Jesus' Controversial Actions: Breaking Laws For A Higher Power

Jesus was accused of breaking the law on multiple occasions, but did he really? The Bible mentions Jews admonishing Jesus for breaking the laws, but it also depicts Jesus saying that none of the ancestral laws will be broken. From a modern Jewish perspective, Jesus broke halacha by letting his apostles pick and eat grain on Shabbat, making a paste on Shabbat, and blaspheming. However, from the perspective of contemporaneous Judaism, it is less clear-cut. Jesus challenged the Pharisees on halachic issues, and likely believed that his actions were halachically permissible.

Jesus was also accused of breaking Roman civil laws, with Jewish leaders bringing him to Pilate and accusing him of misleading the nation, opposing paying taxes to Caesar, and claiming to be the Messiah, a king. However, Pilate declared Jesus innocent of these charges.

Jesus did break traditional Jewish interpretations of religious laws, and the Pharisees accused him of breaking the Sabbath law. However, Jesus did not break any Old Testament commands; he violated the interpretations that religious leaders had developed around the biblical commands. Jesus's focus was on a person's faithfulness, not outward signs, and he prioritised love and goodness.

Jesus broke Jewish law by healing people on the Sabbath

Jesus, being a Jew himself, was aware of these rules. However, he chose to heal people on the Sabbath anyway, as he believed that the Sabbath was meant to benefit people and bring them closer to God. For instance, he healed Simon Peter's mother-in-law, a man with a withered hand, a man born blind, a crippled woman, a man with dropsy, a demon-possessed man, and a lame man by the pool of Bethesda, all on the Sabbath.

Jesus's actions angered the Jewish leaders, who accused him of breaking the Sabbath law. In response, Jesus asserted that he was working just as his Father was working, implying that he was equal to God. This further infuriated the Jewish leaders, who plotted to kill him.

Jesus defended his actions by arguing that it was lawful to do good on the Sabbath and that the Sabbath was made for man, not man for the Sabbath. He pointed out the hypocrisy of the Jewish leaders, noting that they were willing to work on the Sabbath to help an animal but not to help a person.

Jesus's healing on the Sabbath was thus a challenge to the Jewish leaders and their interpretation of the law. It revealed their hardness of heart and gave a glimpse of the full healing from sin that Jesus would bring through his sacrifice on the cross.

He also broke Jewish law by not ritually washing his hands before eating

Jesus broke Jewish law by not ritually washing his hands before eating. This was seen as a sign of disloyalty to the Rabbinic tradition. In fact, in the Talmud, a story is recounted in which a man was excommunicated for making light of the handwashing ritual. The story goes:

> R. Joshua b. Levi further said: In twenty-four places we find that the Beth din inflicted excommunication for an insult to a teacher, and they are all recorded in the Mishnah. R. Eleazar asked him, Where? He replied: See if you can find them. He went and examined and found three cases: one of a scholar who threw contempt on the washing of the hands, another of one who made derogatory remarks about scholars after their death, and a third of one who made himself too familiar towards heaven.

Jesus's disciples were accused by the Pharisees of not washing their hands before eating, which was seen as eating with "defiled hands". In response, Jesus called the crowds to him and declared:

> Listen to me, everyone, and understand this. Nothing outside a person can defile them by going into them. Rather, it is what comes out of a person that defiles them... Don’t you see that nothing that enters a person from the outside can defile them? For it doesn’t go into their heart but into their stomach, and then out of the body.

Jesus was rejecting the biblical teaching of uncleanliness and declaring all foods clean. This was a clear break from the Old Testament law, which forbids eating certain foods.

Jesus overturned the money tables at the temple

The money changers and merchants in the temple provided a necessary function, exchanging money and selling sacrificial animals to pilgrims who had travelled from all over to Jerusalem for Passover. However, their practices had become corrupt, with exorbitant exchange rates and prices. Jesus's anger was fuelled by the fact that the "house of prayer for the nations" had become a "house of trade", hindering people's ability to worship and pray.

Jesus's actions also carried a deeper significance. The outer court, where the buying and selling took place, was meant to be a place where people of all nations could come and pray. By disrupting the commercial activity, Jesus symbolically opened the way for all nations to draw near to God. Additionally, his actions foreshadowed the ultimate cleansing and renewal that he would bring through his death and resurrection.

The chief priests and teachers of the law were angered by Jesus's actions, as they saw him as a threat to their power and the delicate harmony they had established with Rome. His actions in the temple were a significant factor in their decision to have him arrested and crucified.

He ate with sinners, or people of dubious reputation

Jesus broke societal norms by eating with sinners, or people of dubious reputation. This was seen as scandalous in ancient Israel, where the table was a place where spiritual points were taught and fellowship occurred. Eating with someone established a covenant relationship of friendship, which normally also signified approval.

Jesus ate with sinners because they were the ones he was sent to save. He chose to eat with sinners because they needed to know that repentance and forgiveness were available. As Jesus’ ministry grew, so did his popularity among the social outcasts of society.

Jesus broke the societal taboo of his time by eating with sinners, showing that he looked beyond culture to people’s hearts. The Pharisees, on the other hand, avoided those whom they deemed “sinners”. They were strict adherents to the Law, guardians of tradition, and exemplars of piety. They were also held in high esteem in Jewish society.

Jesus replied to the Pharisees' criticism with his core mission:

> It is not the healthy who need a doctor, but the sick. I have not come to call the righteous, but sinners to repentance.

Jesus also said:

> But go and learn what this means: ‘I desire mercy, not sacrifice.’ For I have not come to call the righteous, but sinners.

Jesus demonstrated his mission by eating with sinners. He touched the untouchable and loved the unlovely. He saw individuals, not just their labels. He had compassion and sought to meet the needs around him.

He forgave people's sins, bypassing the need for temple sacrifices

Jesus forgave people's sins, bypassing the need for temple sacrifices. This was seen as blasphemy by the religious rulers of his time, who had elevated their own rules to the level of God's instructions.

In the Old Testament, God instituted a sacrificial system for the forgiveness of sins. According to Leviticus, if the people sinned, they were to bring an animal sacrifice to the temple. The death of the animal would be counted as punishment for their sin. However, Jesus often forgave people's sins without requiring any sacrifice. For example, in Mark 2:5–7, he told a paralytic, "Son, your sins are forgiven," without prescribing any temple offering.

Jesus had the authority to bypass the temple sacrifices because he was the one who instituted the Sabbath day. As the Son of God, he had the authority to overrule the religious rulers' traditions and regulations. By healing people on the Sabbath, Jesus showed God's goodness and gave a glimpse of the full healing from sin that would be made possible by his sacrifice on the cross.

Jesus' actions also revealed the hardness of heart of the religious rulers. They were so focused on following their own rules that they had lost sight of the true purpose of the Sabbath, which was to benefit people and give them rest. Jesus, on the other hand, was concerned with meeting people's needs, whether physical or emotional. He broke rules, not to be rebellious, but to demonstrate that love is more important than rules.

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