ABSTRACT: Christ did more than merely INTERPRET the Law of Moses; He REPLACED the Law of Moses with much higher moral standards, which Paul calls, “the Law of Christ.” This ‘law’ reflects the Father’s perfect heart. It is the eternal law as it existed from the beginning. The Law of Moses was a temporary watered-down version of the eternal law, suitable for the degenerated condition of the slave nation.
SUMMARY
The Law of Christ is best illustrated by Matthew 5. Here Christ quoted various Old Testament laws, and then, starting with the words, “But I say to you”, gave for each His alternative law. His laws are always at a much higher moral level. For instance:
He replaced the law against murder with a law against ‘anger‘.
The revenge law (“an eye for an eye, and a tooth for a tooth”) He set aside completely, commanding His followers to “not resist an evil person; but whoever slaps you on your right cheek, turn the other to him also.”
REVEALS THE FATHER’S HEART
This higher-level Law reveals the Father’s heart. The Father is perfect. He loves His enemies and has compassion for people. For that reason, the Law of Christ requires His followers to do the same.
EXISTED FROM THE BEGINNING
When Jesus was asked about the provisions for divorce in the Law of Moses, He referred to the creation account, stating that “the two shall become one flesh.” When the Pharisees then asked why Moses allowed divorce, Jesus responded as follows:
“Because of your hardness of heart
Moses permitted you to divorce your wives;
but from the beginning it has not been this way”
(Matt 19:8).
This teaches two principles:
Firstly, Christ’s Law is the law as it existed “from the beginning”.
Secondly, the Law of Moses was a diluted/watered-down version of the law as it existed “from the beginning” to fit the degenerated condition of the nation.
The question then is, since this is an article in the series on the Sabbath, did Christ also replace the Old Testament Sabbath with a much higher Sabbath Law?
– END OF SUMMARY –
INTRODUCTION
This page discusses a principle that is seldom sufficiently appreciated, namely that Christ, through His teachings, did more than to interpret the Old Testament Law; He rather replaced the Law of Moses with a higher law with much higher moral standards.
Christ replaced the Law of Moses with higher laws.
The Sermon on the Mount provides perhaps the best example of this. Here, Christ quoted various Old Testament laws, and then, starting by saying, “But I say to you” (Matt 5:22, 28, 32, 34, 39, and 44), gave a much-elevated version of that law.
ADULTERY
For instance, the law against adultery He replaced with a law against looking at a woman with lust:
“You have heard that it was said, ‘you shall not commit adultery’; but I say to you that everyone who looks at a woman with lust for her has already committed adultery with her in his heart.” (Matt 5:27-28)
This is not an interpretation of the seventh commandment but on a much higher moral level.
MURDER
The law against murder He replaced with a law against anger:
“You have heard that the ancients were told, ‘you shall not commit murder … But I say to you that everyone who is angry with his brother shall be guilty …” (Matt 5:20-21).
Still talking about people that make one angry or scared, He said: “love your enemies and pray for those who persecute you” (Matt 5:44). Here Christ lifts the standard exponentially higher by defining even anger as a sin. Instead of anger, He requires us to love even our enemies.
REVENGE
Christ not only replaced the Ten Commandments; he also replaced other Old Testament laws, for instance, God gave to Moses the rule “an eye for an eye, and a tooth for a tooth” (Lev. 24:20), but now Christ teaches that we should not take revenge:
“You have heard that it was said, ‘an eye for an eye, and a tooth for a tooth.’ But I say to you, do not resist an evil person; but whoever slaps you on your right cheek, turn the other to him also.” (Matt 5:38-39)
This was also how Christ lived and died. Dying on the cross, in incredible pain and suffering, He still had time to think about His enemies:
“Father, forgive them; for they do not know what they are doing” (Luke 23:34).
THE LAW OF CHRIST REPLACED THE LAW OF MOSES.
