Yeshua in the Torah

by Sue Towne

I always find treasures, new and old, as I read the Psalms. Recently, I was reading Psalm 19. As I got to the passage between verses 7 and 10, I began seeing reflections of the Lord Yeshua. I began to “reflect” on the connection between two important words in the Bible. The first word, which occurs in verse 7, is the word “torah.” It is usually translated “law,” but a fuller translation might be something like “instructions for living.”

Torah refers to the first five books of the Bible, which are also called the Books of Moses. In rabbinic Judaism it also refers to certain oral traditions, ascribed as teachings of Moses, about how to live holy before God. As I began to read about the perfection of the Torah in verse 7 of Psalm 19, I thought of the fact that Torah, in this context, refers to the Word of God. Then I thought of the perfection manifested in Yeshua, the Word of God made flesh. I began to see more of His characteristics in the next few verses: sure, right, pure, clean, true, more desirable than gold, and sweeter than honey.

I meditated on another Bible word, “logos,” which is sometimes misconstrued as referring only to the written Word of God. Actually, it means “complete teaching or description.” When John chapter one speaks of Yeshua as the Word, the underlying Greek is this word “logos.” Yeshua, Himself, is the Logos, the complete teaching, the compete description or revelation of God. For example, Yeshua said to Philip before His arrest, “He who has seen Me has seen the Father” (John 14:9).

So, here I was meditating in Psalm 19, having Torah in one hand and Logos in the other. I knew they connected. But how? As wonderful as Torah is, it is not the fullness of the Word of God. Torah cannot, in itself, save anyone, nor does it show us how to deal with sin on a permanent basis.

Yet, Torah was given to us for a great purpose. It was given to instruct us, to lead us to the mighty Logos of God, the Lord Yeshua, Himself. Yeshua said, “Do not think that I came to destroy the Law [Torah] or the Prophets. I did not come to destroy but to fulfill. For assuredly, I say to you, till heaven and earth pass away, one jot or one tittle will by no means pass from the law till all is fulfilled” (Matt. 5:17-18).

I used to think Yeshua was simply saying that He came to live out Torah perfectly, the only person ever to so do. But now I see something more in these verses. The mighty Logos of God is the fulfillment of Torah. For He is able to do what Torah could only point to: deal permanently with sin. Torah was given to us to lead us to the Logos. Torah is only complete in Him. As I return to those verses in Psalm 19, I see them like a reflection dancing on the surface of water.

Thank You, Holy Spirit, for helping us see Yeshua’s face there. May more and more Jewish people all over the world read and see Him, too!

Scripture marked NKJV taken from the New King James Version. Copyright ©1979, 1980, 1982 by Thomas Nelson, Inc. Used by permission. All rights reserved. Emphasis added.