“Therefore do not be ashamed of the testimony of our Lord, … but share with me in the sufferings for the gospel according to the power of God, who has saved us and called us with a holy calling, not according to our works, but according to His own purpose and grace which was given to us in Christ Jesus before time began, but has now been revealed by the appearing of our Savior Jesus Christ, who has abolished death and brought life and immortality to light through the gospel”
2 Timothy 1:8-10
The following video is the closing statement from a debate between James White and George Bryson titled “Who controls Salvation”. I am a long time listener of James White and I believe this is one of the best discourses I have ever heard him speak.
I ask that you view the following video in its entirety asking yourself this question, “Can any alternative to this teaching give greater glory and honor to God for the power and accomplishment of the Gospel in the lives of believers?” The answer is obvious. For when one maintains, “To God alone goes all the Glory and Honor in Salvation”, one must also maintain “To God alone goes all the Power in Salvation”. Enjoy.
Monday, May 19, 2008
Monday, March 31, 2008
The Mondern Atheist Movement in America and James White Critique of Dawkins (Videos)
It is fashionable to wax apocalyptic about the threat to humanity posed by the AIDS virus, "mad cow" disease, and many others, but I think a case can be made that faith is one of the world's great evils, comparable to the smallpox virus but harder to eradicate.
- Richard Dawkins, The Humanist, Vol. 57, No. 1
Over the last few years I have observed a rise of discussion of atheism on the internet, TV, blogs, bookstores, etc. It would seem that atheism is beginning to make its way into popular culture and is almost becoming a fad at some levels. Many people that have become disinterested of what Americanized religion has to offer have sought alternatives in atheism and agnosticism. Unfortunately, this has happened to a few of my friends over the last few years that were at one time confessing believers. Whether we like it or not, America is heading down a slippery slope towards a secular atheistic society. As believers, we need to prepare ourselves to stand up for the Truth in order to be a light to the nation. May we never forget the words of Apostle Peter to, “set apart the Messiah as Lord in your hearts, and always be ready to give a defense to anyone who asks you a reason for the hope that is in you.” (1 Peter 3:15).
The following 2 minute video is from ABC news a few months ago. It serves as a good introduction for the following videos.
The answer to the challenge of Christopher Hitchens to name a moral action that can be performed by a believer that couldn’t be made by an unbeliever is a simple one. To fear the LORD your God, love Him, to serve Him, and walk in all His ways (Deuteronomy 10:12). Hitchens will probably not accept that answer but then he would have to come up with some kind of standard of morality that would not be subjective or arbitrary in order to refute it. That would be my challenge to him.
- Richard Dawkins, The Humanist, Vol. 57, No. 1
Over the last few years I have observed a rise of discussion of atheism on the internet, TV, blogs, bookstores, etc. It would seem that atheism is beginning to make its way into popular culture and is almost becoming a fad at some levels. Many people that have become disinterested of what Americanized religion has to offer have sought alternatives in atheism and agnosticism. Unfortunately, this has happened to a few of my friends over the last few years that were at one time confessing believers. Whether we like it or not, America is heading down a slippery slope towards a secular atheistic society. As believers, we need to prepare ourselves to stand up for the Truth in order to be a light to the nation. May we never forget the words of Apostle Peter to, “set apart the Messiah as Lord in your hearts, and always be ready to give a defense to anyone who asks you a reason for the hope that is in you.” (1 Peter 3:15).
The following 2 minute video is from ABC news a few months ago. It serves as a good introduction for the following videos.
The answer to the challenge of Christopher Hitchens to name a moral action that can be performed by a believer that couldn’t be made by an unbeliever is a simple one. To fear the LORD your God, love Him, to serve Him, and walk in all His ways (Deuteronomy 10:12). Hitchens will probably not accept that answer but then he would have to come up with some kind of standard of morality that would not be subjective or arbitrary in order to refute it. That would be my challenge to him.
This next video gives sound insight of what this new movement is doing and what the church needs to do to stand up against it.
This last video is James White critiquing Richard Dawkins during a Q&A session at the end of Dawkins presentation to college students. This is very much reflective of not only of Dawkins common reasons of theism being a delusion, but is also reflection of the frequent rhetoric seen by the modern atheist movement that is growing today.
Friday, February 15, 2008
Rediscovering Yeshua’s Sermon Pt 2 – Out with the Old in with the New?
"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
Friday, December 28, 2007
Rediscovering Yeshua’s Sermon Pt 1 – The Meaning of Fulfill
You shall not add to the word which I am commanding you, nor take away from it, that you may keep the commandments of the LORD your God which I command you.
Deuteronomy 4:2
A few months ago, I had an opportunity to dialog with two men, one of whom is a pastor. We discussed the relationship between the Torah and the believer in regards to Yeshua’s Sermon on the Mount, focusing on Matthew 5:17-20. The following statements are taken from that discussion:
It is clear that Yeshua’s purpose in coming was NOT to abolish the Torah or the Prophets. He further emphasizes this by repeating it twice. The word here for abolish is kataluo which means “to destroy,” “demolish,” and “do away with,” which was commonly used in reference to demolishing buildings (e.g. Matt 26:61) and overthrowing or replacing institutions and laws [1]. This abolishing is distinguished and contrasted with the word “fulfill”. Whatever the meaning of the word “fulfill” is, it cannot have the same meaning or impact as “abolish”. Unfortunately, this is exactly what most believers today suggest in their definition of this word. They suggest that by Yeshua “fulfilling” the Torah, believers are no longer obligated in keeping the Torah. As we have seen in the above statement, Yeshua didn’t just arbitrarily get rid of the Torah, but fulfilled it as in completing its purpose and function. Thus, as the argument goes, the Torah of Moses no longer serves as an instruction of living for the believer, which in the end, has the same impact and result as if He had abolished the Torah. This understanding however, does not add up for the following reasons: 1) it destroys or blurs the contrast between “abolish” and “fulfill” 2) it goes against Yeshua’s later statement that not even the smallest part of the Torah will pass away until heaven and earth disappear and everything is accomplished. Heaven and earth have certainly not passed away and not everything has been accomplished yet (e.g. Col 2:16-17, Heb 10:1). Therefore, it is safe to say that the words of the Torah have not disappeared from the lives of Yeshua’s followers.
What then does Yeshua mean when He said He came to fulfill the Torah and the Prophets? It is important to note that the verb “fulfill” is active and not passive which implies that it is something that He actively does. Also, perhaps looking at the parallelism between verses 17 and 19 with the words luo (i.e. break, annul; a root for kataluo - abolish) and poieo (i.e do, keep, practice) will give a proper meaning of “fulfill”:
In terms of opposites this would suggest that to “annul” the least of the commandments is to “not do” them and to “practice” them is to “do” them. Thus, to “practice” the commandments is to “fulfill” or do them properly. Messianic Rabbi, Dr. John Fischer, has found a fascinating historical meaning to these words:
One would be hard pressed to imagine that these verses indicate that all one needs to do is to love his neighbor once and is no longer obligated to do so again for he has “fulfilled” the Torah. To fulfill the Torah is to keep the Torah and keep it the way it was intended. “Thus, Yeshua was asking His disciples to understand that one of His purposes in coming as the Messiah was to expound the Torah and the Prophets both by His words and (especially) His deeds. He came to explain how one could actually do the Torah, and what the purpose of doing the Torah was. He came to exegete the Torah and Prophets in their fullness, not in a different way, but in a full and complete way – perfectly, one might say.” [3]
Yeshua continues His sermon by referring to the least of the commandments, the righteousness of the Pharisees and the Kingdom of heaven.
What exactly is Yeshua referring to by “least of these commandments”? Neither the Jews nor the Scriptures categorized the commandments in the Torah into categories (i.e. moral, civil, and ceremonial) as many believers like to do today. This artificial idea comes from a Greek mindset where this method of thinking is inclined to separate and categorize ideas. The Jews on the other hand viewed the Torah as a whole or as one singular commandment (cf. Rom 7:8-12). They distinguished the commandments, however, by raking the commandments in a hierarchical structure from light to heavy or least to greatest [4]. For example, life and justice are considered weightier commandments in the Torah than tithing. Therefore, according to Yeshua, if one wants to be considered great in the Kingdom, the lightest of commandments should not be overlooked but in fact be kept. This would imply then that He is not giving any new Laws or ideas here. He is stressing the importance of all of the commandments, even the least of them in the life of His followers. This fits with His previous statement that not the least part of the Torah should ever pass away.
What does it mean to surpass the righteousness of the Pharisees? Just as the verb “fulfill” was active, the verb tense for “surpass” is not passive, but active. This refutes the belief that passively receiving the life and righteousness of Messiah is how one is to surpass the righteousness of the Pharisees. Clearly this means it is an action that believers are to perform. To “surpass” (perisseuo) means to “excel abundantly” or “to be present in abundance". The REB translation puts it best, “I tell you, unless you show yourselves far better then the scribes and Pharisees, you can never enter the kingdom of Heaven.” It is important to note that if members of the Kingdom are to show themselves “far better” then the Pharisees who considered the Torah as a rule of living, then this would indicate that the members of the Kingdom should do more then the Pharisees and not less. In other words, rather than doing less of the commandments (only keeping the “moral” commandments for example), believers should be keeping all of the Torah better than the Pharisees in order to surpass them. This idea can hardly fit with the understanding that for Yeshua to “fulfill” the Torah His followers are no longer responsible for keeping the Torah for how will one be able to surpass the Pharisees?
What then is the connection between the Pharisees and believers keeping the least of the commandments? The answer to this can be found by understanding the objections Yeshua had with the Pharisees [5]. According to Matthew 23, the Pharisees were especially good at keeping the least of the commandments (in this case tithing) but overlooked the heavier commandments of the Torah:
Mint, dill, and cummin were insignificant garden herbs that the Torah did not obligate them to tithe. However, since they were very strict in keeping the Torah, they went beyond what was required of them to assure their righteousness in fulfilling the commandment. It is important to note that Yeshua in no way discourages them from practicing this tithe (a lighter commandment) but tells them that they should observe it without neglecting the other heavier matters of the Torah. He continues to rebuke them for displaying their righteousness outwardly to men but not inwardly to God:
Therefore, if one wants to be a follower of Yeshua and enter into the kingdom of heaven, they will have to do more than just merely keep the outward display of least of the commandments before men. To surpass the righteousness of the Pharisees cannot in any way eliminate the performance of Torah but to pursue all the commandments, both light and heavy, with a pure and whole heart towards God.
