Jesus Taught Tanakh

Do not think that I came to destroy the Law or the Prophets (the Tanakh). I did not come to destroy but to fulfill. For assuredly, I say to you, till heaven and earth pass away (by the way, the earth is still here), not one jot or one tittle will by no means pass from the law till all is fulfilled. Whoever therefore breaks one of the least of these commandments, and teaches men so, shall be called least in the kingdom of heaven; but whoever does and teaches them, he shall be called great in the kingdom of heaven. Matt 5:17-19

Did Jesus really mean that? When asked, we usually give a very vague and confusing answer that sounds something like, “Well ugh, He meant some of it, kind of, in a way, but not all of it…ugh, well He did away with the Law!” This answer has always been uncomfortable to me because Jesus’ prophetic instruction includes a timeframe of up to the passing of heaven and earth, not His resurrection. And since Jesus is the Author and Finisher of our faith and knows all the “prophetic time zones”-- it seems to me, He meant what He said.

The Tanakh is the Hebrew word used for the collective Old Testament. And as mentioned previously, ALL New Testament Scriptures encouraging us to read, study, grow, desire, hold true to and be renewed by were referring to the Tanakh -- the New Testament had not even been canonized yet! And as mentioned in Section One, Jesus did fulfill all the Law, but all the Law, in it’s prophetic trajectory, has not yet been completely fulfilled – such as His Second Coming! However, this is not to be confused with Jesus COMPLETELY fulfilling the ceremonial law for our atonement -- paid in full!

Jesus taught in parables and stories that revealed both His innards and ours in regard to the Word of His Kingdom. Did you know that when Jesus taught the Sermon on the Mount, He was giving a very practical application of the very heart of the Law written in Leviticus? Often, we are so far removed from the Law we don’t realize or even recognize when it is being taught or expounded upon. Again, please don’t misunderstand me, the Law was merely a type and shadow of the Substance of Christ Himself – and what He was about to create in us!

Jesus was trying to lift our heart’s understanding to the meaning behind the letter of the Law and see and understand that the Kingdom of God is ruled by that meaning – it is His code of order! 

As mentioned in Section One, while the type and shadow of the Law said, “You shall not commit adultery,” Jesus brought us the meaning of that Scripture in His Kingdom, that to even look at a woman with lust in your heart you had already committed adultery with her!” The external prohibition was to reveal the need for the internal transformation. 

The good news is that Jesus was not reinstituting the Law on tablets of stone so we could feel even worse about ourselves, but promising to create something altogether new, to be completely born again, as a new man. That would be awesome by itself, having a new man to read the Word, but He goes further than that, and He writes the Laws of The Kingdom directly on our hearts – our new man is hard-wired for righteousness!

If you are a believer in Jesus Christ and have been born again, then God has written His Law on your new man’s heart! Jesus is the Word that became flesh and it is that same Word that dwells within us – His DNA, and His DNA does not change! 

This is good news! Here is a rule a thumb, measure your belief system and worldview by your willingness to take Jesus at His Word! It is the difference between being His Bride or just one in the crowd of your culture. As Paul said,

…since you have put off the old man and his deeds, and have put on the new man who is renewed in knowledge according to the image of Him who created him... Col 3:10

Once, I heard a woman say, “For years I was a follower of the Apostle Paul more than the Lord Jesus.” Her comment, though admittedly was slightly offensive, provoked a quest in me to understand what she meant. Her plumb-line comment has served me well through the years! So what did she mean?

The Apostle Paul had a certain style of writing which was very thorough and if read contextually there is no variance from Jesus’ teachings. However, taking various select verses and themes out of context and using them to create the doctrine of goofy has been a temptation from the early church on, even the Apostle Peter warned of twisting or taking Paul’s teaching out of context (2 Pet 3:16) by creating a separate view from the collective body of Scripture. Obviously, that goes for any verse taken out of context, but particularly in Paul’s writings. 

Folk have come up with goofy stuff, such as grace didn’t begin until the New Testament, grace without accountability, grace that doesn’t even necessitate the acknowledgment of Jesus as Lord or liberty in Christ that is exempt from consequences. As mentioned, goofy, because at the very heart of Jesus’ teaching is the certainty of spiritual account!