Let’s search for the hidden Messiah in:
VaYigash – And He Came Near
B’reshiyt (Genesis) 44:18 – 47:27
Yechezkel (Ezekiel) 37:15-28
Matthew 10:6; 15:24; Luke 6:9-16; 9:11-26; 24:10-11; John 5:1-47; 6:8-13; 15:13; Acts 7:9-16; Rom 9:1-29; 11:13-24; Eph 2:11-22; 2 Thes 2:1-12
Where are the hostages in Gaza? How their loved ones want to know! Are they safe? Are they even alive? ‘There’s nothing like parents who long for children who can’t be found!’ Our prayers go up for them.
Disguised as an Egyptian Ruler
Although Judah had grown up with his younger brother Joseph until he was 17, Judah still did not recognize him seeing him down in Egypt. When all the brothers grabbed him and threw him in the pit, Judah sized him up and figured he could make some money on him by selling him into slavery. All Joseph had then was outward value.
About 23 years after selling him, Judah draws near to his brother Joseph, who was then about 40 years old. The day ‘he came near,’ Judah knew his brother’s features and personality, but his eyes were restrained from recognizing his brother. They only saw their brother as an Egyptian ruler, who didn’t dress or look anything like them. None of the brothers recognized him – until the moment Joseph revealed himself to them.
What a big surprise to see their brother Joseph again! Not only did they receive salvation from death to the famine in the land, but they also received forgiveness for their sins of hatred and of deceiving their father. What a surprising turnaround and breakthrough!
What a joyous surprise for Father Jacob when he heard the good news! Jacob’s long-lost and favorite son had been discovered after all those long years. How amazing! Joseph was the ruler in Egypt who would save his whole family from perishing by famine.
Of all the patriarchs before Yeshua’s day, Joseph was the truest type of Messiah in His first coming. How do we see Yeshua today? Do we recognize Him when He comes to us dressed differently than us? When He comes to us from another race or ethnic group? What about coming to us from His tribe – Judah? Open the eyes of our hearts Yah!
Disguised on the Road to Emmaus
And it came to be, as they were talking and reasoning, that Yeshua Himself drew near and went with them. But their eyes were restrained, so that they did not know Him. Luke 24:15-16
Why would YHWH restrain the eyes of the two disciples from recognizing Him? How did Yeshua want them to see Him? How does He want us to recognize Him in our day?
And He said to them, “O foolish men and slow of heart to believe in all that the prophets have spoken! Was it not necessary for the Messiah to suffer these things and to enter into His glory?”
Then beginning with Moses and with all the prophets, He explained to them the things concerning Himself in all the Scriptures. Luke 24:25-27
Where do you think Yeshua went in the writings of Moses concerning what He had suffered and then how He had entered into His glory? Yeshua explained to them that His suffering, death, burial, resurrection, and exaltation were all foreshadowed by Joseph’s life. Does not your heart burn within you when you see Yeshua in the Torah?
How does Yeshua want you and me to see Him today? When we sing ‘Open the eyes of my heart, LORD, I want to see You,’ how does Yeshua respond to that prayer? The Messiah told us how. We should expect to see Him in Moses and the prophets. How about when we midrash the Torah portion?
When He had reclined at the table with them, He took the bread and blessed it, and breaking it, He began giving it to them. Then their eyes were opened and they recognized Him, and He vanished from their sight. Luke 24:30-31
Joseph had brought all his brothers together to break bread with them at his table and to bless them. When we break bread with one another, are we looking for the Messiah?
They said to one another, “Were not our hearts burning within us while He was speaking to us on the road, while He was explaining the Scriptures to us?” And they got up that very hour and returned to Jerusalem and found gathered together the eleven and those who were with them, saying, “The Lord has risen and has appeared to Simon.” They began to relate their experiences on the road and how He was recognized by them in the breaking of the bread. Luke 24:32-35
And he took bread, and gave thanks, and brake it, and gave unto them, saying, “This is My body which is given for you: this do in remembrance of Me.” Luke 22:19
When we break bread with one another, do we recognize the Messiah? We recognize our Savior when our hearts are broken over sin. Bread in Hebrew is lechem, the same as lacham, which means ‘to fight’. The flesh fighting against the Spirit must be crushed.
Behind the Wall, Peering Through the Lattice
The Lover of the Song of Solomon was an elusive character. The Bride could hear Him coming like a gazelle climbing the mountains and leaping on the hills. (Song of Sol 2:8,9)
But when He arrives, He appears in mysterious, obscure ways to her: He is looking through the windows, He is peering through the lattice. Song of Solomon 2:9b
The Lover then calls her out of her chamber, ‘Arise, my darling, my beautiful one, And come along.” Did she arise and meet with Him before He moved on, or did she sleep in and procrastinate? On my bed night after night, I sought Him Whom my soul loves; I sought Him but did not find Him. Song of Solomon 3:1
Why was the Lover so elusive – here one moment, gone the next? She snoozed and missed out on an opportunity to see Him. Do we procrastinate, get distracted, and miss our opportunities to see our Messiah, the Lover of our souls?
