“I must preach the good news of the kingdom of God (YHWH) to the other towns as well; for I was sent for this purpose.”
-Jesus (Yeshua) (Luke 4:42-44 ESV)
Yeshua (Jesus) came to the world to preach the good news of the kingdom of YHWH (Most High God). He went to the cross to pay the price for the kingdom. He rose again to sit on the throne of the kingdom of YHWH. Before He sent Yeshua, YHWH chose a physical kingdom to set apart as his own to show the world what it looks like to be his children and through that nation he brought the Messiah. The nation, that kingdom was Israel.
YHWH told Abraham, “Know for certain that your offspring will be sojourners in a land that is not theirs and will be servants there, and they will be afflicted for four hundred years. But I will bring judgment on the nation that they serve, and afterward they shall come out with great possessions” (Gen 15:13). Abraham’s offspring grew into a nation of people in captivity in Egypt and YHWH chose Moses to lead the people out of Egypt. YHWH delivered the nation of Israel from slavery in Egypt and led them to Mount Sinai. At the mountain, YHWH made a covenant with Israel, and He gave them the Ten Words (Commandments). On hearing the Ten Words, Israel promised to do all that YHWH instructed. He gave them the rest of the Torah (instructions) through Moses on how to live in community as a nation. (Exodus 19:16 – 20:21 and 24:1-8)
Israel rejected YHWH’s Torah and YHWH handed them over to their enemies. When they repented, YHWH restored Israel. This happened over and over with the Israel, until the time was right for YHWH to send his Son, Yeshua, to the earth to save the world through Israel.
Yeshua preached of the coming kingdom of YHWH and told people to repent and get ready. Yeshua taught his disciples how to live a life in service to YHWH and to be one as the restored kingdom of Israel. Some of the temple leaders rejected Yeshua and had him crucified. Yeshua walked out Torah perfectly to be the final sacrifice for the sins of Israel and the rest of the world. Through his resurrection, Yeshua became the king of Israel to rule a kingdom that will last forever and all people were given an opportunity to have an eternal place with YHWH in the kingdom of Israel. Yeshua paid the ultimate sacrifice to deliver Israel and the world from the slavery to sin and death. Yeshua’s life and his teachings gives all who follow him Torah on how to live in the kingdom of YHWH. (John 1; Romans 11; Hebrew 9-10)
Because of His great love for us, Yeshua came to earth to establish a kingdom where he will reign forever. Yeshua graciously forgives and brings all who trust in Him and dedicate their lives to Him into His kingdom, Israel. This is where a disciple’s walk behind and towards Yeshua begins. Imagine YHWH’s kingdom as a circle. When we, as Yeshua’s disciples, first step into the Kingdom of YHWH, we are are on the fringe and Yeshua sits on a throne in the center. Through his life on earth, Yeshua cut the path, The Way, directly to the throne. Each day that we follow Yeshua, study his word, and live by His Torah, the love in our hearts for Him and others grows.
Though the path is the same, our walk with and toward Yeshua might look differently for each of us at different times in our lives. When we first step into the kingdom we may take baby steps along the Way, and at other times we might take giant leaps or even run toward Yeshua at the center, at the right hand of YHWH seated on his throne (Luke 22:69). As we grow in trust and in our relationship with Yeshua, the blurry image of him at a distance comes into focus, and the light of His glory shines brightly through us. Our walk in the kingdom is not always forward, there are difficult times in our lives were our trust becomes stagnant and we stop moving forward. If we do not constantly restore our trust, our walk can begin to take steps away from Yeshua and back toward the fringes of the circle. We must keep our eyes fixed on Yeshua at the center of the Kingdom and follow his Torah to lead us on the path to him.
Yeshua extends the free gift of grace to enter His kingdom to all of us, but this grace came at a cost. The grace that YHWH extends to us through Yeshua was not cheap. It cost Yeshua his life. It cost Yeshua His place in heaven for a time. It cost YHWH his Son. Everyone who trusts in Yeshua, whether blood-born or not, becomes is grafted in the spiritual kingdom of Israel, the kingdom of YHWH. It is by grace through faith in Yeshua that we are washed of our sins and made righteous through the Messiah to be a part of God’s family, His kingdom, and because of that great gift, we must live up to the call to righteousness by living according to the Torah of YHWH. The Torah can not save us, only Yeshua can. However, Torah teaches us how to live as the set apart people of YHWH, citizens of His Kingdom. The path, the truth, and the very breath/energy of life is Yeshua. We live fully when we walk the old proven path to him through His Kingdom. Torah is not for our salvation or deliverance, it is for life in the kingdom.