Knowing the heart of the Law and the Law of the Gospel

Shalom,

During His earthly ministry, was Yeshua (Jesus) instructing us to become followers of Moses?

Did He come and die on the Cross so that we could be forgiven and therefore "start over" by keeping the Law (and its 613 commandments)?

Is the gospel message really a sort of "reformation" of Temple Judaism? 

Did Yeshua (Jesus) come to renew the covenant made with Israel at Sinai or did He come to give us a new and better covenant that would somehow supersede it (Heb. 8:6)?

Heb 8:6  KJV
But now hath he obtained a more excellent ministry, by how much also he is the mediator of a better covenant, which was established upon better promises.

In the light of His teaching, it appears that the answer to each of these questions is both a "yes" and "no."

When Jesus proclaimed in Mat 5:17

Mat 5:17  KJV
Think not that I am come to destroy the law, or the prophets: I am not come to destroy, but to fulfil.

He was actually amplifying the message of both Moses and the prophets, though His interpretation was contrary to various "traditional" views of His day. 

Ye have heard that it was said (in the Law, or by your sages) ... BUT I SAY unto you...

As a good Jewish teacher, Jesus continually affirmed the inner meaning of the Torah, especially the Shema and the related obligation to love others.

Mat 22:36  KJV
Master, which is the great commandment in the law?
Mat 22:37  KJV
Jesus said unto him, Thou shalt love the Lord thy God with all thy heart, and with all thy soul, and with all thy mind.
Mat 22:38  KJV
This is the first and great commandment.
Mat 22:39  KJV
And the second is like unto it, Thou shalt love thy neighbour as thyself.
Mat 22:40  KJV
On these two commandments hang all the law and the prophets.

In that regard His doctrine was surely a continuance of the Torah's foundational message. 

However, Jesus clearly extended the reach of the Torah to include the inner heart attitude of the person. Observing the Law was not a matter of adhering to various external codes of conduct but involved the rigorous self-examination of the heart and soul.

The law forbade the act of murder, for example, but Jesus extended the scope of the Law to reach the intent of the heart.

Mat 5:21  KJV
Ye have heard that it was said by them of old time (by Moses himself as he quoted the words of YHVH), Thou shalt not kill; and whosoever shall kill shall be in danger of the judgment:
Mat 5:22  KJV
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.
 
Likewise, the law forbade the act of adultery, but Jesus focused not on the external action but rather the heart condition.

Mat 5:27  KJV
Ye have heard that it was said by them of old time (by Moses himself as he quoted the words of YHVH), Thou shalt not commit adultery:
Mat 5:28  KJV
But I say unto you, That whosoever looketh on a woman to lust after her hath committed adultery with her already in his heart.
Note :
Notice how Jesus quoted the Law by saying :Ye have heard that it was said by them of old time, and then Jesus extended the scope of the Law by saying : But I say unto you. In this case we can see how Jesus intended to keep the Law and fulfilled the requirement of the Law.

When Jesus explained that the Law's intent was to prevent even looking with lust upon a woman, for all the more reason it should be obvious that we refrain from physical acts of adultery or fornication. Dealing with the inner heart attitude that gives rise to the lustful look therefore obviates the need to forbid the outer practice of the flesh (and therefore fulfills the intent of the Law against adultery).

In matters relating to :

1) divorce (Deu 24:1-4),
2) the taking of oaths (Deu 6:13; 10:20; Num 30:2; Exo 20:16),
3) the exercise of retribution (Exo 21:23-24, Lev 24:19-20; Deu 19:21), and
4) the obligation to hate one's enemies (Deu 7:2, 13:15-17, 20:16, Psalm 137:9, etc), Jesus actually circumvented the written words of Torah by denying matters that were technically permissible according to the "letter of the Law" (Mat 5:31-47).

We see this clearly in the case of divorce, for instance. 

When the Pharisees asked Him whether it was permissible to put away one's wife according to Deu 24:1-4.