Disguised in our Brothers and Sisters
Paul wrote about another disguised love relationship – the one between our brothers and sisters in the Messiah.
And He died for all so that those who live might no longer live for themselves, but for the One Who died for them and was raised. So from now on we recognize no one according to the flesh. Even though we have known Messiah according to the flesh, now we no longer know Him this way. 2 Corinthians 5:15-16
It has always been in Yah’s plan that the Messiah would be disguised, so that we would not recognize Him, nor His Body by the external appearance; but that we would know Him and His Body after the Spirit only. One reason why the Messiah ascended to Heaven and disappeared from our sight is because He wants us to know Him after the Spirit in one another. We don’t know our Messiah after the flesh. Likewise, Paul says that we shouldn’t know each other that way either. Do you recognize Yeshua in the countenance and by the words coming from the heart of a brother or sister in Messiah?
Believers who have not had life easy, but suffered many hardships, are people who can manifest the Messiah to us like no other. I’d rather be going through trials and tribulations with people of faith who have suffered much and have overcome affliction by deliverance of their Messiah, than with folks who have lived lives of comfort and ease.
Sometimes we don’t like to talk with people who have seen big trouble in their lives, because we don’t want to have to cope with such thoughts or to be compelled to help them in some way. That’s when we may miss out on the opportunity to see the Suffering Servant in our day. Do you know anyone who has been wounded and pierced through by their brothers? What are their testimonies of Yeshua’s forgiveness and healing?
Now I rejoice in my sufferings for you, and in my physical body – for the sake of His Body, Messiah’s community – I fill up what is lacking in the afflictions of Messiah. I became its servant according to God’s commission, given to me for you, to declare His message in full – the mystery that was hidden for ages and generations, but now has been revealed to His set-apart ones. God chose to make known to them this glorious mystery regarding the Gentiles – which is Messiah in you, the hope of glory! Colossians 1:24-27
The Messiah in you is a mystery to be revealed to the nations! So should I be surprised that some of my brothers do not see Messiah in the Jewish people of the land of Israel, for example? The Messiah is hidden in a remnant of believers He has dispersed throughout the land, like He has throughout every other nation of the world.
Am Yisra’el chai!
The people of Israel LIVE!
Revealing the Mystery of Messiah
How blessed we are to know the glorious mystery hidden in the Torah and the TaNaKh! The Messiah was in the patriarchs like He was living in Joseph and as He lives in us today. We know Him after the Spirit. The Spirit of Truth reveals the mystery of the Messiah in and through us.
Knowing the outcomes of the lives of patriarchs like Joseph, we have the hope of glory. Joseph came to experience the glory of the dream he had as a youth on that climactic day when he, as the prince of Egypt, the savior of the world, the breadman of life, revealed himself to His brothers. What had happened to their brother was no longer a mystery. In the story of Joseph hidden in the Western world and then revealed as the savior of the world, we not only see what the humble Messiah would suffer, but what He’d become in His majesty and glory.
Having faith that His people, including His children, all have a bright and glorious future in Messiah, how should we see each other and their potential? Shouldn’t we look into that born-again spirit inside our brother or sister and appeal to that potential part of them?
Just maybe, we will find something in our hearts to repent about and to reconcile with a long-lost brother or sister. Then, just maybe, that brother or sister can save us from a brush with death so that we may be saved and live. After all, we are living in the end times.
Who cares what color, race, ethnicity, social or financial status, or any other outward appearance they come to us as? That’s all a camouflage cover disguising who that brother or sister truly is inside. Let’s restrain our eyes from judging others after their outward appearance, but like our Messiah, look into a person’s heart and minister to their spirits first. Pray that we would look for the Messiah living on the inside.
With eyes open to the inner being of the soul, we will see Yeshua for Who He is. Born again and set apart for His purposes, we are the ones manifesting the mystery of the ages. We are the mysterious ones, the peculiar people, who are disguised in the world’s eyes, but being revealed to those with awakened eyes that can see the Messiah.
The Messiah Revealed in Hanukkah and Purim
Esther was the stunningly beautiful and glorious queen of the Medes and Persians, but the Jewish Hadassah was hidden in plain sight. Her race and her people were concealed from the king until that pivotal day.
