The Apostles James and Peter were taught by Jesus regarding the Pharisees religion. It seem prudent to get our information on the Pharisees from Him as did James and Peter.
HE SAID:
7 Ye hypocrites, well did Esaias prophesy of you, saying,
8 This people draweth nigh unto me with their mouth, and honoureth me with
their lips; but their heart is far from me.
9
But in vain they do worship me,
teaching for doctrines the commandments of men.
HE SAID:
Matt. 23:
1 Then spake Jesus to the multitude,
and to his disciples,
2 Saying, The scribes and the Pharisees sit in Moses' seat:
3 All therefore whatsoever they bid you observe,
that observe and do;
but do not ye after their works:
for they say, and
do not.
4For they ( Pharisees, NOT GOD)
bind heavy burdens and
grievous to be borne, and lay
them on men's shoulders (Necks); but they
themselves will not move them with one of their fingers.
HE SAID;
John 8:
44 Ye are of your father the devil,
and the lusts of your father ye will do. He was a murderer from the beginning, and abode not in the truth, because there is no truth in him. When he speaketh a lie, he speaketh of his own: for he is a liar, and the father of it.
45
And because I tell
you the truth, ye believe me not.
HE SAID;
John 7:
19
Did not Moses give you the law,
and yet none of you keepeth the law? Why go ye about to kill me?
So we know from Jesus that the Pharisees "claimed" to be God's Children, "claimed" to keep the Law of Moses.
But they did not.
As Jesus said: They created their own Doctrines from man, and laid these burdensome man made doctrines and traditions in the Backs of the People and have been doing so for years.
There are some who preach that Now, all the sudden, these Jews had rejected their man made doctrines and traditions that they had been burdening the people with for centuries, and are now truly following the Law of Moses and teaching others to do so?
No, Peter and James knew better. They had the Word's of Christ and His Spirit in them. They would have known and remembered His Teaching about them. And their actions proved that they did.
10 Now therefore why
tempt ye God, to
put a yoke upon the neck of the disciples,
which neither our fathers nor we were able to bear?
This Yoke placed on the Shoulders of the People was not God's Law. Can you find "ONE TIME" Jesus said the Pharisees were following God's Commandments? Just one??? And the Apostles knew this as confirmed by Stephen before He was murdered by the Pharisees.
Acts 7:
51 Ye stiffnecked and uncircumcised in heart and ears,
ye do always resist the Holy Ghost:
as your fathers did, so do ye.
52 Which of the prophets
have not your fathers persecuted? and they have slain them which shewed before of the coming of the Just One; of whom ye have been now the betrayers and murderers:
53 Who have received the law by the disposition of angels,
and have not kept it.
No, it isn't there. The Yoke the Preachers of their time placed in the necks of their fathers was the "Burden" of man made traditions, they said it was the Law of Moses, but Jesus said they were liars, Hypocrites, and were NOT teaching the Law of Moses. His Apostles knew this as well.
Then if you continue, you will see that James told them of some sins they needed to repent of straight away, and then they gave the New Converts the same instructions Jesus gave to them.
19 Wherefore my sentence is, that we trouble not them, which from among the Gentiles
are turned to God:
20 But that we write unto them, that they abstain from pollutions of idols (Law of Moses), and
from fornication(Law of Moses), and
from things strangled(Law of Moses), and
from blood(Law of Moses).
21 For Moses of old time hath in every city them that preach him, being read in the synagogues every sabbath day.
Matt. 23:
3 All therefore whatsoever they bid you observe,
that observe and do;
but do not ye after their works:
for they say,
and do not.
