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NASB | John 17:1 Jesus spoke these things; and lifting up His eyes to heaven, He said, "Father, the hour has come; glorify Your Son, that the Son may glorify You, |
AMPLIFIED 2015 | John 17:1 When Jesus had spoken these things, He raised His eyes to heaven [in prayer] and said, "Father, the hour has come. Glorify Your Son, so that Your Son may glorify You. |
Subject: Iam having some questions |
Bible Note: I suppose I can try this again. :-) The Oral Law is the traditions handed down by sages of old and passed from disciple to disciple down through the ages. One of the Oral Laws was that it was not to be written down. But, around the year 200AD there was a growing fear that much of this information would be lost, so it was written down as the Mishna. The Talmud is a collection of commentary on the Mishna and while the Mishna is about the size of a Bible (maybe less) the Tamud is volumes and there are two, the Jerusalem (less used) and the Babylonian (most popular.) The Jewish tradition is that the Oral Law originated with Moses, who passed it to the Judges who passed it to the Prophets who passed it to the great Assembly etc.. The Pharisees in Jesus day and the "sages" can be traced back to Ezra who set up a system for making sure the people knew the Law. So, much of the beginnings of what the Jews have today can, at the least, be traced back that far. But, most of the added laws came years after Ezra. I am not saying Ezra made up the Oral Law, but he either passed parts along, or helped begin it. (Daniel in Babylon also is seen observing some of the Oral Law by praying three times in conjunction with the Temple sacrifices.) Since the Talmud contains what was taught over the course of some 1500 years, one can not simply pull something out and attribute it to the first century. I’m a strong believer in Historical context, and so learning what the theological beliefs in the first century were is important. It’s these beliefs that the first Christians would have been discussing as well. So practicing a careful study of the many sources to define with an acceptable level of probability what was accepted in the first century has been a course of study for me. It’s not easy. In defensive of the Talmud, Christians have the same things. We have commentary on the Bible. We discuss and disagree on what certain things in the Bible mean. The Bible does require interpretation, and the good in the Oral Law attempts to do this. Example: If we are to not work on the Sabbath, then what is work and what isn't? If we are to help a donkey that falls in a pit, then what are we to do if that happens on the Sabbath? Work, or wait? Also in defense, the Jews were sent into Babylon because they disobeyed God; they participated in Idolatry and broke the Sabbath. When they returned they attempted to fix this problem by putting “fences” around the written Law. You will find A LOT to do with Idolatry and the Sabbath in the Mishna. Like most things, the intention is good, but the result isn’t always. As Christians we need to be careful what additional laws we put on the congregations, because while we may intend well, the result may not be so good. And yes, Christians put additional laws on top of the Bible too, it’s just not as easy to see because it’s our tradition and it’s what we grew up knowing. Not that these as guides are bad, but they can become bad quickly. I do not live my life based on the Oral Law. I do not believe it to be authoritative. But the New Testament wasn’t written in a vacuum. There is a context of geography, Roman laws, Jewish laws and traditions, and Pagan deities, etc… All of this was a real life current situation for the first believers, and knowing it well helps us understand better. MJH |