I find it quite interesting how many believers today erroneously hold that Yeshua broke Torah (The Law). In a conversation I had recently with a Pastor, i found that he is firmly convinced that Yeshua violated Torah, and was yet Messiah. So where do people get this idea from? One thing everyone seems to have in common is that they all get this belief from the accusations fo the religious leaders of Yeshua’s day. From readoing the gospels, the only accusation made agaisnt Yeshua was that He violated the Sabbath. In looking at these scenarios, what we find is that the people who accused Him of this, were really just finding fault with Him because He did countless miracles, drawing the people away from them, to Him. There was some serious envy going on against Him. As a result, in looking for fault, the only thing they could come up with was that he healed on a Sabbath. John 5 records one such encounter where Yeshua healed a paralytic man, whom had been in this condition for 38 years. After healing the man, He instructed him to take up his bed and walk. For those who don’t know Torah or rabbinic torah, much is missed. First of all, Torah forbids working, cooking, buying, selling, or any type of laborious work. Rabbinic torah, goes much further. According to “oral law” which was made by man, carrying your bed, or walking certain distances was also against the law, not God’s law mind you, but the rabbinic law. Yeshua made it a point to speak against rabbinic law and in some cases even violate it, just to show them that mans law was not to be above God’s Law. Anyway, upon seeing the man carrying his bed, and realizing he had been healed by Yeshua, they were outraged! Yeshua basically commanded this man to break the law, “oral law” that is. This outraged the religious leaders. Verse 16 plainly points out that this was the reason that they were upset. Let it be perfectly clear, the only law Yeshua violated was mans law, the “oral torah”, commonly known as the “tradition of the elders”.
So what does Yeshua have to say, as it relates to breaking Torah? Matthew 12:9-14 records that, Yeshua was again attacked for healing in the synagogue, on the Sabbath. Imagine that! Lets really analyze this, a man in need of healing, came to the place where the presence of God dwells, on the day proclaimed as a holy day by this same God, and the religious leaders got bent out of shape because he recieved healing? Is this REALLY against the will of God? How many churches today, do we see around the world where people are called up to the altar to recieve healing? Imagine them being turned away because “it’s the sabbath”, and healing was actually forbidden. Regardless of the fact that today, it takes place on the “man’s sabbath”, as opposed to “God’s Sabbath”, just the fact that the religious leaders had an issue with it. Again, this attitude is the textbook definition of “leagalistic”. In any case, looking to find fault, a question was asked “is it lawful to heal on the Sabbath”? Before getting into His answer, I’d like to first ask a question. Prior to Yeshua being born, how many times to we find in the Tanakh (Old Testament), do we find where people were getting healed on the same level that Yeshua was healing people? NONE! So, if this was unherd of prior to this point, how then did healing on the Sabbath become “against the Law”? One could argue it referred to physicians healing patients, but to that, my response would this, dealing with patients is a physician’s “occupation”, so yes, that is work. However, even in this case, can we really be foolish enough to assume that God would hold a physician liable for saving a man on Sabbath? Seriously? Well how did Yeshua reply to this? He asked them a simple question, “how many of you, that have sheep, and saw that it had fallen into a pit on Sabbath, would not go out and rescue it right way”? No response was recorded from the people, most likely because they ALL knew they would have done exactly what He said. He continues by saying, “how much more valuable is a human life over that of a sheep”? Bottom line, Sabbath does NOT prohibit one from doing good to another. We must keep in mind, Sabbath prohibits “work”, NOT acts of kindness. Furthermore, it was the rabbinical law that added all these other things to the law, thereby making the very observance of Torah, a form of bondage. It was also taught that “rabbinical law” held more authority than God’s Torah.
