Observing communion

Q. Do you celebrate communion and what is your understanding of the sacrament?

A. That is a good question and I will try to answer it as clearly as I can in this limited space, so forgive me before hand if there is something unclear. We have “communion” in our congregation but not in the Christian sense. The term “sacrament” is defined by Christian theology as something instituted by Yeshua, like baptism. But, baptism was not instituted by Yeshua. It was practiced for centuries before He ever lived. Communion or the “Eucharist” as practiced today was not instituted by Yeshua either and is not biblical. Having said that, what is taught in the Scriptures? There is a “Lord’s Supper” or meal consecrated to God taught all through the Scriptures. These are meals dedicated to the Lord and centered around certain themes, celebrations or remembrances. They are done surrounding covenants that are made between 2 parties. A Lord’s Supper was just that, a supper. It had prayers, songs and blessings. Table fellowship was very important at these meals as was proper behavior. Paul had much to say about all this in 1 Cor. 11. Passover is considered a Lord’s Supper where we “commune” together and “break bread (eat)” and this is done at many festivals.

You can have a Lord’s Supper at home with your family. Many have Sabbath meals with the family and this is considered a meal consecrated to God. The Christian practice of “communion” came out of this Jewish practice somewhat, but it also has its roots in pagan Mithraism. They were very strong in the Roman world and information can be investigated by doing your own research into Mithraism and look up their practice of what they called the “lord’s supper” and you will find it is very similar to the practice in churches today. They had a small, round piece of bread like the Sun, eaten with wine. The Emperor Constantine was “pontiff” and the High Priest of Mithraism at the time when he presided over the Council of Nicea.

It was at this council when Constantine said they met to “root out the last vestiges of Judaism” remaining in “the church.” So, the festivals and practices done for so long were being replaced by the “mass” and “Eucharist” as substitutes. As a result, the historical and biblical truth surrounding what the Lord’s Supper was disappeared and was forgotten. Most Synagogues practice what is called a Kiddush involving Challah bread and wine and every-time we do it I can’t help but remember Yeshua. Now, concerning the actual bread and wine, there are two main ideas about them in Christian theology. The first concept is called “transubstantiation” and that says the bread and wine are changed into the actual flesh and blood of Yeshua, although it still looks like bread and wine.

This is a doctrine of the Roman Catholic Church today, which had its roots at the Council of Nicea. The Lutheran concept is called “consubstantiation” and that says that the body and blood of Yeshua “coexist” with the bread and wine and neither view is biblical and are extreme interpretations, with other views falling somewhere between them. So, we do practice the Lord’s Supper quite often and the bread and wine are always in remembrance of Yeshua, but it isn’t “communion” in the Christian Church sense which developed later.

Palm trees, Isaiah 40:31, Judging

Q. What is the spiritual significance of the palm tree?

A Tree’s in the Bible are symbols of humanity. The Hebrew word for palm is “tamar” and right off several people in the Bible should come to your mind. The tree is symbolic for righteousness (Ps 92.12 which is a psalm for the Sabbath day, which is also significant. It is used as a symbol of victory (Rev 7.9) and they were used in this way before Yeshua as he entered the city during Passover week. They are also symbolic of “flourishing” in the things of God (Song 7.7) and tall, reaching into the heavens. They were pictured in Solomon’s Temple ( 1K 6.29) for all the above reasons because only the righteous will be in the presence of God. It gives us a picture of the Garden of Eden and the tree’s that were there, so naturally they would be portrayed in the Temple. There are some who think that the date palm was the tree of the knowledge of good and evil ( Gen 2.8, Ezek 41.18-26) and the almond tree the tree of life ( Num 17.8).


