Hebrews 4:14 – 5:10 – Our Great High Priest
No legal code with threats and penalties for a stiff-necked and rebellious people but a new creature that loves God and others, in which the Spirit of God dwells, to equip and will His people to that which pleases Him (Phil 2).
The New Covenant has a new priesthood, which requires a new law. The New Covenant has different entry requirements than did the Old Covenant. Faith in God was not required to enter the Mosaic Covenant - obedience to a few religious rites were all that was required. New birth which brings faith in Christ is required to enter into the New Covenant - the flesh profits nothing! Shadows were fulfilled in the substance, which is Christ.
Transition
During His earthly ministry, Jesus was announcing the
kingdom of God, showing it to be something different from the nation of Israel.
Before the cross, He declared the kingdom was not discernable with the eye, but
was in their midst as He stood with the Pharisees (Luke 17:20-21). A kingdom
not of this world but present - in part - upon it. Scripture provides four
clear statements about Jesus’ position regarding the Mosaic Covenant:
Matt 12:6 Jesus is
greater than the temple
Matt 12:41-42 Jesus
is greater than Jonah and Solomon
Matt 12:2, 5, 7, 8
Jesus is Lord of the Sabbath
Heb 3:3 Jesus has
greater glory than Moses
In this transition from Old Covenant to New Covenant, Jesus was
unveiling His kingdom while on earth, revealing Himself as the Greater Prophet
and Son of God. When He was crucified and raised from the dead, this kingdom
was inaugurated and is extant in His people. It will be consummated when He
returns to judge the nations, gather His people, and make all things new.
Let us now take a look at these transitionary passages,
showing how Jesus revealed what was coming: a kingdom not of this world, under
a new ruler with a new rule.
Luke 2:41-50 (HCSB) Every year His parents
traveled to Jerusalem for the Passover Festival. When He was 12 years old, they
went up according to the custom of the festival. After those days were over, as
they were returning, the boy Jesus stayed behind in Jerusalem, but His parents
did not know it. Assuming He was in the traveling party, they went a day’s
journey. Then they began looking for Him among their relatives and friends.
When they did not find Him, they returned to Jerusalem to search for Him. After
three days, they found Him in the temple complex sitting among the teachers,
listening to them and asking them questions. And all those who heard Him were
astounded at His understanding and His answers. When His parents saw Him, they
were astonished, and His mother said to Him, “Son, why have You treated us like
this? Your father and I have been anxiously searching for You.” “Why were you
searching for Me?” He asked them. “Didn’t you know that I had to be in My
Father’s house?” But they did not understand what He said to them.
The Mosaic Covenant commanded utmost respect for parents,
with death required for those who went so far as to curse their parents (Lev
20:9). We see in Luke 2 the response of Jesus’ mother – shock at her son’s
failure to treat them with respect, by staying behind without permission. This
was based on the Mosaic law’s harsh stance against disobedience to parents. Jesus
was at the cusp of being recognized as an adult and knew He had a higher
calling from His heavenly Father, no longer a child under the guardianship of
the Mosaic Law. His earthly parents did not understand this; it would appear
many of His spiritual children have failed to look into this.
Luke
5:12-14 (HCSB) While
He was in one of the towns, a man was there who had a serious skin disease all
over him. He saw Jesus, fell facedown, and begged Him: “Lord, if You are
willing, You can make me clean.” Reaching out His hand, He touched him, saying,
“I am willing; be made clean,” and immediately the disease left him. Then He
ordered him to tell no one: “But go and show yourself to the priest, and offer
what Moses prescribed for your cleansing as a testimony to them.”
Scripture moves quickly into the ministry of Jesus, 20 years
after the first incident noted above. It was against the Mosaic Law for a healthy person to touch one with
leprosy (Lev 5:3). By touching this man, Jesus was demonstrating that He
was not bound by the Mosaic Covenant but answered to a higher calling. When
Jesus began His kingdom ministry, He was no longer under the Mosaic Law as He
was as a minor child, else He would not have touched the man. He was working to
show the Jews that their Messiah was greater than Moses, bringing a new and
better covenant founded on better promises to His spiritual people. True
cleanliness is of the inner man, not the outer man.
Matt 17:24-27 (HCSB) When they came to Capernaum,
those who collected the double-drachma tax approached Peter and said, “Doesn’t
your Teacher pay the double-drachma tax?” “Yes,” he said. When he went into the
house, Jesus spoke to him first, “What do you think, Simon? Who do earthly
kings collect tariffs or taxes from? From their sons or from strangers?” “From
strangers,” he said. “Then the sons are free,” Jesus told him. “But, so we
won’t offend them, go to the sea, cast in a fishhook, and take the first fish
that you catch. When you open its mouth you’ll find a coin. Take it and give it
to them for Me and you.”
The clear meaning of this passage is that His disciples are
sons of the King and not required to pay the temple tax. This is another
demonstration that He and His people are not ruled by the Mosaic Covenant. Jesus
explains why it will be paid this one time – to avoid giving offense. This is
the same motive and method we hear from Paul in 1 Corinthians 9 where he acts
like those under the law of Moses, though he is not under the law; he acts like
those NOT under the law of Moses though he is not without law – he is under the
law of Christ. No offense other than the cross. Christians, including redeemed
Jews, are not under the law of Moses.
Several other passages of Scripture reinforce this idea. In
Luke 8:19-56 Jesus touched a dead child and raised her to life; touching the
dead was prohibited by the law (Num 19:11-12). The Mosaic Law forbade spitting
on a person: Numbers 12:14 declares one unclean who has been spit-on; Deuteronomy
25:9 refers to spitting in in another's face as a curse on the person. Jesus
spit on the ground, made clay to apply to a blind man's eyes to bring healing
(John 9:6); He spit on a mute man's tongue to heal him (Mark 7:33); and He spit
in a blind man's eyes to heal him (Mark 8:22-25), contrary to Mosaic Law. Jesus
declared all foods clean (Mark 7:15, 19), contrary to the Levitical law; He
healed a paralytic on the Sabbath (John 5:7-10).
