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NASB | Matthew 5:17 ¶ "Do not think that I came to abolish the Law or the Prophets; I did not come to abolish but to fulfill. |
AMPLIFIED 2015 | Matthew 5:17 ¶ "Do not think that I came to do away with or undo the Law [of Moses] or the [writings of the] Prophets; I did not come to destroy but to fulfill. |
Subject: WHAT WAS JESUS ATTITUDE |
Bible Note: Hello Searcher, Yes the Bible just calls it the "Law" ("Torah"), and as we both explained in other posts, that means "teaching and instruction". But just as Moses instructed the children of Israel to keep the Torah, which was the first FIVE BOOKS, and not to take from it nor add to it... he meant the "whole" Law (Torah)(Deut.4:2). No place where the word Torah is used, does it get divided into "parts". Not even when Jesus used the word "nomos", which means the "law of Moses", did He make a distinction between "parts" of the law of Moses (Torah). So we must assume that Jesus too, meant the whole Torah, which is the first FIVE BOOKS of the Bible. Understanding that, then we can look at why Paul says we are not "under the Torah". We know that Christians are not "under" Torah (the tutor), but are under the teacher (Holy Spirit). And even more specifically we know that we are not "under" the obligation to keep God's Torah in regards to the governing of the nation of Israel, nor God's Torah in regards to the priesthood and ceremonies. Yet some people I've heard say that we are still under the moral "Torah", but they only want to include the 10 Commandments in that "moral Torah". Jesus made no such distinction. In fact he mentions some of the "torah" that is not involved in the Ten Commandments to show that He meant the whole Torah (Matthew 5:33:31-32; 33-37; 33:38-42; 33:43-44). So if anyone wants to attempt to keep the Torah as far as just the moral laws, then according to God's Torah: Raping a woman is not sin as long as you marry her (Deut.22:29), yet Paul taught self-control rather than fornication of any kind. Put false prophets to death, and kill anyone that worships an idol (Deut.12:2; 18:22), yet Jesus taught to love our enemies and the apostle John recognized false teachers and prophets, but I don't understand scripture to say that he killed any of them. Never relinquishing hatred for anyone who would entice others to idol worship (Deut.13:9), yet Jesus said "...love your enemies, bless those who curse you, do good to those who hate you, and pray for those who spitefully use you and persecute you, that you may be the sons of the Father in heaven..." Matt.5:44-45. The burning of cities if they have gone astray (Deut. 13:17). What can I say? that would include most of the world... and during the days of the early church, certainly Rome. Yet the apostles or early Christians did not burn Rome. Never to dwell in the land of Egypt (17:16), yet Christ said to "preach the gospel to all the world...". But there is no NT teaching that states if someone from Egypt came to the faith, they should leave that country. Love for converts to Judaism (Deut.10:9), yet Paul (and others) tried to convert the Jews to faith in Jesus the Messiah, not to convince them to convert to Judaism. There is a difference. The religion of Judaism does not recognize Jesus as the Messiah. Jesus did not teach conversion to Judaism, but "faith" in God. Taking oaths by the the name of the Eternal Lord (Deut. 10:20), yet Jesus said "Again you have heard that it was said to those of old, 'You shall not swear falsely, but shall perform your oaths to the Lord.' But I say to you, do not swear at all: neither by heaven, for it is God's throne; nor by earth, for it is his footstool; nor by Jerusalem, for it is the city of the great king. Nor shall you swear by your head, because you cannot make one hair white or black. But let you 'yes' be 'yes', and your 'no' be 'no'. For whatever is more than these is from the evil one" (Matt.5:33-37). So another "moral law" was changed under the new covenant... through the "deeper meaning" that was taught by Jesus. Those "teaching and instructions" are part of the TORAH that God gave to the children of Israel through Moses. And Jesus was talking about the whole TORAH. So if a person is going to attempt to keep the Torah (LAW) then they should be attempting to keep the whole of it, not just the Ten Commandments. So yes, we can agree that Jesus gave deeper insight to the whole Torah, including the "moral" teachings. We can also agree that the whole Torah will continue until heaven and earth pass away and all is fulfilled. In other words, all of God's "teachings and instructions" will not be fulfilled until heaven and earth pass away. But that does not mean that Christians are to follow the Torah of the first covenant. We are to follow the teachings and instructions of Jesus, which we will have written on our hearts by the Holy Spirit of God. On this aspect, we may not agree. Gal. 3:25 But after faith has come, we are no longer under the tutor. |