Church of God, In Truth
Part 14
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Part 14
JUDAISM, IS IT THE RELIGION OF THE OLD TESTAMENT?
In this final installment, we will see what is meant, "Sit on Moses seat." It has been proven that no one has the authority to change Gods Words! Christ told the Jews, "For had ye believed Moses, ye would have believed Me: for he wrote of Me. But if ye believe not his writings, how shall ye believe My words?" (John 5.-46-47).
Part 14 Conclusion
The argument has arisen--the Pharisees sit In Moses seat. Is that true today? "Saying, The scribes and the Pharisees sit in Moses seat: All therefore whatsoever they bid you observe, that observe and do; but do not ye after their works: for they say and do not" (Matt.23:2-3). Did this statement of Christ give them the authority to change the instructions God gave to Moses? "Now therefore hearken, O Israel, unto the statutes and unto the judgments, which I teach you, for to do them, that ye may live, and go in and possess the land which the LORD God of your fathers giveth you. Ye shall not add unto the word which I command you, neither shall ye diminish ought from it, that ye may keep the commandments of the LORD your God which I command you "Deu. 4:1- 2).
Christ said in the original translation (Interlinear Bible--Greek English by Hendrickson) of the New Testament, "The scribes and Pharisees sit ON Moses' seat, all therefore whatsoever, they bid you observe, that observe and do ..." ( Matt. 23:2-3). Just what did Christ mean? This has confused many people. The example in the authorized King James version says, "The scribes and the Pharisees sit in Moses' seat......" There is quite a difference between sitting on and taking the assumption that they had the authority of Moses and must be obeyed in everything they taught! In the original translation "sitting on" takes an a different meaning. You can read of the differences in the article "Truth or Traditions."
The Jews when following the Pharisees and scribes were to obey only what came from God to Moses. This was the true intent of Christ saying they sat on Moses' seat. Only the written words of God were to be obeyed. When Christ said, "The scribes and the Pharisees sit on Moses' seat: All therefore whatsoever they bid you observe, that observe and do..." (Matt. 23:2-3). This command has perplexed many people. The example Jesus gave while on earth was clearly against the traditions and commandments of the Pharisees. Christ openly repudiated them as nothing more than commandments of men. "Howbeit in vain do they worship Me, teaching for doctrines the commandments of men" (Mark 7:7).
Christ proved by His example that He did not obey every word of the scribes and Pharisees! This was the reason they sought to kill Him. "Therefore the Jews sought the more to kill Him, because He not only had broken the Sabbath, but said also that God was His Father, making Himself equal with God" (John 5:18).
Christ rejected the Pharisaic commandments when He healed on the Sabbath. "And He entered again into the synagogue, and here was a man there which had a withered hand. And they watched Him, whether He would heal him on the Sabbath day; that they might accuse Him. And He saith unto the man which had the withered hand, Stand forth. And He saith unto them, Is it lawful to do good on the Sabbath days, or to do evil? To save life, or to kill? But they held their peace. And when He had looked round about on them with anger, being grieved for the hardness of their hearts, He saith unto the man, Stretch forth thine hand. And he stretched it out: and his hand was restored whole as the other. And the Pharisees went forth, and straightway took counsel with the Herodians against Him, how they might destroy Him" (Mark 3:1-6). When Christ and His disciples got handfuls of grain to eat on the Sabbath day, the Pharisees told Him He broke their law. "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?" (Luke 6:1-2). Christ also rejected the traditions of the elders which required the ritualistic washing of the hands before meals. "And as He spake, a certain Pharisee besought Him to dine with him: and He went in, and sat down to meat. And when the Pharisee saw it, he marvelled that He had not first washed before dinner" (Luke 11:37-38). "Christ and His disciples did not fast each Monday and Thursday according to the laws of the Pharisees" (Taan. 12A) (Edersheim's "The Life and Times of Jesus the Messiah", pg. 676). "Then came to Him the disciples of John, saying, Why do we and the Pharisees fast oft, but Thy disciples fast not?" (Mark 9:14). "I fast twice in the week......" (Luke 18:12).
Christ taught His disciples to obey the written Word of God. He was not inconsistent! Christ taught by example and by commands not to acknowledge the traditions of the Pharisees. We know we are to obey the commands of God from His written Word. Christ did not follow the traditions of men.
Again we ask, what did Christ mean in Matthew 23:1-4? "Then spake Jesus to the multitude, and to His disciples, Saying, the scribes and the Pharisees sit in Moses' seat: All therefore whatsoever they bid you observe, that observe and do; but do not ye after their works: for- they say, and do not. For they bind heavy burdens and grievous to be borne, and lay them on man's shoulders; but they themselves will not move them with one of their finger." Christ was not teaching His disciples to reject Jewish traditions in one breath and then to obey them in another. To obey every single teaching issued by the Pharisees would have been impossible of fulfillment! Conceive trying to observe one teaching from the School of Hillel and another completely opposite teaching from the School of Shammai!
Just what exactly did Christ mean? The important point to note in Matthew 23 is that Christ told His disciples to obey everything the scribes and Pharisees issued from Moses' seat. This only included the written Word of God!! Not the oral traditions set by the Pharisees. These laymen had seated themselves on Moses' seat of authority in place of the Levites!
The difference between the ordinary independent teachings of the Pharisees which varied from time to time -- and were often contradictory with one another -.- and the commands which came from Moses' seat was that the Pharisees' teachings were for their own people, but the teachings from Moses' seat was for the whole nation! Christ is not telling His disciples to obey the ordinary teachings of the Pharisees, but He is commanding them to obey every command that came from Moses' seat -- which is the written Word of God!!