For these things they wanted to kill Him (John 5:18), for He
not only violated their Sabbath, He made Himself equal with God. John did not
write that the Jews claimed Jesus was breaking their Sabbath; he wrote that Jesus
broke the Sabbath. In Matthew 12, Jesus defended His disciples plucking grain
on the Sabbath, positioning Himself as greater than David (who had eaten bread
meant only for priests) and greater than (Lord of/over) the Sabbath. David was
not prosecuted for violating this law because he was king of Israel; Jesus is
King of kings! In this instance, He cites Hosea 6:6, "For I desire
mercy and not sacrifice." The law was not full of mercy, it provided
no specific exceptions to the weekly Sabbath for acts of mercy. Healing was
required in the law but no provision for doing so on the Sabbath was given.
Circumcision was required on the 8th day, which sometimes happened on a
Sabbath. Jesus pointed out the priests recognized that the law of circumcision
must not be broken, even if it was performed on the Sabbath (John 7:22-23). The
Sabbath law gave no exception for circumcision, just like it gave no exception
for baking the bread that was required by the law. I think these points of
tension were there to lead the Jews to seek guidance from YHWH, but they built
up a system of rules that they thought they keep and be pleasing to God. Of old
He told them, "I desire mercy and not sacrifice."
All of these incidents reveal the tension between the
covenant that was growing old and nearing its end and the New Covenant that was
being revealed and would soon be in place. Jesus was showing by word and deed
how His people were to live – not bound by the letter of the law, but guided by
the Spirit of God.
The Latin phrase, “Ex Lex,” is sometimes used to describe
God as being “without law” or “not under law.” We see this in the Old Testament
when the One Who declared the taking of man’s life was forbidden (Gen 9:5-6; Ex
20:13; Deut 5:17) killed many (Ex 4:12, 29; Deut 4:3; 1 Sam 6:19). There are
other examples, but the idea is established: God is not bound by the laws He
gives man; He is bound by His character and will. He makes alive and He kills.
He cannot lie nor can He sin. Note this: One who is not bound by a law cannot
break it. This is why when Jesus “broke the Sabbath” He did not break any law –
He had removed Himself from being “under the law” as part of His bringing His
kingdom into being.
Many teach, as I used to, that Jesus came to keep the Mosaic
Law perfectly. I taught that the law-giver became the law-keeper to save the
law-breakers. But the Bible does not teach this. Jesus said “My food is to
do the will of Him who sent Me and to finish His work” (John 4:34); He
further stated “I can do nothing on My own. I judge only as I hear, and My
judgment is righteous, because I do not seek My own will, but the will of Him
who sent Me.” (John 5:30) He came to do the will of the Father – but what
is this? The answer is also in John’s gospel: "For I have come down
from heaven, not to do My will, but the will of Him who sent Me. This is the
will of Him who sent Me: that I should lose none of those He has given Me but should
raise them up on the last day. For this is the will of My Father: that everyone
who sees the Son and believes in Him may have eternal life, and I will raise
him up on the last day.” (John 6:38-40) This is the will of the Father
regarding the Son, not law-keeping but soul-saving; to redeem every lost sheep,
to lose none of those the Father has given Him.
In each of the instances cited, Jesus is acting and speaking
as one who is not under the law of Moses, but above it; just as Paul said he
was not under the Law of Moses but under the Law of Christ (1 Cor 9:19-22).
Jesus was teaching His people that life in the New Covenant, the kingdom which
is not of this world, does not require devotion to the Mosaic Law but devotion
to the Son of Man.
In the Sermon on the Mount, Matthew 5 – 8, Jesus was
explaining to the Jews this new kingdom, which was not what most of them were
expecting. He reviewed commands from the Old Covenant and contrasted them with
instructions and commands from the kingdom. One saying which most claim was not
in the Mosaic Covenant is in verse 43, “You have heard that it was said,
Love your neighbor and hate your enemy.” That is not found verbatim in the
Old Covenant. But go read: Deut 7:1-2 “When the LORD your God brings you
into the land you are entering to possess, and He drives out many nations
before you — the Hittites, Girgashites, Amorites, Canaanites, Perizzites,
Hivites and Jebusites, seven nations more numerous and powerful than you — and
when the LORD your God delivers them over to you and you defeat them, you must
completely destroy them. Make no treaty with them and show them no mercy.”
And Psalms 139:19-22 God, if only You would kill the wicked — you
bloodthirsty men, stay away from me — who invoke You deceitfully. Your enemies
swear by You falsely. LORD, don’t I hate those who hate You, and detest those
who rebel against You? I hate them with extreme hatred; I consider them my
enemies. Kind of sheds new light on what Jesus said. Indeed, they had heard
that they should hate their enemies.
Another thing that Jesus said needs explanation: Matt 5:17 “Don’t
assume that I came to destroy the Law or the Prophets. I did not come to
destroy but to fulfill.” All throughout Matthew’s gospel the word “fulfill”
has an eschatological meaning; he is telling us the Law and the Prophets (the
entire Old Testament as we call it) had by Jesus been brought to its intended
end point or culmination. At no point in this gospel does “fulfill” mean “to
keep” or “obey.” As we read in 1 Corinthians, the Law and the Prophets were
written for our edification; in Luke 24 we read that they testify about Jesus.
But their role as the guardian for national Israel is over (Galatians 3:23-24
Speaking to those who wanted to live as Jews, Paul said: Before this faith
came, we were confined under the law, imprisoned until the coming faith was
revealed. The law, then, was our guardian until Christ, so that we could be
justified by faith.). Luke 16:16 tells us the law and the prophets were
proclaimed or in force until John (the baptizer); since then (a new thing), the
good news of the kingdom of God has been proclaimed and all are urged to enter
in. The law and prophets were for a time, but since Christ came, the gospel is
proclaimed to every person. The Law and Prophets remain as revelation even as
their role of regulation came to its intended, planned end.
What is man’s part, in the New Covenant? Many teach that the
Mosaic Law, in part, is to be our rule of life. Jesus said, “If you love Me,
you will keep My commands.” (John 14:15) Further, “The one who has My
commands and keeps them is the one who loves Me. And the one who loves Me will
be loved by My Father. I also will love him and will reveal Myself to him.”
