Ten Words or THE WORD?

Unfortunately, there has been some confusion within the Church over a Christian's responsibility toward the Ten Commandments (and the other 603 commandments, more generally speaking) of Torah. In their article, What Are the Ten Commandments?, Chabad.org informs us that "The Ten Commandments are not the entirety of G‑d’s instructions for His people (there are 613 commandments). However, they contain within them the kernel from which the others emerge." Interestingly, in the book of Exodus, we read that "he wrote upon the tables the words of the commandments, the ten commandments." (Exodus 34:28) Likewise, in the book of Deuteronomy, we read: "And he declared unto you his covenant, which he commanded you to perform, even ten commandments; and he wrote them upon two tables of stone." (Deuteronomy 4:13) In other words, the TEN served as the basis for the others AND as the foundation of God's covenant with Israel! Thus, according to Torah, the Ten plus all of the others, would be the standard of righteousness for the children of Israel. (Deuteronomy 6:25)

Indeed, the importance of the ten is almost universally recognized and acknowledged by the overwhelming majority of both Jewish and Christian scholars. Scripture informs us that the Ten Commandments were carved into two stones tablets by God himself. (Exodus 31:18) Nevertheless, those same writings go on to declare that the TEN cannot be separated from the rest of Torah. (Deuteronomy 4:1-8, 6:1-3) It must be noted, however, that our English translations sometimes hide some of the important subtleties of the original Hebrew text. For example, the Hebrew word most often translated into English as commandment is "mitzvah." Even so, when Torah speaks of the TEN the Hebrew word used to describe them is "dabar," which can be translated into English as "word," "saying," or "statement." Hence, according to the Hebrew Bible, God gave the Israelites Ten words/sayings/statements!" As we will shortly demonstrate, this rather subtle distinction underscored the importance of the Ten for the Jews and elevated their symbolism relative to the Messiah.

Christians, of course, believe that Jesus of Nazareth was THE Messiah. According to the Gospel of Matthew, in his Sermon on the Mount, Jesus declared that he came to this earth to FULFILL the Law and the Prophets of the Hebrew Bible. (Matthew 5:17) Did he do that? How did he FULFILL the Law and the Prophets? In the following paragraphs, we will demonstrate that Jesus of Nazareth did what he came to this earth to do - that he finished the task which God the Father had appointed him to perform!

In the book of Genesis, God prophesied that the Serpent would wound the heel of the woman's offspring, but that he would wound the head of the Serpent's offspring. (Genesis 3:15) God promised Abraham that the whole earth would be blessed through his offspring. (Genesis 22:18) Moses prophesied that God would "raise up for you a prophet like me from among you, from your brothers—it is to him you shall listen." (Deuteronomy 18:15) Like Moses in what respect? God used Moses to give the Ten Words and other commandments of Torah to the people of Israel. Doesn't that indicate that this prophesied person would fulfill a similar function? To be precise, I believe that Moses meant that this person would have a great deal to say about God's Law (and Jesus of Nazareth most certainly did have quite a bit to say on that subject - e.g. the Sermon on the Mount)!

Now, we will see that Christ fulfilled the Law in a number of different ways: 1) He obeyed all of the precepts of Torah (including the Ten) perfectly - without failing in any aspect of obedience. In short, he NEVER sinned by breaking any one of the 613 commandments of Torah! 2) Scripture makes very clear that ALL of the Law, Prophets, and Writings pointed to Jesus Christ. In other words, ALL of the various commandments relative to morals, rituals, sacrifices, governance, and cleanliness were symbolic of Jesus and his work! (e.g. he was the Passover Lamb, Wave Sheaf, Atonement, firstfruits, etc.) Jesus personified the commandments! 3) He expanded the reach and meaning of God's Law by revealing that LOVE was the principle on which the whole legislative edifice of Torah was founded upon, and that true obedience was a matter of the heart - something that was to be internalized. 4) Christ redefined righteousness for humankind. He made it possible for all of us to stand before Almighty God whole and clean - SINLESS! In the paragraphs which follow, we will examine each of the ways in which Christ fulfilled the Law in more detail (especially relative to the Ten).

