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Let us pray. He who believes in me, as the scripture has said, from within him will flow rivers of living water. John 7 38. Dear Lord, we know that we can do nothing in and of ourselves. We desperately search for purpose and fulfillment in other places, but we come up empty.
You alone satisfy us. From those that believe in you, rivers of living water flow majestically from them. You bring refreshment, life, and vitality to all those who feel parched and starved for meaning. Refresh us today, Lord Jesus. Fill us to the brim and overflowing with your Spirit. In your name we pray. Amen.
Thank you for praying with me today. Stay tuned now for another episode of Stories of the Messiah with Rabbi Schneider. Deception, tricks, half-truths. All the sins Jacob had committed to get ahead were catching up to him. He tricked his father into giving him his blessing. He deceived his father-in-law before fleeing with his daughters. And he cheated his brother out of a birthright. Now, his brother Esau was approaching with hundreds of men behind him.
Years ago, Esau had vowed to kill Jacob, and now it seemed the time had come. Jacob prayed to the Lord for mercy. He sent gifts of penance to his brother, but there was no predicting what would come of it. Jacob looked at his family with tears in his eyes. What have I done? he thought. He had acquired so much through deception and flattery, but now none seemed worth it. His name was Jacob, meaning heel grabber.
Everyone in the land knew what that name really meant. Deceiver. At that moment, he wished he hadn't lived up to his name. He looked at his oldest son, Reuben, and held his shoulders. "Keep the family safe, you hear me?" Reuben nodded, and the rest of the family departed down the valley. The further away they were from him, the better. Jacob waited on a hill overlooking his brother's camp.
He stood over the ledge, unaware of the large figure behind him waiting to pounce. Hello and welcome to another episode of the Stories of the Messiah podcast. I'm your host, Rabbi Kurt Schneider, from Discovering the Jewish Jesus. If this podcast has blessed you thus far, please take a moment to leave a comment and review. Doing so will make sure others discover these life-changing stories. This season, we're discussing Jesus as the greater hero of the Bible.
Scripture showcases many heroes, men and women of valor, wisdom, and favor who accomplish great things. However, as we read the Bible, we discover that each character is deeply flawed, just like us. Their lives are imperfect, and their journeys are filled with many highs and lows. As we look closer at their lives, we discover that each points us towards someone greater, someone far more brave, wise, and favored.
Today, we'll follow a pillar of faith, Jacob. At this point in his story, Jacob's past has caught up to him. He's deceived his brother and provoked him to wrath. Now he stands at the precipice of judgment. But before he faces his brother, he has to wrestle with God himself. Through Jacob's struggle, we see a glimpse of our own relationships with God. We're all wrestling with God in some way. We struggle with doubt, fear, and pride.
At the end of Jacob's struggle, he receives a new name and the greatness of his legacy is established. Let's immerse ourselves in a cinematic retelling of Genesis 32 to discover how Jesus is the greater Jacob. Jacob stood over the precipice and looked down at Esau's camp. He wondered what fate awaited him at the bottom of that hill. Would his sins finally catch up to him? Would his brother respond to his kind gesture? Would God answer his plea for mercy?
Jacob considered these things and turned around. A man stood behind him, his gaze intense and challenging. Jacob peered closely at him but remained silent. There was something different about him. The ground around him felt powerful, holy. He looked around and suddenly remembered where he was. Mahanaim, God's camp.
Whoever this person was, he was sent from God, or perhaps he was God. This stranger walked closer and Jacob removed his tomb. His pace became quicker and Jacob began running towards him. They converged into the dirt and gravel, wrestling to subdue one another. Jacob knew instantly that he was outmatched, but it did not keep him from striving. If this man was God, then Jacob had to fight.
He had to contend and accept the challenge of struggling with him. Jacob wrapped his arms around the man's legs and drove him into the dirt. He tried to make him submit, but the man wrapped Jacob with his legs and threw him to the left. Jacob released himself and walked backward. The two of them panted, priming themselves for another round.
Jacob made the first move and launched himself forward, but the man tripped him onto the dirt and held him down. As he fought, memories of all Jacob's sins flooded back into his mind. He wanted God's blessing so badly, he was willing to do anything for it, even lie. But now, as he rolled into the blood and sweat-soaked dirt, there was no talking his way into a blessing.
