “alternative lifestyles” eventually leads to dire consequences for Israel. Read more

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Prepare the Way

An ancient voice keeps calling out, “In the wilderness, prepare the way of Adonai; make straight in the desert a highway to our God” (Isaiah 40:3). The prophetic call to be God’s trail blazers has been passed down through the generations—from Elijah (see 1Kings 18:36-37), to Isaiah, to John the Immerser/“Baptist” (see Matthew 11:10-14)—and it will continually resound until the Day the Master Yeshua triumphantly returns (see Malachi 4:5-6). Yet for today, “the way of Adonai” goes woefully unprepared. In our generation, we have misunderstood the instruction and wandered far from the path of our prophetic purpose. We have wrongly imagined “prepare the way” as a call to build, when it is, in fact, just the opposite.  Read more

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A Different Perspective on Feast-Keeping

Q: I’m really struggling with the feasts. I love Shabbat and studying the Torah, but for some reason I… don’t feel a drawing to keep the feasts, other than to study them at their time and season. I’ve prayed about this because I don’t want to be disobedient to the Word… Thanks Kevin.

A: Perhaps it will help to look at this issue from a different perspective. When Adonai instituted the annual calendar for Israel’s feasts and appointed times, He based it on the Land’s natural agricultural and seasonal schedule. Passover, for example, is in the Spring, at the beginning of the harvest season; Shavuot is at the end of the spring harvest going into summer; Sukot wraps up all the harvesting in the Fall. Read more

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Listen to "Deny Yourself"

In this powerful, intense, live teaching presented during the Yom Kippur season, Kevin Geoffrey presents the Scriptural mandate for both the holiest day of the year and the daily life for disciples of Messiah: deny yourself. Taken to heart, this message will not only change the way you view Yom Kippur, but it will radically alter the course of your life.

Audio, which was available on Wednesday, September 26, 2012, is no longer available here. Please go here instead.

Yom Kippur… the single holiest day on Israel’s calendar—and it is best observed by doing absolutely nothing… the Master Yeshua, our great high priest, has already done it all! The Yom Kippur command to deny oneself is also the heartbeat of those who live for Messiah, in whom this awesome day is fulfilled. For more about “Deny Yourself” and Yom Kippur:

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The Humanity of Yeshua

While the Scriptures testify to the deity of the Messiah Yeshua—that He is, in fact, God in the flesh (see perfectword.org/deity)—they also simultaneously assert the Master’s complete and genuine humanity. Affirming His deity, Yeshua embraced the title “Son of God” (cf. John 5:18, 10:22-39 and 19:7), and occasionally referenced His own divine origins (cf. Matthew 22:42-46; Mark 12:35-37; John 3:13, 6:62), but He most often referred to Himself as the “Son of Man.” Apparently, “Son of Man” is an allusion to Daniel 7:13-14, which Yeshua seems to use as an acknowledgment of His role and calling of Messiah—similar to the meaning behind the title “Son of David.” Though neither of these titles are a direct affirmation of the Master’s humanity, both reinforce His interaction and association with humanity, as well as His sharing in our very nature and experience.  Read more

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Judaism’s Calendar Confusion

Q: A friend of mine is reading a book by someone who said there are four calendars we are to operate on Scripturally. Have you ever heard about this?

A: Your friend is correct when he says that Judaism understands there to be four calendars (or “new years”), hence the reason the first day of the seventh month is celebrated as “Rosh HaShanah”—the “head of the year.” With all due respect to the Rabbis, however, such an idea cannot be defended from Scripture.

First, while the phrase Rosh HaShanah does occur in Ezekiel 40:1, it is not in reference to the first day of the seventh month. Second, though Exodus 34:22 says that “the revolution of the year” occurs in the seventh month, the phrase is referring to the Feast of Ingathering, which falls on the fifteenth of the month, not on the first. “The revolution of the year” speaks to the circuitous nature of Israel’s agricultural schedule, the harvests of which begin in the Spring and conclude in the Fall. Then the process of planting, sowing and reaping repeats.

Scripture only mentions one beginning of the year: Rosh ’Chadashiym, which means “Head of the Months” (“Months” is literally “New Moons”). Exodus 12:2 calls it “the first of the months of the year,” referring to the month in Spring known Niysan (Ne.2:1, Est.3:7) or Aviyv (Ex.13:4).

