8 May 2026 We are proceeding to study the SERMON of YESHUA on the MOUNT…
THE GOSPELS: The Ministry of Yeshua the Messiah begins – Luke 4:18 the GOOD NEWS as prophesied by Jeremiah: THE NEW COVENANT
THE GOSPELS: The Ministry of Yeshua the Messiah begins – Luke 4:17-21 Yeshua’s earthly mission
8 August 2025
We are studying Luke 4:14-32, Mathew 4:12 and Mark 1:14-15 about the beginning of the MINISTRY of YESHUA THE MESSIAH. And we are still focusing today on Luke 4:18.
We are mainly reading from the Complete Jewish Study Bible – insight for Jews and Christians. And use the Hebrew name of God, YHVH (Yod-Heh-Vav-Heh) where the word LORD in English is indicated in capital letters in the Scriptures, also referring to Him as Abba Father and using the Hebrew Name Yeshua the Messiah instead of the English Name Jesus Christ translated from the Greek.
We are still focusing on Luke 4:18 about Yeshua who was ANNOINTED to announce GOOD NEWS to the POOR, and exploring what the Word tells us this GOOD NEWS is.
And today we are going to focus on what we learn about the GOOD NEWS from Jeremiah chapter 31.
But before we start we need to know what Jeremiah chapter 30 is all about. In chapter 30 YHVH the God of ISRAEL instructs Jeremiah to write all the words He has spoken to him in a scroll for the DAY is COMING that He will reverse the exile of His people ISRAEL (the Northern kingdom consisting of the Ten Tribes under Ephraim and all foreigners living with them and choosing to serve the God of Israel, who got lost under the rule of the kings of Ephraim and dispersed by God and integrated into the nations and forgot who they were, please read the Books 1st & 2nd Kings as well as 1st and 2nd Chronicles. Therefore they are described in the New Testament as gentiles grafted into the Olive Tree/ Israel in Romans 11:17 and indicated as believers in Yeshua the Messiah in Galatians 6:14-16) and JUDAH (the Southern kingdom consisting of the tribes of Judah and Benjamin, known as the Jews today) and He will cause them to RETURN to THE LAND He gave to their ancestors.
The Afrikaans Bible in Practice explains: It therefore has to do with the reuniting of God’s ISRAEL as ONE KINGDOM on earth. This period we read in Jeremiah 30:4-11 will be a terrible time of anxiety and hardship (possibly one can say tribulation). But it would be like the birth of a child – it is a painful time, but also a time of redemption, safety and peace because God will stand with His people. Paul also describes it in Romans 8:18-22 as: creation also waiting to be set free from the bondage of decay. When we see the end state of hardship as recreation we are able to stay hopeful and endure. Jerusalem will also be healed of its sin and be restored. The restoration will be comprehensive. They will be YHVH’s people and He will be their God. The LEADER of the city will be a RULER/ a KING but also act as a PRIEST – a mediator between God and His people. The Jewish Study Bible says that is the foretold Messiah from the Tribe of Judah. This congregation will be primarily a spiritual community, not a political entity. Something similar to John’s description of the New Jerusalem in Revelation 21:1-5 where God will live WITH His people.
And we read at the end of Jeremiah chapter 30 in verses 23-25 “Look! The storm of YHVH, bursting out in fury, a sweeping storm, whirling down upon the heads of the wicked! YHVHs fierce anger will not abate till He accomplishes the purpose in His heart. In the acharit-hayamim (the end of days). You will understand. ‘When THAT TIME COMES’, says YHVH, I will be GOD of ALL the CLANS (the TRIBES) of ISRAEL (this will be the UNITRED Northern and Southern Kingdoms as described above), and they will be MY PEOPLE.’”
These verses reminds us of the SECOND COMING of Yeshua our Messiah we read about in Revelation 16 and 19.
And then it proceeds in Jeremiah 31:1-3a: “Here is what YHVH says: ‘The people escaping the sword found favor in the desert – I have brought ISRAEL to its REST’ (Also read Revelation 12). From a distance YHVH appeared to me (saying), ‘I LOVE YOU WITH AN EVERLASTING LOVE; this is why in MY GRACE I draw you to me. Once again, I will build you; you will be rebuilt, VIRGIN of ISRAEL.”
