Do you know what Jesus was arguing with the Pharisees about?

So far I have addressed the Tallis and the Tafflin, there symbolism and what generated the requirements for there use. I wish to address in this piece exactly what Jesus’ argument with the Pharisees was really about.
Jesus’ was arguing about Talmudic Law and not the Law of the Torah. The Talmud is Oral Law generated in rabbinical councils and there interpretation of the Torah much like our Supreme Court makes interpretations of the Law generated in the Legislative branch of government. A good example of this is the law to keep Kosher. In the Torah it states not to boil a kid (baby goat) in its mothers milk. Since this is stated three times it has been interrupted to mean that you are to separate Meat from Dairy. The only true dietary law in Torah can be found in Deuteronomy Chapter 14. This entire Chapter explains what is a clean animal to eat and what is not.

The next argument the Pharisees tried to use against Jesus was the washing of the hands before a meal. The requirement for the washing is found in Leviticus Chapter 8:6 where Moshe took Aaron and his son’s and washed them before clothing them to enter into the Tabernacle to perform the sacrifice. The Talmudic interpretation of this requirement is to wash your hands before eating a meal. There is absolutely no requirement or Mitzvah in Torah to wash ones hands before eating a meal.

The next topic of argument I wanted to cover is that of doing work on the Sabbath.
We find the commandment in Exodus chapter 34:21 Six days thou shalt work, but on the seventh day thou shalt rest: in earing time and in harvest thou shalt rest.
In Numbers Chapter 15:34-36 we find this example of what the Lord considers work.
32 And while the children of Israel were in the wilderness, they found a man that gathered sticks upon the Sabbath day.
33 And they that found him gathering sticks brought him unto Moses and Aaron, and unto all the congregation.
34 And they put him in ward, because it was not declared what should be done to him.
35 And the LORD said unto Moses, The man shall be surely put to death: all the congregation shall stone him with stones without the camp.
36 And all the congregation brought him without the camp, and stoned him with stones, and he died; as the LORD commanded Moses.
In this example from Numbers we see that the Lord was giving the directions over what he considers work. Take a good look at the reason why this man would have been collecting wood. He would have needed the wood for his fire for cooking and heat. It is apparent that he did not collect enough wood in advance to provide for the 24 hour period of the Sabbath. This is the basis for the Rabbinical council who interrupted and considers healing as a means of work. Even though this same group did not consider doing a circumcision on the Sabbath as be performing work.

Knowing about the ceremony of circumcision I as well fail to see how it is not work. However the requirement for circumcision is that it be performed on the 8th day of after the birth. It doesn’t state but not if the 8th day falls on Sabbath. This is a situation where we see conflicting statutes where one takes precedence over the other, after all the child will never have another 8th day. My belief in the example set forth through Numbers is first God new this mans heart. He new that this man had failed to prepare for his family’s during the Sabbath. Work to me in this example is anything that we do in order to meet our needs. Orthodox Jews even in today’s society they walk to synagogue they prepare there meals for the Sabbath prior to Friday evening. They will not drive a car or even turn on a light. These things are all considered to be performing work.

The point I believe Jesus to be making here was that healing is not work. Sabbath is all about prayer and thanking God for what he has given us during the week. It is about listening to his word being spoken so that we follow his commandments. He also was showing the world in his own way that it was not him healing it was the Lord doing the healing through his hands. The Sabbath to Jesus meant a time when God was close at hand. What is it that we seek in our prayer, we ask him for healing for us or others, we ask for forgiveness of our sins for the week and just in general we seek closeness with the Lord.

The Articles presented here are copy written by The Light In Christ Ministry in Sherman, TX. We are a Teaching Ministry whose goals are to teach Christians about the Daily prayer life of Jesus. If you are interested in our ministry you can contact Brian Brody at 903-436-1876 or bbrody1306@aol.com.