Deuteronomy 21:18

DEALING WITH A REBELLIOUS SON

"If a man have a stubborn and rebellious son, that will not obey the voice of his father, or the voice of his mother, and, though they chasten him, will not hearken unto them; then shall his father and his mother lay hold on him, and bring him out unto the elders of his city, and unto the gate of his place; and they shall say unto the elders of his city, This our son is stubborn and rebellious, he will not obey our voice; he is a glutton, and a drunkard. And all the men of his city shall stone him to death with stones: so shalt thou put away the evil from the midst of thee; and all Israel shall hear, and fear."

In this passage the right of parents to put a rebellious son to death was restricted, "but at the same time parental authority was upheld."[28] Christ himself approved of such basic parental authority in Mark 7:10. It must surely be evident to all people that humanity's basic disrespect of parental authority has borne a bitter harvest and continues to do so. "It is significant here that in case of such an execution, the primary witnesses (the son's parents) did not participate."[29] This of course was contrary to the usual custom in which the accusing witness was to cast the first stone. Here again, the deep concern for the nature of human feelings is evident.