It is interesting to note, as I stated before, that whenever Yeshua was accused of breaking Torah, it was always in relation to rabbinical law, not the Mosaic Law. Most people today have no idea that there even was 2 different laws in opperation during Yeshua’s time. For that matter, when we read the Scriptures, ignorant of what was going on in those days, we lack clarity on so much. Many of things Yeshua did, were against rabbinical law. This was why they had so much hatred and envy towards Him. Rabbinical law forbade being in the midst people considered outcasts, such as “tax collectors”, yet Yeshua called one to be His disciple. Not only that, but when Matthew held a feast at his home, Yeshau came with His disciples and sat among them. The Gospels record how the religious leaders murmured against Him for not knowing the crowd of people He was sitting in the midst of. To this, Yeshua said “it is not the whole that need a physician, but they who are sick”. Another example is when the religious leaders observed His disciples eating without “washing their hands”. Mathew 5 records this encounter in which they, the religious leaders asked, “why do your disciples break the ‘the traditons of the elders’? For they do not wash their hands before they eat”? We totally miss this in “Churchianity”, because we don’t realize what was going on. It was the tradition of the elders, that hands must be washed in a specific manner, in order to be considered “clean enough to eat”. This was not mentioned anywhere in Torah, yet was imposed as “law” upon the people. That being said, all of the Jews subjected themselves under the authority under this rabbinical law as well as all of the other imposed rabbinical laws. I reiterate, this was NOT a requirement under Mosaic Law. Matthew 5 records the response of Yeshua, “Why do you yourselves transgress the commandment of God for the sake of your tradition”? In this response, Yeshua obliterates their traditions, clearly pointing out that the only thing ones needs to subject himself to is what’s in Torah. When we understand that there were actually two laws in operation during His time, we see clearly that He submitted to the one while completely rejecting the other. This again become evident in how one thing they always make accusation about was the Sabbath, but, yet erroneously in that their focus was more on the additional parts added in, than what was written in the texts.
Matthew 5:17-19 records Yeshua speaking to the people, and clearly making His view on Torah known, when he said “Do NOT think that I came to abolish the Law or the Prophets; I did NOT come to abolish but to fulfill”. It seems that most churches read this, and then stop, totally bypassing the next verse. By stopping here, half way through His statement, they focus on the word “fulfill”, and from this, teach that he “finished it”, as in, ended it, thereby releasing us from walking in it. The lack of understanding what Torah was about, affirms this belief, and thus it becomes church theology. But, when we read this text in its entirety, He states in verse 18, “for I truly say to you, until heaven and earth PASS AWAY, not the smallest letter or stroke shall pass from the Law (Torah), until all is accomplished”. So my question would be, when did heaven and earth pass away? If indeed they are still here, then based on what He is saying, not the smallest letter or pen stroke from the Torah can pass away. again, this is based off of what Yeshua, Himself, says about Torah. If you are reading this from the KJV, take note that these words are written in “red”, indicating that the Lord Himself is speaking. So in the midst of all those that focus on the accusations of the religious leaders, concerning Yeshua violating the Sabbath, on whose statement are you going to base your view, the statement of the religious leaders, who clearly had an “ax to grind”, or that of the Messiah? I hate to be the bearer of bad news, but Yeshua did NOT violate Torah in any way. You must understand, when Torah was given at Mt Sinai, they expectation was for them to walk it out, however, long before Moses could even read it to them, they messed it up. It was only in Yeshua, was it that it was actually walked out in the way that YHVH intended it to be. In doing so, Yeshua showed us what walking it out really looked like. When we walk Torah out, we look like Yeahua. Granted, we cannot walk it out as perfect as He did, however, we have his Spirit, which when we fall short, picks us back up and gives us another try. The overall goal of Torah was Messiah. Am I saying that Torah was intended to save us? Never? If it could have, it would have, but it was not possible. For this reason, we needed Messiah, for only He could save us, in that as we were doomed by Adam, we were in like manner saved by Yeshua, as Paul so excellently put it.
Let us therefore put to bed the erroneous belief that Yeshua broke the Law, or even ended it. Neither can be further from the truth, based on His own words, unless of course you are determined to take the view of the religious leaders of the day, either way, it is pretty much on you as the reader to decide what you view as truth. However, as I have stated numerous times before, Yeshua, in order to be Messiah, had to walk it out perfectly.
