BABY FOOD AND PHARISEES

Yeshua, of course, was the epitome of Someone who knew God in the deepest of ways, being a man free of a nature inclined toward sin.  At its core, sin is separation, or independence, from God.  There was nothing about Yeshua that was independent of God. Everything He did and said reflected the heart of God. Did you ever think of God as Humble? Washing Peter's feet was an act of Almighty God! Even as a tiny child, He was godlike.

One interesting way to study the  Jewish Bible, is to look for where you find some nuggets of information about Yeshua that we wouldn’t know otherwise. Following is a pretty familiar prophetic verse but I want to focus on the last line:

“Behold, a young woman will conceive and bear a son and she will call His name Emanuel.  And He will eat curds and honey when He knows to refuse the bad and choose the good” (Isaiah 7:15-16). 

It says that Yeshua would be eating curds and honey, or what would amount to baby food when even then, at that young age, He would be aware of the difference between bad and good and know to choose good. I guess Yeshua never went through the “terrible two’s.” The whole passage is about Him as a wee little one, and since He had the sinless character of God, He was not drawn to bad or evil. He had no sinfulness within His moral character so that, even as a toddler, what is “ra” – the Hebrew word for anything that is bad or evil or not good for us – would have no appeal to Him. Or perhaps He even felt a sense of disinclination toward anything not good or of God.  This gives us a meaningful insight into His essential nature. 

Insights like this are like a nugget of gold when you come to them as if you were mining for gold.  Ask the Holy Spirit to reveal some of these nuggets to you, as you read thoughtfully. Some of them are rather hidden but it’s a delight when we find them.

While many beautiful and encouraging phrases are on the surface of what we read, there are passages that give us reason to seek at a greater depth for what He was trying to convey, or what was really going on. (When you come across O.T. verses in the N.T. (indented or in italics), take the time to look for where the reference is and then look them up for greater clarity.)  For instance, we know that much of Yeshua’s ministry included confrontations with those who opposed Him. Why all the animosity?  Is there more behind the scenes that we could be missing? And if so, is there something about Him personally we could be misunderstanding?

One such example is when He was confronting the Scribes and Pharisees who were so intent on doing harm to Him. One day, aware of their intentions, He began to say to them, “Woe to you hypocritical Scribes (Torah teachers) and Pharisees! You are like whitewashed tombs, which look fine on the outside but inside are full of dead people’s bones and all kinds of rottenness” (Matthew 23:27).  Pretty strong words, wouldn’t you say? He said a lot more to them then, but these words introduce the impact He was trying to bring to them. I’m sure He certainly would have gotten their attention at his point. But there’s more.

Those religious leaders knew exactly what He was referring to in using the term “whitewashed.” His words to them in that whole passage should have been convicting enough but since they would know that the reference was what was said in Ezekiel 13 where God was giving a serious warning to a corrupt priesthood, they would also know He was saying the same things about them.  Please take a few moments to read through Ezekiel 13:1-16 thoughtfully, noting that “whitewash” is found in verses :10, 11, 14, and 15. Keep in mind that prophets in Ezekiel’s day would be the equivalent of the religious leaders in Yeshua’s day.

What in fact Yeshua was doing was warning them that in their attitudes toward Him they were risking their eternal destinies. He was trying to make them aware of what God had previously accused a corrupt priesthood through Ezekiel’s words and to make them see that their own hearts were also far from God.  If you recall, Yeshua said, “If anyone hears my words and does not believe, I do not judge him, for I came not to judge the world but to save the world” (John12:47). So we must assume His intention in speaking so harshly to the leaders was not to judge them, but to cause them to rethink their intentions. He wanted them to come to the realization that their rejection of Him and their plans to see Him murdered were greatly influencing their own eternal destinies.  This wasn’t about politics and keeping their positions of power in this life; it was about an eternity with or without God.  He wanted them to rethink their place before YHVH. He wanted with all His heart to “save” them, not condemn them.

Paul later also used the word calling the high priests, “…you whitewashed wall! (Acts 23:3a). It may well have been God Himself trying to give the leaders cause to rethink their continued animosity toward Yeshua as well as those who continued to be His followers.  Since we are told that “a number of the party of the Pharisees believed” in Yeshua (Acts 15:5), it may well be that Yeshua's words or Paul’s were heard as God intended which brought them to repentance.

Many have believed that Yeshua was in fact condemning all Israel's religious leaders. This interpretation has fed into an age-old anti-Jewish rhetoric that was interpreted as God being against the Jewish leaders and so, it has been thought, He must be against the Jews who followed them as their leaders. That perspective not only misrepresents all of Israel and their leadership, but it certainly does not reflect the ways of all of Israel’s attitude toward Yeshua because we know that the first 3,000 believers were Jews who came to faith in Yeshua on Shavuot (Pentecost), and then, “every day the Lord was adding to those who had been saved” (Acts 2:47). It is estimated that up to 1.5 million Jewish people became believers in Yeshua in the first century, including a number of the religious leaders. So the idea that God was against the Jews or all of their leaders for rejecting Yeshua is unfounded.

Secondly, and more importantly, the misinterpretation of Yeshua’s intention in addressing the leaders as He did, has led to a gross misunderstanding of the heart of God. That misunderstanding has been used to justify not only anti-Jewish sentiments, but has also caused some Christians to believe that God, and even Jesus, is judgmental and condemning of those who are still not believing in Him, rather than extending a hand of  grace to them just as Yeshua did.  Note that the quote from John 12 above states that even if people do not believe Him, He did not judge them.  In truth, His heart of mercy was toward them, trying to get them to understand they were far from God and following a very dangerous path in their own hearts.

He was not judging them as evil; He was trying to get them to turn from evil. He was trying to get them to rethink their positions so as to save them! There is cause to believe that Yeshua was actually heartbroken at the condition of their hearts, knowing that one day they would realize their error when it was too late if they didn’t repent and turn toward God. Thankfully, we know from Acts that many of the Pharisees did come to saving faith in Yeshua.

Yeshua’s entire life and every word He ever spoke was of grace, and never of condemnation or  judgment that would send people to hell. Rather, He was "the way" out!  Even His very name means God (is) salvation (to be saved, rescued).  He died to save people from Hell, not to send them to it.   Even to the very last moments of His life, He sought for the forgiveness of the worst of men, even His murderers. If that isn’t mercy and grace, what is?  How then should we be?