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This leaves me a bit confused. When exactly was the changeover? I know many say that it will be upon Christ's death on the cross, but does that mean the instant Jesus' last breath was drawn that the laws changed? Were the people who were previously born under the "old law" system suddenly switched over to the "new law" system or was there a sort of "grandfathering" involved?
although i'm not christian , but i have my personal openion about interpretation of this verse
in the start i was confused also by the meaning 'until everything is accomplished'
so that i focused in the verse in its context , and i found another vrsion which clear points up to me
17 Think not that I am come to destroy the law, or the prophets: I am not come to destroy, but to fulfil.
18 For verily I say unto you, Till heaven and earth pass, one jot or one tittle shall in no wise pass from the law, till all be fulfilled.
so i realized that " till heavin and earth path " means by it hereafter or judgment day
rest of verse " one jot or one tittle shall in no wise pass from the law, till all be fulfilled " means that jews will be asked and judgement by thier God about every thing concerning the laws of God
till to be fulfilled means till jews accomplish laws of God
he didnt mean time by saying till , he means that they must accomplish the commandments
so , why i'm very sure from this interpretation ? read with me the next verse
19 Whosoever therefore shall break one of these least commandments, and shall teach men so, he shall be called the least in the kingdom of heaven: but whosoever shall do and teach them, the same shall be called great in the kingdom of heaven.
20 For I say unto you, That except your righteousness shall exceed the righteousness of the scribes and Pharisees, ye shall in no case enter into the kingdom of heaven.
21 Ye 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:
I see after-all about the physical and anti-physical forms for the Law. St. Paul also wrote something called the Acts (sort of like the Laws; oh that one was Plato(yikes)). Memorizing ME is harder than you think. Then one can also regard Faith for the purpose before deciding SUCH. Does this sound to conservative. I shall go into oblivion now.
Originally Posted by GCSTroop:This leaves me a bit confused. When exactly was the changeover? (To the new covenant)
Galatians 3:19 is frequently quoted to indicate the law, which was the Old Covenant, was done away. If we're going to believe the Bible we need to read it very carefully.
"What purpose then does the law serve? It was added because of transgressions, till the Seed should come to whom the promise was made; and it was appointed through angels by the hand of a mediator. " (Gal 3:19)
In talking of the law, note that " It was added because of transgressions, till the Seed should come". The 'Seed' is generally understood to refer to the Messiah, Jesus. When did he come? I would put it at the start of His ministry. How 'bout you? His crucifixion for all practical purposes is when He left, isn't it?
Jesus began to attract believers as of the start of His ministry. It appears the first official induction ceremony is recorded in Matthew 26:26-28. It couldn't be much before this, because the New Covenant required a sacrifice to atone for the transgressions under the former covenant. (Heb 9:15) Jesus gave Himself to be that sacrifice (Heb 9:29). The blood of animals couldn't eliminate sin, which is Jesus intention. (Heb 10:4-14, I John 3:3-9)
Paul was not on to some great new truth in saying the law was added, "till the seed should come". Moses prophesied this to be the case. "The LORD your God will raise up for you a Prophet like me from your midst, from your brethren. Him you shall hear, " (Deu 18:15) Moses knew the Prophet would have authority over and above that of the law. The problem with the law, the Old Covenant, is that the people didn't do it (Heb 8:6-8).
So Jesus had authority over the law and the Old Covenant from the beginning of His ministry. The transition began then. The initial availability date of the New Covenant was probably the day of the crucifixion. The covenant sacrifice was offered then. The eleven just got a little jump on things, probably for advanced training and example purposes. It evidently wasn't fully in force until Pentecost when everyone together at that occasion received the Holy Spirit (Acts 2:1-4). After that believers were added as they repented, i.e. set aside their own will to live according to God's will, and were baptized.
regarding to mathew , jesus (pbuh) came to fulfill the laws
"Do not think that I [Jesus] have come to abolish the Law (the Old Testament) or the Prophets; I have not come to abolish them but to fulfill them. I tell you the truth, until heaven and earth disappear, not the smallest letter, not the least stroke or a pen, will by any means disappear from the Law (the Old Testament) until everything is accomplished. (Matthew 5:17-18)"
"Then Jesus said to the crowds and to his disciples: 'The teachers of the law and the Pharisees sit in Moses' seat. So you must obey them and do everything they tell you. But do not do what they do, for they do not practice what they preach.' (Matthew 23:1-3)"
Christians always say as an excuse that an Old Testament law does not apply to them. According to Matthew 5:17-18, we clearly see that Jesus honored the Old Testament, and forced Christians to follow the unmodified laws of it that have not been replaced by newer ones in the New Testament.