. On the day set by YHWH, the orphan girl stood as queen before the king of the greatest kingdom and world power of the day. It was because her true identity was revealed, that the king made a new edict and salvation came to the Jews. Can you see the hidden Gospel in the Book of Esther?
Remember what Yeshua said to the woman at the well? With regards to bowing down to the King in worship, Yeshua said “Salvation is of the Jews.” (John 4:22) Do you see the common thread? Queen Esther revealed her identity, just like Joseph revealed himself to his brothers to save their lives. She revealed her tribe to the king to save the lives of her people – for “Salvation is of the Jews.”
Although Esther’s name means ‘star,’ the root word for her name is ‘satar,’ which means ‘to hide.’ Esther was hidden from her people until she was revealed as the star of the day, the one who would be used in her high position as queen for the king to write a new decree. The new decree to fight their enemies was what saved the Jews from being annihilated. The new decree of the Gospel destroys the power of sin, death, and the devil.
How happy the Jews of her day must have been when they heard the good news that their queen was a true-blue Jew who stood up for them! To this day, the Jews celebrate being saved from death at the hands of their enemies with a joyous festival called Purim!
Personally, Leslie and I love to observe the Jewish festivals of Hanukkah and Purim. We don’t want to miss out on what the Messiah has to show about Himself through these ‘Jewish feasts’. In both festivals we see the Messiah, Who was hidden in plain sight, being revealed to His people to save the day – for “salvation is of the Jews.”
On Hanukkah, the Messiah’s miraculous works revealed ‘Nes Gadol,’ the Great Miracle of the Salvation of Yah. Although the religious leaders didn’t see Yeshua as the Messiah (John 10:22-42), the humble, common people who believed in Him did see Him as Divine, the Savior of the world. By His miraculous, mighty acts, the people saw the Son Who came from the Father saving them from sin, death, and the power of the devil.
At Purim, we see how Esther and her people fasted three days before she appeared before the king to save her people from death at the hands of their enemies. Death, life, and the number three is the sign of the Messiah saving us from evil and resurrecting us from sure death. The evil scheme orchestrated by the evil Haman, another type of antichrist, was overturned. Sounds like something to relive in a celebration in our day!
The Messiah is the One Who does greater works and is more powerful than the Antichrist, as was foreshadowed by Antiochus Epiphanes. This king was an antichrist who tried to wipe out all the Jews and all Torah observances in the world.
Believe it or not, we face the same threat today. The rage is mounting worldwide against the people who keep the Torah, the people called the Jews. They cry “From the River to the Sea, Palestine shall be free!” Not only is this a call to completely wipe out the Jews from the Land of Israel, but the antichrist spirit fully intends to wipe out all of greater Israel who believe in the God of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob throughout the world.
But in Messiah, the overcomers can walk in victory over any antichrist. Am Yisrael chai!
The Concealed will be Revealed!
Why is it that Purim is the most overlooked celebration of Hebrew Roots people today? Is it just a feast for Jews and not anything we Joes can benefit from? What can we see this coming to Purim about how the Messiah will come out of hiding as it were and save His people from today’s Hamans? What was concealed will be revealed!
These are the end time days when we should not just expect the antichrist to be revealed, but the Messiah to manifest Himself in bringing many sons to glory!
For I calculate that the sufferings of the present time are not worthy to compare to the coming glory to be revealed in us. For the earnest expectation of the creation eagerly awaits the revelation of the sons of God. Romans 8:18-19
The ‘earnest expectation of the creation’ is also called ‘Messiah in you, the Hope of Glory.’ Colossians 1:27
All of creation is eagerly expecting the overcomers to come out of hiding to be revealed as the sons of God. Like Yeshua, we learn obedience to our God and King through the things that we suffer. (Heb 5:8) As mature sons and daughters of the King, creation is groaning and travailing, waiting to:
‘be freed from the slavery of corruption to the freedom of the glory of the children of God.’ Rom 8:21-22
Pray that that which is hidden be revealed. The world is eagerly awaiting the followers of Messiah to rise up and free us from this extremely corrupt world with all its corrupt governments, corrupt Big Pharma, corrupt politics and religion, corrupt media, corrupt weights, and measures, you name it!
How and when that will happen? The answer to that is concealed until just the right time. YHWH has us on a need-to-know basis. Trust Him! He knows what He’s doing and it’s for our good, regardless of whether we see it or not. A verse we love in ‘The Waymaker’:
“Even when I don’t see it You’re working. You never stop, never stop working!
Waymaker, Miracle Worker, Promise Keeper, Light in the Darkness! My God. That is Who You are!”
For such a time as this, the Bride is making herself ready to be revealed for that day.
Blessings in Messiah the King,
David Klug