These words possibly has a dual meaning for the NEW JERUSALEM, the BRIDE of God coming down out of heaven (read Revelation 19:7-8 and 21:1-3), as well as again reminding us of the words in Revelation 7 and 14: of the 144,000, 12,000 of every TRIBE of ISRAEL, described as people ransomed from the world who did not defile themselves with women (meaning they did not worship idols), for they are virgins (meaning they worshipped YHVH their God alone) and they follow the Lamb (a reference to Yeshua the Messiah) wherever He goes. Paul use this same language when addressing the congregation in 2 Corinthians 11:2 saying: “For I am jealous for you with God’s kind of jealousy; since I promised to present you as a PURE VIRGIN in marriage to your ONE HUSBAND, the MESSIAH;” And Paul further explains who the ISRAEL of GOD is in Galatians 6:14-16 as people for whom, through the death of Yeshua the Messiah on the cross, the world has been put to death as far as they are concerned and they have been put to death for the world and became a NEW CREATION (a new person, therefore being BORN AGAIN as God’s children). And as many as order their lives by THIS RULE, peace and mercy will be upon them as the ISRAEL of GOD.
And we further read in Jeremiah 31:3b-6 “Once again, equipped with your tambourines, you will go out and dance with the merrymakers (those who are full of joy). Once again you will plant vineyards on the hills off Samaria (the capital city of the Northern Kingdom, the Ten Tribes under the Tribe of Ephraim) and those doing the planting will have the use of its fruit. For a DAY will come when the WATCHMEN on Mount Ephraim will call, ‘Come let’s go up to Tziyon (Zion/ Sion – a term used for the Temple Mount and more generally for the city of Jerusalem) to YHVH our God.’”
The Afrikaans Bible in Practice explains: God takes the initiative to restore the RELATIONSHIP with ISRAEL – He loves them with an unending love, He has mercy for them and He draws them to Him. They will again celebrate His (YHVH’s) FEASTS, their vineyards will deliver good harvests and the people of the Northern Kingdom under Ephraim will come to worship YHVH in Jerusalem.
And we further read in Jeremiah 31:7-9 “For here is what YHVH says: ‘Sing with JOY for JACOB (ISRAEL)! Shout for the CHIEF of NATIONS! Proclaim your praise, and say ‘YHVH! You have SAVED Your people, the REMNANT of ISRAEL!’ Look! I am bringing them from the LAND in the NORTH (that is as already explained, the Ten Tribes under Ephraim, known as the Northern Kingdom and all foreigners living with them and choosing to serve the God of Israel, in the New Testament described as gentiles grafted into the Olive Tree/ Israel in Romans 11:17 and indicated as believers in Yeshua the Messiah in Galatians 6:14-16), gathering them from the far ends of the earth; among them are the blind and lame, women with children, women in labor, all together, a VAST THRONG (a multitude) returning here. They will come weeping and praying as I BRING THEM BACK. I will lead them by streams of water on smooth paths, so they won’t stumble. FOR I AM A FATHER TO ISRAEL, and EPHRAIM is MY FIRSTBORN son.” (Read Genesis 48 concerning Jacob blessing Joseph’s sons Ephraim and Manasseh, and calling Ephraim the FIRSTBORN although he was the youngest).
And in Jeremiah 31:10-14 we read: Nations, hear the WORD of YHVH! Proclaim it in the COASTLANDS far away. Say: ‘HE who scattered ISRAEL is GATHERING him, GUARDING him as a SHEPHERD his flock.’ For YHVH has RANSOMED (redeemed, rescued, delivered) JACOB (ISRAEL), redeemed him (bought him back) from hands too strong for him. They will come and sing on the heights of Tziyon (Zion/ Sion, indicating here the New Jerusalem), STREAMING to the GOODNESS of YHVH, the grain, the wine, the olive oil, and the young of the flock and the herd. They themselves will be like a well-watered garden, never to languish (suffer, waste away) again. Then the VIRGIN (those who have been redeemed through Yeshua the Messiah, died for the world, loved YHVH with their whole heart, mind and soul, worshipping Him alone and following in the footsteps of the Messiah as newborn children of God with the Holy Spirit in them), will dance for JOY, young men and old men together; for I WILL TURN their mourning into JOY, COMFORT and GLADDEN them after their sorrow. I will give the priests their fill of rich food (the NIV says: I will satisfy the priests with abundance), and My people will be satisfied with My bounty (abundance), says YHVH.
