The Ten Commandments and Teachings of Jesus

GOLDEN TEXT: “For the Law was given by Moses, but grace and truth came by Jesus Christ.” —John 1:17

MATTHEW 5:17-20

THE whole Law of God as given to Israel was summed up in the Ten Commandments. Laws or commandments are not needed except where there is sin, and Jesus was sinless. But because of his perfection of being, Jesus lived within—yes even above—the righteous requirements of the Ten Commandments. Thus he fulfilled them and demonstrated the righteousness of the Law, and that its requirements were within reach of those who are not fallen and imperfect.

Far from destroying the Law, Jesus strengthened it by showing that it could be kept, thus proving that it was just in its demands. He also revealed that its spirit, or intended meaning, was much more exacting than the Israelites understood it to be. The Law forbade murder, and Jesus explained that those who hate their fellows without a cause are guilty of murder.

It was a sin to break one of God’s commandments, although not necessarily a willful sin. But to teach men to break the commandments would seem to indicate a large measure of guilt. Jesus de Glared that one being thus guilty would be “called least in the kingdom of heaven.” To be in the kingdom of heaven at all will be a high honor, so it may be that Jesus is referring to practices and teachings which, while erroneous, are not willfully so, and are sooner or later corrected.

The righteousness of the scribes and the Pharisees must have been extremely negative, for Jesus added that unless our righteousness exceed theirs, we cannot be in the kingdom of heaven at all. In verse 43 of the chapter, Jesus quotes a law, “Thou shalt love thy neighbor, and hate thine enemy.” However, he does not say that this was a part of God’s Law, but simply, “Ye have heard that it hath been said.” Evidently it was one of the talmudic laws.

In Deuteronomy 23:6 Moses instructs the Israelites not to seek the “prosperity”—margin, “good”—of the Ammonites and Moabites, partly “because they met you not with bread and with water in the way, when ye came forth out of Egypt,” and also because they had hired Balaam to pronounce a curse upon God’s people. (Deut. 23:4,5) But these instructions were at the most simply that the Israelites should ignore these avowed enemies, leaving them in the Lord’s hands to be dealt with according to the good pleasure of his will.

Perhaps the talmudic law, “Thou shalt hate thine enemy,” grew out of these instructions to Israel concerning the Ammonites and Moabites. It is easy for the fallen human heart to hate, and it would be natural to exaggerate the Lord’s instructions in order to justify hatred. Those responsible for these distortions of the Law hated Jesus because he exposed their falsehoods, and pointed out the course of true righteousness, “Love your enemies, bless them that curse you, do good to them that hate you, and pray for them which despitefully use you, and persecute you.”—Matt. 5:44

MARK 10:17-22

MATTHEW and Luke also record the incident mentioned in this passage. Matthew (Matt. 19:16-30) refers to the rich man who asked what he could do to inherit eternal life as being “young” while Luke describes him as a “ruler.” (Luke 18:18-30) From these two descriptions he has come to be known to students of the Bible as “the rich young ruler.”

Mark informs us that Jesus loved this young ruler. Evidently he was a noble character. He assured Jesus that he obeyed the commandments from his “youth,” and probably conscientiously so. But from the standpoint of the will of God as it applies to the followers of Jesus, he was still lacking, for the call to these is to sacrifice both their possessions and their lives in divine service.

“Sell whatsoever thou hast, and give to the poor,” Jesus said to him, “and thou shalt have treasure in heaven.” Paul gives us a further insight into this requirement of the narrow way—“Though I bestow all my goods to feed the poor, … and have not charity [love], it profiteth me nothing.” (I Cor. 13:3) In other words, for our sacrifices to be “profitable” in the sense of securing for us “treasure in heaven,” they must be prompted by the spirit of love, unselfishness.

The Lord’s instructions do not call for a wholesale and precipitous distribution to the poor of all one possesses but rather a relinquishing of our claims upon that which, before consecration, we considered to be ours. We give everything to the Lord, and he makes us stewards of our “goods,” and expects us to use them for the blessing of others and to his glory.

And we must give our lives also. This is shown in the invitation to the young man to take up his cross and follow the Master. Criminals condemned to death were required to carry their cross to the place of crucifixion. It will be recalled that Jesus was not physically able to carry his cross, so another was forced into service to carry it after him. Thus it was understood that anyone carrying a cross was on his way to death; and this is evidently what Jesus meant by the invitation, “Take up his cross, and follow me.”

Only indirectly did the Mosaic Law call for the sacrifice of the individual; although this was implied in Moses’ interpretation of the Law—“Thou shalt love the Lord thy God with all thine heart, and with all thy soul, and with all thy might.” (Deut. 6:5) Those who love the Lord with all their strength and life will gladly lay down their lives for him if he indicates it to be his will. Jesus possessed such a love for his Heavenly Father, and it was the Father’s will that he die for the sins of the world. Jesus’ response to this was, “I delight to do thy will, O my God.”—Ps. 40:8

QUESTIONS

How did Jesus fulfill the Law?

Did God command Israel to hate their enemies?

In what manner does a Christian bestow all his goods to feed the poor? What does Paul say on this point?

How did Jesus indicate that his followers are called upon to give their lives in divine service?

Did the Mosaic Law in any way imply the necessity of sacrifice?

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