On a side note, there are those that may agree with this understanding of “fulfill” but may still object to applying the Torah to believers today. They claim that this sermon only applies to the Jewish audience Yeshua is speaking to and not to Gentiles or that this standard of living changed after the resurrection of Yeshua and the work of the Spirit at Pentecost. There are two major problems with this view point. First, this passage gives the condition of entering and not entering the Kingdom of Heaven which certainly applies to those after the resurrection. Second, this view would directly contradict the Great Commission Yeshua gave to His disciples in Matthew 28:18-20:
Clearly this view does not hold any water.
In summery, Yeshua in no way came to do way with the Torah, He in fact came to keep it and teach it as it is properly intended. Not the smallest part of the Torah will ever pass away until everything in it is completed which has yet to happen. Whoever neglects the smallest of the commandments of the Torah and teaches others to do the same is will be considered smallest in the Kingdom. Whoever keeps the smallest commandments of the Torah and teach others to keep them will be considered great in the Kingdom. However, unless one’s pursuit of righteousness reaches beyond those that neglect the greater commandments by only performing outwardly the least of the commandments before men (the Pharisees), one cannot be part of the Kingdom. Yeshua in no way shape or form came to bring a new law, new religion, or new way of living. He neither came to fulfill some of the Torah so that His followers only needed to keep only certain commandments. He came to teach and to set an example of how one is to carry out the Torah of God as it was intended.
In Part 2 we will further study the rest of Yeshua’s sermon to refute the notion that His teachings were intended to be a “new standard” of living that replaced the “old standard”. I will do this by examining what he taught and how He taught in comparison to the Teachers of the Torah in His day.
Notes:
1 http://www.biblestudytools.net/Lexicons/NewTestamentGreek/
An example of this kataluo used in reference to overthrowing or replacing institutions and laws can be found in 2 Maccabees 2:22:
“And recovered the temple famous throughout the world and freed the city and restored the laws that were about to be abolished, while the Lord with great kindness became gracious to them.”
2 Jesus Through Jewish Eyes: A Rabbi Examines The Life And Teachings Of Jesus By Rabbi John Fischer
3 Tim Hegg Yeshua’s View of the Torah, Some Preliminary Questions & Answers pg 7
4 An example of this distinction of commandments is found in the Babylonian Talmud, Tractate ‘Avoth, Ch 2.1 “Be as careful of keeping a light commandment as a heavy commandment because you do not know the reward given for the keeping of commandments”
5 It is important to remember that Yeshua did not condemn the Pharisees as a whole, but only those that were not acting in accordance with the Torah. It may have been that Yeshua was a Pharisee Himself. It is also important to realize that the rebukes in Matthew 23 to the Pharisees were not so uncommon in Judaism. There are examples in the Talmud of Rabbis saying similar or even worse criticisms to those of their own number, such as "sore spots" and "plagues" and "destroyers of the world" (Berakot 14b; Hagigah 14a; Sotah 3.4)
Deuteronomy 4:2
A few months ago, I had an opportunity to dialog with two men, one of whom is a pastor. We discussed the relationship between the Torah and the believer in regards to Yeshua’s Sermon on the Mount, focusing on Matthew 5:17-20. The following statements are taken from that discussion:
Jesus fulfilled the purpose of the Law by obeying it perfectly and thus condemning us by it. That was the purpose of the Law, and it was fulfilled in Christ. So, Jesus didn't "abolish" it, He fulfilled it, and in so doing condemned us. His perfect obedience to the Law will forever stand as a testimony to His sinlessness and our sinFULness. So, it was not abolished, but fulfilled in Christ….The Law has fulfilled its purpose… As far as how my interpretation goes with verses 19 and 20: the ceremonial, judicial, and civil laws were fulfilled in Christ. They were the shadow of what was to come, which was Christ.I believe these statements represent the common understanding of how believers today view the Torah. Is it true that the Torah has fulfilled its purpose with the coming of the Messiah and is no longer applicable to believers today? Is it merely His life in us that we are able to receive the status of exceeding the righteousness of the Pharisees to enter into the kingdom of Heaven? Let us take a closer look at this passage, starting with Matthew 5:17-18.
Jesus is referring to the Sermon on the Mount when he says, "these commandments" in Matthew 5:19. He is the life in us that keeps every one of those commandments and exceeds the righteousness of the law.
17 "Do not think that I have come to abolish the Torah or the Prophets; I have not come to abolish them but to fulfill them. 18 I tell you the truth, until heaven and earth disappear, not the smallest letter, not the least stroke of a pen, will by any means disappear from the Torah until everything is accomplished. Matthew 5:17-18
It is clear that Yeshua’s purpose in coming was NOT to abolish the Torah or the Prophets. He further emphasizes this by repeating it twice. The word here for abolish is kataluo which means “to destroy,” “demolish,” and “do away with,” which was commonly used in reference to demolishing buildings (e.g. Matt 26:61) and overthrowing or replacing institutions and laws [1]. This abolishing is distinguished and contrasted with the word “fulfill”. Whatever the meaning of the word “fulfill” is, it cannot have the same meaning or impact as “abolish”. Unfortunately, this is exactly what most believers today suggest in their definition of this word. They suggest that by Yeshua “fulfilling” the Torah, believers are no longer obligated in keeping the Torah. As we have seen in the above statement, Yeshua didn’t just arbitrarily get rid of the Torah, but fulfilled it as in completing its purpose and function. Thus, as the argument goes, the Torah of Moses no longer serves as an instruction of living for the believer, which in the end, has the same impact and result as if He had abolished the Torah. This understanding however, does not add up for the following reasons: 1) it destroys or blurs the contrast between “abolish” and “fulfill” 2) it goes against Yeshua’s later statement that not even the smallest part of the Torah will pass away until heaven and earth disappear and everything is accomplished. Heaven and earth have certainly not passed away and not everything has been accomplished yet (e.g. Col 2:16-17, Heb 10:1). Therefore, it is safe to say that the words of the Torah have not disappeared from the lives of Yeshua’s followers.
What then does Yeshua mean when He said He came to fulfill the Torah and the Prophets? It is important to note that the verb “fulfill” is active and not passive which implies that it is something that He actively does. Also, perhaps looking at the parallelism between verses 17 and 19 with the words luo (i.e. break, annul; a root for kataluo - abolish) and poieo (i.e do, keep, practice) will give a proper meaning of “fulfill”:
In terms of opposites this would suggest that to “annul” the least of the commandments is to “not do” them and to “practice” them is to “do” them. Thus, to “practice” the commandments is to “fulfill” or do them properly. Messianic Rabbi, Dr. John Fischer, has found a fascinating historical meaning to these words:As it turns out, "abolish" and "fulfill" are actually terms used at that time as part of scholarly debate and rabbinic discussion. A sage was accused of abolishing or canceling the Torah if he misinterpreted a passage, nullifying its intent. If he fulfilled it, he had properly interpreted Scripture so as to preserve and correctly explain its meaning. [2]The following verses demonstrate this use of “fulfill” as performing the Torah properly:
Owe nothing to anyone except to love one another; for he who loves his neighbor has fulfilled the Torah. Romans 13:8
Carry each other's burdens, and in this way you will fulfill the Torah of Messiah. Galatians 6:2
One would be hard pressed to imagine that these verses indicate that all one needs to do is to love his neighbor once and is no longer obligated to do so again for he has “fulfilled” the Torah. To fulfill the Torah is to keep the Torah and keep it the way it was intended. “Thus, Yeshua was asking His disciples to understand that one of His purposes in coming as the Messiah was to expound the Torah and the Prophets both by His words and (especially) His deeds. He came to explain how one could actually do the Torah, and what the purpose of doing the Torah was. He came to exegete the Torah and Prophets in their fullness, not in a different way, but in a full and complete way – perfectly, one might say.” [3]
Yeshua continues His sermon by referring to the least of the commandments, the righteousness of the Pharisees and the Kingdom of heaven.
19 "Whoever then annuls one of the least of these commandments, and teaches others to do the same, shall be called least in the kingdom of heaven; but whoever keeps and teaches them, he shall be called great in the kingdom of heaven. 20 For I say to you that unless your righteousness surpasses that of the scribes and Pharisees, you will not enter the kingdom of heaven.
What exactly is Yeshua referring to by “least of these commandments”? Neither the Jews nor the Scriptures categorized the commandments in the Torah into categories (i.e. moral, civil, and ceremonial) as many believers like to do today. This artificial idea comes from a Greek mindset where this method of thinking is inclined to separate and categorize ideas. The Jews on the other hand viewed the Torah as a whole or as one singular commandment (cf. Rom 7:8-12). They distinguished the commandments, however, by raking the commandments in a hierarchical structure from light to heavy or least to greatest [4]. For example, life and justice are considered weightier commandments in the Torah than tithing. Therefore, according to Yeshua, if one wants to be considered great in the Kingdom, the lightest of commandments should not be overlooked but in fact be kept. This would imply then that He is not giving any new Laws or ideas here. He is stressing the importance of all of the commandments, even the least of them in the life of His followers. This fits with His previous statement that not the least part of the Torah should ever pass away.
What does it mean to surpass the righteousness of the Pharisees? Just as the verb “fulfill” was active, the verb tense for “surpass” is not passive, but active. This refutes the belief that passively receiving the life and righteousness of Messiah is how one is to surpass the righteousness of the Pharisees. Clearly this means it is an action that believers are to perform. To “surpass” (perisseuo) means to “excel abundantly” or “to be present in abundance". The REB translation puts it best, “I tell you, unless you show yourselves far better then the scribes and Pharisees, you can never enter the kingdom of Heaven.” It is important to note that if members of the Kingdom are to show themselves “far better” then the Pharisees who considered the Torah as a rule of living, then this would indicate that the members of the Kingdom should do more then the Pharisees and not less. In other words, rather than doing less of the commandments (only keeping the “moral” commandments for example), believers should be keeping all of the Torah better than the Pharisees in order to surpass them. This idea can hardly fit with the understanding that for Yeshua to “fulfill” the Torah His followers are no longer responsible for keeping the Torah for how will one be able to surpass the Pharisees?
