The Biblical Law of Agency

This is one of the most important and misunderstood concepts in the Scriptures. Mark 3.14 says, “And he appointed twelve, that they might be with him and that he might send them out to teach” as shaliachim or “apostles” in English, meaning “sent ones.” Luke 6.13 says that they were called “apostles.” So, we have a definition of “shaliach” meaning apostle or agent from the Encyclopedia of the Jewish Religion by Werblowsky and Wigoner, Adama Books, which says: “AGENT (Hebrew shaliach): the main point of the Jewish law of agency is expressed in the dictum “A person’s agent is regarded as the person himself” (Ned. 72b; Kidd. 41b). Therefore any act committed by a duly appointed agent is regarded as having been committed by the principal, who therefore bears full responsibility for it with consequent complete absence of liability on the part of the agent. A number of results stem from the basic premise. The agent must be of the same legal status and standing as the principal. The appointment of a minor, imbecile, or deaf-mute as agent is invalid, as is any appointment by them (Bava Kama 6.4). Similarly, the death of the principal automatically voids the agency. Betrothal or divorce by proxy is effected by appointing the proxy as an agent. The agent is regarded as acting in his principal’s interest and not to his detriment, and in any dispute as to whether the agent exceeded the terms of his agency this consideration is taken into account. The only exception to the plenipotentiary powers of the agent within the terms of his agency is the rule that “One cannot be an agent for a transgression” (Kidd. 42b); the law of agency applies only to legal acts, and a person committing a crime as the agent of a principal is held responsible for his act”).

So, how can we apply this to our lives today? What this is saying in a biblical sense is that when a person is sent by God to teach his word or to relay a message, the agent must repeat exactly what the Lord said to fulfill the role as an agent or a “Shaliach/apostle.” If a person thinks they are sent to teach the word of God, they must teach exactly what the Lord said. Many say today that “God sent me to minister to people in his word” and then teach that “the law has been done away with” or “the Sabbath is not for Christians.” Jewish Rabbis teach that Yeshua is not the Messiah. But they have just demonstrated that the Lord has not sent them. We won’t even go into all the other religions of the world. Isa 8.20 clearly teaches that we are to go to the Torah and the Prophets to judge everything a person teaches. Acts 17.11 says that the Bereans “were more noble-minded than those in Thessalonica, in that they received the word with great eagerness, examining the Scriptures daily to see whether these things were so.” Paul was teaching from the Torah and the Prophets and the Bereans checked him out. This also teaches us that the Law and the Prophets are applicable for believers today (Matt 5.17).

A person who teaches that the law has been done away with and doesn’t teach a Torah-based faith in Yeshua has not been sent by God according to the biblical law of agency. One must speak the truth as found in the word of God if they are sent by God, and that rules out most people who stand in a church pulpit, or a synagogue, or any place else that does not teach a Torah-based faith in Yeshua (Rev 12.17). The Law of Agency is very specific. The word of God’s agent is regarded as the word of God himself. God’s agent cannot contradict what the Bible teaches, and if they do, they are not considered as God’s agent. So, if one is going to teach the Scriptures, they must study the Scriptures to make sure that they do not say anything contrary to them. That also means the people must be trained accurately in the Scriptures to make sure what they are being told is true, like the Bereans did. The agent must act in God’s interest according to what the Lord has said in his word, or they are not to be considered an agent sent by God.