Category: Podcasts

Shavuah Tov podcasts on the weekly Torah reading

Parashat Vayechi Podcast…

John J Parsons

Our Torah reading for this week, parashat Vayechi (ויחי), recounts how the great patriarch Jacob adopted Joseph’s two sons (Ephraim and Manasseh) as his own children. When Jacob blessed the boys, however, he intentionally reversed the birth order by putting the younger before the older, signifying that the old struggle he had faced as a child was over, and he now understood things differently. And note Ephraim and Manasseh’s reaction: the older did not envy the younger, nor did the younger boast over the older. The family had apparently learned that blessing from God is for the good of all, and that there is no real blessing apart from genuine humility that esteems the welfare of others.

Following this, Jacob was ready to summon his family to hear his final words. Among other things, he foretold how the Messiah would come from the line of Judah and then instructed his sons to bury him only in the promised land, and not in Egypt (Gen. 49:10-12; 49:29-32).

After his death, Joseph and his brothers, with various dignitaries of Egypt, formed a funeral procession and returned to Canaan to bury Jacob in the Cave of Machpelah in Hebron. After the funeral, they returned to Egypt, but Joseph’s brothers feared that he would now repay them for their former betrayal and threw themselves on his mercy. Joseph reassured them that they had no reason to fear him and reminded them that God had overruled their earlier intent by intending him to be a blessing to the whole world (Gen. 50:20).

The portion ends with the account of the death of Joseph, who made the sons of Israel promise to take his bones with them when the LORD would bring them back to the land of Canaan (alluding to the great Exodus to come). Joseph’s faith in the Jewish people’s return to the Promised Land is summarized by his statement: “God will surely remember you” (Gen. 50:24). He died at age 110, was embalmed and placed in a coffin in Egypt, full of faith that he would be raised from the dead in the land promised to Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob.

 

Vayechi Audio Podcast:

Parashat Vayigash Podcast…

John J Parsons

In our Torah portion for this week, parashat Vayigash, Benjamin stood before Joseph accused of the theft of a chalice, while Judah “drew near” (vayigash) and vicariously offered to bear the penalty for his brother, pleading with Joseph to spare his father the loss of yet another son. Joseph was so moved by Judah’s act of mesirat nefesh (self-sacrifice) that he decided the time had finally come for him to reveal his identity to his brothers. After clearing the room, he began speaking in Hebrew and said, אֲנִי יוֹסֵף הַעוֹד אָבִי חָי, “I am Joseph, is my father still alive?” When the brothers drew back in shock and dismay, Joseph said, “Draw near to me, please” (from the same verb nagash) and then explained how God providentially brought him to Egypt to save the family’s life….

The revelation of Joseph and his reconciliation with his brothers is a prophetic picture of the acharit hayamim (end of days) when the Jewish people will come to understand that Yeshua is indeed the One seated at the right hand of the majesty on high as Israel’s Deliverer. At that time Yeshua will speak comforting words to His long lost brothers and restore their place of blessing upon the earth. Indeed, the entire story of Joseph is rich in prophetic insight regarding our Lord and Savior. Vayigash (וַיִּגַּשׁ) means “and he drew near,” referring first to Judah’s intercession for the sins of his brothers, and then to Joseph’s reciprocal desire for the brothers to draw near to him (Gen. 44:18, 45:4). Joseph initiated the reconciliation by saying, גְּשׁוּ־נָא אֵלַי / g’shu na elai – “Please draw near to me,” and indeed there is a play on the verb nagash (נָגַשׁ), “draw near,” throughout this story. Yeshua is depicted both in Judah’s intercession (as the greater Son of Judah who interceded on behalf of the sins of Israel) and in Joseph’s role as the exalted Savior of the Jewish people in time of tribulation. When Joseph disclosed himself and asked, “Is my father alive,” we hear Yeshua evoking the confession of faith from the Jewish people: “I am Yeshua: do you now understand that My Father is alive?” Upon His coming revelation, all Israel will confess that indeed God the Father is “alive” and has vindicated the glory of His Son.

