NEWSLETT

The determination of audience and context are cardinal rules in rightly dividing the word of truth.

The first four books of the New Testament (NT), the gospels, are a record of Jesus life. In them we find many wonderful teachings of Jesus. These teachings tell us about life and death, heaven and hell, good and evil and the kingdom to come. As wonderful as these teachings are, however, we must still carefully examine the context to determine to whom it was that Jesus was speaking. There were times when He was clearly speaking to the Jews. Other times he spoke to the particular needs of specific individuals. We must carefully examine the scriptures to determine to whom He was speaking and the circumstances under which He spoke. The determination of audience and context are cardinal rules in rightly dividing the word of truth. For example, when Jesus was asked by the rich young ruler what he must do to inherit eternal life, Jesus in essence told the rich young ruler to follow the Ten Commandments (Mt 19:16,17). Similarly Jesus some-times told His hearers to keep all the law of Moses (Mt 23:1-3). As Christians we do not do either of these things Jesus commanded and many other similar things that Jesus told His hearers that they must do. This study is directed at a better understanding of how we should regard the teaching of Jesus.

What is law?

Law is a statement from an authority that requires action from those to whom it is directed. Law has context, duration, and subjects. The duration of the law of Moses was till the Seed should come (Gal 3:19). The subjects were the Jews. The Law of Moses was to be replaced by the law of the Lord. The Bible teaches (Col 1:13), and brethren have taught and believed, that the law of Moses ended at the cross. Most people have understood that Jesus lived and died under the law of Moses and that He taught and practiced the law while He was among us. As we examine the things that He taught, we find that not only did He teach the Jews to keep and teach the law of Moses, but He was also making prophecies and teaching parables and making statements of fact about the kingdom. For example, He and John the Baptist both began their ministries with the good news that the kingdom of heaven was at hand (Mt 3:2, Mt 4:17). Both John and Jesus warned the Jews to flee from the wrath to come by repenting of their sins. The things Jesus taught about the kingdom during His ministry were not law. They were facts about the coming kingdom. The mixing of teaching on the law of Moses and the coming kingdom has caused confusion among brethren as to what, if anything, we should do with the teaching of Christ in the gospels. In this article we will examine a method to discern what is binding on Christians and what is not.

Since the law of Moses ended at the cross (Eph 2:15, Heb 8, 9), the laws taught by God as binding after the cross would not be law of Moses. That means that the last chapters of the gospels record events that were under the new dispensation. The laws prior to the cross were laws of Moses. The laws after the cross were laws of Christ. According to Paul, the law of Moses is dead to Christians (Rom 7:4). Jesus lived and died under the law of Moses. He was obligated to keep the entire law of Moses. The law strictly forbade any changes to it (Dt 12:34, Dt 4:1). Jesus perfectly kept that law.

How then should we regard the teaching of Jesus in the gospels? If the gospels record the life of the Great Prophet foretold by Moses (Dt 18:15-18) who lived and died under the law of Moses, are there any uses for the teachings in Matthew, Mark, Luke and John (MMLJ) for Christians? First, the gospels are necessary to build faith that Jesus is indeed the Messiah. Without MMLJ we would not know that Jesus the carpenter was the Son of God. The gospels provide vital, faith building information that allows us to conclude that we must give heed to what Jesus commands. A second use for the gospels are the teachings of Jesus regarding the kingdom. There are three types of statements that Jesus made that are useful for Christians. Jesus gave prophecies, parables and statements of fact that are useful for Christians today. If you read the gospels you can find in them prophecies Jesus made concerning the coming kingdom. Many of these were fulfilled at Calvary, Pentecost or 70 AD. Still others have yet to be fulfilled. Clearly, prophecies are not limited by the duration of the law of Moses. They endure until they are fulfilled. After they are fulfilled, they are still truthful historical records that strengthen faith and provide a historical record of Jesus’ life.

It is clear that Jesus lived and died under the OT law of Moses. No one disputes that Jesus was a Jew bound to keep the law. The question is whether Jesus revealed law during His earthly ministry before the cross that Christians are bound to keep. To answer the question of whether Jesus revealed law during His earthly ministry, let us review again what “law” means.