The New Covenant is based on the assertion that Jesus Christ lived a sinless life - that he obeyed the commandments of Torah without any missteps. Throughout Torah, a sacrifice without blemish was to be presented to God - this foreshadowed Christ's sacrifice of himself (compare to I Peter 1:19). In the epistle to the Hebrews, we read that Jesus Christ was subjected to all human temptations, but that he remained sinless. (Hebrews 4:15) In the book of Isaiah, we read that God would place all of our sins on the Messiah; "And they made his grave with the wicked and with a rich man in his death, although he had done no violence, and there was no deceit in his mouth." (Isaiah 53:9, ESV) Later, in the same passage, the Messiah is referred to as the "righteous one." (Isaiah 53:11, ESV) Indeed, throughout the fifty-third chapter of Isaiah, it is made very clear that Christ would bear the sins of others, and that his own righteousness would be conferred upon them. In other words, a righteous innocent would take away the sins of the guilty! (See Leviticus 16, John 1:29, II Corinthians 5:21, and Hebrews 9:28)

The Gospels make very clear that the Law, Prophets, and Writings of the Hebrew Bible pointed to Jesus of Nazareth. In the Gospel of John, we read that Philip told Nathaniel that "We have found the one Moses wrote about in the Law, and about whom the prophets also wrote—Jesus of Nazareth, the son of Joseph." (John 1:45, NIV) In the Gospel of Luke, we are informed that Jesus himself revealed this truth to his disciples after his resurrection. We read: "He <Christ> said to them, 'How foolish you are, and how slow to believe all that the prophets have spoken! Did not the Messiah have to suffer these things and then enter his glory?' And beginning with Moses and all the Prophets, he explained to them what was said in all the Scriptures concerning himself." (Luke 24:25-27, NIV) Later, he continued: "This is what I told you while I was still with you: Everything must be fulfilled that is written about me in the Law of Moses, the Prophets and the Psalms." (Luke 24:44, NIV) In the book of Acts, we are informed that Philip converted an Ethiopian eunuch by explaining that a passage from the book of Isaiah referred to Jesus. (Acts 8:26-39) The same book informs us that the people of Rome "arranged to meet Paul on a certain day, and came in even larger numbers to the place where he was staying. He witnessed to them from morning till evening, explaining about the kingdom of God, and from the Law of Moses and from the Prophets he tried to persuade them about Jesus." (Acts 28:23, NIV)

We sometimes forget that the only Scriptures available to the apostles and First Century Church were the Hebrew Scriptures - the New Testament was still being written! Hence, as we have already seen, the apostles and Church used what we refer to as the Old Testament to teach about Jesus. In his letter to the Christians at Colossae, Paul encouraged them "do not let anyone judge you by what you eat or drink, or with regard to a religious festival, a New Moon celebration or a Sabbath day. These are a shadow of the things that were to come; the reality, however, is found in Christ." (Colossians 2:16-17, NIV) In this sense, Jesus personified the sacrificial system, making that which was unclean clean, healing and reconciliation, and fairness and justice. More particularly, he personified the Ten Words. Everything that Jesus did glorified God, was representative of him, and honored his name. (Matthew 9:8, 15:31, Mark 2:12, Luke 5:26, 7:16, 13:13, 17:15, 23:47, John 12:28, 14:28, 17:4, Hebrews 1:1-3) In terms of the Sabbath, Jesus said: "Come to me, all who labor and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest. Take my yoke upon you, and learn from me, for I am gentle and lowly in heart, and you will find rest for your souls. For my yoke is easy, and my burden is light." (Matthew 11:28-30, ESV) Christ personified honoring his Father and his mother. (Matthew 26:39, 42, 53, Luke 2:49, John 8:49, 10:17-18, 30, 32, 19:26-27) Jesus personified a spirit of love, mercy, and patience - the antithesis of anger, vengeance, and murder (Matthew 5:43-48, 26:47-53, John 13:34-35, 15:12-17, 17:6-26) He was always faithful to God and his followers. Jesus personified a spirit of giving - the antithesis of stealing. Isaiah proclaimed that "there was no deceit in his mouth." Moreover, he called out the lies of Satan and named him the father of those who do. Finally, through Satan's temptations and a lifetime of service to others, Christ demonstrated that he did NOT covet any of the things which pertain to this world.

