Two Things Have I Heard (Part 3 – The Greek Scriptures)

Introduction

Welcome to Torah Today Ministries and our continuing series, Two Things Have I Heard. This is part three of a four-part miniseries. And I encourage you to go back and listen to the introductory teaching and then also part two. And in those we looked at this principle called what I call the menorah (מְנוֹרָה) pattern. The menorah (מְנוֹרָה) I’m sure you’re familiar with is a source of light. And God gives a description of it as he describes the tabernacle and its furnishings. And he could have described this light and designed it any way he wanted. But the way he did it was that the menorah (מְנוֹרָה) would have an arm going off to one side matched and balanced by a complementary arm to the other side. And this is how light was given in the tabernacle. And since the word of God is our lamp and it’s our light, we find the same pattern in the word of God. It seems that for every action God takes, there’s a complementary action. And when we bring the two together, the central stalk of the menorah (מְנוֹרָה) appears and we see a bigger story. We see something about Yeshua (יֵשׁוּעַ) in the story. Sometimes it is way something is worded here. You’ll find a second place where it is worded. You’ll find a single word that’s used only in one place in scripture and only in one other place in scripture. And those two come together to give light.

So, in the introductory teaching, we looked at some examples of this in both the Hebrew scriptures, the Greek scriptures, and some that spanned both of the Old and New Testaments. And then in episode two, we looked at examples that appear only in the Hebrew scriptures. In this episode, episode three, we’re going to look at examples that appear only in the New Testament scriptures.

Psalm 62:11

Now this principle of the menorah (מְנוֹרָה) pattern is found in Psalm 62:11.

One thing God has spoken. Two things I have heard. — Psalm 62:11

So when God wants to express something, it seems like it always comes out in the form of a menorah (מְנוֹרָה) with two complementary things. Even as we have one mouth that speaks, we have two ears that hear. So God speaks through the word and we have two ways of grasping it. And as we look for these patterns in the scripture, it will certainly deepen our love of the word and our insight into the word and it makes study of the word even more of an adventure. So let’s just dive right in.

Matthew 4:18–22 and Matthew 8:18–22 — Two Callings, Two Responses

Let’s take these two small stories that are found four chapters apart in Matthew’s gospel. The first story is in Matthew 4:18–20. And this is what it says.

While walking by the Sea of Galilee, he, Yeshua (יֵשׁוּעַ), saw two brothers, Simon, who is called Peter, and Andrew his brother, casting a net into the sea, for they were fishermen. And he said to them, “Follow me, and I will make you fishers of men.” Immediately they left their nets and followed him. — Matthew 4:18–20

And then in the next two verses we see a complementary story. Again Yeshua (יֵשׁוּעַ) calling disciples. Again there are two people.

And going on from there he saw two other brothers, James the son of Zebedee and John his brother, in the boat with Zebedee their father, mending their nets. And he called them. Immediately they left the boat and their father and followed him. — Matthew 4:21–22

Now keep that in mind, in the second story the father is mentioned. So we have these two stories of two pairs of brothers being called by Yeshua (יֵשׁוּעַ). The second pair of brothers is in the boat with their father mending nets. Now just keep that in mind.

Now when you go four chapters further in the scriptures, we find another pair of stories. Now, see if you can notice the similarities between these two stories in Matthew 8 and the two stories we just read in Matthew 4. The verse numbers are the same in both cases, verses 18–22.

So, here’s the passage in Matthew 8.

Now, when Yeshua (יֵשׁוּעַ) saw a crowd around him, he gave orders to go over to the other side. And a scribe came up and said to him, “Teacher, I will follow you wherever you go.” And Yeshua (יֵשׁוּעַ) said to him, “Foxes have holes, birds of the air have nests, but the Son of Man has nowhere to lay his head.” — Matthew 8:18–20

And then there’s a second story.

And another of the disciples said to him, “Lord, let me first go and bury my father.” And Yeshua (יֵשׁוּעַ) said to him, “Follow me, and leave the dead to bury their own dead.” — Matthew 8:21–22

Now, we could spend a full hour or more talking about all the ramifications of these two stories and what’s going on there, what they mean. But I basically want you to see this. In Matthew 4, we see two brothers, Peter and Andrew, called and immediately after that, James and John called, and they are in the boat with their father. Four chapters later, we see not Yeshua (יֵשׁוּעַ) calling disciples, but we see men coming to Yeshua (יֵשׁוּעַ) to volunteer to follow him. And instead of encouraging them to follow him, Yeshua (יֵשׁוּעַ) says, “You might want to think this over. This may not be for you.” So it’s the opposite. Like arms of a menorah (מְנוֹרָה) are exactly opposite and yet they match.

