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Showing posts with label Did Jesus change the Law. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Did Jesus change the Law. Show all posts

Sunday, September 24, 2023

Dotting the i's and Crossing the t's

Dotting the i's and

Crossing the t's

24 September 2023

Did Jesus change the Law of Moses?

“For truly I tell you, until heaven and earth pass away, not one letter, not one stroke of a letter, will pass from the law until all is accomplished.”
Matthew 5:18

If Jesus did not change the Law of the Jews as it was, why did He start a new religion, and what exactly was He preaching if nothing was different?

Historical Context

The religion of the Jews, as taught by Moses and practiced by the early Israelites after leaving Egypt, was very different from what it had become by the time of Jesus.

The Torah, the first five books of Scripture documented by Moses, was intended to unite the Israelites. During their 40 years in the wilderness, God shaped them into a single, bonded community. By the time they entered the Promised Land in 1406 BC, they were a unified people.

The children of Israel remained free without a king for about 400 years until Saul became the first king around 1021 BC. Their unity allowed them to resist outside invaders for centuries.

However, over time, the united kingdom was divided. The Northern Kingdom, with its capital in Samaria, fell to the Assyrians in 721 BC, while the Southern Kingdom of Judah was conquered by the Babylonians in 586 BC (2 Kings). Many Israelites were taken into exile, and only the poorest and most vulnerable were left in the land. Those who remained often intermarried with foreigners, which later led to tensions concerning faith and identity.

In the 5th century BC, many of the exiled Israelites returned and rebuilt the Temple in Jerusalem (Ezra, Nehemiah). The descendants of those who had remained in the land—later known as the Samaritans—were excluded from participating in Temple worship. They were regarded as ritually impure due to their mixed ancestry, being descendants of both Israelites and foreigners. This exclusion deepened the divisions within the community.

Jesus’ Teachings and the True Spirit of the Law

Jesus’ genealogy in Matthew 1 includes outsiders like Ruth and Rahab, showing that God’s plan included those from outside the traditional community. By His time, marginalized groups such as prostitutes and tax collectors were often considered outcasts, a stark change from Moses’ era. Jesus opposed this exclusion.

“I give you a new commandment, that you love one another. Just as I have loved you, you also should love one another.”
John 13:34

“You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, and with all your soul, and with all your mind… You shall love your neighbor as yourself. On these two commandments hang all the law and the prophets.”
Matthew 22:37-40

Jesus emphasized that the essence of the Law is love—for God and for neighbor. The Pharisees, however, divided the Torah into 613 rules to control society and label some people as sinners, to maintain their own power. Jesus rightly called them “hypocrites” (Matthew 23:25).

Conclusion

Jesus did not come to create a new religion. He sought to revive the original religion given to Moses and the prophets, clarifying the true meaning of the Scriptures. Christianity became recognized as a distinct religion only during the apostles’ time (Acts 11:26).

Practical Relevance for Today

The question of whether Jesus changed the Law is not merely historical—it speaks directly to how we live our faith today. Like the people of Jesus’ time, we too can become focused on rules, traditions, and external practices, while missing the heart of what God truly desires.

Jesus reminds us that the essence of the Law is not legalism, but love. It is possible to follow religious practices faithfully and yet fail to show compassion, mercy, and inclusion. In many ways, modern communities still struggle with the same tendencies seen among the Pharisees—drawing lines between “us” and “them,” labeling others, and sometimes using religion as a means of judgment rather than healing.

The divisions between Jews and Samaritans in the past find echoes today in social, cultural, and even religious separations. People are still excluded because of background, status, or perceived “impurity.” Yet, Jesus consistently reached out to those on the margins, showing that God’s love is not limited by human boundaries.

As St. Paul writes about Onesimus in Philemon, there is no slave or free—only family in Christ. This powerful truth challenges every form of division. It is not those who seek unity and inclusion who stand in error, but rather those who create and maintain divisions who must be challenged. In this light, it is those who divide society who should be called out as “hypocrites.”

For us, this means that true faith is not measured by how strictly we follow rules, but by how deeply we love—God and our neighbor. The call of Christ challenges us to move beyond mere observance and toward transformation: to forgive more readily, to include more generously, and to love more sacrificially.

In a world often marked by division, fear, and judgment, the teaching of Jesus remains profoundly relevant. He calls us back to the original purpose of the Law—a life rooted in love, justice, and mercy. To follow Him today is to embody that love in our daily lives, becoming instruments of unity rather than division.

References

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