Jesús y “Sus Mandamientos”

²AND HE IS THE PROPITIATION FOR OUR SINS; and not only for ours, but also for those of the whole world.
³And in this we know that we know him, IF WE SAVE HIS COMMANDMENTS. —1 JOHN 2:2-3

But what are those commandments of the Lord?

Let's expand the text of John—

²AND HE IS THE PROPITIATION FOR OUR SINS; and not only for ours, but also for those of the whole world.
³And in this we know that we know him, IF WE SAVE HIS COMMANDMENTS.
⁴He who says: I know him, AND DOES NOT SAVE his commandments, THIS ONE IS A LIAR, and the truth NO THIS IN IT;
⁵but HE WHO KEEPS HIS WORD, in him truly the love of God has been perfected; this is why we know we are in it.
⁶He who says he abides in Him, MUST WALK AS HE WALKED. —JOHN, The Beloved Disciple (1 JOHN 2:2-6)

He who rejects the commandments of Jesus is headed to perdition (REVELATION 22:14-15, JOHN 14:6). This matter is very serious, and both you and I must be clear about this—if we want to reach heaven. Having said this, let's analyze the following example—

¹⁶Then one came and said to him, Good Teacher, what good thing shall I do to have eternal life?
¹⁷He said to him: Why do you call me good? There is none good but one: God. MORE IF YOU WANT TO ENTER INTO LIFE, KEEP THE COMMANDMENTS.
¹⁸Told him: Which is it? And Jesus said: YOU SHALL NOT KILL. YOU SHALL NOT ADULTER. YOU SHALL NOT STEAL. YOU SHALL NOT TELL FALSE TESTIMONY.
¹⁹HONOR YOUR FATHER AND YOUR MOTHER; and, You love your neighbor as yourself. —JESUS OF NAZARETH, Almighty God (Matthew 19:16-19)

Jesus tells the rich young ruler that to enter his kingdom he must observe God's law—his law. This is the same law given at Sinai!

And this is precisely the same law—the ten commandments, which Jesus kept—

¹⁰If you keep my commandments, you will remain in my love; AS WELL AS I HAVE SAVED THE COMMANDMENTS OF MY FATHER, and I remain in his love. —JOHN 15:10

And this is the same law that Jesus refers to when he tells you:

¹⁵If you love me, save my mandamients. —JOHN 14:15

You may say, “But Jesus didn't mention the Sabbath to the rich young ruler.” Well, he didn't mention him either. "You can not have others gods in front of me", as neither “You shall not covet your neighbor's wife.” either “thou shalt not make images”, neither “You shall not take the name of your God in vain.” Could it be that with this summarized message of the law, Jesus was telling the rich young man that he could worship Baal, or idolize Semiramis—today the Virgin Mary, and perhaps covet another man's wife, why were these commandments not mentioned? Of course not; He was simply telling the young man “keep my law,” and he only mentioned a few—well, all the Jews knew God's law very well—each of the ten commandments.

Let us remember that Jesus' ministry only lasted three and a half years on this earth. And on this occasion Jesus was about to be crucified, and here we see him giving the rich young ruler the key to inheriting his kingdom (eternal life)—keep the law. Would it be too much to speculate if we said that the rich young man had more years to live on this earth than Jesus, or that this was the last time this young man would speak to Jesus for the rest of his life? The point we are making is that “keep the commandments” to inherit eternal life, would be Jesus' last words to this young man, who was concerned about his salvation.

Why is Jesus—knowing that he was already going to be crucified—and that he would no longer see this young man, commanding him to keep a law that—supposedly—would “be abolished” in a very short period of time?

