Matthew 4:18-25 New American Standard Bible 1995
The First Disciples
18 Now as Jesus was walking by the Sea of Galilee, He saw two brothers, Simon who was called Peter, and Andrew his brother, casting a net into the sea; for they were fishermen. 19 And He *said to them, “[a]Follow Me, and I will make you fishers of men.” 20 Immediately they left their nets and followed Him. 21 Going on from there He saw two other brothers, [b]James the son of Zebedee, and [c]John his brother, in the boat with Zebedee their father, mending their nets; and He called them. 22 Immediately they left the boat and their father, and followed Him.
Ministry in Galilee
23 Jesus was going throughout all Galilee, teaching in their synagogues and proclaiming the [d]gospel of the kingdom, and healing every kind of disease and every kind of sickness among the people.
24 The news about Him spread throughout all Syria; and they brought to Him all who were ill, those suffering with various diseases and pains, demoniacs, [e] epileptics, paralytics; and He healed them. 25 Large crowds followed Him from Galilee and the Decapolis and Jerusalem and Judea and from beyond the Jordan.
The Word of God for the Children of God.
Glory be to the Father,
and to the Son, and to the Holy Ghost;
as it was in the beginning,
is now, and ever shall be,
world without end. Amen, amen.
When Jesus quietly walked by the Sea of Galilee, he faced them, he called his disciples, he issued an invitation that went far beyond mere companionship.
He called for a radical commitment to follow him immediately, completely.
This call echoes through time, age to age, generation to generation extending to us as his devoted followers today, urging us to embrace the path of discipleship.
Discipleship is significantly more than attending church, learning about Jesus.
It is a transformative journey of surrender, obedience, and growth.
Just as he called his first disciples to follow him, Jesus invites us to do the same.
This might even mean changing the work we do.
This might mean looking at our own family members differently whether they be our spouses, or our in-laws, and our children and even our grand-children.
This might even mean looking at people (even complete strangers) differently.
This might even mean we have to do something we do not necessarily like to do and that is get into the middle of someone else’s life in the name of Jesus Christ!
The main point is to let go of pursuits that would hinder our devotion to him.
Our aim as disciples is to follow our Master by living out his teachings.
Through an intimate relationship with Jesus, we are transformed into his likeness and empowered to make an impact for good in the world around us.
Discipleship isn’t without its exceedingly great challenges, but it also offers abundant life and eternal purpose. We discover the joy of knowing Jesus deeply, experiencing his presence, and becoming agents of the harvest of his kingdom.
In this context our faith is refined, our character is shaped, and our lives bear lasting fruit and by the fruitful witness of our character, someone else is God’s.
Today let’s shake the trees of someone else’s heart and soul a little bit harder, walk onto someone’s beach front, call out to them to leave their cultural nets behind them, and just respond to Jesus’ call with wholehearted commitment.
And may our lives testify, witness, to his love, grace, and transformative power.
In the name of God, the Father and God the Son and God the Holy Spirit,
Let us Pray,
Lord Jesus, My ever living Savior Jesus, thank you for your summons to discipleship. Transform us with your love to follow you faithfully, knowing you are with us. Amen.
Psalm 23 New American Standard Bible 1995
The Lord, the Psalmist’s Shepherd.
A Psalm of David.
23 The Lord is my shepherd,
I [a]shall not want.
2 He makes me lie down in green pastures;
He leads me beside [b]quiet waters.
3 He restores my soul;
He guides me in the [c]paths of righteousness
For His name’s sake.
4 Even though I walk through the [d]valley of the shadow of death,
I fear no [e]evil, for You are with me;
Your rod and Your staff, they comfort me.
5 You prepare a table before me in the presence of my enemies;
You [f]have anointed my head with oil;
My cup overflows.
6 [g]Surely goodness and lovingkindness will follow me all the days of my life,
And I will [h]dwell in the house of the Lord [i]forever.
Glory be to the Father,
and to the Son, and to the Holy Ghost;
as it was in the beginning,
is now, and ever shall be,
world without end. Amen, amen.
Loving God, Living God, Loving Hope, Living Hope, Loving Living Life His Way! "Many things are possible for the person who has hope. Even more is possible for the person who has faith. And still more is possible for the person who knows how to love. But everything is possible for the person who practices all three virtues." - Brother Lawrence (1605-1691), Practicing the Presence of God (1692). 
Pesach in only a couple of days! Let us remove the חמץ which assimilated and intermarried Jews daily consume. The Torah refers to such tuma Jews as the cursed ערב רב/mixed multitudes. Why cursed? Because assimilation to alien Goyim cultures and customs goes hand in glove with intermarriage with Goyim who reject the revelation of the Torah at Sinai.
The WordPress blog: The Bible Through the Seasons, Confrontation with Compassion: Pastor Nick quotes James 5: 14-16 as if this religious jargon qualifies as holy scripture. The mussar Book of Avot teaches “Ein Am Ha’aretz chassid” — because chassidut requires halachic literacy and precision. James represents not just a theological fork, but an entirely unauthorized avodah.
