The Persecuted Jesus Part II
“The Persecuted Jesus”-Part II
John 5:1-18
Introduction:
It goes without saying that the Pharisees and Jesus Christ always “butt” heads. Jesus was sick of their man made religion and the bondage that they had over the people. Christ did not wait long to tell them what they really were. It first began at His baptism: "But when he saw many of the Pharisees and Sadducees come to his baptism, he said unto them, O generation of vipers, who hath warned you to flee from the wrath to come?" (Matthew 3:7, KJV)
Jesus also let them know that He knew their heart: "O generation of vipers, how can ye, being evil, speak good things? for out of the abundance of the heart the mouth speaketh." (Matthew 12:34, KJV) "Woe unto you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! for ye are like unto whited sepulchres, which indeed appear beautiful outward, but are within full of dead men’s bones, and of all uncleanness." (Matthew 23:27, KJV)
The Pharisees, which are coming to center stage in the text we continue to look tonight, held the people in such bondage. Jesus said, "Take my yoke upon you, and learn of me; for I am meek and lowly in heart: and ye shall find rest unto your souls." (Matthew 11:29, KJV)
Let’s notice the conflict!
II. The Master Persecuted (vs. 16)
“The Jews”, stop right there. “Jews” is “Ἰουδαῖος” and is not speaking about the Jewish people as a nation, but is a reference to a special sect of the Jewish people, the Pharisees. Now we looked, briefly, at the Pharisees when we were in Chapter 3, but I want you to notice some others tings about this group of people that Christ had so much trouble with.
It must be understood that it was not all of the doctrine of the Pharisees that Jesus Christ opposed, for much of the Doctrine of the Pharisees, we would all agree with; fasting, prayer, giving of alms, etc. So it was not, necessarily, the doctrine, as it was the attitude of the Doctrine that was opposed by our Lord. The word “Pharisee” comes from a Hebrew word “pershahin” which means “to separate”. Judaism is divided unto seven parts: Pharisees, Sadducees, Hemerobaptists, Osseans, Nazarenes, and Herodians. The Pharisees actually can have their roots traced back to the time of Ezra. Two parties determined the inner development of the Jews after the captivity; the priests and the scribes. During this development the two parties sharply contrasted each other. The Sadducean party came from the rank of the priests, and the Pharisee party came from the rank of the scribes. The characteristic feature of the Pharisees arises from their legal tendency. An accurate obedience to the law use to exist, but during the Greek period, the chief priests and rulers took a rather low view I their attitude toward the law. The Pharisees were the men who put themselves in charge of purifying Israel and causing all men to pure obedience to the law. The stress laid upon religious interests by the Pharisees had won the bulk of the nation to their side, and Queen Alexandra, for the sake of peace with her people, abandoned the power to the Pharisees. Their victory was now complete; the whole conduct of internal affairs was in their hands. [1] Even with all the changes that had taken place in the empires, the Pharisees still maintained their religious authority among the people. So during the time of Christ, the Pharisees were the religious leaders, because they had gained the confidence of al the people.
Josephus, a Jewish Historian who was born 37\38 AD, gave us dome insight into the teaching of the Pharisee, his knowledge lies in the fact that he was a Pharisee as well. For example, on immorality the Pharisees believed: that every soul is imperishable, but that only those of the righteous pass into another body, while those of the wicked are, on the contrary, punished with eternal torment” (Josephus Wars 2.8.14); or “they hold the belief that an immortal strength belongs to souls, and that there are beneath the earth punishments and rewards for those who in life devoted themselves to virtue or vileness, and that eternal imprisonment is appointed for the latter, but the possibility of returning to life for the former” [2] They also believed the following on the Doctrine of providence and human will: “make everything depend on fate and on God, and teach that the doing of good is indeed chiefly the affair of man, but that fate also cooperates in every transaction”[3]
However, by the end of the third century, going into the fourth century, the Pharisees had lost much of their influence of reign in the people’s daily lives. This is seen very well in the rule of Pope Boniface VIII. Pope Boniface VIII was not a popular Pope, in fact, when Boniface was elected as Pope, the people are said to have cried out, “Boniface is a heretic, bad all thorough and has nothing in him that is Christian”. In fact, when word reached Naples that Boniface was dead, the people celebrated the event with great jubilation. French enemies went so far as to charge Boniface with downright infidelity and the denial of the soul’s immortality. The charges were a slander, but they show the reduced confidence which the papal office inspired. Dante, who visited Rome during Boniface’s pontificate, bitterly pursues him in all parts of the Divina Commedia. He pronounced him, now this will tell you the place the people had began to think about the Pharisees, “The prince of modern Pharisees," a usurper "who turned the Vatican hill into a common sewer of corruption." [4] This brief history gives you an idea of where the Pharisees were in the time of Christ (the people worshipped them religiously, as do Catholics to the Pope today), and where they went.