So we have the scribe. He says, “I’m going to go with you anywhere.” And Yeshua (יֵשׁוּעַ) says, “Maybe not. It’s not what you think.” And then we have the reluctant disciple who says, “I want to follow you, but let me go bury my father.” So again, we see a father in the James and John story matching up with a father in the reluctant disciple story in Matthew 8.

What’s going on here? Well, there are a lot of things going on. And my purpose here in this teaching is not to delve into every detail and every comparison. I’ll let you do that. I don’t want to rob you of the fun. But one major thing you can notice here is that in the stories in Matthew 4, we see Yeshua (יֵשׁוּעַ) kind of as an unknown and he’s calling disciples and they follow him. But in chapter 8, Yeshua (יֵשׁוּעַ) has started to gather some fame. Now people are wanting to come and follow him, not necessarily out of faith, but because they want to be on the in-crowd. They want to be part of this famous rabbi’s retinue and follow him around. And Yeshua (יֵשׁוּעַ) is kind of like, maybe not.

There’s a lot going on here, but I just want to draw your attention to this menorah (מְנוֹרָה) pattern. It can’t be an accident that we have two stories here in Matthew 4 that are so similar. Two pairs of brothers and then these two stories line up in such a particular way with the two stories in Matthew 8. This can’t happen by accident. What are the chances? So God is trying to tell us something. He’s trying to bring more light to us and we get more light as we put these two accounts side by side. I’ll let you go ahead with it from there.

Matthew 8 and Matthew 14 — Two Storms at Sea

Let’s take another example. Now in the introductory episode, we looked at a storm at sea in the book of Jonah and we looked at a storm at sea here in the Gospel of Matthew. In both cases, the solution to the storm was asleep in the bottom of the boat. They had to wake up Jonah. They had to wake up Yeshua (יֵשׁוּעַ). They had to throw Jonah overboard. They had to keep Yeshua (יֵשׁוּעַ) in the boat. So these two stories, one from the Hebrew, one from the Greek scriptures, they match one another. They tell us a fuller story because here we see a prophet who’s in rebellion. With Yeshua (יֵשׁוּעַ), we see a Messiah who’s in perfect obedience to the father, but both asleep in the bottom of the boat during the storm.

Well, now in Matthew’s gospel in Matthew 8 and Matthew 14, we see two storms at sea. We’ve talked about the first one. There’s a storm. The disciples are in the boat. Yeshua’s (יֵשׁוּעַ) asleep in the bottom. They’re afraid they’re going to die. So, what do they do? They wake up Yeshua (יֵשׁוּעַ). Don’t you care? We’re about to die. And he rebukes them. You know, you of little faith. And he just says, “Peace, be still.” And the storm quiets down. And then I wonder if Yeshua (יֵשׁוּעַ) didn’t go back and finish his nap. I don’t know.

But in chapter 14, we see a storm at sea. The disciples are in the boat, but Yeshua (יֵשׁוּעַ) is not this time. They can’t wake him up. He’s not there to be awoken. What do they do now? And you know well how the story ends. They see what looks like a ghost walking on the water towards them. And they were terrified not so much of the storm but of this thing they think is a ghost. And it turns out it’s Yeshua (יֵשׁוּעַ) himself walking on the water.

What do these stories have to teach us? Well, I know there are times in my life that I’m going through a tough spot. All I have to do is return to who I know Yeshua (יֵשׁוּעַ) is. Kind of awaken him in my life and call upon him and he just, he’s there and he solves the problem. He just shows up and brings comfort and brings peace. But there are other times I can’t find him to wake him up. And those times I just have to wait. I just have to wait. There’s a time we wake him up, a time we call out to him. There are other times we just wait and he’ll come.

