"The Christian considers the New Testament having superseded the Old Testament; whereas the Jew believes that all the good things which he can find in the Gospels, or in the other books of the New Testament, are to be found either in the Old Testament, or else in the Jewish, or Rabbinic literature.”
Gerald Friedlander (An Orthodox Jew) [1]
In Part 1, I covered the proper understanding and meaning of “fulfill” as it relates to Yeshua and the Torah in Matthew 5:17-20. Yeshua in no way came to abolish the Torah but to perform it and teach us how to keep it properly. Part 2 will cover how this idea will relate to the rest of Yeshua’s sermon.
Before jumping into the meaning and context of this sermon, it is important to understand how it is structured. This sermon can be broken up into three sections, Matthew 5:3-16, 5:17-7:12, and 7:13-27. The first section describes and identifies God’s people. They are blessed (literally happy), the salt of the earth, and the light of the world. In the second section, Yeshua teaches his followers how they are to live a righteous life in accordance to Torah. Here He teaches how one is to deal with injustice, how to treat an enemy, how one is to pray, and how to treat one’s brother among other things. The third section is a result and warning to those who do not follow and practice this word. Here it describes the results of the narrow and broad road, the warning against false prophets that will lead one astray, the end of those who give lip service to God but do not actually do His will, and the consequences of the wise builder who builds his foundation on this word and the foolish builder who does not. Understanding this structure helps give context to Yeshua’s words. For example, knowing that section two begins at 5:17 and ends at 7:12 gives tremendous insight as to what His focus is in this section. In 5:17, Yeshua begins by referring to the Torah and the prophets, and in 7:12, He ends by referring to the Torah and the prophets. As we proceed through the rest of this section, remember that Yeshua has as His focus the proper application of the Torah and the prophets and not a new and different teaching.
Yeshua’s repeated phrase found throughout this section, “You have heard it said … but I say to you …” has led many to believe that Yeshua is somehow replacing the “old law” with His new law or teaching. This phrase is commonly misunderstood in one of two ways 1) Yeshua is teaching a higher level of spirituality then the Torah, thus to keep the Torah is to go backward 2) Yeshua is teaching a new standard or law for His followers to live by and in the process is showing the inadequacy of the Torah. There are, however, major problems with both these interpretations. First, if He is teaching a higher level of living, He is at the very least adding to the commandments of Torah and not taking them away. Therefore, believers have a responsibility to do more than what the Torah commands and not less. Second, He is not at all teaching anything new in this sermon that His listeners have not already heard before. In fact, almost everything Yeshua taught in this sermon, as well as some of His other teachings pertaining to how one is to live a righteous life are in line with and parallel to rabbinic (pharisaic) teachings that came before Yeshua’s ministry. His teachings are thoroughly Jewish and therefore not revolutionary at all. To help demonstrate this point, I included the following chart to show the similarity between Yeshua’s teachings with ancient rabbinic teachings found in the oral Torah (i.e. Talmud and Midrash Rabbah) and from the Hebrew Scriptures:
21 "You have heard that the ancients were told, `YOU SHALL NOT COMMIT MURDER' and `Whoever commits murder shall be liable to the court.' 22 But I say to you that everyone who is angry with his brother shall be guilty before the court; and whoever says to his brother, `You good-for-nothing,' shall be guilty before the supreme court; and whoever says, `You fool,' shall be guilty enough to go into the fiery hell. | One who shames the face of his fellow, it is as if he murdered him. Babylonian Talmud, Bava Mezia 58b Also see Psalms 101:4-5; Pro 12:22; 13:3 |
23 Therefore if you are presenting your offering at the altar, and there remember that your brother has something against you, 24 leave your offering there before the altar and go; first be reconciled to your brother, and then come and present your offering. | Yom Kippur (Day of Atonement) atones for all sins, but first you must reconcile your conflict with others. Babylonian Talmud, Yoma 85b |
27 "You have heard that it was said, `YOU SHALL NOT COMMIT ADULTERY'; 28 but I say to you that everyone who looks at a woman with lust for her has already committed adultery with her in his heart. 29 "If your right eye makes you stumble, tear it out and throw it from you; for it is better for you to lose one of the parts of your body, than for your whole body to be thrown into hell. Matthew 5:27-29 | One who gazes lustfully upon the small finger of a married woman, it is as if he has committed adultery with her Babylonian Talmud, One can commit adultery not only with one's body, but even with one's eyes. Vayikra Rabbah, Ch.23 Better that one's belly burst than one should go down to the pit of destruction. Babylonian Talmud, Niddah 13b Also see Num 15:39; Pro 10:31 |
33 "But let your statement be, `Yes, yes' or `No, no'; anything beyond these is of evil. | A righteous yes is a Yes; a righteous no is No Babylonian Talmud, Bava Batra 49b Yes is like an oath; No is like an oath. Babylonian Talmud, Sh'vuot 36a |
38 "You have heard that it was said, `AN EYE FOR AN EYE, AND A TOOTH FOR A TOOTH.' 39 "But I say to you, do not resist an evil person; but whoever slaps you on your right cheek, turn the other to him also. 40 "If anyone wants to sue you and take your shirt, let him have your coat also. 41 "Whoever forces you to go one mile, go with him two. 42 "Give to him who asks of you, and do not turn away from him who wants to borrow from you. Matthew 5:38-42 | 29 Do not say, "Thus I shall do to him as he has done to me; I will render to the man according to his work." Proverbs 24:29 30 Let him give his cheek the smiter, Let him be filled with reproach. Lamentations 3:30 21 The wicked borrows and does not pay back, But the righteous is gracious and gives. Psalms 37:21 |
43 "You have heard that it was said, 'Love your neighbor and hate your enemy. [2] 44 "But I say to you, love your enemies and pray for those who persecute you, 45 so that you may be sons of your Father who is in heaven; for He causes His sun to rise on the evil and the good, and sends rain on the righteous and the unrighteous. | 4 If you meet your enemy's ox or his donkey wandering away, you shall surely return it to him. Exodus 23:4 21 If your enemy is hungry, give him food to eat; if he is thirsty, give him water to drink. Proverbs 25:21 And if any one seeketh to do evil unto you, do well unto him, and pray for him. Testament of Joseph XVIII. 2 God causes it to rain for the wicked as well as for righteous Babylonian Talmud, Taanit 7a Also see 1 Sam 25:19-20; Pro 24:17-18 |
12 In everything, therefore, treat people the same way you want them to treat you, for this is the Torah and the Prophets. | What is hateful to you, do it not unto others -- this is the entire Torah, and the rest is commentary. Babylonian Talmud, Shabbat 31a |
There is nothing at all in the Scriptures to indicate that His teachings were new or radical as is commonly thought today [3]. The reason why most believers have not realized this is mainly due to two reasons: 1) the traditional assumption that Yeshua came to bring a new religion or new way of living and 2) they are unaware of what first-century Jews actually believed and how they taught.
