The Sabbath Day, Should You Keep or not Keep?

[Raffi]

Continuing . . .

Okay, I know people are going to wonder how one gets "tzidkot" from Matthew 6:2 when Matthew is intact in the Greek, and the KJV reads "alms". So let me explain.

First of all, we already know that Yeshua is discussing the subject of "righteousness" because of the previous Verse 5:20, where the KJV DOES clearly use the word "righteousness". And we all already know that the exact Hebrew equivalent for "righteousness" is TZEDEKAH. That much is already known because that is the Hebrew equivalent used in the Septuagint. Following this context, most commentators admit that the following section of Mattew 6:1-4 is a section where the Master is introducing what he is about to discuss in his discourse, and they admit that the Master is expounding deeply upon the contrast between "righteousness" and what one is to PRACTICE. The entire Chapter expounds upon "righteousness" (tzedakah) in the practice of very specific ACTS of righteousness. Here he outlines the basic principle governing our Acts of Righteousness.

In Matthew 6:1 the Verse reads in the KJV:
"Take heed that ye do not your ALMS before men, to be seen of them: otherwise ye have no reward of your Father which is in heaven."

Now you can look this up. Some manuscripts, upon which the KJV and NKJV are based, have the Greek word ELEEMOSUNEN, translated as "alms", or "charitable deeds". If this is the correct word, that would basically mean that this Verse is referring exclusively to the act of Almsgiving, or charitable deeds.
But, older manuscripts, upon which the ASV and NASV are based, have the Greek word DIKAIOSUNEN, translated "righteousness", which would make the Verse to speak in more general terms, establishing a basic principle that is to be applied to ALL acts of righteousness, and in particular the specific acts which the Master is preparing here to elaborate on; namely, charity, prayer, and fasting (6:1-24), chief points of the GEMILUT HASADIM and of Deuteronomy 6-17). This would make Verse 1 a kind of introductory statement prefacing his teaching on these Righteous Acts. The Hebrew equivalent for DIKAIOSUNEN would be TZIDKOT, or GEMILUT TZIDKOT, meaning "Deeds of Righteousness", or "Acts of Righteousness".

So Matthew 6:1 would more correctly be translated as:
"Take heed that ye do not your DEEDS OF RIGHTEOUSNESS before men, to be seen of them: otherwise ye have no reward of your Father which is in Heaven."
The "DEEDS OF RIGHTEOUSNESS" in Hebrew would be GEMILUT TZIDKOT, which are "the Righteous Acts".

Matthew 6:2 immediately goes into a discussion of the first Righteous Act . . . Charity (2-4). Charity is covered in The Torah as part of The Laws of Tithing. Many people do not realize that in The Bible there are actually THREE distinct and separate Tithes. One of these Tithes was the Ma'aser Kesafim, or a Poor Tithe.

The same body of Commandments that list eating only "clean" meats and the Sabbath, also commands one to love "strangers", to give charity (also called tzedakah) to the poor and needy, and other "acts of kindness". The Pirkei Abot, a book of the Mishnah, teaches that the Universe depends on three things: on Torah (God's Law), on Abodah (service to God, which means prayer), and on Gemilut Hasadim ("Acts of Piety") (see, Abot 1:2). The Mishnah also describes Gemilut Hasadim as one of the few Mitzwot (Commandments) for which there is no minimum amount sufficient to satisfy your obligation (Pe'ah 1:1; reiterated in Talmud Chagigah 7a). That verse also describes Gemilut Hasadim as one of the few things that one derive benefit from in this world and yet still be rewarded for in the World-To-Come (This context sheds some interesting light on what Yeshua meant in Matthew 6:19-21).

Matthew 6:6 moves on to the next Righteous Act (Gemilut Tzidkah) . . . Prayer (5-15). What many do not realize is that the specific kind of prayer the Master is talking about here has nothing to do with public prayer or spontaneous praying, but has to do with the Jewish practice of Daily Ritual Prayer, known in those days as the Shela'ot, and is known today as Tefilot by Orthodox Jews.
Matthew 6:9-13 is particularly interesting in this context, because it introduces what is today called the Paternoster or "The Lord's Prayer", which would be recognized in Judaism as a classic example of a BIRKHAT. A BIRKHAT is a prayer blessing recited at a specific moment during a ceremony or ritual. In this case, the Master is referring to the context of the three traditional Daily Ritual Prayers that every Jew did (see for example Daniel 6:10). It was the custom of the Jews back then to recite certain "birkhat" prayers during these three Shela'ot. Different sects emphasized different "birkhot". The Master here is revealing for HIS disciples a "birkhah" which they can use for their own Shela'ot. Syrian Orthodox and Coptic Christians to this day still recite this birkhah this way. The Lord's Prayer is known in Aramaic as the ABWON Prayer, and in Hebrew it is called The Abeinu (the "Our Father").