Which takes greater faith? Seeing the Messiah there and I know all I have to do is wake him up and he’ll make everything right. And the other times I can’t see him anywhere, but I know he sees me and I just have to wait for him to show up and he’ll make everything right. Two wonderful stories. When you put them together, we see a real pertinent and immediate application to our own lives, don’t we?

The Woman with the Issue of Blood and Jairus’s Daughter

Let’s go on to another. Now, this is probably the one I should have started with because it’s almost like the scriptures are screaming at us to look at this. There’s a menorah (מְנוֹרָה) pattern here. In this case, we have two stories, but one story doesn’t follow the other. One story is found right in the middle of the other story. And you find this story or these pairs of stories in Matthew’s gospel and Mark’s and Luke’s. And I encourage you to read all three accounts because each one brings out some details that the other does not.

But you know the story well. Yeshua (יֵשׁוּעַ) is among the crowd and the leader of the synagogue, his name is Yair (יָאִיר), which means  to enlighten, to bring light, from the word or (אוֹר), light, and he comes to Yeshua (יֵשׁוּעַ), my daughter is dying, please come and heal her. So Yeshua (יֵשׁוּעַ) starts following him home. While he’s on the way, a woman comes up who has an issue of blood, touches Yeshua’s (יֵשׁוּעַ) tzitzit (צִיצִת), the corner of his garment, and immediately she’s healed. Then Yeshua (יֵשׁוּעַ) realized power has gone out of him and he turns around, “Who touched me?” And um he speaks to her and she’s so thrilled that she’s now healed and then Yeshua (יֵשׁוּעַ) continues to go to the house, but then a messenger comes and says, “Oh, the little girl’s dead. Don’t even bother coming.” But Yeshua (יֵשׁוּעַ) goes to the house anyway. He puts everyone else out except for a handful of people and he takes the girl by the hand and calls her and she comes back from the dead.

Now there’s some interesting parallels between these two stories and some contrast as well. The first one is an older woman, the other is a young girl, and it tells us, and Luke puts these just a verse apart, he tells us that the older woman suffered with her issue of blood for 12 years. And he tells us that Yair’s (יָאִיר) daughter was 12 years old. Now, that is not a coincidence.

And when you think of the timeline, it means when this woman was going along doing life, everything was fine. This little girl is born that she doesn’t even know. And the woman develops an issue of blood. For 12 years, this older woman suffers while this little girl grows up to be 12 years old. And then when the woman is healed of her issue of blood by Yeshua (יֵשׁוּעַ), the little girl dies, but Yeshua (יֵשׁוּעַ) goes and resurrects her. This cannot be a coincidence.

The older woman’s story occurs outdoors among the crowd, but resurrecting the young girl happens indoors and he’s alone except for I think it’s Peter, James, and John and the little girl’s father. The older woman approaches Yeshua (יֵשׁוּעַ), but with the little girl, Yeshua (יֵשׁוּעַ) approaches her. The older woman touches Yeshua (יֵשׁוּעַ), but with the little girl, he touches her. The older woman comes up behind Yeshua (יֵשׁוּעַ), but the little girl is right in front of Yeshua (יֵשׁוּעַ). The older woman is dying. The little girl is dead.

Something’s going on here. These cannot be coincidental. They just can’t be. It’s again it’s like the scriptures are screaming at us. Look at this, compare. There’s a menorah (מְנוֹרָה) here. There are two stories that God wants us to look at side by side. And there is so much to derive from these two stories that um you really need to camp out here and think about it.

I’ve mentioned before that kosher animals chew their cud. So they bite the grass or the grain or whatever and they chew it and they swallow it, but they bring it up, they chew it some more and swallow it. And this can happen 30 times or more. That’s what you have to do with this passage of scripture. You need to break it down, meditate on it, and pray over it and um and think of this person named Yair (יָאִיר). Now, a little hint, the seventh judge in the book of Judges, the seventh judge is also called Yair (יָאִיר), and his name means to bring light, to shine light. You find it in Psalm 119 about God’s light shining out. So those are a couple clues that might help you. So I’ll leave this one with you to ponder and think about.

Acts 3:1–10 and Acts 14:8–13 — Two Lame Men Healed: Peter and Paul

This is a great story. Now these two stories occur in the book of Acts. Peter is the central figure in the first story and Paul is the central figure in the second. Now remember Peter is the apostle to the Jews and Paul is the apostle to the Gentiles. So there are similarities here in these stories but some stark differences as well. And when you look at these two stories you begin to understand the challenge of bringing the gospel to the Jewish people and the different kind of challenge there was in bringing the gospel to the Gentiles.

