NAZARENES, GO AND PROCLAIM THE MESSAGE OF YESHUA THE MESSIAH!
Matthew 15:24 [Nazarene Commentary]
24 I was sent only to the lost sheep of the house of Yisra’el.
Are you part of Yisra’el? If you claim to believe in Messiah Yeshua then you are part of Yisra’el!
The promises were given to the Seed of Abraham…this Seed led to Yisra’el (Jacob) which ultimately leads to Messiah Yeshua! – Galatians 3:16
If you are a believer in Messiah Yeshua then you have been grafted into the commonwealth of Yisra’el (The Olive Tree) and contrary to nature will produce fruit that resembles or are the same as Yisra’el – Romans 11:24
(Yisra’el does not refer to the nation known today by a similar name although part of it is also Yisra’el, it refers to the people of יהוה, the Eternal who first assembled at mount Sinai after leaving Egypt. It was composed of the 12 tribes of Yisrael and many other people from other nations. Today they are scattered all over the world. It is also a spiritual dimension. )
WHO IS A NAZARENE?
A Nazarene is a follower of Yeshua of Natsareth (Nazareth). This word is used to describe Yeshua the Messiah (Matthew 26:71; Mark 1:24; 10:47; 14:67; Luke 4:34; John 17:5; Acts 2:22) and it is also used to describe his followers
Acts 24:5 (Tertullus speaking about Shaul {Paul})
5 “For having found this man a plague, who stirs up dissension among all the Yehudim throughout the world, and a ringleader of the sect of the Natsarenes
David Stern (Jewish New Testament Commentary) notes the following in Acts 24:5:
The <sect of the Natzratim> (Nazarenes) – a Hebrew word derived from “Natzeret” (Nazareth) the town where Yeshua the Messiah lived most of His life. The Greek word used here is “Nazôraios”; it is used six times in Acts and five times in the Gospels as descriptive of Yeshua himself…
Today a similarly derived Hebrew word, “Notzrim” is the ordinary word for “Christians”…
Tertulius wants Felix to understand the Natzratim as a Messianic group, and that any group supporting a Messiah is loyal to a different king and subversive of Roman hegemony.
(Taken from the Jewish New Testament Commentary by David H. Stern. Copyright © 1992. All rights reserved. Used by permission of Messianic Jewish Publishers, 6120 Day Long Lane, Clarksville, MD 21029. www.messianicjewish.net.)
In the 4th century, Jerome {theologian and historian 382 after Yeshua} refers to Nazarenes as those:
“who accept Messiah in such a way that they do not cease to observe the old Law.”
Epiphanius {Bishop of Salamis 370 after Yeshua} wrote about them in 370 CE:
They use not only the New Testament but the Old Testament as well… they have the Good News according to Matthew in its entirety in Hebrew. For it is clear that they still preserve this, in the Hebrew alphabet, as it was originally written.
(Ephiphanius; Pan. 29)
As a follower of Yeshua the Messiah, a Nazarene loves the Eternal (יהוה) above all things and his fellowmen as himself – Deuteronomy 6:5; Leviticus 19:18; Matthew 22:37-39.
A Nazarene also believes the following:
[THE ETERNAL – YAHWEH – יהוה]
יהוה is the Almighty – Genesis 17:1
יהוה is One (not two, not three or more) – Deuteronomy 6:4
יהוה is the Creator of all that exists and is our Father – Ecclesiastes 12:1; Romans 8:15-17.
[YESHUA]
Yeshua (יושע), the Son of יהוה, is not almighty.
Yeshua is the manifestation of the Creator’s expression in Genesis 1:3 “Let there be light”.
Yeshua is the Way, the Truth and Light of the world
Yeshua is the Messiah.
[THE SET-APART SPIRIT]
The Set-Apart Spirit (also known as the Holy Spirit) is not a person of a supposed trinity.
The Set-Apart Spirit is the mind of יהוה, the Eternal.
The Set-Apart Spirit is also the power that emanates from the Father.
[THE TORAH]
Nazarenes:
- are zealous (ardent) for the Torah – Acts 21:20.
- observe the Torah by the interpretation and the way of living of Yeshua the Messiah.
- believe the Torah of יהוה is the absolute Truth and that יהוה will Judge man’s wilful neglect of it.
- live by every Word that proceeds from the mouth of יהוה as Yeshua did.
(Deuteronomy 8:4; Matthew 4:4) - follow the Lamb (Yeshua) wherever he may go – Revelation 14:4
- keep the commands of יהוה and the commands of Yeshua.
- observe the Sabbath starting on Friday at sunset and ending on Saturday at sunset. No work is to be done during these 24 hours which are dedicated to prayer and the study of the Torah of יהוה .
- commemorate the Feasts of יהוה.
- observe the dietary laws of Leviticus 11 as Yeshua did. (See Clean & Unclean Foods).
THE GREAT COMMISSION
Every Nazarene is commanded by Yeshua the Messiah to fulfil the Great Commission which is to take his message to the ends of the earth:
“Go and teach them to carry out all the things that I have commanded you – forever”
(Ancient Hebrew Matthew 28:19-20)
NAZARENE BROTHER/SISTER TAKE YESHUA’S MESSAGE
WHEREVER YOU POSSIBLY CAN!
Unless otherwise noted, all Scripture was taken from The Scriptures
Copyright by Institute for Scripture Research.
Used by permission.