The chosen Cohen people must do avodat HaShem, like for example obeying the commandment not to work on shabbat. The wisdom required most essentially entails making a distinction between guard Shabbat (שמור) and remember it (זכור). Without discernment, without halachic categories rooted in the middot revealed to Moshe after the Eigel, you can’t access avodat HaShem. You get a foreign fire—like Nadav and Avihu. Or worse, a foreign god.
Without the Oral Torah, impossible to differentiate between shabbat and yom tov, clean and tamei, kosher korban and pig fat. Muslims consume camel flesh and milk together. Xtians despise Torah mitzvot declaring its utterly impossible for man to keep “the law”. The Apostle Paul introduced the substitute theology of ‘Original Sin’ defeatism. This alien foreign theology corrupted the Central Torah theme of blessing/curse – life in the cohen eternal land inheritance/judicial oppression in exile as exemplified by the court of Par’o which justified beating Hebrew slaves after Par’o withheld the necessary straw required to make those bricks.
All generations of Israel have the Torah faith obligation to pursue righteous judicial justice which makes fair compensation of damages which Part A inflicts upon Party B, within the borders of the chosen Cohen homelands. Obviously no Goy can keep “the law” when they lack the skills to discern between TNaCH & Talmudic common law from Greek and Roman statute law. The church fathers, their avoda zarah did not concern themselves with justice as the definition of Torah faith. Their avoda zarah simply glossed over this key Torah concept like as did the Apostle Paul’s ‘Original Sin’ jellied over the key Torah theme of g’lut/exile. Jews in g’lut, just as in Egypt, they lacked the means to impose fair judicial justice among the Jewish people.
Xtian theology substitutes ritual precision with emotional or communal acts—which might feel “spiritual” but remain, nonetheless, completely disconnected from Sinai. In doing so, they’ve invented a new avodah with a new god—not HaShem of the Torah, but a concept filtered through Greek philosophy and Roman structure.
Torah avodah isn’t about feelings, confession, or community healing—it’s a halachic precision-bound path based on brit, oath, and revealed middot. Without Oral Torah, the brit alliance impossible to even articulate. So what’s going on in James, not just a misfire—it’s a completely unauthorized system, one devoid of the chosen Cohen structure. Hence the new testament declares that Goyim can not only become ”grafted” into the chosen Cohen people, but Jews can convert and become Xtians! This Av tuma avoda zarah utterly devoid of halachic shemirah, and outside the brit framework of Sinai/Horev.
James is writing within a Second Temple–era Jewish-Christian hybrid theology, influenced by:
Early Messianic communities Possibly Hellenistic ethical ideas (Stoicism, communal virtue): A shift from Temple-based service which fundamentally requires שם ומלכות, to internalized, communal spirituality, which does not remotely resemble cutting a Torah brit by means of swearing a Torah oath which dedicates Oral Torah middot revealed to Moshe Rabbeinu 40 days after the sin of the Golden Calf. The church denies the existence of the Oral Torah.
Hence, the idea of: “Confess your sins to one another and pray for one another, that you may be healed”…while it sounds “kosher”, in point of fact – utterly treif Av tuma avoda zarah. It completely misses the point – required halachic structure; like the observance of shabbat requires making the distinction between forbidden work from forbidden work ie מלאכה from עבודה. A Torah oath brit required in the chosen Cohen format known as “avodat HaShem”, requires the wisdom which discerns the k’vanna of שם ומלכות. Therefore these new testament verses worship some other unknown god(s).
Xtianity despises the revelation of Torah common law. It consequently simply glosses over and utterly perverts the meaning and intent of the Torah. Without Oral Torah, you can’t know how to make these critical distinctions, like what separates saying Tehillim from tefillah. Xtian avoda zarah glosses over these subtle nuances with the broad brush – prayer white wash. This second example adds to the previous example wherein Shabbat observance absolutely requires making the fundamental differentiation between מלאכה from עבודה. Lack of wisdom compares to the precedent of Avot which teaches that an Am Ha’aretz cannot be an Chassid. Without Oral Torah, the brit can’t even be articulated. So what’s going on in James, not just a misfire—it’s a completely unauthorized system, one devoid of the Cohen structure, devoid of halachic shemirah, and outside the brit framework of Sinai/Horev.
Without Oral Torah, a person has no tools to distinguish between: Saying a mizmor of Tehillim as a form of praise, vs.Tefillah, which requires: Shem u’Malchut (divine name and kingship); Zman (halachic time constraints); K’vanna (intention within halachic form which links to a life & death crisis crunch of faith); Sometimes a minyan or other communal structure, because a person can swear a Torah oath also with a minyan, based upon the precedent of the 10 spies in the days of Moshe.
