08/22/2026
From the Sunday school desk.
"Shabbat Shalom from Galilee
Did you know that the message Yeshua came to deliver was hard to comprehend even for many of His followers?
When you grow up in a world that defines sin by its own rules and removes the need for repentance and a personal relationship with God, the message of salvation by grace through faith can be difficult - even offensive.
Why?
Because it requires us to admit that there is nothing within our own good works that can save us.
“For by grace you have been saved through faith, and that not of yourselves; it is the gift of God, not of works, lest anyone should boast.”
Ephesians 2:8-9
Religion has always tempted man to believe that human effort and good deeds can earn God’s attention, forgiveness, and acceptance. That same thinking had deeply affected many during the time of Yeshua.
But Yeshua came with a very different message.
At one point, many of His followers found His teaching too difficult to receive - particularly His message about the necessity of giving His body and shedding His blood.
“Therefore many of His disciples, when they heard this, said, ‘This is a hard saying; who can understand it?’”
John 6:60
In their minds, Messiah was supposed to reign - not die.
He was supposed to bring peace, prosperity, and the restoration of Israel - surely not die in humiliation on a Roman cross while Israel remained under harsh occupation, with another destruction of Jerusalem and the Temple soon to come, followed by an even longer exile.
Yeshua never forces anyone to believe. He even challenged His own disciples to decide whether they would stay or leave, as many others had already done.
“From that time many of His disciples went back and walked with Him no more. Then Yeshua said to the twelve, ‘Do you also want to go away?’”
John 6:66-67
Then came Peter’s great confession of faith - words that have resonated with me many times during difficult seasons throughout my life:
“Lord, to whom shall we go? You have the words of eternal life. Also we have come to believe and know that You are the Christ, the Son of the living God.”
John 6:68-69
His message is clear - there is a price that had to be paid for our sins.
He gladly paid it.
There is no way around it.
Salvation cannot be understood without acknowledging why He came. He was born sinless, yet He died for us and rose again.
“But God demonstrates His own love toward us, in that while we were still sinners, Christ died for us.”
Romans 5:8
Yes, the resurrection is the key - but without His death there would have been no resurrection.
You cannot believe in a resurrected Messiah without believing that He had to die - and understanding why He died.
It wasn’t the Jews who killed Yeshua.
It was all of us.
Our sins put Him there.
The verse that changed my life when I was not even 18 years old, contemplating taking my own life, was Isaiah 53:6:
“All we like sheep have gone astray;
We have turned, every one, to his own way;
And the Lord has laid on Him the iniquity of us all.”
Think about this - Isaiah wrote these words hundreds of years before Yeshua came and fulfilled them.
The cross was not an accident. It was not a failed plan. Long before Yeshua was born, God had already revealed through the prophet that Messiah would bear our sins.
Yeshua didn’t die accidentally.
He came to do the perfect will of the Father.
Hours before His death, He prayed:
“Father, if it is Your will, take this cup away from Me; nevertheless not My will, but Yours, be done.”
Luke 22:42
And hundreds of years before Yeshua fulfilled it, Isaiah had already written:
“But He was wounded for our transgressions,
He was bruised for our iniquities;
The chastisement for our peace was upon Him,
And by His stripes we are healed.”
Isaiah 53:5
So if you are down today, remember this - a price was paid for your salvation.
You are no longer on death row if you repent and believe.
“For whoever calls on the name of the Lord shall be saved.”
Romans 10:13
He isn’t a baby.
He isn’t a crucifix.
He is the resurrected Lord who is alive!
And He will soon come to take us!
“For the Lord Himself will descend from heaven with a shout, with the voice of an archangel, and with the trumpet of God. And the dead in Christ will rise first. Then we who are alive and remain shall be caught up together with them in the clouds to meet the Lord in the air. And thus we shall always be with the Lord.”
1 Thessalonians 4:16-17
Awaiting His Soon Return
Amir"
(Amir Tsafati is an Israeli Christian who has a wide ministry and an excellent understanding of the Word of God.)
