Sabbath: Christ and the Law of Moses
Read for This Week’s Study: Luke 2:21-24; Exod. 13:2, 12; Luke 2:41-52; Matt. 17:24-27; John 8:1-11; Deut. 22:23-24.
Memory Text:
(John 5:46, NRSV).If you believed Moses, you would believe me, for he wrote about me
Many Christians have been raised on stories about Jesus’ supposedly negative relationship to the Jewish religion, an unfortunate misconception that has only helped feed anti-Semitism through the centuries. Jesus spoke out against abuses of the religion, that’s true, but not against the religion itself. After all, He was the founder of it.
Indeed, the Gospel accounts of His life and ministry show that Jesus was a faithful Jew fully immersed in Jewish culture from the moment of His birth to the final week of His life in human flesh.
Like every loyal Jew in the first century, Jesus was subject to the Mosaic law. Raised in a home with loyal Jewish parents, He fully appreciated His rich earthly heritage, which was rooted in Divine providence. He knew that God Himself had inspired Moses to pen these laws, with the purpose of creating a society that reflected His will and served as a beacon to the nations. He adhered faithfully to the letter of the law. From circumcision to His visit to the temple to the feasts and to His attitude about taxes, Jesus remained steadfastly faithful to a system that, He knew, would over time be fulfilled through His death and His ministry in heaven.
This week we’ll look at more of the laws that Jesus Himself kept.
*Study this week’s lesson to prepare for Sabbath, April 12.
Christanity does not exist without the Jewish religion because its simply a continuation of Jewish religion after Christ,of which includes us the Gentiles while the Jews chose not to honour Christ as the Messiah.Jesus was very loyal and patriotic to the Jewish nation,its religion and laws.Had He chose not to that would betray His mission and reason for salvation.
I would dare say that Judaism is a part of Christianity because Christ Jesus existed before Judaism began and is still alive.
I would argue that while Protestant Christianity has its roots in the same scriptures as Judaism, the two religions are very different. Judaism accuses Christianity of having three gods. They also accuse Jesus of wanting to throw out all their traditions regarding the interpretation of the law.
We as Christians look at Judaism, using our understanding of the Scriptures as a magnifying glass, and see a religion corrupted by the traditions of man very different from what God intended.