134 What does it mean to be a disciple

What does it mean to be a disciple of Messiah?

The transliterated Hebrew word used for disciple in the Scriptures is ‘Talmidim’ simply meaning student or follower. To be a true student or follower of Messiah, we must believe or hold to the testimony of Yahshua. The testimony of Yahshua bear witness to the way He lived His life and what He taught whilst He was on earth as recorded in Matthew, Mark, Luke and John, but also what was prophesied about Him in the Tanach and the prophecies that He gave his disciples about His return in Matthew, Mark, Luke and the book of Revelation. Yahshua our Messiah came specifically to bring the lost sheep of the house of Israel back to the covenant they made with Elohim, together with the house of Judah at Mount Sinai, as He said in Matthew 15: 24[1], but also as prophesied by Caiaphas in John 11: 49 – 52 as follows: ’But a certain one of them, Caiaphas, who was high priest that year, said to them, “You know nothing at all, (50) nor do you take into account that it is expedient for you that one man should die for the people, and that the whole nation should not perish.” (51) Now this he did not say on his own initiative; but being high priest that year, he prophesied that Yahshua was going to die for the nation, (52) and not for the nation (of Judah) only, but that He might also gather together into one the children of Elohim who are scattered abroad (meaning the lost sheep of Israel, scattered abroad by YHVH because of idolatry as prophesied in Hosea 1: 1 – 10).’

In the parable of the prodigal son Yahshua describes the two houses of Israel that was split into two separate kingdoms after King Solomon’s rule of the commonwealth of Israel, because he started following the pagan gods of the many foreign wives that he married after which the tabernacle of King David came to an end. However, as Yahshua indicated in the parable, the prodigal son eventually came to his senses and decided to return to his father’s house after many years of spending his inheritance on loose living and eventually having to eat pig’s food as a religious diet. Obviously, after spending years away from his father, squandering his inheritance and living it up in the world, the eldest son became jealous when the father slaughtered the fatted calf for his returning wayward son, who because of loose living (idolatry) squandered his inheritance, whilst the eldest son always remained loyal to the father. The way we as the prodigal son lived in the past deserves the death penalty by stoning, but Yahshua our Messiah who was prophesied to bring the lost sheep of the house of Israel back, paid the death penalty on our behalf, in amongst other Isaiah 49 and specifically in verses 5, 6, 15 & 16, in this way: ‘And now says YHVH, who formed Me from the womb to be His Servant, to bring Jacob back to Him, in order that Israel might be gathered to Him (For I am honored in the sight of YHVH, and My Elohim is My strength), (6) He says, “It is too small a thing that You should be My Servant to raise up the tribes of Jacob, and to restore the preserved ones of Israel; I will also make You a light of the nations so that My salvation may reach to the end of the earth.” (15) “Can a woman forget her nursing child, and have no compassion on the son of her womb? Even these may forget, but I will not forget you. (16) Behold, I have inscribed you on the palms of My hands; your walls are continually before Me,” We also read Rav Yaa’cov’s words regarding the re-establishing of the Tabernacle of David by Yahshua in Acts 15: 15 – 18, as follows: “And with this the words of the Prophets agree, just as it is written, (16) ‘AFTER THESE THINGS I WILL RETURN, AND WILL REBUILD THE TABERNACLE OF DAVID WHICH HAS FALLEN, AND I WILL REBUILD ITS RUINS, AND I WILL RESTORE IT, (17) IN ORDER THAT THE REST OF MANKIND MAY SEEK YHVH, AND ALL THE GENTILES WHO ARE CALLED BY MY NAME (meaning Israel the covenant people of Elohim),’ (18) SAYS YHVH, WHO MAKES THESE THINGS KNOWN FROM OF OLD.”

