Sandra's late night thoughts

I have heard and read the life of Joseph since I was a wee one. However, studying him through Hebraic eyes is a whole nuther story. There is so much that I won’t share it all on here (Lee might however), but one thing I will share was that Joseph was not recognized by his brothers. Why? Because he didn’t look like a Hebrew anymore!! He was their savior and they didn’t even recognize him as one of their own. Many Jews don’t even recognize their savior, their Mashiach because we have made him into a gentile. We have stripped him of his Jewishness! Most Jews don’t want anything to do with him because they can’t even recognize him as a Jewish brother! Just as His own will look on him and weep because they did not recognize him the first time, I wonder how many believers will be in shock when they see the Messiah walk into the temple in Zion wearing his tallit and tzitziot- maybe even some earlocks, as he ascends to the bima and begins to read from the Torah and all that we have missed!! Yes, Jesus is a Jew. He lived a Jewish life. He kept Kosher, the Feasts, the Torah. He wrote the Torah HE is the Torah!! He is righteousness! He said, “If you love me keep my commandments.” But I digress, the difference is that Joseph was welcomed with open arms by his brothers- he was not rejected.-they still didn’t trust him as we see at the death of Jacob. We must present the Messiah to his own as one of them, not tell them they have to be like us to follow Jesus. Just as we see a lot of extremes in Jewish culture so we see it in the Christian realm as well. The Jews are so caught up in following God’s laws the best as they can. They love God and the Torah and they are only trying to do what they think is right. Yes they have lost sight and they need to be pointed back to the original purpose of Torah and to their Messiah. That was Jesus’ ministry, to reach his own. 36"Teacher, which is the greatest commandment in the Law?" 37Jesus replied: " 'Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind.'[b] 38This is the first and greatest commandment. 39And the second is like it: 'Love your neighbor as yourself.'[c] 40All the Law and the Prophets hang on these two commandments." LOVE is what the law is about. Mercy is what the law is about. Many had forgotten. Many still forget. As the Christian leadership has decided that we are no longer under the law but only love and mercy, many Jews ONLY hold on to the law and forget love and mercy. As we are just trying to follow and love our God the best we can- so are they. I believe we have gotten too relaxed in our “freedom in Christ”, that’s why we look at these orthodox Jews and scoff and pity. As extreme as they are in trying not to look like the world, how much so have many of us conformed in looks, speech, lifestyle-we look like the world but still claim Christ’s blood over our lives? We were told not to conform…well the Jews were but since we are grafted in it is to us also.