There are two striking features that are true of all four of the New Testament readings grouped together with the past 4 weeks’ Torah Portions, coming from the last part of Exodus (Shemot) and the first part of Leviticus (Vayikra). The first is that the meanings of the Hebrew names of the four Torah Portions feature strongly in the four corresponding readings from the New Testament. And the second striking feature is that each of the four New Testament readings contains at least one prophetic reference that is directly related to Pesach.
The name of the portion of 4 weeks ago (Exodus 30-34) was Ki Tisa, which means “when you lift up”, referring to the lifting up of each individual before Yahweh, by counting them and requiring a ransom of half a shekel from each of them. The corresponding reading was John 11:47 – 56, in which Caiaphas prophesied, without even realizing it, that Y’shua must be “lifted up” in death to save the nation from destruction. “It is better for us when one man is lifted up and saves the people”, he said, “than when no man is lifted up and the whole nation perishes.” Ironically, we find within this statement one of the most precise prophetic descriptions of what Pesach is all about, and it was given by a high priest who had no regard for Y’shua and only wanted to please and save his own people.
The name of the portion of 3 weeks ago (Exodus 35-40) was Vayakhel, which means “and he assembled”, referring to the assembling of components for the building of an earthly tabernacle, with Aaron (Aharon) the high priest in the centre. The corresponding reading was Hebrews 9:1-11, in which we hear about a heavenly tabernacle, and the assembling, not of components, but of a redeemed people into a “more perfect” spiritual dwelling not made by human hands. In this action of assembling, the central figure was Y’shua the Messiah, the newly appointed High Priest of Elohim. Hebrews 9:8 is saying that in the time of the former tabernacle, the way into the Most Set-apart Place was not yet made manifest. But how all of this has changed, when the curtain separating the Set-apart Place from the Most Set-apart Place, was torn open! And this, at the very moment our supreme Pesach Lamb was killed and, as a result, ordinary people like us, not only gained access to the Most Set-apart Place, but are granted the privilege to stand in the presence of the Most Set-apart One!
The name of the portion of 2 weeks ago (Leviticus 1-5) was Vayikra, which means “and he called”, referring to Yahweh calling people to draw near to Him through a sacrificial system consisting mainly of animal offerings. The corresponding reading was Matthew 20:1-34, containing the parable of the labourers who all started working at different times and Y’shua explaining that within the reckoning of the kingdom, many who are last will be first, and many who are first will be last, and then concluding with this statement, picking up once again with the theme of Vayikra: Many are called, but few are chosen! And so this chapter of Matthew reveals that the group of people, known as the chosen ones, will look significantly different to what most people would expect. Those who are seen as outcasts and not part of the establishment, even those who came into the kingdom in an unexpected way, and as late as the “eleventh hour” (Mat 20:6), but fully recognizing the significance of the true Lamb of Elohim, will be reckoned among those who are chosen!
The name of the portion of one week ago (Leviticus 6-7) was Tzav, which means “command”, referring to the commandment that there was to be a perpetual fire in the tabernacle, never to be put out, and never to be allowed to fade away. The corresponding reading was Matthew 17:9-13 containing the question about “the Eliyah yet to come”. Y’shua answered that Eliyah, in fact, had come already and the disciples later understood that He was referring to John the Baptist. John the Baptist, who was going to be instrumental in the restoration of all things. And John the Baptist showed this, most clearly, when he made his famous two-fold “Tsav” or “fire” announcement in Matthew 3: The one coming directly after me will baptize you with the set-apart Spirit and with Fire and He will do so by thoroughly cleansing the threshing-floor, gathering the wheat into the storehouse and burning the chaff with an unquenchable Fire.” The fact that many people misunderstood and failed to recognize John the Baptist as an Eliyah-type prophet, preparing the way of Yahweh, was a short-term prophetic fore-type of the fact many people would misunderstand Y’shua, who also prepared the way of Yahweh (and was completely misunderstood), while teaching nothing less than the ways of Yahweh, and honouring Yahweh as the supreme authority and the only true Elohim – even when He (Y’shua) was faced with the harsh reality of death. And it is also a long-term prophetic fore-type of a grand scale misunderstanding of the ways of Yahweh, in our day: a misunderstanding of the true value of the Torah; a misunderstanding of the true meaning of restoration; a misunderstanding of the true identity of Y’shua and the true reason for his coming and a lack of desire to walk in the ways of Yahweh. How does one begin to walk in the ways of Yahweh? By allowing the light of the tenth plague (originating from the blood of a Lamb), to completely destroy the darkness of the ninth plague (originating from stubbornness, cast-in-stone ideas and an unrepenting heart). Let us celebrate this year’s Pesach without holding back!
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