Rav Shaul likewise confirms Yahshua’s purpose to bring the house of Israel together with the house of Judah into the body or congregation of Messiah in Ephesians 2: 11 – 22, saying: ‘Therefore remember, that formerly you, the Gentiles in the flesh, who are called “Un-circumcision” by the so-called “Circumcision,” which is performed in the flesh by human hands- (12) remember that you were at that time separate from Messiah, excluded from the commonwealth of Israel, and strangers to the covenants of promise (given to Abraham, Isaac and Jacob, but also to David), having no hope and without Elohim in the world. (13) But now in Messiah Yahshua you who formerly were far off have been brought near by the blood of Messiah. (14) For He Himself is our peace, who made both groups (the house of Judah and the house of Israel) into one, and broke down the barrier of the dividing wall, (15) by abolishing in His flesh the enmity, which is the law of commandments contained in ordinances (the punishment due to breaking the commandments), that in Himself He might make the two into one new man (the Israel of Elohim), thus establishing peace, (16) and might reconcile them both in one body to Elohim through the cross, by it having put to death the enmity. (17) AND HE CAME AND PREACHED PEACE TO YOU WHO WERE FAR AWAY(the house of Israel), AND PEACE TO THOSE WHO WERE NEAR (the house of Judah); (18) for through Him we both have our access in one Spirit to the Father.(19) So then you are no longer strangers and aliens, but you are fellow citizens with the saints, and are of Elohim’s household, (20) having been built upon the foundation of the apostles and prophets, Messiah Yahshua Himself being the corner stone, (21) in whom the whole building, being fitted together is growing into a holy temple in the Master; (22) in whom you also are being built together into a dwelling of Elohim in the Spirit.’ Even though these Scriptures cannot make the fact that Messiah came specifically to bring the two houses of Israel back into the commonwealth of Israel as His body and future bride any clearer, there are still people in nominal Christianity as well as in the Seventh day Adventist movement who are doing their utmost to malign the house of Judah in order to ensure that Esau (Rome) with its anti-Semitic teachings does not lose its grip of more than 1800 years on the house of Israel. Some preach against the use of the true name of Elohim preserved for us by the house of Judah, but honored so much by them, that most encyclopedias on Judaism acknowledge the same, but clearly state that it is never pronounced! Others might use the correct names of Elohim and Messiah, but because they do not obey the calendars preserved for us by the Levites amongst the Jews, they are blatantly dishonoring it, as witnessed in Malachi 2: 2 – 8. Their aim, like that of Satan is to make sure that the bride is kept from the bridegroom and that we fail in our quest for a position in the Kingdom of Elohim, by calling on the incorrect name during the great tribulation and day of YHVH, or by being a day or two late when Messiah returns one day on Yom Teruah.

Today, there are literally hundreds of different Christian denominations all confessing faith in our Jewish Messiah Yahshua, nevertheless they prefer to call Him J*e*s*u*s* the C*h*r*i*s*t*. Most professing Christian groups also maintain that they have a calling from YHVH, the one they refer to as the LORD. In addition, many non-Christian religious groups regard themselves as being chosen of (their) G-d. In fact most religious groups, whether they are Christian, or not, believes that they have a personal calling from (their) deity and it is no wonder that there are millions of intelligent people throughout the world, who are very suspicious of any religion. The question is: Is it possible to find the truth amongst all the different religious groups in the world today? One thing is as certain as the nose on your face, Yahshua the Messiah is real! Even though His name was changed by Christianity and most have been deceived to believe the true gospel to be about His birth, life, death and resurrection and that He came to fulfill Elohim’s commandments for them – so that they need not obey Torah any longer, He fulfilled all the prophesies in the Tanach about His first advent, proclaimed the gospel about the coming Kingdom of Elohim and most of His chosen disciples testified about Him in their writings, which eventually became canonized as the Renewed Covenant. Most people in the western world are familiar with Yahshua’s Latinized Greek name, but very few truly know and believe what He taught and why He came to earth. The question at this time is: who are Yahshua’s true disciples today, and what makes them different from all the millions who say they believe in Him?