“It is the Sabbath Day”. Now, this is the place where the Pharisees really began their hostility towards Christ. There are basically two reasons why the Pharisees hated Jesus that are evident in this text. One we see here, is was the Sabbath day. Now, the Jews were dead serious about this stuff. Remember how I told you before that the Pharisees were the party that took it upon themselves to become the ones to purify the people, but the problem was they tried to purify the people through obedience to the law and not through Christ. “
“Sabbath” is the Greek “σάββατον” the double “beta” is the middle gives this word an inflection and emphasis. The word literally means “to rest”. This is how serious the Jews were. The beginning of their thinking about the Sabbath began as the Lord rested on the seventh day; I believe that is probably a very good idea. Everybody deserves a rest. God commands that we keep the Sabbath holy, and that is a very good idea. However, the Pharisees took it beyond the realm of what God meant. In fact, in the Pseudepigrapha of the Old Testament, which is the collection of early Jewish writings and thoughts, it says in Jubiliees 2:25-27, “He created heaven and earth and everything that He created in six days, and God made the seventh day holy, for all His works; therefore He commanded on its behalf that, whoever does any work thereon shall die, and that he who defiles it shall surely die. 26 Wherefore do thou command the children of Israel to observe this day that they may keep it holy and not do thereon any work, and not to defile it, as it is holier than all other days. 27 And whoever profanes it shall surely die, and whoever does thereon any work shall surely die eternally, that the children of Israel may observe this day throughout their generations, and not be rooted out of the land; for it is a holy day and a blessed day. 28 And every one who observes it and keeps Sabbath thereon from all his work, will be holy and blessed throughout all days like unto us. [5]
Jubiliees 2:29, “Declare and say to the children of Israel the law of this day both that they should keep Sabbath thereon, and that they should not forsake it in the error of their hearts; (and) that it is not lawful to do any work thereon which is unseemly, to do thereon their own pleasure, and that they should not prepare thereon anything to be eaten or drunk, †and (that it is not lawful) to draw water, or bring in or take out thereon through their gates any burden,† which they had not prepared for themselves on the sixth day in their dwellings. [6]
Jubiliees 50:6-13, “And behold the commandment regarding the Sabbaths—I have written (them) down for thee—and all the judgments of its laws. 7 Six days shalt thou labour, but on the seventh day is the Sabbath of the Lord your God. In it ye shall do no manner of work, ye and your sons, and your men-servants and your maid-servants, and all your cattle and the sojourner also who is with you. 8 And the man that does any work on it shall die: whoever desecrates that day, whoever lies with (his) wife, or whoever says he will do something on it, that he will set out on a journey thereon in regard to any buying or selling: and whoever draws water thereon which he had not prepared for himself on the sixth day, and whoever takes up any burden to carry it out of his tent or out of his house shall die. 9 Ye shall do no work whatever on the Sabbath day save what ye have prepared for yourselves on the sixth day, so as to eat, and drink, and rest, and keep Sabbath from all work on that day, and to bless the Lord your God, who has given you a day of festival and a holy day: and a day of the holy kingdom for all Israel is this day among their days for ever. 10 For great is the honour which the Lord has given to Israel that they should eat and drink and be satisfied on this festival day, and rest thereon from all labour which belongs to the labour of the children of men, save burning frankincense and bringing oblations and sacrifices before the Lord for days and for Sabbaths. 11 This work alone shall be done on the Sabbath-days in the sanctuary of the Lord your God; that they may atone for Israel with sacrifice continually from day to day for a memorial well-pleasing before the Lord, and that He may receive them always from day to day according as thou hast been commanded. 12 And every man who does any work thereon, or goes a journey, or tills (his) farm, whether in his house or any other place, and whoever lights a fire, or rides on any beast, or travels by ship on the sea, and whoever strikes or kills anything, or slaughters a beast or a bird, or whoever catches an animal or a bird or a fish, or whoever fasts or makes war on the Sabbaths: 13 The man who does any of these things on the Sabbath shall die, so that the children of Israel shall observe the Sabbaths according to the commandments regarding the Sabbaths of the land, as it is written in the tablets, which He gave into my hands that I should write out for thee the laws of the seasons, and the seasons according to the division of their days.[7]
