Did the Messiah Break the Law?

Did the Messiah Break Biblical Law? | Land of Honey


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!

Who better understands and honors the word of God than the Living Word? The Messiah never broke Biblical law. | Land of Honey


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!

The Messiah never broke Biblical law and never taught others to. He confronted religious leaders for their false teachings. | Land of Honey


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

Seven Things the Bible Says About the Sabbath

Seven Things the Bible Says About the Sabbath | Land of Honey


Here are seven things the Bible says about the Sabbath day.

Exodus 31:16 says that the Sabbath is for all believers today! | Land of Honey




It is for all believers, even today.

"You are to observe the Sabbath throughout all generations as a perpetual covenant."
-Exodus 31:16

Sabbath is not just for natural born Israelites or people who identify as Jewish | Land of Honey



We are expected to keep the Sabbath even if we aren't native born Israelites.

"The sons of foreigners that join themselves to YHWH should guard the Sabbath."
-Isaiah 56:6

The Creator's Sabbath is on the seventh day of the week | Land of Honey



It is the seventh day of the week.

"YHWH blessed the seventh day and set it apart, because in it he rested from all his work."
-Genesis 2:3

Exodus 20:10 - you are not to do any work on the Sabbath day - Seven Things the Bible Says About the Sabbath | Land of Honey


We aren't supposed to work on it.

"The seventh day is a Sabbath for YHWH. On it you are not to do any kind of work."
-Exodus 20:10

The Sabbath is a day of rest to honor YHWH. -Exodus 35:20 - you are not to do any work on the Sa Seven Things the Bible Says About the Sabbath | Land of Honey


It is a day of rest.

"A Sabbath of complete rest to honor YHWH."
-Exodus 35:2

Isaiah 56:2 - Keeping the Sabbath is a delight. - verse of the day - Bible Scripture verses | Land of Honey



Keeping the Sabbath is a delight.

"Happy is the person who keeps the Sabbath."
-Isaiah 56:2

Sabbath is a sign between you and the Creator. - verse of the day - Seven Things the Bible Says About the Sabbath | Land of Honey











It is a sign between us and the Creator.

"You are to observe my Sabbaths, for this is a sign between me and you through all your generations, so that you will know I am YHWH who sets you apart for me."
-Exodus 31:13

Related posts:
20 Things Scripture Says About the Name of YHWH
Sabbath in the New Testament
Joy of Shabbat: Finding Rewards in Sabbath Rest

Biblically Clean Chinese Food Recipes

Biblically Clean Chinese Food Recipe Round Up - healthy and easy dinner ideas | Land of Honey


This post is to give you more ideas for Biblically clean meals. No matter your cultural background or personal preferences, there are lots of foods that you can enjoy that still fit within the parameters of what Scripture tells us about what we eat. These recipes are not necessarily particularly authentic, but they fit within the realm of what we think of as Chinese food here in the West. Most of these recipes come together quickly, and you can easily swap in different or extra vegetables that you have on hand. These recipes are very doable for making at home.

This post will also give you an idea of what you can order at a Chinese restaurant as well.

Biblically Clean Chicken Fried Rice Recipe | Land of Honey


Biblically Clean Recipe for Chinese Egg Drop Soup | Land of Honey



Sesame Beef and Broccoli Recipe - Biblically Clean Chinese Dinner Ideas | Land of Honey



Biblically Clean Recipes for Asian Dinners | Land of Honey




Biblically Clean Recipe for Lo Mein Noodles + other Asian meal ideas | Land of Honey




Teriyaki Chicken with Sesame Broccoli and other Biblically clean Chinese meal ideas | Land of Honey




Quick and easy recipe for Chinese Smashed Cucumbers - Biblically Clean Recipes | Land of Honey



Easy Recipe for Extra Veggie Fried Rice + other Biblically clean Chinese food recipes | Land of Honey




Quick and easy Biblically clean Chinese food recipes | Land of Honey




Biblically Clean Broccoli Stir Fry Recipe - quick and easy Biblically clean dinner idea | Land of Honey



Biblically Clean Beef Ramen Noodles Recipe - quick and easy Biblically clean dinner idea | Land of Honey




Easy Recipe for Biblically Clean Sesame Teriyaki Chicken with Ginger Rice - and other Biblically clean Chinese meal ideas | Land of Honey



Biblically Clean Chinese Food Meal Ideas - Spicy Eggplant Stir Fry Recipe | Land of Honey




Quick and easy Sesame Ginger Chicken Fried Rice Recipe that's Biblically clean | Land of Honey



Biblically Clean Potstickers Recipe | Land of Honey





Crispy Sesame Egg Rolls and other Biblically clean Chinese food recipes you can make at home for quick and healthy dinners | Land of Honey








Kung Pao Cauliflower Recipe - Biblically Clean Chinese Dinner Idea Round Up | Land of Honey




Chili Garlic Beef Stir Fry and other Biblically clean Chinese food dinner ideas | Land of Honey




Quick and Easy Recipe Round Up of Biblically Clean Chinese Dinner Recipes | Land of Honey



Biblical Law and the Woman Caught in Adultery

Biblical Law and the Woman Caught in Adultery - Understanding the New Testament and the Messiah's words | Land of Honey



Many of us have been told that when the Messiah let the woman who was caught in adultery go free, instead of being stoned to death, he changed Biblical law. Is that what happened?

