If you could imagine Yeshua himself, sitting across from you and telling you his story in his own words, that's exactly what Yeshua First-Person is. You're probably jumping at the chance to see some sample pages and get your own copy, but I thought you might be interested to first hear what inspired the YFP version of the Gospels, along with some stories from my teens I've never shared before.Β
My deepest desire and prayer is to know Yeshua as closely as a man can in this life. This lifelong pursuit goes all the way back to my teen years and links all the chapters in my story together.Β
I still remember how Yeshua came to me as a struggling sixteen-year-old and revealed himself to me as the Messiah. The way he did it was so rivetingly meaningful that I took a black sharpie and wrote MESSIAH on my tan army surplus belt. As my newfound Messiah woke me up he also convicted me of my sins, and at the same time showed himself as my Deliverer. It feels like only yesterday that I found myself standing before a crowd of hundreds, testifying of the hope I felt after reading the first promise in the New Testament and knowing that it was for me: Jesus will save his people from their sins.Β
As if that wasn't enough, the Master called me. This was mostly through verses that he gave me in a deeply personal way: Mark 3:14, where Yeshua called his disciples to spend much time with him, and Acts 4:13 where only a few years later the one thing that most stood out about these men was that they had been with Jesus. 1 Corinthians 2:2, where Paul determined to know nothing but Jesus Christ and him crucified, and Philippians 3:8 where he exclaimed that everything was crap compared to knowing Yeshua for himself.Β
The relationship with the Son of God that I found myself caught up in was intense. The training came with trials and testing: the fifty-day fast he called me to as an eighteen-year-old, or the demonic warfare I and my friends encountered - haunted house phenomena, buildings literally shaking, and signs in the northern lights that made us cry out in surprise. I entered into the fellowship of his sufferings, but there was romantic beauty there, too. I'll never the week when I every evening I made a jar of cowboy coffee and then stayed up all night, meditating on the Song of Songs and allowing my heart to be ravished by the love of God. Or the night I woke up with a start to Jesus calling my name out loud.Β
That was my teen years. I've already shared in previous chapters how in my twenties my desire to know Yeshua ever more closely took me back to my Jewish heritage on an intensely personal journey in which I began to attend synagogue, learn Hebrew, practice Judaism in a Messiah-centered way, and spent about a year in Israel over the course of several trips. All that leads to the story of the first book that I published: Yeshua First-Person.Β
It probably goes without saying that I've read through the Bible many times, in multiple translations, in both English and Hebrew. It's probably also no surprise that the Gospels have held a special attraction to me, considering my obsession with knowing the Messiah. But what may be new to you is a certain way of reading these four biographies that I developed, a way I had never heard of before but that brought me closer than I had ever imagined.Β
I had engaged with Scripture in many different ways over the years: regular reading; detailed word-studies; deep meditation on a verse, phrase, or even a single word; listening to the audio Bible. Of course it was all very meaningful to me in different ways, because it was the Word of God. But then, in 2022, I had an idea. What if I read the Gospels as if Yeshua were speaking directly to me, telling me his story in his own words? Instead of reading "Jesus went here, did this, and said that," I'd mentally rephrase it in the first-person: "I went here, did this, and said that."Β
I tried it, and all I can say is that my heart's desire came true - I could hear the voice of the Master more clearly than I ever had before! I would even say that it was addictive. I found myself getting up earlier and earlier every morning to spend time with him, time that felt more like an encounter than just a reading session. I tried reading the Gospels the old way, just reading about the Messiah, and I found I couldn't go back. Why would I want to just read about him when I could experience him sitting right there across from me, telling me his story, himself?Β
There was just one problem: having to rephrase everything in my mind as I went required mental effort and was distracting. If only there was a version where everything was phrased in the first-person so I could just completely lose myself in the story, lose myself in his voice! Why had no one done this before?! And that was when the idea of Yeshua First-Person initially entered my mind. Why not publish a version of the Gospels phrased in the first person, just like I had been reading it - not only for my own use, but for others who, like me, longed for nothing more than a closer intimacy with him?Β
Not only that, but could there be a better way of introducing Rabbi Yeshua to his own Jewish people than through a book containing his story, told in his own words? I had already been in the habit for years of replacing English names with their Hebrew equivalents as I read popular translations of the Bible ("Yeshua" for "Jesus", etc.). Why not use the original names and keywords as they would have actually been spoken in Israel two thousand years ago? For historical authenticity yes, but even moreso, because why would you try to present the story of the greatest Jew in all of history, to his own Jewish people, in anything other than their heart-language?Β
All this was coming together in my mind while I was still migrating our websites and video platforms, which I already related in the story of Holy Language Institute. Finally, after a long winter of literally working night and day, I finished that project in the spring of 2023 and was able to turn my attention to telling the story of Yeshua in the most gripping and direct way the world had ever seen. And so, on March 24, 2023, I started by buying the domain names yeshuafirstperson.com and jesusfirstperson.com.Β