The Book of Acts shows that the Apostles continued to keep these three Daily Prayers (Acts 2:15; 3:1; 10:9; 12:12). I think it is likely that they recited The Abwon as part of this daily ritual.

As long as The Temple stood in Jerusalem, the three Daily Prayers (the Shela'ot, or Tefilot today) were made at the hours of the Daily Sacrifice (Num. 28:1-10). But whenever there is no Temple standing, the three Shela'ot are still binding (see Dan. 6:10). These Shela'ot ritual prayers are themselves accepted by God as the Daily Sacrifice (Psalm 141:2). And this applies for today as that The Temple of wood and stone is no more, and now The Tabernacle of God is with men (Rev. 21:3).

The phrase in Matthew 6:9, "after this manner" tells us that this prayer was intended to be a formal PATTERN in the kind of traditional prayers used in Judaism known as a BIRKHAH.

The KADDISH and the AMIDAH are two traditional Jewish formal prayers with roughly similar structure which pre-date the Lord's Prayer, and some scholars believe that the Lord's Prayer was actually modeled on these older Jewish prayers.

[peter83]

What Jews believe for the new testament is not a proof.
14 But their minds were blinded. For until this day the same veil remains unlifted in the reading of the Old Testament, because the veil is removed in Christ.15 But even to this day, when Moses is read, a veil lies on their heart. 16 But whenever one turns to the Lord, the veil is taken away.

[Raffi]

Continuing . . .

In Matthew 6:16-18 Yeshua continues to expound on his concept of TZIDKOT. By elucidating on the subject of fasting (tzayam). In Judaism fasting is also considered one of the Acts of Righteousness. In Yeshua's day, the Pharisees taught that every pious Jew should fast at least a bare minimum of one day a week.
So, according to Matthew 6, charitable deeds, prayer, and fasting are three points considered to be Gemilut Tzidkot (Deeds of Righteousness), very much in keeping with the traditional concepts of Gemilut Hasadim in Orthodox Judaism. In traditional Judaism, charity, prayer and fasting are considered to be the Three Great Righteous Acts.

Finally, in Matthew 6:19-24, Yeshua expounds upon the proper attitude regarding tzedakah charity to the poor. It is obvious that Yeshua is expounding upon the Torah laws of Ma'aser Kesafim (the Poor Tithe), but the principle applies to ALL tithing (ma'aser) and to financial accountability in general.

Unlike the Daily Sacrifice, which cannot be performed due to the absence of a Temple in Jerusalem, Tithing (Ma'aser) and Alms (Tzedakah) have a reasonable continuance in the local congregation. Our model as People of the Messiah, is not the Order of Levi, but the Order of Melchizedek, to whom Abraham paid tithes (Gen. 14:17-20). As that Yeshua was maid to be the High Priest after the Melchizedekian Order (Heb. 5:6-10; 6:20; 7:1-21; 8:1), and we are made to be a "Royal Priesthood" under him (1 Pet. 2:9; Rev. 1:6; 5:10), it is appropriate to pay our tithes to him as did Abraham (Heb. 7:5-6).
Also, we The Body are now the Living Temple, so that where ever The Body is found The Temple is there. And as that the local assembly is the location of both The Temple and the Priesthood, it is appropriate therefore to tithe to the local assembly, at least until such a day as The Temple is rebuilt by the Messiah in Jerusalem.

So again, you can see the progression here, and how that Matthew 5-7 is expanding upon Deuteronomy 5-17? How that the Messiah here is clarifying the true meaning of The Torah by highlighting the most important points discussed in Deuteronomy?

[Raffi]

Continuing . . .

Esaias,
You may notice finally the seventh point of the Gemilut Tzidkot.
It simply admonishes one to keep all applicable Commandments (Mitzwot).

Actually, the original seventh point was ALIYAH, "going up". This had to do with the Pilgrimage to Jerusalem, based on Deuteronomy 16:16.
All the remaining Testimony Commandments ('Edot) not already covered by the preceding six Deeds of Righteousness generally had to do with the SHALOSH REGALIM, that is the Three Pilgrimage Feasts. These 'Edot were applicable when The Temple stood, and can rightly only be kept when The Temple is active in Jerusalem. When there is no Temple, obviously no person can fulfill the requirements of these 'Edot. So therefore, it is considered enough simply to require that one fulfill whatever applicable Commandments there are of The Torah until such time as The Temple is rebuilt.

