dogs in the manger

removing leaven from the children’s bread

Part Three

When I was a child, I remember eyeing up my dad’s plate at dinner. On occasion he would cut me off a little of what he had & give it to me. I would pop it into my mouth & chew & chew & chew until I could swallow what I’d been given . When I was born again, I found myself doing the same thing with The Lord. I slowly, but surely developed a hunger for the things of God & for His Word. Peter tells us, “As newborn babes, desire the sincere milk of the word, that ye may grow thereby:” (1^st Peter 2:2). Our growth is not an option that we should take lightly. We must not remain children. We must grow up in Him & into real manhood in Christ & only our own immaturity will prevent our progress (1^stCorinthians 3:1-2, 14:20 & Ephesians 4:15). The writer of Hebrews tells us [that] “For when for the time ye ought to be teachers, ye have need that one teach you again which be the first principles of the oracles of God; and are become such as have need of milk, and not of strong meat. For everyone that useth milk is unskilful in the word of righteousness: for he is a babe. But strong meat belongeth to them that are of full age, even those who by reason of use have their senses exercised to discern both good and evil” (Hebrews 5:12-14).

A hunger, zeal & passion for God’s Word are all worthy pursuits, but when these things blind us to love, grace, mercy & truth, we have failed. In this I’m reminded of the words of the Apostle Paul, who said “See then that ye walk circumspectly, not as fools, but as wise” (Ephesians 5:15). Not as fools, but as wise. The balanced walk of circumspection will keep us away from fundamental errors & extremes.

¹Brethren, my heart's desire and prayer to God for Israel is, that they might be saved. ² For I bear them record that they have a zeal of God, but not according to knowledge. ³ For they being ignorant of God's righteousness, and going about to establish their own righteousness, have not submitted themselves unto the righteousness of God. ⁴ For Christ is the end of The Law for righteousness to everyone that believeth (Romans 10:1-4).

Zeal without knowledge will not prevent our ignorance of God’s plan, process or purpose. More importantly, our fervour will not bring us or others into God’s righteousness. As a matter of fact, some of us may even become self-righteous & prideful. Listen again to the words of The Apostle Paul.

¹³ For ye have heard of my conversation in time past in the Jews' religion, how that beyond measure I persecuted the church of God, and wasted it: ¹⁴ And profited in the Jews' religion above many my equals in mine own nation, being more exceedingly zealous of the traditions of my fathers (Galatians 1:13-14).

¹ Finally, my brethren, rejoice in the Lord. To write the same things to you, to me indeed is not grievous, but for you it is safe. ² Beware of dogs, beware of evil workers, beware of the concision. ³ For we are the circumcision, which worship God in the spirit, and rejoice in Christ Jesus, and have no confidence in the flesh. ⁴ Though I might also have confidence in the flesh. If any other man thinketh that he hath whereof he might trust in the flesh, I more: ⁵ Circumcised the eighth day, of the stock of Israel, of the tribe of Benjamin, an Hebrew of the Hebrews; as touching The Law, a Pharisee; ⁶ Concerning zeal, persecuting the church; touching the righteousness which is in The Law, blameless. ⁷ But what things were gain to me, those I counted loss for Christ (Philippians 3:1-7).

According to the flesh, Paul’s track record may seem impressive, but the crossing of ‘T’s & dotting of ‘I’s does not amount to righteousness or salvation. If these things were sufficient, we would have no need of Christ. They are not sufficient. We need Jesus. Paul also tells us that he received mercy for the things that he had done because he did them ignorantly in unbelief (1^st Timothy 1:13). His zeal allowed him the luxury of ignorance. His zeal led him to persecute The Church. His zeal led him to stand by & watch the stoning to death of Stephen (Acts 7:57-59). Zeal is not enough, but on its own it is extremely dangerous.