Moses said that “God will raise up for you a prophet like me from among you, from your countrymen, you shall listen to him” (Deut 18:15; cf. Acts 3:22). “The LORD said to me … I will put My words in his mouth, and he shall speak to them all that I command him” (Deut. 18:18). At the transfiguration of Jesus, Moses also appeared with Jesus (Matt 17:3), but God said of Jesus “This is My beloved Son, with whom I am well-pleased; listen to Him” (Matt 17:5). These statements confirm that Jesus is the law-giver of the new dispensation.
Just before His ascension, Jesus said to His disciples:
“Go therefore and make disciples of all the nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and the Son and the Holy Spirit, teaching them to observe all that I commanded you …” (Matt 28:19-20)
Paul wrote, “the things which I write to you are the Lord’s commandment” (1 Cor 14:37) and that he (Paul) is not “without the law of God” because he is “under the law of Christ” (1Cor 9:21). He urged Christ’s followers to “fulfill the law of Christ” (Gal 6:2). The “Law of Christ” refers to Christ’s teachings, which is the higher-level law that replaced the Law of Moses.
THE LAW OF CHRIST REVEALS THE FATHER’S HEART.
Christ said:
“He who has seen Me has seen the Father” (John 14:9)
“I do nothing on My own initiative, but I speak these things as the Father taught Me.” (John 8:28)
“I did not speak on My own initiative, but the Father Himself who sent Me has given Me a commandment as to what to say and what to speak” (John 12:49).
It is therefore proposed that the “Law of Christ” is the pure law as it exists in the Father’s heart. This is supported by Christ’s conclusion of His teachings in Matthew 5:
“Therefore you are to be perfect, as your heavenly Father is perfect” (Matt 5:48).
GOD NEVER TAKES REVENGE.
This means that there is no anger or revenge in the Father. He would never expect more from us than from Himself. He requires us to love our enemies (Matt 5:44; Luke 6:27, 35) because He loves His enemies. He told us to “turn the other cheek” (Matt 5:39) and “I desire compassion” (Matt 9:13) because that is what the Father is like. The Bible does sometimes presents God as angry or seeking revenge, but it is proposed here that that is simply to explain the infinite One in a way that humans can understand.
GOD’S WRATH
God never punishes us because of the bad things we have done in the past. He does punish, but it is always with an eye on the future; to achieve better things for the future, for God is love (1 John 4:8, 16).
The Bible speaks about God’s wrath, and His wrath is a reality, but that does not mean that He becomes angry. Without God, we can do nothing. He is the invisible Force that constantly protects and upholds us both physically and spiritually. We are not even aware of all the dangers from which He constantly protects us. His wrath, therefore, is simply to give up those people for whom He can do nothing more.
In Romans 1, where Paul discusses “men who suppress the truth in unrighteousness” (Rom 1:18), he three times wrote that “God gave them over” to their own passions and lusts (Rom 1:24, 26, 28). Also with respect to His people Israel, who were “bent on turning from Me”, God said:
“How can I give you up, O Ephraim? How can I surrender you, O Israel? … My heart is turned over within Me, All My compassions are kindled” (Hosea 11:7-8)
OUR RESPONSE
Since the Father’s standards are infinitely high, our response should simply be like that of the tax collector:
“Standing some distance away, was even unwilling to lift up his eyes to heaven, but was beating his breast, saying, ‘God, be merciful to me, the sinner’” (Luke 18:13)
GOD GAVE ISRAEL THE LAW IN A FORM THAT THEY COULD UNDERSTAND.
But, one may protest, if Christ revealed God’s true law, why was the Law of Moses given at a lower level? Why did God give Israel a watered-down law?
It is proposed that the law was scaled down to fit the corrupt condition of the nation. Jesus explained this principle in Matthew 19. When He was asked about the provisions for divorce in the Law of Moses, He said:
“Have you not read that He who created them from the beginning made them male and female, and said, ‘for this reason a man shall leave his father and mother and be joined to his wife, and the two shall become one flesh’? So they are no longer two, but one flesh. What therefore God has joined together, let no man separate.” (Matt 19:4-6)
Jesus, therefore, responded to their question by referring to the creation account, not the Law of Moses. This implies that the Law of Christ is the law as it existed “from the beginning”. For both marriage (Mat. 19:8) and the seventh day (Mark 2:27), Christ reached over the Law of Moses to derive His elevated principles or laws from the way that things were created to be.
