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When we talk about our identity in Jesus, we often use terms that are singular and individualistic. “I am a child of God.†“My body is the temple of the Holy Spirit and I am a member of the Body of Christ.†These are truths we need to be reminded of. However, we should…
A unique commentary on Matthew, the Gospel to the Hebrews, by Messianic teacher Kevin Williams. The Secret Codes in Matthew: Examining Israel’s Messiah (Part 1) The Secret Codes in Matthew: Examining Israel’s Messiah (Part 2) The Secret Codes in Matthew: Examining Israel’s Messiah (Part 3) The Secret Codes in Matthew: Examining Israel’s Messiah (Part 4)…
Michael L. Brown, Resurrection: Investigating a Rabbi from Brooklyn, a Preacher from Galilee and an Event that Changed the World (Lake Mary, FL: Charisma House, 2020), 195 pages, ISBN 9781629996929. As I read through Michael Brown’s book Resurrection, comparing the events surrounding the life and death of Rabbi Menachem Mendel Schneerson to the life and…
Those who are familiar with the New Testament book of Acts, perhaps especially Pentecostal believers, know that people in various places in the first century world received the Baptism in the Holy Spirit with the physical sign of speaking in tongues. Both Jews (Acts 2) and Gentiles (Acts 10) had this experience. This pattern has…
Oskar Skarsaune, “From the Jewish Messiah to the Creeds of the Church†Evangelical Review of Theology, Vol. 32, No. 3 (July 2008), pages 224-237. My interests always peak when encountering a document that traces our Christian faith back to the first century believers, so I was delighted when this article by Oskar Skarsaune, professor…
Magnus Zetterholm, ed., The Messiah in Early Judaism and Christianity (Minneapolis: Fortress, 2007), xxvii + 163 pages, ISBN 9780800621087. The Messiah in Early Judaism and Christianity presents the papers read at a meeting at Lund University in 2006. Three of the essayists are from Sweden, while the other two flew in from Yale University….
The final chapter in this unique commentary on the Gospel to the Hebrews. Messianic teacher Kevin Williams discusses the Roman execution of Messiah, the forsakenness of the sacrifice, changing the Sabbath, the Great Commission and other insights in this closing chapter. Then the soldiers of the governor took Jesus into the Praetorium and gathered the…
An examination of Messiah’s night-time trial before the Sanhedrin, pointing to the fulfillment of Messianic prophecy and the travesty of justice that took place. Then Jesus said to them, “You will all fall away because of Me this night, for it is written, ‘I will strike down the shepherd, and the sheep of the flock…
Messiah celebrates his final Passover on earth, teaching us much about His own identity as the Paschal Lamb. And it came about that when Jesus had finished all these words, He said to His disciples, “You know that after two days the Passover is coming …†(Matthew 26:1-2a).1 Passover: the overriding event in Israel at…
Does Messiah pay taxes? Journey through the Gospel to the Hebrews with Kevin Williams and find out. Â The Olivet Discourse can be compared to a fine painting by one of the masters. That might sound odd, but everyone can look at the same piece of artwork from very different perspectives with opinions that range…
Were Pharisees opposed to anything supernatural? [Author’s Note: The following text is neither an endorsement nor a censure of Jewish mysticism as practiced today or during the biblical era. Rather, it is an attempt to present the facts of a multi-faceted and ancient religious philosophy in a short, manageable format for the Pneuma Review.] …
In this installment of this unique commentary on the Gospel to the Hebrews, Yeshua asks His examiners a question, “What do you think about the Christ, whose son is He?†Now while the Pharisees were gathered together, Jesus asked them a question, saying, “What do you think about the Christ, whose son is He?†They…
Does Messiah pay taxes? Journey through the Gospel to the Hebrews with Kevin Williams and find out. And Jesus answered and spoke to them again in parables, saying, “The kingdom of heaven may be compared …†(Matthew 22:1-2). One consistent theme to Yeshua’s (Jesus’) ministry in the book of Matthew is the reality of the…
Does Messiah pay taxes? Journey through the Gospel to the Hebrews with Kevin Williams and find out. And when they had approached Jerusalem and had come to Bethphage, to the Mount of Olives, then Jesus sent two disciples, saying to them, “Go into the village opposite you, and immediately you will find a donkey tied…
