Paul's Travels
Apostle Paul Founder of Christianity

Jesus' Outlook on the Ten Commandments

Although Jesus says man is to keep the commandments, he himself seems to have violated most of them and taught others to do so as well.

According to Matthew 5:19 Jesus, in the Sermon on the Mount, says anyone teaching against or breaking the commandments is bad; yet, Jesus did not follow his own advice.

The first commandment, found in Exodus 20:3 cites: "Thou shalt have no gods before me." Jesus put himself before God when he proclaimed "I am the way, the truth, and the life: no man cometh unto the Father but by me" (John 14:6; John 6:44).

The fourth commandment is found in Exodus 20:8 and states: "Remember the Sabbath day to keep it holy." Unfortunately for Jesus, he and his disciples plucked and ate corn on the Sabbath: "And it came to pass on the second Sabbath after the first, that he (Jesus) went through the corn fields; and his disciples plucked the ears of corn, and did eat, rubbing them in their hands. And certain of the Pharisees said unto them, 'Why do ye that which is not lawful to do on the Sabbath days?'

And Jesus answering them said, 'Have ye not read so much as this, what David did, when he himself was hungered, and they which were with him. How he went into the house of God, and did take and eat the shewbread, and gave also to them that were with him; which it is not lawful to eat but for the priests alone?" (Luke 6:1-4). Yea, Jesus stated: "The Sabbath was made for men an not men for the Sabbath" (Mark 2:23-28).

The fifth commandment, found in Exodus 20:12, is to "Honor your father and mother." Jesus transmitted gospel messages to his followers certifying that they honor their own parents and "thou shall receive eternal life. In order to be one of Jesus' own disciples, one must violate this commandment in accordance with Luke 14:26. Moreover, in Matthew 5:46 Jesus says that "Loving those who love you is pointless." Matthew's Jesus continues (10:21-22) when Jesus says:

"And brother will deliver up brother, and father his child; and children will rise against parents, and cause them [parents] to be put to death."

Jesus' rise against his parents continues:

"For I came to set a man against his father, a daughter against her mother, and a daughter-in-law against her mother-in-law." (Matthew 10:35-36)

Although Jesus teaches to "Honor thy father and thy mother" in Matthew 19:19, he said to his own mother in John 2:4, "Woman, what have I to do with thee?" Apparently Jesus' love escaped him. This is the same Jesus who told everyone else to "Honor thy father and mother" but did not stress practicing what he preached.

Other verses illustrating Jesus' rampage against his own parents (and parents in general) are found in Matthew 8:21, 12:46-50, 19:29; Mark 3:31-35, 6:4, 10:29-30, 13:12-13; Luke 8:19-21, 9:41, 11:27-28, 19:26-27.

Jesus' obligation deteriorates to a level even worse than before after the reading of the seventh commandment in Exodus 20:14 in which "Thou shalt not commit adultery." Within the Holy Tanach, all those guilty of committing adultery were condemned to death. When a woman taken in adultery was presented to Jesus, he let her free without condemning her wrongdoing and lack of repentance (John 8:3-11).

The eighth obligation (commandment) is "Thou shall not steal" (Exodus 20:15). Jesus appears to condone stealing when he taught a parable about a man who found a treasure on another individuals field. Rather than alerting the owner of it, Jesus hid it and bought the field (Matthew 13:44; Luke 19:30).

The ninth commandment (Exodus 20:16) declares "Thou shalt not bear false witness [proclaim falsities]. In John 7:8-10, Jesus said he wasn't going to attend the feast. Apparently, as soon as the others left, Jesus indeed attended the feast in secret.

The tenth commandment in examination is that of Exodus 20:17 which states that "Thou shalt not covet." Jesus taught a parable about a merchant who saw a pearl and coveted it so much that he sold all he had and bought it (Matthew 13:45-46).