You know the story well. In Acts chapter 3, there is the lame man, lame since birth, and he is put at the temple gate. Maybe we should just read it. It’s in Acts 3:1–10.

Now Peter and John were going up to the temple at the hour of prayer, the ninth hour. And a man lame from birth was being carried, whom they laid daily at the gate of the temple that is called the Beautiful Gate, to ask alms of those entering the temple. Seeing Peter and John about to go into the temple, he asked to receive alms. And Peter directed his gaze at him, as did John, and said, “Look at us.” And he fixed his attention on them, expecting to receive something from them. But Peter said, “I have no silver and gold, but what I do have I give to you. In the name of Yeshua HaMashiach HaNatzri (יֵשׁוּעַ הַמָּשִׁיחַ הַנָּצְרִי).” — Acts 3:1–6

Now, it’s unusual to find that full name of Yeshua (יֵשׁוּעַ), the Messiah of Nazareth.

“Rise up and walk.” And he took him by the right hand and raised him up. And immediately his feet and ankles were made strong. And leaping up, he stood and began to walk, and entered the temple with them, walking and leaping and praising God. And all the people saw him walking and praising God and recognized him as the one who sat at the Beautiful Gate of the temple asking for alms. And they were filled with wonder and amazement at what had happened to him. — Acts 3:7–10

But as you go on and read the story, when you go to chapter 4, we see that the leaders of the synagogue, the Israelite leaders, the scribes and Pharisees were very upset about this. And it led to persecution, which I bring out here as one of the items in this story.

Acts 14:8–13

Now, let’s look at the Paul story. Look at the similarities, but note the differences as well. Acts chapter 14, starting in verse 8.

Now at Lystra, there was a man sitting who could not use his feet. He was crippled from birth and had never walked. — Acts 14:8

So these two men both have in common — they’ve never walked in their lives.

He listened to Paul speaking. And Paul, looking intently at him and seeing that he had faith to be made well, said in a loud voice, “Stand upright on your feet.” — Acts 14:9–10

Notice Yeshua’s (יֵשׁוּעַ) name is not mentioned. It doesn’t say “in the name of Yeshua (יֵשׁוּעַ), the Messiah of Nazareth.” Because this man would not have known who Yeshua (יֵשׁוּעַ) was. He would not have known what a Messiah was. And he may not have even known where Nazareth was. But Paul just speaks to him in a loud voice, “Stand up on your feet.”

And he sprang up and began walking. And when the crowds saw what Paul had done, they lifted up their voices, saying in Lycaonian, “The gods have come down to us in the likeness of men!” Barnabas they called Zeus, and Paul, Hermes, because he was the chief speaker. And the priest of Zeus, whose temple was at the entrance to the city, brought oxen and garlands to the gates and wanted to offer sacrifice with the crowds. — Acts 14:10–13

This didn’t go well with the leaders of the city and there was more persecution but it led to a lot of confusion.

So encapsulated in these two stories of these two men who had never walked in their lives who are miraculously healed, and the one is ready to go into the temple with him, probably always wanted to be able to walk into the temple, to pray, to bring sacrifices, to worship God in the temple. But this other man, the only temples he knew of were pagan temples. He didn’t know who Yeshua (יֵשׁוּעַ) was. He didn’t know what a Messiah was. He knew nothing about the scriptures. But he stood up and he began to walk. And he began to walk with Paul. And he had a lot of learning to do.

The first man leapt and he was praising God because he knew God. He knew who to praise. He knew how to praise him. He probably knew many of the Psalms of David. The second man, he didn’t know anything about the God of Paul. He had so much to learn. It’s like this first man’s life as a Jew was filled with Jewish knowledge because he sat at the gate of the temple. He was very aware, had to be aware of Jewish practices, of Torah (תּוֹרָה) practices, and hearing the Psalms sung. He was very aware of the things of God, but he couldn’t walk.

