The Previous Section: Man-Made Ordinances are Not God’s Torah
Christ came to enhance, or ‘fill up’ or embody the true law so that it would be practiced the way it was always intended, through love, fear, and respect of God. He did not come to abolish the law. He abolished the precepts of men (the Talmudic oral tradition, or heavy burdens hard to bear). The animal sacrifices were taken away, but not because Christ abolished them, but because He fulfilled their intent fully. He became a better sacrifice for our sins. Christ did not abolish the law, but filled it up, lived it fully. Remember, the written law is a good gift from God, as Paul writes:
“Do we then overthrow the law by this faith? By no means! On the contrary, we uphold the law.”
Romans 3:31 ESV
“So the law is holy, and the commandment is holy and righteous and good.”
Romans 7:12 ESV
“For I delight in the law of God, in my inner being,”
Romans 7:22 ESV
As we’ll see, under the new covenant we are to follow the Torah because we love God and are not to be killed or penalized by man for failure to do so. Christ became the atoning sacrifice, so we are to ask forgiveness for sins, and continue in our walk because our hearts are in the right place. We desire to walk upright through His intercession on behalf of the Father and the guidance of the Holy Spirit. With that in mind, one can now see that nothing will perish from the Law until heaven and earth pass away. The sacrificial system is still in effect, but is now under His eternal, perfect sacrifice on behalf of our sins.
17 “Do not think that I have come to abolish the Law or the Prophets; I have not come to abolish them but to fulfill them. 18 For truly, I say to you, until heaven and earth pass away, not an iota, not a dot, will pass from the Law until all is accomplished. 19 Therefore whoever relaxes one of the least of these commandments and teaches others to do the same will be called least in the kingdom of heaven, but whoever does them and teaches them will be called great in the kingdom of heaven. 20 For I tell you, unless your righteousness exceeds that of the scribes and Pharisees, you will never enter the kingdom of heaven.
Matthew 5:17-20 ESV
This verse is so damning to those who hold that Mosaic Law no longer applies to today’s Christian, that some argue instead, that the Book of Matthew is not inspired scripture. That is the level of absurdity that some people will go to in order to proclaim they are no longer under Mosaic Law.
Christ did not abolish the law and prophets, He revered and upheld them. He came to renew the covenant as it was meant to be, through faith, and it is He who justifies us to the Father. Through Him, the covenant will not fail, and God will not have a 2nd failed marriage. Jesus taught from the Commandments, he did not eliminate them. Christ eliminated their penalties, for those in Christ do not need to be coerced or punished for violations, because they desire to carry them out with all their hearts. Jesus summarized all 10 commandments into 2, which many Christians quote as the only two Commandments that need to be held. Ironically they do not realize these two Commandments are summaries of the 10 Commandments. And furthermore, these are not new commandments, as Christ quoted the Great Commandment from the Torah in Deuteronomy 6 and Leviticus 19. They read, “You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your might” (Deuteronomy 6:5 ESV) and, “You shall not take vengeance or bear a grudge against the sons of your own people, but you shall love your neighbor as yourself: I am the Lord.” (Leviticus 19:18 ESV). The first commandment summarizes the first 4 of the 10 commandments directed toward God, and the second summarizes the next 6 of the 10 directed toward others. This is what Christ quoted in Matthew 22:
36 “Teacher, which is the great commandment in the Law?” 37 And he said to him, “You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind. 38 This is the great and first commandment. 39 And a second is like it: You shall love your neighbor as yourself. 40 On these two commandments depend all the Law and the Prophets.”
Matthew 22:36-40 ESV
Christ tells us what He came to abolish and what He upheld. He abolished the oral law, and upheld the written one. He wanted people to listen to the Torah (God’s law) and live them out fully, but he did not want them tied up with heavy burdens of man-made ordinances, special seats of esteem, honors, and dress. He wanted people to listen to Mosaic Law and do what it said, but not to imitate the works of the Rabbi’s who hypocritically taught it. For they spoke God’s Law, but did not practice it the way it was intended. Mosaic Law was meant to be light, just as it is spoken of in Jeremiah 6:16 and Deuteronomy 30:10-14 (see above). We read of Jesus chastising the Pharisees for their hypocrisy in Matthew 23:1-12.
Then Jesus said to the crowds and to his disciples, 2 “The scribes and the Pharisees sit on Moses’ seat, 3 so do and observe whatever they tell you, but not the works they do. For they preach, but do not practice. 4 They tie up heavy burdens, hard to bear, and lay them on people’s shoulders, but they themselves are not willing to move them with their finger. 5 They do all their deeds to be seen by others. For they make their phylacteries broad and their fringes long, 6 and they love the place of honor at feasts and the best seats in the synagogues 7 and greetings in the marketplaces and being called rabbi by others. 8 But you are not to be called rabbi, for you have one teacher, and you are all brothers. 9 And call no man your father on earth, for you have one Father, who is in heaven. 10 Neither be called instructors, for you have one instructor, the Christ. 11 The greatest among you shall be your servant. 12 Whoever exalts himself will be humbled, and whoever humbles himself will be exalted.