And we further read in Jeremiah 31:15-22 “This is what YHVH says: ‘A voice is heard in Ramah, lamenting and bitter weeping. It is Rachel weeping for her children, refusing to be comforted for her children, because they are no longer alive.’ This is what YHVH says: ‘Stop your weeping, and dry your eyes, for your WORK WILL BE REWARDED, says YHVH. They will return from the enemy’s land; so there is HOPE for your FUTURE, says YHVH. ‘Your children will RETURN to their own territory.
I hear EPHRAIM bemoaning himself (lamenting, regretting, complaining); ‘You disciplined me, and I took Your discipline like a young ox not used to a joke (remember Ephraim’s blessing in Deuteronomy 33:17 comparing him to an ox). Let me return, and I will return, for You are YHVH my GOD. Yes, I turned away; but later I REPENTED. When I had been made to UNDERSTAND, I struck my thigh in shame and REMORSE, bearing the weight of the DISGRACE acquired when I was young.’ Isn’t EPHRAIM My dear son, a child who delight Me so? I speak about him all the time, I can’t help but to recall him to mind. In sum, I deeply yearn for him. I will surely show him favor, says YHVH (So here we see the picture of the LOST son, the parable told by Yeshua written in Luke 15:11-32).
And we further read in Jeremiah 31:21-22 “Set up ROAD SIGNS, erect GUIDEPOSTS, pay attention to the HIGHWAY, the PATH on which you travelled. COME BACK, VIRGIN ISRAEL, come back to these cities of yours! How long will you hesitate, you unruly (wild, uncontrollable, disobedient) daughter? For YHVH has created something NEW on earth: a woman with the strength of a man (some commentaries explains this as possibly meaning: this is Israel described as a wayward, unruly, disobedient women, a woman who shall become as strong as a man/ as a warrior in God’s covenant of LOVE and FORGIVENESS for them).
The Afrikaans Bible in Practice explains: Rachel, the mother of Joseph (and therefore grandmother of Ephraim and Manasseh, both included in the NORTHERN KINGDOM, known as ISRAEL) weep in Ramah from where her children (the descendants of Ephraim and Manasseh) were taken into exile. But God comforts her with the PROMISE that they WILL RETURN. The people of the Northern Kingdom’s own PRAYER goes up to God – a prayer of REPENTANCE. Because God loves them He will restore them and bring them back to their cities (and they will be strengthened through God’s LOVE and FORGIVNESS).
And in Jeremiah 31:23-25 we read: “Here is what YHVH–Tzva’ot (YHVH, the God of Heavens Armies) the GOD of ISRAEL says: ‘This expression will be used again in the LAND of JUDAH (the Southern kingdom of the tribes of Judah and Benjamin) and its CITIES after I have RETURNED their EXILE: ‘May YHVH BLESS you, home of justice, holy mountain!’ In it will live together JUDAH (the Southern kingdom) and all its CITIES, the FARMER and THOSE who LEAD the FLOCKS. For I have satisfied the weary (tired, exhausted) and filled the needs of ALL in distress (suffering, pain, sorrow, distress).
The Afrikaans Bible in Practice explains: Jerusalem and the countryside will be restored again because God will live there WITH HIS PEOPLE.
And we further read in Jeremiah 31:26-30 “At this point I woke up and looked around, but I had enjoyed my sleep. ‘Here the DAYS are COMING’ says YHVH, ‘when I WILL SOW the HOUSE of ISRAEL (all ten tribes under Ephraim known as the Northern Kingdom) and the HOUSE of JUDAH (the tribes of Judah and Benjamin known as the Southern Kingdom) with the SEEDS of HUMANS (and the SEEDS of ANIMALS (the land will be restored and prosper, filled again with people and animals) At THAT TIME, just as I USED to WATCH over them with the INTENT to UPROOT, BREAK DOWN, OVERTHROW, DESTROY and DO HARM; so then I will watch over them to build and plant, says YHVH. When THOSE DAYS COME they will no longer say, ‘The FATHERS have eaten sour grapes, and the CHILDREN’s teeth are set on edge (be extremely uncomfortable).’ Rather, EACH WILL DIE FOR THEIR OWN SIN, everyone who EATS SOUR GRAPES (who do what is against the Word of YHVH), his OWN TEETH will be set on edge (he will carry the consequences of his own sinful decisions and actions).