Deu 24:1  KJV
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.
Deu 24:2  KJV
And when she is departed out of his house, she may go and be another man's wife.
Deu 24:3  KJV
And if the latter husband hate her, and write her a bill of divorcement, and giveth it in her hand, and sendeth her out of his house; or if the latter husband die, which took her to be his wife;
Deu 24:4  KJV
Her former husband, which sent her away, may not take her again to be his wife, after that she is defiled; for that is abomination before the LORD: and thou shalt not cause the land to sin, which the LORD thy God giveth thee for an inheritance.

Mat 19:7  KJV
They say unto him, Why did Moses then command to give a writing of divorcement, and to put her away?
Mat 19:8  KJV
He saith unto them, Moses because of the hardness of your hearts suffered you to put away your wives: but from the beginning it was not so.
Mat 19:9  KJV
And I say unto you, Whosoever shall put away his wife, except it be for fornication, and shall marry another, committeth adultery: and whoso marrieth her which is put away doth commit adultery.

Note :
Once again that the rigor of Jesus' interpretation superseded that of Moses himself, who permitted divorce as a concession to human frailty and evil.

Indeed, in each of these examples (divorce, taking oaths, retaliation, tribal loyalty), Jesus' interpretation was more DEMANDING and RIGOROUS than the written Laws found in the Torah of Moses. It means : Jesus kept the Law even more.

By expounding the requirements of the Law with such rigor, Jesus was claiming equal authority with YHVH Himself (יהוה).

After all, each antecedent clause, "Ye have heard that it was said..." referred to an explicit utterance made by the LORD Himself at Sinai.  Jesus then authoritatively extended the reach of the commandment by identifying its underlying ethical intent.

This is what He meant by "fulfilling" the Law, or reaching the goal of the Torah's message. 

The time of "circumcision of the heart" was at hand.
Deu 30:6  KJV
And the LORD thy God will circumcise thine heart, and the heart of thy seed, to love the LORD thy God with all thine heart, and with all thy soul, that thou mayest live.

The message of the Law was to be written on hearts of flesh, not tablets of stone.
Jer 31:33  KJV
But this shall be the covenant that I will make with the house of Israel; After those days, saith the LORD, I will put my law in their inward parts, and write it in their hearts; and will be their God, and they shall be my people.

2Co 3:3  KJV
Forasmuch as ye are manifestly declared to be the epistle of Christ ministered by us, written not with ink, but with the Spirit of the living God; not in tables of stone, but in fleshy tables of the heart.
2Co 3:6  KJV
Who also hath made us able ministers of the new testament; not of the letter, but of the spirit: for the letter killeth, but the spirit giveth life.

The Law of God - in particular, the moral aspect of the law - is indeed "holy, just, and good," though it is powerless to change the heart.
Rom 7:12  KJV
Wherefore the law is holy, and the commandment holy, and just, and good.

This is not because the Law is sinful, but rather because it reveals the presence of sin in our hearts.

The Law simply demands that we live as morally perfect agents -- regardless of our heredity, infirmities, social status, education, and so on.  Like a flawless mirror, the Law reflects back to us the truth of our moral and spiritual condition, and thereby reveals our need for deliverance from ourselves.

The "problem of the law" is that it is "weak" on account of human "flesh," and therefore remedy had to be sought through other means.

Rom 8:1  KJV
There is therefore now no condemnation to them which are in Christ Jesus, who walk not after the flesh, but after the Spirit.
Rom 8:2  KJV
For the law of the Spirit of life in Christ Jesus hath made me free from the law of sin and death.
Rom 8:3  KJV
For what the law could not do, in that it was weak through the flesh, God sending his own Son in the likeness of sinful flesh, and for sin, condemned sin in the flesh:
Rom 8:4  KJV
That the righteousness of the law might be fulfilled in us, who walk not after the flesh, but after the Spirit.

