Putting man’s laws above God
“You can see how you desert God’s commandment while you hold fast to people’s tradition. You are altogether willing to reject the word of God while you maintain your own ways. And in many other ways do you dare to put your own teachings above the law and the prophets.”
Then Jesus directed his remarks to everyone present and said “But listen to me, all of you. It is not what enters into the mouth that spiritually ruins people, but rather what proceeds out of their mouths and hearts.”
But even the apostles failed to grasp what he meant because Simon Peter then said “In case some of your hearers may be unnecessarily offended, would you explain to us the meaning of those words?”
Jesus said “Are you also hard of understanding? Do you not know that every plant that my heavenly Father has not planted will be rooted up? Turn your attention now to those who want to know the truth. You cannot compel people to love the truth. Many of these teachers are blind guides. And you know that if the blind lead the blind both will fall into the pit. But listen while I tell you the truth concerning those things that morally tarnish and spiritually contaminate people. I declare that it is not what enters the body by the mouth or gains access to the mind through the eyes and ears that spoils a person. People are only ruined by the evil that originates in the heart and that finds expression in the words and deeds of such unholy ones. Do you not know that evil thoughts, wicked projects of theft, murder, and adultery together with lying, pride, anger, revenge, cursing, and jealousy come from the heart? These are the things that corrupt people, and not because they eat bread with dirty hands.”
The Pharisees were now almost convinced that Jesus had to be arrested on a charge of blasphemy or for flouting the sacred laws of the Jews. These beliefs dominated their lives: for example, no matter how scarce water may be at some times of the year, these traditionally enslaved Jews would never fail to do the required ceremonial washing of their hands before every meal. This was why they wanted to involve Jesus in the discussion of and possible attack on some of the traditions of the elders, or the so-called oral laws of the nation: it had been reported that Jesus had said “Salvation is a matter of clean hearts, not of clean hands.” But it was the rabbis’ belief that, “it is better to die than to break the laws of the elders.” Remember, these Jews thought that eating with unwashed hands was as bad as paying a prostitute for her services, and both were equally punishable by excommunication. Even many years after this day the Apostle Peter was still bound by fear to many of the traditions about clean and unclean things; it was only after an extraordinary vivid dream that he was finally done with these beliefs.
This was how Jesus discussed and exposed the stupidity of the entire rabbinic system of rules and regulations represented by the oral law—the traditions of the elders—all of which were regarded as more sacred and binding on the Jews than even the scriptures. Jesus was now less reserved in his speech because the hour had come when he could do nothing more to prevent an open break with the religious leaders.
Excerpt from: Son of Man: Urantia, Ch. 32, The Crisis at Capernaum
Son of Man: Urantia, is a restatement of the life and teachings of Jesus of Nazareth as presented in the Urantia revelation and in accordance with its urging to do so for today’s generation.
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