(John 14:19) Does Jesus lead us to the Mosaic Law, is that where His commands
are found? In part, yes – but not as presented in the Mosaic Covenant. Jesus
said, “Love the Lord your God with all your heart, with all your soul, and
with all your mind. This is the greatest and most important command. The second
is like it: Love your neighbor as yourself.” (Matt 22:37-39) He observed
that “All the Law and the Prophets depend on these two commands.” (Matt
22:40) To properly love God and those made in His image is higher than the
entire collection of teaching in the Old Testament. And to understand how to
love God we must look unto and hear Christ rightly.
Hear ye Him: “This is My command: Love one another as I
have loved you. No one has greater love than this, that someone would lay down
his life for his friends. You are My friends if you do what I command you.”
(John 15:12-14) We do not look to the Tablets of Stone to discover how to love,
we look to the completed canon to see how Christ and His Apostles taught and
lived. All of the “one another” passages shed light on this idea. We are not
ruled by a list of “do this” and “don’t do that” commands; we are ruled by the
Law of Christ, which is the fulfillment of the two greatest commands. We have
the New Covenant Scriptures which show and instruct us how to love, including
Galatians 6:2 Carry one another’s burdens; in this way you will fulfill the
law of Christ. In many of the epistles we see practical instructions for
how to live: Romans 14, all of 1 Corinthians, James, etc. In none of them are
we told to return to Moses and read and apply the Law and the Prophets as
national Israel was commanded. In fact, we are told NOT to do so in Galatians
3:1-3 “You foolish Galatians! Who has hypnotized you, before whose eyes
Jesus Christ was vividly portrayed as crucified? I only want to learn this from
you: Did you receive the Spirit by the works of the law or by hearing with
faith? Are you so foolish? After beginning with the Spirit, are you now going
to be made complete by the flesh?” The Mosaic Law was fit for a people
living in the flesh. The Law of Christ is fit for a people walking in the
Spirit.
The Spirit of God will illuminate our understanding of Scripture and by His willing and equipping (Philippians 2:13) we will to do what is pleasing to our heavenly Father.
The Noahic Covenant is the first covenant made with mankind after the destruction of the world and the emergence of the then new-world. This covenant was unconditional, in that God made promises that were not dependent on anything from mankind or creation. God spelled out who the members of this covenant were – man had no say-so in who was included. This covenant was typical of the New Covenant, which is the last covenant made with mankind after the great flood. The New Covenant is unconditional, in that God has acted to redeem people without regard to anything man may have or was capable of doing. And God chose who would benefit from this covenant – man has no say-so in who was included. Just as the judgment of the flood was a type, or shadow, pointing to the final Day of Judgment, so the covenant of that era is a type or shadow of the final covenant God would make with His creatures.
Gal 3:22-29 (HCSB)
But the Scripture has imprisoned everything under sin’s power, so that the promise by faith in Jesus Christ might be given to those who believe. Before this faith came, we were confined under the law, imprisoned until the coming faith was revealed. The law, then, was our guardian until Christ, so that we could be justified by faith. But since that faith has come, we are no longer under a guardian, for you are all sons of God through faith in Christ Jesus. For as many of you as have been baptized into Christ have put on Christ like a garment. There is no Jew or Greek, slave or free, male or female; for you are all one in Christ Jesus. And if you belong to Christ, then you are Abraham’s seed, heirs according to the promise.
God’s
plan was for everything to be imprisoned by sin to ensure only those who
believe would inherit the promise. Only the One who could defeat sin would have
reason to boast; all children of promise would have their clenched fist opened
up to receive His gift. The Jewish nation was imprisoned by their Mosaic Law
until the promised Messiah was revealed. For freedom He came to set the
prisoners free!
There
are two points in verse 24 that need to be clarified. The NKJV has verse 24
saying, “Therefore the law was our tutor to bring us to Christ.” The phrase “to bring us to” is not in
the Greek; it’s in italics. The Greek says that law was until Christ,
the idea of bringing us to Christ is simply not there. The word
pedagogue means “disciplinarian,” “custodian,” or “guide.” According to Greek/English
Lexicon, “the man, usually a slave whose duty it was to conduct a boy or youth to
and from school and to superintend his conduct generally; he was not a
‘teacher’ despite the present meaning of the derivative ‘pedagogue’…When the
young man became of age, the guardian was no longer needed.”
The
Mosaic Law was a guardian for national Israel, designed to keep that nation
until the fulfillment came, until faith came. This code was never meant to
provide salvation to the Jews, it was meant to keep the Jews so that from them
salvation would come to the world. When Jesus came, in the fullness of time,
the Law no longer served this purpose.
All
who have been baptized into Christ have put Him on like a garment – clothed in
divine righteousness. All fleshly identifications are gone, for Christ is our
identity. This is why Paul said he no longer regarded anyone according to the
flesh; skin color, ethnicity, culture; all the things men war over are of no
value in God’s kingdom. And since we belong to Christ, we are Abraham’s seed
and heirs to the promise! All this is from Christ and for His glory.
What the Law could not do and was never intended to do, the promised seed, the offspring of Abraham brought to completion. Christ Jesus, born under the curse of the Law, was obedient to every aspect of the Father’s will so He could bring many sons to glory. Jesus is the promise by which God would fulfill the promises made to Abraham. The covenant with Abraham is foundational to the Christian faith. It was the foundation of the Old Covenant, giving the promise of the One Who would prove Himself to be the cornerstone of the New Covenant.
Jeremiah 24
After Nebuchadnezzar had taken Israel captive, Jeremiah had
a vision of two baskets of figs placed in front of the temple of YHWH. One
basket was full of delightful, choice figs and the other full of rotten,
inedible figs.