What is Moses' seat? In New Testament times there were two organizations under the Romans which were governing the Jews. One was called the Sanhedrin. This body of men took over from the Great Assembly, which governed during the days of Ezra and Nehemiah. The Great Assembly was composed only of priests, but the Sanhedrin, which was established after the period of religious anarchy, was composed of laymen and priests alike. The functions of the Sanhedrin were similar in many ways to the older Great Assembly, but there was one main difference in New Testament times. The Sanhedrin had gravitated to being more or less a civil Supreme Court among Jews!
This brings us to the second organization among the Jews in Christ's time. This organization was attached to the Sanhedrin, at least, in principle, but did not form an integral part of the Sanhedrin. "This group called the Great Beth Din -- which means in English---the Great House of Religious Supreme Court of the land, while the Sanhedrin was primarily the civil Supreme Court. In the Sanhedrin there were represented both Sadducees and Pharisees, but the Great Beth Din was composed only of the scribes -- the authoritative copiers of the Bible and the Pharisees -- the most eminent of religious leaders, the Doctors of the Law" (see Herford's, Judaism in the New Testament Period, pg. 153-154). The Great Beth Din ... was entirely Pharisaic and composed of 'doctors of the law' (ibid. pg. 1 53).
"There were minor civil and religious courts among the Jews throughout the land; but in Jerusalem were the Sanhedrin, the civil supreme Court and the Great Beth Din the religious Supreme Court. Both these organizations were of national importance to all Jews everywhere" (ibid. pg. 1 53- 154). "The Great Beth Din, as the final court of appeal, was undoubtedly a body of experts, the most eminent and experienced teachers of the time" (ibid. pg. 1 57). The scribes and Pharisees who sat in this religious Supreme Court -- the Great Beth Din -- were the religious judges over the entire nation of the Jews. When they issued a decision in their official capacity as members of the Great Beth Bin, that decision was mandatory on all Jews. Thus it was the scribes and Pharisees who were members of the Great Beth Din WHO SAT ON MOSES' SEAT! (It must be remembered that the Pharisees were given their authority as leaders in the country by Queen Alexandria, not by God! They were not in the line of the priesthood as given by God to the Levites. They usurped the authority of the priesthood!).
Only a few Pharisees sat in this religious Supreme Court. This was the organization that Christ was referring to when He commanded His disciples to observe all the commandments issued from Moses' seat. These were the laws that came from the written Word of God, not the oral traditions of the Pharisees!
According to the Jewish Encyclopedia, vol.111, pg. 114, "the Great Beth Din had entire charge of the calendar system, and hence became the religious and nations center not only of Palestine, but also of the Diaspora (the dispersed Jews). The Great Beth Din also determined the settlement for religious matters that were too difficult for individuals to ascertain an their own."
Today in most Churches of God, we are told to obey the Hebrew calendar which was instituted by Hillel II. We are told to follow Judaism, which we have proven to be a man made religion, just like the Protestant and Catholic religions and the Muslin religion.
God the Father and Jesus Christ have never given to men the authority to change the laws, statutes and commandments of God. The Holy Days are set by God, not by the postponement rules of man! God gave the Jews the job to preserve the Old Testament. God has never given the Jews the authority to change any of God's Word! Preserving and changing are two different things!! Preserving is keeping the written Word. Changing God's Word is not!! "Now therefore hearken, 0 Israel, unto the statutes and unto the judgments, which I teach you, for to do them that ye may live, and go in and possess the land which the LORD God of your fathers giveth you. Ye shall not add unto the word which I command you, neither shall ye diminish ought from it, that ye may keep the commandments of the LORD your God which I command you" (Deu. 4:1-3).
In this series we have shown the origination of Judaism and the gradual taking over by the scribes and Pharisees of Moses' seat. When Christ was upon this earth in human form, He did not take over the government of Judea at that time. He did not change what was being taught wrong at that time, but He did come to bring truth to those whom the Father called. "No man can come to Me, except the Father which hath sent Me draw him: and I will raise him up at the last day" (John 6:44). The Church of God today is composed of the ones being called by God the Father. We must obey God rather than man. "Then Peter and the other apostles answered and said, We ought to obey God rather than men" (Acts 5:29).
The reason most Churches of God today will not change from following the Jewish Hebrew Calendar as set by Arthur Spiers in his book. "The Comprehensive Hebrew Calendar," which includes the postponement rules, is because they will not leave the traditions set by Mr. Herbert W. Armstrong. They are willing to be deceived by Judaism and traditions of men! Why are the Churches of God being deceived today? They have lost the love of the truth! "And with all deceivableness of unrighteousness in them that perish; because they received not the love of the truth, that they might be saved. And for this cause God shall send them strong delusion, that they should believe a lie: That they all might be damned who believed not the truth, but had pleasure in unrighteousness" (2 Thes. 2:10-12).
"Judaism represents an abandonment of the original Law of Moses, the Law they called ‘out of date,' so they could do as they pleased. But Christ came to magnify it and make it honorable!
Let us all, Jew or Greek, Israelite or Gentile, get back to the Bible--the Word of God. Let us reject our human opinions and the pagan customs our society has inherited, and return to God and to His Word. Let us humbly bow before the God of the universe--the God of the Bible---and acknowledge our faults and ask Him for His mercy to bring us back to His precious truths! "And if it seem evil unto you to serve the Lord, choose ye this day whom ye will serve...but as for me and my house, we will serve the Lord" (Joshua 24:15) (Good News, March 1962, published by Ambassador College).
It behooves us Brethren to follow Joshua's instructions, "But take diligent heed to do the commandment and the law, which Moses the servant of the LORD charged you, to love the LORD your God, and to walk in all His ways, and to keep His commandments, and to cleave unto Him, and to serve Him with all your heart and with all your soul" (Joshua 22:5).
Church of God, In Truth
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