What then is the connection between the Pharisees and believers keeping the least of the commandments? The answer to this can be found by understanding the objections Yeshua had with the Pharisees [5]. According to Matthew 23, the Pharisees were especially good at keeping the least of the commandments (in this case tithing) but overlooked the heavier commandments of the Torah:
23 "Woe to you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! For you tithe mint and dill and cummin, and have neglected the weightier provisions of the Torah: justice and mercy and faithfulness; but these are the things you should have done without neglecting the others. 24 "You blind guides, who strain out a gnat and swallow a camel! Matthew 23:23-24
Mint, dill, and cummin were insignificant garden herbs that the Torah did not obligate them to tithe. However, since they were very strict in keeping the Torah, they went beyond what was required of them to assure their righteousness in fulfilling the commandment. It is important to note that Yeshua in no way discourages them from practicing this tithe (a lighter commandment) but tells them that they should observe it without neglecting the other heavier matters of the Torah. He continues to rebuke them for displaying their righteousness outwardly to men but not inwardly to God:
25 Woe to you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! For you clean the outside of the cup and of the dish, but inside they are full of robbery and self-indulgence. 26 "You blind Pharisee, first clean the inside of the cup and of the dish, so that the outside of it may become clean also. 27 "Woe to you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! For you are like whitewashed tombs which on the outside appear beautiful, but inside they are full of dead men's bones and all uncleanness. 28 "So you, too, outwardly appear righteous to men, but inwardly you are full of hypocrisy and lawlessness. Matthew 23:25-28
Therefore, if one wants to be a follower of Yeshua and enter into the kingdom of heaven, they will have to do more than just merely keep the outward display of least of the commandments before men. To surpass the righteousness of the Pharisees cannot in any way eliminate the performance of Torah but to pursue all the commandments, both light and heavy, with a pure and whole heart towards God.
On a side note, there are those that may agree with this understanding of “fulfill” but may still object to applying the Torah to believers today. They claim that this sermon only applies to the Jewish audience Yeshua is speaking to and not to Gentiles or that this standard of living changed after the resurrection of Yeshua and the work of the Spirit at Pentecost. There are two major problems with this view point. First, this passage gives the condition of entering and not entering the Kingdom of Heaven which certainly applies to those after the resurrection. Second, this view would directly contradict the Great Commission Yeshua gave to His disciples in Matthew 28:18-20:
18 And Jesus came up and spoke to them, saying, "All authority has been given to Me in heaven and on earth. 19 "Go therefore and make disciples of all the nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and the Son and the Holy Spirit, 20 teaching them to observe all that I commanded you.
Clearly this view does not hold any water.
In summery, Yeshua in no way came to do way with the Torah, He in fact came to keep it and teach it as it is properly intended. Not the smallest part of the Torah will ever pass away until everything in it is completed which has yet to happen. Whoever neglects the smallest of the commandments of the Torah and teaches others to do the same is will be considered smallest in the Kingdom. Whoever keeps the smallest commandments of the Torah and teach others to keep them will be considered great in the Kingdom. However, unless one’s pursuit of righteousness reaches beyond those that neglect the greater commandments by only performing outwardly the least of the commandments before men (the Pharisees), one cannot be part of the Kingdom. Yeshua in no way shape or form came to bring a new law, new religion, or new way of living. He neither came to fulfill some of the Torah so that His followers only needed to keep only certain commandments. He came to teach and to set an example of how one is to carry out the Torah of God as it was intended.
In Part 2 we will further study the rest of Yeshua’s sermon to refute the notion that His teachings were intended to be a “new standard” of living that replaced the “old standard”. I will do this by examining what he taught and how He taught in comparison to the Teachers of the Torah in His day.
Notes:
1 http://www.biblestudytools.net/Lexicons/NewTestamentGreek/
An example of this kataluo used in reference to overthrowing or replacing institutions and laws can be found in 2 Maccabees 2:22:
“And recovered the temple famous throughout the world and freed the city and restored the laws that were about to be abolished, while the Lord with great kindness became gracious to them.”
2 Jesus Through Jewish Eyes: A Rabbi Examines The Life And Teachings Of Jesus By Rabbi John Fischer
3 Tim Hegg Yeshua’s View of the Torah, Some Preliminary Questions & Answers pg 7
4 An example of this distinction of commandments is found in the Babylonian Talmud, Tractate ‘Avoth, Ch 2.1 “Be as careful of keeping a light commandment as a heavy commandment because you do not know the reward given for the keeping of commandments”
5 It is important to remember that Yeshua did not condemn the Pharisees as a whole, but only those that were not acting in accordance with the Torah. It may have been that Yeshua was a Pharisee Himself. It is also important to realize that the rebukes in Matthew 23 to the Pharisees were not so uncommon in Judaism. There are examples in the Talmud of Rabbis saying similar or even worse criticisms to those of their own number, such as "sore spots" and "plagues" and "destroyers of the world" (Berakot 14b; Hagigah 14a; Sotah 3.4)
Wednesday, October 24, 2007
Creationism, The Council of Europe, and Ben Stein’s movie “Expelled” (Video)
“With me, the horrid doubt always arises whether the convictions of man's mind, which has been developed from the mind of the lower animals, are of any value or at all trustworthy. Would any one trust in the convictions of a monkey's mind, if there are any convictions in such a mind...?"
-Charles Darwin [1]
Youtube link
For more info on the upcoming movie go to http://www.expelledthemovie.com/
The following blog post from James White's website fits well what Ben Stein is talking about:
10/10/2007
James R. White
We saw just recently that the Council of Europe (part of the EU) put forward document 11375 (17/9/2007 -- in European date order, which makes more sense, in this case, than the standard US format) titled "The dangers of creationism in education." The document can be found here. There is no room for debate, no room for discussion or dispute, as the document begins with its summary, "Creationism in any of its forms, such as 'intelligent design', is not based on facts, does not use any scientific reasoning and its contents are definitely inappropriate for science classes." Well there you go! That settles it! Just as Rome attempted to silence criticism of its own misunderstandings centuries ago in Europe, no one seems to have learned a thing during the intervening centuries. While once it was religious bigotry that stifled the very ability of man to speak and debate and argue and disagree, now the secularist bigots have taken control, and they are just as intent upon stifling free speech and the expression of opposing viewpoints as ever their religious ancestors did. Dogmatically committed to Darwinism with a fervor of faith beyond almost anything known today in European "Christianity," the Secular Kingdom of Europe has firmly established its credentials as hating God's law, hating God's Word, and hating God's truth. You will love homosexuality, abortion, and everything else that eats at the soul of man, or you will be an outcast, and feel the brunt of the heel of the kingdom's boot. Of course, secularist Europe cannot withstand the onslaught of Islam, for the secularist is concerned only about himself or herself, and hence simply does not reproduce. So this monument to man's hatred of God will be washed away in short order by the natural reproduction rates of the immigrant Islamic populations, and the work of persecuting Christians, begun by the secularist regimes, will fall to those with far more experience in that field.
There are so many contradictions and absurdities in the Council of Europe document that it takes one's breath away. It is a monument to dogmatic secularistic fundamentalism. It does not even show a passing familiarity with the key issues in the debate, but, how could it? Darwinists do not want their theory debated. They want it obeyed. Period.
[1] The Life and Letters of Charles Darwin Including an Autobiographical Chapter, ed. Francis Darwin (London: John Murray, Albermarle Street, 1887), Volume 1, pp. 315-316.
-Charles Darwin [1]
Youtube link
For more info on the upcoming movie go to http://www.expelledthemovie.com/
The following blog post from James White's website fits well what Ben Stein is talking about:
10/10/2007
James R. White
We saw just recently that the Council of Europe (part of the EU) put forward document 11375 (17/9/2007 -- in European date order, which makes more sense, in this case, than the standard US format) titled "The dangers of creationism in education." The document can be found here. There is no room for debate, no room for discussion or dispute, as the document begins with its summary, "Creationism in any of its forms, such as 'intelligent design', is not based on facts, does not use any scientific reasoning and its contents are definitely inappropriate for science classes." Well there you go! That settles it! Just as Rome attempted to silence criticism of its own misunderstandings centuries ago in Europe, no one seems to have learned a thing during the intervening centuries. While once it was religious bigotry that stifled the very ability of man to speak and debate and argue and disagree, now the secularist bigots have taken control, and they are just as intent upon stifling free speech and the expression of opposing viewpoints as ever their religious ancestors did. Dogmatically committed to Darwinism with a fervor of faith beyond almost anything known today in European "Christianity," the Secular Kingdom of Europe has firmly established its credentials as hating God's law, hating God's Word, and hating God's truth. You will love homosexuality, abortion, and everything else that eats at the soul of man, or you will be an outcast, and feel the brunt of the heel of the kingdom's boot. Of course, secularist Europe cannot withstand the onslaught of Islam, for the secularist is concerned only about himself or herself, and hence simply does not reproduce. So this monument to man's hatred of God will be washed away in short order by the natural reproduction rates of the immigrant Islamic populations, and the work of persecuting Christians, begun by the secularist regimes, will fall to those with far more experience in that field.
There are so many contradictions and absurdities in the Council of Europe document that it takes one's breath away. It is a monument to dogmatic secularistic fundamentalism. It does not even show a passing familiarity with the key issues in the debate, but, how could it? Darwinists do not want their theory debated. They want it obeyed. Period.
[1] The Life and Letters of Charles Darwin Including an Autobiographical Chapter, ed. Francis Darwin (London: John Murray, Albermarle Street, 1887), Volume 1, pp. 315-316.
Tuesday, September 25, 2007
What is so OLD about the old covenant?
“Apart from the Spirit of God, the Torah is only letters without life-giving power. But when the Spirit writes the Torah upon the heart, those same letters reveal Yeshua, and through faith bring life. The Spirit does not act independently of the letter. On the contrary, the Scriptures are His primary tool to birth the soul to life in Messiah.”
-Tim Hegg
In my last essay, I explained what was so “new” in the new covenant. The new covenant in Jeremiah 31:31-34 is not a new covenant because Israel’s responsibilities are new; but instead, because of God’s new promises, all of Israel will have a new and different response – faith and obedience. The newness isn’t in Israel’s responsibilities, but in her response. Thus, because her responsibilities are not new, but renewed in the heart, the covenant should be understood as a “renewed covenant”. This new covenant predicts a time when God will cause all of Israel to be: 1) gathered together as one nation 2) faithful to His covenant 3) forgiven through faith in Messiah and thus “all of Israel will be saved”. However, I briefly touched on the idea that individual believers in every generation can enter in as members of the new covenant by being first-fruits of the future harvest of Israel. Because this is the new covenant, one should ask, “What was the old covenant”? To answer this question, it is best to visit the parts of Scripture that speak about the old covenant. Remarkably, the phase “old covenant” is only found once in all of Scripture – 2 Corinthians 3:14. Let’s examine this chapter to find what exactly is so “old” about the old covenant.
Context of the letter of 2 Corinthians
In Paul’s second letter to the Corinthians, his primary purpose for writing is to defend his ministry. Apparently, there were those at Corinth who had attacked and challenged his ministry and were questioning his credentials to be a qualified apostle. This was probably due to the fact that he was very successful in bringing Gentiles to faith in Messiah. It is in the third chapter of this letter that Paul compares the ministry of old covenant with his ministry of the new covenant.
2 Corinthians 3
1 Are we beginning to commend ourselves again? Or do we need, as some, letters of commendation to you or from you? 2 You are our letter, written in our hearts, known and read by all men; 3 being manifested that you are a letter of Christ, cared for by us, written not with ink but with the Spirit of the living God, not on tablets of stone but on tablets of human hearts. 4 Such confidence we have through Christ toward God.