Jer 24:4-10 (HCSB) The word of the LORD came to me: “This is
what the LORD, the God of Israel, says: Like these good figs, so I regard as
good the exiles from Judah I sent away from this place to the land of the
Chaldeans. I will keep My eyes on them for their good and will return them to
this land. I will build them up and not demolish them; I will plant them and
not uproot them. I will give them a heart to know Me, that I am Yahweh. They
will be My people, and I will be their God because they will return to Me with
all their heart.
“But as for the bad figs, so bad they are inedible, this is
what the LORD says: in this way I will deal with king Zedekiah of Judah, his
officials, and the remnant of Jerusalem — those remaining in this land and
those living in the land of Egypt. I will make them an object of horror and
disaster to all the kingdoms of the earth, a disgrace, an object of scorn,
ridicule, and cursing, wherever I have banished them. I will send the sword,
famine, and plague against them until they have perished from the land I gave
to them and their ancestors.”
If we read this chapter with eyes of flesh, we will be
thinking, “YHWH has not done this with Israel yet; this promise to them still
stands and will be fulfilled. This must the great millennium where everything is
re-set for this favored nation and Messiah will reign with David for a thousand
years! Those who hate Israel will be vanquished.”
If we read this chapter with eyes of faith, we will be
thinking, “The great God and Father of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob will gather His
people from exile in this hostile world and bring us to the better country Abraham
looked for – one that was built by YHWH. He will establish us and give us new
hearts so we can love Him and be faithful to Him. And He will be our God and
Father. Those who do not repent, who are wicked and lawless, will be the object
of His wrath and they will find no peace with God.”
All the promises if God find their “YES!” in Christ Jesus. If you are His, these promises are yours. He has established His people on a covenant built on BETTER promises, providing a BETTER, more secure future that will never see death nor suffer the wrath of God.
From this morning's reading. Jeremiah speaks of the New Covenant well before we get to chapter 31, as he reveals to the northern and southern kingdoms what will take place when He gives His people shepherds who will care for them, shepherds will skill and wisdom.
The Decalogue contrasted with the Law of Christ, examined in Ten Points.
In
four places in Scripture (listed below), the Decalogue is described as the
Mosaic Covenant. While it is not the sum total of everything given to ethnic
Israel (see Ex 34:32), the Decalogue is certainly the Tablets of Testimony of
that covenant (Ex 25:16; 31:18, 32:15, 34:29).
Exodus
34:28 (HCSB) Moses was there with the
LORD 40 days and 40 nights; he did not eat bread or drink water. He wrote the Ten Commandments, the words of
the covenant, on the tablets.
Deuteronomy
4:12-13 (HCSB) Then the LORD spoke to you
from the fire. You kept hearing the sound of the words, but didn’t see a form; there
was only a voice. He declared His
covenant to you. He commanded you to follow the Ten Commandments, which He
wrote on two stone tablets.
1
Kings 8:20-21 (HCSB) The LORD has
fulfilled what He promised. I have taken the place of my father David, and I
sit on the throne of Israel, as the LORD promised. I have built the temple for
the name of Yahweh, the God of Israel. I have provided a place there for the ark, where the LORD’s covenant is that He
made with our ancestors when He brought them out of the land of Egypt.
2
Chronicles 6:10-11 (HCSB) So Yahweh has
fulfilled what He promised. I have taken the place of my father David and I sit
on the throne of Israel, as Yahweh promised. I have built the temple for the
name of Yahweh, the God of Israel. I have put the ark there, where Yahweh’s covenant is that He made with the
Israelites.
There are two versions of the Decalogue, and they differ in ways not
explained by textual variances. Which version is authoritative? Secondly, the
Decalogue, being carved in stone tablets and called "the Ten Words"
would not fit on stone tablets if all the words found in the Exodus 20 or
Deuteronomy 5 versions were counted as these ten words. If you see the
Decalogue as God's "Moral Law" how do you derive what that
"moral law" is? Which version of the 4th word is authoritative?
Consider Exodus 20:5-6 (ESV) You shall not bow down to them or serve
them, for I the LORD your God am a jealous God, visiting the iniquity of the fathers on the children to the third and
the fourth generation of those who hate me, but showing steadfast love to
thousands of those who love me and keep my commandments. Is this part of
the "moral law" - being smack in the middle of both versions of the
Decalogue? How do we conclude what words spoken by Moses were carved in stone?
If the Decalogue is the eternal, unchanging moral law of God, why did YHWH
repeal the vengeance found in Ex 20:5 in Deuteronomy 24:16? Fathers are not to be put to death for ⌊their⌋ children or children for ⌊their⌋
fathers;
each person will be put to death for his
own sin.
Deuteronomy
5:1-5 (HCSB) Moses summoned all Israel
and said to them, “Israel, listen to the
statutes and ordinances I am proclaiming as you hear them today. Learn and
follow them carefully. The LORD our God
made a covenant with us at Horeb. He did not make this covenant with our
fathers, but with all of us who are alive here today. The LORD spoke to you
face to face from the fire on the mountain. At that time I was standing between
the LORD and you to report the word of the LORD to you, because you were afraid
of the fire and did not go up the mountain.
Deuteronomy
5:12-15 (HCSB) Be careful to remember the
Sabbath day, to keep it holy as the LORD
your God has commanded you. You are to labor six days and do all your work,
but the seventh day is a Sabbath to the LORD your God. You must not do any work—you, your son or daughter, your male or
female slave, your ox or donkey, any of your livestock, or the foreigner who
lives within your gates, so that your male and female slaves may rest as you
do. Remember that you were a slave in
the land of Egypt, and the LORD your God brought you out of there with a strong
hand and an outstretched arm. That is why the LORD your God has commanded you
to keep the Sabbath day.
This
reissuing of the covenant and law provided the historical context ethnic Israel
needed to ground them in their identity with YHWH. They, not others, were His
covenant people. This version of the 4th word aligns with the introduction,
clearly showing this law was given, as part and parcel of the covenant, to only
those who were on Mt Horeb when YHWH gave the law and covenant to the infant
nation of Israel. Moses makes it very clear that this law was not given to Abraham,
Isaac, and Jacob, but to them who were on the mountain on that day.
