after Thine own heart

“And behold, a man came up to him, saying, ‘Teacher, what good deed must I do to have eternal life?’ And he said to him, ‘Why do you ask me about what is good? There is only One who is good. If you would enter life, keep the commandments.’ He said to him, ‘Which ones?’ And Yeshua said, ‘You shall not murder, You shall not commit adultery, You shall not steal, You shall not bear false witness, Honor your father and mother, and, You shall love your neighbor as yourself.’ The young man said to him, ‘All these I have kept. What do I still lack?’ Yeshua said to him, ‘If you would be perfect, go, sell what you possess and give to the poor, and you will have treasure in heaven; and come, follow me.’ When the young man heard this he went away sorrowful, for he had great possessions.” —Matthew 19:16-22 This story often gets misunderstood. I've heard of modern-day monastics who actually go and sell everything to live in squalor, thinking that will benefit them. There was a time in my lif

Yeshua asked his disciples, “Who do you say that I am?” Peter answered, “You are the Messiah of God.” —Luke 9:20 Yeshua’s disciples were among the first to recognize Yeshua for the purpose he came—to be the anointed King of Israel. We know in hindsight that he didn’t step into this role during his time on earth as an itinerant rabbi, although his disciples maintained that expectation even to the point of his ascension (Acts 1:6). One of the most famous early Nazarenes was the Pharisee Shaul, whose letters advocate on behalf of the Greek converts who were aliens to the Hebrew faith. Even he apparently expected to be alive to see the return of Yeshua in glory (cf. 1 Thessalonians 4:15-17). But with all this focus on Yeshua as the Anointed, the Son of God (a royal title; cf. Psalm 2:7), there is a tendency to overlook another early identification of Yeshua made by the same Peter who first declared him the Messiah. Moses said, “Yehovah God will raise up for you a prophet like me f