Why that second domain name, jesusfirstperson.com? Yeshua First-Person would be using original Hebrew names and keywords so it would be perfect for Jewish people who understood Hebrew, or for Christians who wanted to learn. But all the Hebrew could also throw many English readers off, which would actually keep them from getting lost in the story and defeat the whole purpose! I solved this problem by deciding to also produce an English names edition: Jesus First-Person. I even considered creating an additional KJV-style translation and calling it Christ First-Person but decided not to for multiple reasons. This was the first of many decisions I'd have to make, and now I'm needing to decide whether to go into detail. You know what? As I think about it, I think I will. Not only because this is where I share these personal backstories, but because you may be surprised at some of the considerations that go into Bible translation. I know I was!Β
My first big decision was what to use for a base text. I didn't have the time or Greek expertise to produce a fresh translation, so I needed to find a version that was already in the public domain that I could adapt. The translation had to be as literal as possible, but it also had to be a smooth read. With these two objectives in mind I settled on a modernized version of the American Standard Version which had been put in the public domain. The ASV, a highly literal revision of the King James Bible, had been started in 1871 and took a team of that century's best Bible scholars thirty years to finally complete in 1901. Like my base text, many of today's most literal Bibles, including the ESV and NASB (my personal favourite), are based on the ASV. This choice would enable Yeshua First-Person to remain quite literal, while at the same time sounding like the most widely-read Bibles of today.Β
I started by formulating the principles I'd base this version on. My first rule was to change as little as possible: while the point of view was shifting to a first-person perspective, the meaning had to stay exactly the same. This may be the best moment to share the one hesitation I've encountered. While the vast majority of people instantly understand the heart behind this perspective-shift, there were a couple people online who expressed concerns that this may be tampering with the Word of God. My response was simply to ask if it was okay for me to rephrase the Gospels in my mind as I read so that I could hear the voice of Jesus more clearly. The answer to that was always yes. My second question was, how's that any different from printing this out as a devotional aid? No one had any objections to this.Β
Please understand that I do have a very high regard for the Bible as the Word of God, and I have prayerfully thought through this question myself. My personal conclusion is based on three lines of reasoning. Firstly, Yeshua said that when we receive those whom he sends, we're receiving him. It follows that when we receive these authors we're actually receiving his writings. Secondly, if those whom God sends speak his words (John 3:34), then those whom the Son of God sends must also write his words. And if this is the case, then the books of Matthew, Mark, Luke, and John are actually the words of the Messiah, as if emblazoned in red letters from start to finish. Thirdly and finally, while the Bible was written by men, it was only as they were moved by the Holy Spirit (2 Peter 1:21), who is the spirit of Jesus (Acts 16:7). So Yeshua was the one moving these four men to pen these biographies, almost as if they were his autobiography.Β
In addition to these three reasons why I don't believe that phrasing these holy texts in the first-person is doing them any injustice, another consideration is that the authors of the Gospels themselves phrased their accounts slighly differently, depending on their audience. For instance, Matthew (addressing Jews) quotes Yeshua speaking of the Kingdom of heaven, while Mark (targeting Gentiles) has him speaking of the Kingdom of God. Considering we live in an era in which the highly personal first-person narrative is the standard medium of communication, what if we were actually staying most true to the Apostles' own approach by presenting their accounts in today's first-person format?Β
So, back to our story. It was the end of March, 2023. I had purchased domain names, selected a base text, and crafted some basic principles. The next step was to create the actual manuscript. I began by replacing all third-person references to Yeshua (he, himself, him, and his) with their first person equivalents (me, myself, I, and my). I was instantly struck by the force the manuscript already carried as I began to hear the voice of the Messiah coming directly through the text. It also struck me how, at a time when people are treating pronouns as increasingly fluid, the pronouns of the Son of God have always been, and always will be, I AM.Β
After updating the singular pronouns pointing to Yeshua I continued with the plural pronouns pointing to him and his disciples together, shifting "them, they, and theirs" to to the perspective of "us, we, and ours." It was so touching to think that this was how the Master actually referred to himself with his disciples. And it was even more touching to realize that, even now, he so identifies with us that when he speaks of us to his Father, he says "us" and "we". This thought took my breath away, and reminded me yet again of why I was doing this.Β
All this took about a week. After that I moved on to the second stage: making the story as readable as possible, which was my second principle. The challenge was to preserve the literal text while at the same time smoothing out the word order and punctuation so my readers could lose themselves in the story. One example is how the word-for-word syntax of my base text read Yeshua, when he was immsersed, went up, which when shifted to the first person would have read I, when I was baptized, went up. While this may have been the most accurate rendering, it wasn't how the Master would have expressed himself when speaking English. I smoothed this phrase out to When I was immsersed, I went up. The guiding question I asked myself throughout this process was, "Would I want to read this?"