Matthew 23:1-12 ESV
1 John 5:2-3 sums things up perfectly. We keep God’s Torah if we love God, and God’s Torah is not burdensome. In this verse, the word commandments, or in koine greek, εντολας, is the same word used for commandments in Matt 19:17, Mark 10:19, Luke 18:20, John 14:15, and John 15:10. John is speaking of the commandments in God’s Torah.
“By this we know that we love the children of God, when we love God and obey his commandments. For this is the love of God, that we keep his commandments. And his commandments are not burdensome.
1 John 5:2-3 ESV
John 14:15-21 confirms the same.
“If you love me, you will keep my commandments. And I will ask the Father, and he will give you another Helper, to be with you forever, even the Spirit of truth, whom the world cannot receive, because it neither sees him nor knows him. You know him, for he dwells with you and will be in you. “I will not leave you as orphans; I will come to you. Yet a little while and the world will see me no more, but you will see me. Because I live, you also will live. In that day you will know that I am in my Father, and you in me, and I in you. Whoever has my commandments and keeps them, he it is who loves me. And he who loves me will be loved by my Father, and I will love him and manifest myself to him.”
John 14:15-21 ESV
We see the commands (greek εντολας) of the law also spoken of in Revelations 12, where it states:
“But the earth came to the help of the woman, and the earth opened its mouth and swallowed the river that the dragon had poured from his mouth. Then the dragon became furious with the woman and went off to make war on the rest of her offspring, on those who keep the commandments of God and hold to the testimony of Jesus. And he stood on the sand of the sea.”.
Revelation 12:16-17 ESV
To clarify, these commandments (greek εντολας) we are to keep are not JUST the 10 commandments, because Jesus calls a scripture from the Torah that is NOT included in the 10 commandments, a commandment itself. In Matthew 19, Jesus is asked which commandments need to be kept to inherit eternal life. He answers by quoting some of the 10 commandments, but then also throws in loving thy neighbor as yourself, which is not one of the 10 commandments, but is part of God’s Torah. In essence, Jesus says the key to inheriting eternal life is not only found in the 10 commandments, but in the other commandments in God’s Torah. So it’s not just the 10. Once we realize this, it would become difficult to distinguish which commandments to keep were it not for NT scriptures which tell us exactly that (see Living The Torah).
“And he said to him, “Why do you ask me about what is good? There is only one who is good. If you would enter life, keep the commandments.” He said to him, “Which ones?” And Jesus said, “You shall not murder, You shall not commit adultery, You shall not steal, You shall not bear false witness, Honor your father and mother, and, You shall love your neighbor as yourself.”
Matthew 19:17-19 ESV
Likewise, in Luke, a lawyer asks Jesus the key to eternal life. Jesus asks him what he thinks, and he then provides the 2 great commandments which summarize the 10. Jesus confirms this answer as a key to eternal life. In essence, Christ is stating that the OT scripture holds the key to eternal life. He is not making up something new, He is referencing the Torah as holding the key to eternal life, and the great commandments are included as components of the Law. In other words, those that hold that the 10 commandments are the only thing a Christian should follow, must overlook the fact that the 2 great commandments are NOT included in the 10 commandments, but rather the rest of the Law, and that Jesus commanded people to follow them. We read in Luke:
25 And behold, a lawyer stood up to put him to the test, saying, “Teacher, what shall I do to inherit eternal life?” 26 He said to him, “What is written in the Law? How do you read it?” 27 And he answered, “You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your strength and with all your mind, and your neighbor as yourself.” 28 And he said to him, “You have answered correctly; do this, and you will live.”
Luke 10:25-28 ESV
Christ also gives the parable of Lazarus the beggar and the rich man dressed in purple (representing a High Priest) to illustrate the hypocrisy of the Pharisees and their disregard of the Torah. Through the parable, Christ states that the key for the 5 brothers to be saved from Hades is to listen to the Law and Prophets.
27 And he said, ‘Then I beg you, father, to send him to my father’s house— 28 for I have five brothers—so that he may warn them, lest they also come into this place of torment.’ 29 But Abraham said, ‘They have Moses and the Prophets; let them hear them.’ 30 And he said, ‘No, father Abraham, but if someone goes to them from the dead, they will repent.’ 31 He said to him, ‘If they do not hear Moses and the Prophets, neither will they be convinced if someone should rise from the dead.’”
Luke 16:27-31 ESV
In the parable, Abraham references the Law and Prophets because they so clearly speak of Christ. We’ve read many of the prophecies in part 1, but there is a specific prophecy in the Law that must be recognized, a prophet like Moses.
Next Section: Christ Was a Prophet Like Moses