Nehemiah
9:13-14 (HCSB) You came down on Mount Sinai, and spoke to them from heaven. You gave them impartial ordinances, reliable instructions, and good
statutes and commands. You revealed Your
holy Sabbath to them, and gave them commands, statutes, and instruction through Your servant Moses.
John 7:19
(HCSB) Didn’t Moses give you the law?
John
8:17 (HCSB) Even in your law it is written that the witness of two men is valid.
Romans
9:4 (HCSB) They are Israelites, and to them belong the adoption, the glory, the covenants, the giving of the law, the temple service, and the promises.
In
both Old and New Covenant passages, the law of Moses is described as being
given to ethnic Israel; not to the world and not to the saints.
Galatians
3:10 (HCSB) For all who rely on the works of the law are under a curse, because it
is written: Everyone who does not
continue doing everything written in the book of the law is cursed.
Galatians
5:3 (HCSB) Again I testify to every man who gets himself circumcised that
he is obligated to keep the entire law.
James
2:10 (HCSB) For whoever keeps the entire law, yet fails in one point, is guilty of ⌊breaking it⌋ all.
The
law is consistently spoken of as a unit - keeping one point obligates one to
keep every point; failing on one point is being guilty of the whole law. Every
law given by God is moral, for He is pure morality. The covenant context
reveals how and to whom His specific laws are to be kept. Those in Adam are
bound to God's Universal Law (called the law of nature or law of conscience by
some); those who were in the Mosaic community were bound to the Mosaic Law;
those who are in Christ are bound by the Law of Christ. All of these laws have
points in common for they all come from God.
Romans
5:20 (HCSB) The law came along to multiply the trespass.
Galatians
3:19 (HCSB) Why then was the law ⌊given⌋? It was added because of transgressions until the Seed to whom the
promise was made would come.
Galatians
3:22-23 (HCSB) But the Scripture has
imprisoned everything under sin’s power, so that the promise by faith in Jesus
Christ might be given to those who believe. Before this faith came, we were confined under the law, imprisoned
until the coming faith was revealed.
Romans
7:7 (HCSB) What should we say then? Is
the law sin? Absolutely not! On the contrary, I would not have known sin if it were not for the law. For example,
I would not have known what it is to
covet if the law had not said, Do not covet.
Many
claim the law was given to restrain sin - I find that taught nowhere in
Scripture. It provides the basis for punishing law-breakers, For
the law produces wrath. And where there is no law, there is no transgression.
Romans 4:15 (HCSB)
Matthew
11:13 (HCSB) For all the prophets and the Law prophesied until John;
Luke
16:16 (HCSB) The Law and the Prophets were until John; since then, the good news of the kingdom of God has been proclaimed,
When
John came, as the herald of the promised Seed, the Law's prophetic purpose
ended.
Romans
7:1 (HCSB) Since I am speaking to those
who understand law, brothers, are you unaware that the law has authority over someone as long as he lives?
Romans
7:4 (HCSB) Therefore, my brothers, you also were put to death in relation to the
law through the ⌊crucified⌋ body of the Messiah, so
that you may belong to another—to
Him who was raised from the dead—that we may bear fruit for God.
Romans
7:6 (HCSB) But now we have been released from the law, since we have died to what
held us, so that we may serve in the new way of the Spirit and not in the
old letter of the law.
Galatians
2:19 (HCSB) For through the law I have died to the law, so that I might
live for God.
The
Jews who were dead to Christ and alive to the law were under that law. Those
Jews who were made alive in Christ were put to death in relation to the Law. They
serve in the new and better way of the Spirit of God, not in the old letter
that brought death. Paul goes so far (in Gal 2) as to say that in order to live
for God one must die to the law. This lines up with what he wrote in Romans 7 -
and it aligns with other Scripture that says if you live by the law you must do
all of it and will be cursed when he does not. Far better to die to the law and
be alive in Christ!
Galatians
3:19 (HCSB) Why then was the law ⌊given⌋? It was added because
of transgressions until the Seed to whom
the promise was made would come.
When
the promised Seed came, the law as regulation ended - along with its covenant.
Galatians
3:22-26 (HCSB) But the Scripture has
imprisoned everything under sin’s power, so that the promise by faith in Jesus
Christ might be given to those who believe. Before this faith came, we were
confined under the law, imprisoned until the coming faith was revealed. The law, then, was our guardian until
Christ, so that we could be justified by faith. But since that faith has come, we are no longer under a guardian, for
you are all sons of God through faith in Christ Jesus.
The
law was the guardian (not tutor as some translations say - this is a modern
definition which was not in use when Paul wrote this passage) for national
Israel. The law kept, guarded Israel until the promised Seed came. Since Christ
came, the law ceased in that function as well. No longer prophetic, no longer
regulation, no longer guardian. Something new has come!
Romans
10:4 (HCSB) For Christ is the end of the law for righteousness to everyone who believes. The law was ended, set aside as law,
for all who believe in Christ.
Ephesians
2:15 (HCSB) He made of no effect the law consisting of commands and expressed in
regulations, so that He might create in Himself one new man from the two,
resulting in peace.
2
Corinthians 3:11 (HCSB) For if what was fading away was glorious, what
endures will be even more glorious.
Here
we see the Mosaic Law, inclusive of the commandments written on stone, was
abolished, annulled, ended, set aside, fading away (Strong's G2673 - destroy,
abolish). This is not the same word found in Matthew 5:17, which is G2647; they
are similar. The law was abolished, destroyed as law (Eph 2, 2 Cor 3) but not
destroyed as revelation.
Jesus
fulfilled the law, which all throughout Matthew does not mean
"confirmed" or "kept" but means filled up, complete;
brought to its intended end. The word "fulfilled" (pleroo) is used 16
times in this gospel; by far the preponderance of the appearances of pleroo are
'eschatological.' By this is it meant not that they have reference to the
Second Coming, but that from the Old Covenant perspective they represent a
future work of God tied to a particular age (i.e. the New Covenant). The
fulfillment has to do with how the Old Covenant prophetic word is taken up in
the person and work of Christ. One example is: When [Joseph] arose, he took the young Child and His mother by night
and departed for Egypt, and was there until the death of Herod, that it might
be fulfilled which was spoken by the Lord through the prophet, saying, 'Out of
Egypt I called My Son.' It is with this fulfillment in particular that we
catch a glimpse of Matthew's vision with regard to the profound nature of
Christ's fulfillment of prophecy. Throughout this gospel,
"fulfillment" is part and parcel of the shadow/fulfillment process
found throughout the redemptive story; it is not testimony of Jesus keeping the
law.