No lies, no religious babble, just him and God struggling to gain an advantage over the other. Jacob knew there was no winning, but that didn't mean he would stop. The two of them wrestled all night. Finally, when the man saw Jacob would not relent, he placed a hand on his hip and popped it out of place. Jacob shouted in intense pain. It shot through his hip and leg, but he didn't let go.
He grasped onto his leg, refusing to let him walk away. The man looked at the sun's rays slowly peeking over the mountains. Then he looked down at Jacob. "Let me go," the man said. "The day has broken." Tears streamed down Jacob's swollen and dirty face. "Never!" he cried. "I won't!" The man tugged his leg away, but Jacob refused to let go. Throughout the night, he had come to understand who this person was. "Please."
Bless me, Jacob said with tears streaming down his cheeks. I won't let you go until you bless me. A smile appeared on the side of the man's face. He looked again at the orange hues of the rising sun, then back down at the poor fellow clinging to him. What is your name? The stranger asked. It's Jacob. The man shook his head and placed a hand on Jacob's shoulder. Your name shall no longer be Jacob. It shall be called Israel.
"For you have struggled with God and prevailed." Jacob looked up and slowly released his grip. "What is your name?" he asked. The man wiped the sweat and dirt off his brow and chuckled. "Now, why would you ask me for my name?" He extended his hand to help Israel onto his feet. He blessed him and then vanished where he came from. Israel limped back to the hill's edge and looked down at Esau's camp. It was time to face his brother.
He limped down to meet Esau and the 400 men marching behind him. Israel fell to his knees in honor of his brother. Esau ran, charging with passion, then fell to the ground and hugged his brother tenderly. The Lord had answered Israel's prayers. Through all the struggle and wrestling, he had been blessed. Could you feel the desperate tension from Jacob as he struggled with this sin and shame?
Could you feel the battle of wills when he wrestled with the angel of the Lord? Until this point, Jacob's life had been wrought with deception and shortcuts. He deceived his brother, father, and father-in-law to gain favor and resources. But as he struggled in the dirt with the Lord, there was no tricking his way into a blessing. Ultimately, he was forced into a desperate posture, begging for a blessing. This place of desperation is a place we all find ourselves in.
We want a blessing from God, but we want it on our own terms. We, like Jacob, must realize that blessing is only ever given on God's terms. Like Jacob, we can be consumed with proud self-reliance. Jacob was reduced to a place where he could only hold on to the Lord. Jacob could no longer fight, and that place of weakness wasn't the worst place to be.
Sometimes we need to feel vulnerable and exposed to truly experience transformation. God violently shattered Jacob's ego and reminded him that true blessing can't be gained without humility. Jacob's old name was more like an insult. It meant trickster, usurper, or deceiver. But Jacob's new name was noble. It meant someone who struggles with God and shares in his victory.
At Discovering the Jewish Jesus, we have unpacked Israel's relationship with God and Christ's fulfillment of those promises. So let's connect the story of Israel to Jesus. We will now transport ourselves to a different time, but the same place where another person wrestles to be vulnerable with God. Jesus leaned his back against the well and used his hand to block the scorching sun of high noon.
The well was dug by Jacob himself long ago. It was a sacred monument in a sacred place, causing all to remember the significance of Jacob's faith in God. As Jesus pondered, a woman approached carrying a bucket of water on her hips. Her forehead was sweating and her face was somber. It was odd for a woman to draw water in the middle of the day.
Usually, all the women traveled together before the sun's harsh glare. Whoever this woman was, she was an outcast among the other women. Jesus moved to the side so she could draw water from the well.
As she poured water from the well into her bucket, Jesus asked, "Would you mind giving me something to drink?" The woman paused and looked at Jesus, perplexed. "You are a Jew," she said sharply. "I am a Samaritan woman. How can you ask me for a drink? Aren't you breaking a dozen laws?"