Do you realize that most people in Churchianity simply ignore what Yahshua taught, especially if they disagree with it. Even so, Yahshua our Messiah warned those who wish to be His true disciples that His way is a narrow lonely road, as recorded in Matthew 7: 13 & 14, in this way: ‘Enter by the narrow gate; for the gate is wide, and the way is broad that leads to destruction, and many are those who enter by it. (14) For the gate is small, and the way is narrow that leads to life, and few are those who find it.’ Even if one becomes a true disciple of Messiah, a real danger is that he/she can be deceived by Satan and his many agents to go right back to where he/she comes from, or follow another counterfeit religion, slightly closer than Christianity to the one true faith once delivered to the saints or true believers, as Rav Shaul warned about in 2 Corinthians 11: 3 & 4, saying: ‘But I am afraid, lest as the serpent deceived Eve by his craftiness, your minds should be lead astray from the simplicity and purity of devotion to Messiah. (4) For if one comes and preaches another Yahshua whom we have not preached, or you receive a different spirit which you have not received, or a different gospel which you have not accepted, you bear this beautifully.’ Rav Shaul was astonished how easily believers flung aside his teachings, instead of imitating him as he imitated Messiah; to embrace a counterfeit gospel together with a counterfeit Messiah. Satan as the master counterfeiter has managed to deceive the majority of believers to accept falsehood, even if some once embraced the truth. This happens time and time again; as people are called out of the counterfeit of the original Nazarene Jewish faith, namely Christianity, they are deceived to follow just another counterfeit faith, where people decide for themselves how and when to worship YHVH our Elohim. Even though it is very difficult to deceive those called out of the world, Satan and his agents are persuasive teachers peddling a counterfeit of righteousness, very close to the one true faith, once delivered to the saints or true followers of Messiah. Rav Shaul writes about such teachers in 2 Corinthians 11: 13 – 15, in this way: ‘For such men are false apostles, deceitful workers, disguising themselves as apostles of Messiah. (14) And no wonder, for even Satan disguises himself as an angel of light. (15) Therefore it is not surprising if his servants also disguise themselves as servants of righteousness; whose end shall be according to their deeds.’ No wonder so many varieties of what some call the truth and righteousness is taught under the name of Yahshua Messiah. Yes, there is also a great deal of falsehood taught under the name of J*e*s*u*s*, but it is not so easy to deceive those of us who have learnt the true name of our Messiah. We have over a period of time discovered that most of what Christianity teaches in the name of Messiah is based on lies and paganism.

However, we need to be very careful of those who come to us in the true name of our Messiah and Savior. When Yahshua addressed His disciples privately in Matthew 24: 4 & 5, “See to it that no one misleads you. (5) For many will come in My name (we need to realize that Yahshua knew His true name and did not ever refer to Himself as the ‘Christ’), saying, ‘I am the Messiah,’ and will mislead many.” Like His false name, Yahshua’s true name serves as a façade or disguise for religious viewpoints that did not originate with Messiah. Yahshua said in Matthew 7: 22 & 23, “Many will say to Me on that day, ‘Master, Master, did we not prophesy in Your name, and in Your name cast out demons, and in Your name perform many miracles?’ (23) And then I will declare to them, ‘I never knew you; DEPART FROM ME, YOU WHO PRACTICE LAWLESSNESS.’” If we practice lawlessness, which is the opposite of truth or Torah, we negate all other good deeds. As soon as we follow the teachings of teachers who contradict the words of Messiah and YHVH, we are not following truth any longer. Lawlessness is the main component in the counterfeit righteousness taught by these false teachers. Under Satan’s influence mankind has been blinded to the true gospel of Messiah, who is the image of Elohim. The problem is as identified by the prophet Jeremiah as human nature in chapter 17: 9, as follows: “The heart is more deceitful than all else and desperately sick (the KJV reads wicked); who can understand it?” Rav Shaul agreed with the prophet Jeremiah in Romans 8: 7 - 9, in this way: ‘Because the mind set on the flesh is hostile toward Elohim; for it does not subject itself to the law of Elohim, for it is not even able to do so; (8) and those who are in the flesh cannot please Elohim. (9) However, you are not in the flesh but in the Spirit, if indeed the Spirit of Elohim dwells in you. But if anyone does not have the Spirit of Messiah, he does not belong to Him.” It is plain to see that, alternatives to the true message of Yahshua our Messiah have been contrived to accommodate mankind’s natural unwillingness to obey Elohim. The sad thing about this is that most people who accept these false lawless ideas are totally sincere, as Rav Shaul wrote in 2 Thessalonians 2: 7 - 12, saying: ‘For the mystery of lawlessness is already at work; only he who now restrains will do so until he is taken out of the way. (8) And then that lawless one will be revealed whom the Master will slay with the breath of His mouth and bring to an end by the appearance of His coming; (9) that is, the one whose coming is in accord with the activity of Satan, with all power and signs and false wonders, (10) and with all the deception of wickedness for those who perish, because they did not receive the love of the truth so as the be saved. (11) And for this reason Elohim will send upon them a deluding influence so that they might believe what is false, (12) in order that they all may be judged who did not believe the truth, but took pleasure in wickedness.’