Keep
the law. tēreō (5083): from
teros (a watch; perhaps akin to <G2334> (theoreo)); to guard (from loss
or injury, properly by keeping the eye upon.
Fulfill
the law. plēroō (4137): from
<G4134> (pleres); to make replete, i.e. (literal) to cram (a net), level
up (a hollow). As one author put it: “That which was empty, sketchy, has become
filled up, filled out, and thereby glorified.”
We
in the New Covenant are not without law; but we are not within the Law of
Moses. New Covenant passages describe this new law as the Spirit's law of life, the law
of Christ, the perfect Law of Liberty,
and the Royal law. This law is based
on the two great commandments, to love God and neighbor - not as taught by the
Mosaic Law but as taught and modeled by the Lord Jesus, in light of the power
of the Holy Spirit.
Romans
8:1-2 (HCSB) Therefore, no condemnation
now exists for those in Christ Jesus, because the Spirit’s law of life in Christ Jesus has set you free from the
law of sin and of death.
Galatians
6:2 (HCSB) Carry one another’s burdens;
in this way you will fulfill the law of
Christ.
1
Corinthians 9:21 (HCSB) To those who are
without ⌊that⌋ law, like one without
the law—not being without God’s law but within
Christ’s law—to win those without the law.
James
1:25 (HCSB) But the one who looks
intently into the perfect law of freedom
and perseveres in it, and is not a forgetful hearer but one who does ⌊good⌋ works—this person will be blessed in what he
does.
James
2:8 (HCSB) Indeed, if you keep the royal law prescribed in the Scripture, Love your
neighbor as yourself, you are doing well.
This phrase, love your neighbor as yourself, is the second great command, taken
from Lev 19:18. It is the other side of the coin which also conveys the
greatest command: You shall love the LORD
your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your might,
cited from Deuteronomy 6:5. On these two commands, neither taken from the
Decalogue, hang the Law and the prophets – all the scripture then in hands of
man. This shows us that while the Law of Moses is not our master, certain
truths that apply to all of God’s people are found in His books. Jesus draws
out two and declares them to be supreme to the Old Covenant, the essence of the
New Covenant – love for God and one another; love as defined and portrayed in
the Bible, not as our culture as deceitfully defined it these past few
centuries.
As Moses went up into a mountain to get the old Law, so Christ went up into
a mountain to give the new Law (Mat
5-7; cf. 2 Cor 3).
John
1:17 (HCSB) for the law was given through Moses, grace and truth came through Jesus
Christ. Just as there is a distinct contrast between law and gospel,
here John reveals a distinct contrast between law and grace & truth. The
covenant given through Moses was a law-based covenant, with all the criminal
sanctions for violations. The covenant made with the blood of Christ is a
grace-based covenant, with forgiveness for sin and no legal code hanging over
the heads of those within it.
In
the Sermon on the Mount, Jesus contrasted the ethics of His kingdom with that
of the kingdom of Israel, quoting two of the Ten Words exactly, showing how the
law of His kingdom is a higher standard not found in the Mosaic Law. "Do
not murder" does not teach "love others as I have loved you;"
"Do not commit adultery" does not teach "love your wife as
Christ loved the church." "Love your neighbor and hate your
enemy" was not part of the Decalogue, but it was the way ethnic Israel
lived - as they applied the Levitical law (cities of refuge, etc.).
The
parable of the Good Samaritan shows that the Jews had the wrong idea of who
their neighbors were - they thought only fellow Jews were their neighbors. That
parable also showed how they hated their enemies, as the Pharisee crossed to
the other side of the street to avoid the unclean person in the ditch. If the
injured man had been a Jew, the Pharisee would have helped him; he wasn't a
Jew, so he was a "dog" - an outsider and enemy of Israel. Jesus said,
"Love your enemies, pray for them;"
He was teaching that in His kingdom, everyone you come in contact with is your
neighbor and we are to do good to all, especially those in the household of
faith. Different mindset than in the
Mosaic community; one based on love rather than a legal code.
Christ
teaches those things which Moses did not. How could the Decalogue be our law if
Jesus gave us a higher, better law?
Acts
15:5 (HCSB) But some of the believers
from the party of the Pharisees stood up and said, “It is necessary to circumcise them and to command them to keep the law
of Moses!” Acts 15:10 (HCSB) Now
then, why are you testing God by
putting a yoke on the disciples’ necks that neither our ancestors nor we have
been able to bear? The light yoke of Christ is light because Christ is the
"lead ox" but also because there's a different load being pulled. Not
the tablets of stone but the law of Christ. Telling saints they must keep the
law of Moses is testing God! This passage is not restricted to justification as
the controversy was about justification and how Gentile Christians were to
live. The charge from the Pharisees, the discussion, and the letter all reflect
this larger scope.
2
Corinthians 5:14 (HCSB) For Christ’s love compels us. Law
keeping is not what gives us love nor the ability to obey; the love of Christ
does this.
Romans
8:1-2 (HCSB) Therefore, no condemnation
now exists for those in Christ Jesus, because the Spirit’s law of life in Christ Jesus has set you free from the law
of sin and of death.
Since
Paul declared the law chiseled in letters on stone to be "the ministry of death" how can that
law be the law of the New Covenant, wherein all is life? How can the Decalogue
be for the saints when the Spirit's law of life in Christ has set us free from
it?
How can the Decalogue be part of the
Law of Christ when it is starkly contrasted with it in 1 Corinthians 9:19-21? For though
I am free from all, I have made myself a servant to all, that I might win
more of them. To the Jews I became as a
Jew, in order to win Jews. To those under the law I became as one under the law
(though not being myself under the law) that I might win those under the law.
