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? 

Before the Emperor's Vision

In the previous post, we discussed the importance of the symbol of the cross in the writings of the New Testament. In this post, we will look at some of the historical evidence that the cross continued to be an important symbol in the Second Century. In doing so, we will destroy the notion that the cross didn't become a Christian Symbol until Constantine saw his famous vision in the year 312 CE before the Battle of the Milvian Bridge. In other words, the cross was a well-established Christian symbol that the emperor appropriated for his own purposes!

From Ignatius of Antioch's letter to the Christians at Ephesus, we read: "Let my spirit be counted as nothing for the sake of the cross, which is a stumbling-block to those that do not believe, but to us salvation and life eternal. "Where is the wise man? where the disputer?" Where is the boasting of those who are styled prudent? For our God, Jesus Christ, was, according to the appointment of God, conceived in the womb by Mary, of the seed of David, but by the Holy Ghost. He was born and baptized, that by His passion He might purify the water."   Ignatius of Antioch to the Ephesians

From Justin Martyr's First Apology, we read: "But in no instance, not even in any of those called sons of Jupiter, did they imitate the being crucified; for it was not understood by them, all the things said of it having been put symbolically. And this, as the prophet foretold, is the greatest symbol of His power and role; as is also proved by the things which fall under our observation. For consider all the things in the world, whether without this form they could be administered or have any community. For the sea is not traversed except that trophy which is called a sail abide safe in the ship; and the earth is not ploughed without it: diggers and mechanics do not their work, except with tools which have this shape. And the human form differs from that of the irrational animals in nothing else than in its being erect and having the hands extended, and having on the face extending from the forehead what is called the nose, through which there is respiration for the living creature; and this shows no other form than that of the cross. And so it was said by the prophet, The breath before our face is the Lord Christ. And the power of this form is shown by your own symbols on what are called vexilla [banners] and trophies, with which all your state possessions are made, using these as the insignia of your power and government, even though you do so unwittingly. And with this form you consecrate the images of your emperors when they die, and you name them gods by inscriptions. Since, therefore, we have urged you both by reason and by an evident form, and to the utmost of our ability, we know that now we are blameless even though you disbelieve; for our part is done and finished."  Justin Martyr's "First Apology"

From Tertullian's The Chaplet or De Carona, we read: "At every forward step and movement, at every going in and out, when we put on our clothes and shoes, when we bathe, when we sit at table, when we light the lamps, on couch, on seat, in all the ordinary actions of daily life, we trace upon the forehead the sign."  Tertullian's "De Carona"

The Cross of Christ

 

In his article, Why the Cross Is Essential to Christianity, Dr Philip Ryken (The Gospel Coalition) wrote: "When archaeologists dig through the ruins of antiquity, they have one certain way to identify a place of Christian worship. They look for a cross. When they find it painted on a wall, carved into stone, or even worked into a floor plan, they know they’ve found a church. Since the beginning, Christians have identified themselves with the cross on which Jesus died. And whether it’s carved in wood or etched on our hearts, the cross is the chief symbol and defining reality of the Christian faith." Indeed, the word "cross" appears twenty-eight times in the King James Version of the New Testament!

Paul wrote this in his first letter to the Christians at Corinth: "For Christ didn’t send me to baptize, but to preach the Good News—and not with clever speech, for fear that the cross of Christ would lose its power. The message of the cross is foolish to those who are headed for destruction! But we who are being saved know it is the very power of God." (I Corinthians 1:17-18, NLT) Likewise, to the Christians of Galatia, he wrote: "Those who are trying to force you to be circumcised want to look good to others. They don’t want to be persecuted for teaching that the cross of Christ alone can save. And even those who advocate circumcision don’t keep the whole law themselves. They only want you to be circumcised so they can boast about it and claim you as their disciples. As for me, may I never boast about anything except the cross of our Lord Jesus Christ. Because of that cross, my interest in this world has been crucified, and the world’s interest in me has also died." (Galatians 6:12-14, NLT) Finally, he wrote this to the saints at Ephesus: "For Christ himself has brought peace to us. He united Jews and Gentiles into one people when, in his own body on the cross, he broke down the wall of hostility that separated us. He did this by ending the system of law with its commandments and regulations. He made peace between Jews and Gentiles by creating in himself one new people from the two groups. Together as one body, Christ reconciled both groups to God by means of his death on the cross, and our hostility toward each other was put to death." (Ephesians 2:14-16, NLT)

Now, unfortunately, there are a few folks who like to point out that the cross existed before it became a Christian symbol. In the Watchtower ONLINE LIBRARY article, The Cross Is of Pagan Origin, we read: "In its edition of 1908, The Catholic Encyclopedia states in volume 4, page 517: 'The sign of the cross, represented in its simplest form by a crossing of two lines at right angles, greatly antedates, in both the East and the West, the introduction of Christianity. It goes back to a very remote period of human civilization.' The book The Ancient Church by clergyman W. D. Killen concurs by saying, on page 316: 'From the most remote antiquity the cross was venerated in Egypt and Syria; it was held in equal honour by the Buddhists of the East; and, what is still more extraordinary, when the Spaniards first visited America, the well-known sign was found among the objects of worship in the idol temples of Anahuac. It is also remarkable that, about the commencement of our era, the pagans were wont to make the sign of a cross upon the forehead in the celebration of some of their sacred mysteries.'" Are the Jehovah's Witnesses right? Is the symbol tainted because of its former associations?

According to the Hebrew Bible (our Old Testament), the city of Jerusalem was a pagan city before David conquered it. That didn't stop God from adopting it as the place where his Temple would be built and where his name would rest! Thus, the fact that the symbol of the cross was formerly employed by the Egyptians, Syrians, Buddhists, and Native American temples cannot be said to permanently taint/pollute the symbol. Indeed, before Christ's crucifixion, the Romans regarded the cross as a symbol of punishment and shame. The TRUTH is that Christ transformed the cross when he was crucified on one! Thereafter, the cross was a Christian symbol, and all of its former associations ceased to have any hold or power over it - or the people who used it!

When we (Christians) see the cross, we are drawn to the image of our Savior hanging on it for our sins. We are inexorably drawn to this image: "So they took Jesus away. Carrying the cross by himself, he went to the place called Place of the Skull (in Hebrew, Golgotha). There they nailed him to the cross. Two others were crucified with him, one on either side, with Jesus between them. And Pilate posted a sign on the cross that read, 'Jesus of Nazareth, the King of the Jews.'" (John 19:16-19, NLT) Christians maintain their faith "by keeping our eyes on Jesus, the champion who initiates and perfects our faith. Because of the joy awaiting him, he endured the cross, disregarding its shame. Now he is seated in the place of honor beside God’s throne." (Hebrews 12:2, NLT) For us, the cross is the symbol of our devotion to our Savior - it reminds us of his greatest act of love for all of us.