Forgiveness. Fidelity. Laying on of hands. Kevin Williams puts these and other teachings of Jesus in their context, pulling back the veil of history and culture that is now far removed from us. Then Peter came and said to Him, “Lord, how often shall my brother sin against me and I forgive men? Up to…
Does Messiah pay taxes? Journey through the Gospel to the Hebrews with Kevin Williams and find out. And when they had come to Capernaum, those who collected the two-drachma tax came to Peter, and said, “Does your teacher not pay the two-drachma tax? (Matthew 17:24). Throughout this series, the basic premise has been that the…
What does the coming of Elijah and the casting out of demons have to do with showing Jesus as Messiah? Journey through the Gospel to the Hebrews with Kevin Williams and find out. And His disciples asked Him, saying, “Why then do the scribes say that Elijah must come first?†And He answered and said,…
Journey through the Gospel to the Hebrews with Kevin Williams as he unveils rich Hebraisms and prophetic Messianic insights. From that time Jesus Christ began to show His disciples that He must go to Jerusalem, and suffer many things from the elders and chief priests and scribes, and be killed, and be raised up on…
And the Pharisees and Sadducees came up, and testing Him asked Him to show them a sign from heaven (Matthew 16:1). This section of Matthew can be troublesome. Who among us has not, at some time or another, asked for a sign from God? Yet the intent behind Yeshua’s (Jesus’) words here may help put…
Then some Pharisees and scribes came to Jesus from Jerusalem, saying, “Why do Your disciples transgress the tradition of the elders? For they do not wash their hands when they eat bread†(Matthew 15:1-2).1 The Pharisees we encounter here seem to be challenging Yeshua (Jesus)2 once again. Certainly, given our studies so far, we may…
In this section of our study on Matthew 13, we take a look at the parables. This investigation will not likely be the same as many other examinations of Yeshua’s (Jesus’1) parables. From the outset, our purpose has been to demonstrate the “Jewishness†of this gospel and this section will be no different. The use…
Apart from bringing some Hebraic elements to light in the life of Yeshua1 and His ministry, this series has been unveiling the theme “Yeshua is the long awaited Messiah of Israel.†We have repeatedly demonstrated from the text how the teaching and deeds of Yeshua made their own messianic proclamations, without requiring direct confirmation from…
Some scholars believe that when Yeshua (Jesus) and his disciples were walking the earth, messianic expectations were extremely high. There were those Hebrew scholars of the day who were well acquainted with Daniel chapter nine, and according to the “weeks†and “sevens,†they knew the Messiah’s arrival was imminent. As a result there were…
Part Five of the series examined Yeshua’s1 proclamation, “Do not think that I came to abolish the Law or the Prophets; I did not come to abolish, but to fulfill†(Matthew 5:17). We examined that this statement has, over the centuries, given many believers the impression that Yeshua did away with or annulled the…
After the Beatitudes (Matthew 5:3-10), there does not appear to be any break in the chronology of Matthew’s narrative. It seems that Yeshua1 (Jesus) continues teaching on this mountain in Galilee (see Matt. 7:28-29). There is however, a break in the context. If the assertions made in the last edition of the Pneuma Review were…
“Now when He heard that John had been taken into custody, He withdrew into Galilee†(Matthew 4:12). This verse is not, as some might think, God incarnate fleeing danger. Rather, it is possible that this was in fulfillment of John’s words about Jesus, “He must increase, but I must decrease†(John 3:30). John understood, as…
Journey through the Gospel to the Hebrews with Kevin Williams as he unveils rich Hebraisms and prophetic Messianic insights. In the first two parts of our series on the gospel of Matthew, we have looked into the apostle’s claims that Jesus is the promised Messiah. We have examined some rather subtle ways Matthew managed…
Matthew 1:18-2:12 “Now the birth of Jesus Christ was as follows …†(Matt. 1:18). We could likely spend a lot of time debating the season of the Messiah’s birth, but we are not going to. We will not even try. Christian tradition holds to the 25th of December, a date that parallels the celebration of…
Forward: As a preparatory note, at times I will mention an “Israeli believer.†The distinction is, these are Jewish believers in Messiah Jesus who are also citizens of national Israel. The political situation in the Holy Land is one that, being recognized as a believer in Jesus can mean losing your job, your home,…
