Jesus also, that he might sanctify the people with his own blood, suffered outside the gate. Therefore, let us go forth to him outside the camp, bearing his reproach. For we have no continuing city here, but we seek one to come.
Select a thought to read by choosing a collection, the month, and then the day:
There are some facts that are so basic to one's understanding of the New Testament
books that without being aware of them, one cannot possibly understand
what the apostles wrote. Beginning today, I will present to you the essentials
with which every student of the New Testament ought to begin his study. Before
opening for the first time any of the books written by the apostles, one ought to
already know these things. Fathers, teach these truths to your children. Pastors
ought to teach these fundamentals to the congregation. These are foundations
upon which all right knowledge of the truth of Christ is laid.
A. This means that the New Testament did not go into effect in Matthew with the birth of Jesus. Jesus was born and lived under the Law of Moses.
If the New Testament began with Jesus' birth, then his parents would not have afterward circumcised him and offered an animal sacrifice for Mary's purification (Lk. 2:21-24; Lev. 12:2). Neither would Jesus as a grown man have commanded lepers that he healed to offer the sacrifices that Moses told healed lepers to offer (Mt. 8:1-4; Mk. 1:40-45; Lk. 5:12-15; 17:11-14). And if the Law of Moses, the Old Testament, passed away at Jesus' birth, Jesus certainly would not have commanded everyone around him, both the multitude and his disciples, to do whatever the Pharisees told them to do (Mt. 23:1-3). According to Jesus, all Israel was required to obey the Pharisees because they "sat in Moses' seat." That is to say, the Law still had authority over them at that time.
It was not until the book of Acts, after Jesus died, rose from the dead, and ascended into heaven that the New Covenant began. The coming of the Spirit to write God's laws in the hearts of men is the New Testament (Heb. 8:8-12). This is why Paul told the saints at Corinth that if Christ had not risen from the dead, there would be no New Testament (1Cor.15:14-17). And the author of Hebrews added this explanation of why the New Testament began after Jesus died: Last Will and Testaments are put in force only after men are dead (Heb. 9:15-17)
B. This means that Jesus obeyed Moses' Law perfectly (because it was of God). The definition of sinlessness in the Lord's case was, at the least, that he never transgressed the Law of Moses (1Jn. 3:4). Then why was Jesus so hated by Israel's leaders? They, too, acknowledged that the Law was of God. They hated Jesus because Jesus refused to place the "traditions of the elders" on a par with Moses' Law. His love of God and His Law above all else angered the elders of Israel. Every single time the traditions of Jewish elders conflicted with Moses' Law, Jesus chose to obey Moses' Law. This was not always the case with Israel's elders at that time. Here are just a few examples of Jesus' choosing God's commandments over the "traditions of the elders": Mk. 7:1-13; Mt. 5:17-20; 8:1-4; 12:1-14.
C. Jesus was not a rebel. It is important for young people to understand that Jesus did not purposefully provoke Israel's leaders to anger with a contemptuous attitude toward their traditions. He honored their traditions whenever those traditions did not conflict with the will of God. (e.g. Jn. 5:1; 10:22).
Without knowing that Jesus was born, lived, and died under the Law of Moses, you cannot understand fully why Jesus' sufferings and crucifixion were necessary. After all, if the New Testament was instituted before Jesus died, then why did he have to die? If the New Testament was instituted before Jesus died, then his purpose for coming was already accomplished, even before his sacrificial death. No, my friend, Jesus was the "testator" of this New Testament, and without his death, the New Testament could never have been put into effect.
This is the first stone that I am laying out for you for a foundation, a foundation upon which you may safely build as you grow in the knowledge of God.