The Hidden Messiah – Vayigash – Dec. 27

I have been living in the Middle East for almost fourteen years now.  The various cultures and languages in such a small part of the world have given me a whole new perspective of the human race and an appreciation for the diversity that God has given to mankind.  There has been one issue, however, that has baffled me over the years in the Middle East and continues to vex me almost everyday; the Middle Eastern perspective of Jesus.

Amongst Muslims, Jesus or Isa is considered to be just a prophet of God that failed in his mission.  Amongst the Jewish people Jesus is considered a great teacher and rabbi that lost his way.  They say that he did some miracles but then used his popularity to start a new religion, Christianity.  Jesus is thereby considered to be the “god” or prophet of the Christians but he has nothing to do with the peoples that consider themselves Muslims of Jews.  In my opinion, Jesus is the most misunderstood person in the Middle East and especially in the Land of Israel, where he was born.

The Roots of the Deception of Jesus 

How did the Messiah of the nation of Israel become so removed from His own people?  It started with rejection and continued with deception.  One of the biggest deceptions amongst the Jewish people is the identity of Jesus.  Somewhere alone the timeline of history, during these past 2000 years, religious Jews decided to change the name of Jesus.

The Hebrew name for Jesus is “Yeshua,” His original given name when He was born.  “Yeshua” means “salvation.”  It was not a new name when Yeshua was born.  There are examples in the Bible of people with the name Yeshua (Ezra 2:2, 6, 36, 40, Nehemiah 3:19).  There was also a village that bears the name Yeshua (Nehemiah 11:26).  Yeshua was a normal name with significant meaning, like most names in the Hebrew Language.

There is meaning and significance in the name a person is given.  Yeshua was given His name because He would save His people from their sin (Matt. 1:21).  The name Yeshua continually reminds everyone who hears or calls on His name that Yahweh would save His people.  This was a difficult concept for religious Jews to accept so they changed His name.  They changed His name from Yeshua to Yeshu.  If you look in a English-Hebrew dictionary today for the name Jesus you will see the name “Yeshu.”  The average person in Israel today simply believes that His name is Yeshu.  Religious Jews generally know of the roots of this deception, however, secular Jews generally don’t and simply think His name was and is Yeshu.

Power in a Name

One day I was talking with a secular Israeli Jew who was serving in the Israeli military, whom we’ll call Eli.  As Eli and I talked about spiritual things he was having trouble understanding my faith as a Jewish person and he asked how I would categorize myself; as either secular, traditional, or religious.  I explained to Eli that I am a Jew who believes in the Messiah and consider myself a Messianic Jew, meaning a Jew who believes in Yeshua.  Eli was surprised to hear this and was curious to talk more.

During our conversation Eli continually called Yeshua by that other name, “Yeshu.”  I told Eli that His name is Yeshua and not Yeshu.  Eli stated that it didn’t really matter as Yeshu was just a shortened name of Yeshua.  I told Eli that this isn’t correct and asked him if he understood why religious Jews gave Yeshua this other name, Yeshu.  At first he said yes but in reality he didn’t know how to answer this question.  I explained to Eli the history and meaning behind this derogatory term while confirming that His real name is Yeshua.  Eli was hearing this for the first time and then exclaimed, “So Yeshua is Jewish!”  Eli had a major shift in his thinking toward Yeshua when he came to understand His real name and left with a new perspective regarding this supposed “enemy of the Jews.”

The Difference between “Yeshu” & “Yeshua”

For those who are not familiar with this deceptive name “Yeshu” I will take a few lines here to spell it out.  “Yeshu” is meaningless by itself in the Hebrew language, in fact, it is not a word at all but rather an acronym.  This acronym contains the first letters of three Hebrew words: ימח שמו וזיכרו (Yimak Shemo veZikaro) which is literally a curse meaning, “May his name and memory be erased.”  By using the name “Yeshu” people are cursing His name with every breath.  By using His real name “Yeshua” they are remembering and proclaiming the salvation of God.  As previously mentioned, most Israelis know Yeshua only by this acronym, which is a curse.  They don’t even know His real name.  The real person of Yeshua is hidden from them by the change of his name.

Joseph and Yeshua

In this week’s Torah Portion (Gen. 44:18 – Gen. 47:27) we see an amazing parallel from the life of Joseph to the Messiah Yeshua.  In fact, in Judaism there is the traditional belief of the Messiah son of Joseph (click here to read more).  So in essence there is the Messiah son Joseph and Messiah son of David.  Messiah son of Joseph is to come first and prepare the way for the coming of the Messiah son of David.  It is also said of Messiah son of Joseph that he will be killed in his preparing the way.  It is interesting to understand the prophetic connections with Joseph and Yeshua.  I would like to look at a few of these connections.

The Hidden Face of the Messiah

When Joseph became ruler of the land of Egypt, second to Pharaoh, he was given a new name, Zaphenath-Paneach (Gen. 41:45).  Joseph now had a new identity and a new name.  He had been living in Egypt for 13 years, he had learned the local language, and he had fully integrated into this new world.  Joseph was now known as the ruler of Egypt and he was hidden from his own family.  When Joseph’s brothers came to Egypt to buy grain Joseph recognized his bothers but they did not recognize him (Gen. 42:8).  Joseph had a foreign name and a foreign identity.  As mentioned above, Yeshua was also given a new name and a new identity.

