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Matthew 7:12
"So whatever you wish that others would do to you, do also to them, for this is the Law and the Prophets”. Leviticus 19:17 tells us, " thou shalt in any wise rebuke thy neighbor (KJV)”. To ‘rebuke’ our brother is actually a commandment. If we don’t do it we “suffer sin”. I would dare say that this commandment has not problem being observed. There is certainly no shortage of people always tryuing top ‘rebuke’ each other. Our personal inferiority complex and sickly craving for recognition constantly pushes us in wanting to be found as the one bringing everyone to the right path. Let’s look a little deeper at this commandment. Whereas we do owe the truth to people around us (Ezekiel 3:17-19), I don’t think this commandment applies to people who faithfully follow their understanding of obedience to God. This commandment applies more to those who knowing the truth, deliberately and willfully disobey it. Yeshua applied this principle by not correcting the Sadducees and the Samaritans who were taught to reject pharisaic understanding of the Torah, as much as the Pharisees themselves. Being a Pharisee Himself, Yeshua knew that they knew better. Another point to remind ourselves is that the Torah also forbids shaming others publicly. Our Master Yeshua reminds us of this. He even equates it with murder (Matthew 5:21-22). Rashi the medieval Jewish sage had a particular take on the Torah command to rebuke others. In Hebrew the verse says, ‘oke’ach, itokyach’ which could roughly literally be translated as: ‘rebuke yourself, rebuke others’. What Rashi taught was ‘you must take a good look at yourself before you go on rebuking others as this will give you the dynamics of compassion that will help your brother to listen to you. Yeshua taught the same understanding of the commandment in “first take the log out of your own eye, and then you will see clearly to take the speck out of your brother's eye (Matthew 7:5)”. Judges from the Sanhedrin believed that they were unfit to judge a case if they could not find within themselves the sin of the accused. They felt unfit because in such a case they would not be equipped with the compassion necessary to judge the case in a Godly fashion. Moses then ends the command to rebuke others with, “… you shall love your neighbor as yourself: I am the LORD (Leviticus 19:18)”, a command which Yeshua commented on saying that it was the second most important in the whole Torah. (Matthew 22:36-40). Also, another Jewish sage, R. Akiva who lived after Yeshua, called the command to love others as ourselves ‘the fundamental rule of Torah’ and paraphrased it in: “What is hateful to you, do not do to others” (Shabbos 31 a). I wonder where he got these words from.
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Matthew 19:28
"Truly, I say to you, in the new world, when the Son of Man will sit on his glorious throne, you who have followed me will also sit on twelve thrones, judging the twelve tribes of Israel.” When Moses arrived near the borders of the Promised Land, the aged leader knew that the time for him to be gathered with his people had come near. As a father does before the moment of his death, Moses gathered the people of Israel around him, a people that had grown as numerous as the stars in the sky (Deuteronomy 1:10), to give them his final word of advice. Except for himself, Caleb, and Joshua who was to succeed him, the whole generation that came out of Egypt had now died. Moses was surrounded by a people who had been raised in the desert under the sole nurture and admonition of God through Moses. Their only diet was manna; their sole drinking water came from the Rock that ‘followed’ them. Egypt was a distant echo they had only heard of. Moses knew that the people were difficult to lead (Deuteronomy 1:12). He knew that after his departure they still needed leadership so he reminded them of their leadership structure. These had been trained under Moses top take charge over the different matters between people, and they would need to continue to do so when in the Land. The Father has often compared us His people to sheep. Sheep need human leadership and so do we. We may rebel and chaff against it but we do need leaders to define the right way for us and even enforce it at times. The saddest words in the Tanach could be, In those days there was no king in Israel. Everyone did what was right in his own eyes (Judges 17:6). The Book of Judges is s sad testament to what happens to us when we are left to our own devices, without authoritative earthly central leadership. Today our congregations and communities are scattered and divided, and like in the days of the Book of Judges, everyone does that which is right in his own eyes, trying to obey the Word each one according to his own perspective. This has caused deep divisions, problems and hurts within the congregational body of Messiah. Hopefully, this state of affairs may not be long, for soon One day the King will return and along with his disciples as the appointed Sanhedrin, as Moses did in the desert, He will sit and judge the twelve tribes of Israel (Matthew 19:28) and their myriads of disciples throughout the nations (Matthew 28:20). May it be soon Abba, even in our days! |
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