In John 7:21 when Jesus says, circumcision is not of Moses but of “the Fathers,” is he implying that God never gave Moses the commandment of circumcision? I know that this command is written in Genesis 17:10. However, Jesus seems to be implying that this law never came from Moses.<\/p>\n\t
“Did not Moses give you the Law, and yet none of you carries out the Law? Why do you seek to kill Me?” The crowd answered, “You have a demon! Who seeks to kill You?” J<\/em>esus answered them, “I did one deed, and you all marvel. For this reason Moses has given you circumcision (not because it is from Moses, but from the fathers), and on the Sabbath you circumcise a man. If a man receives circumcision on the Sabbath so that the Law of Moses will not be broken, are you angry with Me because I made an entire man well on the Sabbath? Do not judge according to appearance, but judge with righteous judgment”<\/em>” (John 7:21-24).<\/p><\/blockquote>\n
Jesus is stating that Moses gave the Israelites the commandment to circumcise their sons on the eighth day (Leviticus 12:3), but he is clarifying that this command did not originate with Moses, but was passed down because God told Abraham: “This is My covenant, which you shall keep, between Me and you and\u00a0your descendants after you<\/strong>: every male among you shall be circumcised<\/em>” (Genesis 17:10). The law, given to both Abraham and Moses, came from God.<\/p>\n
Jesus proves his contention that they were trying to kill him by reminding them of an event that happened about a year and a half prior. He did a miraculous healing on a Sabbath day (John 5:8-9). Everyone knew that no work was done on the Sabbath, but even so, commands of God were still kept, whether it was the Sabbath or not. When a child is eight days old, he is circumcised, whether the eighth day happened to fall on a Sabbath or not. And that command to circumcise did not even originate with Moses like the command to keep the Sabbath did. The command to circumcise was an older command, coming from the days of Abraham. Still, people were angry that Jesus had healed a man on the Sabbath, even though the power to heal is obviously from God. Their ability to judge was flawed, Jesus said, because they were only looking at the surface of the matter.<\/p>\n\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
Question: In John 7:21 when Jesus says, circumcision is not of Moses but of “the Fathers,” is he implying that God never gave Moses the commandment of circumcision? I know that this command is written in Genesis 17:10. However, Jesus seems to be implying that this law never came from Moses. Answer: “Did not Moses…<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"advanced_seo_description":"","jetpack_seo_html_title":"","jetpack_seo_noindex":false,"jetpack_seo_schema_type":"","footnotes":"","jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false},"categories":[20],"tags":[480,115],"class_list":["post-54397","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-answer","tag-circumcision","tag-old-law"],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack_likes_enabled":true,"jetpack-related-posts":[{"id":69697,"url":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/which-came-first-leviticus-123-or-exodus-4\/","url_meta":{"origin":54397,"position":0},"title":"Which came first, Leviticus 12:3 or Exodus 4?","author":"Jeffrey Hamilton","date":"September 7, 2024","format":false,"excerpt":"Question: Hi, I read your article \"Did God give Moses the commandment to circumcise?\" You point out that in Leviticus 12:3, God instructs Moses that boys must be circumcised on the 8th day. In Exodus 4, we have the situation where God is preparing to kill Moses because he has\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Answer"","block_context":{"text":"Answer","link":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/category\/answer\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]},{"id":4170,"url":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/does-god-put-more-weight-on-moral-law-and-less-on-ceremonial-law\/","url_meta":{"origin":54397,"position":1},"title":"Does God put more weight on moral law and less on ceremonial law?","author":"Jeffrey Hamilton","date":"March 17, 2006","format":false,"excerpt":"Question: Thanks for taking the time to reply.\u00a0 Sorry about\u00a0my first email; I know it was a bit full-on and probably not in the best tone.\u00a0 I grew up in churches of Christ and sometimes find it hard to understand the logic and get frustrated, bitter, etc.\u00a0 Your position makes\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Answer"","block_context":{"text":"Answer","link":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/category\/answer\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]},{"id":48075,"url":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/was-the-law-of-moses-applicable-to-gentiles\/","url_meta":{"origin":54397,"position":2},"title":"Was the Law of Moses applicable to Gentiles?","author":"Jeffrey Hamilton","date":"May 6, 2016","format":false,"excerpt":"Question: I have a question about the passage in Colossians 2:11-14: \"In him also you were circumcised with a circumcision made without hands, by putting off the body of the flesh, by the circumcision of Christ, having been buried with Him in baptism, in which you were also raised with\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Answer"","block_context":{"text":"Answer","link":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/category\/answer\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]},{"id":69882,"url":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/jeremiah-didnt-know-the-sabbaths-would-be-canceled\/","url_meta":{"origin":54397,"position":3},"title":"Jeremiah didn’t know the Sabbaths would be canceled","author":"Jeffrey Hamilton","date":"September 22, 2024","format":false,"excerpt":"Question: You cite Jeremiah 31, indicating that Sabbath feasts and kosher diets are no longer connected to sin in the New Covenant. I don't think Jeremiah knew that when he referred to \"my laws.\" The law anticipated that circumcision would be of the heart, and the sacrifice presented to God\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Answer"","block_context":{"text":"Answer","link":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/category\/answer\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]},{"id":33424,"url":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/limits-of-the-old-testament\/","url_meta":{"origin":54397,"position":4},"title":"Limits of the Old Testament","author":"Jeffrey Hamilton","date":"March 19, 2021","format":false,"excerpt":"by Terry Wane Benton The Old Testament was the inspired, God-given rule of law for the nation of Israel. It was not given to all people. \"The Lord did not make this covenant with our fathers, but with us\" (Deuteronomy 5:2-3). Nehemiah spoke to God about the history of Israel:\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Article"","block_context":{"text":"Article","link":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/category\/article\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]},{"id":90842,"url":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/mixing-the-law-of-moses-and-the-gospel-of-christ\/","url_meta":{"origin":54397,"position":5},"title":"Mixing the Law of Moses and the Gospel of Christ","author":"Jeffrey Hamilton","date":"September 28, 2025","format":false,"excerpt":"by Terry Wane Benton When brethren at Galatia tried to bring over circumcision from the Law, it was a faith problem. It essentially inferred that the gospel of Jesus is not sufficient without the Law of Moses. 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