1) The Law of Moses– why?
God
wanted a people to be in a covenant with Him, to show His glory and
praise Him (Deuteronomy 29:12-13, Numbers 14:21). God recognised that
we needed commandments that were clear so that we could recognise
good and evil (Deut. 30:10-16).
It was intended to be a
schoolmaster, a shadow of things to come (Galations 3:24, Hebrews
10:1)
The Law of Moses – what is in it?
The
Law was extensive, covering many daily aspects of an Israelite’s
life. A summary of the main areas is given below:
1. The ten
commandments
2. The Sabbath
3. Tabernacle worship and role of
the priests, tribe of Levi
4. Offerings (sin, burnt, peace and
trespass)
5. Annual holidays (passover, firstfruits, ingathering,
convocation, atonement, tabernacles)
6. Disease, death, birth,
circumcision, eating of meat
7. Nazarites, gifts to God
Saul
to the Apostle Paul struggle
Paul was a Hebrew of the
Hebrews (Phil. 3:5), who studied under Gamaliel (Acts 22:3) and
struggled with the idea of Jesus of Nazareth (Acts 26:9). Paul uses
the insight of his own struggle in many of his letters to show others
how Christ fulfils the Law of Moses.
Why did Saul and the
Jews miss the connection?
From the Old Testament the Jews were
expecting a Christ (Luke 7:19, John 6:14, 7:31,41,42), but many
questioned how Christ fulfilled the Old Testament. The disciples
expected the Messiah to re-establish the Kingdom of Israel and save
them from the rulership of the Romans (Acts 1:6). When Christ alluded
to his coming death and resurrection even one who had been with him
during his ministry, the disciple Peter, said ‘this will not
happen to you” (Matt. 16:21-22). Yet the purpose of Christ was
in the Law and prophets which Christ explained following his
resurrection (Luke 24:27).
How Christ fulfils the Law of
Moses
Christ was as a lamb brought to the slaughter (Acts
8:32-35) a sacrifice for sin (Heb 9:26). A male lamb was first
introduced by Moses and Aaron for the first Passover when Israel was
brought out of Egypt. It is also the time when Christ was put to
death (Matt. 26:2). Christ is called our Passover (1 Cor 5:7) and
represents how God passed over the sins of Israel and delivered them
out of Egypt (oppression and sin) (Exodus 12:26-27).
Christ
has taken on the role of a high priest (Heb. 4:14-15) who is able to
empathise with our struggle with sin. His one sacrifice does away
with continual imperfect sacrifices under the Law (Heb. 7:18-28)
The
personal touch
The Law of Moses could be perceived as being
distant, a Law, but Christ's sacrifice was personal. The Jews had
come to make their own commandments, but their heart was far from God
(Matt. 15:8-9). It was the sacrifice of Christ that moved Paul (Acts
9:6), that someone would lay down their life for us (John 15:13).
