Hem of His Garment

Did the woman have to reach to the ground, or by the Lords ankles in order to
touch the hem of His robe (garment) for healing of her 12 year ailment (Mark 5:27)?
What we are talking about here is the garment from which we now see as the Jewish
prayer shawl. The shawl is called a Tallit (pronounced tal-eet) and means little
tent. It has fringes on each end and tassels with a blue thread interwoven in the
knots on each corner (Num. 15:37-40). This is symbolic of the tent Tabernacle that
Israel had in the wilderness. When praying, they could pull the tallit up over their
head to commune with the lord in privacy, symbolic of the tent Tabernacle.
Though slightly different in design, being a garment open on the sides back then,
this would be the prayer closet Yeshua spoke of in (Matt. 6:6) and (Luke 12:3).
When the head was covered, this would symbolically keep the spirit of the world
outside and one could pray undistracted, without being double-minded (James 1:7,
8).
The tassel is called a Tzitzit. The Tzitzit strings are usually tied in knots totaling
613, symbolic of the Torah (Law of Moses). There is a techelet (blue) thread woven
in the Tzitzit knots.
The origin of the tallit might be a symbolic reminder about keeping the purity of the
camp (Num. 15:32-36). A guy had just been caught gathering firewood on the
Sabbath. They did not know what to do with him. God said to stone him to death
outside the camp. While possibly unassociated events, it seems the next thing God
instructed them to do was make the tallit; to remember the commandments of the
Lord and to do them (Num. 15:39, 40).
The tallit is what the Lord was poking fun at the Pharisees about, when he spoke of
them making extra-long fringes (Matt. 23:5). The fringe or tassel on His tallit is
what the woman touched for healing (Matt. 9:20) (Luke 8:43, 44). Why did she
(Mark 5:33) come trembling? She would have been ritually unclean according to the
Torah/Law of Moses. To touch anyone, especially a rabbi, would have brought
severe reprimand.
When the Lord was in villages, cities or the country, the sick besought him that they
might touch the fringe, tassels or hem of his garment and were healed (Matt. 14:36)
(Mark 6:56).
Different translations of the Bible use the terms hem or border of His garment,
edge of His cloak, fringes and some even use tassels for the above verses. This
would be the mantle (ornamental covering) that Elijah passed on to Elisha. This is
the same mantle both Elijah and Elisha used to part the Jordan River (2 Kings 2:8,
14). The four corners of the Tallit can also be called wings. This symbolizes us
being under the protective wings of the Lord. (Psalms 91) Scripture also tells us
Messiah comes with healing in His wings (Mal. 4:2). The same Hebrew word
translated corners in (Num. 15:38) is interchangeably translated wings in (Mal.
4:2).

Did Yeshua Carry the Cross?

After a beating and scourging, it is traditionally taught and Hollywood movies also
portray that Yeshua carried the cross. They show that He fell beneath it three times
before Simon the Cyrenian offered to help.
The Bible does not say Yeshua carried the cross at all. He bore our transgressions
on the cross. This is a case where tradition has taken over the facts. Scripture
says the cross (or cross-bar) was placed or forced on Simon the Cyrenian (Matt.
27:32) (Mark 15:21) (Luke 23:26). John only uses pronouns to describe this event
(John 19:17). The he (Simon) bearing His (Yeshuas) own cross, went forth to a
place called Golgotha. It is obvious in Johns account, the he bearing the cross;
bore it all the way to the place of the skull. If Yeshua were the he bearing it all the
way to Golgotha, this would make us wonder when Simon had been enlisted to help.
This would also contradict the other three accounts. If Yeshua were to have carried
the cross; it would have been for the first part of the trek and not the final distance
to Golgotha. After a scourging, Yeshua was likely physically incapable of carrying
anything; which is why the cross was put on Simon from the start. So, when you
see people carry crosses around, they are imitating Simon the Cyrenian and not
Messiah!

