Which Commandments Did Jesus Break?

Yes, you read it right. Which commandments did Jesus break? It may come as a shock to realize that Jesus broke any commandments. But He did. And knowing which commandments He broke, and why He broke them, is important for you to understand.

Let’s look at the account of one such accusation in John 5:18, "Therefore the Jews sought all the more to kill Him, because He not only broke the Sabbath, but also said that God was His Father, making Himself equal with God," (New King James version throughout). Now before anyone jumps to a wrong conclusion, let’s understand what this verse means. Did Jesus break the Sabbath commandment in the law of God (Exodus 20:8-11; Deut. 5:12-15)? Let’s let Jesus Himself answer that question, "I have kept My Father’s commandments" (John 15:10). Also in response to the young man who asked Him what to do to inherit eternal life, Jesus said, "If you want to enter into life, keep the commandments (Matt. 19:17). The verses following clearly identify "the commandments" as those God gave in what we call "the Old Testament." He cited some of the "Ten Commandments" as well as the fundamental commandment to "love your neighbor as yourself" to make the point. In other words, He meant all the commandments of God should be obeyed. On another occasion, Jesus said, "Man shall not live by bread alone, but by every word that proceeds out of the mouth of God (Matt. 4:4). Clearly, Jesus believed in, taught and kept all the commandments of God during His earthly ministry. He also commanded his disciples to be ". . . teaching them [new converts] to observe all things I have commanded you . . . ." (Matt. 28:20).

In the famous "sermon on the mount" Jesus clearly and forcefully states His theological position on the law of God, "Do not think that I came to destroy the Law or the Prophets" (Matt. 5:17). Unfortunately, many think He did. Even though they don’t say it in those exact words, the result is still the same. Some say Jesus "transformed" the law, meaning that by accepting Christ as Savior, a Christian is somehow credited with the righteousness of Christ. Which means we don’t need to keep the Law, because Jesus allegedly kept it for us. Which means that the Law really doesn’t apply to us after all. Which means that Jesus did in fact "destroy the Law." Because the word "destroy" ("katalu_" in Greek) means "to loose or unloose what was before bound" (The Complete Word Study Dictionary, by Spiros Zodhiates, page 836). So if Jesus somehow "transformed" the Law so that we don’t have to keep it, He "loosed" us from its obligation. But Jesus emphatically tells us that He did no such thing. To emphasize the point further, He said, "For assuredly I say to you, till heaven and earth pass away, one jot or one tittle will by no means pass from the law till all is fulfilled" (verse 18). The word "fulfill" means to complete; in this case, to completely accomplish the purpose God intended.

Another meaning of "kataluo" is "annul," (Weymouth translation). So also, God’s laws are never annulled or repealed. They remain in effect so long as the conditions they govern continue to exist. Every detail! Not even a "jot" or "tittle" is exempted. (A "jot" is similar to the dot over an "i" — a "tittle" to the crossing of a "t.")

Jesus concludes his introductory "disclaimer" with a solemn warning to religious teachers, "Whoever therefore breaks one of the least of these commandments, and teaches men so, shall be called least in the kingdom of heaven; but whoever does and teaches them, he shall be called great in the kingdom of heaven" (verse 19). Some carelessly assume and assert that "these commandments" refer to the teachings of Christ that follow in the remainder of the chapter. Not so! The wording of the Greek text simply will not allow such an interpretation. The Expositor’s Bible Commentary explains:

But what are "these commandments"? It is hard to justify restriction of these words to Jesus’ teachings, . . . for the noun in Matthew never refers to Jesus’ words, and the context argues against it. Restriction to the Ten Commandments is equally alien to the concerns of the context. Nor can we say "these commandments" refers to the antitheses that follow, for in Matthew houtos ("this," pl. "these") never points forward [emphasis mine throughout]. It appears, then, that the expression must refer to the commandments of the OT. The entire Law and the Prophets are not scrapped by Jesus’ coming, but fulfilled. Therefore, the commandments of these Scriptures — even the least of them — must be practiced . . . . The law pointed forward to Jesus and His teaching; . . . so He, in fulfilling it, establishes . . . the way it is to be obeyed" (volume 1, page 146).

