23 Woe to you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! For you pay tithe of mint and anise and cummin, and have neglected the weightier matters of the law: justice and mercy and faith. These you ought to have done, without leaving the others undone.
Matthew 23:23 nkjv
It would appear from Matt. 23:23 that Jesus is saying that Christians should pay their tithes. But if we're not careful we can make a law out of tithing based on this verse. One point that we should consider is that Jesus knew who He was dealing with: Jesus was not dealing with someone like Simon-Peter the unstable, sinful fisherman who was willing to believe in Jesus and could not keep the Ten Commandments.
No, Jesus was dealing with the religious elite of the day who prided themselves on keeping rules. Jesus was, in effect, saying, “Good on you, you legalistic, religious people – you should do everything that the Law tells you to do.” The Pharisees could relate to keeping rules – but they absolutely could not tolerate Jesus when He told them that He was the Son of God.
Let's look at some other verses were Jesus told people to keep the law:
16 Now behold, one came and said to Him, "Good Teacher, what good thing shall I do that I may have eternal life?" 17 So He said to him, "Why do you call Me good? No one is good but One, that is, God. But if you want to enter into life, keep the commandments." 18 He said to Him, "Which ones?" Jesus said, "'You shall not murder,' 'You shall not commit adultery,' 'You shall not steal,' 'You shall not bear false witness,' 19 'Honor your father and your mother,' and, 'You shall love your neighbor as yourself.' " 20 The young man said to Him, "All these things I have kept from my youth. What do I still lack?" 21 Jesus said to him, "If you want to be perfect, go, sell what you have and give to the poor, and you will have treasure in heaven; and come, follow Me." 22 But when the young man heard that saying, he went away sorrowful, for he had great possessions.
Matthew 19:16-22 nkjv
So, if we are going to make Matt. 23:23 into a rule, something that we must do - we should also make Matt. 19:17-19 into rules that we should keep. After all, Jesus did say in verse 17, "If you want to enter into life, keep the commandments".
While we're on the subject, let's not forget what James said in James 2:10.
Oh look - we're back to the Ten Commandments again! The moral of the story is that even if the New Testament tells us that we should keep rules, it doesn't mean we, as Christians should keep them. Sounds confusing doesn't it?
Thankfully, Joseph Prince teaches on Matthew 19:16-22 and brings it into a grace perspective. Jesus gave this man the law because he was looking for something that he "should do" in order to inherit eternal life. Jesus could have told him the truth, to believe in Him, but the man was looking for rules and probably was not open to the Gospel.
There is only one commandment in the Bible:
34 A new commandment I give to you, that you love one another; as I have loved you, that you also love one another.
John 13:34 nkjv
Thankfully, God even gives us the means of keeping this one commandment:
5 Now hope does not disappoint, because the love of God has been poured out in our hearts by the Holy Spirit who was given to us.
Romans 5:5 nkjv
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