Most modern day Christians actually call it the 'Old Testament' because they view it as outdated material, unless of course they've got that Tithing clause for monetary purposes only inside their own church doctrine. A more appropriate term would be the Hebrew Scriptures and Christian Greek Scriptures rather than 'New Testament'. While it's true that Christians are no longer under the Mosaic Law, the basic principals involved are still of interest to us today. Also much of the history recorded and prophecies given are still of interest to us as well. In fact the first prophecy of Gensis 3:15 of the Bible is yet to be completely fulfilled, so it's hardly an outdated 'Old Testament'.
Jesus was under the Mosaic Law and subject to it. The reason was that he was born into the Jewish system and grew up in it as one of it's citizens. It basically ended when he died in 33CE and fulfilled the purpose of the Law. The apostle Paul helps us by explaining alot of this. I believe this has been touched on in another thread.
For the Jews , the Law was a burden upon the people. They could never keep it completely or perfectly and had at numerous times throughout their history abandoned it by adding pagan concepts and doctrine into their pure worship. Eventually this lead to their rejection by God as a chosen people. However, if you remember when the promise was given to Abraham originally, it was ALL of mankind who would eventually benefit and not just Abraham's decendants.
Sad to say, the majority of modern day Judaism is far removed from anything the written Law required. By Jesus day, the Jewish Reilgious leaders had created or invented many traditions and doctrines that had nothing to do with true worship or any of the inspired writtings from their God Jehovah given through Moses. You may recall that Jesus even touched on the absurdity of such religious traditions as making the word of God invalid. Only the Mosaic Law was actually inspired and from almighty God.
Unfortunately the Talmud had nothing to do with any inspiration from God and was created by the arguements and debates between what was left of an apostate Jewish religious hierarchy.
So far, fascinating reading, as I feel this same way!! Here is a part that hit me hard:
Quote:
And most of all, I'm sick of the empty (and quite frankly the unbiblical) promises concerning what the Bible's purpose is in our lives. Most of the things we are taught about the Bible are found nowhere in the Bible; they come from a religious spirit that seeks to whittle people down to a spiritual nub in an effort to gain control over their minds. Without a doubt, this wonderful book has been used to cuff the spirits of millions of sincere hearted people who honestly what to connect with God's Heart.
I gather that some think I said Christ did away with the law. What I said was "Jesus had authority over the law". He exercised this authority in Matthew 19:3-9. He repudiated Moses allowance for divorce. This allowance was granted in the law (Deu 24:1-2). What else did he repudiate? Really nothing directly, although His sacrifice diminished the need for the Levitical system, which the law deals with extensively.
I also quoted Galatians 3:19, which indicates the law was added. "What purpose then does the law serve? It was added because of transgressions". We need to ask, to what was it added? "So it was, when Moses had completed writing the words of this law in a book, when they were finished, 25 that Moses commanded the Levites, who bore the ark of the covenant of the LORD, saying: 26 Take this Book of the Law, and put it beside the ark of the covenant of the LORD your God, that it may be there as a witness against you;" (Deu 31:24-26). The covenant of the Lord had been in the ark for over 39 years, but was even the basis for Abraham's covenant (I Chron 16:15-18)
Deuteronomy was the last book of the law. Once it was written, it was confirmed as a covenant (Deu 29:1, 12- 15), given to the Levites and set beside the Ark of the Covenant of the Lord, which was the essence of the Sinai Covenant. The law had to be a second covenant, because one doesn't add to a covenant. (Gal 3:15). The law was incomplete and unconfirmed until Deuteronomy was written and the law confirmed. This was 39+ years after the Sinai covenant was confirmed.
The original intention was that they obey the covenant made at Sinai, but they messed up almost immediately. Instead of destroying them, which was the logical choice under the Sinai covenant, God put together the law, which set up Levi and instituted the sacrificial system and gave Him the option to punish them with captivity rather than death.
To fulfill the law means to show the full meaning as much as to keep it. Moses/God allowed Israel to divorce because of their stony heart. Allowing people to have hard hearts was not the purpose of the law. The real intention was to detail how to love their neighbor as themselves (Lev 19:18), but the leaders in Israel had a bag over their heads when they read it and didn't get it (II Cor 3:15).
The Old Covenant, the law, and the Levitical system it established is no longer the absolute authority. Messiah is the authority, but that doesn't mean the law is of no value. "The LORD your God will raise up for you a Prophet like me from your midst, from your brethren. Him you shall hear," (Deu 18:15). If the Prophet didn't speak or act to change something, it stands as established in the law.
In any case, the covenant made at Sinai predated the law. A change in the status of the law would not change its status.
