Did the Messiah Break the Law?

To cut to the chase: no. The Messiah never once broke Biblical law. But he was often accused of breaking the law.

I used to read my Bible and think that when the Pharisees accused the Messiah of breaking Biblical law, they were correct. I figured that as the son of God, the Messiah had license to take some liberties. Just like the son or daughter of a business owner can, typically, get away with more slacking off than the average employee. And if keeping the law wasn't important to the Messiah, why on earth should it be to me?

One of the major themes of the New Testament that gets overlooked is the Messiah's harsh rebukes for manmade traditions. Many of us have made the assumption that the laws Yahusha stands against are from the Bible, buried deep somewhere in the Old Testament. But this is not the case. The laws he stood against were manmade, Jewish laws. It's important to know that Judaism has literally added thousands upon thousands of rules to their religious system that aren't found in Scripture. We see the Messiah's contempt for this in Mark 7:8, "You lay aside the commandments of YHWH, and instead hold to the traditions of men."

The Messiah frequently upset religious leaders. As did his followers. They frequently set aside manmade tradition or Jewish laws that weren't found in the Bible. But they didn't break the commandments of Scripture!

Some examples...

-Messiah accused of breaking the Sabbath day by healing someone. -Matthew 12:10
In Matthew 12:12 Yahusha responds to his accusers. He says, "It is lawful to do good on the Sabbath." That was not a new idea. He's not bending the rules or saying that it is lawful just because he says so. He is correcting his accusers. He's saying the Bible teaches this is lawful. He was not re-writing the Torah or making an "anything goes" loophole policy. He is explaining to them what the Bible says. While the Pharisees might say it is against their own laws to heal on the Sabbath, the Bible does not say this. Of course this means the Messiah did not break the law with his Sabbath healings.

-Followers eating grain on the Sabbath. -Luke 6:1-5
I think the Messiah almost brags a little here.... It's the Sabbath and some of his disciples are hungry, so they picked some kernels of wheat in a nearby field and threshed them in their hands to take off the hard chaff. While the Bible says we aren't to work on the Sabbath it does not say that you can't peel an orange to eat (which would be somewhat similar to what the disciples were doing). Yahusha told the accusers he was the Master of the Sabbath, as in I'm the best at this and I know what's permissible or not. No one knows more about what's lawful on the Sabbath than I do.

-Accusation of eating with unwashed hands. -Mark 7
Scripture tells us that there are certain animals we are not to eat, and that we are not to eat blood, and that's about it. So, yes, there are dietary laws but the Bible doesn't say that we need to do a ritual hand washing before we eat, otherwise that food magically becomes unclean or defiling. The "tradition of the elders of ritual hand washing" is not a commandment of YHWH, it's a tradition of men, and the Messiah did not stand for it. See more about that in this post.

-Peter's vision of going to the Gentiles. -Acts 10
Throughout Scripture non native born Israelites have been welcomed into the family of YHWH...the Israelites left Egypt with a "mixed multitude" of Egyptians who wanted to serve YHWH after seeing his mighty acts. Women like Rahab and Ruth were not born Israelites but are celebrated in the Messiah's lineage. Caleb was not a native born, and the prophet Obadiah is believed to be from Edom. Not allowing people like this into the faith is unbiblical. This practice was prevalent in the early church, which is why YHWH gave Peter a vision and said, "What I call clean, you do not call unclean." After this the Gospel was preached to the Gentiles.

-Paul confronting Peter about not eating with Gentiles when Jews were present. -Galatians 2:11-15
Paul tells Peter here that he shouldn't be following rules that aren't from the Bible. When he says, "You have discarded the Jewish laws, why are you trying to make these Gentiles follow Jewish tradition?" he means exactly that...Jewish tradition, not Scriptural commandments. He is in no way permitting or encouraging new believers to not follow the Biblical commandments.

"They worship me in vain, teaching as doctrines the commandments of men." -Matthew 15:9
The Messiah's statement here should be a stern warning to us not to place any human ideas or manmade traditions higher than what Scripture actually says! This goes for family traditions, Jewish law, and common Christian beliefs. None of these things should be treated as doctrines and they should never be deferred to over the commandments of the Bible.

