JUDAISM
"Jesus said to the crowds and to his disciples, 'The teachers of the law and the Pharisees sit in Moses’ seat. So you must be careful to do everything they tell you. But do not do what they do, for they do not practice what they preach.'" Matthew 23:1-3. Do readers understand what Jesus said in Matthew 23:1-3? He said that there is nothing wrong with the Torah. The problem is with the teachers of the law and the Pharisees. So, why do we abolished and abandon the Torah? To enrich ourselves so we can buy a new home? Is that why Christians abolished the Ten Commandments?
Jesus said to the crowds and to His disciples that they must be careful and do everything that the teachers of the law and Pharisees say, but do not do what they do. Why? Because what they do is not the same as what they preach. Jesus said they are hypocrites.
Here is a small example of what Jesus said about the Pharisees and the Scribes. You may read the whole chapter if you want to so you can know all that Jesus had said about these Torah scholars. Do you think the tone and contents of His speech might have something to do with why these Torah scholars and scribes wanted to hang Jesus on the cross so badly? What if Jesus had not talked about them the way He did, would they be less furious at Jesus or not? I am bringing this up so I can get our Biblical scholars to participate in a discussion. So far I have seen no Biblical scholars who want to start a dialogue with me. They are not interested in talking with me because they get poorer, and not richer.
Why do the Torah scholars and the Biblical scholars have so much influence on spiritual matters? How can we get others interested in spiritual matters, such as physicians, engineers, social workers, bookkeepers, nurses, and so forth? Are they too busy making money? Do you think Jesus hates Judaism, or does He dislike the hypocrites? I believe Jesus loves Judaism, but He hates hypocrisy and hypocrites.
Many Christians believe that Jesus doesn't like the Pharisees because they strictly follow the laws which are seen by many as an unnecessary extra burden that people must carry. But as you can see Jesus did not like the Pharisees not because they are too strict in their interpretation of the Torah, but because they do not practice what they preach. They did not do what they preached about the Torah. They are hypocrites! Millions of today's Christians are no different than the Pharisees. They claim that they love Jesus, but they ignore His commandments. They don't obey His commandments. In John 14:15 Jesus said, "If you love me keep My commandments." 1 John 2:4 says, "Whoever says 'I know him' but does not keep his commandments is a liar, and the truth is not in him". Ecclesiastes 12:13, "The end of the matter; all has been heard. Fear God and keep his commandments, for this is the whole duty of man". Leviticus 22:31, “So you shall keep my commandments and do them: I am the Lord". Romans 7:12, "So the law is holy, and the commandment is holy and righteous and good". Even Paul admits that the commandment is holy and righteous and good". Jesus said in Matthew 5:17-19, "“Do not think that I have come to abolish the Law or the Prophets; I have not come to abolish them but to fulfill them. For truly, I say to you, until heaven and earth pass away, not an iota, not a dot, will pass from the Law until all is accomplished. Therefore whoever relaxes one of the least of these commandments and teaches others to do the same will be called least in the kingdom of heaven, but whoever does them and teaches them will be called great in the kingdom of heaven". Millions of Christians say that they love Jesus, but they don't keep His commandments. Is that true love, or fake love? They altered or changed God's laws into what they wanted to do, pretended that they are God's laws, taught others to follow their false teachings, and finally abandoned His laws and commandments altogether. Do you know what this means? It means that these Christians don't love Jesus. Jesus would have classified them as hypocrites too. These Christians are frauds. They are hypocrites just like the Pharisees and scribes. The only difference between them and the Pharisees is in the way that they are dressed.
Jesus said to the crowds and to His disciples that they must be careful and do everything that the teachers of the law and Pharisees say, but do not do what they do. Why? Because what they do is not the same as what they preach. Jesus said they are hypocrites.