I did make small alterations to the text that went beyond readability but were in keeping with my primary aim to make Yeshua's story as direct and personal as possible. For instance, when the Master spoke of the Kingdom of God/Heaven, I simply phrased this as "my Kingdom." Considering there were multiple places where both Yeshua and his disciples actually did refer to it as his Kingdom, this was hardly a theological stretch, and drove home a startling reality: this was the King himself, talking about his own Kingdom! Another small edit was around Yeshua's idiosyncratic habit of mysteriously referring to himself in the third person as the Son of Man. These instances I also phrased in the first person as "I, the Son of Man," making it more clear that he was talking about himself.Β
After working feverishly throughout the month of April I now had a manuscript that read like the autobiography of Jesus Christ. This would work perfectly for Jesus First-Person. The next step was the text of Yeshua First-Person, which would use the Hebrew and Aramaic forms of names and keywords as they would have actually been used in first-century Israel. For this third stage I also formulated a set of principles. For the names of both people and places I would use the original Hebrew/Aramaic, unless they came from another language in which case I'd leave them as they were. So, for instance, Matthew and John became Mattai and Yochanan, but Mark and Luke stayed the same, as did Herod and Augustus. Likewise, I edited Galilee and Samaria to the Galil and Shomron, but left Tyre and Sidon alone, along with Abilene and Trochonitis. It was especially powerful to see the ancient lineage of the Messiah all the way up to Yehuda and Yaakov, Yitzchak and Avraham.Β
After adding the original names of people and places to the story, I then moved on to keywords as they would have been used by first-century Jews. My guiding principle in this stage was to only use Hebrew terminology if it meant more than its English equivalent, and/or had greater emotional resonance. One example of greater meaning is shalom, which is usually translated "peace" but literally means wholeness and was also used as "hello" and "good-bye". Or, for an example of greater emotional resonance, take abba and eema, which were both recently used in The Chosen to similar effect. I also included a small number of Yiddish words commonly used by Jewish people today, such as shul for synagogue and davening for prayer. While not used in the first century, these terms not only carry deeper meaning and feeling than their English counterparts, but if Yeshua as a religious Jews were telling his story in our time, he certainly would have employed this language.Β
All in all, I only used a couple hundred Hebrew names and keywords, but they did more than I could have imagined to convey Yeshua's story in a way that was both historically authentic and startlingly present, almost as if you were suddenly transported to a house in Capernaum and there heard the Rabbi relating the events of the day to Simon Peter's mother-in-law as she served them the evening meal. While Yeshua First-Person would be perfect for Jewish people who understood Hebrew, I also knew that it would attract Christians who were learning, or who wanted to learn, Hebrew. A glossary was in order, but where would I put it? I chose to put it on the website at yeshuafirstperson.com instead of in the book for three reasons: 1. Our readers could bring it up on their phones while they were reading instead of having to be constantly flipping back and forth, 2. Along with a pronunciation guide and explanation of the fuller meaning, I wanted to include links to online dictionaries, and 3. I was already planning to create a video course working through the rich insights and stories behind these terms, so I wanted them to be readily available to everyone.Β
By now the month of May was over and summer had begun. The texts of both Yeshua AND Jesus First-Person were ready, but there was still much to be done. Now that the actual story was complete, I felt like I could at least come up for air before plunging back down into the creative streak it would take to actually publish it. And so I did something that was long overdue: I had essentially disappeared for over two months and people were starting to wonder what had happened to me, so I told my online followers about the project. Because these stories have a personal touch I will admit that this is a weakness of mine - I work best by completely losing myself in a project until I've seen it through, which means I put everything else on hold and oftenΒ
DAILY READING Β May 10 created 365 Β July 5 split headersΒ Headings: With the exception of "My" only use Scripture from passage or parallel passage. PP example: The Epileptic (Luke 9:37-45). Less is more Β July 12: created 365 readings PDF | July 20 JFP Β July 9: finished MS (auditing paragraphs)
PUBLISHING Β April 10 learned about Author info Β April 28 started learning about Amazon publishing Β July 6: tried Quillbot, Word, Google Docs, Grammarly, Atticus, chose latter | July 9: tried Scribus, Scrivener, Affinity, and Kindle Create Β July 18: switched from Kindle to Atticus Β July 25: bought Publisher Rocket, started keyword and category research Β August 2: created Amazon author page
FINAL Β July 10: wrote before/after pages Β July 13: created website | July 20 JFP Β July 18: finished, proofed MS (again?) Β July 23: finished covers, ordered proofs (?) Β July 27: Tisha b'Av Β August 1: submitted, live by 4 Β August 18Β announced (Elul 1)
COURSE Β July 14: started glossary Β August 7: worked on Words presentation, August 30 started organizing individual presentations Β course: Herford, JE,Β
AFTER Β November 1Β Amazon deleted account Β November 5Β republished Β September 17, 2024Β Amazon deleted second account Β September 22, 2024 created Ingram-Spark account Β December 24: requested reviews
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