What then set Yeshua apart from other teachers of His day? It was not the content of what He taught, but how He taught. “When Jesus had finished these words, the crowds were amazed at His teaching; for He was teaching them as one having authority, and not as their scribes” (Matthew 7:28-29) [4]. They were not amazed at any “new” teaching or idea, but with the authority of which He taught them. Usually when the scribes would teach or interpret the Torah, they would do so within the idea of a “chain of transmission”. That is, they would speak in the name of another, either their master or a well known Rabbi, to continue the link of authority that was passed down from generation to generation that was believed to have originated to the time of Moses at Mt. Sinai. For example, in the Talmud, in Berachot 5a, it reads, “Raba, in the name of R. Sahorah, in the name of R. Huna, says…” [5] However, when Yeshua taught, even though His teachings paralleled the Rabbi’s before and during His time, He only spoke in His name, showing that the authority of His teaching was entirely based on Himself, thus exceeding the authority of His contemporaries.
How then is one to understand the phrase “you have heard it said … but I say to you …”? Surprisingly, this is actually a modified form of a rabbinical method used to refute and correct an inaccurate or incomplete interpretation of a particular text or teaching to its proper understanding. The first half, “you have heard it said…” was used by the rabbis to point out what one might understand (hear) from a literal or naïve interpretation of a particular passage. Then, they would proceed to correctly interpret the passage with a phrase, “and you must say”, or, “and there is a teaching to say”. [6] Here, Yeshua modified this method by saying, “I say” to demonstrate that He had the final authority to interpret the Torah correctly. With this in mind, the Greek word for “but”, in the second part of the phrase, is de and should be more accurately translated as “and” rather than as “but”. Yeshua is not presenting a direct antithesis (as He did in 5:17 with the word “but” alla), but is simply giving a deeper and proper interpretation of Torah. The more accurate translation, “and I say to you …” not only makes more sense, but also fits with the rabbinical method of interpretation.
In conclusion, I have demonstrated clearly that nothing in Yeshua’s Sermon on the Mount diminishes or does away with any part of the Torah of Moses. Just the opposite is true. Yeshua, being the incarnate Word who authored and spoke the Torah to Moses at Mount Sinai, came with authority to give us the proper interpretation and application to the Torah. With that, I will conclude with a quote from Tim Hegg:
We may therefore conclude that both in the word Yeshua used for “fulfill,” as well as in His subsequent teaching on specific aspects of the Torah, He wants to point us to the genuine meaning of the Torah. It is not the Torah He calls deficient, but the manner in which it was being commonly taught by some of His contemporaries.
If Yeshua was teaching people that the Torah had, to one extent or another, been is understood in His day, it stands to reason that the same might be true in our times. If He was further telling them that the Torah, rightly understood, would provide a light to their path as they purposed to walk with God, His words speak the same message to us today. The challenge that lies before us is this: Can we read the Torah without placing upon the text the prejudice of nearly 2,000 years? Can we come to the Scriptures seeking to find in them the rich rewards of life God intended of His children? Not only do I hope we can, I am convinced we must. [7]
1 An Orthodox Jew, Gerald Friedlander, The Jewish Sources of The Sermon On the Mount pg 27 of the preface
2 This quote to hate one’s enemy is NOT in the Torah or any of the Scriptures (as well as Matt 5:21c). Yeshua here is quoting a common teaching held by some of the teachers or sects of Judaism of His day. This idea is in direct contraction of the Torah (Exodus 23:4-5).
3 Some have pointed to the crowd’s comments “What is this new teaching?” (Mark 1:27) or “What is this word?” (Luke 4:36) to refer to Yeshua’s teachings. However, “this word” and “new teaching” the crowds are referring to are not His teachings but to the words of the unclean spirit “You are the Holy One of God” that is in reference to Yeshua when He was casting out the spirit in the synagogue. The crowds had already commented on His teachings just prior to the casting out of the unclean spirit in Mark 1:21-22 and Luke 4:31-32.
4 cf. Mark 1:21-22; Luke 4:31-32
5 Barbara Mazzei, Jewish Hermeneutics: Yeshua’s Usage Of Hillel’s Rules Of Interpretation In Matthew, Chapters 5-7 pg 58
6 John Fisher, Yeshua and Halakah: Which Direction? Pg 8
7 Tim Hegg, It is Often Said, Volume 1 pg 58
