Cutter said:
Romans 15:4 For whatsoever things were written aforetime were written for our learning, that we through patience and comfort of the scriptures might have hope.
The OT was "written for our learning"
not to bind us, but as Paul states in Galatians 3:23 But before faith came, we were kept under the law, shut up unto the faith which should afterwards be revealed.
:24 Wherefore the law was our schoolmaster [to bring us] unto Christ, that we might be justified by faith.
:25 But after that faith is come, we are no longer under a schoolmaster.
The OT was our schoolmaster and as Paul states in verse 25 we are no longer under the schoolmaster. In the same breathe we must accept the gravity of the words and lessons taught in the OT.
1 Timothy 1:8 But we know that the law [is] good, if a man use it lawfully;
Matthew 5:17 Think not that I am come to destroy the law, or the prophets: I am not come to destroy, but to fulfil. :18 For verily I say unto you, Till heaven and earth pass, one jot or one tittle shall in no wise pass from the law, till all be fulfilled. :19 Whosoever therefore shall break one of these least commandments, and shall teach men so, he shall be called the least in the kingdom of heaven: but whosoever shall do and teach [them], the same shall be called great in the kingdom of heaven.
Q: When you graduate from college, and you are no longer "
under" your Professors, under their authority, beholden unto them for grades, degrees, etc...
do you then
forget everything they taught you?
The legalistic Pharisees rebuked the Messiah for not strictly observing the Sabbath — ie, not observing the letter of the Law:
At that time Jesus went through the grainfields on the Sabbath. His disciples were hungry and began to pick some heads of grain and eat them. When the Pharisees saw this, they said to him, "Look! Your disciples are doing what is unlawful on the Sabbath."
He answered, "Haven't you read what David did when he and his companions were hungry? He entered the house of God, and he and his companions ate the consecrated bread—which was not lawful for them to do, but only for the priests. Or haven't you read in the Law that on the Sabbath the priests in the temple desecrate the day and yet are innocent? I tell you that something greater than the temple is here. If you had known what these words mean, 'I desire mercy, not sacrifice,' you would not have condemned the innocent. For the Son of Man is Lord of the Sabbath."
Matthew 12:1-8 (NIV)
The similar version in Mark concludes with,
'Then he said to them, "The Sabbath was made for man, not man for the Sabbath"' (Mark 2:27).
The Messiah goes on to explain this further:
Going on from that place, he went into their synagogue, and a man with a shriveled hand was there. Looking for a reason to accuse Jesus, they asked him, "Is it lawful to heal on the Sabbath?"
He said to them, "If any of you has a sheep and it falls into a pit on the Sabbath, will you not take hold of it and lift it out? How much more valuable is a man than a sheep! Therefore it is lawful to do good on the Sabbath."
Then he said to the man, "Stretch out your hand." So he stretched it out and it was completely restored, just as sound as the other. But the Pharisees went out and plotted how they might kill Jesus.
Matthew 12:9-14 (NIV)
When you graduate from college, and you have your Ph.D., you are afforded more "respect", more "authority", more "leeway". When you are a lowly undergrad, you're like a lowly journeyman apprentice in a guild. You are to do what you're told, when and how you're told. You're not supposed to think on your own, b/c you don't actually know enough. If you try to "innovate", you're
guaranteed to mess up. So your instructor holds you to the letter of the law, b/c then at least you won't break things, get hurt, etc.
But when you are a "Master Carpenter", then if you want to try to do something a little different from rigid tradition, you're given the room to do so. It is "
lawful" for you to "bend the rules" a wee tad, b/c after all you have the credentials to actually truthfully know that your way actually truthfully works. Hence, the High Priest can feed David or minister on the Sabbath. And the "spiritual High Priests" (true Believers, 1 Peter 2:5-9) can heal on the Sabbath, rescue animals and even eat if they really need to. There are "minor sins" that do not lead all the way "unto death" (1 John 5:16-17).
But notice, "loving thy neighbor as thy self" (Lev 19:18) — by healing a leper on the Sabbath, say —
is keeping the Law. It is
keeping the true Spirit of the Law, even if not every single letter.
But it is NOT license to kill, rape, etc etc etc. That is NOT keeping the Law
in Spirit, and is hence unLawful.
True Believers, as a "Holy Priesthood" (1 Pet 2:5-9), just like the actual High Priests of old (Matt 12:5 = Lev 24:5-8, Numbers 28:9-10, 1 Chr 9:32), can do things like "work" on the Sabbath, as long as it is
truly Lawful by virtue of
keeping and advancing the True Spirit of the Law.
Summary:
As shown by Matthew 12:12, the Messiah taught people how to observe and obey the Law. The Messiah told people to Obey the Law, and showed them
how to Obey the Law. It is written, that YHWH-God wants mercy, not sacrifice (Hos 6:6), and justice, kindness and humility not 1000s of sacrificed rams (Mic 6:6-8). The words "sacrifice"
embody all the occult and esoteric ritualism of the
physical Temple. These are but a "shadow" of the
True Spirit of the Law, which is:
"The most important one," answered Jesus, "is this: 'Hear, O Israel, the Lord our God, the Lord is one. Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind and with all your strength.' The second is this: 'Love your neighbor as yourself.' There is no commandment greater than these."
Mark 12:29-31
And so:
Therefore 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. Do not let anyone who delights in false humility and the worship of angels disqualify you for the prize. Such a person goes into great detail about what he has seen, and his unspiritual mind puffs him up with idle notions. He has lost connection with the Head, from whom the whole body, supported and held together by its ligaments and sinews, grows as God causes it to grow.
Colossians 2:16-19
Please also see
Hebrews 8:5 & 10:1.