This is a great topic because it's so misunderstood by a lot of people. God is generally seen as a God of wrath in the Old Testament and a God of love in the New Testament. "Why is God so different from one covenant to the other?"
The answer is that He's not. What we see is the progression of God's relationship with people from the Old to the New. When the Old and the New are read together, and not taken separately, we can see this. His love and His wrath can be seen in both.
Throughout the Old Testament, God deals with Israel in the same way a loving father deals with his children. When they willfully disobeyed Him, He chastised and corrected them. But He always forgave them when they recognized and repented of their sins. What father doesn't correct his child, but still love them? He's the same in the New Testament. Hebrews 12:16, "For whom the Lord loves He chastens, and scourges every son whom He receives."
God's judgment and wrath are poured out on unrepentant sinners in the Old Testament. He does the same in the New Testament. Romans 1:18, "revealed from heaven against all ungodliness and unrighteousness of men who suppress the truth in unrighteousness."
Jesus talks more about hell than He does about heaven in the New Testament, so God isn't any different from the Old Testament to the New. God's very nature is unchanging. Again, we're just seeing the progression of God revealing Himself throughout the Bible.
The Bible contains 66 different books, penned by more than 40 different people, on two or three different continents, over a period of about 1,500 years. When it's really studied, you can see that it's unified and without contradiction. It's about a merciful and loving God and how He deals with sinful men in a bunch of different situations. God's love for all of His creation is evident throughout both Old and New.
God also calls people in both testaments into a unique relationship with Himself because of His love and mercy. We also see His wrath on those who disobey and reject Him and worship creation and the other gods they've created themselves, because He's a holy and righteous Judge. He's not the namby-pamby Jesus, meek and mild that American Christianity has turned Him out to be just to tell people what they want to hear, so pastors can fill their pews and keep the people coming. Is Jesus meek and mild? Yes, but meek doesn't mean weak.
Because He's holy and righteous, GOD MUST deal with sin, or He wouldn't be holy or righteous. It's because of His love that He provided the greatest act of love ever by providing payment in full for the sins of anyone who repent of them and turn in obedience to His word. (John 3:16)
So, are the Old Testament laws meant for Christians today? To understand, we have to know why the Old Testament laws were given and to whom. He gave them to Israel, the nation He first chose, not to Christians. Those laws were to show them how to love, please, obey and worship God. Some of them were just to make them different from other nations, like the food and clothing restrictions. They didn't have the benefit of the life and teachings of Jesus, so this is how God chose to reveal Himself to the Jews. The dietary laws, like not eating shellfish, were never intended for anyone but the Jews. Later, God declared ALL FOOD to be clean. (Mark 7:19) Later on, in Acts 10:15, Peter has a vision about the "unclean food" spoken of in the Old Testament: "Do not call anything impure that God has made clean.”
So, regarding the "now clean" foods, why do so many people have a hard time accepting this? Romans 14:1-23 tells us that it's because many people are not mature enough in their faith to accept it. So, when Christians are with these people (who may be Christians themselves) we are instructed not to eat this type of food because we aren't supposed to offend, or be a stumbling block, to them - even if they're wrong.
However, when Jesus came and died on the cross, that put an end to the Old Testament laws completely because Jesus, Himself, fulfilled the law in His death and resurrection. (Ephesians 2:15, Romans 10:4, and Galatians 3:23-25.)
Galatians 6:2 says that Christians are now under the law of Christ. Matthew 22:37-40 says, “Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind. This is the first and greatest commandment. And the second is like it: Love your neighbor as yourself. All the Law and the Prophets hang on these two commandments." There you have it, the law of Christ in two commandments. These are how we fulfill what it is that He wants us to do.
1 John 5:3, "“This is love for God: to obey his commands. And his commands are not burdensome."
When people ask if Christians have to obey the 10 Commandments, the answer is: technically, no. However, nine out of ten of those commandments are repeated in the New Testament, so, actually, the answer is yes. (The commandment to obey the Sabbath is the one not repeated.)
When we truly love God, (not just with lip-service and with words only) these commandments will be natural to us. When we love God, we will obey Him (see 1 John 5:3 above). We won't be worshipping other gods and idols. When we love our neighbors, we won't murder, lie to or commit adultery with them. And we won't covet what they have.
So, by loving God and our neighbor, having a personal, intimate relationship with Jesus, relying on the leading of the Holy Spirit, and committing all of our ways and words to the Father in obedience, everything else falls right into place. Is it easy? No, because Christians aren't yet in their glorified bodies yet. But can it be done? Absolutely, through His strength and His grace, and not our own.
WOW!!!
I just had to quote all of this.
Simply... OUTSTANDING!
(I'm out of thumbs!)
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