This is the ultimate gospel message itself - that God sent His Son to both save us from the just verdict of the Law (through Jesus' sacrifice) and to provide the heart's means to serve Him in the truth (through Holy Spirit).

To underscore the need for personal deliverance, Jesus was once asked by "a rich young ruler" what "good deed" must be done to inherit eternal life.

Mat 19:16  KJV
And, behold, one came and said unto him, Good Master, what good thing shall I do, that I may have eternal life?
Mat 19:17  KJV
And he said unto him, Why callest thou me good? there is none good but one, that is, God: but if thou wilt enter into life, keep the commandments.
Mat 19:18  KJV
He saith unto him, Which? Jesus said, Thou shalt do no murder, Thou shalt not commit adultery, Thou shalt not steal, Thou shalt not bear false witness,
Mat 19:19  KJV
Honour thy father and thy mother: and, Thou shalt love thy neighbour as thyself.
Mat 19:20  KJV
The young man saith unto him, All these things have I kept from my youth up: what lack I yet?
Mat 19:21  KJV
Jesus said unto him, If thou wilt be perfect, go and sell that thou hast, and give to the poor, and thou shalt have treasure in heaven: and come and follow me.
Mat 19:22  KJV
But when the young man heard that saying, he went away sorrowful: for he had great possessions.

Notice how Jesus answered with the statement, "Keep the commandments," and then provided the mitzvot listed in the second half of the tablets (that is, the commandments that dealt with social relationships). 

When He was further asked, "What else do I lack?" Jesus told him to sell everything and give the proceeds to the poor.  The "one thing missing" in this man's observance was the heart -- namely, love and genuine compassion for the poor. Such love was not something that could be gained by merely "following the rules" but required a radical heart change.

Again, Jesus was calling for religious observance that was far more rigorous than was conventionally understood by the Jewish leaders of His day. 

It's the inner intent of the commandments that matter, not mere conformity to an external ideal.
Mat 5:48  KJV
Be ye therefore perfect, even as your Father which is in heaven is perfect.  

Sometimes those who advocate "Torah observance only without Jesus" for the Christian seem to protest that the gospel message is often presented as a sort of "get out Hell free card" or a means of obtaining a "cheap grace" that encourages a lackadaisical performance of religious obligation. 

Such people -- well meaning as they may be -- have yet to fully hear the words of Jesus regarding the righteousness required by the law itself
Mat 5:20  KJV
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.

Was Jesus then suggesting that His followers were to be more scrupulous than the hand-washing Pharisees or the nitpicking scribes of His day?

Were His followers to be marked by fastidious attention to the law's every detail, painstakingly adhering to the percentages of "mint and cumin" that should be designated as a tithe (Mat 23:23)?

Or was He rather suggesting that the righteousness of Messiah required "taking up the cross" and following Him in faith and self-sacrifice?

Let's return to the story of the "rich young ruler" who asked what "good deed" must be done to inherit eternal life. As the story goes, after the man heard Jesus' demand for self-sacrifice, "he went away sorrowful, for he had great possessions." 
Mat 19:22  KJV
But when the young man heard that saying, he went away sorrowful: for he had great possessions.

Jesus then said to His disciples, "Verily I say unto you, That a rich man shall hardly enter into the kingdom of heaven."
Mat 19:23  KJV
Then said Jesus unto his disciples, Verily I say unto you, That a rich man shall hardly enter into the kingdom of heaven.
Mat 19:24  KJV
And again I say unto you, It is easier for a camel to go through the eye of a needle, than for a rich man to enter into the kingdom of God.

The disciples were astounded at Jesus' comment and exclaimed, "Who then can be saved?"
Mat 19:25  KJV
When his disciples heard it, they were exceedingly amazed, saying, Who then can be saved?

Jesus replied to them, "With man this is impossible, but with God all things are possible".
Mat 19:26  KJV
But Jesus beheld them, and said unto them, With men this is impossible; but with God all things are possible.

Those who advocate the observance of the Law as a means of justification (or sanctification) before God need to confess their need for salvation -- from their own sinful heart condition. 

