Mockingbird
New member
This is an answer I have been searching for a while, and I was just finally able to grasp it on my way home from work today. At least I think I was. Anyway, I'm so excited I thought I'd post it. =-)
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"At first glance, there seems to be a contradiction between the God of the Old Testament, and the God that Jesus preached. Indeed, this is one of the main reasons people had such a hard time accepting him. However, as Jesus said, "Do not think I have come to abolish the Law or the Prophets [of the old testament]; I have not come to abolish them, but to fulfill them." Matthew 5:17
The law of Moses deals mainly in the physical; do not lie, do not murder, do not commit adultery, etc. So, too, do the punishments; if a man does this he must be to death, if a man does this he must be cut off from his people, if a man does this he must make a guilt offering, etc. Also, atonement and acknowledgment of the Lord was physical, in the form of burnt offering, whether animal or grain. The Lord even had the Israelites make a physical meeting place, the tabernacle, which held the famed Ark of the Covenant among other things, all intricately designed and decked with gold. What did the Lord need all this for?
The answer is, He didn't. As humans we tend to deal mainly in the physical. Think about it, what is easier to understand; the concept of love, or the sum of two and two? Both are basic questions, yet only one of them is likely to get multiple different answers, spark heated debates, and leave us puzzled.
So, since the Israelites are God's chosen people, He gave them something they could understand. This was, however, only the first part of the lesson. The Israelites understood the physical presence of sin, forgiveness, and punishment, but what God needed them to understand was the spiritual aspects.
This is what Jesus meant when he said he had come to fulfill the law. It is not enough to refrain from murder, we must not allow hate in our heart; it is not enough to refrain from adultery, we must not allow lust in our heart. Do not hate your enemy, but love your enemy; do not seek justice, but forgive. Do not store up treasures on Earth, but treasures in Heaven. And the big
one, we are not saved by righteousness, not by our physical action; but by faith, by our spiritual action, by our love for God. For this Jesus made the last atonement, the last physical sacrifice for the sins of the world, himself.
The God of the Old Testament and the God of the New Testament are one and the same God. His message never changed, it was just that He was still in the process of teaching it, and unfortunately we humans are slow learners. Take heart, however, for the next time Jesus returns, it will not be for teaching, but for a final exam. We need only to study and prepare, for no one knows when that final exam will come, but we will certainly want to be ready.
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"At first glance, there seems to be a contradiction between the God of the Old Testament, and the God that Jesus preached. Indeed, this is one of the main reasons people had such a hard time accepting him. However, as Jesus said, "Do not think I have come to abolish the Law or the Prophets [of the old testament]; I have not come to abolish them, but to fulfill them." Matthew 5:17
The law of Moses deals mainly in the physical; do not lie, do not murder, do not commit adultery, etc. So, too, do the punishments; if a man does this he must be to death, if a man does this he must be cut off from his people, if a man does this he must make a guilt offering, etc. Also, atonement and acknowledgment of the Lord was physical, in the form of burnt offering, whether animal or grain. The Lord even had the Israelites make a physical meeting place, the tabernacle, which held the famed Ark of the Covenant among other things, all intricately designed and decked with gold. What did the Lord need all this for?
The answer is, He didn't. As humans we tend to deal mainly in the physical. Think about it, what is easier to understand; the concept of love, or the sum of two and two? Both are basic questions, yet only one of them is likely to get multiple different answers, spark heated debates, and leave us puzzled.
So, since the Israelites are God's chosen people, He gave them something they could understand. This was, however, only the first part of the lesson. The Israelites understood the physical presence of sin, forgiveness, and punishment, but what God needed them to understand was the spiritual aspects.
This is what Jesus meant when he said he had come to fulfill the law. It is not enough to refrain from murder, we must not allow hate in our heart; it is not enough to refrain from adultery, we must not allow lust in our heart. Do not hate your enemy, but love your enemy; do not seek justice, but forgive. Do not store up treasures on Earth, but treasures in Heaven. And the big
one, we are not saved by righteousness, not by our physical action; but by faith, by our spiritual action, by our love for God. For this Jesus made the last atonement, the last physical sacrifice for the sins of the world, himself.
The God of the Old Testament and the God of the New Testament are one and the same God. His message never changed, it was just that He was still in the process of teaching it, and unfortunately we humans are slow learners. Take heart, however, for the next time Jesus returns, it will not be for teaching, but for a final exam. We need only to study and prepare, for no one knows when that final exam will come, but we will certainly want to be ready.