¹ Men, brethren, and fathers, hear ye my defence which I make now unto you. ² (And when they heard that he spake in the Hebrew tongue to them, they kept the more silence: and he saith,) ³ I am verily a man which am a Jew, born in Tarsus, a city in Cilicia, yet brought up in this city at the feet of Gamaliel, and taught according to the perfect manner of The Law of the fathers, and was zealous toward God, as ye all are this day. ⁴ And I persecuted this way unto the death, binding and delivering into prisons both men and women. ⁵ As also the high priest doth bear me witness, and all the estate of the elders: from whom also I received letters unto the brethren, and went to Damascus, to bring them which were there bound unto Jerusalem, for to be punished (Acts 22:1-5).

Paul was a Pharisee & the son of a Pharisee (Acts 23:6) & this is no small claim. At the age of two, a boy born into a Pharisee household would be given a Torah scroll smeared with honey (Jeremiah 15:16). At the age of four, the child would begin memorising the book of Leviticus. By the age of twelve he would know the Pentateuch intimately & be examined in the Temple by Rabbis. All of his answers to their questions would have to be quotations from The Torah (Luke 2:42-52). Quite a thing.

After this, as he grew older, he would commit the Psalms & the Prophets to memory as well as the writings of other Rabbis & teachers. But this was not the only way into Pharisaism. Gershom Bader writes in his book ‘The Jewish Spiritual Heroes’ [that] “Any person could join if he promised, in the presence of three members, to observe the rules of the organization which concentrated on cleanliness and ablutions. It is interesting to note that in accepting a new member no distinction was made between a scholar and an uneducated person. Both were considered of equal worth and any person who was willing to assume the burdens of Pharisaism could join the society.” Bader continues, stating [that] “It is worth noting that the Pharisees were active in establishing regulations over the conduct of Judaism that would serve as a defensive wall about the Torah. To this end many laws of the Torah were made more severe and others assumed a form which to the casual observer seemed to deviate from the original text. These interpretations were generally based on traditions which in turn had to be substantiated by the Torah…Separated from all other people by their manner of observing the Jewish customs, the Pharisees considered the other Jews as idol worshipers with whom no pious man should have any contact... As a pious precaution, many Pharisees abstained from dealing with the so-called “Ame Aratzim” (people of the soil). A Pharisee would not eat at the same table with an “Am Ha’Aretz” out of suspicion that the latter may not have contributed his share to the Priests and Levites. Neither would a Pharisee buy from or sell to an “Am Ha’Aretz”, nor invite one to his house, nor go visiting into the house of an “Am Ha’Aretz”. The name “Am Ha’Aretz” was at that time applied primarily to tillers of the soil. Although agricultural work, as such, was highly regarded by the scholars, many of them openly confessed their dislike for the “Am Ha’Aretz”, the man of the soil. Certain historians try to interpret this attitude as an indication that the tillers of the soil were not racially pure and freely inter-married with their gentile neighbours. In the Talmud there are widely diverging opinions as to which people should be classified as “Am Ha’Aretz”. Some would have it that an “Am Ha’Aretz” is a person who does not contribute the tithe from the fruit of his land. Rabbi Eliezer held that an “Am Ha’Aretz” is one who does not recite the prayer “Shema” morning and evening. Rabbi Joshua said an “Am Ha’Aretz” is one who does not wear Phylacteries. Ben Azai said it is one who does not wear fringes. Rabbi Nathan said it is one who has no Mezuzah on his door; Rabbi Nathan, the son of Joseph, said it is one who does not raise his children in the knowledge of the Torah. Others contended that even if a person studied much himself but did not serve other scholars, he deserves to be called an “Am Ha’Aretz.” The Pharisees disdained an “Am Ha’Aretz”. From other sources in the Talmud we know that the “Am Ha’Aretz” hated scholars.”

Gershom Bader The Jewish Spiritual Heroes. Copyright 1940 by Pardes Publishing, New York N.Y.

