Mat 5:43-5:48
Ye have heard that it was said, Thou shalt love thy neighbor, and hate thine enemy. but I say unto you, love your enemies, and pray for them that persecute you that ye may be sons of your Father who is in heaven: for he maketh his sun to rise on the evil and the good, and sendeth rain on the just and the unjust. For if ye love them that love you, what reward have ye? do not even the publicans the same? And if ye salute your brethren only, what do ye more than others? do not even the Gentiles the same? Ye therefore shall be perfect, as your heavenly Father is perfect.
So who said "Thou shalt love thy neighbour, and hate thine enemy?" No where in the body of the Scripture can you find this quote. Where then did Yeshua (Jesus) get his information from?
The quote is from the Jewish oral traditions, known as the Mishnah or the "Tradition of our Fathers". These are the Pharisaical laws, which at the time of Yeshua (Jesus) were not written as they are today. So what was Yeshua (Jesus) doing quoting the Mishnah?
The Mishnah were the Pharisaical additions to the Law of Moses. Many directly contradicted scripture. In fact, in places it was considered a sin to keep the Law of Moses if it contradicted the Mishnah.
Messiah in his "Sermon on the Mount" affirmed the Law, the "It is written" law. He also went on to interpret the Law and explain how it should be lived. In doing so he utterly rejected the Mishnah. The Law of Moses, which Messiah kept perfectly, was the burden that was easy, and learning from Him is His light "Yoke."
Many who are "Chrisitans", Disciples of Messiah, scoff at the Jews for this folly. However we are not so clever as we might think. How many of us have re-interpreted the "It is written" for the allegorical, non literal, interpretation of scripture. More, I suspect, than those who opt for the ordinary meaning of the Word.
Messiah held the Pharisees to account for this folly. Do we expect any less from Him on his return?