Only God has the power to change the self-serving human heart. This is a glory not shared with the various "self-improvement" programs of the world's religiously minded.

Hear the words of Jesus regarding the "goal" or "end" of righteousness required by the Law :
Self-sacrifice, unfeigned love for others, genuine compassion, and the unselfish practice of mercy -- all of which were perfectly exemplified in the life of Messiah Himself.

The "goal of the law" is the miracle of heart changed by the power and grace of God.

Now there is a "twist" regarding this entire discussion.

In ethical matters we clearly see that Jesus' interpretation of the Law was more rigorous than that of Moses, but regarding ceremonial and social laws we note that Jesus often overruled the Torah entirely.

For example, when Jesus spoke of dietary restrictions (kashrut) He said, "Not that which goeth into the mouth defileth a man; but that which cometh out of the mouth, this defileth a man."
.
Mat 15:11  KJV
Not that which goeth into the mouth defileth a man; but that which cometh out of the mouth, this defileth a man.

And by so saying implied that various rules regarding what foods to eat, how meat was slaughtered, ritual handwashing, and so on, were not relevant.

Concerning ritual impurity, we note that Jesus touched a "leper".
Mat 8:1  KJV
When he was come down from the mountain, great multitudes followed him.
Mat 8:2  KJV
And, behold, there came a leper and worshipped him, saying, Lord, if thou wilt, thou canst make me clean.
Mat 8:3  KJV
And Jesus put forth his hand, and touched him, saying, I will; be thou clean. And immediately his leprosy was cleansed.
Mat 8:4  KJV
And Jesus saith unto him, See thou tell no man; but go thy way, shew thyself to the priest, and offer the gift that Moses commanded, for a testimony unto them.

It was something explicitly forbidden by the law without becoming "unclean" (Lev. 14:4-29).

Moreover, Jesus not only touched a leper but healed him and declared him "clean," overruling the Law's requirement that only a kohen (priest) could do so based on prescribed rituals (note : that Jesus' instruction to give "testimony" of the healing to the Temple priests was intended to testify that Someone greater than the Levitical priesthood was now in their midst).

Likewise we read that Jesus touched the corpse of a young girl -- another act that would render someone ritually unclean -- yet this action displayed the power of God by raising her from the dead.
Mar 5:41  KJV
And he took the damsel by the hand, and said unto her, Talitha cumi; which is, being interpreted, Damsel, I say unto thee, arise.

Finally, when Jesus "cleansed the Temple" and stopped the "carrying of the ritual vessels," He interfered with the regular sacrifices of Israel, something clearly forbidden by Levitical Law.
Mar 11:16  KJV
And would not suffer that any man should carry any vessel through the temple.

But what about the matter of Sabbath observance?

Did Jesus break the Sabbath?, or

Did He adhere to various rules about not touching or doing certain things on this day (i.e. the 39 categories of work forbidden by the rabbis)? 

When He was once criticized by the Pharisees for allowing his disciples to pick some grain from the fields on the Sabbath, He responded that the Scriptures themselves testified that King David "broke the commandment" by eating the bread reserved for the priests (the "showbread"), and noted that the priests likewise "profaned" the Sabbath by performing avodah (service) at the Temple.
Mat 12:1  KJV
At that time Jesus went on the sabbath day through the corn; and his disciples were an hungred, and began to pluck the ears of corn, and to eat.
Mat 12:2  KJV
But when the Pharisees saw it, they said unto him, Behold, thy disciples do that which is not lawful to do upon the sabbath day.
Mat 12:3  KJV
But he said unto them, Have ye not read what David did, when he was an hungred, and they that were with him;
Mat 12:4  KJV
How he entered into the house of God, and did eat the shewbread, which was not lawful for him to eat, neither for them which were with him, but only for the priests?
Mat 12:5  KJV
Or have ye not read in the law, how that on the sabbath days the priests in the temple profane the sabbath, and are blameless?