With these things in view, why were these deeply dedicated men so vehemently opposed to the ministry of Christ for the most part & why did He unleash such volcanic castigation upon them so regularly & viciously? Remember, zeal without knowledge is a dangerous thing. It can be fatal. Imagine a powerful vehicle being driven at high speeds by someone who has no experience, wisdom or direction. Such a driver can hurt others as well as themselves. In the case of the Pharisees, their zeal had turned what began as a righteous endeavour, into a caricature. Jesus called them out time & time again because they weren’t entering the kingdom & were preventing others from doing so. Their doctrine was likened to leaven. The Lord did not approve. They were dogs in the manger.

¹ There was a man of the Pharisees, named Nicodemus, a ruler of the Jews: ² The same came to Jesus by night, and said unto him, Rabbi, we know that thou art a teacher come from God: for no man can do these miracles that thou doest, except God be with him (John 3:1-2).

Jesus treats Nicodemus fairly but firmly, as one learned Rabbi to another. The only miracle The Lord had performed thus far was the turning of water into wine, at the wedding He had attended in Cana of Galilee. The Lord doesn’t blush & deny what Nicodemus says, because it was absolutely true. He was a teacher sent from God & His miracles were divine. But there was so much more to Christ. The significance of this miracle should not have been lost on Nicodemus. The King of the Jews, God Himself in the flesh, the Bridegroom of His people Israel, had appeared in order to initiate the salvation of His nation. The Messiah was made manifest for His bride.

The words of this Jewish leader were not idle flattery. There was no way to credibly contradict The Lord in His unparalleled knowledge of The Scriptures. Nor was there any method of their interpretation that escaped Him. Jesus was a master of Midrash & Pilpul. Nicodemus had more than met his match in the seemingly rustic Galilean carpenter, yet he stops short of saying that he recognises Jesus as his Messiah. Perhaps he had been one of the Rabbis that had examined The Lord in the Temple when He was twelve years old? For Nicodemus as a Pharisee, not only was there the maze of biblical interpretation to navigate, but also the hurdles of the oral tradition. It becomes obvious that in order to believe in Christ something had to give. It’s one thing to know The Law, but quite another thing entirely, to know The Lord. Christ tears through the doctrine of salvation that the Pharisees were preaching, because it wasn’t pure. It contained leaven.

¹⁶ For God so loved the world, that he gave his only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have everlasting life ¹⁷ For God sent not his Son into the world to condemn the world; but that the world through him might be saved. ¹⁸ He that believeth on him is not condemned: but he that believeth not is condemned already, because he hath not believed in the name of the only begotten Son of God. (John 3:16-18).

You love these verses. I love these verses. We use them when we witness & share The Gospel & rightly so. But we have to understand exactly what Jesus is saying to Nicodemus. The Lord goes right against the grain of his theology. Only The Messiah could make this bold claim. Believing in Him, not rituals or the oral tradition, was the way to be saved. This Pharisee who was a significant theologian, a ruler & a master in Israel, knew nothing of which Jesus spoke. But with the exception of Simon (Luke 7), this was the only congenial dialogue that The Lord had with any member of the sect. He was the way of salvation, not them.

like His cousin John the Baptiser, He viewed them as a brood of vipers & children of the devil. He told them that they would die in their sins. They had choice words to say of Christ in return. They called Him a Samaritan. They implied that He was the result of fornication. They said He had a demon & used demonic power to perform miracles. There will never be any love lost between The Lord & those who lead His people astray or stand in the way of access to Him.

If Christ had rolled His eyes at the Sadducees, He most certainly rolled up His sleeves with the Pharisees. He pulled no punches whatsoever. These dogs in the manger stood between the common people & their God, so their God came to deal with it Himself. The Pharisees & their elitism estranged them from their counterparts among the Sadducees & their false doctrine. They were also separated from the collective poor, the sick, those who worked with or for Rome & common or garden offenders. They were above & beyond them, yet these were the very people that Jesus attended to. Unlike the Pharisees, Jesus ministered to the social outcasts. Drunks. Gluttons. Prostitutes. Tax collectors. The sinners. (Matthew 11:19). Plus the occasional Gentile thrown in for good measure. The ‘Ame Aratzim’. The ‘Am Ha’Aretz’. The common people.