 

Vayigash Audio Podcast:

 

 

 

Chanukah – Parashat Miketz Podcast…

John J Parsons

In our Torah portion for Chanukah week, parashat Miketz (i.e., Gen. 41:1-44:17) we will read how imprisoned Joseph successfully interpreted Pharaoh’s dreams and suddenly rose to power in Egypt. Because of a famine in the land of Canaan, however, his brothers (who had earlier betrayed him) came to Egypt in search of food. A disguised Joseph then tested his brothers to see whether they were the same people who had callously sold him into slavery, or whether they had undergone teshuvah (repentance).

The eventual revelation of Joseph and his reconciliation with his brothers is a prophetic picture of acharit ha-yamim (the “End of Days”) when Israel, in Great Tribulation, will come to accept Yeshua as Israel’s true deliverer. Presently, the veil is still over the eyes of the Jewish people and they collectively regard Yeshua as an “Egyptian” of sorts. In this connection, I list some of the ways that Joseph is a “type” or foreshadowing of the coming Yeshua as the Suffering Servant (see “Mashiach ben Yosef”).
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Miketz Podcast:

 

 

Parashat Vayeshev Podcast…

John J Parsons

In our Torah portion for this week (i.e., parashat Vayeshev), we read how Joseph’s jealous brothers stripped him of his “coat of many colors” and threw him into a pit — a providential event that eventually led to the deliverance of the Jewish people by the hand of a “disguised savior.” Indeed, the life of Israel’s chosen son Joseph foreshadowed the two advents of Yeshua our Messiah: first as Israel’s Suffering Servant, and second as the national deliverer of the Jewish people during tribulation…

 

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Torah of Wrestling… (podcast)

John J Parsons

Yeshua somberly warned those who professed faith: “Not everyone who says to me, ‘Lord, Lord,’ will enter the kingdom of heaven, but the one who does the will of my Father who is in heaven. On that day many will say to me, ‘Lord, Lord, did we not prophesy in your name, and cast out demons in your name, and do many mighty works in your name?’ And then will I declare to them, ‘I never knew you; depart from me, you workers of lawlessness'” (Matt. 7:21-23). Despite the practice and profession of their faith, these people were strangers to God… They had a false sense of assurance, believing that they were “serving God” while they really were not… So the essential question here is whether Yeshua truly knows you. You may know a lot about God, religion, spirituality, and yet you may remain unknown by him… So where do you find life? What are you loving? Where are you going?

“Not everyone who says to me, ‘Lord, Lord,’ will enter the kingdom of heaven, but the one who does the will of my Father who is in heaven” (Matt. 7:21). Yet what is the will of the Father but to trust in Messiah for life (John 6:40)? “What must we do, to be doing the works of God?” Yeshua answers: “This is the work of God, that you believe in the One whom he has sent” (John 6:28-29). The Torah of God centers on trusting the Messiah (Titus 3:5-7).

On that day many will say to me, ‘Lord, Lord, did we not … do many mighty works in your name?’ And then will I say to them, ‘I never knew you; depart from me, you workers of lawlessness’ (Matt. 7:22-23). From this we see that good works – even those done in the name of Messiah – are insufficient for life, and that something more is needed… That “something more” is the reality of relationship with him. However, even Yeshua’s sacrifice on the cross can’t bring you into relationship with him apart from receiving it for your healing… By faith you encounter Yeshua clothed in your flesh, your sin, and suffering death for you.  “As long as Christ remains outside of us we are separated from him.”

Some people feel frightened when they consider all this, but fear arises only if we miss Yeshua’s point… Good works can’t save you, even those performed in the Savior’s name… What saves you is trusting in God’s great love for your life: “This is the work of God, to trust in the One whom God has sent [for you]” (John 6:28-29). Genuine salvation is “from the LORD,” that is, comes as a result of his loving intervention on your behalf (Titus 3:5-7; Eph. 2:8-10). This is the will of the Father, the true Torah of the LORD, namely, to honor the Messiah and know him by faith… You trust him for eternal life, you believe that he bears your sins, you seek to know his heart, and you desire to share your life with him. It is lawlessness to reject the Torah of the LORD that commands us to follow Messiah and know him in all our ways – including the ways of our struggles, our fears, and so on… Each of us must wrestle alone, in the dark places of fear, to find our new name from God (Gen. 32:24). Is the blessing for you or not? The essential thing is to know (and more importantly) to be known by Yeshua…. It is a matter of trust, of sharing your heart, being real with him, walking with him, loving him… “This is the work of God, to trust in the One whom God has sent [for you].” Trusting in the Lord means accepting that you are truly loved (and made safe) because of who God is…