The Jewish Study Bible says: The proverb expresses the BELIEF that the people are punished for their parents’ misdeeds (Exodus 20:5, Numbers 14:18). Here it is declared by YHVH through the prophet of Jeremiah that this understanding of their punishment is not correct. Jeremiah repeats it is Lamentations 5:7 after the fall of Jerusalem and YHVH also express this through the prophet Ezekiel in Ezekiel chapter 18
The Afrikaans Bible in Practice explains: Every person will individually be responsible for their own decisions and actions but we are comforted by Yeshua our Messiah who died for the sin of the whole world. (Therefore 1 John 10:1-10 is applicable to all of us who accepts Him as our Savior and acknowledges our sins, He is trustworthy and just and he will forgive us and purify us of all wrongdoing).
And then we read about the NEW COVENANT in Jeremiah 31:31-34 “Here, THE DAYS ARE COMING’, says YHVH, ‘when I will make a NEW COVENANT with THE HOUSE OF ISRAEL and THE HOUSE OF JUDAH. It will not be like the COVENANT I made with their fathers on the DAY I took them by their hand and brought them OUT of the LAND of EGYPT, because they, for their part, violated (dishonored) MY COVENANT, even though I, for My part, was a HUSBAND to them,’ says YHVH. For this is the COVENANT I will make with the HOUSE OF ISRAEL (the Northern kingdom consisting of the Ten Tribes under Ephraim and all foreigners living with them and choosing to serve the God of Israel, in the New Testament described as gentiles grafting into the Olive Tree/ Israel in Romans 11:17 and indicated as believers in Yeshua the Messiah in Galatians 6:14-16) after THOSE DAYS’, says YHVH: ‘I WILL PUT MY TORAH (Genesis to Deuteronomy, summed up in the Ten Commandments) WITHIN THEM and WRITE IT ON THEIR HEARTS; I will be their God, and they will be My people. No longer will any of them teach his fellow community member or his brother, “Know YHVH’; for ALL will know Me, from the least of them to the greatest. Because I will FORGIVE their wickedness and remember their sins no more.’”
So why is it only necessary to WRITE the TORAH on the NORTHERN KINGDOM’s HEARTS? Because it is only they that forgot YHVH’s TORAH (as already mentioned, it is important to read and understand the history of the kings of the NORTHERN KINGDOM as described in 1st & 2nd Kings and 1st & 2nd Chronicles – here we read the Ten Tribes under EPHRAIM totally went wayward and stopped obeying YHVH’s TORAH and they were scattered into the nations by God due to their horrendous sins against Him but God is in process of regathering them out of the nations – so to speak calling His children out of Babylon/ the worldly system back to His Word and His Ways (Also read Jeremiah 51:45 and Revelation 18:4).
The Jewish Study Bible explains: This section often called the “NEW COVENANT” more properly should be called the “RENEWED COVENANT” since the Hebrew word for “new” in this passage is the same word used for a “new moon” or a “new year’. For both the moon and the year, God does not make a whole new moon, nor does He make a separate year that is wholly unfamiliar. He recreates these instead and renews them. Indeed, they are different from this time forward, but the only aspect that is different about this RENEWED COVENANT with ISRAEL (the original people in the desert at Mount Sinai, consisting of ALL TWELVE TRIBES of ISRAEL and the multitude of people from other nations that were with them according to Exodus 12:38) is that God will now WRITE the LAW in THEIR HEARTS and MINDS as Paul explains in 2 Corinthians 3:3 saying to the believers: “…you are a LETTER from the Messiah placed in our care. Written not with ink but by the (capital letter) Spirit of God, not on STONE TABLETS, but on HUMAN HEARTS.” This entire section of Jeremiah is also quoted in Hebrews chapter 8 in the NEW TESTAMENT, (leaving us with no doubt with whom this RENEWED COVENANT is made, namely with YHVH’s ISRAEL as we read in Galatians 6:14-15 namely: those who died to the world and live as new people according to God’s Word and His Ways).