If one, however, decides go up to Jerusalem for any one of the Shelosh Regalim, it is acceptable. However, at this time it is not considered an "obligatory" act of righteousness.

Peace.

[Raffi]

For Mike,

It is true that Orthodox Judaism is modern Phariseeism, both in the figurative sense AND in the literal-historical sense. However, Judaism still retains a direct link to the context out of which Christianity emerged, and to ignore that has cost us all a lot. I believe that Judaism has apostatized every bit as badly as has "mainstream" Christendom. BOTH have innovated to the original Faith, and have thus gone astray from the True Path.

As Apostolics, we indict "mainstream" Christendom with innovating false doctrines like the Holy Trinity and Cessationism and plenty of other things as well. But what a lot of people don't realize is that Judaism innovated a lot of things to corrupt the Religion also. The Rabbis, for example, changed the Calendar and abandoned the Biblical Lunar Calendar. They also broke other Commandments such as Numbers 15:38-40 by changing the color of the fringes from blue to white, and they have done MANY more things to corrupt and distort God's Religion from the simple way It had been revealed.

But it is precisely in studying where these religions went awry in comparison to the original context into which Messianic Faith was revealed that we today need to see as at least as important as studying Greek hermeneutics and how to run cross-references with our Thompson's Chain Reference. Why are so many Believers so scandalized about taking Hebraic interpretative methods into consideration when studying their Bibles? Hebraic thought is NOT our enemy, it is simply yet another tool we can use, like Strong's, or Thayer's, or Baker's, or Cruden's, or any number of go-to commentaries we keep on our shelves.

But in the days of old, many Jewish groups would have been shocked to see other Jews turn to the employment of Greek philosophy or pagan spirituality in order to interpret The Bible. I mean, there were entire Jewish sects dedicated to opposing Philo. And as Greek ideas infiltrated both Judaism and early Christianity, there were many who insisted on resistance to the trend, holding tightly to the traditional, conservative Hebraic view, seeing Hellenism as a poison. Mind you, recall that both the Gnostics as well as the so-called "Orthodox" Christians both took their cue from Philo and introduced Neo-Platonism into their theologies. And that led directly to the development of Trinitarianism.

All I am saying is, let us put The New Testament back into Its actual historical context when we go to read It. Let's not be so dogmatically upset by considering a Hebraic perspective in our interpretations. If you insist on continuing to hold to the Classical Greek priority in hermeneutics, fine, but at least consider the Hebraic possibilities with an open mind. I'm not talking about wholesale Judaizing, I just mean put The Gospel and Acts back into the Jewish setting from which they came.


As to imputed righteousness, as I have said, I can accept an imputation of His Righteousness to us at Conversion, when we are Baptized with the Holy Ghost. When we receive the Holy Ghost, He sees us as His Righteousness. I agree with that part. But, I also believe in personal and practical righteousness. I believe in progressive Sanctification. I believe we must also "work out our own salvation with fear and trembling" (Philip. 2:12). To that end, Righteousness is ALSO earned. Not earned unto Salvation, but earned unto reward. The Righteousness he gave us at the cross is the INITIAL Righteousness . . . the foundation of all other righteousness. But it is up to us to continue to walk in cooperation with the Holy Ghost in obedience unto our own personal and practical righteousness. For me, that is where The Law comes in and things like modesty, prayer, tithing, assembly, communion, sobriety, and even SABBATH come in. These are the deeds of continued righteousness. They are our ongoing Walk of Holiness.

[Esaias]

Pharisaism is not the key to unlocking the Bible's meaning. As students of Christ we are commanded to beware of the teaching of the Pharisees. The rabbinical understanding of the Law is error, plain and simple. We have the Word, and its explication by Christ and His apostles, and we have the Spirit. We do not require the mishna and gemara. Moreover, the Rabbins are notoriously guilty of reading their medieval doctrines and practices back into the Scriptures. Unfortunately, many unsuspecting Christians have fallen prey to such tricks, and imagine that Jesus and His first disciples were essentially no different than modern Lubavitchers.

The "613 commandments" are a medieval rabbinic compilation, and differ from one rabbi to another. It is no different than the Roman Catholic classification system of "mortal vs venial sins".

Jesus was not teaching, in the Sermon on the Mount, a confirmation of rabbinic doctrines, but was giving a refutation of some common rabbinic doctrines as well as delivering His own "halachot" or application and doctrine.

There is no need to intersperse Hebrew words in one's discourse when neither the speaker nor the audience are native Hebrew speakers. I've never understood the need to do that. It's called "affectation" and in every other context is universally considered bad taste. No offense intended, just saying.

I'll leave off the tithe issue, as there are plenty of threads around here discussing that.

