Verse 28
A man that hath set at naught Moses' law dieth without compassion on the word of two or three witnesses.
The fact stated here is exemplified by many instances in the history of Israel. There was the case of the man stoned for picking up sticks on the sabbath (Numbers 15:36), to name only one; and the use of the present tense in "dieth" indicates that the penalty was yet being invoked at the time Hebrews was being written. Annas the high priest was deposed by the Romans for putting a man to death as a lawbreaker; and it was precisely their readiness to execute such penalties that caused Rome to forbid their right to put people to death. It was that which forced them to seek the permission of the procurator to put Jesus to death. The words "without compassion" show the general concurrence of the Hebrew people in the enforcement of the law, their usual opinion being that the offender deserved no pity.
Be the first to react on this!