Read more “Torah of Wrestling… (podcast)”

Parashat Vayetzei Podcast

John J Parsons

In our Torah portion this week (parashat Vayetzei), it is written that Jacob “came to a certain place and stayed there that night” (Gen. 28:11). The Hebrew text, however, indicates that Jacob did not just happen upon a random place, but rather that “he came to the place” — vayifga ba’makom (וַיִּפְגַּע בַּמָּקוֹם). The sages therefore wondered why the Torah states ba’makom, “the place,” rather than b’makom, “a place”? Moreover, the verb translated “he came” is yifga (from paga’: פָּגַע), which means to encounter or to meet, suggesting that Jacob’s stop was a divine appointment. Indeed, as we shall see, this special dream or vision revealed the very truth of the Messiah – the Meeting Place of God – to our father Jacob.

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The Deception of Esau… (podcast)

John J Parsons

In parashat Toldot we read that God told Rebekah, “Two nations are in your womb, and two peoples from within you shall be divided…” (Gen. 25:23). These twins, of course, were Esau (עֵשָׂו) and Ya’akov (יַעֲקב), respectively. In this podcast (see link below), I discuss the relationship between Isaac and Rebekah, Esau and Jacob, and consider the ongoing struggle between “Edom” and the Jewish people… The issue of the birthright – and therefore the mantle of Abrahamic – leadership was crucial for the perpetuity of the Jewish people. To this day, Rome (i.e., “Edom”) and Israel are considered perpetual enemies… I hope you find this helpful.

 

 

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Parashat Toldot Podcast…

John J Parsons

In our Torah reading for this week, called parashat Toldot (תוֹלדת), we learn that Isaac and Rebekah had been married for twenty years but were still without an heir to carry on the family line… Finally their prayers were answered and Rebekah conceived, though not without complications. When Rebekah inquired of the LORD about her travail, God told her that she was carrying twins that would be heads of two rival nations, but the younger child would in fact become the promised heir of the chosen people.

Read more “Parashat Toldot Podcast…”

Chayei Sarah Shavuah Tov Podcast…

John J Parsons

Our Torah reading for last week (i.e., Vayera) told how God was faithful to Abraham and Sarah by miraculously giving them a son (Isaac) in their old age. Nonetheless, Abraham faced his greatest test of all by being asked to offer up his promised child as a sacrifice on Mount Moriah, the place of the future Temple. On account of his willingness to obey, God promised He would multiply Abraham’s offspring as the stars of heaven and that in his seed (singular) all the nations of the earth would be blessed.

This week’s Torah portion is called Chayei Sarah (חיי שרה), the “life of Sarah,” though it begins (paradoxically) with the account of her death, and tells how the first great matriarch of the Jewish people was buried in the Cave of Machpelah in Hebron, a burial site which Abraham had purchased from Ephron the Hittite (Gen. 23:1-20). Since the account of Sarah’s death is given just after the account of the near-sacrifice of Isaac (i.e., the Akedah), some of the sages link the events together, suggesting that the shock of the loss of her beloved son at the hand of her husband was just too much for her to bear…

Read more “Chayei Sarah Shavuah Tov Podcast…”

Parashat Vayera podcast…

John J Parsons

Shalom chaverim. In this week’s Shavuah Tov audio podcast I provide a brief overview of parashat Vayera (פרשת וירא) with special focus on the “Akedah of Isaac” (the binding of Isaac) as a picture of the gospel of Yeshua the Messiah. I hope you find it helpful.

..Vayera Podcast: