While many in 21st century Christianity believe a Judaizer is one who follows and teaches the law of Moses, the Scriptural use of the term primarily has to do with a person from the Jewish faith of the 1st century attempting to enforce their extra-scriptural customs upon others, and then making the claim that through such customs is found justifying righteousness. This is what I dealt with in basics in the first post of this series. If this sounds strange or unorthodox to you, please bear with me for a few minutes in this second installment. It's time to do some digging into parts of the word where the soil is generally left unturned. When people think of a Judaizer, or the more popular term Pharisee, they think of "those Old Testament laws." I must say that I cringe when I hear someone speak about the Old Testament in a flippant or derogatory manner. Far be it that we should ever speak about anything the Almighty has declared, in a negative fashion. He is Creator, and He designs and enacts everything for a purpose. Nothing is meaningless, and that includes the 75% of the Bible that usually goes unread and unstudied by Christians today. My challenge for you today is to reprogram your thinking. If you think that a Judaizer or Pharisee is one who holds Biblical, Mosaic law to a high standard, and then teaches others to follow such law, you need to reevaluate what you believe and why you believe it. Have you taken the time to study these terms? Do you understand the culture of 1st century Israel? Asking questions like this is prosperous. We shouldn't desire to blindly follow. We must open our eyes and walk the proper path. It is crucial to know that Pharisees and their scribes (in the days of Yeshua Messiah) had a body of law that they believed ranked higher than the written law of Moses. They never got to a point where they would verbally criticize Moses' law, they would honor it with their words. However, they believed that Moses could only be understood by oral tradition; tradition that they claimed was handed down to them initially by prophet Moses, but in reality often deviated from Yahweh's original intent through Moses. Let's begin in the Gospel according to Mark. Mark 7:1-4 The first thing to note here is that the passage specifically mentions the Pharisees and some scribes. We learn that the Pharisees observed Yeshua's disciples doing something that they would consider to be transgression. The disciples were eating with unclean hands. I remember the first time I ever read this text. I was thinking to myself, "Why in the world did the Pharisees wash their hands before they eat? Mama always made us do that growing up." It's key to know that what Mama had us do - wash our hands before dinner - is not what the Pharisees had in mind. They were concerned with a ritual washing of the hands, a ceremony. So many dips, so many pours, so many prayers, and so on. The translation I'm quoting from (HCSB) points this out in verse 3 by adding the word ritually so that the reader understands better what is going on. Notice in verse 3 that it says not only the Pharisees, but ALL the Jews wash their hands ritually before they eat bread, following the tradition of the elders. I take this phrase "all the Jews" as meaning "the majority of the Jews." Certainly we know that all does not mean every single individual Jew here, because we just read that the disciples didn't follow the custom. If you flip over to Luke 11:37-41 you will see that Yeshua did not perform the ritual washing before eating dinner at a Pharisees house. I'm sure there were other Jews (Judahites) who did not follow the customs (among the Saducees, Essenes, and Zealots), but the majority of Jews did. Verse 4 informs us that when the Pharisees come from marketing, they don't eat until they first perform this ritual washing. This verse also tells us that they had received (and kept) MANY other customs. I want to focus upon this point a little. The ritual hand washing custom they followed is the gist of Mark 7, but we must not miss that they kept many other customs in their daily walk of life. Verse 4 mentions some of these other customs. The custom of washing other items like cups, jugs, and various utensils. This is all vital to understanding what exactly a Judaizer is. Let's keep going. Mark 7:5-9 So the Pharisees have watched the disciples, observed that they do not follow Jewish custom, and now ask Yeshua about it. Does Yeshua instruct his disciples to follow along so as not to offend the Pharisees? Not hardly. Yeshua calls the Pharisees pretenders (hypocrites) and begins to quote and apply a text from Isaiah to them. The Isaiah text (29:13) deals with a people who honor Yahweh with their words, but their heart is as hard as stone. Is like a husband telling his wife "I love you" but not caring about her from his heart. Yeshua goes on to quote from Isaiah concerning a people who worship Yahweh in vain. I find that statement amazing each time I read it. It is possible to worship Yahweh, but it be all in vain. In other words, it is possible for a person to think they are worshipping the Creator, the One Almighty, but the entire time their worship is useless and worthless. That's a sobering thought for sure. How was the worship by the Pharisees in vain? Yeshua tells us: they teach for doctrines the commandments of man. In verses 8-9 Yeshua goes on to say that they DISREGARD the commands of Yahweh, but KEEP the traditions of men. It's fascinating to me that in a chapter where Yeshua Messiah is devoted to uplifting Yahweh's commandments through Moses, you have many today go to this exact chapter in attempts to bypass the Lord's instructions on diet. That's kind of another issue, but it's baffling to me so I had to at least mention it. Suffice to say for now, our Lord was not declaring shrimp and pork okay to eat in Mark 7:19, right after he scathed the Pharisees for disregarding Yahweh's commands. Pay attention carefully to what our Messiah says next. Mark 7:10-13 Notice how Yeshua contrasts Moses with the Pharisees. The Pharisees are not upholding Moses in the example he gives. Rather:
(1) Moses says THIS (2) You [the Pharisees] say SOMETHING ELSE Right here we have the ultimate definition of the Pharisee or Judaizer. It is one who could really care less at the intent of Moses, opting to go with his own understanding or custom or tradition, and then plank that down hard upon others. On top of all that they would teach that if you did not follow their traditions you were not and could not be righteous. So, let's dissect Yeshua's statement about the law of Moses here. Moses says that we are to honor our parents. Honoring parents is so important that if we speak evil of them the penalty is death. That is what YESHUA says. That is how he (infallibly by the way) interprets Moses. If I were to say that to most church-goers today, I'd be looked at as though the devil had entered me, yet Yeshua says it right here in black and white, no batting an eye, a man's parents are to be honored and respected, not cursed. On the flip side the Pharisees were saying something different than Moses. They had come up with the Corban rule. Corban is a Hebrew term that means "gift or present." Their Corban rule stated that a man could dedicate his belongings to the Temple at Jerusalem, and then be free from having to take care of his parents when they needed his help. Honoring parents has to do with more than saying yes ma'am or no sir. Honoring parents means helping parents when they need you, especially as they grow older and have need of more help. The Pharisees had created a loophole in the law whereby they relieved themselves from having to honor their parents. This is why Yeshua says in verse 14 that they revoke the word of Yahweh by their tradition they have handed down. Don't miss that we are learning of one of those many traditions that was mentioned back in verse 4. Yeshua mentions this also at the end of verse 14 when he says "and you do many other similar things." The point is that the Pharisees (which were the big Judaizers of the 1st century) were not keepers of Mosaic law. Moses said one thing, they said another. They were interested only in getting you to comply with the tradition of the elders, tradition or law which they believed to make a person righteous before Yahweh. There is more to add to this, but I'll stop here for now. I encourage you to do more digging into Mark 7 in the meantime. Shalom... ~ Matthew Janzen
0 Comments
Over the past few weeks I've been called a Judaizer. Most people are like "huh?"
In 21st century Christianity, a Judaizer is someone who believes the law of Moses should be followed in the life of the Christian, and then seeks to encourage others to follow the law of Moses in their lives. So, for instance, if I abstain from eating shrimp and pork, and teach others to do the same... I'm a Judaizer. If I believe the Sabbath should be honored, and I teach others to do the same... I'm a Judaizer. If I wear tassels on the four corners of my garment, and teach others to do the same... I'm a Judaizer. The question is this: is this what the term Judaizer meant in its original, Biblical context? The term originates from a text in the book of Galatians (which I will exegete in detail in part 3 of this post) in which Paul is rebuking Peter. It stems from the Greek word: ιουδαιζω which is transliterated into English as Ioudaizo, or Judaize. Literally translated it means "to live or become as a Jew." But what did living as or becoming a Jew mean in the 1st century? For starters, let me explain what the term doesn't mean. The term cannot mean to live according to the law of Moses. The reason this isn't an option is because that following the example and lifestyle of the Messiah himself would mean that you were observing the law of Moses. Why? Because Yeshua observed the law of Moses and taught others to do so. In the famous "do not think" text of Matthew 5:17, Yeshua goes on to conclude that whoever of his listeners that day followed even the least of the commandments and taught others to do so would be called great in the kingdom of heaven (Matthew 5:19). He never said that if you observed Mosaic law that you were a "Ioudaizo" or Judaizer. This point alone shows that following the law of Moses = making the life of Yeshua the exemplary style of life for yourself. This certainly doesn't mean we observe Mosaic law perfectly (we can't), nor do we attempt to be justified by the law (which is impossible). It just means that we look at how Christ lived, and we seek to do the same in our own life. Quite simple. So what did the term Judaize originally mean? It had to do with those who lived according to the customs and traditions and interpretations of 1st century Judaism, particularly Pharisaism. The Pharisees (literally "separatists") considered themselves to be the strictest sect in the Hebrew faith. They would quote the law of Moses and then interpret it according to what they believed to be long-standing tradition. The problem here was that oftentimes, their interpretations actually added to or took away from the original intent of the law of Moses. They had concocted a religious system that they judged everyone by. They went around attempting to Judaize others, i.e. compel them to live according to the customs of Judaism. Yeshua, on the other hand, was hated by the Pharisees, because while they claimed to have the proper view of law in the 1st century, he basically went around telling them, "Nope, you've got it all wrong." Yeshua would then go behind them and explain the true intent of the law Yahweh gave to Moses, highlighting the weighty matters of the law like mercy, justice, and faith (Matthew 23:23). I'd like to continue to share more, but I've gotta' run this morning. Hopefully, I'll get to post part 2 tomorrow morning, so stay tuned. ~ Matthew Janzen Shall a trumpet be blown in the city, and the people not be afraid? shall there be evil in a city, and Yahweh hath not done it? (Amos 3:6)
I woke up this morning to find my Twitter and Facebook feed filled with people who were very disappointed (to say the least) that Barack Obama won the election for the President of the United States. These people were instead pulling for Mitt Romney, the gentleman on the Republican ticket. Sure, I would have liked to see Barack Obama removed from the Presidency, but I am not surprised at all that he was re-elected. What people do not understand is that Yahweh punishes nations, cities, families, and individuals when they refuse to turn from their wickedness and turn to Him. It sounds like a cliche when quoted, but 2 Chronicles 7:14 is so very true. If the people of Yahweh, who are called by His name, will humble themselves and pray and seek His face, and TURN FROM THEIR WICKED WAYS, then He will hear from heaven, forgive their sin, and heal their land. The reason the nation of American, or any other nation for that matter, gets leaders like Barack Obama or Mitt Romney ruling over them is because they refuse to turn from their wickedness. Wickedness is only defined by Yahweh's standards, thus wickedness is the violation of the law of Yahweh. Blatant breaking of Yahweh's law is not only found in the secular world, but it runs strong in many professing Christian churches in this nation. People sit in their pews under preachers who are guilty of breaking and teaching others that it's okay to break the least to sometimes the greatest of the commandments. They turn their ears from hearing the law (Proverbs 28:9) and then they pray, asking Yahweh to heal the nation. The problem is that Yahweh sees their prayer as an abomination before Him. You can't just quote 2 Chronicles 7:14 and think prayer is the answer.Prayer is PART of the answer, but prayer only works if you are humble, seeking His face, and turn from your violation of His holy law. When a nation refuses to follow the laws of Yahweh, Yahweh begins to wreak havoc on that nation. Look at the verse from Amos at the top of this post again. There are two rhetorical questions in the verse, both answers should be obvious. When a trumpet is blown in a city, people become afraid because they know they are hearing an alarm. Likewise, when evil exists in a city it is because Yahweh hath done it. Like it or not, that is what the inspired prophet Amos wrote. Yahweh is wreaking havoc upon America. America is severely under the judgment of the Almighty. The nation is corrupt as a whole, and Christians were blind to think that even a fellow like Mitt Romney could turn this nation around in the sight of Yahweh. See, asking me if I would vote for Barack Obama or Mitt Romney is like asking me if I would prefer a pork sandwich or shrimp scampi? It's like asking me would I rather steal from my father or my mother? It's like asking me would I rather you shoot me with a 50 caliber or a 22 rifle? These questions are botched to begin with. Both men, Barack Obama and Mitt Romney, are wicked men. I know this because the standard I'm judging them by is the law of Yahweh. Neither man is interested in upholding Yahweh's commandments, statutes, and judgments. Read the last portion of Deuteronomy 17 about selecting a king. There are criteria that the king must meet in order for him to be selected to rule. People say, "Well, nobody is perfect" but the fact remains that according to the Scriptures, men (and they must be men) must meet certain qualifications in order for them to be appointed (not voted) into a leadership office. One key criteria for a king is that he write himself out a copy of the law of Yahweh, read in it every day, judge and govern by it, and not turn aside from it to the right or left. If you put your stamp of approval upon a man that for leadership that is not the least bit interested in doing this, you are violating a major area of Yahweh's law. You are actually rejecting Yahweh in doing so. The odd thing is that professing Christians realized this when it came to Barack Obama. They would say things like "He's for abortion and homosexuality!" However, when it came to Mitt Romney they would not judge Him by Yahweh's law. I'm certain myself that Mitt Romney is not anti-abortion in the way Yahweh demands we should be, and do you really believe that Mitt Romney is anti-homosexuality in accordance with the law of Yahweh? Is Mitt Romney willing to hand out the death penalty to baby murderers and practicing, unrepentant homosexuals? This is what Yahweh demands, and if a king is not willing to meet Yahweh's standards on these laws then they are not "eye-to-eye" with Yahweh. Many professing Christians rightly recognize that by voting for Barack Obama you are partaking in his evil deeds. They fail to recognize that the exact same holds true by voting for Mitt Romney. On top of this we have an entire host of other laws of Yahweh that neither Barack Obama or Mitt Romney are concerned about, and we think that by voting one of these men into office that it is going to turn America around? I'm baffled, but then again, I'm really not. People are wicked and incapable of knowing the truth apart from the miraculous work of Yahweh upon their heart and mind turning them into a new creature. Right now, this nation is getting what it deserves. Wickedness is on the rise in America and Yahweh will punish this nation more and more severely until we actually begin to acknowledge that His ways are the only ways, and then begin to put His ways into practice. What can we do? It's simple, but few people are willing to do something simple that in the natural doesn't seem like it's going to make any headway. Yahweh always confounds the "wisdom of this world" with His ways of simplicity. Remember when he told the Israelites to march around the walls of Jericho? What kind of plan was that? It was Yahweh's plan, and you only get the righteous results of Yahweh by obeying His plan. What you need to do as an individual or as a family is seriously involve yourself in obeying 2 Chronicles 7:14. You must believe in and uphold His name, Yahweh, you must humble yourself, pray, and repent of violating His law - every portion of it. This means that you must be about studying Yahweh's law every day and applying to your life a little at a time. I guarantee you that if our nation did this as a whole, Yahweh would heal it, and I guarantee you that if you truly practice 2 Chronicles 7:14 in your own life and in the life of your family, Yahweh will protect you. Matthew Janzen I was thinking today about this blog. I have not written on it since January of this year 2012. It's not that I've not had any thoughts it's just that I don't seem to find the time to write all of my thoughts down!
This is what I am thinking about today. Here we are almost 4 years since Barak Obama was elected US President. He has now come out as openly supporting homosexuality, and any one who has done even a little research knows that he is pro-choice rather than pro-life. In case you missed it, Mr. Obama is for murdering unborn children. This is what it is called Biblically - murder, not abortion. Conservatives and many Christians are pushing that we must go out and vote for the alternate candidate or else we are in for disaster. Do I believe we are in for disaster if Obama gets re-elected? You bet I do, lol, but I judge all things by the Scriptures, specifically the law of Almighty Yahweh. So, if you ask me if I am voting for Mitt Romney or even writing in someone like Ron Paul my answer is: not hardly. I feel like I would be slapping Yahweh in the face if I placed a vote in favor of any man that did not meet HIS standards and qualifications for leadership. I have yet to see any man run for the office of President who is concerned with the law of Yahweh. Therefore I have not voted. Call me unpatriotic or ridiculous if you will, but I am really not all that concerned with what people call me. My concern is this - what does my heavenly Father think of my actions? And based upon Yahweh's revealed will as found in His instruction manual (Torah) I know exactly what He would think of me if I cast a vote for a man like Mitt Romney. He would be disappointed at best and His wrath would burn against me at worst. He would think, "Matthew, why are placing your trust in the arm of flesh? Why are you overlooking all of the things that disqualifies a man like Romney for a position of leadership?" Do I believe Romney is a better choice than Obama? Yes, I actually do. I also would rather be shot with a 22 than I would a 50 caliber, but if I have my first choice I'd choose not to be shot at all. As believers in Yahweh and Yeshua, our standards should not drop so low as as to base righteousness of the man who is least guilty of sin against Yahweh. This is what is ridiculous. Be vary careful about who you vote for. You will be held accountable for casting your approval on that person. You may very well be partaking in another man's sins. Yahweh... THY kingdom come... Matthew Janzen |
AuthorBlog by Matthew Janzen. Lover of Yahweh, Yeshua, my wife and 5 children. All else is commentary. Archives
December 2023
Categories
All
|