The Fourth Commandment – Part 4 – What did Y’shua do?

We have learned from the three previous studies, who changed the fourth commandment, why we should keep it, and how to keep it. The big question is: what did Y’shua and His apostles do? We shall now study the Apostolic Scriptures to see what Y’shua did and taught. He is our Master, and we are His disciples. We are, as believers in Him, formed into His likeness when we believe in Him and are obedient to Him.

Y’shua’s childhood

Y’shua was circumcised!

Y’shua (Jesus) was a Hebrew speaking Jew. His Hebrew name is Y’shua. He was brought up according to the customs of the Hebrew people. His parents were Torah observant and raised Him in Torah obedience. (The Torah is the first five books of the Bible. Torah means teaching or instruction. The word “Torah” is often translated as “law”. We will use these words interchangeably throughout the article.The Torah is also referred to as the law of Moses or the Word of God)

He was circumcised on the eighth day according to the commandment given to Abraham (Gen 17:9-14, Lev 12:3). The custom to name a boy at his circumcision remains to this day amongst the Jewish people.

Luke 2:21
²¹ And when eight days had passed, before (Lit so as to circumcise Him) His circumcision, His name was then called Y’shua, the name given by the angel before He was conceived in the womb.

Y’shua -the firstborn child of His parents- was redeemed!

Joseph and Maria (Miriam) went to the Temple with Him in obedience to the Torah (law). He was redeemed as firstborn (Num 18:15) and a sacrifice was offered in accordance to the law (Lev 12:6-8).

Luke 2:22–24
²² And when the days for their purification according to the law of Moses were completed, they brought Him up to Jerusalem to present Him to YHVH ²³ (as it is written in the Law of YHVH, “Every firstborn male that opens the womb shall be called holy to YHVH”), ²⁴ and to offer a sacrifice according to what was said in the Law of YHVH, “A pair of turtledoves or two young pigeons.”

Luke 2:39
³⁹ When they had performed everything according to the Law of YHVH, they returned to Galilee, to their own city of Nazareth.

They went up to Jerusalem for the feasts!

His parents went up to Jerusalem as it is commanded in the Torah. It is commanded to go up to Jerusalem for Pesach (Passover), Shavuot and Sukkot (Ex 23:15-17).

Luke 2:41–42
⁴¹ Now His parents went to Jerusalem every year at the Feast of the Passover. ⁴² And when He became twelve, they went up there according to the custom of the Feast;

Now that we have determined that Y’shua was brought up to be Torah observant, we need to answer this question. Did Y’shua continue this path or did He change everything once He was old enough to make His own decisions?

Was Y’shua a true prophet in accordance to YHVH’s word?

Before we answer the question about Y’shua, we need to determine what a false prophet is. You may wonder why we deem this significant. This is of fundamental importance! It is written in the Scriptures that a prophet who leads people away from YHVH’s commandments is a false prophet.

Deuteronomy 13:1–5
¹ “If a prophet or a dreamer of dreams arises among you and gives you a sign or a wonder, ² and the sign or the wonder comes true, concerning which he spoke to you, saying, ‘Let us go after other gods (whom you have not known) and let us serve them,’ ³ you shall not listen to the words of that prophet or that dreamer of dreams; for YHVH your Elohim is testing you to find out if you love YHVH your Elohim with all your heart and with all your soul. ⁴ “You shall follow YHVH your Elohim and fear Him; and you shall keep His commandments, listen to His voice, serve Him, and cling to Him. ⁵ “But that prophet or that dreamer of dreams shall be put to death, because he has counseled rebellion against YHVH your Elohim who brought you from the land of Egypt and redeemed you from the house of slavery, to seduce you from the way in which YHVH your Elohim commanded you to walk. So you shall purge the evil from among you.

Some signs of a false prophet

• He gives a sign or a wonder that does not come true
• He teaches against YHVH’s commandments (“Let us go after other gods (whom you have not known) and let us serve them”)This phrase is used in an allegorical way to represent all YHVH’s commandments.

There are some more signs to look out for, but we shall study this in a future article. You can subscribe underneath to ensure that you do not miss this.

The key question is: was Y’shua a true prophet of Elohim, thus qualifying Him to be the Messiah?

We know that every sign and wonder Y’shua performed was true, now we need to study and see if He was indeed a true prophet. He had to keep and teach people to keep YHVH’s law in order to qualify Him to be a true prophet of YHVH and therefor the Messiah.

Y’shua was without sin

Not keeping YHVH’s commandments is lawlessness and sin is the transgression of the law!

1 John 3:4
⁴ Everyone who practices sin also practices lawlessness; and sin is lawlessness.

The King James version renders it as follows:

1 John 3:4
⁴ Whosoever committeth sin transgresseth also the law: for sin is the transgression of the law.

Lawlessness or transgression of the law is sin and Y’shua was without sin!

