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| Some Xians have heard that Jews and Judaism are wrong and that we are "blind" to seeing the so-called truth of Xianity. Some go so far as to say Jews will “burn in hell” for rejecting J*.
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J*, himself acknowledges that the Biblical authority rests in the hands of the Rabbinic Sages, who in his day were known as the Pharisees. Now the question must be asked: did he himself listen to his own words. In other words, after acknowledging the authority of the Rabbis, did J* himself listen to and follow their edicts. Remember what Deuteronomy eronomy 17 say should happen to the one who does not follow the words of the Rabbinic judges. Let us turn now to the words and actions of J* to see if he fulfilled the words of Torah that he himself acknowledged. J* and the Sabbath In Matthew 12:1-7, we have recorded an episode relating to J*'s observance of the holy Sabbath. Now G-d has commanded in His Torah (Exodus 31:15), "whoever does work on the Sabbath day shall be put to death." We remember the episode of the man who went out and picked up sticks on the Sabbath and that he was put to death (ref. Numbers 15:32-36). What then is J*'s relationship with regards to the Sabbath, to the Word of G-d and the authority of the Divinely ordained Rabbinic judges. Let us review Matthew 12:1-7. "At that time J* went on the Sabbath through the grain fields and his disciples became hungry and began to pick the heads of grain and ate. But when the Pharisees saw it, they said to him, "Behold, your disciples do what is not lawful to do on a Sabbath." But he said to them, "have you not read what David did . . . how he entered the house of G-d, and they ate the consecrated bread, which was not lawful for him to eat . . . or have you read in the Law that on the Sabbath the priests in the temple break the Sabbath, and are innocent? But I say to you that something greater than the temple is here. But if you had known what this means, I desire compassion and not sacrifice you would not have condemned the innocent." This section is so replete with errors that it broadly broadcasts J*'s lack of Torah education and knowledge of G-d's laws. To begin with, it is surprising to note that J*'s disciples were not learned enough to know that the picking of grain on the Sabbath was a violation of Biblical law, which under certain circumstances would lead to the death penalty. J* should have taught them better, but judging from his response to the Pharisees, it might be understood that J*, himself, did not know the law. When the Pharisees noticed J*'s disciples violating the Sabbath, they fulfilled their Biblical obligation of admonishment, as it is written, "You shall reprove your fellow and do not bear sin because of him" (Lev. 19:17). Instead of heeding the Rabbinic authorities and correcting their ways, like J* said should be done (Matthew 23:3 "therefore all that they tell you do and observe") he instead attempts to justify the actions of his disciples and to challenge the authority of the Rabbis J* makes reference to the Biblical story of David (1 Samuel 21:4-6), saying how when he (David) was hungry the priests gave him and his men to eat of consecrated bread. Therefore, if it is OK for the law to be broken for David, then surely it is OK for the law to be broken for J*'s disciples. This response of J* makes no sense in light of Jewish law. You see, the priests did not violate the law in giving the bread to David and his men. Yet 1 Samuel tells you that it was OK for David to eat the bread. The High Priest himself tells David that as long as David and his men are ritually pure they MAY eat it. Therefore, when J* declared, "they ate the consecrated bread, which was not lawful for him to eat", he was dead wrong in his analogy. J* then attempts another analogy to justify their sinful behavior. He references the priests in the temple who "break the Sabbath, and are innocent." One with the least knowledge of Torah law knows that temple sacrifice was commanded by G-d to be performed on the Sabbath (Numbers 28:9-10). It is not a violation of the Sabbath, it is the fulfillment of Sabbath law. Both of the rationalizations that J* uses to justify his violation of the Torah law, instead of justifying his position, further condemns his actions. But the worst is yet to come. Again – note that this is not “rabbis making up rules” but the COMMANDMENT is in the bible itself! J* violates Torah law – the law of G-d. Not man-made rules as he says. J* quotes the prophet Hosea 6:6, "I desire compassion and not sacrifice." Is this supposed to imply that G-d simply wants the Jewish people to be compassionate and that the observance of Jewish law is a sacrifice and thus not important? Is it not written "My Sabbaths you must observe for it is a sign between Me and you for your generations" (Exodus 31:13) and "Between Me and the children of Israel it is a sign forever" (Exodus 31:16). Does something that is "forever" and "for your generations" come to an end? Did G-d, Himself not say, "whoever does work on the Sabbath day shall be put to death." (Exodus 31:15)? Instead of accepting the admonishment of the Rabbinic Sages, which we have no reason to doubt was offered in good faith, J* contradicts himself, and denies the authority and admonition of the Rabbis By his own actions and words, J* not only violated the Sabbath, but he also refused to accept the authority of the Rabbinic judge, this is after J* said in the GT that you SHOULD listen to the rabbis! In other words, J* contradicts himself! J* violated the Sabbath and so did his disciples. J* displayed an appalling lack of knowledge of the Torah and acted with contempt towards the Rabbis whose job it was to admonish him, a job which J*, himself, acknowledges. And so, I ask you, are these the deeds of a messiah? There are more examples in the GT that conclusively show J* violating G-d's command outlined in Deuteronomy 17:11, "you shall not deviate from the word that they will tell you, right or left." In one episode, recorded in Mark 7:1-8, we not only have another clear record of J* violating G-d's word as spoken in Deuteronomy 17:11, we also are given a glimpse into a much uglier side of J*'s personality. "And the Pharisees and some of the scribes gathered around him when they had come from Jerusalem, and had seen that some of his disciples were eating their bread with impure hands, that is, unwashed. For the Pharisees and all the Jews do not eat unless they carefully wash their hands, thus observing the traditions of the elders; and when they come from the market place they do not eat unless they cleanse themselves, and there are many other things which they have received in order to observe, such as the washing of cups and pitchers and copper pots. And the Pharisees and the scribes asked him, "Why do your disciples not walk according to the tradition of the elders, but eat their bread with impure hands?" And he said to them, "Rightly did Isaiah prophesy of you hypocrites, as it is written, "This people honors me with their lips, but their heart is far away from me, but in vain do they worship me, teaching as doctrines the precepts of men."