Those who were against Paul’s ministry may have been trying to discredit his ministry by claiming that he didn’t have letters of recommendation to validate his ministry. Here, Paul uses imagery of letters written on hearts rather than letters written with ink. The proof of his ministry is in the changed lives to whom he ministered. They went from idolatry to serve the one and true living God. Paul and his readers can be confident in the legitimacy of his ministry because of the Corinthians’ changed lives. Notice the connection when he is contrasting ink and the tablets of stone with the Spirit and tablets of human hearts. Ink is what man uses to write with, while the Spirit is what God uses to write with. The “tablets of stone” is where God wrote the Torah the first time at Mt. Sinai and “tablets of human hearts” is where God writes the Torah the second time in the renewed covenant.
5 Not that we are adequate in ourselves to consider anything as {coming} from ourselves, but our adequacy is from God, 6 who also made us adequate {as} servants of a new covenant, not of the letter but of the Spirit; for the letter kills, but the Spirit gives life.
What exactly does Paul mean by, “not of the letter but of the Spirit; for the letter kills, but the Spirit gives life”? Is he saying that the Torah (letter) is opposed to the Spirit of life? Not at all! Remember the new covenant is the Spirit writing the Torah on the heart that produces obedience. What exactly then is the letter that kills? The letter is the Torah written externally on “tablets of stone” without being written internally on “tablets of hearts” by the Spirit of God. When a person attempts to keep Torah (write with ink) without the Spirit, it can only result in condemnation (kills), for without the Sprit, obedience is impossible (Romans 8:4-8). God is able to make Paul an adequate servant of the new covenant because it is God who writes on the heart.
7 But if the ministry of death, in letters engraved on stones, came with glory, so that the sons of Israel could not look intently at the face of Moses because of the glory of his face, fading {as} it was [literally: being made ineffective], 8 how will the ministry of the Spirit fail to be even more with glory? 9 For if the ministry of condemnation has glory, much more does the ministry of righteousness abound in glory.
Here Paul says that the ministry of death and condemnation are the letters written on stones. He is certainly referring to the Torah God gave to Moses on Mt Sinai, for the Ten Commandments (the summery of Torah) was written with the finger of God on stones. However, by emphasizing that the Torah were “letters engraved on stones,” Paul is not saying that the Torah itself is the ministry of death, but instead, the Torah written externally (only written on stone) is the ministry of death. The ministry that brings righteousness (and life) is the ministry of the Spirit (writing the Torah on the heart). The glory of the face of Moses is referring to the time when Moses’ face was radiant with glory (because he was speaking with the Lord) as he came off the mountain with the two (stone) tablets (Exodus 34:29-35). After Moses would speak to the people about everything the Lord had commanded, he would put a veil over his face to hide the light (or glory) on his face until he would enter the Lord’s presence. Some translations use the word “fading” to translate the Greek word katargeo, here in verse 7 (and in 11, 13 and 14), but this is a poor translation [1]. Katargeo means “to render ineffective,” “to annul,” “to do away with,” but it never means, “to pass or fade away” [2]. This is important to Paul’s point; it is because of the veil that was put over Moses face that this glory is made “ineffective”.
10 For indeed what had glory, in this case has no glory because of the glory that surpasses {it.} 11 For if that which fades away [literally: being made ineffective] {was} with glory, much more that which remains {is} in glory.
Paul is continuing to use his rabbinic argument, “minor to major” (kal va-khomer) to teach that the ministry of righteousness surpasses the glory of the ministry of death. Why does the ministry of righteousness surpass the ministry of death? This is because, as we will see later, the glory in the ministry of the Spirit remains and is not hidden by a veil (unlike the glory on Moses’ face).
12 Therefore having such a hope, we use great boldness in {our} speech, 13 and {are} not like Moses, {who} used to put a veil over his face so that the sons of Israel would not look intently at the end [or goal] of what was fading away [literally: being made ineffective].
Why does Paul have hope and uses great boldness of speech in verse 12? Because, unlike Moses’ ministry, his ministry does not hide the glory of the Torah with a veil in order to make the goal [3] of the Torah ineffective. What then is the goal and glory of the Torah? It is the Messiah Himself who is the image of God [4]. By Moses putting a veil over his face, we are to learn that the purpose and glory of the Torah, which is the Messiah, was made ineffective to Moses’ listeners and therefore his ministry was a ministry of condemnation.
14 But their minds were hardened; for until this very day at the reading of the old covenant the same veil remains unlifted, because it is removed [literally: being done away with] in Christ. 15 But to this day whenever Moses is read, a veil lies over their heart; 16 but whenever a person turns to the Lord, the veil is taken away.
Now we arrive to the phrase “old covenant” that is only found here in the Scriptures. What is being read that he calls the “old covenant”? It is the Torah given to Moses. He makes this connection in verse 15 when he said, “whenever Moses is read”. Someone might argue, “Well there you have it, you just admitted that the old covenant is the Torah and that it is a ministry of death, therefore we don’t need to keep Torah”. However, that would be an incorrect conclusion. In order to get a proper meaning of the phrase “old covenant”, it would be best to find out what it means in light of the point of Moses putting a veil over his face and its connection with “their minds were hardened”. It is important to see that verse 14 and verses 15 and 16 are saying the same thing but in different ways. Notice the parallel statements between vs. 14 and vs. 15-16:
What can we conclude from this? The reading of the old covenant in verse 14 refers to reading the Torah with a veil and thus reading the Torah without seeing the glory of Messiah. The only time that the phrase “old covenant” is used in scripture is used in connection with reading the Torah (the letters) without Messiah (without the Spirit). Remember, Paul is contrasting the new covenant ministry is with the old covenant ministry. Paul described his new covenant ministry in verse 6 by writing: “[God] who also made us adequate {as} servants of a new covenant, not of the letter but of the Spirit; for the letter kills, but the Spirit gives life”. If the new covenant describes the covenant in which one has a renewed life empowered by the Spirit of God writing on the heart (i.e. regeneration), what is the old covenant? It must describe life in the covenant before the Spirit writes on the heart. That is, the old covenant describes the Torah being obeyed without Messiah and thus obeyed in one’s own strength (i.e. unregenerate person). This is why Paul uses the word “old” to describe the covenant in vs. 14. In all of his letters, Paul uses the word “old” primarily to mean the “old self,” that is, the life before faith in the Messiah. Here are a few examples in which he contrasts “old” and “new” [5]:
2 Corinthians 5:17 Therefore if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creature; the old things passed away; behold, new things have come.
1 Corinthians 5:7-8 Purge out therefore the old leaven, that ye may be a new lump, as ye are unleavened. For even Christ our passover is sacrificed for us: 8 Therefore let us keep the feast, not with old leaven, neither with the leaven of malice and wickedness; but with the unleavened [bread] of sincerity and truth.
Colossians 3:9-10 Do not lie to one another, since you laid aside the old self with its evil practices, 10 and have put on the new self who is being renewed to a true knowledge according to the image of the One who created him.
Notice that “old” doesn’t refer to one’s responsibilities or certain commandments in a past dispensation that no longer apply for believers today. Instead, “old” refers to the unregenerate one. It refers to one’s evil inclinations and disobedience. Similarly, the old covenant doesn’t describe a body of scriptures (Torah) that do not apply for believers. Paul himself teaches in 2 Timothy 3:16 that “All scripture [is] given by inspiration of God, and [is] profitable for doctrine, for reproof, for correction, for instruction in righteousness." There is no doubt that the Torah is included in this body of scripture [6]. The phrase “old covenant” instead describes the covenant made at Sinai the way God described it in Jeremiah 31:32 – “a covenant in which they broke.” That is, “old covenant” describes the old and disobedient response to the covenant made at Sinai [7]. Therefore, when one reads the Torah (the covenant made at Sinai) without the gift of faith, having the glory of Messiah hidden by the veil over one’s heart, the Torah functions as an “old covenant” to him. However, when one reads the same Torah with the gift of faith and with the veil removed having the glory of the Messiah shine forth, it is a “new covenant” to him.
17 Now the Lord is the Spirit, and where the Spirit of the Lord is, {there} is liberty. 18 But we all, with unveiled face, beholding as in a mirror the glory of the Lord, are being transformed into the same image from glory to glory, just as from the Lord, the Spirit.
What is this liberty that the Spirit brings? Some have said it is freedom from the Torah, which it no longer needs to be obeyed. However, that is not what the passage says. This liberty is freedom from the veil to see the glory of Messiah, thus being set free from the old man, sin, condemnation, and death. The believer is now free to love God with his heart and obey His commandments and the result – being transformed into the image of the Messiah from glory to glory.
4:1 Therefore, since we have this ministry, as we received mercy, we do not lose heart, 2 but we have renounced the things hidden because of shame, not walking in craftiness or adulterating the word of God, but by the manifestation of truth commend ourselves to every man's conscience in the sight of God.
Paul continues his message about the ministries of death and life that he began in 2 Corinthians 2:15-3:1. Because he has received this ministry of life (the new covenant) by the mercy of God, he does not corrupt the word of God by using deceitfulness and craftiness to bring others to his ministry, unlike his accusers. The success of his ministry is measured not by man’s carnal judgment, but the clear presentation of the truth to man’s conscience in the site of God.
3 And even if our gospel is veiled, it is veiled to those who are perishing, 4 in whose case the god of this world has blinded the minds of the unbelieving so that they might not see the light of the gospel of the glory of Christ, who is the image of God.
The imagery of the veil has applied to Moses, to the glory, and to the Lord Messiah. Now it is applied to the Gospel. The unbelieving perish not as a result of Paul’s ministry, but because the god of this world blinds them from the light of the Gospel. Here, Paul plainly states that the light and the glory is in fact the Messiah.
5 For we do not preach ourselves but Christ Jesus as Lord, and ourselves as your bond-servants for Jesus' sake. 6 For God, who said, "Light shall shine out of darkness," is the One who has shone in our hearts to give the Light of the knowledge of the glory of God in the face of Christ.
Paul again emphasizes that he is only a servant and that it is not for his glory that he seeks to gain, but his master’s, Yeshua Messiah. It is God alone who has removed the darkness (old covenant) and caused the light of Messiah to shine in their hearts (new covenant). It is in beholding the face of Messiah unveiled that forgiveness, righteousness, and the glory of God can only be found.