The question at this point is: What is the difference between a true and a false disciple of Messiah? Yahshua our Messiah gave us a hint in the parable in Matthew 22: 14, when He said in conclusion of His message, “For many are called, but few are chosen.” Both the ideas of being called and chosen are Scriptural, however, they are seldom understood and are as a result often misapplied. But what did Yahshua meant, when He used these two words in the quoted section? We need to understand that Elohim’s purpose is to eventually give eternal life to most of mankind, as witnessed in John 3: 17, as follows: “For Elohim did not send the Son into the world to judge the world, but that the world should be saved through Him.” Even so, all of mankind are not being saved during this age, as may be understood from Ephesians 1: 7 – 12, in this way: ‘In Him we have redemption through His blood, the forgiveness of our trespasses, according to the riches of His grace, (8) which He lavished upon us. In all wisdom and insight (9) He made known to us the mystery of His will, according to His kind intention which He purposed in Him (10) with a view to an administration suitable to the fullness of the times, that is, the summing up of all things in Messiah, things in the heavens and things upon the earth. In Him (11) also we have obtained an inheritance, having been predestined according to His purpose who works all things after the counsel of His will, (12) to the end that we who were the first to hope in Messiah should be to the praise of His glory.’ It is only once we both learn and obey the truth, that Elohim chooses a person to receive eternal life.

Righteousness goes together with truth and is revealed in the Tanach to be Torah, as we read from Psalms 119: 142, as follows: ‘Thy righteousness is an everlasting righteousness, and Thy law (Torah) is truth.’ When Yahshua was on the earth as a ‘man’, the only Scriptures (or word of Elohim) available at that time was the Tanach and in His prayer immediately prior to His betrayal by Judas, He also identified it as truth, as recorded in John 17: 17, in this way: “Sanctify them in the truth; Thy word is truth.” So it is clear that truth is what YHVH revealed to us in His word, the Scriptures. Those who want to be saved from the second death must both learn and accept the Scriptures (truth) and apply it in their lives; this is known as putting their faith into action. We read Rav Shaul’s exhortation in this regard from first Timothy 2: 1 – 4, as follows: “First of all, then, I urge that entreaties and prayers, petitions and thanksgivings, be made on behalf of all men, (2) for kings and all who are in authority, in order that we may lead a tranquil and quiet life in all godliness and dignity. (3) This is good and acceptable in the sight of Elohim our Savior, (4) who desires all men to be saved and to come to the knowledge of the truth.” After we have come to the knowledge of truth, by guidance of a teacher and intensive self-study, we need to repent and clean up our lives in accordance to what we have learnt from the Scriptures. As said many times before, repentance is a process which takes many years of studying and learning; and YHVH allows us a period of time to get our lives in order, as witnessed in second Peter 3: 9, in this way: ‘The Master is not slow about His promise, as some count slowness, but is patient toward you, not wishing for any to perish (in the second death) but for all to come to repentance.’ True repentance (or Teshuvah the transliterated Hebrew word for it) means that we stop sinning (breaking the Torah teachings of Elohim) and return to obeying the commandments that we broke or neglected in the past. True repentance also involves believing in the one and only true Elohim, calling on His name. However, once called out of the religions of this world, we need someone who has completed Messiah’s discipleship program to guide and teach us in the way of Elohim, before we are able to follow the lonely narrow road that our Messiah walked whilst He was on earth. Rav Shaul puts it like this in Romans 10: 13 & 14, saying: ‘For “WHOEVER WILL CALL UPON THE NAME OF YHVH WILL BE SAVED.” (14) How then shall they call upon Him in whom they have not believed? And how shall they believe in Him whom they have not heard? And how shall they hear without a preacher?’ We need to be taught by teachers who teach Torah righteousness in the name of Elohim and who are themselves faithful to His word; who teach that true repentance involves turning from sin to full Torah obedience, as we read from 1 John 3: 4, in this way: ‘Everyone who practices sin also practices lawlessness; and sin is lawlessness.’

