Today we will be finishing our series with the third and final teaching on the Beauty of the Jewish Prayer Shawl.
Though as Christians we do not use the prayer shawl there is much we can learn from it. The shawl (talit) was and is an integral part of the Jewish faith – from which our own faith was born. It contains great meaning and symbolism especially in the knotted tassels (tzitzit) on its four kanaph (corners, wings).
These knotted tassels or fringes are called tzitzit and are the most important part of the entire garment. In Numbers 15 and Deuteronomy 22 we read where God commanded the Jewish men to make these fringes and wear them in a place that was always visible, so that whenever they saw them they were reminded to keep God’s commandments.
Last week we also saw how God revealed His name (Jehovah/Yahweh) through the windings or coils of the tassels, and we examined how He revealed His Word through the number of knots (as well as having a crash course in Hebrew gematria).
This morning we’re going to see how the prayer shawl of the Messiah held the power of healing and the power of life over death in its tassels. We’ll examine how the shawl represented the double-portion power that is bestowed upon every believer. And we’ll see what part the shawl has played in visions of the past and in the Second Coming of Christ.
I. The Power of God Revealed In the Tzitzit
There are several instances in the Bible where God’s power is revealed through the tassels of the prayer shawl, but maybe none so convincingly as in two events that happened is the life of Christ.
In one event God’s great power for healing is revealed and in the other His power over death in revealed.
A. God’s Power to Heal
During the time of Christ there was a Jewish tradition that was associated with the talit and the tzizit of their awaited Messiah. This tradition is based on Malachi 4:2.
The Sun of righteousness (Messiah) was to have healing in his wings. If we look at this phrase in reference to the prayer shawl, the Messiah was believed to have the power of healing in the tassels of his prayer shawl, which are attached to the corners or wings of the shawl.
Basically, the Jews believed that when their Messiah appeared that the tzizit of His prayer shawl would have special healing powers. This is important, because when we turn to the New Testament we find a story in which this belief is acted upon.
Let’s take a look at the familiar story found in Luke 8:43-48.
When we read this passage there are some interesting things happening that we often overlook. First, it says that the woman touched the “border of His garment.” To truly understand what she touched, you have to revert to the original Greek language this scripture was written in.
The word translated as “garment” is the Greek word himantion. We came across this word last week. A himation is an outer garment like a mantle or cloak or vesture which is believed by scholars to also refer to the talit or prayer shawl. So when the woman touched the border of Christ’s garment – she was touching the border of His prayer shawl.
Next, we look at the word “border.” It is translated from the Greek word kraspedon. The definition of kraspedon is a twisted coil, specifically a fringe or tassel often translated as hem or border.
So, now we have an even better picture of what is happening in this story. The woman is not just touching the hem of Jesus’ robe (which the English wording would lead us to believe) – she is specifically touching the tzitzit of His prayer shawl.
And when she does this she is instantly healed. This is a perfect fulfillment of Malachi 4:2 – where the Sun of righteousness is said to have healing in His wings. And she wasn’t the only one who experienced God’s healing power through the tzitzit. Other places in the gospels of both Matthew and Mark we find that Jesus was asked to simply walk through the crowds so that the sick might have the opportunity to touch the tassels of His prayer shawl.
Matthew 14:35-36 and Mark 6:56
But back to the story of the woman with the issue of blood. After she touched Jesus’ tzitzit and was healed, notice Jesus’ reaction – What does He say?
WHO TOUCHED ME?
Now as we’ve just studied the meaning of the words in Greek that show that the woman touched Jesus’ tassels and not His person, it makes you wonder how He could ask such a question? How did He even know she’d touched His tassel?
If I were in a crowd of people and someone just happened to touch the hem of my blouse or coat – unless they gave it a good tug, I probably wouldn’t even have noticed they touched my clothing. But Jesus not only noticed, He asked who had touched Him. As if someone had touched His physical body. How could he ask such a thing?
Recall, if you will, exactly what the woman touched. She didn’t just touch any part of His prayer shawl. She touched a special part – the tzitzit. Last week we learned something special about those tassels. In the coils is the very name of God (Yahweh Ekhad) – God is One.
