|
Chapter Four
Jesus And The Law
Now, the Apostle Paul said in
Colossians 2:14: Jesus through His sacrifice blotted out the
handwriting of ordinances that were against us, which were contrary to
us, and took it out of the way, nailing it to His cross (stake). Now,
which ordinances were blotted out? The ordinances of Animal
sacrifice. Why? Because Christ, through His sin-free life, was the
perfect sacrifice. Through our repentance and acceptance of Jesus the
Christ, the penalty of the law is done away with, not the law!
If you have read chapter three you know that the law of God is the very
character of God. What many people don’t know is that Jesus never
intended to do away with the law. In Matthew chapter 5:17 Jesus said,
Think not that
I am come to destroy (do away with) the
law, or the prophets: I am not come to destroy, but to fulfil.
(Or bring to full meaning) You see, the leaders of the Church (Phar’isees,
Sad’du-cees, and Scribes) weren’t interested in pleasing God. They were
only worried about lifting themselves up and profiting from the poor or
less powerful than themselves. In other words: Hypocrites
(actors)—those that say one thing and do another! They were threatened
by Jesus. I believe they knew He was the Messiah, and He was going to
mess up their “good thing”.
Let’s turn to Exodus 20:1.
(1) And (YHWH) Yahweh or Jehovah
spoke all these words, saying,
(2)
I Am (YHWH) Yahweh or
Jehovah your Elohiym, which has brought you out of the
land of Egypt, out of the house
of bondage (or slavery).
(3) You
shall have no other gods before Me. (You
see God wasn’t against physical slavery. Even A’bra-ham’s wife, Sa’rah,
had a Maid (slave) named Ha’gar. Also in the very next chapter (21:
1-11), Jehovah lays out the terms or conditions of slavery. The slavery
God is talking about here is not being able to worship Jehovah their
Elohiym. They had forgotten the Sabbath and everything that made them
Israel. This is the bondage spoken of here. Also, He said no other
gods before His eyes, or no other gods at all! For they had learned to
worship the gods of E’gypt).
(4)
You shall not make to you any graven image, or
any likeness of anything that is in heaven above, or that is in the
earth beneath, or that is in the water under the earth:
[Now, the word heaven should have been sky, but we can’t make an image
of YHWH or Jehovah because we don’t have an example or Image of Jehovah
and that might be the reason that Jehovah rarely showed Himself to the
children of Israel. But, the children of Israel had seen the Egyptians
make their gods with their hands and, in some cases, even made them for
the Egyptians; therefore, God commanded them not to make any graven
images whatsoever].
(5)
You shall not bow down yourself to them, nor
serve them; for I Jehovah your Elohiym am a jealous El, bringing the
lawlessness of the fathers upon the children to the third and fourth
generation of them that hate Me;
[the children of Israel had worshipped Egypt’s gods and served them, and
had been doing so for over 400 years. It now had become their nature or
character to do so and God is not willing to share His people with
Idols. NOT THEN, NOT NOW! Verse 5 describes the first
time Jehovah connects lawlessness (disobedience) to hating Him.
(6)
And showing mercy to thousands of them that
love Me, and Keep My commandments.
[Here Jehovah says I will have grace for the ones who love and obey Me.
You see, if you love your parents, really love them, you will obey them,
and if you don’t, you won’t. Now our earthly parents can be wrong, but
our heavenly Father never is. Did you know that our faith in God is
measured by our trust in Him? And our trust is measured by our
obedience to Him. In John 14:15 Jesus says:
If you love Me keep My commandments. And in verse 21 He says
“He that has My commandments, and keeps
(obeys) them, he it is that loves Me: and he
that loves Me shall be loved of My Father, and I will love him, and will
Manifest Myself to him.” You see, our faith is our trust and our
trust is our obedience to Him!
(7)
You shall not take the name of Jehovah Your
Elohiym in vain; (if it is not true,
or for nothing) for Jehovah will not hold him
blameless that takes His name in vain. Taking His name in vain
is saying you belong to Him when you don’t; or saying you love Him and
you don’t. Jesus said in John 14:24 “He that
loves Me not keeps not My Sayings (laws, precepts, statutes,
testimonies, judgments, ordinances, commandments or words)
and the word which you hear is not Mine, but the Father’s which sent Me.
(8)
Remember the Sabbath day
(Saturday) to keep it holy.
[Notice Jehovah starts by saying;
‘Remember’, because He knew we would forget).
