Oral Law: The biggest stone of stumbling to understand Yeshua s Message

Oral Law: The biggest stone of stumbling to understand Yeshua s Message.

Mat 5:17-18 Think not that I am come to destroy the law, or the prophets: I am not come to destroy, but to fulfil. For verily I say unto you, Till heaven and earth pass, one jot or one tittle shall in no wise pass from the law, till all be fulfilled.

Lots of evangelical christian teachers say: "This does not apply for christians today. The Law of Moses was abolished, we are not under it. Yeshua (Jesus) broke a lot of laws from the OT and told people to break them." This is totally false.

Yeshua did not broke the Moses of Law; he went against the "traditions of the elders" or "traditions of men" that the Pharisees practice (Mat 15:1-9; Mark 7:1-23; Isaiah 29:13). Josephus (37� 100 A.D.,a 1st-century Romano-Jewish historian who recorded Jewish history) said "regulations handed down by former generations and not recorded in the Laws of Moses" (Josephus, Antiq. XIII. x. 6). Yeshua condemned it as a "burden" that was impossible for men to carry (Mat 23:4).

The "Oral Torah" includes the legal and interpretative traditions of the Torah, not the actual Law. According to tradition, Moses and the Israelites received an oral as well as the written Torah. These interpretations were passed down orally through the ages, and later were codified and written in the Talmud, the Mishnah and Midrash. The Oral Torah is a clarification of the Written Torah and a guide on how to live the Law. For example, the Written Torah says not to work on Shabbat; the Oral Torah lists which activities are considered work.Remember, the Talmud, the Mishnah and Midrash are interesting books, but they are not the Torah, so You don't have to obey any of them.

Let�s see some examples of Oral Law that seemed to be the Law of Moses, but its not.

Luk 6:1-4 "And it came to pass on the second sabbath after the first, that he went through the corn fields; and his disciples plucked the ears of corn, and did eat, rubbing them in their hands. And certain of the Pharisees said unto them, Why do ye that which is not lawful to do on the sabbath days? And Yeshua answering them said, Have ye not read so much as this, what David did, when himself was an hungred, and they which were with him; How he went into the house of YHVH, and did take and eat the shewbread, and gave also to them that were with him; which it is not lawful to eat but for the priests alone?"

There is nothing in the Torah about this. Yeshua is accused of violating a Pharasaic interpretation of what constituted "work" in the Sabbath.

Mat 15:1-6 "Then came to Yeshua scribes and Pharisees, which were of Jerusalem, saying,Why do thy disciples transgress the tradition of the elders? for they wash not their hands when they eat bread. But he answered and said unto them, Why do ye also transgress the commandment of YHVH by your tradition? For YHVH commanded, saying, Honour thy father and mother: and, He that curseth father or mother, let him die the death. But ye say, Whosoever shall say to his father or his mother, It is a gift (Corban), by whatsoever thou mightest be profited by me; And honour not his father or his mother, he shall be free. Thus have ye made the commandment of YHVH of none effect by your tradition."

Again, there is not a violation of any Torah�s Law. Yeshua points out that they are guilty of violating the Law in the case of honoring father and mother, instead they accused him of going against their interpretations of the Torah.

Mat 23:16-22 "Woe unto you, ye blind guides, which say, Whosoever shall swear by the temple, it is nothing; but whosoever shall swear by the gold of the temple, he is a debtor! Ye fools and blind: for whether is greater, the gold, or the temple that sanctifieth the gold? And, Whosoever shall swear by the altar, it is nothing; but whosoever sweareth by the gift that is upon it, he is guilty. Ye fools and blind: for whether is greater, the gift, or the altar that sanctifieth the gift? Whoso therefore shall swear by the altar, sweareth by it, and by all things thereon. And whoso shall swear by the temple, sweareth by it, and by him that dwelleth therein. And he that shall swear by heaven, sweareth by the throne of YHVH, and by him that sitteth thereon."

The Law says to take an oath only by the name of YHVH, but never in vain (Exod 20:7;Lev 19:12). To avoid going against the law and taking in vain the name of YHVH , Jews took a oath by sacred objects. This constitute a deliberate interpretation of the Law.

These many laws created by the interpretations of man, became traditions as as such heavy burdens that they can never comply with:

Mat 23:4 "For they bind heavy burdens and grievous to be borne, and lay them on mens shoulders; but they themselves will not move them with one of their fingers".

And even Paul was against the Oral Law:

Acts 15:10 "Now therefore why tempt ye YHVH, to put a yoke upon the neck of the disciples, which neither our fathers nor we were able to bear?"

Gal 5:1 "Stand fast therefore in the liberty wherewith the Messiah hath made us free, and be not entangled again with the yoke of bondage."

1Tim 6:1 "Let as many servants as are under the yoke count their own masters worthy of all honour, that the name of YHVH and his doctrine be not blasphemed."

Through out the N.T. there are a lot of this examples of Oral Law being misundestood as Torah�s Law by evangelical christians everywhere even Messianic Jews, a heavy stone of stumbling (1 Pe 2:8), that has bring confusion in people regarding the Law of Elohim and it�s place in modern evangelical christianity:

The wearing of phylacteries and tassels (Matt 23:5), Frequent fastings (Matt 9:14), The observance of ritual purity (Mark 7:l),The tithing of herbs (Matt 23:23; Luke 11:42)

Mat 12:9-14; 15:14; 16:5-12; 23:4-5,8-12,15-22,24-28,31-33

Mark 3:1-6; 7:15; 8:14-21; 12:37-40; 15.11

Luke 6:6-11; 11:39-44,46-52; 12:1; 13:10-17; 14:1-6; 16:14-15; 20:45-47

John 5:1-18; 7:16-24; 8:4-11; 9:1-34 and many more.

Another stumbled block for christin understanding of the Torah�s Laws has been the inadequate translation of the Hebrew word torah in the Greek Septuagint as nomos, "law.". So now many people do not see the differences between Law of YHVH and the Oral Law and many say that they are imposible to keep in the first place.

The first believers kept certain parts of it but they never saw it as equal to the Law.

1Pe 2:8 "And a stone of stumbling, and a rock of offence, even to them which stumble at the word, being disobedient: whereunto also they were appointed."

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We comply with what our Lord Yeshua said in Matthew 28:20 "Teaching them to observe all things whatsoever I have commanded you" and only then you could be "persuaded in your own mind."

Therefore, "Let no man therefore judge you in food, or in drink, or in respect of an holiday, or of the new moon, or of the Sabbath days" (Col 2:16)

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