Jesus then stated that "someone greater than the Temple is here" and went on to chastise His accusers by pointing out that the deeper principle of the Law is to show mercy before sacrifice.
Mat 12:6  KJV
But I say unto you, That in this place is one greater than the temple.
Mat 12:7  KJV
But if ye had known what this meaneth, I will have mercy, and not sacrifice, ye would not have condemned the guiltless.
Mat 12:8  KJV
For the Son of man is Lord even of the sabbath day.

References :
Hos 6:6  KJV
For I desired mercy, and not sacrifice; and the knowledge of God more than burnt offerings.

Psa 51:16  KJV
For thou desirest not sacrifice; else would I give it: thou delightest not in burnt offering.
Psa 51:17  KJV
The sacrifices of God are a broken spirit: a broken and a contrite heart, O God, thou wilt not despise.

Pro 15:8  KJV
The sacrifice of the wicked is an abomination to the LORD: but the prayer of the upright is his delight.

Mat 9:13  KJV
But go ye and learn what that meaneth, I will have mercy, and not sacrifice: for I am not come to call the righteous, but sinners to repentance.

As the very "Lord of the Sabbath",
Mat 12:8  KJV
For the Son of man is Lord even of the sabbath day.

Jesus sanctioned acts of mercy to be performed on the consecrated day of rest. 

Indeed, just as the Law permitted a male to be circumcised or an animal to be pulled out of a well on Sabbath, for all the more reason should a man be healed on the Sabbath.
Mat 12:11  KJV
And he said unto them, What man shall there be among you, that shall have one sheep, and if it fall into a pit on the sabbath day, will he not lay hold on it, and lift it out?
Mat 12:12  KJV
How much then is a man better than a sheep? Wherefore it is lawful to do well on the sabbath days.

The Sabbath is not a day of (static) rest but is a means of providing rest for others by doing acts of chesed and mercy. 

Again, the Pharisees had confused the "inner" with the "outer" and made a category mistake.
Mar 2:27  KJV
And he said unto them, The sabbath was made for man, and not man for the sabbath:

So we see both evidence of continuity regarding the Law in the teaching of Jesus. 

Regarding the underlying commandment to love God with all your heart and to love your neighbor as yourself, He was in full agreement. Yet Jesus revealed that the practice of such love was far more rigorous than was commonly interpreted by the sages of His day, and nothing short of moral and spiritual perfection was acceptable to God. 

Mat 5:48  KJV
Be ye therefore perfect, even as your Father which is in heaven is perfect.

By revealing the "goal" of the law, Jesus also revealed our need of personal deliverance.  We are sinners and we need a changed heart from God to be saved.

Jesus summed up His view of the obeying the underlying intent of the Law with the following sober warning :

Mat 7:24  KJV
Therefore whosoever heareth these sayings of mine, and doeth them, I will liken him unto a wise man, which built his house upon a rock:
Mat 7:25  KJV
And the rain descended, and the floods came, and the winds blew, and beat upon that house; and it fell not: for it was founded upon a rock.
Mat 7:26  KJV
And every one that heareth these sayings of mine, and doeth them not, shall be likened unto a foolish man, which built his house upon the sand:
Mat 7:27  KJV
And the rain descended, and the floods came, and the winds blew, and beat upon that house; and it fell: and great was the fall of it.

For those who trust in Him for a heart change and eternal life, Jesus is the Authority of Almighty God, the very Word of God incarnate. His Words define our Torah. We all must answer to Him.

The love of God is the fulfillment of the Law. It doesn't mean the Law is no longer valid.
Rom 13:8  KJV
Owe no man any thing, but to love one another: for he that loveth another hath fulfilled the law.
Rom 13:9  KJV
For this, Thou shalt not commit adultery, Thou shalt not kill, Thou shalt not steal, Thou shalt not bear false witness, Thou shalt not covet; and if there be any other commandment, it is briefly comprehended in this saying, namely, Thou shalt love thy neighbour as thyself.
Rom 13:10  KJV
Love worketh no ill to his neighbour: therefore love is the fulfilling of the law.