(Isaiah 29:13). "Neglecting the commandment of G-d, you hold to the tradition of men." The Pharisees come to visit J*’s students. Once again they see J*'s disciples violating laws. They ask, "isn't it written, "According to the teaching that they will teach you and according to the judgment that they will say to you, shall you do, you shall not deviate from the word that they will tell you, right or left." (Deuteronomy 17). Having reminded J* of the Biblical admonition to not deviate from the word of G-d the Pharisees as J*, "Why do your disciples not walk according to the tradition of the elders, but eat their bread with impure hands?" (Mark 7). Here J* is given another excellent opportunity to appropriately respond to the Rabbis by accepting admonishment and by correcting his ways and the ways of his disciples. Yet, instead of doing what Torah law demands, J*, again, goes on the offensive against G-d's holy servants. J* strikes out against the innocent Rabbis calling them hypocrites. But why? What hypocrisy did the Pharisees manifest? The story portrayed here in the Gospel of Mark does not reveal any trace of hypocrisy on behalf of the Rabbis. J* was asked a simple question. He responded with an attack. J* continues to quote a verse from the prophet Isaiah to validate his position condemning the Rabbis Yet, when the verse in Isaiah is looked at within its proper context, it can be clearly seen that the verse has nothing to do with what J* is talking about. In fact, J* does not even quote the verse correctly. In the version of this episode in Matthew 15:1-9, J*'s response to the question of hand washing is answered by changing the subject. Here, J* brings up the topics of vows to G-d. He condemns the law which states that devotion to G-d comes before devotion to one's parents. This is a queer thing for J* to say when he himself has previous said "He who loves father or mother more than me is not worthy of me." (Matthew 10:37). It is true, that which is devoted to G-d becomes the property of the temple. But J* here insinuates that adult children are intentionally dedicating their financial goods to the temple just so as to deprive their elderly parents of support. From where did J* derive this idea? This, indeed, would be a cruel thing for anybody to do. Granted, it is a lawful thing to do, but why would anyone give away to the temple something that could and would stay in the family? J*'s argument simply does not make any economic sense. In all of Jewish literature relating to the topic of vows and the temple, we do not find even one instance or reference to anything similar to what J* is referring. And besides, what does all this have to do with the washing of hands? That was the original topic. Instead of dealing with the issue, J* avoided it. In the version in Mark, J* concludes his attack by saying, "Neglecting the commandment of G-d, you hold to the tradition of men", yet, which commandments of G-d, the Pharisees are accused of neglecting is not mentioned. This story reveals nothing about hypocrisy on behalf of the Pharisaic Rabbis, but this story is very revelatory exposing J*'s quick temper, accusatory nature, lack of proper scriptural knowledge, and worst of all, his blatant disregard for the Biblical authority of the Pharisee Rabbis. Again, I ask you: are these the deeds of a messiah? J* and the Rabbis One message comes through loud and clear throughout the four gospels: J* did not get along at all with the Pharisaic Rabbinic leadership of his day. The Xian will, of course, fault the Rabbis for being religious bigots and hypocrites. Yet, exact details of just what hypocrisy individual Rabbis have done is never mentioned. And why is the entire group condemned for the mistakes of only a few? So, maybe one or two were hypocrites or not shining examples. Why should J*, a prospective messiah in the eyes of his disciples, seek to condemn the entire Rabbinate? The Rabbinate, was created by G-d. Deuteronomy 17 clearly documents this The GT accuses the rabbis of hypocrisy – but what hypocrisy are we talking about? J* only makes general accusations against an entire group of people (ref. Matthew 6:2-5, 23:4-7). We have a words to describe this type of behavior: stereotype prejudice. More than this, with his condemnations and foul, violent language, J* violates a number of Biblical commandments. When asked (Matthew 22:36-40) what is the greatest of commandments, J* responds that the love of G-d and the love of neighbor are the two most important. "On these two commandments depend the whole Law." (v. 40). In light of J*'s stereotypical prejudice against the Pharisaic Rabbis, let us review his own words as to how he fulfills the commandment to "love your neighbor as yourself" (Lev. 19:18, Matthew 22:39). With regards to the Rabbis, who are his neighbors, J* says in Matthew 23:23-33: "Woe to you scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites. You blind guides . . .they are full of robbery and self-indulgence. . . You blind Pharisee . . .For you are like whitewashed tombs which on the outside appear beautiful but inside they are full of dead men's bones and all uncleanliness. Even so you too outwardly appear righteous to men, but inwardly you are full of hypocrisy and lawlessness. . . . You serpents, you brood of vipers." Hypocrites? Blind Guides? Full of robbery and self indulgence? Blind? Whitewashed tombs? Full of dead men's bones? Full of hypocrisy? Serpents? This is a god? A god of forgiveness? And Xians wonder why we Jews can’t see J* as a messiah, let alone anything more. |
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