Here is a small example of what Jesus said about the Pharisees and the Scribes. You may read the whole chapter if you want to so you can know all that Jesus had said about these Torah scholars. Do you think the tone and contents of His speech might have something to do with why these Torah scholars and scribes wanted to hang Jesus on the cross so badly? What if Jesus had not talked about them the way He did, would they be less furious at Jesus or not? I am bringing this up so I can get our Biblical scholars to participate in a discussion. So far I have seen no Biblical scholars who want to start a dialogue with me. They are not interested in talking with me because they get poorer, and not richer.
Why do the Torah scholars and the Biblical scholars have so much influence on spiritual matters? How can we get others interested in spiritual matters, such as physicians, engineers, social workers, bookkeepers, nurses, and so forth? Are they too busy making money? Do you think Jesus hates Judaism, or does He dislike the hypocrites? I believe Jesus loves Judaism, but He hates hypocrisy and hypocrites.
Many Christians believe that Jesus doesn't like the Pharisees because they strictly follow the laws which are seen by many as an unnecessary extra burden that people must carry. But as you can see Jesus did not like the Pharisees not because they are too strict in their interpretation of the Torah, but because they do not practice what they preach. They did not do what they preached about the Torah. They are hypocrites! Millions of today's Christians are no different than the Pharisees. They claim that they love Jesus, but they ignore His commandments. They don't obey His commandments. In John 14:15 Jesus said, "If you love me keep My commandments." 1 John 2:4 says, "Whoever says 'I know him' but does not keep his commandments is a liar, and the truth is not in him". Ecclesiastes 12:13, "The end of the matter; all has been heard. Fear God and keep his commandments, for this is the whole duty of man". Leviticus 22:31, “So you shall keep my commandments and do them: I am the Lord". Romans 7:12, "So the law is holy, and the commandment is holy and righteous and good". Even Paul admits that the commandment is holy and righteous and good". Jesus said in Matthew 5:17-19, "“Do not think that I have come to abolish the Law or the Prophets; I have not come to abolish them but to fulfill them. For truly, I say to you, until heaven and earth pass away, not an iota, not a dot, will pass from the Law until all is accomplished. Therefore whoever relaxes one of the least of these commandments and teaches others to do the same will be called least in the kingdom of heaven, but whoever does them and teaches them will be called great in the kingdom of heaven". Millions of Christians say that they love Jesus, but they don't keep His commandments. Is that true love, or fake love? They altered or changed God's laws into what they wanted to do, pretended that they are God's laws, taught others to follow their false teachings, and finally abandoned His laws and commandments altogether. Do you know what this means? It means that these Christians don't love Jesus. Jesus would have classified them as hypocrites too. These Christians are frauds. They are hypocrites just like the Pharisees and scribes. The only difference between them and the Pharisees is in the way that they are dressed.
The newborn Christians say that they are following the teachings of the Apostle Paul. Do they understand ALL of the writings of Paul in all parts of the Bible? What was Paul's overall message? What was the theme of his message; that we should or should not ignore the law? No, I don't believe that his message was to ignore the law. He was educated in the School of Gamaliel, doctor of the Jewish law. As such, he knows about Moses’ law. But he sees the law as a heavy burden for him to carry. And so this is what he wrote, “For by grace you have been saved through faith, and that not of yourselves; [it is] the gift of God, not of works, lest anyone should boast.” Ephesians 2:8-9. Many Christians agree with Paul. He implied that work (“burden”) contributes nothing to our salvation. Paul said that we are saved by the “grace” of God, and not work. That is true, very true. But how do we get His grace? How? Adam and Eve did not get His grace. Lucifer and billions of his angels did not get grace from God. Millions or billions of souls perished during the big flood because they received no grace from God. How can we get His grace? Do you want to know how? Let me take you to Genesis 6 for the answer. “Then the LORD saw that the wickedness of man [was] great in the earth, and [that] every intent of the thoughts of his heart [was] only evil continually. And the LORD was sorry that He had made man on the earth, and He was grieved in His heart. So the LORD said, "I will destroy man whom I have created from the face of the earth, both man and beast, creeping thing and birds of the air, for I am sorry that I have made them." But Noah found grace in the eyes of the LORD.” Genesis 6:5-8.