So, despite the historical development of Judaism, Adonai established only one annual calendar for Israel, and it begins with the harvest and new life of Spring.

What do you think? How, if at all, should this affect our observance? Other thoughts?
Sound off below.

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Taking Root In Good Soil

Throughout the Scriptures, we are frequently exhorted to persevere—to keep pressing forward in the face of adversity. We need this encouragement because our natural tendency is to avoid conflict, trials, troubles, or hardship of any kind—to not persevere. No one likes to suffer and endure pain or discomfort, but if we always travel the path of least resistance, we cannot learn and grow from life’s challenges. As disciples of Messiah, we will all encounter a set of difficulties uniquely designed to cause growth in our lives. How we deal with these trials speaks directly to our level of maturity in Him. Perseverance, then, is the stepping-stone from tribulation to maturity.

The Master teaches us, “[A sower went out to sow his seed, which is…] the word of God. [The seed that fell] beside the way were those who heard [the word], then the Accuser came and took up the word from their heart, lest having believed, they might have been saved. [The seed that fell] upon the rock [are] those who, when they heard the word, received it with joy. Yet these who have no root believed for a while, but in time of trial, fell away. [The seed] that fell to the thorns [are] those who have heard, but, going forth, were choked through anxieties [about] wealth and pleasures of life, and bore no [fruit] to maturity. But that [seed which fell] on the good soil are these: they, who with an upright and good heart, having heard the word, retain it, and bear fruit with perseverance.” Luke 8:11-15

One of the primary reasons we do not grow and mature in Messiah is simple: we want the “fruit,” but we don’t have the “root.” As the Master’s parable illustrates, there are various kinds of obstacles that keep us from putting down roots and bearing the fruit of maturity. Our uncultivated, rocky soil doesn’t allow the roots to take hold, and the seed is stolen from us so that we cannot withstand the trials of life. If, by chance, a seed does begin to take root, its growth is choked back by the thorns of anxiety until the plant withers and dies. We may receive the seed and even have it planted within us, but without “good soil,” it will not bear fruit and mature.

The disciple of Messiah is to be like “good soil” for the implantation of the Word of God—having heard the Word, we are to “retain it, and bear fruit with perseverance.” The word translated as perseverance is the Greek hupomone, describing a person who is steadfast, consistent, and enduring. In the Master’s parable, this word describes a characteristic of the “good soil”—it steadfastly holds on to the seed, allowing its roots to grow deep and wide.

But instead of offering ourselves up as “good soil,” we often come with our rocks and thorns and our own “ways” of doing things. We put the seed in this soil and think something miraculous will happen. However, it is only in “good soil” that the work of perseverance can be accomplished so that, in turn, the Word of God can do its work and grow us to maturity. We need to put forth the effort to endure trials and tribulations and hold onto—“retain”—the word, so that we may “bear fruit with perseverance.”

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Introduction to Bible Translations

Q: I was curious, which English Bible translation do you find to be the most accurate? Is there a correct / accurate Hebrew / English Bible translation? Is there a good Hebrew Bible Dictionary other than the Strong’s? Is there a Messianic Jewish Commentary that I can trust? Any advice or guidance will help. Thank you.

A: These are all great questions—thank you for asking!

As you probably already know, he Scriptures were written in Hebrew (some in Aramaic) and Greek. So when we read the Scriptures in English, we are reading a translation. By definition, this means that no translation can be absolutely “correct.” A translation requires more than just the conversion of individual words. Concepts and connotations need to be understandable by the receiving audience. The various Bible translations fall along a spectrum between literal and paraphrase. A literal translation attempts to convey the original meanings of words and phrases. A paraphrase focuses on the translation of original ideas and concepts. Many modern translations attempt to preserve a certain level of what is called “dynamic equivalence” with the source texts, trying to strike a balance between the literal and paraphrase ends of the spectrum. Read more

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Yeshua Is God in the Flesh

Q: Dear sir, I have been a Bible-believing Christian for over twenty years. Lately, my brother has been debating with me that Jesus has all the qualities of a Savior and that He is the only way to be saved, but says that He was not God incarnate, but only the Son of God. Do all messianic Jews believe this? Could you please give me detailed information as to why, either way? Is Jesus Christ God incarnate, or not, according to Messianic belief? Your time spent in replying to me would be very much appreciated!  Read more

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