Mark 1:38 reads: He said to them, "Walk into the villages and into the cities that are nearby, for I will also preach there. I have come for this reason." Yeshua's message was that the Kingdom of Elohim had arrived. Some translations use the phrase, "at hand," which is an idiom for within reach. From this passage, we learn that Yeshua is going to go into the surrounding areas and bring this message of repentance as a requirement to being a part of the new Kingdom. Verse 39 says: And he would preach in all their assemblies in all of Galeela and cast out demons. The assemblies were the Jewish synagogues. This geographical area was more moderate in their theological beliefs than Nazareth, which was more fundamentalist and conservative. The area including Capernaum was more favorable to the School of Hillel, which emphasized love of our fellow man than strict observance of the Torah. This message was more compatible to Yeshua's teachings and perhaps this is a reason He set His base of operations in Capernaum.
If we compare Yeshua's early message with that would develop later, we see immediate tension. Yeshua stressed repentance and the casting out of demons. Consider the words of the Apostle's Creed which is the basis of Christianity today:
1. I believe in God the Father, Almighty, Maker of heaven and earth:
2. And in Jesus Christ, his only begotten Son, our Lord:
3. Who was conceived by the Holy Ghost, born of the Virgin Mary:
4. Suffered under Pontius Pilate; was crucified, dead and buried: He descended into hell:
5. The third day he rose again from the dead:
6. He ascended into heaven, and sits at the right hand of God the Father Almighty:
7. From thence he shall come to judge the quick and the dead:
8. I believe in the Holy Ghost:
9. I believe in the holy catholic church: the communion of saints:
10. The forgiveness of sins:
1l. The resurrection of the body:
12. And the life everlasting. Amen.
Admittedly, paragraphs 4,5,6, and 7 had not occurred yet; however, notice that the creed stresses what we think about God as opposed to what we do. Yeshua stressed repentance which is based on what we do. As Christianity developed its creeds and doctrinal statements, the emphasis shifted to what we thought about God and "Jesus" as opposed to what we did.
Today, what is most important to your religion? Is it what you think about God or what you do about what you believe? In Hebraic thought, you don't know something unless it impacts your actions. So, what do you know about YHWH and His Son Yeshua?
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