(9)
Six days shall you labor,
(work) and do all your work:
[Some people say Jesus is our Sabbath and we rest in Him and we
can worship any day we want. But, in Hebrews 4:8-10 the writer says,
“For if Jesus had given them rest, then would He not afterward have
spoken of another day?]. There remains therefore a rest to the people
of God. (Not the Israelites, but the people of God. Did you know that
Israel and Judaism as a whole rejected Christ, and still rejects Him to
this very day, making them Antichrist? Now we do have Messianic Jews
which accept Christ, and Paul did prophesy that after all the gentiles
had been converted, that were called, had come in, that the Israelites
would accept Christ. You see ‘there is no way to the Father except
through the Son!’ So, we are the People of God (or Spiritual Israel)
and heirs to the promises and also the Sabbath. In Romans 2:28 & 29
Paul says “For he is not a Jew, which is one outwardly (or made by
hands); neither is that circumcision, which is outward in the flesh
(clipping your foreskin is not circumcision), But he is a Jew, which is
one inwardly; and circumcision is that of the heart, in the spirit, and
not in the letter; whose praise is not in men, but of God.” Hebrews 4:10
say, “For he that is entered into His rest, he also has ceased from his
own works, as God did from His. Now, if Jesus is our Sabbath and we rest
in Him every day, as some have suggested; then when do we work, if we
cease from our works as God did from His?
(10)
But the seventh day is the Sabbath of Jehovah
your Elohiym: in it you shall not do any work, you, nor your son, nor
your daughter, your manservant, nor your maidservant, nor your cattle,
nor your stranger that is within your gates.
[You see, Jehovah made us and loves us and understands
our bodies. We need a rest, mentally and physically, a time to commune
with Jehovah as Adam did. God made the Sabbath for man as a gift, not
as a burden. The Sabbath is a blessing, and those who choose to ignore
it, miss the blessing!]
Now, we have covered the first four
commandments of Jehovah. Remember in John 14:24 when Jesus says:
He that loves me not, keeps not
my sayings (laws, precepts, statutes, testimonies, judgments,
ordinances, commandments or words) and the word
you hear is not mine, but the Father’s which sent me. As I told
you before, our faith is our trust, and our trust is our obedience to
Jehovah our Elohiym.
In Matthew 22:35-40 Jesus had just
set the Sad’du-cees straight on the resurrection, which pleased the
Phar’i-sees and they all, gathered around.
(35) Then one of them being an
expert on the Law, asked Him a question, testing Him saying,
(36) Master, which is the great
commandment in the law?
(37) Jesus said to him,
“You shall love the lord your
God with all your heart, and all your soul, and with all your mind.
(38)
This is the first and great commandment.
(39) And
the second is like to it, you shall love you neighbor as yourself.
(40) On
these two commandments hang all the law and the prophets.
Notice there is no argument here,
it was common knowledge that these to statements sum up all the law and
the prophets. Now most teach that these are new commandments.
Did you know that the first four of the Ten Commandments are how to love
the Lord your God with all your heart, and all your soul, and with all
your mind, and that the last six are to tell us how to love our neighbor
as our self? Jesus also taught that if we break one of them we are
guilty of all of them. I’m going to say something really strong…. Did
you know that the Ten Commandments are a summation of all the law from
Exodus, Leviticus, Numbers and Deuteronomy? You see, these are the
finer points of the ten, or the instructions on how to keep them. As we
go on to the last six of the Ten Commandments let’s think about what I
just said.
Exodus 20:12 says:
Honor your father and mother: that your days
may be long upon the land which Jehovah your Elohiym gives you.
[This is called the first commandment with promise. You see, Jehovah
Promised a Full Life span, which back in Genesis 6:3 He limited
to 120 years. Also, notice that Jehovah never ceases to assure the
children of Israel that He will deliver them to the promise land. We
must honor our parents because the physical family is a shadow of
the heavenly family. As spiritual Israel, we inherit the physical
and spiritual promises; so, if we will trust God, by obeying or keeping
His word we too could live 120 years. Even more importantly, we can
inherit eternal life in the promise land. Now how do we keep this
Commandment? By giving our physical parents the respect they deserve.
And how do we do that? By listening with the heart and obeying. Now, I
know our physical parents aren’t all as trust-worthy as they should be,
but we must always give them respect and obey what lines up with God’s
Word).
(20:13):
You shall not kill.
(14)
You shall not commit adultery.
(15)
You shall not steal.
(16)
You shall not bear false witness against your
neighbor.
(17)
You shall not covet your neighbor’s house; you
shall not covet your neighbor’s wife, nor his manservant, nor his
maidservant, nor his cattle, nor his donkey, nor any thing that is your
neighbor’s.
Now, do you see how the Ten
Commandments fulfill the two that Jesus gives in Matthew
22:37-40?
(37)
You shall love the Lord your God
with all your heart, and
. with all your soul, and with all your mind.
(38) This is the first and great commandment.
(39)
And the second is like to it, You shall love
your neighbor as yourself.
(40)
On these two commandments hang all the law and
the Prophets.
Do you
believe that they were nailed to the cross or done away with? You see
you can’t possibly know how to love God with all your heart, soul, and
mind, or your neighbor as yourself, without the Ten. Also, notice verse
40—On these two commandments hang all the law
and the prophets. What Jesus is trying to tell you, is you can’t
keep any of the commandments without the law and the prophets. I was
always taught that God wrote Ten Commandments with His own finger.
Which is true. But, I was also taught that Moses wrote the law. Which
is not true. Let’s turn to Exodus 24:12 which says: And Jehovah said
to Mo’ses, “Come up to the mount, and be
there: and I will give you tables of stone, and a law and commandments
which I have written; that you may teach them,” It
is a grave mistake for us to see the law of Jehovah as the law of Mo’ses.
