My point in writing this is that Jesus upheld the Law of Moses both in word and deed. As His Disciples…we should do the same. Perhaps you confuse commandments of men with Commandments of God. The Bible teaches from one end to the other faith in Messiah and obedience to God’s Commandments.

Jesus said that all of God’s Commandments hang on these two…the only way you know how to love God is by the instructions He gave us in Torah…the same goes for loving people. John tells us in 1 John that if we say we know God, but don’t keep His Commandments as given thru Moses…we are a liar. (1 John 2:4) Also, Jesus said “if you love Me, keep My Commandments”. His Commandments and the Commandments of His Father are always the same. They are as one right?

I think you would agree that if we say we love God but worship Idols for instance…our words are as nothing. The same goes for the other Commandments.

Let me know what you think…

In Messiah, Tim

When Jesus was asked the question (by a lawyer) in Matthew 22:37-40, he was being asked to weigh in the excessive legalism that ruled society. His response that there are really only two things we must keep in mind was a challenge to the religious orthodoxy of his time.

As Christianity became “establish,” it moved further away from Christ’s advice that one had to look at the big picture and make decisions within that framework and more toward a rules-bound orthodoxy. The Protestant Reformation can be seen, in part, as a reimposition of the Jesus Way vs. Orthodoxy.

Today, we face the question throughout religious life. Many religious leaders have, to put it in modern vernacular, “control issues.” They want to tell everyone–not just their flock, but all mankind–what to do. The attempt to enforce orthodoxy exists in Christianity, Judaism, and Islam. Some call it fundametalism.

Jesus tells us life is, at once, much more simple, yet not that simple. We do not have to remember 500 rules that circumscribe every aspect of our behavior and therefore tell us exactly what to do at all times. But we do have to remember two big rules, and living under them require us to make choices every day.