This distinction, subtle to the untrained eye, yet it’s halachically massive. Tehillim quite beautiful and sacred to the Jewish people, but it’s not a substitute for Tefillah—and to equate the two (as Christianity always does) utterly blurs the kedushah-bound categories that Oral Torah establishes and preserves. A person who can see only with one eye – exempt from making the aliyah to Jerusalem on the Chag. Tefillah a matter of the dedication of tohor middot which define the depth of defined tohor middot which breath and live within Yatzir Ha’Tov spirit within the heart. JeZeus, by stark contrast, taught his disciples that their ”father” dwelled in Heaven!
In the Torah, HaShem never refers to the people as having a private, paternalistic relationship separate from brit obligations. Tefillah directly bound by the Akadat Yitzak cords of the oath brit alliance: ‘HaShem save my future born seed from Shoah and I dedicate their souls as a korban to keep and remember your commandments’. Hence a ‘burnt offering’ as the Goyim love to translate refers to a Shoah dedication! A claim to “Father in Heaven” that lacks Torah obedience, and denies Torah She’B’al Peh, does invoke Avinu She’bashamayim/Shekinah that lives within the Yatzir Tov of the chosen Cohen hearts—rather this av tuma avoda zara invokes a strange foreign concept deity god, detached from Sinai.
Xtianity erases distinctions. Torah She’B’al Peh creates, protects, and preserves distinctions. Torah avoda functions only within those boundaries which the Oral Torah defines. Without these distinctions, you don’t have Torah—you have a projection of human emotion dressed in biblical language.
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In Jewish thought by stark and absolute total contrast, faith in God not some cult of personality personal or spiritual theological belief system; Torah faith deeply intertwined with ethical prophetic mussar, and social justice. The Torah obligations absolutely require the active pursuit of judicial common law justice through the Sanhedrin courtrooms. Principles of justice and fairness in all dealings, especially in legal matters define the Torah concept of faith.
The Torah mandates stong emphasis on the appointment of just judges, expected to act with integrity and impartiality. In Deuteronomy 16:18-20, the commandment to appoint judges and officers in all cities underscores the importance of justice: “You shall not pervert justice; you shall not show partiality, and you shall not accept a bribe, for a bribe blinds the eyes of the wise and twists the words of the righteous.” This principle, echoed in the teachings of the sages, who stress that a corrupt judiciary undermines the very foundation of society and the time-oriented brit which forever and eternally creates the chosen Cohen people from nothing. Hezekiah’s actions seen as a common law precedent for Sanhedrin justices to pursue justice and righteousness, ensuring that their governance aligns with the values of the Torah through משנה תורה legislative review of all laws and decrees imposed by Government statute laws.
The presence of bribed judges and corrupt courtrooms leads to the Torah curse of societal decay and a loss of faith among the people; meaning Jews assimilate and embrace the culture and customs of foreign peoples. These aliens reject the revelation of the Torah at Sinai and Horev. When judicial common law justice collapses, it creates a disconnect between the community and HaShem; failure to do and keep tohor time oriented commandments perverts the chosen cohen nation unto just another Av tuma Goyim people. The “converted” non Cohen-people, abandoned or betrayed by leaders equally abandon their faith – the obligation to pursue judicial justice among and between Jews. The prophetic T’NaCH literature often addresses the consequences of injustice, warning that societal ills can lead to divine judgment – Torah curses – like as happened to Par’o in Egypt in the days of Moshe and Aaron. This serves as a reminder that faith most essentially defined, not as Av tumah avoda zara which demand that a Goy believe in this or that theological creed God, but rather Torah faith lives only through pursuit of judicial common law courtroom judgements that promote justice and equity among and between our conflicting peoples.
This mussar tradition, it emphasizes the cultivation of personal virtues, including integrity, honesty, and a commitment to justice among our people. Prophetic mussar encourages the active pursuit of judicial common law justice to resolve our damages disputes between our people in all generations and all times. These T’NaCH/aggadic and midrashic teachings, they most essentually stress that true loyalty to the Torah brit faith involves far more than personal religious piety, like as promoted by the Shulkan Aruch. But, far more essential, to pursue an active participation in creating a just society, where the rights of all individuals Jews honor and respect and uphold by validating the rulings of the Sanhedrin common law lateral courtrooms.
The connection between faith in HaShem and the pursuit of justice, the fundamental theme in Torah thought, which most essentially defines the Torah concept of faith. The example of King Hezekiah, as Moshiach revolves around the rebuke of the prophet Natan to the house of David following the death of the baal of Bat Sheva. The Torah curse of Civil War to plague all generations of the House of David, over his profaning the oath dedication of Moshiach in the matter of the killed husband of Bat Sheva. Loyalty to the Torah Constitution most essentially manifests itself in ethical mussar behavior which remembers the rebuke that the prophet Natan cursed the House of David, specifically in the realm of justice over the criminal death of the baal of Bat Sheva. The integrity of the judicial system, which failed to hold king David to stand trial. Later the Talmud would acquit king David of murder. However, this Talmudic opinion does not change the fact that David, and his son Shlomo failed to establish the authority of the Sanhedrin Federal court system as the definition of building the Temple on Zion.
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