Scripture also informs us that Christ fulfilled the Law by clarifying and expounding upon its meaning. In his famous "Sermon on the Mount," Jesus said that the commandment against murder was violated by anger towards others. (Matthew 5:21-22) Likewise, he insisted that a married person who lusted sexually after someone who was not his/her spouse had violated the commandment against infidelity. (Matthew 5:27-28) He went on to say that people should NOT be motivated by revenge or the principle of "eye for an eye." (Matthew 5:38-42) He went on to insist that righteous behavior wasn't for public consumption - that it was a private matter between each person and God. (Matthew 6:1-8) Jesus went on to tell his audience that they should "do to others what you would have them do to you, for this sums up the Law and the Prophets." (Matthew 7:12, NIV) Indeed, throughout the Gospels, we can see that Christ taught people the real meaning of the Sabbath and how to observe it. (See Matthew 12:1-13, Mark 3:1-6, Luke 6:1-11, John 5:1-18, etc.) Later, in that same Gospel which presents his "Sermon on the Mount," Jesus distilled the entire law into two commandments. When he was asked about the greatest commandment in Torah, he replied: "Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind.’ This is the first and greatest commandment. And the second is like it: ‘Love your neighbor as yourself.’ All the Law and the Prophets hang on these two commandments." (Matthew 22:37-40, NIV) Thus, we see that a major portion of Christ's ministry was concerned with clarifying and expanding the meaning of the Law!

Christ fulfilled the Law (including the Ten) by redefining righteousness. "But now the righteousness of God has been manifested apart from the law, although the Law and the Prophets bear witness to it— the righteousness of God through faith in Jesus Christ for all who believe. For there is no distinction: for all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God, and are justified by his grace as a gift, through the redemption that is in Christ Jesus, whom God put forward as a propitiation by his blood, to be received by faith. This was to show God's righteousness, because in his divine forbearance he had passed over former sins. It was to show his righteousness at the present time, so that he might be just and the justifier of the one who has faith in Jesus." Romans 3:21-26, ESV Paul also wrote to the Galatians that "we know that a person is not justified by works of the law but through faith in Jesus Christ, so we also have believed in Christ Jesus, in order to be justified by faith in Christ and not by works of the law, because by works of the law no one will be justified." (Galatians 2:16, ESV) We <Christians> stand before God whole and clean because of what Jesus Christ did for us - PERIOD!

The Ten Words/Statements/Commandments were based on the TWO GREAT COMMANDMENTS of God's Law: To love God with your whole heart and soul and to love each other as you love yourself. As such, the Ten are good, but they have been fulfilled by Christ and made redundant by the Law of Love - the UNIVERSAL and ETERNAL Law of God! The Ten Words are GOOD, but THE WORD is BETTER! The Law of Love reflects God's character. In fact, Scripture informs us that God is LOVE! (I John 4:8) The Gospel of John informs us that Yeshua was THE WORD - that HE WAS/IS GOD! Like the Hebrew "word" before it, the Greek "logos" is translated into English as "word" or "saying." Hence, we would all do well to ask ourselves (and those who insist that Christians are obligated to obey the Ten: Do you serve the commandments or the One who FULFILLED them? In other words, ten words or THE WORD?