Q. What would your response be to a fellow believer who says “you shouldn’t judge?”

A. I would immediately say that he just violated his own rule by judging me by telling me not to judge! Then, I would tell them that we are not to judge by our own standards and morals but with righteous judgment from the Scriptures. We are to judge everything by that standard and to do otherwise would be very dangerous. Then we set up our own ways and standards and that is why there are so many belief systems out there. That’s how the Torah was “done away with” by so many professed believers and it was replaced by man’s theologies and ways. But our ways are not God’s ways, nor our thoughts His thoughts (Isa 55.8). So, Yeshua says we are to judge, but use righteous judgment. Paul admonishes the Corinthians for not properly judging a situation in the midst and getting a congregational court together to deal with the situation (1 Cor 6.1-5). We are also told to judge the fruit of others to make sure they are believers ( Matt. 7.15-23). So, when someone says that to you, it probably means you have gotten a little too close to something and they are trying to get you to feel like you are doing something wrong. But, judgment in the Scriptures is something that God gives us and it should be used in the proper context.


Q. What does Isa. 40.31 mean?

A It means that those who wait (honor, serve, hope in) the Lord will gain strength when tired, renew again. They will mount ( swift, strong ) up (towards heaven) like an eagle. They will run (make haste to keep the commandments) and not tired of them or think they are “bondage”. They will walk (again in the commandments and ways of God) and not become weary. We are all capable of temporary enthusiasm. It is harder to follow the Lord day after day, week after week, month after month, year after year when the “glory and the hoopla” is gone and still be undeterred by trials and meeting them with faith and enthusiasm.

Jewish Prayer Book

Q. What is your opinion about believers using the Jewish Prayer Book for prayer?

A James 5.16 speaks about the effectual prayer of a righteous man accomplishes much, and that is the goal and the heart of prayer, to mean something. The Apostles (talmidim) saw that Yeshua’s prayers were accomplishing things and they asked Him to teach them how to pray, and the Lord gave a model prayer in Matt 6 and Lk 11. This is not an original prayer but a “model” meaning we should pray as the Scriptures teach us. This prayer was not meant to be repeated verbatim but it summed up the major themes found in the Word.

This indicates many things. The Jewish people were not hypocrites because they did not know what to say, and Yeshua’s prayer model would be very acceptable in the first century and very familiar. Jewish prayer was fine and Yeshua used them in His model. The problem was not in the prayers themselves, the words or content. All of that was consistent and as it should be. The problem was they did not pray with sincere hearts, with repentance and truth, with true faith. The best prayer is useless when it doesn’t express the true intentions of the heart.

The Lord looks at the heart and He examines any prayer by the faith in which it is offered. Any Jewish person in the first century would’ve agreed with, consented to and approved of His model prayer and would have understood it as such, a model. There is a warning about praying the same words over and over again in the Scriptures thinking repetition will gain favor with the Lord. This was the Jewish mentality. The ritualist/ legalist mentality will insist on the repetition of the same prayers over and over again 3 times daily, which was and is the practice today.

In the “Didache”, which is a Christian book that is very ancient, there is a section on prayer that said that Christians should pray the Lord’s Prayer 3 times a day, obviously imitating the Jewish practice. This ritual carries with it the deadly mistake of turning prayer into a “performance” instead of the true intentions of a hungry heart reaching out to his Father. We would not approach our earthly fathers like that, how much more our Heavenly Father! Our prayers should be the genuine expression of heart that loves Him and filled with gratitude. That is true prayer.

But, the form and content, no matter how “orthodox”, is worthless without true dependence on the Lord. If the prayer is not the true and honest utterance of your heart, it will not be effectual. The Apostles prayed many of the prayers found in the Jewish Prayer Book, called a “siddur” which means “order of prayer”. But they wanted to know “how to pray” more effectually because it wasn’t working for them and they knew it. There are many beautiful prayers found in the prayer book, and other places.

But, we must avoid praying the letter if it doesn’t express the true intentions of the heart. Liturgical prayer, corporate prayer and private prayer were done in the Temple, at the command of the Lord. There are several prayers in the Bible that God specifically said to pray when you worship (Dt 21.1-9; Dt 26.1-15; Num 6.22-27; Num 5.11-28). The Book of Psalms is a song book and used by the Levitical choir in the Temple.

So, it’s not that we cannot pray or sing a written prayer, but we must be careful about turning them into a mundane ritual void of the true intentions of the heart. Lastly, the prayer called “The Lord’s Prayer” is really a model on how to pray. For the real “Lord’s Prayer”, read John 17.1-26. I hope this helps.