Nipate
Forum => Controversial => Topic started by: GeeMail on September 04, 2014, 10:07:45 AM
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Jesus Did not Change the Law
What does Matthew 5:17-19 teach about Jesus’ attitude
toward the law?
Matthew 5
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 tell you, until heaven and earth disappear, not the smallest letter, not the least stroke of a pen, will by any means disappear from the Law until everything is accomplished. 19 Therefore anyone who sets aside one of the least of these commands and teaches others accordingly will be called least in the kingdom of heaven, but whoever practices and teaches these commands will be called great in the kingdom of heaven.
Although the word law is often used to refer to the first
five books of the Bible (also known as Pentateuch or
Torah) , in this case the context seems to indicate that He
was referring primarily to the Ten Commandments. When
saying He had not come to "destroy" the law, Jesus is
literally saying, I have not come to make invalid or abolish
the Ten Commandments . His statement is very clear and
probably meant to show that it was the religious elders, not
He, who had been destroying the law, reducing its effect
through their tradition (see Matt. 15:3 , 6 ) . In contrast, by
filling it with a deeper meaning, Christ had come to "fulfill"
the law, thus giving us an example of what perfect
obedience to the will of God looks like. (See Rom. 8:3-4 .)
Read Acts 7:38 . Who was the Angel who spoke to Moses
and gave him the law on Mount Sinai? (See Isa. 63:9 , 1
Cor. 10:4 .) Why is this important?
"Christ was not only the leader of the Hebrews in the
wilderness . . . but it was He who gave the law to Israel.
Amid the awful glory of Sinai, Christ declared in the hearing
of all the people the ten precepts of His Father’s law. It was
He who gave to Moses the law engraved upon the tables of
stone." — Ellen G. White, Patriarchs and Prophets , p. 366.
The fact that Christ Himself gave the law to Moses on
Mount Sinai makes it even more important for us to take it
seriously. Also, if the Lawgiver Himself further explained it
through His teachings, as we find in the Gospels, we would
do well to obey that law. One would be hard pressed to find
in the life and teachings of Jesus anything implying that the
Ten Commandments are not binding on Christians. On the
contrary, His words and example teach us the opposite.
Though we know that the law is still binding, we
also know that it does not, indeed cannot, save us.
(See Gal. 3:21 .) How then do we understand the
relationship between law and grace?
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Amen!