Jesus loves me, this I know, for the bible tells me so…

Most people know this song from Sunday School or elsewhere.
Yes, the bible does tell us that we are loved.
But does that mean Messiah is always accepting, tolerant, and forgiving, no matter what?
For the most part, that is what we’ve been taught most of our lives.
But is there any chance Messiah might be harsh at times?
We’d have to look at the scriptures to find out, so let’s go.

Matthew 23 is an all out scathing rebuke of the religious leaders of Yeshua Messiah’s time.
He loves them, and tells them they will all go to heaven, no matter what they teach or believe, right?
No, not exactly.
Far from it, in fact.
Messiah tells us this regarding the teaching of the Pharisees:
Matthew 23:1-3
Then Jesus spoke to the multitudes and to His disciples, ² saying: “The scribes and the Pharisees sit in Moses’ seat. ³ Therefore whatever they tell you to observe, that observe and do, but do not do according to their works; for they say, and do not do.
This passage might be a bit confusing without some background information.  Messiah says to do what they say, and then not to do what they do…
Why is this?
We are instructed to do what the religious leaders of His time say when they teach from the seat of Moses. 
This is the background information we need:
The Torah (first five books of the bible containing the Law, the instructions of Yehova) is read word for word without any commentary when teaching from the seat of Moses. The Torah are the writings of Moses, as instructed by Yehova.
In other words, ‘from the seat of Moses‘ you are getting the Torah straight up without any adding to nor taking away from it. 
These instructions we are to observe and do.
Messiah warns us not to conduct ourselves the way the Pharisees did, in how they lived. We are NOT TO FOLLOW the example they set as leaders.
Why is this?
We find out in Matthew 15:6-9
Thus you have made the commandment of God of no effect by your tradition. ⁷ Hypocrites! Well did Isaiah prophesy about you, saying:
⁸ ‘These people draw near to Me with their mouth,
And honor Me with their lips,
But their heart is far from Me.
⁹ And in vain they worship Me,
Teaching as doctrines the commandments of men.’ ”

OK, this is just great clarification and instruction.
But harsh?
Not really. This is just simple truth.
But here comes the harsh part:
Matthew 23:13
“But woe to you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! For you shut up the kingdom of heaven against men; for you neither go in yourselves, nor do you allow those who are entering to go in.”

Messiah says two very important [and harsh] things about the religious leaders’ false teaching:
1.  The false teachers will not enter the Kingdom.
2.  Those they teach will not enter the Kingdom.

Wow, that IS harsh!!
But the followers are just victims, right?
No way can this be true…
Is there another occurrence of this type of message?
Yes, there is a second witness in the scriptures.

Matthew 15:14
“Leave them alone; they are blind guides of the blind. And if a blind man leads a blind man, both will fall into a pit.”
Again, speaking of false teachers, Messiah points out that both the teacher and the follower will fall into the pit.

DOUBLE BOOM!!

Can we trust these statements in the scriptures?
These two examples in the New Testament are the words of Yeshua Messiah, the Son of the Living Elohim.
Yes, we can trust them.

Is there evidence of similar situations in the Old Testament?
Yes.
Let’s review Deuteronomy 13:13-19
¹³ “Suppose you hear it said in one of your cities, which Yehova your Elohim is giving you to dwell in, ¹⁴ that worthless fellows have gone out from among you and enticed the inhabitants of their city, saying, ‘Let’s go and serve other gods’—that you have not known. ¹⁵ Then you are to investigate, search out and inquire thoroughly. If indeed it is true and the matter certain that this abomination has been done in your midst, ¹⁶ you will surely strike down the inhabitants of that city with the edge of the sword, utterly destroying it and all that is in it and its livestock with the sword. ¹⁷ You are to gather all its plunder into the middle of the street, and you are to burn with fire the city and all its plunder—all of it to Yehova your Elohim. It will be a ruin forever—it shall never be built again. ¹⁸ Nothing from the ban should cling to your hand, so that Yehova may turn from the fierceness of His anger and show you mercy, and have compassion on you and multiply you, just as He swore to your fathers—¹⁹ when you listen to the voice of Yehova your Elohim, keeping all His commands that I am commanding you today, doing what is right in the eyes of Yehova your Elohim.

