Wednesday: Jesus and the Fifth Commandment
During another encounter Jesus had with the scribes and Pharisees (Matt. 15:1-20; see also Mark 7:1-13), they questioned Him about a tradition of the elders, one not found in the Law of Moses. This tradition stipulated that one should ritualistically wash his hands before eating, something Jesus’ disciples had neglected to do. Christ immediately responded by citing another tradition of the Pharisees, one that invalidated the fifth commandment.
Image © Sally Weimer from GoodSalt.com
Before analyzing Christ’s argument, we need to understand that the tradition the Pharisees had established, called Corban, comes from a word that means a gift.
When a man applied the words, It is Corban
to anything, it was considered an oath: it was something dedicated to God and the temple.
Read Mark 7:9-13. In what ways was the Pharisees’ tradition such a subtle way of violating the fifth commandment? Consider the importance of presenting offerings before God (Exod. 23:15, Exod 34:20) and the sacredness of an oath made before the Lord (Deut. 23:21-23).
It seems as if the Pharisees had found the perfect excuse to deny one’s parents their rightful support. They had expanded the solid principles found in the Pentateuch and transformed them into man-made commandments, which, in their leader’s own thinking, could supersede one of God’s commandments.
This isn’t the only time Jesus dealt with the same spiritual perversion: But woe to you Pharisees! For you tithe mint and rue and all manner of herbs, and pass by justice and the love of God. These you ought to have done, without leaving the others undone
(Luke 11:42, NKJV; emphasis supplied). They should have kept both commands, first by honoring their father and mother, without leaving aside their giving to the Lord.
No wonder Jesus summed up His argument by applying to the Pharisees a description Isaiah made of the Israelites 700 years earlier: These people draw near to Me with their mouth, and honor Me with their lips, but their heart is far from Me. And in vain they worship Me, teaching as doctrines the commandments of men
(Matt. 15:8-9, NKJV). Once again, Christ upheld the Ten Commandments and contrasted His position with that of the Pharisees.
In what ways might you be seeking little technical loopholes in order to avoid doing what’s clearly your duty?
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I admire Jesus for his practicality. He does not expect us to deny the needs of our family in the name of service to the church. He does not expect us to be overburdened with church duties so that we can't take care of a sick parent. God must be hurting when we put our ailing parents in nursing homes ( those who don't need skilled nursing care), but we are intensely involved in multiple church activities.
Amen!
I concur with Lorraine. Our parents need their children's love and care, that's what they appreciate most. It's beautiful to have church service at home with ailing parent/s - either in morning or afternoon.
No one is indispensable in church activities. Things wont fall apart because you chose to worship with your parent/s. We are all headed there, anyway and we shall crave for such treatment from our own children. Let us do our part now and show our children, by example, how to love and care for the aged.
It clearly appears that at times we can uphold our human/church doctrines at the expense of Gods holy laws.Christ states out clearly that the decaloque should be the guideline to all other social standards.Whenever any of our church doctrines or societal laws seem to be at logger heads ,the Ten commandments should always be upheld.
Matthew 15:7 Hypocrites! Well did Isaiah prophesy about you, saying:
8 ‘These people draw near to Me with their mouth,
And honor Me with their lips,
But their heart is far from Me. ...
18 But those things which proceed out of the mouth come from the heart, and they defile a man. 19 For out of the heart proceed evil thoughts, murders, adulteries, fornications, thefts, false witness, blasphemies. 20 These are the things which defile a man, but to eat with unwashed hands does not defile a man.”
If we compare the texts above we see that Jesus is saying that words defile a man but at the same time good words do not mean that a man is NOT defiled. A man can speak good words from a "bad" heart--Hypocrites!
We as Seventh Day Adventist do this all the time, we leave all the burden of the church (food-share, visiting the sick, clerk duties etc.) on the minimal amount of members, and yet expect maximum benefits from the church. The same members year after year performs the major tasks of keeping the congregation and members informed and comfortable, while listening to insensitive remarks and criticism from the hypocrites who are too busy with their own lives to contribute.
Lord, please help us to be contributors to your kingdom, not depending on others to carry us, because in the end we can only give account of ourselves and no one else.
Paul likens the Church to the body. Each member of the body has a different function. The ear canot perform the function of the eye nor can the foot do the same thing as the hand. We need each member of our bodies to be fully functional. Yes, the body can be somewhat functional without say the eyes to see, but it has to work harder to access its world because of the lack in vision. Well, so too the church. We need every member of our Church to be functional, without the member who may seem like the most insignificant, we will have to work harder to access or, rather, reach out to the world.
Sometimes all it takes is a little encouragement for those members reluctant to serve to do so. They may not feel they have anything to offer. We, the active ones, sometimes have to discover what their gift is and gently encourage them to use it.
So I have a young neighbor who needs medicine for her very sick baby. I don't have enough money left to pay for it. Can I use some of the tithe for this worthy cause?
YES, you can according to Leviticus 27:31 "And if a man will at all redeem ought of his tithes, he shall add thereto the fifth part thereof."
But you must add one fifth when you return it to the Lord. So if in an emergency you have to use your tithe when you do pay it you must add 20% interest.
Norma: Re: Leviticus 27:21 According to the Commentary that verse was not referring to withholding tithe. It was a question of paying the tithe in kind wheat, barley or whatever was being tithed, or paying in money rather than wheat etc. He could then have the crop appraised & pay the appraisal amount plus 1/5. The withholding of tithe was never contemplated.
Dear Norma, tithing is a request with a promise attached. It is not one of the 10 commandments. God is love. We are on is earth to learn to love, first of all God then ourselves and our neighbours as ourselves. Your neighbour is in desperate need. Buy the medication for that sick child. In this way you show what real loving care means. God bless.
If tithing is a mere request why did God say it is robbery to withhold tithe? (Malachi 3:8)
There is a danger that a casual view of things of God may cause one to profane that which is holy. That the question is being asked probably indicates the matter is not being treated lightly.
The first thing to do is pray, and be prepared to follow the leading of the Spirit. Beyond that it is useful to consider acting in mercy, without canceling the obligation. That is help the child immediately, and later restore the tithe as soon as possible. This is likely what would be done with what belongs to Caesar (government taxes).
Jesus showed us mercy, but He did not spare Himself the obligation of the law. So all the way to Calvary He went for us. What a wonderful thing to be like Jesus.
Sister Norma Forde very sad you can't you the tithe for any other thing. Pay the tithe and pray to the Lord to help you get the money to help your neighbour.
The issue here is about neglecting the duty one owes to their parents, not simply as parents, but as those in need of charity, by claiming higher religious priorities. There is, today, the same sort of dissonance when going to church and singing happy songs, hearing happy sermons, having a good time at pot-luck, etc., while being aware, in the ever-widening sphere of awareness, of so much acute suffering perhaps locally, but certainly globally. Can we be satisfied with our coffer contributions in knowing that funds and aid will be dispersed by the appropriate institutions, and then forget about it? How do we implement the practical religion of Jesus at a more personal level in our Christian walk without compromising the embodiment of joy, hope, love, and faith?