Jesus and the Ten Commandments

Matthew 5:17-20; 19:16-22; John 5:39, 40

GOLDEN TEXT: “Think not that I come to destroy the law, or the prophets; I am not come to destroy, but to fulfill.”—Matthew 5:17

THE coming of Jesus at His first advent marked the end of an age, the Jewish age, and the beginning of a new one, the Gospel age. While the work of the new age was to be different, it didn’t mean that all which had passed before was now to be set aside, or destroyed. The progression of God’s plan from one point of development to another is like laying one stone upon another in a building—each stone has its place, and must remain unmovable as a foundation upon which other stones can be laid.

By fallen human wisdom God’s plans have been shrouded with many false theories, and these need to be cast aside in order that the light of truth may shine more brightly, but the fundamentals of that which God has decreed need never be changed or discarded. The degree of light in a room would not be increased by introducing an additional lamp unless the one already there were permitted to continue burning.

It was God who gave Israel the Law. It was He also who inspired their prophets. The lessons of the Law and the Prophets were therefore divine lessons, applicable in part to the natural descendants of Abraham, and typical also, as well as prophetic, of “good things to come.” Among the things testified by the prophets was the coming of the Messiah, the Greater than Moses. Jesus was that Messiah, hence it was obligatory upon Him not only to obey the Law but to be guided by the prophetic testimony as well, especially as it applied to His life and ministry. For Jesus to have set aside the Law and establish a new one of His own would not have fulfilled the predictions made of the true Messiah.

Instead of destroying the Law Jesus magnified and fulfilled it. (Matthew 5:17) As for example, the Law said, “Thou shalt not kill,” but Jesus, agreeing to this, added that he who hateth his brother is equally guilty. (Matt. 5:21,22) The Law said, “Thou shalt not commit adultery,” but Jesus said that he who looks upon a woman to lust after her has already committed adultery in his own heart.

Jesus further magnified the law in His epitome of its meaning. All the commandments, He explained, would be fulfilled by one who loved God supremely, and his neighbor as himself. (Mark 12:33) No Israelite, until Jesus came, had gotten this meaning out of the Law, much less had any of them lived up to such a high standard of righteousness. To do so would be fulfilling one of the great objectives of the Law, namely, to inculcate the spirit of unselfishness in the hearts of the true people of God.

Our lesson tells of the rich man who came to Jesus to ask what he could do in order to enjoy eternal life. Jesus referred him to the Law, and the young man explained that be had been obedient to it from the tune of his youth. Then Jesus said, “if thou wilt be perfect, go sell that thou hast and give to the poor, … and come and follow Me.” (Matthew 18:21) Was not Jesus implying that keeping the Law perfectly would lead to just such a course of sacrifice in the interests of others as He had outlined?

Upon reflection this would seem so. For one to love his neighbor as himself means that he will do as much to help his neighbor as he would do to help himself. Such a viewpoint, followed out to its logical conclusion, would lead any rich man to do just what Jesus asked the young ruler to do. Surely this was a magnifying of the Law beyond what any Jew had ever seen in it, and beyond what most people would be willing to do today.

Jesus fulfilled the Law in just this way however, and those who follow in His steps are required to do the same—or, we might better say, have the privilege of doing the same. Jesus’ love for His neighbors—the whole world of mankind—led Him in the way of sacrifice, even unto death, in order that the world might live. “Though He was rich, yet for your sakes He became poor, that ye through His poverty might be rich.”—II Corinthians 8:9

In order that His followers might know the real meaning of God’s Law, Jesus gave them a new commandment, namely, that they should love one anther as He loved them. (John 15:12) Jesus loved us so much that He gave all He had in order that we might live, and He admonished that we should also, in like manner, lay down our lives for the brethren. But in following this new Commandment, we are not setting aside the demands of the Law given to Israel, but instead, fulfilling the real spirit of those demands.

This basic principle of God’s Lava will never change. It is the principle of unselfishness. There will not always be the opportunity or need for one to lay down his life for another, but the spirit that leads to such a course is the only one that will guarantee peace and happiness to mankind throughout the ages of eternity. There could be no class struggles; no under-world strife; no unfair business practices; no war; and no jealousies in a world where every individual loved his neighbor—all his neighbors—as himself. God has purposed that there shall yet be just such a fulfillment.

Thus, after six thousand years of struggle against the devastating influences of sin and selfishness, man, under the tutelage of divinely appointed ministers of reconciliation will have learned the wisdom of the better way—God’s way of love. Learning that way, and obeying it, they will not only find peace, but health, and everlasting life as well. What a blessed and happy ending to the divine plan of the ages!

QUESTIONS:

Does progress mean the destruction of true values?

What did Jesus mean when He said to the rich man, “If thou wilt be perfect”?

What does it mean for one to love his neighbor as himself?

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