TRIPLE BOOM!!!

This is even harsher!!
[as if not being included in the Kingdom can be outdone…]
These people who turn away from the words and the ways of Yehova are put to death, when involved in a covenant-following community. Every single detail of their lives is burned with fire, to completely eliminate the memory of these people from the earth.

Our thoughts have consequences.
Our beliefs have consequences.
Our actions have consequences.
Whom we choose to listen to and follow has consequences.

“But, followers are just victims of bad teaching.
Why should they suffer the same fate?”
This is a really great question and left to the pondering of men, it just seems unfair.
But the reasoning for these scenarios is not left to men.
This is the justice of the perfect Elohim.
This is right and true, even if it does not seem right and true from our perspective.

Is there more we need to know?
Are there more details that will help us to understand?
Yes, there are.
Let’s head back to the scriptures.

John 8:31-32
³¹ Then Yeshua said to the Judeans who had trusted Him, “If you abide in My word, then you are truly My disciples. ³² You will know the truth, and the truth will set you free!”

The truth will set us free.
But how do we get the truth?
We must abide in the Word of Messiah.
What does that mean?
It means we must learn the word and do it.
It is not enough to simply know the word.
Abiding in His word means we know it and live in it.

James reiterates this:
James 1:22-25
²² But be doers of the word, and not hearers only, deluding yourselves. ²³ For if anyone is a hearer of the word and not a doer, he is like a man who looks at his natural face in a mirror— ²⁴ for once he looks at himself and goes away, he immediately forgets what sort of person he was. ²⁵ But the one who looks intently into the perfect Torah, the Torah that gives freedom, and continues in it, not becoming a hearer who forgets but a doer who acts—he shall be blessed in what he does.

“Ok, but what is all this about truth and being a follower of false teaching?”

This is important:
Deuteronomy 4:29
But from there you will seek Yehova your Elohim and you will find Him, when you seek Him with all your heart and with all your soul.
Jeremiah 29:11-14
For I know the plans that I have in mind for you,” declares Yehova, “plans for shalom and not calamity—to give you a future and a hope.
¹² “Then you will call on Me, and come and pray to Me, and I will listen to you. ¹³ You will seek Me and find Me, when you will search for Me with all your heart. ¹⁴ Then I will be found by you,” says Yehova…
Psalm 25:8-14
Good and upright is Yehova.
Therefore He directs sinners in the way.
⁹ He guides the humble in what is right,
and teaches the humble His way.
¹⁰ All Yehova’s ways are loving kindness
and truth
    to those who keep His covenant and His testimonies.
¹¹ For Your Name’s sake, Yehova,
pardon my guilt, for it is great.
¹² Who is this man who fears Yehova?
He will instruct him in the way he should choose.
¹³ His soul abides in goodness,
and his offspring will inherit the land.
¹⁴ The secret of Yehova is for those who fear Him.
He makes His covenant known to them.
Luke 11:9-13
⁹ “So I say to you,
‘Ask, and it shall be given to you.
Seek, and you shall find.
Knock, and it shall be opened to you.
¹⁰ For everyone who asks receives, and the one who seeks finds, and to the one who knocks it will be opened.’ ¹¹ What father, if his son asks for a fish, will give him a snake instead? ¹² And if he asks for an egg, will he give him a scorpion? ¹³ If you then, being evil, know how to give good gifts to your children, how much more will your heavenly Father give the Ruach ha-Kodesh [Holy Spirit] to those who ask Him!”
James 1:5-8
⁵ But if any of you lacks wisdom, let him ask of Yehova, who gives to all without hesitation and without reproach; and it will be given to him. ⁶ But let him ask in faith, without any doubting—for the one who doubts is like a wave of the sea, blown and tossed by the wind. ⁷ For that person must not suppose that he will receive anything from the Lord— ⁸ he is a double-minded man, unstable in all his ways.

What do you see in these verses?
Those who seek will find.
Those who TRULY seek Yehova will find Yehova.
Wisdom and understanding are promised if we truly seek it.