Throughout the New Testament we see the Messiah and the apostles correcting these manmade laws. If we are going to correctly understand Scripture it is absolutely essential to realize the differences between the manmade traditions of Jewish law, and the commandments of YHWH. When the Messiah and his followers clashed with leaders of the Jewish faith, it was never because they weren't keeping a Biblical commandment. Religious leaders were upset because the Messiah was against their laws.

The Messiah always upheld and kept YHWH's instructions in the Torah. When he was accused of violating Biblical commandments, his accusers were in the wrong having applied their own traditions and customs to how the Bible is understood. Let us be careful today to not do the same thing!

More on the law:
Traditions or Commandments - Understanding the New Testament
The Faith of the Bible
The Three Types of Law in Scripture

The Faith of the Bible

What faith does Scripture teach?

Seriously, stop and think about that for a moment... Is it Judaism? Is it Christianity? Is it some sort of hybrid?

Let's clear something up: Scripture does not advocate for a Jewish faith or for modern Christianity. While they are both based on certain portions of Scripture, neither is the faith taught by the Bible.

I know that sounds hard to believe and really harsh. But YHWH does not call his people "Christians," and he does not call them "Jews." He calls his people Hebrews and he calls them Israel.

Please note: I am not saying that if you identify as Christian or Jewish your faith is not sincere or that you are not saved, etc. Your salvation is between you and YHWH. I don't believe any of us have perfect theology and don't see that as a prerequisite for eternal life. 

In the "Hebrew roots" movement, there is often an emphasis on restoring the 'Jewishness of Jesus.' As you may know, what people typically mean by that is observing the Sabbath day and feasts, as well as not eating pigs or shellfish, and maybe even learning a few Hebrew words. And those are all great things! But saying that the Messiah did these things only because he was 'Jewish' creates a lot of confusion.

Have you ever thought about keeping the Sabbath or another Biblical instruction and then written off doing it because you aren't Jewish? Have you ever shared with someone about following Scripture's instructions and have them reply that they aren't Jewish so they don't have to do that? The misconception that these are "Jewish" things comes from this misnomer of the 'Jewishness of Jesus.' He was from the tribe of Judah, yes, but he is a Hebrew! 

It's important to realize that literally every instruction given to the tribe of Judah was given to all the other tribes of Israel as well. The Bible does not have different commands for different ancestry or family background. (Although many of the commands were given in regards to the Levitical priesthood, which was comprised of only members of the tribe of Levi, specifically of Aaron's family.) So all the tribes of Israel are called to the Scripture's instructions for the set apart times, the Sabbath, clean eating, etc. We also need to note that even if you aren't from the tribes of Israel or don't have family history going back far enough to know that, you are still called to keep the commandments. See Exodus 12:49, and Romans 11 where it talks about being grafted into YHWH's people.

Judaism rose from the Old Testament of Scripture and was in full swing by the time of the Messiah's life. Throughout the Gospels he frequently confronted theological issues he had with Jewish leaders. Though the practice of Judaism has changed somewhat (or a lot, depending on the sect) today from Bible times, Judaism's teachings continue to conflict with what the Bible says in many ways. Obviously with the rejection of Messiah, but also in adding literally thousands of laws that aren't found in Scripture, and often claiming that they are. An example of this would be the traditional Shabbat ritual of lighting candles while saying a blessing that says that God commands this. He does not. There is no verse in Scripture that instructs us to light candles at the start of the Sabbath. It's not wrong to do so, but it is wrong to teach that this is a commandment when it isn't. There are many examples like this. Some proponents of Judaism say that if you tear toilet paper off the role on the Sabbath day it's sin. Does Scripture teach that? Nope. Certain sects of Judaism teach its followers to swing a chicken over their heads on Yom Kippur. Again, does Scripture give this instruction? It does not. Many elements and practices of Judaism not found in Scripture.