To understand the NEW/ RENEWED COVENANT we have to understand the parameters of the DIFFERENT COVENANTS God set through the ages for His present creation. Through HIS COVENANT with NOAH God established His people whom He would RESTORE through the COVENANT with ABRAHAM. At Sinai, in the COVENANT with MOSES, He began the COVENANT of BLESSINGS and CURSES with His people, ISRAEL. In the COVENANT with DAVID He affirmed the KINGDOM of ISRAEL with David and the LEVITICAL PRIESTHOOD. While each of these COVENANTS has remained VALID and in FORCE, none of them have been brought into full or complete manifestation. This fulfilment of the COVENANTS requires a FINAL and ULTIMATE COVENANT that will COMPLETE and FULFILL ALL others before it. This is called the ‘NEW COVENANT.”
The NEW COVENANT was anticipated in the COVENANT with MOSES as we read in Deuteronomy 30. It is announced and explained in Jeremiah 31:31-37 and called a “NEW COVENANT”, it will be different from the COVENANT through MOSES, (because this time) God will write His TORAH, not on external stone tablets but on their hearts and minds, telling us that this RENEWED COVENANT will be based on obedience from a willing heart in a loving relationship with Him and not only in outward compulsory compliance to rules, also read Deuteronomy 5:22 and Jeremiah 17:1). And this COVENANT will not require proclamation or evangelization, because they will ALL KNOW HIM and they will be FORGIVEN their sins. This COVENANT was needed because the COVENANT through MOSES at Sinai was flawed because of the FLESH (the old sin nature). What the TORAH (Genesis to Deuteronomy, summed up in the Ten Commandments written on Stone Tablets) cannot do because of man’s evil inclination (the seed of the serpent, the old sinful nature), GOD will do by sending HIS SON, YESHUA the MESSIAH, to accomplish it. That is the HEART OF THE GOOD NEWS (THE GOSPEL), which is related to the NEW COVENANT but is NOT the final NEW COVENANT. The NEW COVENANT will COMPLETE and FULFILL the other COVENANTS and bring FULL RESTORATION and SALVATION to God’s creation. This will be accomplished in the MESSIAH (during His Second Coming).
And in Jeremiah 31:35-40 we read: “This is what YHVH says, WHO GIVES the SUN as LIGHT for the DAY; WHO ORDAINED the LAWS for the MOON and STARS to provide LIGHT for the NIGHT, WHO stirs up the sea until its waves roar – YHVH-Tzva’ot (YHVH, the God of Heavens Armies) is His Name: ‘If these laws leave My presence,’ says YHVH, ‘then the offspring of ISRAEL will stop being a NATION in My presence forever.’ This is what YHVH says: ‘If the SKY ABOVE can be measured and the FOUNDATIONS of the EARTH be fathomed (understood, comprehended), then I will reject all the offspring of ISRAEL for all that they have done,’ says YHVH. ‘Look the DAYS are COMING, says YHVH, ‘when the CITY will be REBUILT for YHVH from the Tower of Hananel (a tower near the sheep-gate at Jerusalem) to the Corner Gate. The measuring line will be stretched straight to Hill of Gare, then turn to Goah (a place near Jerusalem). The whole valley of corpses (dead bodies) and ashes (the Hinnom Valley), including the fields as far as the KIDRON valley, and on the corner of the Horse Gate to the EAST, WILL BE SEPERATED OUT FOR YHVH (it will be made clean and holy); it will NEVER be UPROOTED or DESTOYED AGAIN.” (This is referring to the New Jerusalem).
The Jewish Study Bible explains: This is a reiteration of God’s ETERNAL COVENANT with ISRAEL (all twelve tribes) that He will never reject them. The eternality of God’s RENEWED COVENANT with ISRAEL. In Jeremiah 31:35-40 God addresses the COVENANT with NOAH by saying that when the fixed order of the sun and the moon and the creation can be measured and explored fully, only then will ISRAEL cease to be a people or be cast off. While the CREATION STANDS, ISRAEL stands as the people of God. And the NEW COVENANT will bring ALL THE PROMISES to FULL OPERATION. Yeshua our Messiah Himself addresses this, as indicated in Matthew 5:17-19, when He declared that HE has NOT come to annul (cancel, withdraw, dissolve, terminate), the TORAH (Genesis to Deuteronomy, summed up in the Ten Commandments) or the PROPHETS, but to bring them into FUL OPERATION. He also claimed that NONE of it has or will pass away. Let alone be replaced, UNTIL IT IS FULFILLED. And this will REMIAN TRUE as long as the creation (heaven and earth) remains. It is therefore clear that the NEW COVENANT fulfills the OTHER COVENANTS rather than replacing them.