This other man knew nothing about the things of God. His learning of God began with walking. The first man, his life culminated in this miracle of finally being able to walk. This other man’s life began with the miracle of beginning to walk and now the learning begins. They’re just exact opposite stories, aren’t they? And yet so similar. There’s a lot going on here. But again, these two stories can’t be an accident that they’re so similar and yet so different. And there’s something here God wants to teach. So take the two stories, study them, get intimately familiar with the details, lay them side by side, and see what God speaks concerning his ways among the Jew and Gentile in the world. And there may be a personal message for you as well in this story.

Acts 8 and Acts 13 — Two Occult Practitioners: Simon the Sorcerer and Bar-Yeshua

Now, since we’re speaking of two believers, a Jewish believer and a Gentile believer who’s now a believer, there were two occult practitioners described in the book of Acts. Now, there were some others who we see Paul and others just excommunicating, a demon that we see that happening. But these are two men who are practitioners in the occult. They were magicians. They were sorcerers, whatever you want to call them.

One of them is Simon the Sorcerer in Acts 8:9–24. And the other was named Bar-Yeshua (בַּר־יֵשׁוּעַ). He had a first name as well, but he was known as Bar-Yeshua (בַּר־יֵשׁוּעַ), son of Jesus, son of Joshua. And I’m sure they weren’t thinking of the Jesus, you know, of the Gospels, but the name Jesus or Yeshua (יֵשׁוּעַ) was a very common name. So, son of Joshua.

Now, Simon the Sorcerer was a Gentile and we’re told in the scriptures that he became a believer as he heard the message being preached. But when he saw the apostles laying their hands on others and these people being filled with God’s spirit and just being transformed, he wanted that power and he offered money to buy that power from them. And he was strongly rebuked for that. And he was rebuked in such a way that it was indicated he was an idol worshipper because it wasn’t God whom he worshiped, it was the power he thought he could purchase. It was the power that he wanted and that was idolatry.

The only thing that had changed — his life, as he looked to Satan and the demonic for his power before — he thought, “well now I can do the same thing, but I’ll just look to God and his spirit for that power, but I can still impress people. I can still be in control over people’s lives. I can still make a living off of my displays of power.”

That tells me a lot about some of the modern televangelists we see, some of the modern so-called miracle workers, those who provide signs and wonders for pay. What’s the difference? Whether they’re claiming to use it by the power of God or by the power of the enemy, if they’re just using it to build up their own kingdom, their own bank accounts, to just build up their own fame, it’s still idolatry.

Acts 13 — Bar-Yeshua (בַּר־יֵשׁוּעַ)

But now over in Acts chapter 13, we see Paul appearing before a leader whose name was Paulus. So they had something in common, had the same name. But there was a magician there named son of Joshua, Bar-Yeshua (בַּר־יֵשׁוּעַ). And so he kept coming against everything Paul said. Now he was a Jew so he was standing and trying to block anything Paul would say to this leader.

And so, and of course he was a non-believer whereas Simon the Sorcerer became a believer. Whereas Simon the Sorcerer tried to acquire God’s power with money, Bar-Yeshua (בַּר־יֵשׁוּעַ) simply opposed God’s power altogether because he wanted to be in control by this demonic power that he had. And so Paul looked at him and he rebuked him and he struck him with blindness, a supernatural blindness.

Now this leads us to two more stories. Who else in the book of Acts was struck by blindness? Who else had been opposing God’s message and God’s gospel and struck with blindness? Paul himself. So you can take that story and compare it with this story of Bar-Yeshua (בַּר־יֵשׁוּעַ). I can’t think of any other stories in Acts where God supernaturally strikes someone with blindness. Can you? So again, this leads to another pair.

But this also tells us something about how people can use the occult. They can use the occult in God’s name or they can just use it in the name of the enemy. The one leads to rebuke and an appeal to the heart. The other leads to a supernatural blindness altogether. There’s a lot going on here between these two. But again, two stories, two very unique stories that we take, we lay side by side. And uh what do you discover by comparing these two stories?

Homework

And last time I gave you some homework to do. I’m going to do the same this time.

In Matthew 8:5–13 and in Matthew 15:21–28, we see two Gentile healings, healings of Gentiles, but they’re quite different. And there’s some similarities. I’ll leave it to you to discover those.

