*****No doubt He was because they had lost sight of what the Law was all about.*****
Had they? They knew only what was revealed in Scripture and the Ten Commandments and the law of Moses were Scriptural. It was not that their interpretation was wrong, it was that they used Scripture to elevate themselves to things Scripture did not give them the authority to do.
As Jesus says, they wanted a place of honor and the accolades of the people, they used Scripture for earthly gain. Their traditions were for themselves and not for the people.
It can’t be both ways, God either gave them the law to follow or He didn’t, Scripture is the inerrant Word of God or it isn’t. The things the leaders were angry about weren’t because of tradition. It wasn’t their tradition that only God could forgive sins, that is Scriptural. It wasn’t their tradition that the Sabbath was a day to refrain from work, that is Scriptural. It wasn’t their tradition with the adulteress, it was Scriptural.
****He had to have confined Himself to the letter of the Law. *****
So which is it? Did God confine Himself to the letter of the law? Or did He reveal the spirit of the law?
****That’s because they relied too much on tradition they had added to Scripture. *****
Please elucidate which traditions they relied on so heavily that they could not recognize the Messiah. This has been claimed a couple of times in this thread and yet, no one has named those traditions.
Matthew 5:17 “Do not think that I have come to abolish the Law or the Prophets; I have not come to abolish them but to fulfill them.
Luke 24:44 Then he said to them, “These are my words that I spoke to you while I was still with you, that everything written about me in the Law of Moses and the Prophets and the Psalms must be fulfilled.”
The things the leaders were angry about weren’t because of tradition.
Sure it was.
This was Jesus argument (complaint/criticism/whatever) of the Pharisees......
Matthew 15:1-9 Then Pharisees and scribes came to Jesus from Jerusalem and said, 2 “Why do your disciples break the tradition of the elders? For they do not wash their hands when they eat.” 3 He answered them, “And why do you break the commandment of God for the sake of your tradition? 4 For God commanded, ‘Honor your father and your mother,’ and, ‘Whoever reviles father or mother must surely die.’ 5 But you say, ‘If anyone tells his father or his mother, “What you would have gained from me is given to God,” 6 he need not honor his father.’ So for the sake of your tradition you have made void the word of God. 7 You hypocrites! Well did Isaiah prophesy of you, when he said:
8 “‘This people honors me with their lips, but their heart is far from me; 9 in vain do they worship me, teaching as doctrines the commandments of men.’”
Mark 7:1-13 Now when the Pharisees gathered to him, with some of the scribes who had come from Jerusalem, 2 they saw that some of his disciples ate with hands that were defiled, that is, unwashed. 3 (For the Pharisees and all the Jews do not eat unless they wash their hands properly, holding to the tradition of the elders, 4 and when they come from the marketplace, they do not eat unless they wash. And there are many other traditions that they observe, such as the washing of cups and pots and copper vessels and dining couches. ) 5 And the Pharisees and the scribes asked him, “Why do your disciples not walk according to the tradition of the elders, but eat with defiled hands?” 6 And he said to them, “Well did Isaiah prophesy of you hypocrites, as it is written, “‘This people honors me with their lips, but their heart is far from me; 7 in vain do they worship me, teaching as doctrines the commandments of men.’
8 You leave the commandment of God and hold to the tradition of men.”
9 And he said to them, “You have a fine way of rejecting the commandment of God in order to establish your tradition! 10 For Moses said, ‘Honor your father and your mother’; and, ‘Whoever reviles father or mother must surely die.’ 11 But you say, ‘If a man tells his father or his mother, “Whatever you would have gained from me is Corban”’ (that is, given to God) — 12 then you no longer permit him to do anything for his father or mother, 13 thus making void the word of God by your tradition that you have handed down. And many such things you do.”
Please elucidate which traditions they relied on so heavily that they could not recognize the Messiah. This has been claimed a couple of times in this thread and yet, no one has named those traditions.
mm:Sure the Jews didn't expect Him to do what He did. That's because they relied too much on tradition they had added to Scripture.
It wasn't which specific traditions that kept them from seeing that He was the Christ but that they relied on tradition in general, which means they didn't rely on Scripture. If they had relied on Scripture they would have seen it. Others did.
However, part of the problem was a partial blindness God put on them in order that Scripture be fulfilled.
1 Corinthians 2:6-8 6 Yet among the mature we do impart wisdom, although it is not a wisdom of this age or of the rulers of this age, who are doomed to pass away. 7 But we impart a secret and hidden wisdom of God, which God decreed before the ages for our glory. 8 None of the rulers of this age understood this, for if they had, they would not have crucified the Lord of glory.
One is reflected in the questions put to John the baptizer by some of the Levites and priests. (John 1:19-26)
They wanted to know if John was The Prophet foretold in the Torah or perhaps the Christ or Elijah.
Elijah was looked for to come in the flesh ahead of the Messiah, so no Elijah, No messiah yet. And where was The Prophet?
John chapter 7 relates some of the other traditions current.