Jesus and Law (7)

The Sabbath had become a problem in Jesus’ time.

The Sabbath was made for man, not man for the Sabbath (Mark 2:27).

The Jews thought they understood the Sabbath. The only hard part was deciding on the definition of work. Jesus had a radically different and more gentle interpretation of the Sabbath. The Sabbath was established to fr the benefit of the people, not to make them miserable.

The same applies to the law. The law was made for man, and not man for the law. Jesus interpreted the law in a way that made life better for people. It was very different from the miserable and mean interpretations of the Teachers of the Law.

Woe to you also, lawyers! For you load men with burdens hard to bear, and you yourselves do not touch the burdens with one of your fingers (Luke 11:46).

Interpretations of the law that place an impossible burden on people are usually wrong.

I suspect that many Christians see the Law of Moses through the eyes of the Teachers of the Law, rather than through the eyes of Jesus.