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80 Is Judaism the Religion of Moses?

Is JUDAISM the Religion of

Moses?

The Pharisees seize authority from the priests, the "tradi-
tions of the elders" replace the Bible, laymen claim to be
prophets -- these surprising facts are discussed in this
ninth installment.

by Ernest Martin
Part Nine

T HE last installment revealed how laymen came to power through "Judaism" -- how they called
pagan customs the "traditions of the elders."

Now see what occurred in the century just before Christ's birth.

Innovation of Precedents Which Helped Form Judaism

The acceptance of the "traditional laws," supposedly handed down from Moses, placed the
lay leaders in a position of power and authority among the people. It was the people themselves
who had inherited the many new customs, and when the lay leaders condoned the customs, claim-
ing them to be Jewish in origin, the people looked upon the lay leaders with honor and respect.

The lay leaders were quite aware that there was no truth in their assertions that these new
customs came from Moses. But in order to please the people they deliberately propagated this
falsehood. In consequence of their newly found authority, the lay leaders set themselves up as ulti-
mate teachers in matters pertaining to every phase of religious activity. In the matter of accepting
the customs inherited from Hellenism, they maintained their prerogatives, as religious authorities,
to decide which of the customs to accept and which ones to reject.

“No one except the recognized teachers could say what the tradition contained" (Herford,
Talmud and Apocrypha, p. 68). Of course, the customs to which the People were most wedded
were necessarily accepted.

Many of the priests in the Sanhedrin objected to the lay leaders' assumption of power and es-
pecially of their raising to divine law the new customs from Hellenism. The priests were also obsti-
nate in their belief that the authority to rule should be accorded to them alone, for they properly
maintained that they were the descendants of Aaron and the only ones recognized by Scripture to be
in authority to rule over the people. But the lay leaders would not concede to the priests' demands,
and they had the majority of the people behind them. Too many of the priests had deserted to out-
right Hellenism in the anarchial period and the people were still wary of their tactics.

The Berean Voice November-December 2002