Now, this one’s amazing. If you were a Bible teacher in a church or a synagogue or a Messianic synagogue, wherever you are, a home group, this makes for a great study. Take the eight Beatitudes that Yeshua (יֵשׁוּעַ) spoke in Matthew 5:1–12 and the eight woes that Yeshua (יֵשׁוּעַ) pronounced in Matthew 23:13–33. You may be saying, “What? What do you mean eight curses?” It’s when he was addressing the scribes and Pharisees, the wicked leaders of the Jewish nation. He said, “Woe to you. Woe to you.” And he called them vipers. He called them whitewashed tombs. He called them just about every name in the book. Eight times he says woe. So eight times here he says blessed. Eight times here he says woe. Exact opposites. Here he’s talking about the people who are especially blessed. They’re especially contented because of the things they’re doing. And these have woe in their lives. And there’s got to be extraordinary pain and punishment because of the things that they’re doing. You lay those eight side by side, you’ll see a correlation between the Beatitudes and the eight woes.

This one also, this could take several sessions to go over in your study group, but this is phenomenal. It’s amazing. Every time I have shared these with a group in study, their eyes get as big as saucers and they ask questions and they dig and it’s amazing, amazing study. But in Matthew 13, Yeshua (יֵשׁוּעַ) shares seven what we call the kingdom parables. The kingdom of heaven is like, the kingdom of heaven is like. He talks about the sower and the seed. And then he talks about the wheat and the tares. And then he talks about the mustard seed. And then he talks about the woman who hid  leaven in a measure of dough and the whole thing became leavened. But in Revelation chapters 2 and 3, we see seven letters to the seven churches, the seven assemblies. And these seven letters perfectly align with these seven parables.

In fact, one of the things that’s been discovered is that these seven parables, these seven letters tend to describe the last 2,000 years. What is sometimes called the church age—I don’t think it’s a very apt title— but this 2,000-year gap between Yeshua’s (יֵשׁוּעַ) first coming and between his hopefully soon return. And the history of this 2,000 years is a mixture of glory and goodness as well as embarrassment and pain and sin and darkness. It’s a very mixed bag. And when you look at these parables and you look at these seven letters, they parallel one another just perfectly. For example, the fourth parable is about the woman who took leaven. And leaven is always a picture of sin. She took leaven and she hid it in the dough till the whole thing became leavened. Well, guess what the fourth letter is about? It’s the only mention of a woman. It’s the Jezebel in the community there who is spreading her poison throughout the church. In the second kingdom parable, we see the enemy introduced with the wheat and the tares. In the second letter, we see again the enemy introduced and it’s quite amazing stuff. It’s really interesting. As you go through, you’re going to see these parallels just straight through. Incredible, incredible stuff.

And you probably are aware of this, but then again, you may not be. But in Matthew’s gospel, we see Yeshua (יֵשׁוּעַ) feeding the multitudes not once, but two times. Once in chapter 14 and then again in chapter 15. Compare those. Again, one thing God speaks, but two things I hear. Everything happens in a pair. And they complement one another.

Now what I’ve shared with you in this episode, just things as it came to me I just jotted them down and thought this is what I’ll share. There are so many things I had to make myself stop because there are so many of these in the scriptures that there may not even be a limit to how many there are, but I want you to be aware that they’re there. And when you’re aware that they’re there, you’ll start looking for them and you will definitely start seeing them. And if I seem excited about what I’m sharing with you, it’s the kind of excitement I think you will also experience as you discover these wonders in God’s word. And the light of the menorah (מְנוֹרָה) of scripture will begin to shine even more strongly in your soul, in your mind.

So I hope this has been a blessing to you. Hope you roll up your sleeves, get to work, study, and don’t hesitate to share with me. Go to the link there at torahtodayministries.org and leave a comment, leave a question. If you’re watching on YouTube, you can leave a comment there as well. So until next time at episode 4, I wish you shalom (שָׁלוֹם) and may God bless.

