Hard Bible Questions #4: Jesus didn't abolish the Law, so why don't we follow it?

Hey again guys!

Here's the next hard Bible question [reframed]:

Original: Jesus did not come to abolish the OT. (Was more of a statement)

Reframed: If Jesus didn't abolish the Law, shouldn't Christians/why don't Christians follow the Law like the ancient Jewish people did?

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You are correct that Jesus said He did not come to abolish the Law, but no, that does not necessarily mean we must follow the Law to the letter. When He came, He established a new covenant, finishing the old one, and enacting a new one. His ministry worked to reveal the PURPOSE of the Law, down to its roots: our hearts, our intentions, and THEN our actions as a reflection of what lives within us (love or hate, pride or selflessness).

Jesus in Matthew 5 says specifically that He did not come to abolish the Law but to fulfill it, and He also admonishes His followers throughout His ministry to better follow the Torah than even the Pharisees and He chastises them for not doing so. Simultaneously, however, He calls us to follow the law in a deeper sense. For example, regarding the Sabbath (Honor the Sabbath and keep it holy, and also do not works, neither you nor your servants, etc), Jesus picks food to eat and heals a lame man and tells him to walk (all of which are huge no-nos if you’re going to actually follow the Law to the letter). When confronted by the Pharisees, He tells them that the Sabbath was made for man, not man for the Sabbath. Over and over across Jesus’s ministry, He calls out the Pharisees and Sanhedrin, calling them whitewash tombs, saying they look good on the outside, but it isn’t about works and appearances but about what’s on the inside (of our hearts) that matters. Several times, the Pharisees try to catch Him up with this. They ask Him about what the most important of God’s laws is, practically leading the conversation, trying to walk Him into a contradiction, and He calls them out, and basically summarizes the purpose of the Law in the word “Love.” (Because, if you look at the Laws and follow them down to their roots, they’re grounded in Love and are for our good [like any good parent, who gives their children disciplinary guidelines for their safety and security and their good/joy].)

Jesus ramps up the meaning of the Law to address the root of the issue: Humankind’s hearts, not actions. In Matthew 5-7 on the Sermon on the Mount, He takes everyone’s understanding and ENHANCES IT (i.e. it ain’t just wrong to murder, even hating someone counts as murder in God’s eyes, because it’s a sin within your heart, and what comes out of your mouth and what we do with our bodies is a reflection of what lies within us. It ain’t just wrong to cheat on your spouse, just looking at another person with lust equates to adultery, etc). He takes the teachings of the Law and makes them MORE than the empty rote actions the Pharisees et al were applying them (where, for example, you could do good works but do it only for the accolades you get or only for how it benefits you vs the actual good it is meant to do. It’s all about you, not others, all about praise and recognition, not love and self-sacrifice). Basically, Jesus says we’re doing the work, sure, but we’re missing the whole point. We’re missing WHY it matters, which therein makes the work matter. The why behind the what is crucial, essentially.

So does this mean we get to just chuck out the OT? Eh. Not quite, but at the same time, it is not applicable today as it was then for a couple reasons.

By fulfilling the Law, Jesus was the final Lamb, the Lamb of God, the final sacrifice needed to atone for sins and reconcile us back to God as we were in the Garden. He even called His followers to obey the Law to the letter and not to discount it. And yet, simultaneously, with His coming, He fulfilled the Old Testament (another word to use it: the old covenant, the old promise God had with Israel and His people) and establish a new covenant (or new testament) with new promises. Not that the others were unfulfilled or scrapped or thrown away or discarded, but that they were **given, fulfilled, finished** and now here’s a new one, built upon the old. This harks back even to Jeremiah, where God proclaims that He will be making a new covenant with Israel that will not be the same as the old one. In Hebrews and Luke and several of Paul’s letters also profess this. Furthermore, all throughout Hebrews, it shows there is a “built in” end-time of the old covenant when the new order comes. When you take all of what Jesus said, did, the prophesies He fulfilled, His words, and the Law and expectations of the ancient Near East with the Torah, TaNaK, etc, then it is clear that Jesus came, finished the old covenant (“it is finished” as He hung on the cross), and initiated a new order. All this to say: following many rules and laws of the Torah is wise and can gives us good lives, but it is no longer the requirement for our salvation and sanctification. This said, you will know them (us/Christians) by their works. Faith without works is dead. Because with true faith, your actions will reflect the belief.

Now, many Christians today study the OT, because without the OT, the NT means nothing, because the OT is on which the NT is based and makes why what Jesus did special and amazing. And while the OT was once dismissed as old school, modern Christians are realizing that it is NOT obsolete (and that was a misinterpretation of scripture), and now realize that given the new order and the new testament with the coming of Christ, the OT enhances our ability to know and understand the character of God. And if anyone desires to follow the Law, THAT'S FINE. It's however God calls you to exhibit your faith, but what matters is the purity of your heart and your faith in Christ as the new covenant. Your faith is what saves you; but your works reflect the fruit, the byproduct, of such belief.

Lastly: even some modern Jews who are NOT messianic Jews, when discussing the prophecies and what would need to be fulfilled in order for the Messiah to come, they admit that there’s only one person who would’ve been able to fulfill them today, and they admit it is Jesus. So given that, it just makes one wonder: do you not believe because you don’t believe that Jesus is the Messiah, or do you not believe, because if you did, then that means everything changes and has greater implications on your life? And at the heart of it all: we want what we want and want to live life our own way. So the proof is in the pudding on this one, yet many still won’t eat, because they just don’t want to submit to any other authority than their own, even if it’s for their good.

xo,

Jess