As I said, the Jews were dead serious about this. But the problem is, God only said, “rest” and the restrictions that the Jews put on people, as a matter of salvation is ridiculous. The main on is written in the Mishnah, in the book of Shabbat 7:2, ““The main tasks prohibited are forty save one: he who sows and ploughs and reaps and binds; he who threshes and winnows and fans; he who sifts and kneads and bakes; he who shears wool and bleaches it and combs and dyes and spins; he who weaves and draws and twists and separates two threads; he who ties and unties a knot and sews two stitches and tears apart to sew two stitches; he who hunts and kills and skins a gazelle; he who salts it and dresses its skin and scrapes and cuts it; he who writes two letters and rubs out again to write two letters; he who builds and pulls down; he who lights a fire and puts it out; he who strikes with a hammer; he who carries from one place to another. These are the main tasks, forty save one.”[8]
Then we find in the Mishnah in the book of Beza 5:2, ““On account of the following activities (one incurs guilt on the Sabbath or feasts) by reason of the Sabbath rest: one is not to climb a tree, nor ride on an animal, nor swim in water, not clap the hands, nor slap the hips, nor dance. On account of the following activities one incurs guilt even though they are legitimate as such: one is not to administer justice,84 nor become engaged to a woman, nor go through the ceremony of casting off the shoe (in refusing Levirate marriage), nor contract Levirate marriage. On account of the following activities one incurs guilt even though they are based on a commandment: one is not to sanctify anything, nor make an evaluation, nor bring under the ban, nor separate heave offerings and tithes.”[9]
Alfred Edersheims work “The Life and Times of Jesus the Messiah” gives a clear picture of the silly interpretation that the Jews put on the people. On the Sabbath, one could only walk 3,000 ft. from your home. Unless, on Friday, you planted food at the 3,000 ft. point, and that constituted your home and you could walk 3,000 ft. from that point. Or you would lay a stick across at the 3,000 ft. point and that constituted a gate to your dwelling and you could walk 3,000 more ft. Listen, they were so dead serious about this that they discussed all the practices and ramifications of the Sabbath and it took 24 chapters on just this subject. The Talmud itself bears witness that one rabbi spent 2 ½ years in the study of only one of those 24 chapters. One the Sabbath one could not led their donkey onto the road with its covering on unless the covering had been prepared the day before. One could not life something and put it down in the same place on the Sabbath, but you could lift it up from a public place and put it I a private place r from a private place and put it in a public place (then they went into discussions about what constituted a private place). You could carry anything that weighed more than a dried fig, but you could carry a half a fig two times. They had laws regarding food. If a man ate a forbidden food the size of half and olive and rejected it because it was bad and ate another one, he would be guilty because his palate had tasted food the size of a whole olive. Whether, if an object was thrown into the air with the left, and caught again in the right hand, this involved sin, was a nice question, though there could be no doubt a man incurred guilt if he caught it with the same hand with which it had been thrown, but he was not guilty if he caught it in his mouth, since, after being eaten, the object no longer existed, and hence catching with the mouth was as if it had been done by a second person. Again, if it rained, and the water which fell from the sky were carried, there was no sin in it; but if the rain had run down from a wall it would involve sin. If a person were in one place, and his hand filled with fruit stretched into another, and the Sabbath overtook him in this attitude, he would have to drop the fruit, since if he withdrew his full hand from one locality into another, he would be carrying a burden on the Sabbath.[10]
They also had laws about cooking food. No fire was to be lite. An egg could not be boiled. Cold water could be poured on hot but hot could not be poured on cold. One Rabbi went so far as to say that one could not throw hot water over one’s self, for fear of spreading the vapor or cleaning the floor.
One could not move a chair because it might make a rut in the floor and this is a picture of work.