This story comes to us from John 8. You're probably familiar with it. Jewish leaders brought a woman who had been caught in adultery before the Messiah. They said that in the Torah, Moses commanded that adulterers be stoned. What did Yahusha say about this?

They were looking for a way to trap him theologically. They wanted him to disagree with Moses. Keep in mind that they were not coming to him for advice or because it was required of them. They were experts in Biblical law and they had the authority to carry it out. This was either a trap or a test. He could have dazzled them with his wisdom, as he had before. But what did he do? He stooped down, and used his finger to write in the dirt like he didn't hear them. (John 8:6)

The Bible doesn't say exactly how long the Messiah wrote in the dirt, or what words he put down. Did he write out the passage they were referring to? Did he reference another part of Scripture? Did he write their names or sins? Did he write Psalms of repentance or about the hope of forgiveness through him? Did he write the truth about this situation?

They kept questioning him, and eventually he stood up and said one of his more famous phrases. "He who is without sin among you, let him be the first to throw a stone at her." (John 8:7)

He stooped back down and went back to his writing. One by one the accusers and crowd went away, from oldest to youngest. After that he spoke to the accused woman. She told him that no one had condemned her. "Neither do I," he said to her. "Go and sin no more." (John 8:11)

Does this prove that the Messiah is altering Biblical law?

Deuteronomy 22:22 does say that adultery is a sin punishable by death:

"When a man is found lying with a woman married to a husband, then both of them shall die, both the man that lay with the woman, and the woman. Thus you shall purge the evil from Israel."

Biblical law says she deserves death. But not so fast. It also says here that both the man and the woman involved are to be put to death. Where is the man? If the religious leaders were so concerned with rightly dealing with sin, why didn't they bring him to the Messiah? There is no way for the woman to be "caught in" adultery, but not the man. It's not like they didn't know who he was. This seems to imply that something fishy is going on...did they lure her into a trap? Did someone come to them and accuse her falsely? Had she committed adultery with one of the accusing religious leaders and now they were hoping to do away with her while avoiding their own punishment?

Biblical law also says that someone can't be put to death on the testimony of only one witness. It would require two or three. While this passage of Scripture makes it sound like a fairly sizable group was present (she was brought by both scribes and Pharisees, both plural), it would seem extremely suspicious if everyone in this group was a firsthand witness to this sin. This indicates that many people present were accusing her on hearsay alone, which would be wrong and unfair. Since Scripture doesn't tell us that she was caught by at least two or three witnesses, we can't be 100% sure that there were enough witnesses to justify stoning. That means we can't be certain that the Bible truly calls for her to be stoned here.

Understanding Biblical Law and the Woman Caught in Adultery - go and sin no more | Land of Honey


Deuteronomy 17:7 says that the witnesses who caught her would be required to throw the first stones at her. I believe this was intentional by YHWH to prevent deaths unfairly...if you were going to accuse someone of a weighty sin, then you had to be ready to have their blood on your hands. This means it would be a sin to throw the first stones at someone caught in adultery, if you were not one of at least two witnesses to this sin. Scripture does not definitively say that the witnesses were present in John 8. If they weren't, it would have been wrong to stone her.

The man was not present, and it's not clear if there were first-hand witnesses present. This would make it against Biblical law to stone her, even if she truly had been caught in adultery. Would it be just to put someone to death on hearsay when the other alleged perpetrator of the crime is not even charged? It would not be, according to the laws given in the Torah.

Yahusha followed Biblical law by not stoning her. As a result it was a beautiful foreshadow of his taking the punishment that we all deserve for our sins. His death doesn't mean that adultery or breaking other Biblical commandments is now okay, but it means that forgiveness and redemption are possible when we repent of our mistakes.

"Go and sin no more," doesn't mean what she did was permissible. The Messiah calling it sin tells us it was definitely sin. By telling her not to sin, he was telling her not to break Biblical law. Even as this woman receives mercy and redemption, the Savior calls her to uphold the commandments of Scripture.

Understanding Biblical Law and the Woman Caught in Adultery - go and sin no more | Land of Honey


Related posts:
Commandments or Traditions - Understanding the New Testament
Stoning in the Bible
How the Bible Defines Sin

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