Gal 5:14  KJV
For all the law is fulfilled in one word, even in this; Thou shalt love thy neighbour as thyself.

Jas 2:8  KJV
If ye fulfil the royal law according to the scripture, Thou shalt love thy neighbour as thyself, ye do well:

And this love is manifest in the Person and Presence of Jesus, the perfect fulfillment of the Law of love.
Joh 1:1  KJV
In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God.

Joh 13:34  KJV
A new commandment I give unto you, That ye love one another; as I have loved you, that ye also love one another.
Joh 13:35  KJV
By this shall all men know that ye are my disciples, if ye have love one to another.

1Jn 4:10  KJV
Herein is love, not that we loved God, but that he loved us, and sent his Son to be the propitiation for our sins.
1Jn 4:11  KJV
Beloved, if God so loved us, we ought also to love one another.
1Jn 4:12  KJV
No man hath seen God at any time. If we love one another, God dwelleth in us, and his love is perfected in us.

2Jn 1:6  KJV
And this is love, that we walk after his commandments. This is the commandment, That, as ye have heard from the beginning, ye should walk in it.

The love of Jesus imparts "righteousness to every one who believes".
Rom 10:4  KJV
For Christ is the end of the law for righteousness to every one that believeth.

Thew word the end came from Greek word τέλος - telos which  means : the last in any succession or series, the goal, the purpose.

Practically speaking, living in response to the love of God does not imply spiritual anarchy or "lawlessness," however, since the Law of Messiah (תּוֹרַת הַמָּשִׁיחַ) is to "bear one another's burdens" by emulating the sacrificial love that Yeshua has revealed and bestowed to us.

Gal 6:2  KJV
Bear ye one another's burdens, and so fulfil the law of Christ.
Joh 13:15  KJV
For I have given you an example, that ye should do as I have done to you.
Joh 13:34  KJV
A new commandment I give unto you, That ye love one another; as I have loved you, that ye also love one another. (It needs the change of the heart and mind -- like in Rom 12:2).

Joh 15:12  KJV
This is my commandment, That ye love one another, as I have loved you.

Joh 14:15  KJV
If ye love me, keep my commandments.

Joh 15:10  KJV
If ye keep my commandments, ye shall abide in my love; even as I have kept my Father's commandments, and abide in his love.

Moreover, those who receive Jesus as their Savior are given the Holy Spirit (רוּחַ הַקּדֶשׁ) -- also called the Comforter (παρακλητος) -- through whom the inner intent of the Law is written upon the heart by faith.
Gal 5:18  KJV
But if ye be led of the Spirit, ye are not under the law.

Gal 5:22  KJV
But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, longsuffering, gentleness, goodness, faith,
Gal 5:23  KJV
Meekness, temperance: against such there is no law.

The heart of the Law, then, is the Law of the Gospel message itself - to love God and to serve others through the miraculous agency of God's redemptive grace.

So, if one asks, should Christians observe the Law?
Yes, Christians are to observe the Law since we are following Jesus Christ. We observe the Law not for our righteousness because our righteousness is in Jesus Christ. We observe the Law because Jesus instructed us to do so in Mat 28:30.

Mat 28:20  KJV
Teaching them to observe all things whatsoever I have commanded you: and, lo, I am with you always, even unto the end of the world. Amen.

Example :
Jesus observed The Feast of Dedication (Chanukah). So do we.
Joh 10:22  KJV
And it was at Jerusalem the feast of the dedication, and it was winter.
Joh 10:23  KJV
And Jesus walked in the temple in Solomon's porch.

Jesus observed Passover. So do we.
Mat 26:18  KJV
And he said, Go into the city to such a man, and say unto him, The Master saith, My time is at hand; I will keep the passover at thy house with my disciples.

Keep in the Word of the Living God. May God bless you.
Andre