To those outside the law I became as one outside the law (not being outside the
law of God but under the law of Christ) that I might win those outside the law.
Paul described himself as being without - not having - the Law of
Moses; he merely behaved as though he was under that law so his freedom would
not distract Jews from his gospel. He made clear his true status in verse 21-
not under the Law of Moses but under the law of Christ. How could the Law of
Moses (its capstone - the Decalogue) be part of or equal to the law of Christ
when Paul sets that against one another in several places?
Galatians 3:2-6 (ESV) Let me ask you only this: Did you receive
the Spirit by works of the law or by hearing with faith? Are you so foolish? Having begun by the Spirit, are you now
being perfected by the flesh? Did you suffer so many things in vain — if
indeed it was in vain? Does he who
supplies the Spirit to you and works miracles among you do so by works of the
law, or by hearing with faith — just as Abraham “believed God, and it was
counted to him as righteousness”? Having been given life by the Spirit,
maturing in Christ is NOT by works of law-keeping!
Hebrews 7:11-13, 18, 19 (HCSB) If then, perfection came through the Levitical priesthood (for under it the
people received the law), what further need was there for another priest to
appear, said to be in the order of Melchizedek and not in the order of Aaron? For when there is a change of the
priesthood, there must be a change of law as well. For the One these things
are spoken about belonged to a different tribe. ... So the previous command is annulled because it was weak and
unprofitable (for the law perfected nothing), but a better hope is
introduced, through which we draw near to God. Law is tied to covenant. The
Mosaic Law was based on the Mosaic Covenant, administered by the Levitical
priesthood. When the New Covenant came, the priesthood changed - and this
mandated a change of law as well. The law of the Old Covenant was annulled as
law, it was not translated into the New Covenant as law. The Spirit provides a
better hope, by which we draw near to God.
Hebrews 10:1 (ESV) For since the law has but a
shadow of the good things to come instead of the true form of these
realities, it can never, by the same
sacrifices that are continually offered every year, make perfect those who draw near. The Law of Moses had its
purpose in its time. It was unable to save and unable to make perfect anyone as
it was mere shadow while the substance
is Christ (Col 2:17).
John 15:12 (ESV) This is my commandment, that you
love one another as I have loved you.
John 15:17 (ESV) These things I command you, so that you will love one another. This
is the Law of Christ - the rule for Christian living is not the Law of Moses,
not the "moral Law of God" as the Decalogue is called by man.
Romans 13:8 (HCSB) Do
not owe anyone anything, except to love one another, for the one who loves another has fulfilled the law.
Romans 13:10 (HCSB) Love does no wrong to a neighbor. Love, therefore, is the fulfillment of the
law.
Galatians 5:14 (HCSB) For
the entire law is fulfilled in one statement: Love your neighbor as yourself.
There are some who claim Christians
must live under the Decalogue as a rule of life or we will think murder is OK.
Christians are indwelt by the Spirit of God and we have been shown that selfish
anger at a brother is the same as murder, and we do not un-hinge the Old
Testament from our theology. We read about how wicked murder is and see our
anger at others is of the same sinful attitude. We read how we are to love one
another as Christ loved us and see how great indeed the two Great Commandments
are. We are not lawless, we are within the Law of Christ!
Great Commission: Teaching them all I have commanded you.
Where did Jesus teach that His disciples are to keep the Decalogue? Jesus told
His disciples the greatest commandment was to love God - something not taught
in the Decalogue. He also told us the second greatest commandment is to love
one another as He loved us - something not taught in the Decalogue.
How can the Decalogue be in the law of
Christ when it doesn't command or teach us to LOVE? The Decalogue teaches what
sin is.
Paul
teaches that the Law is good and that it is the ministry of death. The best way
to reconcile his statements is to see that the Law serves as revelation from
God, and this is very good; it also serves as regulation for those under the
law covenant, and this is very heavy. This is clearly seen in Romans 3:21 But now, apart from the law [as regulation], God’s righteousness has been revealed—attested by the Law and the
Prophets [as revelation].
Law
exists in Scripture as Regulation and Revelation. John Owen recognized this,
saying, "The law is taken two ways: 1. For the whole revelation of the
mind and will of God ... and 2. For the covenant rule of perfect
obedience."
Law
as regulation is given in context of the covenant to which it belongs.
Violations of law bring consequences, which are spelled out in that covenant.
There
is no exception to this, in that laws with punishments do not spill out of
their covenant.
Since
all of God's Word is Revelation, it is good for us if applied properly. This
goes for law and narrative.
This
is why a principle is seen in more than one law in more than one covenant -
it's all from God. Don't confuse that with the papist fable of
"trans-covenantal law."
Man
is naturally wired for works righteousness. Having a codified list of
"Do"s and "Dont"s satisfies our natural desire to prove
ourselves. This is not how we, who are dead
to the law and alive in Christ, are to live - for love does not keep records of wrongs (1 Cor 13:5). The Mosaic Law
was not given as a rule for life for those indwelt by the Spirit of God. Christ
has taught us and shown us how to love, He has given us His Spirit and His Word
so we would not be left to figure it out on our own. And He has given us to one
another so we can practice loving one another in spite of our differences and
disagreements. May it please the Lord our God to continue to pour out His love
and grace on us so we would shine as lights in this wicked world.
New Covenant Theology is not new theology about covenants; it's theology about the New Covenant! This is an introductory summary for people interested in the New Covenant College that is getting organized and ready to help equip the saints.
We're all familiar with the New Covenant reference in Jeremiah 31:31-33 (HCSB) “Look, the days are coming”—⌊this is⌋ the LORD’s declaration—“when I will make a new covenant with the house of Israel and with the house of Judah. ⌊This one will⌋ not be like the covenant I made with their ancestors when I took them by the hand to bring them out of the land of Egypt—a covenant they broke even though I had married them”—the LORD’s declaration. “Instead, this is the covenant I will make with the house of Israel after those days”—the LORD’s declaration. “I will put My teaching within them and write it on their hearts. I will be their God, and they will be My people.
