Significant confusion exists in the religious world concerning the Holy Bible. Even among those who understand and appreciate God’s revelation, there is much misunderstanding relative to the application of God’s word to real-life situations. The purpose of this study is to consider the teachings of Jesus to help ensure that we properly apply God’s word both in our teaching and in our lives.As the basis of this study, let’s consider the following questions:
Question #1. Did the religious leaders of Jesus' day consider him “pious” enough to serve as one of the leaders in the first century synagogue?
Answer #1. Based on God’s revelation, the answer given by the honest Bible student must be, “Absolutely Not!”
Question #2. Did Jesus concern himself with how this perceived lack of piety would affect the religious leaders who practiced binding both God’s word and the opinions of men as matters of faith?
Answer #2. Again, based on God’s revelation, the answer given by the honest Bible student must be, “Absolutely Not!” To the contrary, Jesus openly condemned those who sinned by binding regulations which were not specified in God’s word. Furthermore, He openly condemned those who acted in such a manner that they would be perceived as pious. Then, He went right on living according to God’s revelation regardless of the consequences. As a result, it is clear that Jesus was not perceived as pious enough by the religious leaders in the first century Jewish world to have been placed in a leadership role in the synagogue. It is also clear that Jesus was not concerned with the religious leaders’ perception of Him.
As evidence of these conclusions, let’s consider the following:
A) Jesus stood firmly against binding man-made regulations and traditions as matters of faith.
1) One of the first century Jewish practices of which Jesus obviously did not approve was the matter of binding man-made regulations such as the “traditions of the elders” as matters of faith. Relative to the matter of “cleanliness,” for example, the religious leaders of Jesus’ day likely referred to passages such as Exodus 19:10-14, Exodus 29:4-17, Exodus 30:18-21, Exodus 40:31-32, Leviticus 1:9-13, Leviticus 6:27, Leviticus 8:6-21, Leviticus 9:14, Leviticus 11:25-40, Leviticus 13:6-58, Leviticus 14:8-47, Leviticus 15:5-27, Leviticus 16:4-28, Leviticus 17:15-16, Leviticus 22:6, Numbers 8:7-21, Numbers 19:7-21, Numbers 31:24, Deuteronomy 21:6, and Deuteronomy 23:11 which require a variety of cleansings and washings in situations prescribed by God’s word, to take the liberty of adding additional required cleansings and washings as matters of faith even though they are not prescribed in Holy Writ. The thought process likely included the rationale that since God’s word indicates the importance of washing in many situations, adding the requirement of additional washings must be even better. One can never be too cautious, they likely surmised, when it comes to making sure one does not sin against God.
The problem lies in the fact that both adding to and taking from God’s word constitute sin (Deuteronomy 4:2, Deuteronomy 12:32, 2 Kings 22:1-2, Revelations 22:18-19). Since Jesus condemned the scribes, Pharisees, and elders of the people for binding more than God’s word binds and openly refused to approve of their practices (Matthew 15:1-20, Mark 7:1-23, Luke 11:37-53, Matthew 23:1-36), He was certainly not considered pious enough to be one of the leaders in the first century synagogue.
2) Another situation in which Jesus encountered the religious leaders’ binding more than God’s word binds is relative to the type of activities in which one could be “lawfully” engaged on the Sabbath. God’s word made it clear that His people were not to “work” on the Sabbath in passages such as Exodus 20:8-11, Exodus 31:14-16, Exodus 35:2-3, Leviticus 23:3, and Numbers 15:32-36. Since God’s word commanded that one not “work” on this specific day of each week, the scribes, Pharisees, and elders of the people devised a list of specific activities in which one could be engaged on the Sabbath along with another list of activities which they considered unlawful on the Sabbath, again just to make sure individuals did not sin against God’s law of the Sabbath. The problem with this thought process is that a proper application of God’s word is the one and only determinant as to what constitutes sin.
Furthermore, God’s revelation itself is the only basis for determining what constitutes “work.” Jesus made a point to effectively condemn their binding more than God binds relative to the Sabbath in Matthew 12:1-8, Luke 6:1-11, and Luke 14:1-6. However, since He violated the traditions of the elders which they considered just as binding as God’s word, He broke God’s law in their eyes. As a result, Jesus was certainly not considered pious enough to be considered for one of the leadership positions in the first century synagogue.
3) Furthermore, the religious leaders in the first century likely considered God’s teaching in such passages as Psalms 1:1-2 and Psalms 26:5 and determined that it was a violation of God’s law for one to associate with “sinners” in any context. Regardless of the fact that this was not God’s teaching in these passages, the religious leaders apparently bound such regulations as matters of faith. Again, their rationale likely included the assumption that it was prudent to be more restrictive than God’s revealed word in order to make sure they did not sin against Him. Furthermore, it clearly does not look good for one of the leaders of God’s people to associate with sinners, right? Jesus condemned these thought processes by disregarding their tradition of binding more than God bound on this subject in passages such as Matthew 9:11, Mark 2:16, Luke 5:27-32, Luke 7:36-50, and Luke 15:1-32. As a result of Jesus’ refusal to abide by man-made laws and traditions as He spent time with the sinners to lead them to the truth of God’s word, He certainly was not considered pious by the religious leaders of His day.