When we speak of law, we speak of rules to keep. The code of law is a body of rules that stand or fall together. The individual laws in a code of law all depend upon the same authority for its force. In the case of Moses, it was the law that was given at Sinai. It was a complete law, each aspect of the law supporting the others. An attack upon one principle of the law was an attack upon the whole for it was an integrated framework. As James says in Jas 2:10, “Whosoever shall keep the whole law and yet offend in one point is guilty of all.” Paul likewise says, “Yea, I testify again to every man that receiveth circumcision, that he is a debtor to do the whole law” (Gal 5:3). We cannot keep a portion of the law. It is all or nothing. Paul says “nothing” in Rom 7:1-4. He argues that the Jews’ relationship with the law was like that of a woman to her husband. She is obligated to that husband as long as he lives. If he dies, she may be joined to another. Likewise if the law was dead, the Jew was free to be married to the law of Christ. Paul says that the Jew was dead to the law through Christ (Rom 7:4). He said the law had been nailed to the cross (Col 2:14). Christ is the end of the law to everyone that believeth (Rom 10:4).

Because the law is dead, absolutely nothing from the law carries over to Christianity. That is not to say that there are not rules that are the same in both covenants. However, murder is not wrong because it was wrong under the law of Moses. It is wrong because Christ through the apostles under the new law of the kingdom taught that it was wrong (Rom 1:29-32, Rev 21:8). Christians are dead to the law, and none of its statutes apply to us. Therefore the things Jesus taught about the law of Moses during His earthly ministry do not regulate us since they have passed away (Heb 8:13). Most of the principles Jesus taught in the sermon on the mount are also taught in the epistles under the law of Christ.

The question immediately arises, however, “Didn’t Jesus teach about the kingdom of heaven. Do not those things that He said about the kingdom bind us?” To answer this question we must again take note of what a law is. A law is not a fact. A law is a command by an authority requiring compliance, but Jesus’ teachings about the kingdom were statements of fact in parables and prophecy. Parables and prophecy are truths, but not law. Jesus spoke truth about the kingdom during His ministry, and truth is truth forever, but truth is not necessarily law to be kept.

When Jesus said the kingdom of heaven was like unto a net, we find that He spoke the truth, but there was no law in the statement. When we look at the church-kingdom today we see that the gospel “net” brings in many different kinds of men. The truths Jesus spoke about the kingdom, however, do not constitute commands to be obeyed by Christians.

The commands Jesus gave during His lifetime were the law of Moses. However, the commands in the law of Moses were to the Jews. Commands like, “The scribes and the Pharisees sit on Moses seat: all things therefore whatsoever they bid you, these do and observe” (Mt 23:2,3) were not for us as Christians. Neither are we to heed His admonition to the rich young ruler, “If thou wouldest enter into life, keep the commandments. He saith unto him, Which? And Jesus said, Thou shalt not kill, Thou shalt not commit adultery, Thou shalt not steal, Thou shalt not bear false witness, Honor thy father and mother; and, Thou shalt love thy neighbor as thyself.” (Mt 19:17,18) Jesus commanded the rich young ruler to keep the Ten Commandments, but Christians do not since the Ten Commandments were part of the law of Moses, However, the people to whom Jesus spoke had to keep them if they expected to inherit eternal life.

Because the law was a unit and because Jesus said He came to fulfill the law not destroy it (Mt 5:17), we should not expect to find commands from Jesus to Christians before the cross. The law had to be kept in its entirety to be effective, and Jesus kept it in its entirety. Part of that entirety was the command to not add to God’s words (Dt 12:32). If Jesus added to the words of Moses before the law was taken out of the way, He failed to keep the law perfectly.

Some have noticed the force of the argument that Moses’ words could not be added to and have suggested that Jesus was merely giving preparatory commands that were not to go into effect until after the cross. The only problem with this idea is that Jesus said the commands were unto the Jews (“I say unto you” Mt 5:18). If the words were spoken unto the Jews, they were not unto us. The commandments of Jesus in MMLJ were unto Jews who were under the law until the cross. After the cross, the law was taken out of the way, having been ended by being nailed to the cross. Therefore, the laws that Jesus spoke to the Jews before the cross are no longer in effect, either to them or to anyone else.