Teaching Material

Hebrew Word Studies

• Menorah (מְנוֹרָה) — “Lampstand”; the central metaphor throughout this series for God’s balanced, paired revelation in Scripture. — Strong’s H4501 · Sefaria: Menorah
• Yeshua (יֵשׁוּעַ) — “Salvation”; the Hebrew name of Jesus. — Strong’s H3442
• Yeshua HaMashiach HaNatzri (יֵשׁוּעַ הַמָּשִׁיחַ הַנָּצְרִי) — “Yeshua the Messiah of Nazareth”; the full title Peter uses when healing the lame man at the Beautiful Gate (Acts 3:6). — Strong’s H3442 · Strong’s H4899
• Yair / Jairus (יָאִיר) — “He will enlighten, he will bring light”; from the root or (אוֹר), “light.” Name of the synagogue leader whose daughter Yeshua raised, and also the seventh judge of Israel (Judges 10:3). — Strong’s H2971
• Or (אוֹר) — “Light”; the root behind the name Yair/Jairus. Found in Psalm 119:130 regarding God’s word giving light. — Strong’s H216
• Tzitzit (צִיצִת) — “Fringes, tassels”; the knotted fringes on the corners of a garment, commanded in Numbers 15:38. The woman with the issue of blood touched the tzitzit (צִיצִת) of Yeshua’s garment. — Strong’s H6734 · Sefaria: Tzitzit
• Bar-Yeshua (בַּר־יֵשׁוּעַ) — “Son of Joshua/Salvation”; the Jewish sorcerer who opposed Paul before the proconsul Sergius Paulus in Acts 13. — Strong’s G919
• Torah (תּוֹרָה) — “Instruction, teaching, law”; God’s divine instruction. Referenced regarding the lame man at the temple gate who was immersed in Torah (תּוֹרָה) practices. — Strong’s H8451
• Shalom (שָׁלוֹם) — “Peace, wholeness, completeness.” — Strong’s H7965

Scripture References

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• Psalm 62:11 — “One thing God has spoken, two things have I heard”
• Matthew 4:18–22 — Yeshua calls Peter, Andrew, James, and John
• Matthew 8:18–22 — The eager scribe and the reluctant disciple
• Matthew 8:23–27 — First storm at sea; Yeshua asleep in the boat
• Matthew 14:22–33 — Second storm at sea; Yeshua walks on the water
• Mark 5:21–43 — Jairus’s daughter and the woman with the issue of blood (Mark’s account)
• Luke 8:40–56 — Jairus’s daughter and the woman with the issue of blood (Luke’s account — the 12 years detail)
• Acts 3:1–10 — Peter heals the lame man at the Beautiful Gate
• Acts 4:1–22 — Persecution from the religious leaders following the healing
• Acts 14:8–13 — Paul heals the lame man at Lystra
• Acts 8:9–24 — Simon the Sorcerer tries to buy the power of the Holy Spirit
• Acts 13:6–12 — Bar-Yeshua (בַּר־יֵשׁוּעַ) the sorcerer struck with blindness
• Acts 9:1–9 — Saul/Paul struck with blindness on the road to Damascus
• Judges 10:3 — Yair (יָאִיר), the seventh judge of Israel
• Psalm 119:130 — God’s word gives light; the root or (אוֹר)
• Jonah 1:4–15 — The storm at sea with Jonah (referenced from Episode 1)

Homework Pairs for Further Study

• Two Gentile healings — Matthew 8:5–13 (the centurion’s servant) vs. Matthew 15:21–28 (the Canaanite woman’s daughter)
• Eight Beatitudes vs. Eight Woes — Matthew 5:1–12 vs. Matthew 23:13–33; lay them side by side to see the menorah (מְנוֹרָה) pattern of blessing and cursing
• Seven Kingdom Parables vs. Seven Letters to the Churches — Matthew 13:1–52 vs. Revelation 2–3; parallel accounts describing the last 2,000 years
• Two Feedings of the Multitudes — Matthew 14:13–21 (feeding the 5,000) vs. Matthew 15:32–39 (feeding the 4,000); compare the details and differences
• Paul’s blindness vs. Bar-Yeshua’s blindness — Acts 9:1–9 vs. Acts 13:6–12; two men who opposed God’s message struck with supernatural blindness

External References & Further Study

• Tzitzit — The Fringes — Hebrew4Christians: the commandment and significance of the fringes
• Jairus / Yair — Name Meaning — Blue Letter Bible: the Hebrew root and meaning of the name
• Simon Magus and the Early Church — Jewish Encyclopedia: historical background on Simon the Sorcerer
• Torah Today Ministries — Home of Two Things Have I Heard and other Torah-centered teachings