4) As additional evidence that Jesus was not pious enough for the religious leaders of His day, He not only ate with sinners, he likely even drank unfermented wine (“oinos”) during His associations with these individuals. Even though these sinners may have drunk fermented wine or even wine with some type of additional drug in it from time to time, Jesus refused to concern himself with the possibility that some might accuse Him of sin based on passages such as Proverbs 23:20 and Deuteronomy 21:19-20 as a result of such associations. The religious leaders likely indicated that it just did not look good for one who might be considered one of their leaders to place himself in such situations, especially since some might engage in sin in such contexts.The fact that Jesus was condemned in Matthew 11:19 and Luke 7:34 for associating with such indicates that Jesus did not refrain from drinking the unfermented juice of the grape just because some might assume the worst in their attempt to find fault. Undoubtedly, this action by Jesus was one of the reasons the religious leaders of His day perceived that He was less than “pious” enough for them. Again, instead of concerning Himself with their perceptions, Jesus simply continued doing what was right and good based on God’s revealed word regardless of the effects on those who set out to condemn everything He did.
5) As the final example of Jesus’ refusal to support the binding of man-made regulations and traditions as matters of faith, the religious leaders of Jesus’ day likely referred to passages such as the following to prove the importance of fasting in the lives of God’s people: Judges 20:26, 1 Samuel 7:6, 1 Samuel 31:13, 2 Samuel 1:12, 2 Samuel 12:16-23, 1 Kings 21:9-27, 2 Kings 18:6, 1 Chronicles 10:12, 2 Chronicles 20:3, Ezra 8:21-23, Ezra 9:5, Nehemiah 1:4, Nehemiah 9:1, Esther 4:3-16, Esther 9:31, Psalm 35:13, Psalm 69:10, Psalm 109:24, Jeremiah 36:6-9, and Daniel 6:18. As a result of the obvious importance of fasting in the history of God’s people, surely it makes sense for individuals to let their light shine for God’s glory through the fasting process, as rationalized by the scribes, Pharisees, and elders. To the contrary, Jesus taught openly against the practice of “appearing” to be fasting so that others would realize how pious they were in Matthew 6:16-18, Matthew 9:14, and Luke 5:33, regardless of the result. Since Jesus taught against the practice of “putting on a show” so others would see how righteous they were as was the practice of the religious leaders of the day, Jesus was certainly not pious enough in their eyes to ever become one of their leaders.
B) As additional evidence of Jesus’ perceived lack of piety, He stood firmly against the first century practice of teaching one message in public and then espousing contradictory views in private. His teaching was always the same regardless of the audience.
1) Several examples have been provided by the Holy Spirit to indicate that Jesus’ public teaching and private teaching were always one in the same, including Mark 10:2-12 and Luke 12:1-3, and that Jesus condemned individuals who dealt with God’s word in any other manner (Matthew 23:1-36). Please note that since Jesus refused to approve of the scribes’, Pharisees’, and elders’ practice of communicating different “rules” for different audiences, He certainly was not considered pious in their eyes.
C) Furthermore, Jesus refused to even consider the “praise of men” in the process of determining which issues were matters of faith. He made it clear that God’s word is the only determinant of truth regardless of who agrees with it.
1) Jesus made it clear that we should not concern ourselves with the fact that some individuals may agree or disagree with teaching based strictly on God’s revelation. He taught the truth regardless of who might believe or reject it because He understood that God’s word is not determined in the minds of men, but that God’s word is settled in heaven (Psalms 119:89). Jesus did not cater to those who considered the praise of men in the process of determining which issues were matters of faith (Matthew 15:12-14, John 12:42-43). Rather, since He taught simple obedience to God’s word (John 14:15, John 15:14), He was definitely not pious enough to ever become one of the leaders in the first century synagogue.
D) Finally, Jesus clearly refused to even consider the teachings of the religious leaders of His day in His quest to determine the truth based on God’s word.
1) It was clearly the custom of the scribes, Pharisees, and elders of Jesus’ day to quote rabbinic opinions and traditions as an integral part of their public teaching. For example, the thoughts of various rabbis on a given subject were the basis for the most widely respected and utilized scriptural commentary in the first century, the Babylonian Talmud. An example of the Talmud may be found online at
However, as indicated in Matthew 7:28-29, Mark 1:22, and Matthew 15:7-9, Jesus did not employ this teaching method. He understood that the comments of mere mortals were nothing more than opinions and that God’s word alone is our guide (John 12:48) regardless of human opinions. Since Jesus simply referred to God’s word in His teaching without the confirmation of and agreement with the religious leaders of the day, He certainly was not considered pious by those who might have considered Him for a leadership role in the first century synagogue.
In summary, Jesus was SO not pious enough to be chosen as a leader of God’s people in the first century synagogue that the religious leaders of His day ultimately decided it would be better to have Him killed than to submit to His leadership and authority. Since it is God’s grace in conjunction with our faithful adherence to God’s revelation which keeps us in fellowship with the Creator Of The Universe (1 John 1:7), let’s all continue to pray that today’s religious leaders will stand against binding man-made regulations and traditions as matters of faith, that they will stand against private teaching which contradicts public teaching, that they will refuse to even consider the praise of men in the process of determining which issues constitute matters of faith, and that they will refuse to follow the doctrines and teachings of the religious leaders of the day in the process of determining truth – JUST LIKE JESUS DID. Even though one might consider stating an OPINION in his teaching from time to time, it is our responsibility to make sure we clearly communicate such statements as opinion. We must realize that we cannot bind our opinions as matters of faith and expect to continue in fellowship with our Creator (Deuteronomy 4:2, Deuteronomy 12:32, 2 Kings 22:1-2, Revelations 22:18-19). May God help us simply follow Jesus’ pattern of setting each other apart from the world through the truth of God’s word, since it is God’s word alone which is truth (John 17:17).
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