Giri vs Ninjo in Pharisaical Obedience to the Law
Giri vs Ninjo in Pharisaical Obedience to the Law
The concepts of "giri" and "ninjo" originate from Japanese culture, referring to obligation and compassion or human feeling, respectively. In the context of Pharisaical obedience to the Law, these terms can be used to understand the Pharisees' approach to following the Mosaic Law. The Pharisees' strict adherence to the Law can be seen as an example of "giri," or obligation, where they felt bound to follow every regulation [3].
In contrast, Jesus and the apostles emphasized the importance of fulfilling the Law through love and compassion, or "ninjo." According to the Tyndale House commentary on Galatians 5:14, "Christ's followers fulfill the law by exercising love toward every neighbor" [1]. This is in line with Jesus' teaching that the second greatest commandment is to "love your neighbor as yourself" (Lev 19:18; Matt 22:39-40). The law is thus fulfilled not merely by external obedience but by internal transformation, driven by love and compassion.
The Pharisees, however, were criticized by Jesus for their external focus on obedience, which led to a lack of genuine compassion and understanding. John Gill's commentary on Luke 7:29 notes that the Pharisees and lawyers "rejected the counsel of God against themselves" [4]. This rejection was characterized by a rigid adherence to the Law without regard for its original intent or the well-being of others.
Paul's writings in Galatians further develop this idea, contrasting the external works of the Law with faith working through love. According to Tyndale House on Galatians 6:2, "carrying each other's burdens... fulfills the law of Christ to love one another" [2]. This "law of Christ" is not a new set of rules but rather the principle of loving others as Christ has loved us (John 13:34; 15:12).
The distinction between "giri" and "ninjo" is also reflected in the contrast between the "yoke" of the Pharisees and the "yoke" of Christ. John Gill's commentary on Matthew 11:29 notes that Christ's yoke is "easy, and his burden is light" compared to the heavy burdens imposed by the Pharisees [5]. This highlights the difference between a legalistic approach to obedience, driven by obligation, and a more nuanced understanding of the Law as fulfilled through love and compassion.
Sources
- Galatians (Protestant academic) “Tyndale House on Galatians 5:14: 5:14 the whole law can be summed up (or the whole law is fulfilled): Christ’s followers fulfill the law by exercising love toward every neighbor (Lev 19:18; see Matt 7:12; Luke 6:27-36; 10:25-37; John 13:34-35; 15:9-17; Rom 13:8-10).”
- Galatians (Protestant academic) “Tyndale House on Galatians 6:2: 6:2 Carrying each other’s burdens (6:1) fulfills the law of Christ to love one another (5:13-14; see also Lev 19:18; Matt 22:36-40; John 13:34; 15:12; 1 Jn 3:23).”
- Galatians (Protestant academic) “Tyndale House on Galatians 5:3: 5:3 Those who seek righteousness through the law must obey every regulation of it (see 2:15-16; cp. Jas 2:10).”
- Luke (Baptist/Reformed) “John Gill on Luke 7:27: But the Pharisees and lawyers,.... Or Scribes, as the Syriac and Persic versions read; for the Scribes and lawyers were the same sort of persons. The Ethiopic version calls them, "the Scribes of the city": these "rejected the counsel of God against themselves"; against their own advantage, to their hurt and detriment; since by their impenitence and unbelief, and through their rejection of Christ and his forerunner, and the Gospel and the ordinances of it, they brought ruin and destruction, both temporal and eternal, upon themselves: or "towards themselves", or "unto the”
- Matthew (Baptist/Reformed) “John Gill on Matthew 11:29: For my yoke is easy, and my burden is light. Christ calls a profession of faith in him, and subjection to his ordinances, a yoke, in allusion to the law of Moses, and in distinction from it; and a "burden", with respect to the very heavy ones the Scribes and Pharisees laid upon the shoulders of the people, obliging them to a strict observance of them; though of a different nature from either of them; "for his commandments are not grievous", hard and heavy to be borne, as their's were, but "easy and light": not that they are so to unregenerate men, or are easily perf”