In Part 1 of this series [see: God’s Feasts and the Jews – Part 1], we discussed briefly the command of God to observe His weekly Sabbath and His feasts (Leviticus 23) and how His people — the nation Israel — kept these feasts at the start. Then we saw how the kingdom of Israel split during the reign of King Rehoboam, and how the southern Kingdom of Judah continued to observe these feasts, while the northern Kingdom of Israel (under its first king Jeroboam) forsook these feasts and established festivals which he “devised in his own heart.”
God’s Feasts and the Jews – Part 1
When the word or name “Jew” is mentioned, many people would associate it with a race of people who are distinguished for their observance of the seventh-day Sabbath and the Feasts listed in Leviticus 23. Besides these, the Jews are also known for their traditional national holidays (most notably Purim and Hanukkah) and their strict adherence to the dietary law in Leviticus 11 and Deuteronomy 14 — even going beyond that by observing more rigorous kosher laws — and many, many other traditions. Of course, Jews are very much in the news today because of the worsening fight between “Israelis” and neighboring Arabs. [See: God’s Kingdom and Israel. It will explain why the Jews’ claiming their nation to be Israel is a Biblical error.]
Moses and Jesus — Are They Contraries?
In many evangelical circles, it is the generally accepted belief that Jesus came to oppose or put an end to Moses — to that body of writings called the “Law of Moses” or the “Mosaic Law.” That law consists of what the Jews call the Torah — the first five books of the Old Testament (Genesis, Exodus, Leviticus, Numbers and Deuteronomy). In a word, the belief is that Moses and Jesus are contraries — opposites — even at odds with each other.
Saved for Good Works
The issue of salvation “by grace through faith” and “not of works” (Ephesians 2:8) has challenged people, who find themselves on either side of the fence. The issue, simply, arises from the nature of the apostle Paul’s writings which, as the apostle Peter admitted, contains “some things hard to understand, which untaught and unstable people twist to their own destruction, as they do also the rest of the Scriptures” (2 Peter 3:15-16).
Thus the divide between those who believe and teach that salvation is by grace alone — without works — and those who believe and teach that salvation is by grace — plus works.
Being and Doing
There’s a common understanding and belief that, for Christians, who we are in Christ is more important than what we do. That all that matters is that, in Christ, we are forgiven; what we do after that is less important, if not unnecessary. That any “works” we try to “add” would actually detract from the “finished work” of Christ at Calvary. [See: Law Added to Law Transgressed, Freed From Bondage, God’s Spirit and Obedience and Saved for Good Works.]
The Great Wall
Almost a year ago my wife and I had our first-ever opportunity to visit the Great Wall of China, in the outskirts of that great nation’s capital, Beijing. Like most everyone who’s been there, we came away with great awe at the marvel of the massive and extensive engineering work done by these ingenious people long, long before the time we call “the modern age.”
A Great Omission in Doing the “Great Commission”
“All authority has been given to Me in heaven and on earth. Go therefore and make disciples of all the nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, teaching them to observe all things that I have commanded you; and lo, I am with you always, even to the end of the age. Amen.” (Matthew 28:18-20, NKJV)
Many well-intentioned people, over the last centuries, have braved adverse terrain and climate, hostile races, lack of funds — even at the peril of health and life — in order to fulfill “the Great Commission” as Jesus declared it in Matthew 28:18-20 and elsewhere in the New Testament.
Peter Knew “The Holy One”
In Acts 3:11-26 we have a narrative about the apostle Peter’s encounter with the crowd of Jews who had seen an undeniable miracle in the healing of a congenitally lame man who, because of this physical condition, had been driven to beg for alms in the temple area.
Lest the astounded people would conclude that it was through Peter’s power and godliness that this lame beggar could now walk and leap and praise God, Peter explained who the real source of this miracle was: Jesus. “Jesus…you delivered up and denied in the presence of Pilate, when he was determined to let Him go. But you denied the Holy One and the Just, and asked for a murderer to be granted to you, and killed the Prince of life, whom God raised from the dead, of which we are witnesses” (verses 13-15).
The True Christ
Almost 2,000 years ago, Jesus Christ had prophesied: “For false christs and false prophets will rise and show great signs and wonders to deceive, if possible, even the elect” (Matthew 24:24). [See: Beware of False Prophets and Predestination.]
The future time in which this alarming prophecy was to take place is explained in verses 1-3. The disciples of Jesus had pointed out to Him the buildings of the temple in Jerusalem. [This temple, rebuilt by Zerubbabel after it had been destroyed by Nebuchadnezzar (2 Kings 25:8-17; Ezra 3:8-6:15), is known as the “second temple.” Later this temple was refurbished and embellished by King Herod (as John 2:20 indicates and as Josephus writes in his Wars of the Jews, Book I, Chapter XXI, Section 1). This was the temple in Jesus’ day. The first or original temple, which Nebuchadnezzar destroyed, was that built during King Solomon’s reign (1 Kings 5-6).]
The Law of Christ
“Brethren, if a man is overtaken in any trespass, you who are spiritual restore such a one in a spirit of gentleness, considering yourself lest you also be tempted. Bear one another’s burdens, and so fulfill the law of Christ.” (Galatians 6:1-2, NKJV)
Many who read and profess to believe in the Bible take the above-quoted verse to mean that, for Christians, only “the law of Christ” needs to be observed — as against the “law of Moses” (the Old Testament). In fact, for a long time it had been the practice of many evangelical organizations to issue in their mission fields only the New Testament (with perhaps the Old Testament books of The Psalms and The Proverbs added at the end of the New Testament copies). [See: Moses and Jesus — Are They Contraries?].