He was their Light. He was their Bread of Life. He was their Good Shepherd. He was their Vine. He was their Door. He was their Way, Truth & Life. He was their Saviour. He was their Champion. He was their Knight in Messianic armour. Dear reader, He is yours too.

To The Lord, these were the lost sheep He had come to find. They were the rebellious sons who refused to work in the vineyard but afterwards repented. They were the pearls of great price. They were the prodigal sons. They were the lost coins. But what of the Pharisees? They were the hirelings who saw the wolf coming & abandoned the sheep. They had said they would work in the vineyard but had not gone. They were the judgemental elder sibling who would not rejoice at their brother’s repentance & return to The Father. They were the thieves & robbers who came to kill, steal & destroy. They were murderers. Bear in mind the infamous prayer that Pharisees are reputed to have prayed, “I thank you God you didn’t make me a dog a Samaritan or a woman”. I can only assume that they also thanked God that they were not hoi polloi either. Jesus deliberately disrupts the power base that the Pharisees had set up.

1.Keep the common people ignorant. So Jesus teaches them, “And seeing the multitudes, he went up into a mountain: and when he was set, his disciples came unto him:  And he opened his mouth, and taught them,..” (Matthew 5:1-2). 2.Keep the Gentiles out. So Christ welcomes their displays of great faith, “When Jesus heard it, he marvelled, and said to them that followed, Verily I say unto you, I have not found so great faith, no, not in Israel.”, “Then Jesus answered and said unto her, O woman, great is thy faith: be it unto thee even as thou wilt. And her daughter was made whole from that very hour.” (Matthew 8:10 & 15:28).

3.The common folk do not know The Law, however, we do, “But this people who knoweth not The Law are cursed.” (John 7:49). So Messiah sums it up simply, “Master, which is the great commandment in The Law? Jesus said unto him, Thou shalt love the Lord thy God with all thy heart, and with all thy soul, and with all thy mind. This is the first and great commandment. And the second is like unto it, Thou shalt love thy neighbour as thyself. On these two commandments hang all The Law and the prophets.” (Matthew 22:36-40). 4.They cannot grasp theological concepts. So The Lord places salvation within easy reach, “Come unto me, all ye that labour and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest. Take my yoke upon you, and learn of me; for I am meek and lowly in heart: and ye shall find rest unto your souls.  For my yoke is easy, and my burden is light.” (Matthew 11:28-30).

5.It’s beyond their limited intellect. So Jesus encourages a childlike faith, “At the same time came the disciples unto Jesus, saying, Who is the greatest in the kingdom of heaven? And Jesus called a little child unto him, and set him in the midst of them, And said, Verily I say unto you, Except ye be converted, and become as little children, ye shall not enter into the kingdom of heaven. Whosoever therefore shall humble himself as this little child, the same is greatest in the kingdom of heaven.” (Matthew 18:1-4). 6.We will interpret The Law for them. So The Saviour tears their traditions to pieces, “Then came to Jesus scribes and Pharisees, which were of Jerusalem, saying, Why do thy disciples transgress the tradition of the elders? for they wash not their hands when they eat bread. But he answered and said unto them, Why do ye also transgress the commandment of God by your tradition?” (Matthew 15:1-3).

7.We will give them guard rails or fence laws, in order to prevent them breaking the rules & we will take great pleasure in looking down upon them. So Messiah stands up for them, “ And it came to pass, as Jesus sat at meat in the house, behold, many publicans and sinners came and sat down with him and his disciples. And when the Pharisees saw it, they said unto his disciples, Why eateth your Master with publicans and sinners? But when Jesus heard that, he said unto them, They that be whole need not a physician, but they that are sick. But go ye and learn what that meaneth, I will have mercy, and not sacrifice: for I am not come to call the righteous, but sinners to repentance.” (Matthew 9:10-13).