Let's look at another example—

²⁵And behold, a lawyer stood up and said to test him: Teacher, By doing what will I inherit eternal life?
²⁶He told her: What is written in the law? How do you read?
²⁷He answered and said: You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, and with all your soul, and with all your strength, and with all your mind; and your neighbor as yourself.
²⁸And he said to him: You have answered well; DO THIS, AND YOU SHALL LIVE —LUKE, Follower of Christ (Luke 10:26-28)

Here we see that the formula is a little inverted. On the one hand, we have an interpreter of the law trying to tempt Jesus, to see if he (Jesus) said something against the law, in order to accuse him before the people. Jesus answers him with another question, “What is written in the law?” Well—as we already mentioned, every Jew knew it very well, and—it would be this same one who would get into trouble if he spoke something against the law given by God—not by Moses. (EXODUS 31:18). So this same man is the one who gives the answer to Jesus—You have to keep the law.

Both the rich young ruler and the lawyer knew the answer to the question they themselves had asked Jesus. The rich young man—for his part, knew that he was not really keeping the commandments (JAMES 2:10), well—like the Pharisees, he had forgotten the most important point of God's law:

23 !!Woe to you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! because you tithe mint and dill and cumin, and you leave the MOST IMPORTANT THING of the law: JUSTICE, MERCY and FAITH. This needed to be done, without leaving of doing that. —MATHEW 23:23

Most had forgotten justice, mercy and faith. This is why Paul emphasizes—

³¹Then by faith do we invalidate the law? In no way, but we confirm the law. —PAUL OF TARSO (Romans 3:31)

The interpreter of the law—for his part, responds to Jesus that “love God…” and “love your neighbor…” It is keeping the law. Notice that Jesus does not correct him, but tells him “You have answered well, Do this and you will live.". It does not correct him, because loving God and neighbor with sincerity summarizes—NOT ELIMINATES—but summarizes, the entire law of God. If not, then Jesus contradicted himself by giving two different answers to the same question. We invite you to read the very important study The Law, The Jews & You [1] The Law, The Jews & You
[STUDY, CristoVerdad] where we expand. However, we know that God does not contradict himself (1 COR. 14:33), since “you shall have no other gods before me” is the same as “You will love your God with all your heart…” and “love your neighbor as yourself” is the same as keeping the law—5^to to 10^mo commandment, which define the relationship between man and his neighbor. [1] The Law, The Jews & You
[STUDY, CristoVerdad] If we review the text of the ten commandments—as written in the book of Deuteronomy, we will realize that it is like this:

⁶I am the Lord your God, who brought you out of the land of Egypt, out of the house of bondage.
⁷You can not have others gods in front of me. —DEUTERONOMY 5:6-7

Thus begins the dictation of the law to Israel, as it is said in EXODUS 20:1-17. Reviewing the story of GENESIS, God gives us the reasons why he sanctified the seventh day, thus completing his creation:

³And God blessed the seventh day, and sanctified it, because in him he rested of all the work he had done in creation.—GENESIS 2:3

God rested and left us an example to follow, just as he says in EXODUS 20:11. However, when we go to Deuteronomy, We see that God expands the reasons why the Sabbath was given to man:

¹²You shall keep the Sabbath day to keep it holy, as the Lord your God has commanded you. …
¹⁵Remember that you were a servant in the land of Egypt, and that the Lord your God brought you out of there with a strong hand and an outstretched arm; Therefore the Lord your God has commanded you to keep the Sabbath. —DEUTERONOMY 5:12; 13

Jehovah remembers the Jewish people—and everyone who becomes Jewish (ROM. 2:29-28), that we have been slaves in the land of Egypt. And a slave works hard and also needs to rest. Do you remember that famous text by Jesus that talks about the cause of the Sabbath?

⁷He also told them: The Sabbath was made byr cause of the man, and not man because of the Sabbath. —MARK 2:7

We all live in Egypt—that is, in a sin-stricken world, my friends and brothers. The earth became cursed because of Adam's transgression (GEN 3:17-19). Adam violated the law—each of the ten commandments, [1] The Law, The Jews & You
[STUDY, CristoVerdad] and now man would have to work much longer and harder to earn his daily bread. The Sabbath—initially, it would only be a refreshment for man with his God. But now man also needs physical rest more than spiritual rest—just as God warns. (DEUT. 6:15). We all need rest—which is Christ, who tells us “if you love me, “Keep my commandments.”. And because Christ is our rest, he gave us the Seventh Day Sabbath, [2] Jesus, The Angel of Jehovah —
Giver of the Law
[STUDY, CristoVerdad] so that we can rest in it (HEB. 4:3-11), honoring his holy day and receiving refreshment:

¹³If you withhold your foot from the Sabbath, from doing your will in my holy day, and you will call it delight, holy, glorious of Jehovah; and you will worship him, not walking in your own ways, nor seeking your own will, nor speaking your own words,
¹⁴then you will delight in the Lord; and I will make you climb upon the heights of the earth, and I will give you the inheritance of Jacob your father to eat; for the mouth of the Lord has spoken it. —ISAIAH 58:13-14

And now—continuing on Deuteronomy 5 (verses 22-28), After having received the law, we see Israel trembling before the voice of God. And in verse 29, God makes a very interesting comment:

²⁹Who would have thought they hadlcprayer, that THEY FEARED ME and kept every day ALL my commandments, so that they and their children it would be good for them forever!! —DEUTERONOMY 5:29

Do you fear Jehovah?

The teaching here is that God expects us to keep all of His law—not just the Sabbath, but the entire law, for He gives us the power to do so. (1 JOHN 3:4-9). Now, when we move forward to Deuteronomy 6, where God continues to emphasize keeping his law, we have the following:

⁴Hear, Israel: Jehovah our God, Jehovah is one.
⁵And you will love the Lord your God of everything you heart, and with all your soul, and with all your strength. —DEUTERONOMY 6:4-5

These are the same words that the lawyer recited to Jesus, and that Jesus approved. This destroys the notion that many have that only “we are living in The New Testament.” [3] The Outdated and Useless
Old Testament
[STUDY, CristoVerdad] The interpreter of the law—speaking in the “New Testament,” adheres to a writing that is—in the “Old Testament.” Jesus does not correct him, because he did not distort the word. No—don't make a mistake, on Saturday—and the whole law was not given just for the Jewish people, but for all humanity. (ISA. 56:1-7, DEUT. 29:14-15). [1] The Law, The Jews & You
[STUDY, CristoVerdad]

Now, in case any of you still have doubts that keeping the law of the ten commandments is not the same as “loving God” and “loving your neighbor,” the same text of Deuteronomy 6 continues to expand—and confirm:

¹³You shall fear the Lord your God, and you shall serve him alone, and you shall swear by his name.
¹⁴You will not walk after other gods, of the gods of the people that are around you; —DEUTERONOMY 6:13-14

The text first tells you what you should love God with all your heart (DEUT. 6:5), and then he tells you “You shall not walk after other gods” (DEUT. 6:14)…Etc., etc., etc.

There is a third example—which many use to say that Jesus abolished the law. However—in light of what we have presented so far, it simply confirms that God's law is as valid as it was in the beginning:

³⁴Then the Pharisees, hearing that he had silenced the Sadducees, gathered together.
³⁵And one of them, law interpreter, asked to tempt him, saying:
³⁶Teacher, what is the great commandment in the law?
³⁷Jesus said to him: You will love the Lord your God with all your heart, and with all your soul, and with all your mind.
³⁸This is the first and great commandment.
³⁹And the second is similar: You love your neighbor as yourself.
⁴⁰Of these two commandments the whole law depends and the prophets. —MATHEW 22:34-40

Reversing the formula in this instance, here we can see that Jesus himself tells us that keeping the law is the same as ““love God above all things” and “love our neighbor” as ourselves. NOTE that Jesus says that “of these two commandments depends all the law and the prophets“. If the law depends on these two commandments it is because—in effect, "DEPENDS" of it, and it cannot be abolished. If it were so, then we will have to say that the prophets were also abolished—for these too ““THEY DEPEND” of these two commandments. Without prophets there are no pophecies, and let us not forget that Jesus himself was a prophet, and—that the most important prophecy of all—his second coming, has not yet been fulfilled.