Conclusion
So, what is so “old” about the old covenant? It’s the old nature and response to God and to His Covenant. It’s life without Messiah and God’s forgiveness. It’s the Torah written on stone and not on the heart. It’s the response of disobedience and faithlessness. It’s the punishment of condemnation and death. It’s to live life veiled without the glory and righteousness of Messiah. Therefore, the newness in the new covenant is the new nature and the response to God and His covenant. It’s life with Messiah and with God’s forgiveness. It’s the Torah written on the heart. It’s the response of obedience and faithfulness. It is the reward of righteousness and life. It’s to live life unveiled, beholding the glory of Messiah. “For the “old’ and “new” are not time-bound, they are faith-bound.”[8] It is in this way that every believer, both Jew and Gentile, in every generation becomes the first-fruits of the future harvest of Israel, when King Yeshua will rule over all His people in the Land under a united kingdom of God and all His people will know Him from the least to the greatest of them [9].
Notes
1 Nowhere in Exodus 34:29-35 is the idea that the glory of Moses’ face faded away.
2 Nowhere else in the Apostolic Writings is katargeo used to mean fading. Luke 13:7; Rom 3:3; 3:31; Rom. 4:14; Rom. 6:6; Rom. 7:2; Rom 7:6; 1 Cr. 1:28; 2:6; 6:13; 13:8, 10, 11; 15:24, 26; Gal. 3:17; 5:4, 11; Eph. 2:15; 2 Th. 2:8; 2 Ti. 1:10
3 Here the Greek word for "end" is telos and should be understood as goal, aim, or purpose as also seen in Romans 10:4. This is where we get the words "telephone" and "telegraph".
4 2 Corinthians 4:4; Romans 10:4
5 All other times Paul uses the term “old”: Rom 6:6; Eph 4:22-24
6 One should note that every usage of the term “scripture” used by Paul (and the other disciples) is always used to refer to the Hebrew Scriptures (Romans 4:3; 9:17; 10:11; 11:2, Galatians 3:8, 22; 4:30; 1 Timothy 5:18).
7 Moses also describes the “old covenant” in Deuteronomy 29:3-4; 31:16-18. Notice to connection with their disobedience and the LORD hiding His face (Glory).
8 Tim Hegg The Letter Writer: Paul’s background and Torah Perspective pg 252
9 Deuteronomy 30:1-10; Jeremiah 31:31-34; Ezekiel 36:24-28; 37:21-28
A special thanks to my friend Ryan in his help in editing this essay
-Tim Hegg
In my last essay, I explained what was so “new” in the new covenant. The new covenant in Jeremiah 31:31-34 is not a new covenant because Israel’s responsibilities are new; but instead, because of God’s new promises, all of Israel will have a new and different response – faith and obedience. The newness isn’t in Israel’s responsibilities, but in her response. Thus, because her responsibilities are not new, but renewed in the heart, the covenant should be understood as a “renewed covenant”. This new covenant predicts a time when God will cause all of Israel to be: 1) gathered together as one nation 2) faithful to His covenant 3) forgiven through faith in Messiah and thus “all of Israel will be saved”. However, I briefly touched on the idea that individual believers in every generation can enter in as members of the new covenant by being first-fruits of the future harvest of Israel. Because this is the new covenant, one should ask, “What was the old covenant”? To answer this question, it is best to visit the parts of Scripture that speak about the old covenant. Remarkably, the phase “old covenant” is only found once in all of Scripture – 2 Corinthians 3:14. Let’s examine this chapter to find what exactly is so “old” about the old covenant.
Context of the letter of 2 Corinthians
In Paul’s second letter to the Corinthians, his primary purpose for writing is to defend his ministry. Apparently, there were those at Corinth who had attacked and challenged his ministry and were questioning his credentials to be a qualified apostle. This was probably due to the fact that he was very successful in bringing Gentiles to faith in Messiah. It is in the third chapter of this letter that Paul compares the ministry of old covenant with his ministry of the new covenant.
2 Corinthians 3
1 Are we beginning to commend ourselves again? Or do we need, as some, letters of commendation to you or from you? 2 You are our letter, written in our hearts, known and read by all men; 3 being manifested that you are a letter of Christ, cared for by us, written not with ink but with the Spirit of the living God, not on tablets of stone but on tablets of human hearts. 4 Such confidence we have through Christ toward God.
Those who were against Paul’s ministry may have been trying to discredit his ministry by claiming that he didn’t have letters of recommendation to validate his ministry. Here, Paul uses imagery of letters written on hearts rather than letters written with ink. The proof of his ministry is in the changed lives to whom he ministered. They went from idolatry to serve the one and true living God. Paul and his readers can be confident in the legitimacy of his ministry because of the Corinthians’ changed lives. Notice the connection when he is contrasting ink and the tablets of stone with the Spirit and tablets of human hearts. Ink is what man uses to write with, while the Spirit is what God uses to write with. The “tablets of stone” is where God wrote the Torah the first time at Mt. Sinai and “tablets of human hearts” is where God writes the Torah the second time in the renewed covenant.
5 Not that we are adequate in ourselves to consider anything as {coming} from ourselves, but our adequacy is from God, 6 who also made us adequate {as} servants of a new covenant, not of the letter but of the Spirit; for the letter kills, but the Spirit gives life.
What exactly does Paul mean by, “not of the letter but of the Spirit; for the letter kills, but the Spirit gives life”? Is he saying that the Torah (letter) is opposed to the Spirit of life? Not at all! Remember the new covenant is the Spirit writing the Torah on the heart that produces obedience. What exactly then is the letter that kills? The letter is the Torah written externally on “tablets of stone” without being written internally on “tablets of hearts” by the Spirit of God. When a person attempts to keep Torah (write with ink) without the Spirit, it can only result in condemnation (kills), for without the Sprit, obedience is impossible (Romans 8:4-8). God is able to make Paul an adequate servant of the new covenant because it is God who writes on the heart.
7 But if the ministry of death, in letters engraved on stones, came with glory, so that the sons of Israel could not look intently at the face of Moses because of the glory of his face, fading {as} it was [literally: being made ineffective], 8 how will the ministry of the Spirit fail to be even more with glory? 9 For if the ministry of condemnation has glory, much more does the ministry of righteousness abound in glory.
Here Paul says that the ministry of death and condemnation are the letters written on stones. He is certainly referring to the Torah God gave to Moses on Mt Sinai, for the Ten Commandments (the summery of Torah) was written with the finger of God on stones. However, by emphasizing that the Torah were “letters engraved on stones,” Paul is not saying that the Torah itself is the ministry of death, but instead, the Torah written externally (only written on stone) is the ministry of death. The ministry that brings righteousness (and life) is the ministry of the Spirit (writing the Torah on the heart). The glory of the face of Moses is referring to the time when Moses’ face was radiant with glory (because he was speaking with the Lord) as he came off the mountain with the two (stone) tablets (Exodus 34:29-35). After Moses would speak to the people about everything the Lord had commanded, he would put a veil over his face to hide the light (or glory) on his face until he would enter the Lord’s presence. Some translations use the word “fading” to translate the Greek word katargeo, here in verse 7 (and in 11, 13 and 14), but this is a poor translation [1]. Katargeo means “to render ineffective,” “to annul,” “to do away with,” but it never means, “to pass or fade away” [2]. This is important to Paul’s point; it is because of the veil that was put over Moses face that this glory is made “ineffective”.
10 For indeed what had glory, in this case has no glory because of the glory that surpasses {it.} 11 For if that which fades away [literally: being made ineffective] {was} with glory, much more that which remains {is} in glory.
Paul is continuing to use his rabbinic argument, “minor to major” (kal va-khomer) to teach that the ministry of righteousness surpasses the glory of the ministry of death. Why does the ministry of righteousness surpass the ministry of death? This is because, as we will see later, the glory in the ministry of the Spirit remains and is not hidden by a veil (unlike the glory on Moses’ face).
12 Therefore having such a hope, we use great boldness in {our} speech, 13 and {are} not like Moses, {who} used to put a veil over his face so that the sons of Israel would not look intently at the end [or goal] of what was fading away [literally: being made ineffective].
Why does Paul have hope and uses great boldness of speech in verse 12? Because, unlike Moses’ ministry, his ministry does not hide the glory of the Torah with a veil in order to make the goal [3] of the Torah ineffective. What then is the goal and glory of the Torah? It is the Messiah Himself who is the image of God [4]. By Moses putting a veil over his face, we are to learn that the purpose and glory of the Torah, which is the Messiah, was made ineffective to Moses’ listeners and therefore his ministry was a ministry of condemnation.
14 But their minds were hardened; for until this very day at the reading of the old covenant the same veil remains unlifted, because it is removed [literally: being done away with] in Christ. 15 But to this day whenever Moses is read, a veil lies over their heart; 16 but whenever a person turns to the Lord, the veil is taken away.
Now we arrive to the phrase “old covenant” that is only found here in the Scriptures. What is being read that he calls the “old covenant”? It is the Torah given to Moses. He makes this connection in verse 15 when he said, “whenever Moses is read”. Someone might argue, “Well there you have it, you just admitted that the old covenant is the Torah and that it is a ministry of death, therefore we don’t need to keep Torah”. However, that would be an incorrect conclusion. In order to get a proper meaning of the phrase “old covenant”, it would be best to find out what it means in light of the point of Moses putting a veil over his face and its connection with “their minds were hardened”. It is important to see that verse 14 and verses 15 and 16 are saying the same thing but in different ways. Notice the parallel statements between vs. 14 and vs. 15-16:
| Verse 14 | Verses 15-16 |
| “their minds were hardened…the same veil remains unlifted” | “a veil lies over their heart” |
| “until this very day” | “But to this day” |
| “at the reading of the old covenant” | “whenever Moses is read” |
| “because it is removed in Christ” | “whenever a person turns to the Lord, the veil is taken away” |
What can we conclude from this? The reading of the old covenant in verse 14 refers to reading the Torah with a veil and thus reading the Torah without seeing the glory of Messiah. The only time that the phrase “old covenant” is used in scripture is used in connection with reading the Torah (the letters) without Messiah (without the Spirit). Remember, Paul is contrasting the new covenant ministry is with the old covenant ministry. Paul described his new covenant ministry in verse 6 by writing: “[God] who also made us adequate {as} servants of a new covenant, not of the letter but of the Spirit; for the letter kills, but the Spirit gives life”. If the new covenant describes the covenant in which one has a renewed life empowered by the Spirit of God writing on the heart (i.e. regeneration), what is the old covenant? It must describe life in the covenant before the Spirit writes on the heart. That is, the old covenant describes the Torah being obeyed without Messiah and thus obeyed in one’s own strength (i.e. unregenerate person). This is why Paul uses the word “old” to describe the covenant in vs. 14. In all of his letters, Paul uses the word “old” primarily to mean the “old self,” that is, the life before faith in the Messiah. Here are a few examples in which he contrasts “old” and “new” [5]:
2 Corinthians 5:17 Therefore if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creature; the old things passed away; behold, new things have come.
