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John 13:20 Truly, truly, I say to you, whoever receives the one I send receives me, and whoever receives me receives the one who sent me. When Moses starts his preamble to Deuteronomy, he speaks of the northern arc of the Euphrates in Lebanon that would form the Northern border of Israel as 'The Great River'. Why 'Great'? The Nile is far greater. The Euphrates is even mentioned last when listed in Genesis 2. The question is valid. Not only is the Creator familiar with the geography of His own creation, but so was Moses who in is former days campaigned for Pharaoh. In the eyes of God, authenticity is not ascribed in reference to size or any personal attributes; greatness is ascribed to a person or in this case a thing as per their affiliations. Here is how two renowned Rabbis from the Talmud put it: "Touch a person anointed with oil and you will also become anointed with oil" (Rabbi Shimon Ben Tarphon); also, "The servant of a king is like a king" (Rabbi Yishmael). We need to note here that being a king means to be anointed with oil, which is the literal definition of the word 'Mashiach/Messiah'. We can understand that if I shake hands with someone with oil on their hand, I automatically receive oil on mine We also know that the ambassador of a king carries that monarch's authority. In the same manner, not only is this River mentioned in relationship to Eden, but it 'touches' the Holy Land in that it is meant to form its northernmost border. In that it 'touches' the Holy Land, it also becomes 'Holy'. Of course it doesn't touch it right now according to the presently man-defined borders of Israel, but neither did it when Moses spoke these words in Deuteronomy. The greatness of the Euphrates was spoken of in a prophetic way. This is an important principle. Whereas this 'greatness by association' may seem like non-sense to our modern mind, it is the principle by which our Messianic faith works. When we reject that truth, we reject the spiritual mechanism that operates our faith. Messiah is the Servant of the great Monarch who has created heaven and earth; He Himself receives all authority from this 'Monarch' and part of this authority is then passed on to us when we confess His Name and put our faith in Him (John 5:27; Matthew 28:18; Matthew 19:28; Mark 13:34). In this manner, our 'holiness' is not a matter of personal goodness, but of association and relationship. Of course, any association or relationship carries in itself certain behavior requirements, which in the case of our relationship with Messiah is where the Torah comes in. The beauty of this whole principle is that the Master also said, whoever receives the one I send receives me, and whoever receives me receives the one who sent me (John 13:20). The Master left His glorious realm and came to us to live in a way that we could understand and receive Him and thereby return to the Father. May we also shape our lives in a way that others receive Him through us, and may also return to the Father! Patrick Gabriel Lumbroso www.thelumbrosos.com
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