1 John 3:5
⁵ You know that He appeared in order to take away sins; and in Him there is no sin.

Isaiah 8:20
²⁰ To the law and to the testimony! If they do not speak according to this word, it is because they have no dawn.

If Y’shua was without sin, He must have kept YHVH’s commandments. Let’s find some proof!

Y’shua wore Tzit-tzit or fringes as commanded in Torah

Matthew 9:20
²⁰ And a woman who had been suffering from a hemorrhage for twelve years, came up behind Him and touched the fringe (I.e. tassel fringe with a blue cord) of His cloak;

Matthew 14:36
³⁶ and they implored Him that they might just touch the fringe of His cloak; and as many as touched it were cured.

Numbers 15:38
³⁸ “Speak to the sons of Israel, and tell them that they shall make for themselves tassels on the corners of their garments throughout their generations, and that they shall put on the tassel of each corner a cord of blue.

Y’shua went up to Jerusalem for the feasts!

We see in the gospel of John that He went up to Jerusalem for Passover and Sukkot.

John 2:13
¹³ The Passover of the Jews was near, and Y’shua went up to Jerusalem.

John 7:2
² Now the feast of the Jews, the Feast of Booths, was near.

John 7:10
¹⁰ But when His brothers had gone up to the feast, then He Himself also went up, not publicly, but as if, in secret.

Y’shua kept the Sabbath!

We also find many examples that Y’shua kept the Sabbath.

Luke 4:16
¹⁶ And He came to Nazareth, where He had been brought up; and as was His custom, He entered the synagogue on the Sabbath, and stood up to read.

It was His custom from a young age to go to the synagogue on the Sabbath.

These are just a few examples to show you that Y’shua kept YHVH’s commandments. He was obedient to YHVH’s instructions from birth. What we know as the “Old Testament” was His Scriptures, and He lived according to it and quoted often from it.

What did Y’shua teach regarding the law?

What did Y’shua teach regarding the law and how did He live? Did He pass the test of a true prophet?

He, Himself said of the law:

Matthew 5:17–19
¹⁷ “Do not think that I came to abolish the Law or the Prophets; I did not come to abolish but to fulfill. ¹⁸ “For truly I say to you, until heaven and earth pass away, not the smallest letter or stroke shall pass from the Law until all is accomplished. ¹⁹ “Whoever then annuls one of the least of these commandments, and teaches others to do the same, shall be called least in the kingdom of heaven; but whoever keeps and teaches them, he shall be called great in the kingdom of heaven.

What does the word fulfill mean?

Y’shua came to show us the true meaning; He was an example to us of how it should be done.

YHVH did not make a mistake when He gave the Torah (law or instructions); and He meant it when He said it is forever. Just go and study how many times the words forever, everlasting and perpetual are used in relation to YHVH’s instructions. He does not change His mind!

1 Samuel 15:29
²⁹ “Also the Glory of Israel will not lie or change His mind; for He is not a man that He should change His mind.”

Malachi 3:6
⁶ “For I, YHVH, do not change; therefore you, O sons of Jacob, are not consumed.

Numbers 23:19
¹⁹ “Elohim is not a man, that He should lie, Nor a son of man, that He should repent; Has He said, and will He not do it? Or has He spoken, and will He not make it good?

Y’shua also taught:

Matthew 7:21–23
²¹ “Not everyone who says to Me, ‘Master, Master,’ will enter the kingdom of heaven, but he who does the will of My Father who is in heaven will enter. ²² “Many will say to Me on that day, ‘Master, Master, did we not prophesy in Your name, and in Your name cast out demons, and in Your name perform many miracles?’ ²³ “And then I will declare to them, ‘I never knew you; depart from Me, you who practice lawlessness.’

Luke 11:28
²⁸ But He said, “On the contrary, blessed are those who hear the word of Elohim and observe it.”

Luke 16:17
¹⁷ “But it is easier for heaven and earth to pass away than for one stroke of a letter of the Law to fail.

Y’shua NEVER taught against the commandments of YHVH! On the contrary, He showed us how it should be lived. He instructed us how to observe the commandments, according to YHVHs intend!

He is not a false prophet who leads people away from YHVH’s law or testimony (Is 8:20). Y’shua is a true prophet of YHVH and our Messiah!

Y’shua taught against the commandments of men!

Mark 7:7–9
⁷ ‘But in vain do they worship Me, Teaching as doctrines the precepts of men.’ ⁸ “Neglecting the commandment of Elohim, you hold to the tradition of men.” ⁹ He was also saying to them, “You are experts at setting aside the commandment of Elohim in order to keep your tradition.

The Pharisees made fences around the commandments in order to prevent anyone from transgressing it. Their intent may have been good, but then they started teaching these as, just as or, more important than YHVH’s commandments. They criticized Y’shua’s disciples for not washing their hands, and yet this is not commanded.