1 Corinthians 5:7-8 Purge out therefore the old leaven, that ye may be a new lump, as ye are unleavened. For even Christ our passover is sacrificed for us: 8 Therefore let us keep the feast, not with old leaven, neither with the leaven of malice and wickedness; but with the unleavened [bread] of sincerity and truth.
Colossians 3:9-10 Do not lie to one another, since you laid aside the old self with its evil practices, 10 and have put on the new self who is being renewed to a true knowledge according to the image of the One who created him.
Notice that “old” doesn’t refer to one’s responsibilities or certain commandments in a past dispensation that no longer apply for believers today. Instead, “old” refers to the unregenerate one. It refers to one’s evil inclinations and disobedience. Similarly, the old covenant doesn’t describe a body of scriptures (Torah) that do not apply for believers. Paul himself teaches in 2 Timothy 3:16 that “All scripture [is] given by inspiration of God, and [is] profitable for doctrine, for reproof, for correction, for instruction in righteousness." There is no doubt that the Torah is included in this body of scripture [6]. The phrase “old covenant” instead describes the covenant made at Sinai the way God described it in Jeremiah 31:32 – “a covenant in which they broke.” That is, “old covenant” describes the old and disobedient response to the covenant made at Sinai [7]. Therefore, when one reads the Torah (the covenant made at Sinai) without the gift of faith, having the glory of Messiah hidden by the veil over one’s heart, the Torah functions as an “old covenant” to him. However, when one reads the same Torah with the gift of faith and with the veil removed having the glory of the Messiah shine forth, it is a “new covenant” to him.
17 Now the Lord is the Spirit, and where the Spirit of the Lord is, {there} is liberty. 18 But we all, with unveiled face, beholding as in a mirror the glory of the Lord, are being transformed into the same image from glory to glory, just as from the Lord, the Spirit.
What is this liberty that the Spirit brings? Some have said it is freedom from the Torah, which it no longer needs to be obeyed. However, that is not what the passage says. This liberty is freedom from the veil to see the glory of Messiah, thus being set free from the old man, sin, condemnation, and death. The believer is now free to love God with his heart and obey His commandments and the result – being transformed into the image of the Messiah from glory to glory.
4:1 Therefore, since we have this ministry, as we received mercy, we do not lose heart, 2 but we have renounced the things hidden because of shame, not walking in craftiness or adulterating the word of God, but by the manifestation of truth commend ourselves to every man's conscience in the sight of God.
Paul continues his message about the ministries of death and life that he began in 2 Corinthians 2:15-3:1. Because he has received this ministry of life (the new covenant) by the mercy of God, he does not corrupt the word of God by using deceitfulness and craftiness to bring others to his ministry, unlike his accusers. The success of his ministry is measured not by man’s carnal judgment, but the clear presentation of the truth to man’s conscience in the site of God.
3 And even if our gospel is veiled, it is veiled to those who are perishing, 4 in whose case the god of this world has blinded the minds of the unbelieving so that they might not see the light of the gospel of the glory of Christ, who is the image of God.
The imagery of the veil has applied to Moses, to the glory, and to the Lord Messiah. Now it is applied to the Gospel. The unbelieving perish not as a result of Paul’s ministry, but because the god of this world blinds them from the light of the Gospel. Here, Paul plainly states that the light and the glory is in fact the Messiah.
5 For we do not preach ourselves but Christ Jesus as Lord, and ourselves as your bond-servants for Jesus' sake. 6 For God, who said, "Light shall shine out of darkness," is the One who has shone in our hearts to give the Light of the knowledge of the glory of God in the face of Christ.
Paul again emphasizes that he is only a servant and that it is not for his glory that he seeks to gain, but his master’s, Yeshua Messiah. It is God alone who has removed the darkness (old covenant) and caused the light of Messiah to shine in their hearts (new covenant). It is in beholding the face of Messiah unveiled that forgiveness, righteousness, and the glory of God can only be found.
Conclusion
So, what is so “old” about the old covenant? It’s the old nature and response to God and to His Covenant. It’s life without Messiah and God’s forgiveness. It’s the Torah written on stone and not on the heart. It’s the response of disobedience and faithlessness. It’s the punishment of condemnation and death. It’s to live life veiled without the glory and righteousness of Messiah. Therefore, the newness in the new covenant is the new nature and the response to God and His covenant. It’s life with Messiah and with God’s forgiveness. It’s the Torah written on the heart. It’s the response of obedience and faithfulness. It is the reward of righteousness and life. It’s to live life unveiled, beholding the glory of Messiah. “For the “old’ and “new” are not time-bound, they are faith-bound.”[8] It is in this way that every believer, both Jew and Gentile, in every generation becomes the first-fruits of the future harvest of Israel, when King Yeshua will rule over all His people in the Land under a united kingdom of God and all His people will know Him from the least to the greatest of them [9].
Notes
1 Nowhere in Exodus 34:29-35 is the idea that the glory of Moses’ face faded away.
2 Nowhere else in the Apostolic Writings is katargeo used to mean fading. Luke 13:7; Rom 3:3; 3:31; Rom. 4:14; Rom. 6:6; Rom. 7:2; Rom 7:6; 1 Cr. 1:28; 2:6; 6:13; 13:8, 10, 11; 15:24, 26; Gal. 3:17; 5:4, 11; Eph. 2:15; 2 Th. 2:8; 2 Ti. 1:10
3 Here the Greek word for "end" is telos and should be understood as goal, aim, or purpose as also seen in Romans 10:4. This is where we get the words "telephone" and "telegraph".
4 2 Corinthians 4:4; Romans 10:4
5 All other times Paul uses the term “old”: Rom 6:6; Eph 4:22-24
6 One should note that every usage of the term “scripture” used by Paul (and the other disciples) is always used to refer to the Hebrew Scriptures (Romans 4:3; 9:17; 10:11; 11:2, Galatians 3:8, 22; 4:30; 1 Timothy 5:18).
7 Moses also describes the “old covenant” in Deuteronomy 29:3-4; 31:16-18. Notice to connection with their disobedience and the LORD hiding His face (Glory).
8 Tim Hegg The Letter Writer: Paul’s background and Torah Perspective pg 252
9 Deuteronomy 30:1-10; Jeremiah 31:31-34; Ezekiel 36:24-28; 37:21-28
A special thanks to my friend Ryan in his help in editing this essay
Friday, September 7, 2007
What is so NEW about the New Covenant?
“We are under the New Covenant, to keep the Law is to go back under the Old Covenant”
“Jesus included some of the commands from the Old Covenant in the New Covenant. That is a far cry from saying that we are still commanded to obey the whole Law of Moses.”
The above quotes were taken from arguments given to me from other believers as to why believers today should no longer obey the Torah (God’s Law or instructions). These quotes at one time also reflected my past attitude of Old Covenant vs. New Covenant. Whenever the subject of Old vs. New would come up, I had always just assumed this to be the case without ever questioning or examining this assumption. This was mainly due to the fact of how the Scriptures are divided into two sections (Old and New) and the popularity of this teaching in the Church today. In this essay I wish to examine the common presuppositions concerning the New Covenant to see if they match up with what the Scriptures actually teach. Does the New Covenant free believers from obeying the Torah? What are the responsibilities of those in the New Covenant? To whom does the New Covenant apply? When does the New Covenant begin? And most importantly, what is so “New” about the New Covenant?
What is and is not a Covenant?
Before plunging into the newness of the New Covenant, it is best to briefly revisit what is a covenant. A covenant is a legal agreement between two or more parties that includes a contract that defines the relationship between the associated parties. The contract specifies any privileges, terms, conditions, and responsibilities of the covenant relationship. An example of a covenant is a Jewish marriage. The covenant of marriage between husband and wife is that they will both love one anther and be faithful to one another. The contract that states the terms and conditions of the relationship of both the husband the wife is called a Ketubah. The Ketubah, for example, specifies that the husband is responsible to provide food, clothing and marital relations to his wife. The Ketubah is not the covenant itself but part of the covenant that defines the responsibilities in order to maintain the covenant relationship. In the same way, the Torah (God’s Law) is not the covenant of Moses. The Torah gives the terms and conditions of the covenant of Moses but is not the covenant itself. The covenant of Moses is found in Exodus 19:3-6 which basically says that if Israel obeys God’s Torah, then they will be a Holy nation unto Him (He will be their God, they will be His people). Moses then brings this covenant to the people in verses 7-8 and they accept this covenant. Then God proceeds to give Moses the Torah starting with the Ten Commandments in chapter 20. It is important to keep in mind that this is a covenant made with a nation, not with individuals.
Seeing that a covenant is a legal agreement, it should be mentioned that it is NOT a collection of the books of the Scriptures. The division of the Scriptures of “Old Testament” (testament a Latin term for covenant) and “New Testament” is a man made division and not a Biblical one. The Scriptures started with the Torah (books of Moses), then came the writings and the prophets and finally the Gospels and Apostolic writings. At what point did the Scriptures themselves become a covenant? The Scriptures contain covenants but are not the covenants themselves. From this point on the “Old Testament” will be referred to as the Hebrew Scriptures and the “New Testament” as the Greek Scriptures.
The Context of the New Covenant
The only place the phrase “New Covenant” is mentioned in the Hebrew Scriptures is the prophecy of Jeremiah 31:31. Let’s take a look at the context of this passage. The book of Jeremiah is about a prophet that was sent to the people of God (Judah) to proclaim to them that they have been unfaithful with the covenant they made with their God. As a result, they were to experience the curses of the covenant (Deu 28:15-68) and that God is sending a nation against them to destroy their city and lead them to exile from the land. However, in this book, Jeremiah gives the people hope of a time of restoration in the last days. In chapters 30-33 God expresses His love for His people and says that He will restore both Israel and Judah back to the land and will cause them to be a faithful nation so that He may bless them. This is the context in which Jeremiah is proclaiming the future “New Covenant” in chapter 31.
31 "Behold, days are coming," declares the LORD, "when I will make a new covenant with the house of Israel and with the house of Judah, 32 not like the covenant which I made with their fathers in the day I took them by the hand to bring them out of the land of Egypt, My covenant which they broke, although I was a husband to them," declares the LORD. 33 "But this is the covenant which I will make with the house of Israel after those days," declares the LORD,"I will put My law within them and on their heart I will write it; and I will be their God, and they shall be My people. 34 "They will not teach again, each man his neighbor and each man his brother, saying, 'Know the LORD,' for they will all know Me, from the least of them to the greatest of them," declares the LORD, "for I will forgive their iniquity, and their sin I will remember no more."
What is the New Covenant?