Many WCF Reformers deny the newness of the New Covenant, but
that error is not my point right now.
Notice what the Spirit said through the prophet: The New
Covenant will NOT BE LIKE the Old Covenant; that covenant made with the forefathers
when He brought them out of Egypt. The New Covenant, established with the death
of Christ, is a better covenant than the Old one (Hebrews 7:22).
Here's the question: SINCE the New Covenant is NOT LIKE the
Old Covenant, WHY would His teaching (KJV says "law" - the Hebrew
word can mean law, instruction, precept) be the same as that of the Old
Covenant?
In the epistle to the Hebrews, we read of differences
between the Old and New Covenants. In chapter 7 the Spirit contrasts the
priesthoods of the two covenants. In verse 11 we see that the Mosaic Law was
received under the Levitical priesthood. Verses 13 - 17 tells us the priesthood
of the New Covenant is different and indescribably superior to the priesthood
of the Mosaic Covenant. Verse 12 tells us that the change of priesthood from
old to new covenants REQUIRES a change of law. And then we read, Hebrews 7:18-19
(HCSB) "So the previous command is annulled because it was weak and
unprofitable (for the law perfected nothing), but a better hope is introduced,
through which we draw near to God." The "previous command" is
the Mosaic Law (of which the Decalogue is the testimony) which was annulled.
This aligns with Jesus' statement that He came to "fulfill" the law -
which is to bring it to its intended end or goal. This aligns with Paul's
statement that the law of Moses was a guardian of ethnic Israel until the coming
of the promised Messiah.
We recognize that Jeremiah 29:11 is not directly applicable
to us, though we learn much about man and about God in that entire passage. Why
do so many not recognize this same reality with the law of Moses? The Decalogue
was written on stone tablets, given to people with stone hearts who worshiped
God in a stone temple. All of these stony things are gone, are not the
substance of the New Covenant. The law of Christ is not a codified list of
commands. Paul said of the fruit of the Spirit that against these things there
is no law. Rather than a list of prohibitions and attending promises of punishment,
the law of Christ is the law of love; written on fleshy hearts which are in
spiritual people who are the temple of God.
Yes, the New Covenant Scriptures have many imperatives - written with
pen on paper. These help us understand the law of Christ as we are still in
these sinful bodies of flesh.
The narrow path is the path of love - since we are first loved
by Christ, we love Him and one another. His written Word guides us, His spirit
wills and equips us to do what is pleasing to Him. There is a ditch on either
side of the narrow path: one side is the heavy yoke of the Mosaic Law, which no
man can bear (Acts 15:10); the other side is antinomianism, the sin of thinking
and living as is there is no law (1 John 3:4 - often wrongly translated as
saying "sin is the breaking of the law". It says, “Everyone who makes
a practice of sinning also practices lawlessness; sin is lawlessness.” There is
no reference to ‘transgressing’ in that verse – it was added by the Geneva
Bible translators, and other translations (KJV, Jubilee 2000, American KJV)
simply followed suit. On the other hand, the NIV, New KJV, ESV, Berean Literal,
NASB, CSB, NET, NAS1977, ASV, ERV, Young's Literal all agree: sin is
lawlessness.)
The narrow path is Christ focused as He leads; we walk with
Moses, not led by him.
The beloved Puritan, Thomas Watson, described the Decalogue as a golden chain hung around the necks of the saints, a rule of life for God's children. And he called all who disagreed with him, antinomians.
One can search the Scriptures to see if YHWH describes these
tablets in such terms, but that search will be in vain. He describes the
Decalogue as the Tablets of Testimony of the Mosaic Covenant; as the ministry
of death. His Word tells us the law was given to INCREASE sin.
Laws given to natural, carnal, unregenerate man are normally
written against certain behaviors - do not murder, do not steal, etc. The
Decalogue is MAINLY such law: do not make idols, do not worship idols, do not
murder, do not steal, do not commit adultery, do not covet what ain't
yours. 8 of the 10 words on the
Decalogue are against something. The two positive words command people to rest
in their homes and to obey their parents. Which of these commands require faith
in God to perform? None of them. They are fit for the unregenerate community
(yes, there were some believers therein, but only a few) to which they were
given.
What instructions are given to the saints? We read that we
are to worship God in spirit and truth; love one another as Christ has loved
us; bear one another's burdens; be humble; weep and rejoice with one another;
etc. Against these things, Paul said, there is no law. Such commands CANNOT be
kept by those without the Holy Spirit. New Covenant, new priesthood, new law.
The Spirit's law of Life has set us free from the law of sin
and death (Romans 8). The Law of Moses could not bring about obedience because
it was limited by the flesh. The Spirit of God brings obedience, willing and
equipping us to do what is pleasing to Him.
Contrary to Andy Stanley's view, we do not throw away or "unhinge" the Hebrew Scriptures. All of what was written is for our benefit (Romans 15, 1 Cor 10). Contrary to Thomas Watson's view, the apostles declared it was contrary to the faith to require the saints to keep the Law of Moses (Acts 15).
I do not understand why so many people claim we must go back to the Mosaic Law to know what morality is, to live by it as rule for life. Paul had perfect opportunity to make it clear, if living by Mosaic Law was our charge:
Titus 2 gives qualifications for elders, encouragement for godly living to young men, exhortation to slaves to be faithful, and finishes with this:
Titus 2:11-15 (HCSB) For the grace of God has appeared with salvation for all people, instructing us to deny godlessness and worldly lusts and to live in a sensible, righteous, and godly way in the present age, while we wait for the blessed hope and appearing of the glory of our great God and Savior, Jesus Christ. He gave Himself for us to redeem us from all lawlessness and to cleanse for Himself a people for His own possession, eager to do good works. Say these things, and encourage and rebuke with all authority. Let no one disregard you.
Not a smidgen of Moses. It's all grace. All the work of the Spirit in our lives. No written code of death that was given to an unregenerate community.
The right path is to fix our eyes on Christ, trust Him, seek
wisdom to walk as Children of the light, and take care not to fall into the
ditch on either side of the road.