When she stretched forth her hand to touch the fringes of His talit, she wasn’t just touching twisted cording, she was reaching out to touch the very name of God – JEHOVAH. (The God who was, who is, and who will be forever.)
When Jesus asked, “Who touched Me?” He wasn’t referring to His physical body – she didn’t touch that. He was asking who had touched Him in His divine form of Jehovah.
And after the woman had admitted what she’d done, look at what Jesus said to her. “They faith hath made thee whole.” Her faith in what? In the tassels?
No. I believe this woman knew Malachi 4:2 which promised healing in the wings of the Messiah. She reached out, not in faith of the healing found in the tzitzit, but in the faith of healing found in the tzitzit of the Messiah. She didn’t reach for John’s tassels or Peter’s tassels or for the tassels of any other man present. She reached for Jesus – and in so doing she was claiming her faith and belief that He, Jesus, was the Messiah.
B. God’s Power Over Death
Now let’s take a look at how God revealed His power over death through the talit and the tzitzit.
After Jesus is touched by the woman with the blood issue, He makes His way to the house of Jarius, a ruler of the synagogue, because Jarius’ daughter was gravely ill. In fact, she was so ill, that by the time Jesus reached the house, she had died.
Let’s look at the Mark 5:39-43 telling of this event. ( In Bible)
Verse 41 is the important verse, because it is here that the words Jesus spoke are written. Jesus’ words are recorded as “Talitha cumi!” Two words generally translated as “little girl, or damsel, arise.” But while studying for this teaching, I came across at least 3 different sources that say this translation is faulty.
Verse 42 tells us that the girl was 12 years old. If Jesus were to tell a 12-year-old girl to “get up” the correct wording is YALDAH KOOMEE. Or if the translation of “damsel” is correct, He would have said ALMAH KOOMEE. But that’s not what He said.
Scholars have looked at the word talitha and believe that it was recorded wrong. They claim it should be two separate words: talit ha. If this is the correct interpretation then the whole meaning of Jesus’ command changes. “Talit Ha Cumi” means “Little girl covered by the talit, arise.”
From other issues of Biblical culture we learn that Jesus would have had to have taken His own talit off and covered the girl with it.
Remember when we looked at the definitions of the word talit? One of them was that the talit was “the covering of the Lamb”, because the word talit is derived from the word for lamb. So, if Jesus covered the girl with His talit, symbolically, He was covering her with Himself as the Lamb of God.
In fact, some scholars have taken this a step farther and said that “Talit Ha Cumi” explains why in verse 43 it reads, “And he charged them straitly that no man should know it.” What is the “it” that He commanded them not to share? It wasn’t the fact that He raised the girl from the dead, because as soon as she walked out the door everyone would know what had happened.
No, what was commanded to not be told revolved around the command “Talit Ha.” Which coming from the mouth of Jesus could also be translated as, “I as the Lamb of God, God in the Flesh, command you, little girl to arise!” – Jesus wasn’t warning those present not to tell that He raised the girl from death. He was warning them not to publicly disclose that He was God in the flesh, because it was not yet time for people to know this.
II. The Talit and the Double-Portion Power for Every Believer
Next we’re going to take a look at how the talit represents the double-portion power given to every believer. It begins with an Old Testament event that foreshadows the New Testament event.
A. Elijah and Elisha
In the Old Testament we have the prophets Elijah and Elisha. The prophet Elijah was called a hairy man. This is because he wore a mantle or cloak made of animal’s hair, some believe it was camel’s hair, like John the Baptist. He was a prophet who had great power bestowed upon him. God worked through Elijah to show His faltering children just who the one true God was.
Elijah also had an associate or apprentice – a young man by the name of Elisha. When it came Elijah’s time to depart from the earth he asked his student if there was anything he could do for him before he was taken away.
And Elisha said, “I want a double-portion of your spirit or power to be upon me.” Elisha had seen his mentor do many wonderful and miraculous things and he wanted to be able to do the same if not greater things to carry on his mentor’s work. And Elijah replied, “If you see me taken into heaven you can have the double-portion.” – I thought this a rather strange answer until I saw what happened next.
Elisha watches as a chariot and horses of fire descend from heaven to take his teacher away, and while he is watching something happens. Elijah lets his mantle fall to the earth.
