Bear one another’s burdens, and in this way you fulfill the Torah [Law] of Messiah. Galatians 6:2, TLV
What is the “Law” of Messiah? That question has been debated for centuries, even more so in the last three or four decades. Most folks believe the Law of the Messiah was referring to a conversation Jesus had with a Pharisee — a scholar and one who studied the Law.
Since there are two different accounts in the Gospels, we either have two different point-of-views of the same conversation, or there were two different encounters.
Matthew’s account (Matthew 22:34-40) has Yeshua in a debate with the Sadducees, a group of scholars who didn’t believe in the resurrection because they felt that only the Torah — Genesis through Deuteronomy — were canonized. All the other writings — writings of history, psalms, proverbs, even the prophets — were not valid.
The Pharisees probably took great pleasure in Yeshua showing up their rivals, but they wanted to test Him, too.
“And testing Him, one of them, a lawyer, asked, “Teacher, which is the greatest commandment in the Torah?” Matthew 22:35-36, TLV [Emphasis Mine]
Of course, what Jesus responded with is what every Jewish child was taught by their parents for thousands of years:
And He said to him, “‘You shall love ADONAI [the LORD] your God with all your heart, and with all your soul, and with all your mind.’ This is the first and greatest commandment. And the second is like it, ‘You shall love your neighbor as yourself.’” Matthew 22:37-39, TLV
But, I love Mark’s version (Mark 12:28-34) for three reasons. First, because the Pharisee truly wanted to know if Yeshua knew the Scriptures, his test was not about trickery, but about curiosity. The second reason, Yeshua’s answer began with the Shema [Hebrew for Hear or Listen].
“Yeshua answered, “The first is, ‘Shema Yisrael, ADONAI Eloheinu, ADONAI echad. Hear, O Israel, the Lord our God, the Lord is One.” (vs. 29) Which is the ancient Jewish prayer and declaration taken from Deuteronomy 6:4-5.
Finally, I loved Mark’s account because the man’s sincerity resulted in being satisfied with Yeshua’s answer and Yeshua commending the man (vss. 32-34).
Others might believe that what was written in John chapters 13, 14, and 15 was the Law of Messiah. Essentially:
“This is My commandment, that you love one another just as I have loved you.” John 15:12
So, is this the Law of Messiah? I don’t believe it is. Not in the conventional way that has been taught.
I believe the Law of Messiah was given on a hill overlooking Lake of Gennesaret (Sea of Galilee) and Capernaum, the fishing town on the northern shore of the Lake of Gennesaret.
What many refer to as the Sermon on the Mount. Matthew chapter 5 was a clear investment in the Law — the Law of Messiah. Jesus’ teaching was that what was written on tablets, scrolls, and papyri were words that now needed to be engraved on the hearts of every child of God.
Sound familiar? It should. This was the prophecy from Jeremiah 31 that God would one day engrave His law on the hearts of His children (Jeremiah 31:32).
What Jesus taught on that hill was that every Law in the Torah had a “heart-factor.” Essentially, he said, “Good for you that you don’t commit adultery, but if you have looked upon another with thoughts of lust, then you broke the commandment of ‘Thou shalt not commit adultery.’”
Yikes.
Yeshua was saying the Law needs to go deeper into our hearts — be part of our thoughts and motives, not just our behavior.
The Law of the Messiah gave us more responsibilities to look deeper to understand what our Heavenly Father wants for His redeemed children. A personal accountability. Because, this Law was intended, as was the Torah, to help God’s people walk out faith in the most difficult of situations.
The complexities and the simplicity we will learn from the “Law of Messiah” we will learn for the rest of our lives. It’s our sanctification process. That miraculous work that goes on under Yeshua’s robe of righteousness that covers us.
Anyway. That’s what this non-scholar thinks. How about you?