It is referred to that way because it was given to Mo’ses to teach. The
law of God is to be laid up in our heart. That is how we love God with
all our heart, soul, and mind, and our neighbor as our self.
Now,
most people think that the sermon on the mountain is the New Covenant.
But what Jesus is telling them is, that they never understood the law or
the commandments in the first place. You see, in Matthew 23:1-5 Jesus
said, “the scribes and the Phar’isees sit in
Mo’ses place, so as long as they do as the Bible says, do as they say.
But don’t do after their works. For they say one thing and do
another. And they will put heavy loads on you, that are impossible to
carry. But they themselves don’t keep them. For everything they do,
they do to be admired by men.” Now, that is paraphrased, but,
you read it and see if that isn’t what it says. You see Jesus came for
many reasons; one of them was to bring the spirit of the law and
the commandments (or the original meaning!)
Matthew
5:2 And He (Jesus) opened His mouth, and taught them saying,
(3)
Fortunate are the
poor in spirit: for theirs is the kingdom of heaven.
(or, not lust after the things of the world)
(4)
Fortunate are they
that mourn: for they shall be comforted.
(we must be compassionate for the losses of other people)
(5)
Fortunate are the
meek: for they shall inherit the land. (we
must be humble to inherit the promises)
(6)
Fortunate are they
which do hunger and thirst after righteousness: for they shall be
filled. (We must literally crave God’s
righteousness, and feed on it or we will spiritually die. And if we
feed on the Word, we will be filled with God’s righteousness. Remember
how the children of Israel had worshipped the god’s of Egypt and it
became their nature to do so? If we repeat or do something over and
over, it is ingrained in us until it becomes our nature. It’s the same
thing when we study and live the law of God. And whose nature is the
law of God? Gods’!
(7)
Fortunate are the
merciful: for they shall receive mercy. (We
must have mercy, for if we forgive others, we will be forgiven)
(8)
Fortunate are the
sincere in heart: for they shall see God.
(We cannot be hypocrites, we must be sincere. We must do what we say
and say what we do.)
(9)
Fortunate are the
peacemakers: for they shall be called the children of God.
(We must be peacemakers.) James said in Chapter 3, verse 17: But the
wisdom that is from above is first pure, then peaceable, gentle, and
easy to be entreated (asked), full of mercy and good fruits, without
favoritism and without hypocrisy. And the fruit (proof) of
righteousness sown in peace of them that make peace. (James summed up
these ten beatitudes.)
(10)
Fortunate are they
which are persecuted for righteousness’ sake: for theirs is the kingdom
of Heaven. (That we should be happy when
we are shunned or persecuted for doing the Word of God, and that we will
be persecuted if we do it. And our reward will be the kingdom of God.)
(11)
Fortunate are you, when men shall hate you, and
persecute you, and say all manner of evil against you falsely, for my
sake. (Fortunate are you when you
are falsely accused when carrying the name of Christ). Matthew 10:25:
It is enough for the
disciple that he be as his master, and the servant as his lord. If they
have called the master of the house Be’el’ze-bub (Satan), how much more
shall they call them of his household.
(12)
Rejoice, and be
very glad: for great is your reward in heaven: for so persecuted they
the prophets which were before you. (When
they have persecuted you, rejoice, your reward will be great in the
kingdom of Heaven. These ten things are the result of laying up all the
Law, and prophets and the commandments, in our mind first, and then by
living them, we lay them up in our heart! Then God’s nature becomes our
nature. This is a circumcised heart.
You see this is the character of God
that the law of God develops in us as we lay it up in our heart and
mind. I want you to see what Jesus is telling you here. He is
paraphrasing or summing up Psalms 119. (Please read ALL of Chapter 119)
It is so important to know, that to
love the Lord your God with all your heart, and with all your soul and
with all your mind, you must obey Him. If you will not obey Him, you do
not love Him. And in order to love our neighbor as ourselves, we must
lay up all the Law and all the commandments in our minds and then in our
hearts, because they are God’s instructions on how to love and what love
is. 1st John 4:7-8: Beloved let
us love one another: for love is of God; and every one that loves is
born of God, and knows God. He that loves not knows not God; for God is
love (And God’s law and commandments are His love. And when we have
made them our nature, we are filled with His righteousness and His love.
You see Jehovah is the Word of the Father or the law giver, not
Mo’ses, not the Apostle Paul, and certainly not
us! And Jesus said in Matthew 5:17-18:
“Think not that I am come to destroy (do away with)
the law, or the prophets; I am not come to
destroy (do away with), but to fulfill
(bring to full meaning not do away with). For
truly I say to you, till heaven and earth pass, one jot or one tittle
shall in no wise pass from the law till all be fulfilled. (What
Jesus just said was not one mark shall be removed from the law till
heaven and earth pass away, or till the end of time as we know it).
Back
A World Lost In Translation
Next
|
Home
Links