So what’s so important about a mantle made of camel’s hair? It wasn’t just a mantle. A careful study of the Hebrew text leads me to believe that it was actually Elijah’s prayer shawl.
Elisha had asked for a double-portion of Elijah’s spiritual power and Elijah had given him his prayer shawl. He was reminding his student just where his spiritual power came from – from the God whose name is found written in its tassels. If Elisha hadn’t been there to see his teacher leave, he wouldn’t have received his prayer shawl. That’s why Elijah said he could have a double portion if he was there to see him taken to heaven. And what Elisha asked for came to pass. Elijah had performed 7 miralces, Elisha preformed 14. Double his mentor.
B. Pentecost and the Believer
We believers are also promised a double-portion of power. In John 14:12 Jesus says, “Verily, verily, I say unto you, He that believeth on me, the works that I do shall he do also and greater works than these shall he do; because I go unto my Father.”
Like Elisha watching his teacher being taken unto heaven, the disciples stood on the Mt. Of Olives to watch their Messiah taken into heaven. And just as Elijah’s mantle (prayer shawl) fell to his student to remind him where his power came from, the Holy Spirit descended upon the disciples at Pentecost and upon every believer since then to remind us where our true source of spiritual strength and power comes from.
III. The Talit and Visions
And finally, we see the prayer shawl playing a part in Peter’s vision and calling, and in Christ’s Second Coming.
A. Peter’s Vision
In Acts 10:9-16, the Apostle Peter has a vision. In it Peter sees a great sheet held by 4 corners descending from heaven. In the sheet are all kinds of unclean animals which the Lord tells him to kill and eat. Peter says no because it goes against the Jewish laws to eat such animals. But God tells him that when God calls or makes something clean, man had no right to claim that they aren’t.
What did this vision mean? By now you should recognize what that sheet really was. The sheet was a Jewish prayer shawl and the unclean animals represent the Gentiles, that is any people not of Jewish heritage (us). God is showing Peter that the covering of the lamb which is His Son’s blood (represented by the talit in the vision,) is for all people not just the Jews. He is commanding Peter to take the gospel to the Gentiles and once they accept it – to consider them clean and no longer outcasts.
This was a new concept to the Jews. At that time it was not considered proper for a Jew to be in the presence of a gentile – let alone go into their homes and talk with them. But by using the prayer shawl (a Jewish symbol that stood for Jesus’ blood covering sin) God was telling Peter that the Gentiles were included in the promise of salvation.
B. Jesus’ Second Coming
And finally, the prayer shawl of our Savior, Jesus Christ plays a unique part in His Second Coming. It’s appearance actually makes a portion of scripture a little easier to picture and understand.
Let’s take a look at Revelation 19:11-16.
Jesus is pictured wearing a vesture dipped in blood. Once again the word translated as “vesture” is the Greek word himation which we’ve already seen is the word used to describe the prayer shawl. Our Savior is going to return to earth wearing His talit. How do I know this? Look at verse 16 again.
“And he hath on his vesture (prayer shawl) and on his thigh a name written, KING OF KINGS, AND LORD OF LORDS.”
Would you believe that there are some pastors teaching that Jesus will have this name tattooed on His thigh? They can’t find any other way to explain this verse. But if you realize that Jesus is wearing his prayer shawl, it makes perfect sense.
You see if a man is wearing his prayer shawl, and he is sitting down (like Jesus would be riding on a horse) what would drape across His thigh? – The tzitzit – the very thing that claims (YHWH Ekhad) who is KING OF KINGS!
The restoration of the use and meaning of the talit is symbolic of what God is doing here on earth in these final days. He is restoring to His children their Hebraic roots and heritage as the Church Age comes to an end along with the times of the Gentiles.
As the next pages in history begin to unfold we will see that once again God is turning His attention back to His Jewish children.
Christianity made many mistakes when it distanced itself from its Jewish roots. Do not allow the anti-Semitism that is built into many aspects of Christianity and the Greek interpretations of the Scripture rob you of your birthright – which is insight and knowledge of God’s truth.
I feel it is very important that we learn more about our heritage in these last days, and I hope you’ve enjoyed this series of teachings as much as I have.