What did Y’shua taught regarding the Sabbath?

Y’shua called Himself the Master of the Sabbath. If the Sabbath was abolished, it would have been brought to nothing. Would Y’shua call Himself the Master of nothing? I certainly don’t think so!

Mark 2:27–28
²⁷ Y’shua said to them, “The Sabbath was made for man, and not man for the Sabbath. ²⁸ “So the Son of Man is Master even of the Sabbath.”

When teaching His disciples about the signs of the end times, Y’shua said, “but pray that your flight will not be in the winter, or on a Sabbath.” Would Y’shua even mention the Sabbath if He was going to abolish it? No, it proves that the Sabbath would still be observed by believers in the end times.

Matthew 24:20
²⁰ “But pray that your flight will not be in the winter, or on a Sabbath.

Y’shua taught how the Sabbath was to be observed, not in a legalistic way, like the Pharisees did, but according to YHVHs initial intend. The Sabbath is a blessed day of rest and refreshment. It is a day for doing good, even for healing.

Matthew 12:10–13
¹⁰ And a man was there whose hand was withered. And they questioned Y’shua, asking, “Is it lawful to heal on the Sabbath?”—so that they might accuse Him. ¹¹ And He said to them, “What man is there among you who has a sheep, and if it falls into a pit on the Sabbath, will he not take hold of it and lift it out? ¹² “How much more valuable then is a man than a sheep! So then, it is lawful to do good on the Sabbath.” ¹³ Then He said to the man, “Stretch out your hand!” He stretched it out, and it was restored to normal, like the other.

Y’shua said it is lawful to do good on the Sabbath, by saying this He confirmed the Sabbath observance.

Y’shua’s apostles kept the Sabbath

The apostles of Y’shua kept the commandments including the Sabbath, and taught others to do likewise. I am not going to go into any detail thereof. You can just read the book of Acts to see how many times they observed the Sabbath.

Here is an article that confirms this: The apostles kept the Sabbath 85 times in Acts

Conclusion

Y’shua is our Redeemer, and He had a very special purpose when He was on earth. Not only was it to die for our sins, but also to demonstrate to us how we are to live. We are to be imitators of Him. He is the living Torah not the breaker or abolisher of the Torah. He is the Word made flesh!

John 1:14
¹⁴ And the Word became flesh, and dwelt among us, and we saw His glory, glory as of the only begotten from the Father, full of grace and truth.

When Y’shua was asked what the greatest commandment was, He answered:

Matthew 22:37–40
³⁷ And He said to him, “ ‘You shall love YHVH your Elohim with all your heart, and with all your soul, and with all your mind.’ ³⁸ “This is the great and foremost commandment. ³⁹ “The second is like it, ‘You shall love your neighbor as yourself.’ ⁴⁰ “On these two commandments depend the whole Law and the Prophets.”

How do you love YHVH with all your heart and your soul and with all your mind? We are told in Deuteronomy! Did you realize that Y’shua was quoting Deuteronomy here? Did you know this passage is about keeping YHVH’s commandments? How would you otherwise know how to love YHVH and others, if He didn’t tell you ?

Deuteronomy 6:4–8
⁴ “Hear, O Israel! YHVH is our Elohim, YHVH is one! ⁵ “You shall love YHVH your Elohim with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your might. ⁶ “These words, which I am commanding you today, shall be on your heart. ⁷ “You shall teach them diligently to your sons and shall talk of them when you sit in your house and when you walk by the way and when you lie down and when you rise up. ⁸ “You shall bind them as a sign on your hand and they shall be as frontals on your forehead.

This is exactly what Y’shua modeled for us: selfless devotion to YHVH and others. To love YHVH is to keep His commandments. To know Him is to keep His commandments!

1 John 2:3–7
³ By this we know that we have come to know Him, if we keep His commandments. ⁴ The one who says, “I have come to know Him,” and does not keep His commandments, is a liar, and the truth is not in him; ⁵ but whoever keeps His word, in him the love of Elohim has truly been perfected. By this we know that we are in Him: ⁶ the one who says he abides in Him ought himself to walk in the same manner as He walked. ⁷ Beloved, I am not writing a new commandment to you, but an old commandment which you have had from the beginning; the old commandment is the word which you have heard.

1 John 5:2–3
² By this we know that we love the children of Elohim, when we love Elohim and observe His commandments. ³ For this is the love of Elohim, that we keep His commandments; and His commandments are not burdensome.

We pray that you will, through this article, see Y’shua for Who He really is. He was and is a true prophet of YHVH, and He is our Messiah. He is righteous in everything He did and taught, and we are to follow Him, not the world with all its false lawless teachings. You still have time! Repent and walk in His ways!