Joseph Considered as Dead to his Brothers

When Judah approached Joseph as the Egyptian ruler in the beginning of this week’s Torah reading, Judah sought to defend himself and his brothers before Joseph.  Judah reminded Joseph of their previous conversation and of the family status.  Judah spoke of his aged father, of his youngest brother Benjamin who is the beloved of his father, and of Benjamin’s brother (Joseph) who was considered as dead (Gen. 44:18-20).  To Judah and his brothers there was no way that Joseph could have survived 20 years of slavery.  They believed he was dead.  Reuben believed Joseph was dead (Gen. 42:22). Their father, Jacob, also considered Joseph as dead (Gen. 44:28).

The sons of Israel never believed the dreams of Joseph.  They thought that Joseph’s dreams were just made up stories and they sold Joseph into slavery.  Instead of killing him themselves they gave the job to others.  As a result of their actions they considered Joseph dead (Gen. 44:20).

Yeshua is Considered as Dead to the Jewish People

In the very same way, the religious leaders in the time of Yeshua rejected Yeshua’s teaching and the prophecies that spoke of His life.  They rejected Yeshua and gave him up to the Romans to kill Him.  Yeshua was considered as dead along with all of the prophecies that so clearly confirmed His anointing.

Most Jewish people consider Yeshua as a false Messiah who claimed many things that were not fulfilled.  They believe He died and that this is the end of the story.  Yeshua was rejected by the Jewish people as a whole.  The Gentiles received Yeshua and the salvation that He brought to the world through His atoning sacrifice at Passover and He has become a ruler over many Gentile nations.  Jews today consider Yeshua as dead and don’t recognize that this “Jesus” of the “Christians” is actually “Yeshua,” the Jewish Messiah.

Joseph Revealed to his Brothers

As the story in this week’s Torah Portion continues, Joseph saw how the heart of Judah and his brothers were bond to their younger brother Benjamin and Joseph could no longer control himself in front of them, standing before them as a foreign ruler.  Joseph sent his servants out of the house and revealed himself to his brothers (Gen. 45:1-4).  They couldn’t believe their eyes.  Their brother whom they considered dead was alive.

Joseph, knowing that his brothers would feel guilty for what they did to him by selling him into slavery, told them not to be angry or grieved for what they did.  Joseph poured out grace to his brothers and told them that it was not them who sent him to Egypt but God sent him ahead of them to preserve life (Gen. 45:5-8).  Joseph understood the plan of God to provide salvation and give life to the world.  Joseph forgave his brothers and invited them to come to him.

Yeshua will Reveal Himself to His Brothers

Just as Joseph revealed Himself to his brothers and provided salvation for them we know that the Scriptures tell us that God will one day pour out a spirit of grace and suplication on the house of David and on the inhabitants of Jerusalem (representing the Jewish people) in order to reveal Yeshua to them and provide salvation (Zechariah 12:10).

The Gentile world of Joseph’s day accepted him as their ruler and savior, however, his own brothers were blinded to see him for who he really was.  We see today as well that a large number of Gentiles accept Yeshua as their Messiah and look to Him for their salvation, however, the Jewish people for the most part don’t recognize Him for who He is and don’t understand the salvation that He offers.  One day, however, Yeshua will be known and accepted among the Jewish people, according to God’s perfect plan (Romans 11:25-32).

The identity of Yeshua has been changed and hidden from the Jewish people.  He is considered as dead and forgotten.  Yeshua has been given a foreign name and has been labeled as a ruler of Gentile Christians, totally separated from His Jewish roots.  The promises of God will not fail.  The brothers of Yeshua, the Jewish people, will one day come to see that Yeshua is really one of their own and that He lives!

The Son Lives

When Joseph’s brothers returned to the land of Canaan to tell their father, Jacob, that Joseph is actually alive and not dead, Jacob struggled to believe them.  However, he eventually understood that it was true and exclaimed, “It is enough; my son Joseph is still alive.  I will go and see him before I die” (Gen. 45:28).  Then later when Jacob actually was reunited with Joseph again he said, “Now let me die, since I have seen your face, that you are still alive” (46:30).  Jacob has a sense of fulfillment in knowing that his beloved son lives and that the dreams that God gave him were fulfilled.

There is a very interesting parallel to this scenario between Jacob and Joseph in the life of Yeshua.  After Yeshua was born and his parents took him to the Temple to offer the sacrifice of the first born son they were greeted by a certain man named Simeon.  Simeon was a righteous and devout man, according to the Scriptures, and was given a prophetic word from God that he would see the Messiah of Israel before he died.  Simeon was led by the Holy Spirit to the Temple and when he saw Yeshua with his parents he took Yeshua into his arms and said that now he can die since he has seen the Lord’s anointed (Luke 2:26-29).  Just as Jacob felt a peace to depart when he saw his son Joseph so Simeon had a peace to depart when he saw God’s Son, the long awaited Messiah.

Yeshua Lives!

Shabbat Shalom & Merry Christmas!

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Torah Portion: Gen. 44:18 – Gen. 47:27

Hafatara: Ezekiel 37:15-28

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