By His Stripes

People tell us (Isa. 53:5) and (1 Peter 2:24) have some great biblical significance
connected with miraculous physical healing. All you need is enough faith, claim
that the stripes Yeshua took were for your bodily restoration, and you'll be healed.
There are even some who would go so far as to imply that Yeshua took 39 stripes
and there are 39 main human physical diseases. So, He took a stripe for each and
every disease, thus defeating all sickness of mankind.
First of all, there is no verse that states how many times Yeshua was scourged. It
was Paul who took the 39 lashes or forty save one, 5 different times (2 Cor.
11:24). This number was a Roman punishment upon a Roman citizen, and there
may have been no rules about how many lashes could be given to a non-Roman
citizen. There are nine times in the whole book of Isaiah that some form or tense of
the word heal is used. When you read these verses, (and the verses surrounding
them) it becomes apparent that Isaiah is only speaking about spiritual healing or
the atonement for sin. Though the Lord can and does heal our bodies; not one of
these verses pertains to healing of the physical body whatsoever.
(Isaiah 3:7) (Isaiah 6:10) (Isaiah 19:22) (Isaiah 30:26)
(Isaiah 53:5) (Isaiah 57:18, 19) (Isaiah 58:8)
When you read the rest of the verse, Peter is obviously speaking of the salvation of
our souls and the atonement for sin (1 Peter 2:24). Peter had spent years with the
Lord as an eye witness to many peoples' bodily healing. He was not referring to the
physical in this case, but to the spiritual atonement. This was a letter of instruction,
encouragement and admonition from Peter to fellow believers in Asia Minor. There
is no doubt the Lord can heal us at any time; but do you really think Isaiah or Peter
intended to have a portion of one sentence from a letter (taken out of its original
context) to be turned into a magic incantation motivating God to heal our physical
body?

Were 120 People in an Upper Room?

Pastors explain there were supposedly 120 people in an upper room on the day of
Pentecost, when they were filled with the Ruach Hakodesh (Holy Spirit) (Acts 2:1-4).
But when we look a little closer, it does not say there were 120 people in an upper
room anywhere in Acts Chapter 2. This thought is taken from the previous chapter
where the people numbered were about 120, to elect Matthias as the replacement
disciple for Judas (Acts 1:15-26). The number required to assemble a Jewish council
is usually about 120. This may explain the count of men. After the Lord ascended,
the disciples continued to meet in the Temple (Luke 24:53). Where
were they on the day of Shavuot (Pentecost)? Why would thousands of Jews (some
with different languages) travel to Jerusalem from great distances to be gathered in
an upper room? If there were still about 120 believers in a group, wouldnt they
be worshiping in the Jewish Temple to commemorate the giving of the Torah to
Moses on Mt. Sinai?
They had been instructed to linger in Jerusalem, not
necessarily to stay cooped up in an upper room. This celebration of Shavuot (now
called Pentecost) was 50 days after Passover.
Side Note: The Israelites ate the Passover meal 50 days before God gave Moses the
Torah (Law) on Mt. Sinai. Yeshua was the Passover Lamb 50 days before the day of
Shavuot (Pentecost). And if you notice, 3,000 people were slain in (Exod. 32:28);
and 3,000 people were saved in (Acts 2:41).
Acts Chapter 2 starts a completely new thought and a completely different day from
chapter one. It says, When the day of Shavuot was fully come, they were all in one
accord in one place. Then a rushing mighty wind filled the whole house. The same
Greek word oikos that is translated house in (Acts 2:2) was translated Temple
in (Luke 11:51). The Temple is called the house (oikos) of God in numerous
passages (Matt. 21:13) (Mark 2:26, 11:17) (Luke 6:4, 19:46).
Did the 3,000 people baptized that day also fit into an upper room? But wait, there
were more than 3,000 people, because some did not receive the Word that day
(Acts 2:41). A place large enough to hold the 3,000 or more people present that
day was the Jewish Temple. Beside the huge hall, there were side rooms that could
hold thousands of people. The mikvehs (ceremonial washing pools) were useable
for all the baptisms.
This day of Shavuot (Pentecost) story in Acts Chapter Two ends by talking about how
this group continued to meet at the Temple day by day, and not at some upper
room (Acts 2:46). Then Acts Chapter Three begins with them in the Temple again.
Being in the Jewish Temple for the special Jewish day of Shavuot would not be
unusual for Jewish disciples.