The Pharisees then, still adamant to apply the Law of Moses, asked, “Why then did Moses command to give her a certificate of divorce and send her away?” (Matt 19:7) Jesus then explained:
“Because of your hardness of heart Moses permitted you to divorce your wives; but from the beginning it has not been this way” (Matt 19:8).
Here we have confirmation that the original law was adapted to Israel’s limited abilities.
ISRAEL’S CONDITION
God elected Abraham and his seed to be the conduit of His grace to the peoples of the earth. To Abraham, He promised, “in you all the families of the earth will be blessed” (Gen 12:3). But, by the time of Moses, Israel has become a corrupt and enslaved little nation; far removed from the sinless and regal human beings that God created.
Due to the deterioration that comes from thousands of years living in a world filled with sin, Israel would not have been able to keep or even to understand the Law of God as it existed “from the beginning.”
Therefore, to rescue that weak little nation from their addictive and soul-destroying idolatrous practices. He gave the Law to Moses in the form that was best for Israel due to their “hardness of heart”. He gave laws to Israel according to their capacity. Israel needed simple, clear, and practical instructions, linked with severe penalties.
This principle is applicable to all of God’s interactions with His creatures. God meets people where they are. He speaks words that His hearers are able to understand. He never expects more from people than what they are able to do or able to bear.
DIFFERENCES BETWEEN THE LAW OF MOSES AND THE LAW OF CHRIST
The point is that Christ went beyond interpreting the Law of Moses; He replaced the Law of Moses and the Ten Commandments with a much higher system of ethics, here referred to as the “Law of Christ”. Consider some differences between the Law of Moses and the Law of Christ:
SATAN’S CATEGORIES
The Ten Commandments is God’s Law at Satan’s end of the spectrum; it expresses God’s principles in terms of the practical realities of a world controlled by the evil one. Take, for instance, the commandment not to kill. It is based on God’s law—to love the people around you as much as you love yourself—but formulated with Satan’s and man’s fallen nature in mind. The Ten Commandments therefore are but a dim reflection of His original and eternal law. The Law of Christ describes what the Father wants us to strive for, namely to be like Him, which is unconditional love.
Consequently, most of the Ten Commandments are stated negatively (what you should not do), while most of Christ’s explanations of the laws are stated positively (what you should do: Matt. 5 – let your light shine – be reconciled – make friends quickly with your opponent – turn the other cheek, to mention a few).
ADAPTED FOR ISRAEL
The Law of Moses is an adaptation of God’s eternal law to fit the condition of a specific nation, place and time; to fit the hardness of man’s heart (Matt 19:8). The Law of Christ is the law as it existed from the beginning.
The Law of Moses is given at a level where sinful man would be able to keep it. The Laws of Christ, being at such a high level, is impossible for man, in his current condition, to comply with.
EXTERNAL VS INTERNAL
The Law of Moses focuses mostly on external behavior, while Christ’s laws put the emphasis mostly on the drivers of external behavior, namely internal feelings, such as love, hate, and compassion.
The Law of Moses may be read as teaching that one can earn something from God through your works. The Law of Christ emphasizes grace (mercy).
RETRIBUTION VS GRACE
The Old Testament prescribes the death penalty for Sabbath-breaking (Exo 31:14), murder (Exo 21:12), striking or cursing one’s father or mother (Exo 21:15; Ex. 21:17), adultery (Lev 20:10), blaspheming the name of the LORD (Lev 24:16) and various other transgressions. But Christ said to the woman caught in adultery, “I do not condemn you, either. Go. From now on sin no more” (John 8:11).
RELEVANCE
You may ask why the “Law of Christ” is discussed here as part of a discussion of Christ and the Sabbath. The reason is that when we read what Jesus said about the Sabbath, we have to listen carefully. If it can be shown that Christ, through His Sabbath teachings, explained the Sabbath principle at a much higher moral level than the Law of Moses, then it would be possible to conclude that He replaced the Old Testament Sabbath with a much higher Sabbath Law.
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