To fully understand the difference between the phrases ‘called’ and ‘chosen’, we need to see what the Scriptures have to say about it. We read therefore from second Thessalonians 2: 13 & 14, where Rav Shaul explains: ‘But we should always give thanks to Elohim for you, brethren beloved by the Master, because Elohim has chosen you from the beginning for salvation through sanctification by the Spirit and faith in the truth. (14) And it was for this He called you through our gospel, that you may gain the glory of our Master Yahshua Messiah.’ So we see that YHVH called believers by the preaching of the gospel (the good news about the coming Kingdom of Elohim); they are given knowledge of the truth (the Scriptures) and as a result need to repent of their lawlessness (or sin). Those believers who respond by believing the word of truth are then chosen for salvation. But how do they respond? They respond by accepting Yahshua as their Passover Lamb and are immersed in His saving name; after which they are given a portion of the Set-apart Spirit as a pledge of their salvation, as confirmed in Ephesians 1: 13 &14, as follows: ‘In Him, you also, after listening to the message of truth, the gospel of your salvation—having also believed, you were sealed in Him with the Set-apart Spirit of promise, (14) who is given as a pledge of our inheritance, with a view to the redemption of Elohim’s own possession, to the praise of His glory.’

It all begins when Elohim calls us to come out of darkness into His marvelous light, as Yahshua explained in John 6: 44, saying: ‘No one can come to Me, unless the Father who sent Me draws him; and I will raise him up on the last day.’ In fact Yahshua repeated this after explaining the need to partake of the annual Passover to His disciples, saying in verse 65 of John 6, “For this reason I have said to you, that no one can come to Me, unless it has been granted him from the Father.” Elohim grants us an earnest desire to learn more about Him and His ways, after which He wants us to submit to His Torah way of life, as Rav Shaul explained in Philippians 2: 12 - 15, saying: ‘So then, my beloved, just as you have always obeyed, not as in my presence only, but now much more in my absence, work out your salvation with fear and trembling; (13) for it is Elohim who is at work in you, both to will and to work for His good pleasure. (14) Do all things without grumbling or disputing; (15) that you may prove yourselves to be blameless and innocent, children of Elohim above reproach in the midst of a crooked and perverse generation, among whom you appear as lights in the world.’ Yahshua used the parable of the sower in Matthew 13 to indicate people’s different approaches to hearing the true gospel; in the parable, all who hear the gospel of the Kingdom of Elohim preached respond differently. Only those who are called by Elohim understand the truth. Yahshua starts explaining that those not called will not understand what they hear (in verse 19), saying: “When anyone hears the word of the kingdom, and does not understand it, the evil one comes and snatches away what has been sown in his heart. This is the one on whom seed was sown beside the road.’

Then Yahshua explains the three different responses from the people who understand. Even though Elohim has opened their minds to understanding, each one responds differently. We read accordingly from Matthew 13: 20 & 21: “And the one on whom seed was sown on the rocky places, this is the man who hears the word and immediately receives it with joy; (21) yet he has no firm root in himself, but is only temporary, and when affliction and persecution arises (from family, friends and foes) because of the word, immediately he falls away.” Such a person is usually more concerned about what his/her family and friends think of him/her and cannot take their rejection. Such people are afraid to make waves and rock the boat (the proverbial comfort zones of his fellow man), and rejects the words of Elohim soon after hearing it. We continue reading from verse 22, “And the one on whom seed was sown among the thorns, this is the man who hears the word, and the worry of the world, and the deceitfulness of riches choke the word, and it becomes unfruitful.” This person is not only concerned about the opinions of his peers, but is very busy with all sorts of pursuits in life, and as a result has only a little time to spend praying and studying the Scriptures. Material things finally get the better of him and he also ultimately rejects the word of Elohim.