One of the greatest stumbling blocks Christians have to obeying the commandments of God is they are bombarded with Jew-centric ideology, that amounts to what many instinctively feel is LARPing (live action role playing). There is no need for English speaking gentile believers to start speaking half Yiddish and wear their hair like a chabadnik and devote their time to studying Talmud, yet that is the impression many get. It reinforces in their mind the lie that "commandment keeping is for Jews" and they rightly reason "I'm no Jew" so falsely conclude "Commandment keeping is not for me."

It's a stumbling block to many.

[Raffi]

Thank you, Esaias, for the rebuke, and for bringing my attention to that. I will try to work on that, and do better in future posts.

[mfblume]

Originally Posted by Raffi

For Mike,

It is true that Orthodox Judaism is modern Phariseeism, both in the figurative sense AND in the literal-historical sense. However, Judaism still retains a direct link to the context out of which Christianity emerged, and to ignore that has cost us all a lot. I believe that Judaism has apostatized every bit as badly as has "mainstream" Christendom. BOTH have innovated to the original Faith, and have thus gone astray from the True Path.

As Apostolics, we indict "mainstream" Christendom with innovating false doctrines like the Holy Trinity and Cessationism and plenty of other things as well. But what a lot of people don't realize is that Judaism innovated a lot of things to corrupt the Religion also. The Rabbis, for example, changed the Calendar and abandoned the Biblical Lunar Calendar. They also broke other Commandments such as Numbers 15:38-40 by changing the color of the fringes from blue to white, and they have done MANY more things to corrupt and distort God's Religion from the simple way It had been revealed.

I got my views from direct study from the bible when trying to determine if sabbath is for us today after hearing some claim it is. So, these references you list are moot to me.

As to imputed righteousness, as I have said, I can accept an imputation of His Righteousness to us at Conversion, when we are Baptized with the Holy Ghost. When we receive the Holy Ghost, He sees us as His Righteousness. I agree with that part. But, I also believe in personal and practical righteousness. I believe in progressive Sanctification. I believe we must also "work out our own salvation with fear and trembling" (Philip. 2:12). To that end, Righteousness is ALSO earned. Not earned unto Salvation, but earned unto reward. The Righteousness he gave us at the cross is the INITIAL Righteousness . . . the foundation of all other righteousness. But it is up to us to continue to walk in cooperation with the Holy Ghost in obedience unto our own personal and practical righteousness. For me, that is where The Law comes in and things like modesty, prayer, tithing, assembly, communion, sobriety, and even SABBATH come in. These are the deeds of continued righteousness. They are our ongoing Walk of Holiness.

No, law does not come in at that point. Law is what Paul called serving God in oldness of the letter.

Everyone believes in practical righteousness if they believe in imputed righteousness You're preaching to the choir with that one.

[mfblume]

Raffi, you have yet to respond to my note about your alleged Hebraic cultural understanding of UNDER THE LAW,. Again, Romans 3 disproves your point. And I think your weakest point by far is claiming the Hagar covenant is the covenant of sin. That shoots down your entire argument and actually makes it obviously in error, brother. Seriously. It actually betrays your whole concept to be in error. When you said that, it confirmed everything i wondered.

[Esaias]

Originally Posted by Raffi

Thank you, Esaias, for the rebuke, and for bringing my attention to that. I will try to work on that, and do better in future posts.

Please don't think I was trying to rebuke you. That was not my intention. These text format discussions cannot convey tone or expression, so sometimes we come across as combative when that is not the case.

I have a question for you, out of curiosity:

How do you sanctify the Sabbath, as far as you, your family, etc? I mean, what specifically do you do?

Here's what we do:

Friday: all work is finished up, including food prep for Sabbath.
Friday evening: Table is set, we gather, sing Psalm 95 including a prostration at v. 6, vs. 7-11 are recited as a prayer by whoever led the psalm singing concluding with a brief paraphrase of Hebrews 4:9 and 11, then a call to stand and bless God with a corresponding blessing (Nehemiah 9:5), a prayer giving praise and thanks to Jesus Christ as Lord of the Sabbath, concluding with corporate praying of Psalm 67:1-2, then a blessing and thanksgiving for the food, then the eating. Our daily Bible reading usually follows the meal.
Sabbath evening: We will gather and pray, giving thanks for the day of rest and asking for God's blessing on our upcoming week, then we will recite Psalm 24 (the daily psalm for the first day of the week according to the Greek old testament, also according to the old Latin, and also according to the rabbinic custom which appears to derive from Temple usage).

(Of course, Sabbath is also church meeting day, but I am interested in the "separating" you do between Sabbath and the other days.)