Now please hear me: I am not saying that those in Judaism aren't sincere in their faith. I am not saying that every single Jewish person abides by the entire Talmud. I am not passing judgment on anyone's sincerity or relationship with God. But I am not going to turn a blind eye to contradictions between this faith system and what Scripture teaches. It is incorrect to say that Judaism is just the faith of the Old Testament still waiting for the Messiah, when so much has been added to it. It is worth noting that Yahusha never once described himself as Jewish, and that Apostle Paul described Judaism as his former way of life (Galatians 1:13). 

While Judaism tends to add things to Scripture, Christianity often takes things away. Not necessarily by actually removing verses from Bibles (Though that is a problem, and versions of Scripture are actually printed now that have removed all verses on homosexuality, for example.), but by a wholesale writing off of much of what Scripture teaches. Mainstream Christianity teaches that we shouldn't keep many of the commandments found in Scripture, including: not bringing YHWH's name to nothingness, honoring the Sabbath, instructions for how we should eat, laws related to hygiene, and celebrating the set apart times. I understand the argument against these things (and believed it myself for much of my life), but that simply doesn't hold up with a deep examination of Scripture. Furthermore, nowhere in Scripture are we given license to disregard the instructions on how to live.

I attended a Bible study with a couple who were adamantly against the instructions being for today. They believed the commandments are no longer for those who serve the Living God and that the Old Testament is just a history book with a few inspirational stories. They were also convinced that the Holy Spirit was only for those in the book of Acts. Their belief was that God is no longer interested in doing miracles or tangibly expressing his love to his people. It never made sense to me why they would bother bringing a Bible to study, as they believed so little of it. They had every excuse in the world for why 99% of Scripture wasn't applicable to them. They were nice people but they believed the full expression of faith was to ask Jesus into your heart and be somewhat friendly in public.

The Hebrew faith is so much more than this! I wouldn't begrudge anyone of the first small steps of faith, but I promise wherever your faith is right now YHWH has more for you! More learning and an abundant life through his instructions. A better understanding of who he is and what his word says. I can tell you from personal experience in my life and what I've seen from others who have also embraced the Hebrew faith that it brings significantly more fruit of the Spirit to your life! Again, many Christians and Jews are wonderful people and genuine in their faith. I am not passing judgment on them. I'm not writing to try and offend or upset anyone. It's not for me to judge your relationship with the Living God. But it is so important that we get the faith of the Bible right! The Hebrew faith is not a mixture of Judaism and Christianity, because both are flawed. The Hebrew faith is the accurate understanding of the entirety of the word of YHWH.

The Hebrew faith is different from both Christianity and Judaism. It's where we take the whole of Scripture seriously, without adding to it. We need to divide it rightly so that we understand what the faith of the Bible really is. While there is common ground to Christianity and Judaism, our faith shouldn't be a hybrid of two flawed religious systems. 

Related posts:
Commandments or Traditions - Understanding the New Testament

Is it Possible to Keep the Torah?

What is a Hebrew?

Commandments or Traditions - Understanding the New Testament

What does the Messiah speak against throughout the Gospels? I used to think he often went against instructions from the Old Testament. This is one of the core causes of the widespread disregard for the Biblical laws. This comes from not making a clear distinction between the commandments of the Bible and manmade Jewish laws.

By the time the Savior arrived on the scene much of the Biblical faith had evolved into what is known as Judaism. Many of us today have believed that Judaism is simply the faith that you get from observing the Old Testament, but that is not so.

The Torah/commandments/instructions of Scripture are not the same as the laws of Judaism (or any other manmade religious laws for that matter). Yes, the majority of Jewish laws are based on the Old Testament laws, but Judaism also invented thousands of laws that its followers keep. While it's not necessarily wrong to do many of the things it recommends, it is certainly wrong to teach that these things are commandments of YHWH or on par with what the Bible says. The Messiah addressed this very issue in Matthew 15:9 saying, "They worship me in vain, teaching traditions of men as if they were commandments."

