Did Jesus point back
to Moses?
Or did Moses point to Jesus, who is our ultimate and final Lawgiver
and High Priest of God's true eternal Covenant?
In Deuteronomy 4:2 Moses forbids anyone from either adding to, or subtracting from, the laws of the Mosaic Covenant:
You shall not add to the
word that I command you, nor take from it,
that you may keep the commandments of the LORD your God that I command you.
Yet in the Sermon on the Mount Jesus of Nazareth
does exactly that no less than six times. Furthermore, throughout His ministry
Jesus acted with ambivalence towards the Mosaic commands concerning punishment
for adultery (John 8:3-11), Sabbath-keeping (Matt. 12:1-8 and John 5:5-18),
ritual purity (deliberately touching a corpse in Luke 8:54), as well as food
laws (declaring "all foods clean" in Mark 7:18-19).
This is potentially a huge problem, and portrays Jesus as a lawbreaker, were it
not for the fact that Jesus was anointed as the High Priest of the Order of
Melchizedek at the beginning of His ministry at His baptism by John the Baptist. Hebrews 7:12 explains,
When there is a change in the priesthood, there is necessarily a change in the law as well.
The priesthood changed from the Order of Aaron to the Order of Melchizedek at the beginning of the ministry of Jesus Christ, which gave Jesus freedom and authority to declare the true and eternal Law of God that supercedes the obsolete Law of Moses.
You have heard that it was said... But I say unto you...
| You have heard that it was said... | Old Covenant reference | But I say unto you... |
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Mat 5:21-26 (21) You have heard that it was said by them of old time, Thou shalt not kill; and whosoever shall kill shall be in danger of the judgment: |
The Sixth Commandment: (Exo 20:13) Thou shalt not kill. (Deu 5:17) Thou shalt not kill. |
(22) But
I say unto you, That whosoever is angry with his brother
without a cause shall be in danger of the judgment: and whosoever shall
say to his brother, Raca, shall be in danger of the council: but
whosoever shall say, Thou fool, shall be in danger of hell fire.
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Mat 5:27-28 (27) You have heard that it was said by them of old time, Thou shalt not commit adultery:
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The Seventh Commandment: (Exo 20:14) Thou shalt not commit adultery. (Deu 5:18) Neither shalt thou commit adultery. |
(28) But I say unto you, That whosoever looketh on a woman to lust after her hath committed adultery with her already in his heart. |
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Mat 5:31-32 (31) It was also said, Whoever divorces his wife, let him give her a certificate of divorce.
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Deu 24:1-2 (1) When a man hath taken a wife, and married her, and it come to pass that she find no favour in his eyes, because he hath found some uncleanness in her: then let him write her a bill of divorcement, and give it in her hand, and send her out of his house. (2) And when she is departed out of his house, she may go and be another man's wife. |
(32) But I say unto you, That whosoever shall put away his wife, saving for the cause of fornication, causeth her to commit adultery: and whosoever shall marry her that is divorced committeth adultery. |
| You have heard that it was said... | Old Covenant reference | But I say unto you... |
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Mat 5:33-37 (33) "Again you have heard that it was said to those of old, 'You shall not swear falsely, but shall perform to the Lord what you have sworn.'
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(Lev 19:12) And ye shall not
swear by my name falsely, neither shalt thou profane the name of thy
God: I am the LORD. (Num 30:2) If a man vow a vow unto the LORD, or swear an oath to bind his soul with a bond; he shall not break his word, he shall do according to all that proceedeth out of his mouth. Deu 23:21-23 |
(34) But
I say to you, Do not take an oath at all, either by heaven,
for it is the throne of God, (35) or by the earth, for it is his footstool, or by Jerusalem, for it is the city of the great King. (36) And do not take an oath by your head, for you cannot make one hair white or black. (37) Let what you say be simply 'Yes' or 'No';anything more than this comes from evil.
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Mat 5:38-42 (38) "You have heard that it was said, 'An eye for an eye and a tooth for a tooth.'
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Exo 21:23-25 (23) And if any mischief follow, then thou shalt give life for life, (24) Eye for eye, tooth for tooth, hand for hand, foot for foot, (25) Burning for burning, wound for wound, stripe for stripe.
Lev 24:19-20 Deu 19:21 |
(39) But
I say to you, Do not resist the one who is evil. But if
anyone slaps you on the right cheek, turn to him the other also. (40) And if anyone would sue you and take your tunic, let him have your cloak as well. (41) And if anyone forces you to go one mile, go with him two miles. (42) Give to the one who begs from you, and do not refuse the one who would borrow from you.
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Mat 5:43-48 (43) "You have heard that it was said, 'You shall love your neighbor and hate your enemy.'
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(Lev 19:18) Thou shalt not
avenge, nor bear any grudge against the children of thy people, but thou
shalt love thy neighbour as thyself: I am the LORD.
Deu 23:3,6 Psa 139:21-22 |
(44) But
I say to you, Love your enemies and pray for those who
persecute you, (45) so that you may be sons of your Father who is in heaven. For he makes his sun rise on the evil and on the good, and sends rain on the just and on the unjust. (46) For if you love those who love you, what reward do you have? Do not even the tax collectors do the same? (47) And if you greet only your brothers, what more are you doing than others? Do not even the Gentiles do the same? (48) You therefore must be perfect, as your
heavenly Father is perfect. |
The New Covenant of the eternal priestly Order of Melchizedek
replaced the Old Covenant of the Order of Aaron
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There are 613 laws in the Mosaic Covenant
There are 1075 commandments found in the New Testament
Only 95 of the laws from the Old Covenant are re-stated in the New Covenant (Hoch, pp.98-101)
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For further research I recommend:
All Things New: The Significance of Newness for Biblical Theology by Carl B. Hoch, Jr.