Jews are not supposed to talk to Samaritans, let alone a Jewish man speaking to a Samaritan woman. Jesus shrugged and leaned over the well, looking down. If you knew the gift of God and who I am, you would have asked me to give you living water. The woman peered at Jesus skeptically. Sir, you have nothing to draw from this deep well. Where do you expect to find living water? Our forefather Jacob dug this well long ago with his sons.
Are you saying you are greater than Jacob? A satisfied smile curled upon Jesus' cheeks. He gestured to the well and said, Jacob was great indeed. He dug this well for a good purpose. But whoever drinks from this water will become thirsty again. They will need to come back again and again to draw from it. But whoever drinks the water I offer
will never thirst again. It will become a well springing up to eternal life." The woman's skepticism turned to desperation,
She had to spend most afternoons drawing water in the hot sun to avoid the other women. Please give me this water so I don't have to come here again. Jesus responded kindly, saying, Of course. Go get your husband and return here so I can show both of you. The woman immediately took a step back and looked off to the side. I don't have a husband. She mumbled. Jesus, keeping an unthreatening demeanor, responded, You are correct to say you don't have a husband.
The fact is you've had five husbands, and the man you currently live with isn't your husband at all. Jesus' frankness disarmed the woman. She chose not to respond directly to his statement and instead shifted the conversation. I can see that you are a prophet. It makes sense that you are here. Our ancestors worshipped on this very mountain, but you Jews claim that the temple in Jerusalem is the place to worship. The woman did not know it, but she was quietly wrestling with God.
Jesus was engaging with her, gently trying to pull repentance and conviction out of her so she could experience freedom. She tried to mask her insecurity with religious babble, but Jesus planned to free her from herself. "Believe me," Jesus said, "a time is coming when people won't worship here on the mountain or in Jerusalem. No, a time is coming when true worshippers will worship God in spirit and in truth. Those are the people God seeks out for himself."
The woman's hands shook and her eyes were shifty. She felt uncomfortable with her guilt, yet was drawn to talk more. It was a divine wrestling between her spirit and flesh. "Well, when the Messiah comes, he will explain those things and settle those debates, I'm sure." The woman sighed with a bit of somber hope in her voice. Jesus looked at the woman intently and said,
The one you have been speaking to, am he? The woman's eyes widened as understanding flooded her mind. She was speaking to the one she had been hoping for. The one who could redeem her and set her free from her own sin and shame stood before her smiling. She would never be the same. She ran to her hometown, gathering everyone to behold the one who had given her new hope. Are you saying you're greater than Jacob?
That's the question this woman at the well posed to Jesus. She had no idea who she was speaking to at the time. We know that Jesus is not only greater than Jacob, but he is the one that wrestled with Jacob on that sacred hill. Jesus is the one who gave Jacob his new name and reconciled him with his brother. Like the woman at the well, Jacob struggled with pride and self-reliance, needing transformation.
Jesus came to rid Jacob and the woman at the well of their self-reliance. Just as Jesus wrestled with Jacob that fateful night and gave him a new purpose, so also he brought transformation to the woman at the well. He slowly and lovingly revealed himself to her, and she would never be the same. Like Jacob and the woman at the well, we must struggle with God to realize he alone is in control.
Our attempts at self-reliance, satisfaction, and blessing all fall short. When we humble ourselves and cry out to God for blessing, He is swift to restore, redeem, and resurrect us. Jesus humbled Himself on our behalf, died on the cross, and rose again so that we might be transformed like Jacob. Jesus wants to give us a new blessing and purpose. He wants to take our sin and shame. He's done that in my life, and He can do that in yours.
In this way, we are certain that Jesus is the greater Jacob. Join us next time as we hear the redemptive arc of one of Jacob's sons. We will see that through his life, all things do work together for good for those who love God and are called according to his purpose. Next episode, we'll discover that Jesus is the greater Joseph. Explore more about Jesus in the Old Testament at discoveringthejewishjesus.com.
And also consider checking out my recent book, Messianic Prophecy Revealed, Seeing Messiah in the Pages of the Hebrew Bible. You can get your hands on it via my website. If this podcast impacted you, please take a moment to leave a comment and review. Doing so will make sure others discover these life-changing stories. And be sure to download the Pray.com app to make prayer a priority and experience the Bible in new ways.
