Dear Editor,
What are Pharisees?
Pharisees were the most numerous, influential religious sect of Yahushua’s day. They were strict legalists, believed in rigid observance of the letter of the law, also the oral tradition which they believed had as much authority, or more, as the written Torah.
Did they prefer to keep traditions of men?
During Yahushua’s time the oral law was highly revered and was said to go back to Mosheh himself, passed down over the centuries orally, equal to the written law. This is what they believed. It was these “oral traditions” that Yahushua condemned. The evolution of the “oral tradition” continued to grow, and was finally written as the “Mishnah” in 200 AD.
The Pharisees were first mentioned in Matthew 3:7-9 when John the Immerser said to them, “brood of vipers! Who warned you to flee from the wrath to come? Therefore bear fruits worthy of repentance, and do not say to yourselves, we have Abraham as our Father…” The first statement Yahushua made concerning them was also negative.
Matthew 5:20: “For I say to you, that unless your righteousness exceeds that of the righteousness of the scribes and Pharisees, you will by no means enter into the reign of the heavens.”
Another example is Matthew 15:1-2: “…why do your taught ones transgress the tradition of the elders (not the Torah)? For they do not wash their hands when they eat bread.”
The Pharisees were more concerned about “the tradition of the elders” even though there is no Scriptural requirement to wash hands before eating bread. The “oral law” was called the “traditions of the elders” or the “commands of men (Matthew 15:8-9).”
Selah.
Ernest Andrews
Rockingham
Since there is no more important subject on the planet than the "Gospel of our Lord Jesus Christ" and since it is constantly being attacked by "friend and foe", I thought it necessary to share the scriptures below taken from Acts 15.
"It wasn't long before some Jews showed up from Judea insisting that everyone be circumcised: "If you're not circumcised in the Mosaic fashion, you can't be saved." Paul and Barnabas were up on their feet at once in fierce protest. The church decided to resolve the matter by sending Paul, Barnabas, and a few others to put it before the apostles and leaders in Jerusalem. After they were sent off and on their way, they told everyone they met as they traveled through Phoenicia and Samaria about the breakthrough to the Gentile outsiders. Everyone who heard the news cheered—it was terrific news! When they got to Jerusalem, Paul and Barnabas were graciously received by the whole church, including the apostles and leaders. They reported on their recent journey and how God had used them to open things up to the outsiders. Some Pharisees stood up to say their piece. They had become believers, but continued to hold to the hard party line of the Pharisees. "You have to circumcise the pagan converts," they said. "You must make them keep the Law of Moses." The apostles and leaders called a special meeting to consider the matter. The arguments went on and on, back and forth, getting more and more heated. Then Peter took the floor: "Friends, you well know that from early on God made it quite plain that he wanted the pagans to hear the Message of this good news and embrace it—and not in any secondhand or roundabout way, but firsthand, straight from my mouth. And God, who can't be fooled by any pretense on our part but always knows a person's thoughts, gave them the Holy Spirit exactly as he gave him to us. He treated the outsiders exactly as he treated us, beginning at the very center of who they were and working from that center outward, cleaning up their lives as they trusted and believed him. "So why are you now trying to out-god God, loading these new believers down with rules that crushed our ancestors and crushed us, too? Don't we believe that we are saved because the Master Jesus amazingly and out of sheer generosity moved to save us just as he did those from beyond our nation? So what are we arguing about?" There was dead silence. No one said a word. With the room quiet, Barnabas and Paul reported matter-of-factly on the miracles and wonders God had done among the other nations through their ministry. The silence deepened; you could hear a pin drop. James broke the silence. "Friends, listen. Simeon has told us the story of how God at the very outset made sure that racial outsiders were included. This is in perfect agreement with the words of the prophets: After this, I'm coming back; I'll rebuild David's ruined house;I'll put all the pieces together again;I'll make it look like new so outsiders who seek will find,so they'll have a place to come to,All the pagan peoples included in what I'm doing. "God said it and now he's doing it. It's no afterthought; he's always known he would do this." Acts 15:1-18 (MSG)
It is hard to understand why some would choose slavery rather than to live in the freedom provided through the death and resurrection of the Lord Jesus Christ. Some delight in bondage to rules and regulations which tend to feed their ego and inflate their pride. The Apostle Paul spoke of this in Galatians 5. "Christ has set us free to live a free life. So take your stand! Never again let anyone put a harness of slavery on you. I am emphatic about this. The moment any one of you submits to circumcision or any other rule-keeping system, at that same moment Christ's hard-won gift of freedom is squandered. I repeat my warning: The person who accepts the ways of circumcision trades all the advantages of the free life in Christ for the obligations of the slave life of the law. Gal 5:1-3 (MSG)"
Who would ever want to trade the freedom which is in Jesus Christ for the bondage of trying to keep the Law? Evidently, some people do but friends, please don't hitch your wagon to that mule..."
"Ye see how large a letter I have written unto you with mine own hand. As many as desire to make a fair shew in the flesh, they constrain you to be circumcised; only lest they should suffer persecution for the cross of Christ.For neither they themselves who are circumcised keep the law; but desire to have you circumcised, that they may glory in your flesh. But God forbid that I should glory, save in the cross of our Lord Jesus Christ, by whom the world is crucified unto me, and I unto the world. For in Christ Jesus neither circumcision availeth any thing, nor uncircumcision, but a new creature." Galatians 6:11-15
Sincerely, Brett Jones