There is also a complete chapter on how they were to dress. Hence he must be careful not to put on any dress which might become burdensome, nor to wear any ornament which he might put off and carry in his hand, for this would be a ‘burden.’ A woman must not wear such headgear as would require unloosing before taking a bath, nor go out with such ornaments as could be taken off in the street, such as a frontlet, unless it is attached to the cap, nor with a gold crown, nor with a necklace or nose-ring, nor with rings, nor have a pin1 in her dress. The reason for this prohibition of ornaments was, that in their vanity women might take them off to show them to their companions, and then, forgetful of the day, carry them, which would be a ‘burden.’ Women are also forbidden to look in the glass on the Sabbath, because they might discover a white hair and attempt to pull it out, which would be a grievous sin; but men ought not to use looking- glasses even on weekdays, because this was undignified. A woman may walk about her own court, but not in the street, with false hair. Similarly, a man was forbidden to west on the Sabbath wooden shoes studded with nails, or only one shoe, as this would involve labour; nor was he to wear phylacteries nor amulets, unless, indeed, they had been made by competent persons (since they might lift them off in order to show the novelty). Similarly, it was forbidden to wear any part of a suit of armour. It was not lawful to scrape shoes, except perhaps with the back of a knife, but they might be touched with oil or water. Nor should sandals be softened with oil, because that would improve them. It was a very serious question, which led to much discussion, what should be done if the tie of a sandal had broken on the Sabbath. A plaster might be worn, provided its object was to prevent the wound from getting worse, not to heal it, for that would have been a work. Ornaments which could not easily be taken off might be worn in one’s courtyard. Similarly, a person might go about with wadding in his ear, but not with false teeth nor with a gold plug in the tooth. If the wadding fell out of the ear, it could not be replaced. Some, indeed, thought that its healing virtues lay in the oil in which it had been soaked, and which had dried up, but others ascribed them to the warmth of the wadding itself. In either case there was danger of healing—of doing anything for the purpose of a cure—and hence wadding might not be put into the ear on the Sabbath, although if worn before it might be continued. Again, as regarded false teeth: they might fall out, and the wearer might then lift and carry them, which would be sinful on the Sabbath.[11]
This stuff just goes on and on. This is what was wrapped up in their Sabbath day. Now what kind of a fun day is that? Listen, it is work to try and keep straight all the things that you can and cannot do, and the Jews hated Jesus for His violation of this. Which is not a violation at all, but ridiculous additions by the religion to keep people bound. We will see more of the Master Persecuted and the Murder Planned next time.
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[1]Unger, M. F., Harrison, R. K., Vos, H. F., Barber, C. J., & Unger, M. F. (1988). The new Unger's Bible dictionary. Revision of: Unger's Bible dictionary. 3rd ed. c1966. (Rev. and updated ed.). Chicago: Moody Press.
[2]Unger, M. F., Harrison, R. K., Vos, H. F., Barber, C. J., & Unger, M. F. (1988). The new Unger's Bible dictionary. Revision of: Unger's Bible dictionary. 3rd ed. c1966. (Rev. and updated ed.). Chicago: Moody Press.
[3]Unger, M. F., Harrison, R. K., Vos, H. F., Barber, C. J., & Unger, M. F. (1988). The new Unger's Bible dictionary. Revision of: Unger's Bible dictionary. 3rd ed. c1966. (Rev. and updated ed.). Chicago: Moody Press.
[4]Schaff, P., & Schaff, D. S. (1997). History of the Christian church. Oak Harbor, WA: Logos Research Systems, Inc.
[5]Pseudepigrapha of the Old Testament. 2004 (R. H. Charles, Ed.) (2:15). Bellingham, WA: Logos Research Systems, Inc.
( indicates that the word or words so enclosed or printed are supplied for the sake of clearness.
† indicate that the word or passage so enclosed is corrupt.
[6]Pseudepigrapha of the Old Testament. 2004 (R. H. Charles, Ed.) (2:15). Bellingham, WA: Logos Research Systems, Inc.
( indicates that the word or words so enclosed or printed are supplied for the sake of clearness.
[7]Pseudepigrapha of the Old Testament. 2004 (R. H. Charles, Ed.) (2:81-82). Bellingham, WA: Logos Research Systems, Inc.
[8]Theological dictionary of the New Testament. 1964-c1976. Vols. 5-9 edited by Gerhard Friedrich. Vol. 10 compiled by Ronald Pitkin. (G. Kittel, G. W. Bromiley & G. Friedrich, Ed.) (electronic ed.) (7:12). Grand Rapids, MI: Eerdmans.
84 Acc. to Jewish law it was forbidden to conduct a case on the Sabbath or a festival. Cf. on this Str.-B., II, 815–822. This Halakah is to be taken into account in assessing the Gospel account of the trial of Jesus. Cf. also J. Jeremias, Die Abendmahlsworte Jesu2 (1949), 44. The Jews did not come before Gentile courts on the Sabbath; this privilege was expressly granted them by Augustus, Jos. Ant., 16, 163; cf. also 16, 168.
[9]Theological dictionary of the New Testament. 1964-c1976. Vols. 5-9 edited by Gerhard Friedrich. Vol. 10 compiled by Ronald Pitkin. (G. Kittel, G. W. Bromiley & G. Friedrich, Ed.) (electronic ed.) (7:12-13). Grand Rapids, MI: Eerdmans.
[10]Edersheim, A. (1896, 2003). The life and times of Jesus the Messiah (2:779). Bellingham, WA: Logos Research Systems, Inc.
1 Literally, a needle which has not an eyelet. Of course, it would not be lawful for a modem Jew—if he observe the Rabbinic Law—to carry a stick or a pencil on the Sabbath, to drive, or even to smoke.
[11]Edersheim, A. (1896, 2003). The life and times of Jesus the Messiah (2:781-782). Bellingham, WA: Logos Research Systems, Inc.