D9-7: The REAL REASON Why Yeshua Criticized The Religious Leaders Of His Day

In my last post, I pointed out that as time passes it is perfectly normal for history to get re-written, re-interpreted and in worst cases completely lost or forgotten altogether.

What’s even scarier is that it doesn’t take a long time for this process to happen.

Usually a decade is more than enough for our past history to become unrecognizably distorted or forever lost to the sands of time.

There’s a reason why Moses had to revisit Israel’s history and the Law here in Deuteronomy.

More than 40 years have passed since the Law was first given at Sinai and he wanted to make sure this 2nd generation of younger Israelites did not misinterpret their forefather’s history or the true meaning and intent behind the Law.

And again, I need to emphasize that Moses was NOT giving Israel a new law nor a law that had changed or evolved.

He was simply EXPOUNDING on the original law that had already been handed down and how its foundational principles would be put into practice once Israel left their tent-dwelling status and began living a settled life in the land God had prepared for them.

This is the consistent theme we’ll also find in the book of the Psalms and the Prophets.

The prophets were always constantly reminding Israel of her history, her chosen status and their relationship with God.

Here’s the thing us modern believers have got to understand.

God expects the same thing from us.

Despite all of the ebbs and flows and ups and downs present in our current situation and all the changes occurring due to progressing technologies, we are expected to learn HASHEM’S TORAH and develop the wisdom to apply it to our lives today.

I’ve already mentioned this but let me remind you that when we come to the New Testament, we find Yeshua doing the exact same thing we find Moses doing here in Deuteronomy.

The Messiah of Israel was revisiting the Law in light of how circumstances had changed compared to when God’s commands were first given at Sinai.

I should also remind you that Yeshua made it a point to stress that not even one tiny bit of the law had been changed or overturned.

Remember, there is a DIRECT PARALLEL AND PATTERN between Moses’ Sermon on the Mount here in Deuteronomy and Yeshua’s Sermon on the Mount in the New Testament.

By the time Yeshua came on to the scene, the customs and patterns of Hebrew society looked nothing like it did compared to the Exodus generation. 

And more importantly, when Yeshua criticized the religious authorities in his day, he was speaking against those parts of Scripture they had re-written and re-interpreted that reflected their own fleshly and selfish desires rather than being in harmony with the true Spirit of God’s Word.

Not all re-interpretations are necessarily wrong or bad but when they went against the foundational God-principles as established in Torah, Yeshua violently spoke out against the false teaching.

What made matters worse is that by Yeshua’s time, Israel’s history had been re-written numerous times and much of Jewish society had grown too comfortable with these re-interpreted and aberrational torah teachings.

When Yeshua came, he came to start a revolution that would return Israel to the pure worship of the Father in Spirit and Truth.

I would say we have a need for another such revolution today. 

CONNECTING THIS TEACHING TO THE NEW TESTAMENT

“And Yeshua continued,
‘You have a fine way of setting aside
the commands of God in order to observe 
your own traditions!
For Moses said, ‘Honor your father and mother, and,
‘Anyone who curses their father or mother
is to be put to death.
But you say that if anyone declares that what might
have been used to help their father or mother is Corban
(that is, devoted to God)— then you no longer let them
do anything for their father or mother.
Thus you nullify the word of God by your tradition
that you have handed down.
And you do many things like that.‘”
-Mark 7:9-13