My answer I guess would depend on what you mean by the "New Testament Teachings on the Law" and even what you mean by “Jewish Law”. There is actually only one word in Hebrew for the commands of Yahweh and that is Torah. The word Torah has been interpreted as Law, Instruction, Command, Word, and Teachings. Anytime you see the word "Law" it is from the Hebrew word Torah. The Greeks did not have a word for Torah so they used either of these other words in their interpretations. We have therefore followed in this practice in the English language as well.
The first question we should ask is “What is the Torah?” The Torah is the first 5 books of the Bible (Genesis - Deuteronomy). It is Yahweh’s laws, instructions, commands, teachings etc. So when you say “are you under Jewish law”, I would say “NO”. The Torah was never created by the Jews. The Torah is Yahweh’s instructions given to the Hebrews. By the way, the “Jews” only covers the tribe of Judah, or Yahudah, some of the Levites, and Benjamin. The term “Jew” was never applied to the other tribes. So you can be a Hebrew and not be Jewish. But if you are Jewish you are from the Southern Kingdom. So am I under Yahweh’s commands? To this I would wholeheartedly answer, “YES!”
You would probably agree to this yourself, as you would say that you keep the 10 commandments to the best of your ability. The “10 Commandments” are part of the Torah, but not in the least bit all of Yahweh’s commands. For instance, when you read about keeping the feasts in Scripture, are they referred to as the “Jewish Feasts”? Actually No. Each and every time they are referred to as Yahweh’s Feasts! He states several times “these are My Feasts”. Throughout all Scripture you will see, guard My commands, keep My laws, follow My instructions, obey My right-rulings, listen to My word, etc. Each one of these references is the word Torah. So if we were to interpret it correctly the Scriptures would say guard My Torah, keep My Torah, follow My Torah, obey My Torah, listen to My Torah, etc. Let’s look at Psalms 119:105 “Your word is a lamp to my feet and a light to my path.” Again, in Hebrew the word is Torah. “Your Torah is a lamp to my feet and a light to my path.”
So what is this lamp that lights our path? The Torah, the instructions in the first 5 books of the Bible. Not just the 10 commandments, but all of the Torah. The Jews did not make these laws or commands. Nor did any other Hebrew. Matter of fact, they kept breaking them! The Torah was written by Yahweh and given to Moses on Mt. Sinai.
Furthermore the Torah was not just for the Hebrews, let’s look at Exodus 12:49 for instance. “There is one Torah for the native-born and for the stranger who sojourns among you”.
This is not the only scripture reference that states this. The Torah was for the Hebrew and any one else who aligns themselves to Israel. Some of you may not believe you are Jewish or Hebrew but do you align yourself with Israel? Think about it. You read a book that is about the history and future of a Hebrew people, that was written by Hebrews, in the Hebrew language, about a covenant that was made with the Hebrew people, and about a promised Hebrew Messiah, who came as a Hebrew, born of a Hebrew woman, raised by Hebrew parents, who Himself states He “came for the Lost Sheep of the House of Israel”, and who will return to Israel, re-joining the 2 Houses of Israel, so that He will rule and reign in Jerusalem! If you don’t think you are aligned with Israel then you must not be reading the same Scriptures I am.
Now as for the “New Testament teachings on the law”. What does the New Testament teach about the Law/Torah? Let’s establish one thing first. If Yahshua would tell you to keep the Torah and Paul or any other one of the disciples would tell you not to, who would you follow? My hope is that you would choose Yahshua over any man. So assuming that you answered Yahshua, let’s look at what Yahshua said concerning the commands.
Matt 5:17-19 “Do not think that I came to destroy the Torah or the Prophets. I did not come to destroy but to complete. “For truly, I say to you, till the heaven and the earth pass away, one jot or one tittle shall by no means pass from the Torah till all be done. “Whoever, then, breaks one of the least of these commands, and teaches men so, shall be called least in the reign of the heavens; but whoever does and teaches them, he shall be called great in the reign of the heavens."
Well, looking around I still see the earth beneath me and around me, therefore, I would say that not one single thing from the Torah has passed away. What else does Yahshua say about His commands? Well here’s a few examples:
John 14:15 “If you love Me, you shall guard My commands.”
John 14:21 “He who possesses My commands and guards them, it is he who loves Me. And he who loves Me shall be loved by My Father, and I shall love him and manifest Myself to him.”
John 14:23 “Yahshua answered him, “If anyone loves Me, he shall guard My Word. And My Father shall love him, and We shall come to him and make Our stay with him.”
John 14:24 “He who does not love Me does not guard My Words. And the Word which you hear is not Mine but of the Father Who sent Me.”
So if Yahshua and the Father are One, then would They have different commands? Would They have a different Torah? There’s no way They could. He did not teach a different covenant. He upheld His Father’s commands because they were the same as His own. When He was asked which command was the greatest, did He say, “Oh those aren’t in effect anymore!” Of course not! What He did say was a quote from the Shema. Shema means Hear and Obey.