Where does that leave the followers of false teachers?
It leaves them falling into the same pit as the false teacher.
If they are seeking truth, it is promised to them.
God is not a liar.
It is not possible for someone to seek truth and not find it.

Is it possible for someone to seek false teaching and love it?
Yes.
Scripture tells us all about it:
2Timothy 4:3-4
³ For the time will come when they will not put up with sound instruction, but they will pile up for themselves teachers in keeping with their own desires, to have their ears tickled. ⁴ And they will turn away from hearing the truth and wander off to myths.

There is no such thing as a victim of a false teacher.
If one seeking truth stumbles into a false teacher, he will not stay and listen.
He will seek the truth elsewhere, in other ways.
He will find the truth, as is promised.
If one seeking truth stumbles into a false teacher, and likes what he hears, then he will stay.
Just as is described in 2Timothy.

There are no accidents.
Yehova and Yeshua Messiah are not unfair.
The followers of false teachers will not find their way to the Kingdom, not because they are victims, but because they have found something they like.
And what they like does not lead to life.

Messiah tells us who will not be in the kingdom in Revelation 22:15
But outside are dogs and sorcerers and sexually immoral and murderers and idolaters, and whoever loves and practices a lie.
What lies?
We are told in the prophecy of Jeremiah:
Jeremiah 16:19-20
O Lord, my strength and my fortress,
My refuge in the day of affliction,
The Gentiles shall come to You
From the ends of the earth and say,
“Surely our fathers have inherited lies,
Worthlessness and unprofitable things.”
²⁰ Will a man make gods for himself,
Which are not gods?

Yes, those lies.

Messiah tells us who will not be in the kingdom in Matthew 7.
Matthew 7:21-23
²¹ “Not everyone who says to Me, ‘Lord, Lord,’ shall enter the kingdom of heaven, but he who does the will of My Father in heaven. ²² Many will say to Me in that day, ‘Lord, Lord, have we not prophesied in Your name, cast out demons in Your name, and done many wonders in Your name?’ ²³ And then I will declare to them, ‘I never knew you; depart from Me, you who practice lawlessness!’

Yes, many who think they will enter into the Kingdom will be shut out.  They will be told to depart, that they are not known by Messiah.

And there was weeping and gnashing of teeth…

 

Back to the original question:
Is Messiah harsh?
The answer is sometimes yes, but not because of Him. It is because of what we choose to think, believe, and do.
Our own choices have consequences.
Good choices result in good consequences.
Bad choices result in bad consequences.
Free will.

Messiah is not unfair.
He is just.
Deuteronomy 30:15-16
¹⁵ “See, I have set before you today life and good, death and evil, ¹⁶ in that I command you today to love the Lord your God, to walk in His ways, and to keep His commandments, His statutes, and His judgments, that you may live and multiply; and the Lord your God will bless you in the land which you go to possess.

Some will say this only applies to one generation of Hebrews, entering into the promise land in the Exodus story.
By studying the whole of scripture, I find the Exodus story to be a parable regarding how we are to enter into the kingdom of heaven.
But that will be a different study and article.

OK, let’s wrap this up with one last scripture.
How can one ensure their own understanding of the scriptures, of the truth?
We are told in 2Corinthians 3:14-16
¹⁴ But their minds were hardened. For up to this very day the same veil remains unlifted at the reading of the ancient covenant, since in Messiah it is passing away. ¹⁵ But to this day, whenever Moses [the Torah] is read, a veil lies over their heart. ¹⁶ But whenever someone turns to Yehova, the veil is taken away. 

Do you understand this passage?
We need to read and understand the Torah.
How are we guaranteed to understand it?
By turning our heart to Yehova.

There are many who turn their hearts to church, to pastors, to the traditions (and false teaching) of men.
But we must turn to Yehova, the Elohim of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob.

Messiah tells us we must begin with Him, and then go to the Father.
John 14:6
⁶ Yeshua said to him, “I am the way, the truth, and the life! No one comes to the Father except through Me.
Don’t spend your life at the foot of the cross.
Start there, and then go to the Father.
Learn and do His Torah and live.