Many have sought to go through the gospels verse by verse seeking to find a passage that they can unequivocally show to be a command that needs to be kept by Christians. Serious problems result from this approach of binding on Christians the laws Jesus gave as authoritative before the cross. First, how would one know the laws Jesus spoke before the cross are to Christians? There was not yet a single Christian when Jesus taught. Furthermore, Jesus said He was come to none but the lost sheep of the house of Israel. That is undisputed. Since He came to the Jews, one would expect that His words were to whom He claimed He was teaching. How, then, if He said He was talking to Jews, can one say He was talking to Christians? Does He say He is talking to Christians? No. He says He is talking to Jews. Secondly, how does one distinguish between the laws Jesus taught that were to be kept by Christians and the ones that were not? If we attempt to distinguish among those things that Jesus taught, our distinction becomes wholly arbitrary, for He expected all that He commanded to be kept by the people then. Yes, there were prophecies and statements of truth about the kingdom, but they were not commands to be kept. Jesus came teaching the lost sheep of the house of Israel and calling them back to God so they would be able to enter the kingdom (Mk 1:15). We cannot arbitrarily pick and choose the laws we wish to carry over from the law of Moses.

The law of Moses is Ended

Christ came to fulfill the law of Moses, and He did. He declared it finished when He died on the cross. The apostles declared it finished in the epistles (e.g. Col 2:14). Not one of the laws in effect under the law of Moses survived Calvary. It was all taken out of the way. The last chapters of the gospels record the ushering in of a new age governed by the law of Christ.

Before the cross Jesus often taught the people using prophecies. Prophecies are not limited by the duration of the law of Moses. They endure until they are fulfilled. Then, they become truthful historical records. One prophecy of Jesus was Jn 2:19: “Jesus answered and said unto them, Destroy this temple, and in three days I will raise it up.” We know this prophecy was spoken during the life of Christ and fulfilled at Calvary. However, the record of this prophecy was not written till many years after it had already been fulfilled. It is a record of an OT prophecy in a NT book. Many other prophecies of Jesus are the same. They were not written down for us till after the prophecy had already been fulfilled.

Prophecies, Parables, and Facts

There were statements made by Jesus that were simply statements of fact. Facts do not have the force of law. However, facts remain unchanged with the changing of law. Laws can be changed by divine fiat. The duration of the law, though, has no effect on facts. God made His sun to rise on the just and unjust (Mt 5:45) in the patriarchal age. He continued to do so during the Mosaical age, and the sun still, even during the Christian dispensation, rises on the just and unjust. It is a statement of fact that was not affected by the duration of the covenants.

There are parables in the gospels about the nature of the coming kingdom. Parables are essentially veiled forms of teaching and prophecy. An example of the teaching of Christ by parables is the parable that says the kingdom of heaven is like a net in Mt 13:47. It says, “Again, the kingdom of heaven is like unto a net, that was cast into the sea, and gathered of every kind: which, when it was filled, they drew up on the beach; and they sat down, and gathered the good into vessels, but the bad they cast away.” This parable is a veiled teaching of Christ about the nature of the kingdom. Jesus made many statements of fact about the kingdom of heaven in parables. These statements of fact were also not affected by the change of dispensations at the cross. Facts are facts. Changing law does not change facts.

Jesus died to fulfill the law of Moses. When He died, He said, “It is finished”. The work, the fulfillment of the prophets, His life, His mission, and the law itself were all completed at the cross. God Himself speaking from heaven has admonished us to hear His Son in distinction to Moses. Jesus was the new lawgiver. Jesus said that He would send His Spirit with power and the Spirit would guide the apostles into all truth. That sending of the Holy Spirit of promise came on Pentecost. On that day the law of the Lord went forth from Jerusalem even as the holy prophets had foretold (Is 2:3). We are now subject to the law of Christ and not the law of Moses, since Christ’s death ended that law. Jesus now speaks from heaven. To hearken unto Moses is to fall from the grace of Christ (Gal 5:4). We are to obey the Son of God who is now Lord of lords and King of kings who has all authority in heaven and on earth (Mt 28:18-20).

Matthew 5--A Contrast of Jesus with Moses?

The things that Jesus taught during His earthly ministry were a mixture of commentary on the law of Moses and teaching concerning the coming kingdom. These two themes have caused confusion among brethren as to what, if anything, we should do with the teaching of Christ in the NT. I wish to examine His teaching in Mt 5 and see if He was teaching new law or explaining the law of Moses.

That Prophet

The first point to note is that Jesus was the fulfillment of the ancient prophecy Moses made that God would send the Jews a Prophet. We know Jesus was the great prophet of whom Moses spoke in Dt 18:18,19 which says,

18 I will raise them up a prophet from among their brethren, like unto thee; and I will put my words in his mouth, and he shall speak unto them all that I shall command him. 19 And it shall come to pass, that whosoever will not hearken unto my words which he shall speak in my name, I will require it of him.”