Mark 12:29-30 "And Yahshua answered him, “The first of all the commands is, ‘Hear, O Yisra’el, Yahweh our Elohim, Yahweh is one. ‘And you shall love Yahweh your Elohim with all your heart, and with all your being, and with all your mind, and with all your strength.’ This is the first command."
Deut. 6:4-5 “Hear, O Yisra’el: Yahweh our Elohim, Yahweh is one! “And you shall love Yahweh your Elohim with all your heart, and with all your being, and with all your might."
He was quoting from the Scriptures Yahweh’s commands.
Here’s another point to consider. What is a prophet? A prophet not only foretells future events, a true prophet upholds the Torah of Yahweh. Every prophet in Scripture told the people to follow Torah, to repent and keep Torah. John the Baptist was a prophet. He told the people to repent. Repent to what? The word repent is “teshuva” which means to come back or to turn back, turn back to what? Back to Torah! Yahshua was also called a prophet. If He would say that we are no longer to follow Torah (the instructions of Yahweh, His Father) He would be a false prophet. If you read about Yahshua’s life, He kept the feasts, He kept the Sabbath, when He healed people, as in the case of the leaper, He told them to go to the priests (this was per the instructions in Torah), in everything He did, He followed Torah.
Now we come to Paul or his Hebrew name Sha’ul. Whenever someone wants to say that the Torah is no longer in effect they turn to Paul. None of the other disciples ever said anything to imply that the Torah was “done away”. Paul is the only one that people like to quote saying that the Torah was “done away”. As I stated earlier, even if this were true, whose words would you go by, Yahshua or Sha’ul? So did Sha’ul (Paul) really say that the Torah was “done away”? Let’s see what Sha’ul said about the Torah in Romans which was towards the end of his ministry.
Rom 2:12 "For as many as sinned without Torah shall also perish without Torah, and as many as sinned in the Torah shall be judged by the Torah.”
Rom 3:31 “Do we then nullify the Torah through the belief? Let it not be! On the contrary, we establish the Torah.”
Rom 7:1 “Or do you not know, brothers - for I speak to those knowing the Torah - that the Torah rules over a man as long as he lives?”
Rom 7:12 “So that the Torah truly is set-apart, and the command set-apart , and righteous, and good.”
Rom 7:14 “For we know that the Torah is Spiritual, but I am fleshly, sold under sin.”
Rom 7:16 “But if I do what I do not wish, I agree with the Torah that it is good.”
Rom 7:22 “For I delight in the Torah of Elohim according to the inward man,”
Rom 7:25 “Thanks to Elohim, through Yahshua Messiah our Master! So then, with the mind I myself truly serve the Torah of Elohim, but with the flesh the law of sin.”
Rom 13:10 “Love does no evil to a neighbor. Therefore, love is completion of the Torah.”
That’s just one book. I won’t quote every Scripture. But let’s look also at Sha’ul’s life. He kept the Sabbath, he kept the feasts, he followed the Torah in all that he did. Reading Acts you will see that there came a time when he was accused of teaching that the Torah was “done away”. To this he wholeheartedly denied! They asked him to prove it by not only taking a Nazarite vow (which is in Torah) but to also pay for 4 others to do this as well. He did all they asked to prove that he still believed in the Torah and that he was not teaching others that it was “done away”.
Acts 21:18-24 "And on the following day Sha’ul went in with us to James, and all the elders came. And having greeted them, he was relating one by one what Elohim had done among the gentiles through his service. And when they heard it, they praised the Master. And th
ey said to him, “You see, brother, how many thousands of Yahudim there are who have believed, and all are ardent for the Torah. “And they have been informed about you that you teach all the Yahudim who are among the gentiles to forsake Mosheh (Moses), saying not to circumcise the children nor to walk according to the practices. “What then is it? They shall certainly hear that you have come. “So do this, what we say to you: We have four men who have taken a vow. “Take them and be cleansed with them, and pay their expenses so that they shave their heads. And all shall know that what they have been informed about you is not so, but that you yourself also walk orderly, keeping the Torah.” So if Sha’ul (Paul) kept the Torah why would he teach others that it was “done away”? He didn’t. Now there are verses in his letters that he wrote that would seem he is contradicting himself. This is where you have to have an understanding of Jewish culture. I say Jewish here because at this time it was the Jews, from the tribe of Judah (Yahudah) who were in Jerusalem. there are two different Torahs discussed in Sha’ul’s (Paul’s) writings. There is the Oral Torah and the Written Torah.
Next month’s article I will do my best to describe what the Oral Torah is and what Sha’ul really said. For now may I suggest that you do a word search if you have a computer program like E-Sword on the words “Commands”, “Law”, “Word”, “Statutes”, “Teaching”, Instructions”, etc. and see what the Scriptures say about the Torah.
Shalom,
Saya