Finally we read from verse 23, “And the one on whom seed was sown on the good soil, this is the man who hears the word and understands it; who indeed bears fruit, and brings forth, some a hundredfold, some sixty, and some thirty.” This person immediately understand Elohim’s word and takes it to heart, and as a result changes his way of life to conform to the way of Elohim, as he learns more about Him. This person was chosen for salvation, as he put Elohim first in his life. So we see, that even though many are called to follow Elohim’s will and way, only a few are chosen by Elohim, because they choose to serve Elohim, above all else. We need to understand that the choice to serve Elohim whole heartedly or not remains ours. But like repentance the choice is an ongoing decision, and we need to commit to that choice and persevere until our dying day, or when Yahshua returns one day. We live at a time very close to the end of this age, as is also described in the book of Revelation. This is the time during which a great beast will arise, resulting from an economic and political union of 10 kings, who will resist Yahshua our Messiah at His return. These kings will be very powerful and as we learnt recently will believe their union to be powerful enough to engage into battle with Messiah at His return, as witnessed in Revelation 17: 12 – 14, as follows: “And the ten horns which you saw are ten kings, who have not yet received a kingdom, but they receive authority as kings with the beast for one hour. (13) These have one purpose and they give their power and authority to the beast. (14) These will wage war against the Lamb, and the Lamb will overcome them, because He is Master of masters and King of kings, and those who are with Him are the called and chosen and faithful.” That is correct; we see that those who are with Messiah at His return, will not only be called and chosen, but they also remained faithful to the end.

How will these chosen, called and faithful get to be with Yahshua at His return. We read the answer in Matthew 24: 29 – 31, in this way: “But immediately after the tribulation of those days THE SUN WILL BE DARKENED, AND THE MOON WILL NOT GIVE ITS LIGHT, AND THE STARS WILL FALL from the sky, and the powers of the heavens will be shaken, (30) and then the sign of the Son of Man will appear in the sky, and then all the tribes of the earth will mourn, and they will see the SON OF MAN COMING ON THE CLOUDS OF THE SKY with power and great glory. (31) And He will send forth his angels with A GREAT TRUMPET and THEY WILL GATHER TOGETHER His elect from the four winds, from one end of the sky to the other.” Those who remain faithful will eventually grow to become like our Master Yahshua the Messiah. Those of us called and chosen have been called because Elohim knows that we have the ability to make it into His everlasting Kingdom. However, once He has called us, He expects each one of us to conform to the image and stature of our Master and Savior Yahshua Messiah. YHVH accordingly allows us to develop through trials and tests that will expose our weaknesses forcing us to continue to make choices to obey Him under very difficult circumstances. If we learn to develop the fruits of the Spirit of love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, self-control and the like, we will slowly but surely develop Yahshua’s character in us.

To conclude we read how Rav Kepha sums this up in second Peter 1: 2 – 11, as follows: “Grace and peace be multiplied to you in the knowledge of Elohim and of Yahshua our Messiah; (3) seeing that His divine power has granted to us everything pertaining to life and godliness, through the true knowledge of Him who called us by His own glory and excellence. (4) For by these He has granted to us His precious and magnificent promises, in order that by them you might become partakers of the divine nature, having escaped the corruption that is in the world by lust. (5) Now for this very reason also, applying all diligence, in your faith supply moral excellence, and in your moral excellence, knowledge; (6) and in your knowledge, self-control, and in your self-control perseverance, and in your perseverance, godliness; (7) and in your godliness, brotherly kindness, and in your brotherly kindness, love. (8) For if these qualities are yours and are increasing, they render you neither useless nor unfruitful in the true knowledge of our Master Yahshua Messiah. (9) For he who lacks these qualities is blind or short-sighted, having forgotten his purification from his former sins. (10) Therefore, brethren, be all the more diligent to make certain about His calling and choosing you; for as long as you practice these things, you will never stumble; (11) for in this way the entrance into the eternal kingdom of our Master and Savior Yahshua Messiah will be abundantly supplied to you.” I pray that this will serve to encourage us to reject false teaching by Satan’s agents who want us to fail by calling on a slightly changed or incorrect version of Elohim’s true name, or following a Set-apart Day calendar of their own design, just slightly different to the one preserved for Israel by the Levites amongst the Jews and to remain faithful to our calling until our Master and Savior returns. Amein and Amein!

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Thirteen principles of the faith.

Principles of the Jewish faith as enumerated by Maimonides: (1) Elohim is the Creator; (2) Elohim is one; (3) Elohim is incorporeal; (4) Elohim is eternal; (5) Prayer is for Elohim alone; (6) the words of the Prophets are true; (7) Moses is the greatest of the prophets; (8) the Torah was given to Moses (9) the Torah is immutable (undeniable); (10) Elohim is omniscient; (11) Divine retribution will take place; (12) the Messiah will come; and (13) the dead will be raised.

[1] Matthew 15: 24, “I was sent only to the lost sheep of the house of Israel.”