The Lord intentionally kicked their fences down & reduced them to firewood. The Pharisees had laced the children’s bread with leaven. Is it any wonder that the people were in love with their Rabbi, Yeshua? Dear reader, love him & fall in love with Him again. The people hated Imperial Rome but the empire didn’t care. The people hated the Pharisees & the feeling was mutual. But the people did not know how to love their God, because these dogs in the manger were standing in their way. With the coming of The Lord Jesus Christ, all of that changed. He who had seen Him, had seen The Father (John 14:9).

The Pharisees may have begun well, with great ideals & good ideas. However, when what you do is far removed from the heart & mind of God The Father, you will soon run into trouble with Him. They had become an exclusive club of sneering elitists & egotists, rather than the shepherds of Israel that they ought to have been. They were nothing more than a cynical bunch of old codgers. If only they had read Ezekiel 34. “And the word of the Lord came unto me, saying, Son of man, prophesy against the shepherds of Israel, prophesy, and say unto them, Thus saith the Lord God unto the shepherds; Woe be to the shepherds of Israel that do feed themselves! should not the shepherds feed the flocks? Ye eat the fat, and ye clothe you with the wool, ye kill them that are fed: but ye feed not the flock. The diseased have ye not strengthened, neither have ye healed that which was sick, neither have ye bound up that which was broken, neither have ye brought again that which was driven away, neither have ye sought that which was lost; but with force and with cruelty have ye ruled them. And they were scattered, because there is no shepherd: and they became meat to all the beasts of the field, when they were scattered. My sheep wandered through all the mountains, and upon every high hill: yea, my flock was scattered upon all the face of the earth, and none did search or seek after them.”.

The Pharisees used their position to distance themselves from the people, while they patted each other on the back, honouring themselves. In reality, their treatment of The Law distanced them from The Lord, but they were too blind to see it. Jesus takes a firm hold of their structure & begins to dissemble it. Jesus informs them, saying, “And ye have not his word abiding in you: for whom he hath sent, him ye believe not. Search the scriptures; for in them ye think ye have eternal life: and they are they which testify of me. And ye will not come to me, that ye might have life. I receive not honour from men. But I know you, that ye have not the love of God in you. I am come in my Father's name, and ye receive me not: if another shall come in his own name, him ye will receive. How can ye believe, which receive honour one of another, and seek not the honour that cometh from God only? Do not think that I will accuse you to the Father: there is one that accuseth you, even Moses, in whom ye trust. For had ye believed Moses, ye would have believed me; for he wrote of me. But if ye believe not his writings, how shall ye believe my words” (John 5:38-47).

Mark tells us, “Then the Pharisees and scribes asked him, Why walk not thy disciples according to the tradition of the elders, but eat bread with unwashen hands? He answered and said unto them, Well hath Esaias prophesied of you hypocrites, as it is written, This people honoureth me with their lips, but their heart is far from me. Howbeit in vain do they worship me, teaching for doctrines the commandments of men. For laying aside the commandment of God, ye hold the tradition of men, as the washing of pots and cups: and many other such like things ye do. And he said unto them, Full well ye reject the commandment of God, that ye may keep your own tradition.” (Mark 7:5-9).

For the Pharisees The words of Christ were a definitive kick in the teeth. To have a Galilean tear them to pieces so systematically, was like a proud Ph.D being lectured by a country bumpkin with straw hanging out of his mouth, while crunching on a carrot! I’m reminded of the words of R.C. Sproul, who said, “Why was Christ killed? He was killed, not because He said consider the Lillies how they grow, but because He said consider the thieves, how they steal & because He said consider the Pharisees, how hypocritical they are & they hated Him, because he was holy”.

 

End of Part Three

copyright Ó by david Samuel Parkins mmxxiv all rights reserved.

no part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system in any form or by any means, without the prior permission in writing of the author, nor be otherwise circulated in any form of binding or cover other than that in which it is presented & without a similar condition including this condition being imposed on the subsequent purchaser