Y Not I

I think something that is important to note and encompasses the Bible from the beginning (Books of Moses) till the end (Book of Revelations) is a call to not add, nor subtract from the Word of G-d. Check it out and see if this appears to be a theme that surrounds in a manner the Word.

• Hear now, O Israel, the decrees and laws I am about to teach you. Follow them so that you may live and may go in and take possession of the land that the LORD, the God of your fathers, is giving you. Do not add to what I command you and do not subtract from it, but keep the commands of the LORD your God that I give you. – Deuteronomy 4:1-2
• I warn everyone who hears the words of the prophecy of this book: If anyone adds anything to them, God will add to him the plagues described in this book. And if anyone takes words away from this book of prophecy, God will take away from him his share in the tree of life and in the holy city, which are described in this book. – Revelation 22:18-19

How does this compare to the theology that states that Yeshua came and changed the Law, to some nailing the Law (Torah) to the cross? Does it seem that anybody, certainly any Jew with a knowledge of the Scripture and especially Torah, would say, “Jesus can’t be the Messiah since you are telling me He added to (see many commentaries on Matthew 5 “it is written, but I say to you”) the Torah”(addition). Or “Jesus can’t be the Messiah since he did away with the Law totally” (subtraction).

Once again, I am still trying to work out my salvation with fear and trembling, wondering exactly how the Law applies today, but one thing I am sure about, is that it does apply. An unchanging G-d cannot say do not add or subtract, and then add and subtract Himself. Seems hypocritical if nothing else. Do as I say, not as I do. Did not Yeshua come to be an example to us, should we not be emulators of Messiah. Does this mean we should change the Law ourselves? I think not.

Another key verse here is Deuteronomy 13:1-5

• If a prophet, or one who foretells by dreams, appears among you and announces to you a miraculous sign or wonder, and if the sign or wonder of which he has spoken takes place, and he says, “Let us follow other gods” (gods you have not known) “and let us worship them,” you must not listen to the words of that prophet or dreamer. The LORD your God is testing you to find out whether you love him with all your heart and with all your soul. It is the LORD your God you must follow, and him you must revere. Keep his commands and obey him; serve him and hold fast to him. That prophet or dreamer must be put to death, because he preached rebellion against the LORD your God, who brought you out of Egypt and redeemed you from the land of slavery; he has tried to turn you from the way the LORD your God commanded you to follow. You must purge the evil from among you.

This verse practically instructs Jews to reject the Jesus that tells you to follow other commandments. However a Yeshua (Jesus) that upholds the Torah that fills it more full, that actually provides a way to keep the Law with less failures, now that is something that Jews might be a little less hesitant to accept. I think that is what Messianic Judaism aspires to, to be more than a church in a Jewish costume, but to be true Biblical Judaism, which is not a religion of man, but is a following of the Word of G-d.

Derek Leeman writes about this recently in a post about Jewish views on Christianity. Here is how he wraps up his post:

“…if we in Messianic Judaism and our friends in the church want Jewish people to consider Yeshua, then we have got to get our theology of the Law of Moses in order. We cannot expect Jews to respond to a gospel that says, “IN ORDER TO BE SAVED, YOU MUST DISOBEY GOD AND START BELIEVING IN JESUS.” As Mark Kinzer has said, when a Jew says no to Yeshua, it is frequently a �yes’ to God, because we have presented Yeshua as the opposite of the Law of Moses which every Jew has been commanded to follow.”

And with that I agree. Pray on these things.