This Prophet was the perfect servant who would do all the will of the Lord. As the last great prophet of the Jews, Jesus was sent to restore God’s people. He began His ministry with a powerful call to repentance (Mk 1:15). He tells us that during His earthly ministry He “was not sent but unto the lost sheep of the house of Israel” (Mt 15:23).

If we examine the context of the sermon on the mount, we find that the great Galilean prophet was speaking to His Jewish brethren. In Mt 4:25 through Mt 5:1,2 we read:

25 And there followed him great multitudes from Galilee and Decapolis and Jerusalem and Judaea and from beyond the Jordan. 1 And seeing the multitudes, he went up into the mountain: and when he had sat down, his disciples came unto him: 2 and he opened his mouth and taught them saying...”

It is clear then that Jesus was addressing a Jewish audience in His sermon on the mount.

To Whom Did Jesus Speak?

To whom did Jesus address the content of the sermon in Mt 5? Was it to future generations yet unborn? Was He speaking of distant events yet far in the future? Let His words enlighten us. Eight times in Mt 5 alone Jesus says, “I say unto YOU” (Mt 5:18, 20, 22, 28, 32, 34, 39, 44). Who were the “you”? They were the ones listening. Who was listening? Jews from all over the region.

Maybe Jesus was using this occasion in Mt 5 to reveal New Testament law that He wanted everybody from then on to keep. While conceptually this is possible, we cannot allow our imaginations to dictate doctrine. There are several serious problems with Jesus teaching NT laws for all men to keep in Mt 5. First, we need to consider what He said He was doing. He said He was come to none but the lost sheep of the house of Israel. If that was who He was come to, then we should not be surprised when we find Him talking to those to whom He said He came--the Jews.

A second problem is the time of introduction of the law of Christ. The prophets all spoke of the law of Christ going forth from Jerusalem. That did not happen till Pentecost. Christians make a big point with the Mormons that their Book of Mormon erroneously has Jesus being born at Jerusalem when the prophets said He would be born in Bethlehem. Bethlehem is only two miles from Jerusalem but Galilee is sixty miles from Jerusalem. We cannot chastise the Mormons as wrong and accept the law of Christ going forth from Galilee. If we have Jesus teaching His Law during His ministry, then the prophecies of Isaiah (Isa 2:3) and Joel (3:16) and Micah (4:2) were completely failed. However, the scripture cannot be broken. Therefore, the laws He was teaching in Galilee were not His law, but the law of Moses.

A third problem is the fact that if Jesus gave His NT law in Mt 5, the Jews would have been under two laws at once. This is an extremely serious problem, for Paul says in Rom 7:4 that the Jews of Christ’s day would have been made spiritual adulterers by such a condition.

Rom 7:2ff says,

2 For the woman that hath a husband is bound by law to the husband while he liveth; but if the husband die, she is discharged from the law of the husband.

3 So then if, while the husband liveth, she be joined to another man, she shall be called an adulteress: but if the husband die, she is free from the law, so that she is no adulteress, though she be joined to another man.

4 Wherefore, my brethren, ye also were made dead to the law through the body of Christ.

Therefore, the Jews could not be under two different laws at once.

A fourth problem is that Jesus said He did not come to destroy the law but to fulfill it. In Mt 5:17,18 Jesus said:

17 Think not that I came to destroy the law or the prophets: I came not to destroy, but to fulfill.

18 For verily I say unto you, Till heaven and earth pass away, one jot or one tittle shall in no wise pass away from the law, till all things be accomplished.

If Jesus changed the law, He destroyed the part He changed, but He said he would not destroy even the tiniest part of it till it was all fulfilled. Jesus did not change the law till the cross took it out of the way.

If Jesus had changed the law, the Jews would have certainly accused Him of changing it during His lifetime and at His trial. However, they accused Him of blasphemy, breaking the Sabbath, and threats to the temple, but never of changing the law.

OT Nature of the Gospels Long Recognized

There are respected commentators who have taken the position that Jesus was speaking to the Jews in the gospels. H. Leo Boles, for example, in his commentary on Matthew comments on the phrase “but I say unto you...”. He says Jesus is correcting the erroneous teachings of the scribes and Pharisees regarding the law of Moses. On p 135 he comments on Mt 5:22 and says, “Jesus sets over against the interpretation of the Jews the true meaning of the law.” Again on p146 he comments regarding Mt 5:38, 39 “Again Jesus quotes from the law of Moses and puts his interpretation over against the traditions of the Jews.” On Mt 5:43, 44 he says, “Again Jesus refers to another section of the law of Moses; he does not combat what the law taught, but their interpretation and application of it.”