Later in Matthew 22:29, the Messiah said that these religious leaders, "go astray, not knowing the Scripture, nor the power of YHWH." This was not a group of people who were unfamiliar with the Bible, mind you. They could have quoted it with the best of them. When he said they didn't know the Scriptures, he meant that they didn't correctly understand or apply them! Not understanding Scripture naturally leads to incorrect ideas. We see the Messiah address one of these wrong beliefs in Mark 7, when the issue of eating with unwashed hands comes up. The Bible never says you have to first wash your hands in order for your food to be clean, but that was being wrongly taught by religious leaders in his day.

We should also note that the words Jew and Jewish don't really make an appearance in Scripture until the New Testament. I remember being surprised while looking through a Jewish children's book. I was taken aback to see Abraham called Jewish and statements like, "Moses lead the Jews out of slavery," because Scripture does not say those things. Abraham was called a Hebrew, and the Israelites were the people enslaved in Egypt...to say that the Bible calls either of these Jews would be inaccurate. That there was a group calling themselves by a name Scripture does not give should tip us off that there is some departure there from the Bible. By the way, the term 'Jew' wasn't just slang for those from the tribe of Judah...Paul tells us that he was a Jew even though he was from the tribe of Benjamin.

Consistently throughout the Gospels we see the Messiah clashed with Jewish religious leaders. The conflict was caused by Yahusha's absolute refusal to honor the laws of Judaism the way he kept and honored the Torah. We see this when he drives the moneychangers from the Temple, when the Sadducees try to entrap him in the discussion on marriage in Heaven, when he is accused of violating the Sabbath, and in the discussion of eating with unwashed hands. In Matthew 15 he pointedly asked Jewish leaders, "Why do you transgress the commandments of YHWH by your tradition?"

I point this out so that we can realize the Messiah is not arguing against the validity of the Old Testament or the commandments of the Torah in these clashes with Jewish leaders. He is rather standing up for those things! Yahusha told his disciples to "beware of the leaven of the Pharisees and Sadducees." He wanted them to be leery of the things Judaism was teaching because they often went against Scripture. When the Messiah was clashing with religious leaders, it was always because he was honoring Scripture above manmade commandments. Seeing this is vital to accurately understanding the Bible.

This theme continued after the Messiah's ascension into heaven:

-Stephen was stoned by Jewish leaders for using YHWH's name...even though Scripture says to not bring it to nothing by not using it.

-Paul described Judaism as his former way of life. Former, meaning that now that he served Yahusha he was no longer participating in that religious system.

-Peter is given a vision about not upholding a Jewish law when YHWH has said the opposite of it. This is his Acts 10 vision where he saw the unclean animals and heard a voice say, "What YHWH calls clean, you do not call unclean." Peter explains this to mean that he shouldn't uphold Jewish law of not eating with Gentiles, when God has called those people clean and invited them into his family.

-Paul later confronts Peter when he reverts back to Jewish tradition in place of YHWH's instruction. He tells him, "You have discarded the Jewish laws, why are you trying to make these Gentiles follow Jewish tradition?" He was saying that believers in Messiah had no need for Jewish traditions, but he was not speaking against the Bible's commandments for us.

Seeing that the Messiah and all the New Testament writers placed a difference between the instructions of the Bible and the religious system of Judaism will help us to better understand the word! For a long time I thought the debates and confrontations in the New Testament were the Messiah and the disciples disregarding Scripture, but this is not so. The Messiah always supported and honored the Torah and commandments from the Old Testament! By making the distinction between Biblical instructions and manmade traditions of Jewish law we can correctly understand the words of the Messiah and the authors of the New Testament.

Related posts:
The Three Types of Laws in Scripture
Understanding Mark 7 and The Messiah Declaring All Foods Clean
Four Distinctions We Need to Make to Understand Scripture

(I want to clarify that I do not want to be disrespectful to Jewish people or stir up hate. I am not judging the sincerity of anyone's faith. Your salvation is between you and the Creator. I know Jews who are wonderful people, and my goal is not to pick on anyone here. I simply want to examine a significant theme of Scripture.)