In verse 31 the Lord says He is going to make a New Covenant. It is interesting to find that the word “new” in Hebrew does not necessarily mean brand new as in never existed before. The word is chadash which could also mean “renew” as in Laminations 5:21, “Restore us to You, O LORD, that we may be restored; Renew our days as of old.” In the Septuagint and almost every place in the Greek Scriptures [1] that the phrase “new covenant” is used, the Greek word for “new” is kainos meaning “new” as in respect to quality (as in renewed) not time (brand new), which would be the Greek word neos. This means that the Apostles understood the New Covenant as a Renewed Covenant. It is really the same as the previous covenant, but being upgraded like upgrading previous existing software. Who, according to this verse, is this Renewed Covenant made with? It is with the “house of Israel and with the house of Judah”. (Notice it says nothing about the Gentiles, but more on that later). Remember that after King Solomon’s rule, the nation of Israel split into two kingdoms, Israel to the north and Judah to the south.
Verse 32 begins to compare the renewed covenant with the previous covenant made with their fathers, which is the Mosaic Covenant. God says that the renewed covenant will not be like the Mosaic Covenant in what way? The Mosaic Covenant is described as, “My covenant which they broke”. This is important to keep this in mind as God further describes the renewed covenant and its impact on the people. Also, notice that it says, “Covenant which I made with their fathers in the day I took them by the hand to bring them out of the land of Egypt”. It was with their fathers (the Jews) that came out of Egypt that He made the covenant with. Therefore it cannot be said that the receivers of the renewed covenant are a “new Israel”, the Church or any other kind of replacement people.
Next, verse 33 goes on to say, “‘But this is the covenant which I will make with the house of Israel after those days,’ declares the LORD”. What happened to the house of Judah? What is God trying to communicate by leaving out Judah? By leaving out Judah, God is describing the time when He will bring back His people to the land and once again the two nations (Israel and Judah) will be one nation reunited again. (Ezekiel also prophesies of this time of restoration in the giving of the Spirit in 36:22-32 and when the Messiah is to come (or return) to rule over the people in the Land in 37:15-28.) So, what are the responsibilities of God and the nation of Israel in this covenant? “I will put My Torah within them and on their heart I will write it; and I will be their God, and they shall be My people.” Amazing, God is going to write His Torah on their hearts! Is this some “new” Torah that He is going to write? According to the text, it is not a new Torah. It is the same Torah He gave to Moses on the mountain. This means that the renewed covenant is characterized by His Torah. Someone might ask, “Then how is this any different than the Mosaic covenant if it is the same Torah?” It is different because in the Mosaic covenant the Torah was written on stone, but in the renewed covenant the Torah is written on the heart. In order to understand the significance of writing the Torah on the heart, one must first understand Hebrew concept of the function of the heart. To the Hebrew, the heart is were the moral decisions of right and wrong take place. It is the very conscience of a person. Thus, by writing the Torah on the heart, all of the decisions of a person are filtered through the Torah. “Thus, when Jeremiah promises a ‘new covenant’ with Israel in which the Torah is written on the heart, he prophesies that the nation as a whole would one day live out the righteousness of the Torah. Surely it was this thought that Paul had in mind as he looked forward to the time when ‘all Israel will be saved’.”[2] That is why He goes on to say, “…and I will be their God, and they shall be My people”. [3] That will be the first time in Israel’s history when not just a remnant is faithful and obedient to God’s covenant (Rom 11:5), but the nation as a whole and thus as a nation will receive the full benefits of the covenant promises.
The national revival of Israel in Jeremiah’s prophecy is further demonstrated in verse 34. “They will not teach again, each man his neighbor and each man his brother, saying, 'Know the LORD,' for they will all know Me, from the least of them to the greatest of them," declares the LORD”. What does it mean that all of Israel will “know” the Lord? Is this some theological knowledge about the Lord? The Hebrew word for “know” has a connotation of a unique relationship as in Genesis 4:1, “Now Adam knew his wife Eve, and she conceived and bore Cain”. The meaning of “to know” as a covenant relationship fits the context for He said previously “…I was a husband to them," declares the LORD”. Yeshua uses the word “know” in the same fashion, “And the I will declare to them, ‘I never knew you; depart from Me, you who practice lawlessness.’” (Matt 7:23) “Therefore, when we hear Jeremiah saying that no one will need to teach the nation of Israel, saying “know the Lord,” we should understand this to mean that no one will have to urge Israel to be loyal in a covenant sense to the Lord, for everyone will “know” Him, that is, be faithful to Him in covenant relationship, from the least to the greatest.”[4] By God writing the Torah upon the heart and thus causing Israel to be faithful to the covenant, God will be able to bless Israel with all of the blessings of the covenant (Deu 28:1-14).
When Israel as a nation is living out the Torah, she will certainly receive Yeshua as Messiah because the goal and aim of the Torah is to lead people to the Messiah.[5] That is why it says, “I will forgive their iniquity, and their sin I will remember no more”. This will fulfill the words spoken by the angle to Joseph, “She will give birth to a son, and you are to name Him Jesus, because He will save His people from their sins."[6] This is what Yeshua meant at the Last Supper when He took the wine and declared, “This cup which is poured out for you is the new covenant in my blood,” “which is poured out for many for forgiveness of sins”.[7] Forgiveness of sins can only be found in the redemptive work of the Messiah.
Someone may be thinking, “If the new covenant concerns the nation of Israel in the future, are not we as believers’ part of the new covenant now?” Yes we are. This is possible because we have been made the first-fruits of the final harvest of Israel. God has certainly put is Torah in our hearts, has given us His Spirit, and has forgiven our sins. Therefore we have entered in as members of the new covenant.[8] There has always been in every generation a remnant chosen by grace that has been faithful to God. They have been members of the new covenant that have walked in the ways of God. However the fullness of the new covenant will come at a time when God will unite the house of Israel and Judah and will all be faithful to God and His Torah. The new covenant is simply a national expression of what each redeemed individual has experienced.
Conclusion
What have we learned by looking closely at Jeremiah 31? Let’s go back and try to answer the original questions from the beginning.
Does the New Covenant free believers from obeying the Torah?
No, it does not. The New covenant is actually characterized by the Torah when God writes it on the heart. It is this action that enables new covenant members to be obedient and faithful to God and His Torah.
What are the responsibilities of those in the New Covenant?
The only responsibly that is mentioned in the new covenant is God’s responsibility to place the Torah in the heart of His people. The responsibilities of man are still the same, to be faithful to the covenant by keeping the commandments of the Torah.
To whom does the New Covenant apply?
The primary focus of the New Covenant concerns the nation of Israel when God will reunite both the house of Israel and the house of Judah into one nation. However, all those that believe in the Messiah are able to enter in as first-fruits of the new covenant.
When does the New Covenant begin?
The fullness of the new covenant has not yet arrived, it is yet to happen. However, in every generation God has chosen a remnant to receive the benefits of the new covenant through faith. Therefore this covenant is not time bound. Abraham, Moses, David and others that lived before the death of Yeshua had the Torah written on the heart, had the Spirit of God, and had their sins forgiven just as those who have lived after His death. [9]
What is so “New” about the New Covenant?
The new covenant is the work of God by the Spirit that will cause the whole nation Israel, for the first time in History, to be faithful to the covenant made God at Mt Sinai by writing the Torah on the heart. The whole nation of Israel will receive Yeshua as Messiah and as a result, they will all have their sins forgiven. So, the newness of the new covenant is not a new Torah or a putting away of Torah, but it is a renewed heart and a renewed spirit in the nation of Israel.
Notes
1 The only exception to this is in Hebrews 12:24. I'm not sure at this time exactly why the author would use a different word for "new" here.
2 Tim Hegg The Letter Writer: Paul’s background and Torah Perspective pg 240
3 Jeremiah 24:7; 32:38; Ezekiel 11:20; 34:30; 37:23, 27; Zechariah 8:8
4 Tim Hegg The Letter Writer: Paul’s background and Torah Perspective pg 242
5 Galatians 3:24; Romans 10:4 Here the Greek word for “end” is telos and should be understood as goal, aim, or purpose. This is where we get the words “telephone” and “telegraph”.
6 Matthew 1:21
7 Luke 22:20; Matthew 26:28; cp. Mark 14:24
8 For a more thorough discussion on this, please read my next blog “What is so “Old” about the Old Covenant?”
9 One cannot have faith in God without the Spirit of God (Rom 8:14-17). Paul gives Abraham and David as examples of how one is justified by faith. Hebrews 11 gives plenty of examples of people living before Yeshua that lived by faith. David said that the Torah was written on his heart (Ps 40:8) and that he delighted in the Torah of God (Ps 119). This would have been impossible to do without the Spirit of God (Rom 8:5-9).
“Jesus included some of the commands from the Old Covenant in the New Covenant. That is a far cry from saying that we are still commanded to obey the whole Law of Moses.”
The above quotes were taken from arguments given to me from other believers as to why believers today should no longer obey the Torah (God’s Law or instructions). These quotes at one time also reflected my past attitude of Old Covenant vs. New Covenant. Whenever the subject of Old vs. New would come up, I had always just assumed this to be the case without ever questioning or examining this assumption. This was mainly due to the fact of how the Scriptures are divided into two sections (Old and New) and the popularity of this teaching in the Church today. In this essay I wish to examine the common presuppositions concerning the New Covenant to see if they match up with what the Scriptures actually teach. Does the New Covenant free believers from obeying the Torah? What are the responsibilities of those in the New Covenant? To whom does the New Covenant apply? When does the New Covenant begin? And most importantly, what is so “New” about the New Covenant?
What is and is not a Covenant?
Before plunging into the newness of the New Covenant, it is best to briefly revisit what is a covenant. A covenant is a legal agreement between two or more parties that includes a contract that defines the relationship between the associated parties. The contract specifies any privileges, terms, conditions, and responsibilities of the covenant relationship. An example of a covenant is a Jewish marriage. The covenant of marriage between husband and wife is that they will both love one anther and be faithful to one another. The contract that states the terms and conditions of the relationship of both the husband the wife is called a Ketubah. The Ketubah, for example, specifies that the husband is responsible to provide food, clothing and marital relations to his wife. The Ketubah is not the covenant itself but part of the covenant that defines the responsibilities in order to maintain the covenant relationship. In the same way, the Torah (God’s Law) is not the covenant of Moses. The Torah gives the terms and conditions of the covenant of Moses but is not the covenant itself. The covenant of Moses is found in Exodus 19:3-6 which basically says that if Israel obeys God’s Torah, then they will be a Holy nation unto Him (He will be their God, they will be His people). Moses then brings this covenant to the people in verses 7-8 and they accept this covenant. Then God proceeds to give Moses the Torah starting with the Ten Commandments in chapter 20. It is important to keep in mind that this is a covenant made with a nation, not with individuals.