Do you know how Noah found grace in the eyes of the Lord? He received God’s grace through faith and work. Without work, faith is dead! He did what God had asked him to do. And that's why he was saved. He was totally obedient to God.
Please read again what Jesus said about the Pharisees and the teachers of the law in Matthew 23:1-3. He said we must do everything that they say about the law, but we should not do what they do because they do not practice what they say. They are hypocrites. Jesus loathes hypocrites! Also, read the other verses from the Bible that I quoted about keeping His laws and commandments. Don't ignore them.
All of our prophets who are now in heaven have followed the teachings of the teachers of the law! They have followed the law. But you say that Paul wrote that we don't have to work to follow the law? Where are we heading if we don't follow the teachings of the law? Look, does it make sense that both those who follow the law (the Prophets) and those who do not follow the law (the newborn Christians and Paul's followers) will go to heaven? Absolutely nonsense!
Is God lowering the standards to heaven? No, I don't think so. What is more likely is that we do not fully comprehend ALL of Paul's writings. Paul is a smart individual. He writes like a lawyer. He thinks like a lawyer. Unless we are trained as lawyers we will get confused when we read Paul's writings! And many are confused, including our Muslim brothers and sisters.
Did Jesus tell Paul to ignore the law and abandon the traditional practice of strictly following the law? Did God change His mind and tell Paul to abandon the law? I don't believe so because God does not change. Hebrews 13:8 says, "Jesus Christ is the same yesterday and today and forever." Numbers 23:19 says, "God is not man, that he should lie, or a son of man, that he should change his mind. Has he said, and will he not do it? Or has he spoken, and will he not fulfill it?"
So, who changed the law? Ask your preacher and your Bible teacher. They are the people who are people pleasers and have a great interest in pleasing people and not God to make money. They should know the answer. Judaism has nothing to do with changing God's law!
Do you know how Noah found grace in the eyes of the Lord? He received God’s grace through faith and work. Without work, faith is dead! He did what God had asked him to do. And that's why he was saved. He was totally obedient to God.
Please read again what Jesus said about the Pharisees and the teachers of the law in Matthew 23:1-3. He said we must do everything that they say about the law, but we should not do what they do because they do not practice what they say. They are hypocrites. Jesus loathes hypocrites! Also, read the other verses from the Bible that I quoted about keeping His laws and commandments. Don't ignore them.
All of our prophets who are now in heaven have followed the teachings of the teachers of the law! They have followed the law. But you say that Paul wrote that we don't have to work to follow the law? Where are we heading if we don't follow the teachings of the law? Look, does it make sense that both those who follow the law (the Prophets) and those who do not follow the law (the newborn Christians and Paul's followers) will go to heaven? Absolutely nonsense!
Is God lowering the standards to heaven? No, I don't think so. What is more likely is that we do not fully comprehend ALL of Paul's writings. Paul is a smart individual. He writes like a lawyer. He thinks like a lawyer. Unless we are trained as lawyers we will get confused when we read Paul's writings! And many are confused, including our Muslim brothers and sisters.
Did Jesus tell Paul to ignore the law and abandon the traditional practice of strictly following the law? Did God change His mind and tell Paul to abandon the law? I don't believe so because God does not change. Hebrews 13:8 says, "Jesus Christ is the same yesterday and today and forever." Numbers 23:19 says, "God is not man, that he should lie, or a son of man, that he should change his mind. Has he said, and will he not do it? Or has he spoken, and will he not fulfill it?"
So, who changed the law? Ask your preacher and your Bible teacher. They are the people who are people pleasers and have a great interest in pleasing people and not God to make money. They should know the answer. Judaism has nothing to do with changing God's law!
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