Jesus' Commandments

Jesus said, "If you keep my commandments, you will abide in my love; just as I have kept my Father's commandments, and abide in his love." (John 15:10) What are Jesus' commandments? He continues, "This is my commandment, that you love one another, just as I have loved you." (John 15:12) When Jesus was asked, "Which is the great commandment?", he answered, "'You shall love Yahweh your God with all your heart, and with all your soul, and with all your mind.' This is the great and foremost commandment. The second is like it, 'You shall love your neighbor as yourself.' On these two commandments depend the whole Law and the Prophets." (Matt. 22:36-40; see also Mark 12:28-31)

In the Mark passage Jesus tells the scribe who asked him the question and then responded well to Jesus' answer that he is "not far from the kingdom." (v. 34) Here, Jesus equates following the two great commandments with coming close to the kingdom of God. He also states that the entire Torah depend on these two laws, not that they replace the rest of Torah, for that is not what is stated nor does it make sense for a part to replace the whole of which it is comprised. (i.e. The part is the two commandments, which are contained in the whole, which is Torah, and therefore cannot replace Torah since they are part of what they would be replacing.)

God's Commandments

Moses said this of God's commandments: "You shall follow Yahweh your God and fear him; and you shall keep his commandments, listen to his voice, serve him, and cling to him." (Deut. 13:4) He also said, "Hear, O Israel! Yahweh is your God, Yahweh is one! And you shall love Yahweh your God with all your heart and with all your soul, and with all your might." (Deut. 6:4-5) Moses quoted God's words when he wrote, "...you shall love your neighbor as yourself; I am Yahweh!" (Lev. 19:18b)

Where Is The Difference?

It is clear from the above passages that Jesus' Laws and God's Laws are the same. If it were not so, support would be given to the heresy that Jesus is not God. Since Jesus is God in human form, it is not surprising that he is consistent in his instructions to man throughout the ages.

This raises a very interesting issue since there are many Godly Christians who do not see a problem with working on the Sabbath or eating pork; yet, these are activities that the Torah prohibits. It is the belief of many Christians that many of the Laws in the Old Testament have been set aside and are no longer applicable to believers today. Peter's vision in Acts 10 is seen by many as abrograting the food laws of the Torah.

In the Old Testament, a man was stoned to death for gathering sticks on the Sabbath, but it appears that many Christians today do not believe that commandment applies to them.

There is only one definition for sin in all Scripture. Even back in the Garden of Eden, when there was only one law to remember, man disobeyed by breaking God's Law. Later, when God gave the Torah to Israel at Sinai, more laws and instructions were given. Included in God's last words prior to the intertestamental period, is this command: "Remember the law of Moses my servant, even the statutes and ordinances which I commanded him in Horeb for all Israel." (Malachi 4:4)

Imagine the difficulties that would be created if there were two definitions of sin. Those not saved are condemned for breaking the Law, but those who have been saved would be free to transgress the very commandments that condemned them before they were saved.

Some would argue that Jesus' admonishments to keep and teach the Law (Matt. 5:19; 23:2-3) are intended only for the Jewish disciples and only until Christ's death. This notion creates more difficulties than it solves. This view does eliminate the need for believers to follow Torah, at least based on Jesus' admonitions in the Gospels. However, the proponents of this view are then forced to be consistent and label all of Jesus' statements, sermons, teachings, and parables as applicable only before his death. This view assaults all of Christs' teachings by making them irrelevant to believers today.

Perhaps some would argue that we need to discern which commands and teachings were intended to be temporary (until Christ's death) and which teachings were intended to be permanent. Unless Jesus explicitly prefaced each teaching with remarks clarifying the expiration or perpetuity of the teaching, we would have no way to accurately discern which teachings to apply and which to ignore. The only method available would be to keep the teachings that fit one's particular theology and label the rest as non-applicable. This method, however, is unacceptable and begets circular reasoning.