If the prophecies were abolished, Jesus does not come to look for his people either. We have already covered this in the past, and we invite you to review the study Jesus “vs.” Paul and the Law: What Happened on the Cross. [5] Jesus “vs.” Paul and The Law —
What Happened on The Cross
[STUDY, CristoVerdad]

When Jesus says that the law "depends" of "A.Mar to Dios above all things” and “love your neighbor as yourself”, This brings us to the most basic and fundamental principle of the Judeo-Christian religion: Love.

WE ASKED, And what is love?—

⁸Do not owe anyone anything, except to love one another; because he who loves his neighbor has fulfilled the law.
⁹For: You shall not commit adultery, you shall not kill, you shall not steal, you shall not bear false witness, you shall not covet, and any other commandment, this sentence summarizes: You love your neighbor as yourself.
¹⁰Love does no harm to others; so FULFILLMENT of the law is love. —ROMANS 13:8-10

Let us not forget that “God is love” (1 JOHN 4:7-8). In other words, God is his law, since this represents his character. "The sin"—my friends and brothers, “It is a violation of the law.” (1 JOHN 3:4). GOD DOES NOT SIN, He is holy (1 PET. 1:16)-such as “the law is holy” (ROM. 7:12). Can you connect the dots? Can you see the dots?

If you still have doubts about it, I don't think we can help you here, since the spiritual things are discerned spiritually. And if you are in the flesh you will NEVER be able to understand these things:

⁶Because to be concerned with the flesh is death, but to be concerned with the Spirit is life and peace.
⁷How much the designs of theto the flesh they are enmity against God; because THEY DO NOT SUBJECT to the law of Godyes, nor can they;
⁸and those who live according to the flesh YOU CANNOT please God.
⁹But you do not live according to the flesh, but according to the Spirit, if the Spirit of God dwells in you. And if anyone does not have the Spirit of Christ, is not him.

To violate God's law—his word says, is to be in the flesh. And Paul, whom many misrepresent as the author that the law of God is abolished, says it. Paul says that he who is in the flesh cannot be subject to the law of God, because—just as Paul himself said, “the law is spiritual” (ROM. 7:14-16). Are you spiritual, or are you in the flesh?

Closing, we have seen that both in the story of the rich young ruler and in the first story of the interpreter of the law, both ask Jesus the same question. However—although the answer for—and for, each character is the same, it comes packaged in different packaging. To the rich young man, Jesus directly mentions 6 of the commandments of the Law, thus summarizing the entire law. And the interpreter of the law (first example)—in turn, summarizes the entire law in two, as presented in the texts of Deuteronomy 5 & 6.

And we also see in the third example—the other interpreter of the law, that Jesus—on that occasion, is the one who gives the same answer that the interpreter had also given: “You will love your God with all your heart…" and “to your neighbor as to yourself.” None of them—neither the rich young ruler nor both interpreters—understood—because it was not taught that Jesus was abolishing any of the commandments of the law—even though he did not mention one or the other commandments. If they had understood that, Jesus would have been stoned right then and there, because that is why they tempted him.

The rich young ruler was clear—but he did not obey. The first interpreter of the law was also clear—although he only came to tempt Jesus. In the case of the second interpreter, Jesus' wisdom was too great for him, and he fell. Jesus—for his part, is "God Almighty" [4] The Almighty God and The Sabbath [STUDY, CristoVerdad] (REV. 1:8), and it has always been clear—

⁵And he said to them: The Son of Man It's Lord even on the Sabbath. —LUKE 6:5

And in his inspired word, Jesus has left a very clear and emphatic message, so that you are also clear:

⁶He who says he abides in Him, MUST WALK AS HE WALKED. —JOHN, The Beloved Disciple (1 JOHN 2:6)

We ask, are you walking as he walked, or perhaps you are a liar... are you in the truth—in his holy law (PSA 119:142)?

Do you follow the man (MAT. 15:8-9) or follow the lamb (JOHN 10:27)?-The decision is yours,

Happy Saturday to all!

—JOSÉ LUIS JAVIER

Jesus and “His Commandments”

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