It is clear that Boles does not support the theory that Jesus was delivering new law to the Jews in the sermon on the mount, but he is not the only respected commentator who takes that position. Clark, who has long been a main reference of many conservative congregations, likewise agrees that Jesus was contrasting the true teaching on the law with the rabbis’ erroneous theories. Commenting on Mt 5:21 Clark says, “But it is very likely that our Lord refers here merely to traditions and glosses relative to the ancient Mosaic ordinance; and such as, by their operation, rendered the primitive command of little or no effect.”

Like Boles and Clark, William Hendriksen in his commentary on Matthew says Jesus was teaching the true meaning of the law of Moses in contrast to the perversions of the ancient rabbis. Commenting on Mt 5:20 Hendriksen says, “Note the emphatic introduction , ‘For I tell you.’ Jesus is about to make a very important statement regarding the reprehensible righteousness of the scribes and Pharisees, as contrasted with another righteousness, one in which God delights. Immediately after making this statement he is going to become very specific. He is going to show what ‘You shall not kill’ has been interpreted to mean by the rabbis, and what it really means...” Hendriksen has a great deal more to say on the subject of the contrast of Jesus teaching with the ancient teaching of the rabbis. He clearly shows Jesus was teaching the true meaning of the law of Moses and not introducing new law.

Albert Barnes, long a favorite among Christians, likewise says that Jesus was contrasting the true meaning of Moses with the perversions of the rabbis. He says of Mt 5:21, “Jesus proceeds here to comment on some prevailing opinions among the Jews; to show that the righteousness of the scribes and Pharisees was defective; and that men needed a better righteousness, or they could not be saved. He shows what he meant by that better righteousness, by showing that the common opinions of the scribes were erroneous. [The phrase] ‘by them of old time’ might be translated, ‘to the ancients’, referring to Moses and the prophets. But it is more probable that he here refers to the interpreters of the law and the prophets. Jesus did not set himself against the law of Moses, but against the false and pernicious interpretation of the law prevalent in his time”.

It is clear from these commentaries that venerable scholars have long held the conviction that Jesus taught the true meaning of the law of Moses in the sermon on the mount and was not giving new law. These views have been expressed by conservative scholars as the true meaning of Jesus words “I say unto you” for at least 300 hundred years.

Examples of the Law of Moses from the Text of Mt 5

Was Jesus teaching new law? Logic says no. Jesus said He did not come to change (destroy) the law, but to fulfill it. Did He do what said? Notice some statements of Jesus from Mt 5.

17 Think not that I came to destroy the law or the prophets: I came not to destroy, but to fulfill.

19 Whosoever therefore shall break one of these least commandments, and shall teach men so, shall be called least in the kingdom of heaven:

The commandments that were to be obeyed and taught were OT commandments that were then in effect. He was teaching law of Moses.

23 If therefore thou art offering thy gift at the altar, and there rememberest that thy brother hath aught against thee,...

The altar is done away in Christ. This must be law of Moses.

34 but I say unto you, swear not at all; neither by the heaven, for it is the throne of God;

35 nor by the earth, for it is the footstool of his feet; nor by Jerusalem, for it is the city of the great King.

Earthly Jerusalem has no special significance under the law of Christ. It was the capital of the Jews. This statement is talking to the Jews and is law of Moses.

46 For if ye love them that love you, what reward have ye? do not even the publicans the same?

47 And if ye salute your brethren only, what do ye more than others? do not even the Gentiles the same?

Under the law of Christ there is no difference between Jew and gentile, yet Jesus draws a contrast here in the sermon on the mount. It must be law of Moses, otherwise He would be breaking His own law.

Hear the Conclusion of the Whole Matter

Logic demands that Jesus teach the law of Moses during His lifetime, for the people could not be under two masters. Jesus specifically declared He was teaching the law of Moses. Jesus said that he was not come but to the lost sheep of the house of Israel. Venerable and respected commentators show that Jesus was teaching the law of Moses. Quotations from the text itself show numerous appeals to the law of Moses. What must we then conclude? The answer is evident. Jesus was teaching the law of Moses to the Jews to whom He was the Messiah, the fulfillment of the law. The law of Christ went forth from Jerusalem on the day of Pentecost. That day was yet to come.

Written by James Johnson Phone: 937-429-2316 [email protected]

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