Actually, the word in verse 19 translated "breaks" ("luo" in Greek) is related to the word in verse 17 rendered "destroy" ("katalu_"). "Luo" literally means "to loose." The Greek concept of destruction is to break or take apart. Loosening a part is the first step in taking apart (thus breaking or destroying) an object. So Jesus’ warning not only applies to anyone who disobeys even a minor detail of God’s law and teaches others to do the same. Even "loosing" or relaxing any of the requirements is forbidden, because that is the first step toward destroying the law.

Perhaps you have heard the story, "For lack of a lace, a shoe was lost. For lack of a shoe, a soldier was lost. For lack of a soldier, a battle was lost. For lack of a battle, the war was lost." The lesson is clear. No one should be careless about any detail of God’s law, however minor it may seem.

Jesus emphatically did not break any of God’s commandments. Not even the slightest detail! So which commandments did Jesus break? The answer is found in another quote from Christ Himself, recorded in Matt. 15:8-9, "In vain do they worship Me, teaching as doctrines the commandments of men." Jesus quoted this statement from Isa. 29:13 and applied it to "the tradition of the elders" (Matt. 15:2) as taught and practiced by the hypocritical, self-righteous scribes and Pharisees who sat in judgment of Him. These "commandments" were also known to the Jews as the "oral Torah (law)." It was this verbal version of the law that Jesus sought to correct in the "sermon on the mount." This is clearly evident by his statement "You have heard that it was said to those of old, . . ." that prefaced each of his pronouncements (Matt. 5:21, 27, 31, 33, 38, 43). What follows is Jesus’ explanation of the proper application of the commandment upon which the particular tradition was based. Jesus thus "fulfilled" the law by restoring it to its complete original meaning and intent. Our righteousness must therefore exceed the righteousness of the scribes and Pharisees (verse 20) in that we must keep the law of God in its proper intent. To put it another way, we must keep the spirit of the law, not just the letter of the law. This is only possible through the presence of the Holy Spirit (Rom. 8:7-9), which God offers upon repentance and baptism (Acts 2:38). But that is another subject.

The commandments Jesus broke were the commandments of men. When the Jews charged Jesus with breaking the Sabbath (John 5:18), they were accusing Him of violating their misguided human traditions regarding the Sabbath. The gospel accounts contain many such confrontations where Jesus’ conduct on the Sabbath was condemned by the legalistic scribes and Pharisees (Mark 2:23-28, 3:1-6).

The two main sins that led to the captivity of Israel and Judah generations before, were Sabbath breaking and idolatry (Ezek. 20). Having learned their lesson, the returning captives determined never to make the same mistake again. But they failed to deal with the underlying problem — human nature (Rom. 8:7). They simply went from one extreme to the other — from careless disregard for the laws of God to fanatical, legalism that violated the true intent of the laws of God and deprived them of their wholesome effect (Matt. 15:6). So in their bigoted minds, the scribes and Pharisees considered Jesus Christ a sinner worthy of death because he broke these commandments of men which they considered even more binding than the law of God they vainly sought to interpret.

Jesus Christ came to set the record straight regarding the law of God. He obeyed it perfectly and commands us to follow His example and teaching. Of course we cannot live up to his perfect example, even though that should be our desire and intent. Jesus did not live by the law of God to deliver us from the obligation to obey it. He lived a sin free life and died to deliver us from the death penalty for our sins because we have all broken the law. Through the power of the Holy Spirit, Jesus offers to live in us. But he does not live for us. We must "work out our own salvation," with the realization that God is working in us "both to will and to do for His good pleasure" (Phil. 2:12-13). Love is the basis of God’s law, and one cannot claim to love God apart from obedience to His commandments (I John 5:2-3, 2:4).

The specific commandment Jesus stands accused of breaking is the Sabbath, which is the epitome of the blessings of the entire law of God, and a type of the master plan of God. Even today those who seek to keep the Sabbath as a commandment of God are also condemned. The majority of the Christian world has abandoned this blessed gift God made for all mankind (Mark 2:28) and are keeping instead a different day which is based on human tradition. Once again the pendulum of human nature has swung. From legalism back to careless disregard for the laws of God — especially the Sabbath. By replacing the laws and commandments of God with human traditions — especially by substituting Sunday for the Sabbath and tradition-based holidays for God’s Holy Days — many today have "made the commandment of God of no effect by your tradition" (Matt. 15:6).