Seeing that a covenant is a legal agreement, it should be mentioned that it is NOT a collection of the books of the Scriptures. The division of the Scriptures of “Old Testament” (testament a Latin term for covenant) and “New Testament” is a man made division and not a Biblical one. The Scriptures started with the Torah (books of Moses), then came the writings and the prophets and finally the Gospels and Apostolic writings. At what point did the Scriptures themselves become a covenant? The Scriptures contain covenants but are not the covenants themselves. From this point on the “Old Testament” will be referred to as the Hebrew Scriptures and the “New Testament” as the Greek Scriptures.
The Context of the New Covenant
The only place the phrase “New Covenant” is mentioned in the Hebrew Scriptures is the prophecy of Jeremiah 31:31. Let’s take a look at the context of this passage. The book of Jeremiah is about a prophet that was sent to the people of God (Judah) to proclaim to them that they have been unfaithful with the covenant they made with their God. As a result, they were to experience the curses of the covenant (Deu 28:15-68) and that God is sending a nation against them to destroy their city and lead them to exile from the land. However, in this book, Jeremiah gives the people hope of a time of restoration in the last days. In chapters 30-33 God expresses His love for His people and says that He will restore both Israel and Judah back to the land and will cause them to be a faithful nation so that He may bless them. This is the context in which Jeremiah is proclaiming the future “New Covenant” in chapter 31.
31 "Behold, days are coming," declares the LORD, "when I will make a new covenant with the house of Israel and with the house of Judah, 32 not like the covenant which I made with their fathers in the day I took them by the hand to bring them out of the land of Egypt, My covenant which they broke, although I was a husband to them," declares the LORD. 33 "But this is the covenant which I will make with the house of Israel after those days," declares the LORD,"I will put My law within them and on their heart I will write it; and I will be their God, and they shall be My people. 34 "They will not teach again, each man his neighbor and each man his brother, saying, 'Know the LORD,' for they will all know Me, from the least of them to the greatest of them," declares the LORD, "for I will forgive their iniquity, and their sin I will remember no more."
What is the New Covenant?
In verse 31 the Lord says He is going to make a New Covenant. It is interesting to find that the word “new” in Hebrew does not necessarily mean brand new as in never existed before. The word is chadash which could also mean “renew” as in Laminations 5:21, “Restore us to You, O LORD, that we may be restored; Renew our days as of old.” In the Septuagint and almost every place in the Greek Scriptures [1] that the phrase “new covenant” is used, the Greek word for “new” is kainos meaning “new” as in respect to quality (as in renewed) not time (brand new), which would be the Greek word neos. This means that the Apostles understood the New Covenant as a Renewed Covenant. It is really the same as the previous covenant, but being upgraded like upgrading previous existing software. Who, according to this verse, is this Renewed Covenant made with? It is with the “house of Israel and with the house of Judah”. (Notice it says nothing about the Gentiles, but more on that later). Remember that after King Solomon’s rule, the nation of Israel split into two kingdoms, Israel to the north and Judah to the south.
Verse 32 begins to compare the renewed covenant with the previous covenant made with their fathers, which is the Mosaic Covenant. God says that the renewed covenant will not be like the Mosaic Covenant in what way? The Mosaic Covenant is described as, “My covenant which they broke”. This is important to keep this in mind as God further describes the renewed covenant and its impact on the people. Also, notice that it says, “Covenant which I made with their fathers in the day I took them by the hand to bring them out of the land of Egypt”. It was with their fathers (the Jews) that came out of Egypt that He made the covenant with. Therefore it cannot be said that the receivers of the renewed covenant are a “new Israel”, the Church or any other kind of replacement people.
Next, verse 33 goes on to say, “‘But this is the covenant which I will make with the house of Israel after those days,’ declares the LORD”. What happened to the house of Judah? What is God trying to communicate by leaving out Judah? By leaving out Judah, God is describing the time when He will bring back His people to the land and once again the two nations (Israel and Judah) will be one nation reunited again. (Ezekiel also prophesies of this time of restoration in the giving of the Spirit in 36:22-32 and when the Messiah is to come (or return) to rule over the people in the Land in 37:15-28.) So, what are the responsibilities of God and the nation of Israel in this covenant? “I will put My Torah within them and on their heart I will write it; and I will be their God, and they shall be My people.” Amazing, God is going to write His Torah on their hearts! Is this some “new” Torah that He is going to write? According to the text, it is not a new Torah. It is the same Torah He gave to Moses on the mountain. This means that the renewed covenant is characterized by His Torah. Someone might ask, “Then how is this any different than the Mosaic covenant if it is the same Torah?” It is different because in the Mosaic covenant the Torah was written on stone, but in the renewed covenant the Torah is written on the heart. In order to understand the significance of writing the Torah on the heart, one must first understand Hebrew concept of the function of the heart. To the Hebrew, the heart is were the moral decisions of right and wrong take place. It is the very conscience of a person. Thus, by writing the Torah on the heart, all of the decisions of a person are filtered through the Torah. “Thus, when Jeremiah promises a ‘new covenant’ with Israel in which the Torah is written on the heart, he prophesies that the nation as a whole would one day live out the righteousness of the Torah. Surely it was this thought that Paul had in mind as he looked forward to the time when ‘all Israel will be saved’.”[2] That is why He goes on to say, “…and I will be their God, and they shall be My people”. [3] That will be the first time in Israel’s history when not just a remnant is faithful and obedient to God’s covenant (Rom 11:5), but the nation as a whole and thus as a nation will receive the full benefits of the covenant promises.
The national revival of Israel in Jeremiah’s prophecy is further demonstrated in verse 34. “They will not teach again, each man his neighbor and each man his brother, saying, 'Know the LORD,' for they will all know Me, from the least of them to the greatest of them," declares the LORD”. What does it mean that all of Israel will “know” the Lord? Is this some theological knowledge about the Lord? The Hebrew word for “know” has a connotation of a unique relationship as in Genesis 4:1, “Now Adam knew his wife Eve, and she conceived and bore Cain”. The meaning of “to know” as a covenant relationship fits the context for He said previously “…I was a husband to them," declares the LORD”. Yeshua uses the word “know” in the same fashion, “And the I will declare to them, ‘I never knew you; depart from Me, you who practice lawlessness.’” (Matt 7:23) “Therefore, when we hear Jeremiah saying that no one will need to teach the nation of Israel, saying “know the Lord,” we should understand this to mean that no one will have to urge Israel to be loyal in a covenant sense to the Lord, for everyone will “know” Him, that is, be faithful to Him in covenant relationship, from the least to the greatest.”[4] By God writing the Torah upon the heart and thus causing Israel to be faithful to the covenant, God will be able to bless Israel with all of the blessings of the covenant (Deu 28:1-14).
When Israel as a nation is living out the Torah, she will certainly receive Yeshua as Messiah because the goal and aim of the Torah is to lead people to the Messiah.[5] That is why it says, “I will forgive their iniquity, and their sin I will remember no more”. This will fulfill the words spoken by the angle to Joseph, “She will give birth to a son, and you are to name Him Jesus, because He will save His people from their sins."[6] This is what Yeshua meant at the Last Supper when He took the wine and declared, “This cup which is poured out for you is the new covenant in my blood,” “which is poured out for many for forgiveness of sins”.[7] Forgiveness of sins can only be found in the redemptive work of the Messiah.
Someone may be thinking, “If the new covenant concerns the nation of Israel in the future, are not we as believers’ part of the new covenant now?” Yes we are. This is possible because we have been made the first-fruits of the final harvest of Israel. God has certainly put is Torah in our hearts, has given us His Spirit, and has forgiven our sins. Therefore we have entered in as members of the new covenant.[8] There has always been in every generation a remnant chosen by grace that has been faithful to God. They have been members of the new covenant that have walked in the ways of God. However the fullness of the new covenant will come at a time when God will unite the house of Israel and Judah and will all be faithful to God and His Torah. The new covenant is simply a national expression of what each redeemed individual has experienced.
Conclusion
What have we learned by looking closely at Jeremiah 31? Let’s go back and try to answer the original questions from the beginning.
Does the New Covenant free believers from obeying the Torah?
No, it does not. The New covenant is actually characterized by the Torah when God writes it on the heart. It is this action that enables new covenant members to be obedient and faithful to God and His Torah.
What are the responsibilities of those in the New Covenant?
The only responsibly that is mentioned in the new covenant is God’s responsibility to place the Torah in the heart of His people. The responsibilities of man are still the same, to be faithful to the covenant by keeping the commandments of the Torah.
To whom does the New Covenant apply?
The primary focus of the New Covenant concerns the nation of Israel when God will reunite both the house of Israel and the house of Judah into one nation. However, all those that believe in the Messiah are able to enter in as first-fruits of the new covenant.
When does the New Covenant begin?
The fullness of the new covenant has not yet arrived, it is yet to happen. However, in every generation God has chosen a remnant to receive the benefits of the new covenant through faith. Therefore this covenant is not time bound. Abraham, Moses, David and others that lived before the death of Yeshua had the Torah written on the heart, had the Spirit of God, and had their sins forgiven just as those who have lived after His death. [9]
What is so “New” about the New Covenant?
The new covenant is the work of God by the Spirit that will cause the whole nation Israel, for the first time in History, to be faithful to the covenant made God at Mt Sinai by writing the Torah on the heart. The whole nation of Israel will receive Yeshua as Messiah and as a result, they will all have their sins forgiven. So, the newness of the new covenant is not a new Torah or a putting away of Torah, but it is a renewed heart and a renewed spirit in the nation of Israel.
Notes
1 The only exception to this is in Hebrews 12:24. I'm not sure at this time exactly why the author would use a different word for "new" here.
2 Tim Hegg The Letter Writer: Paul’s background and Torah Perspective pg 240
3 Jeremiah 24:7; 32:38; Ezekiel 11:20; 34:30; 37:23, 27; Zechariah 8:8
4 Tim Hegg The Letter Writer: Paul’s background and Torah Perspective pg 242
5 Galatians 3:24; Romans 10:4 Here the Greek word for “end” is telos and should be understood as goal, aim, or purpose. This is where we get the words “telephone” and “telegraph”.
6 Matthew 1:21
7 Luke 22:20; Matthew 26:28; cp. Mark 14:24
8 For a more thorough discussion on this, please read my next blog “What is so “Old” about the Old Covenant?”
9 One cannot have faith in God without the Spirit of God (Rom 8:14-17). Paul gives Abraham and David as examples of how one is justified by faith. Hebrews 11 gives plenty of examples of people living before Yeshua that lived by faith. David said that the Torah was written on his heart (Ps 40:8) and that he delighted in the Torah of God (Ps 119). This would have been impossible to do without the Spirit of God (Rom 8:5-9).
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