Did Jesus abolish the boundaries of Old Testament laws?
Isaiah 53:5-6He [the Messiah] was pierced for our rebellion, crushed for our sins. He was beaten so we could be whole. He was whipped so we could be healed. All of us, like sheep, have strayed away. We have left God’s paths to follow our own. Yet the Lord laid on him the sins of us all.
Matthew 5:17“Don’t misunderstand why I have come. I did not come to abolish the law of Moses or the writings of the prophets. No, I came to accomplish their purpose.”
Luke 24:44He [Jesus] said, “When I was with you before, I told you that everything written about me in the law of Moses and the prophets and in the Psalms must be fulfilled.”
Romans 10:4Christ has already accomplished the purpose for which the law was given. As a result, all who believe in him are made right with God.
Many Christians think of the Old Testament laws as being bad. They think that in Old Testament times, God was strict and harsh, and in the New Testament, Jesus abolished all God’s rules and judgment. But the Old Testament and the New are intertwined. God’s Law shows us the impossibility of overcoming sin in our own strength. The Temple sacrifices show the severity of sin’s consequences. God’s love for rebellious Israel shows his faithfulness and forgiveness despite our sin. And all this leads to Jesus Christ, whose perfect sacrifice fulfilled the Old Testament’s promises and paid sin’s price, once and for all.
Isaiah 45:22“Let all the world look to me for salvation! For I am God; there is no other.”
Zechariah 2:10-11The Lord says, “Shout and rejoice, O beautiful Jerusalem, for I am coming to live among you. Many nations will join themselves to the Lord on that day, and they, too, will be my people.”
Acts 15:19“My judgment is that we should not make it difficult for the Gentiles who are turning to God.”
Galatians 3:8The Scriptures looked forward to this time when God would make the Gentiles right in his sight because of their faith. God proclaimed this good news to Abraham long ago when he said, “All nations will be blessed through you.”
Philippians 3:2-3Watch out for those dogs, those people who do evil, those mutilators who say you must be circumcised to be saved. For we who worship by the Spirit of God are the ones who are truly circumcised. We rely on what Christ Jesus has done for us.
Abraham and his descendants were circumcised as a sign of their covenant relationship with God. Through Abraham and Israel, God promised that the Gentiles (non-Jews) would come to know God’s salvation. In the New Testament this promise was fulfilled through Jesus. Rather than seeing circumcision as part of the old covenant, some people believed that circumcision was necessary for Gentiles to be saved. The apostles rejected this unnecessary boundary to salvation and pointed to Jesus as the fulfillment of God’s Law.
Romans 6:15Since God’s grace has set us free from the law, does that mean we can go on sinning? Of course not!
Ephesians 2:10We are God’s masterpiece. He has created us anew in Christ Jesus, so we can do the good things he planned for us long ago.
Philippians 2:13God is working in you, giving you the desire and the power to do what pleases him.
The Law of the Old Testament has been fulfilled through Jesus Christ. But his sacrifice on the cross is not the end of our interactions with God—it’s just the beginning. Freeing us from sin’s punishment isn’t enough. God wants to free us from sin entirely. He wants us to grow to love him more and live in a way that reflects his goodness to those around us. This process of becoming more like God is called sanctification.
Micah 6:8No, O people, the Lord has told you what is good, and this is what he requires of you: to do what is right, to love mercy, and to walk humbly with your God.
Matthew 22:37-40Jesus replied, “‘You must love the Lord your God with all your heart, all your soul, and all your mind.’ This is the first and greatest commandment. A second is equally important: ‘Love your neighbor as yourself.’ The entire law and all the demands of the prophets are based on these two commandments.”
Romans 13:10Love does no wrong to others, so love fulfills the requirements of God’s law.
1 John 4:19We love each other because he loved us first.
When we claim to reject the “rules” of the Old Testament in favor of the “love” of the New Testament, we miss the point. God’s commands are an expression of God’s love for us. They are boundaries meant to protect us and others, and when we live them out, they help us reflect God’s love to the world.
Proverbs 31:10-11Who can find a virtuous and capable wife? She is more precious than rubies. Her husband can trust her.
2 Corinthians 11:2-3I [Paul] am jealous for you with the jealousy of God himself. I promised you as a pure bride to one husband—Christ. But I fear that somehow your pure and undivided devotion to Christ will be corrupted, just as Eve was deceived by the cunning ways of the serpent.
A trusting, loving marriage can be ruined by a cheating spouse. In the same way, sin entices us away from God and damages our relationships with him and other people. The boundaries we are called to observe are not chains that burden us—they are freely chosen expressions of love and commitment, just like in a marriage. True love has inherent boundaries.
Deuteronomy 10:13“You must always obey the Lord’s commands and decrees that I am giving you today for your own good.”
Psalm 23:4Even when I walk through the darkest valley, I will not be afraid, for you are close beside me. Your rod and your staff protect and comfort me.
John 10:4-15“After he [a shepherd] has gathered his own flock, he walks ahead of them, and they follow him because they know his voice. . . . I am the good shepherd; I know my own sheep, and they know me, just as my Father knows me and I know the Father.”
John 14:23Jesus replied, “All who love me will do what I say. My Father will love them, and we will come and make our home with each of them.”
A shepherd’s rod was fairly short, more club-like. A shepherd’s staff is the curved crook we often see in pictures. Both were used to protect the sheep from predators, and both were used to guide the sheep—and sometimes drag sheep—in the right direction. Jesus is our good shepherd, and he deserves our utmost respect and obedience. When we follow his leading and honor his boundaries, we can walk through even life’s darkest valleys with confidence.
