CHAPTER 2 JESUS AND THE LAW AND THE PROPHETS

Fulfillment of the Law
The Most Important Command
The Golden Rule
John the Baptist appeared!
The Law is as strong and unshakable as heaven and earth
The rich man in torment
Philip and Nathanael find Jesus
The risen Lord on the Emmaus road
The risen Lord appears

Fulfillment of the Law
MATTHEW 5:17-20
Jesus said, “Don’t misunderstand why I have come – it isn’t to cancel the Laws of Moses and the warnings of the prophets. No, I came to fulfill them, and to make them all come true. With all the earnestness I have I say: Every Law in the Book will continue until its purpose is achieved. And so if anyone breaks the least commandment, and teaches others to, he shall be the least in the Kingdom of Heaven. But those who teach God’s Laws and obey them will be great in the Kingdom of Heaven.

The Most Important Command
MATTHEW 22:36-40
A lawyer spoke up: “Sir, which is the most important command in the Laws of Moses?” Jesus replied, “‘Love the Lord your God with all your heart, soul, and mind.’ This is the first and greatest commandment. The second most important is similar: ‘Love your neighbor as much as you love yourself.’ All the other commandments and all the demands of the prophets stem from these two laws and are fulfilled if you obey them. Keep only these and you will find that you are obeying all the others.”

The Golden Rule
MATTHEW 7:12
Jesus said, “Do for others what you want them to do for you. This is the teaching of the Laws of Moses in a nutshell.”
LUKE 6:31
Jesus said, “Treat others as you want them to treat you.”

John the Baptist appeared!
MATTHEW 11:11-15
Jesus said, “Truly, of all men ever born, none shines more brightly than John the Baptist. And yet, even the lesser lights in the Kingdom of Heaven will be greater than he is! And from the time John the Baptist began preaching and baptizing until now, ardent (enthusiastic) multitudes have been crowding towards the Kingdom of Heaven, for all the laws and prophets looked forward [to the Messiah]. Then John appeared, and if you are willing to understand what I mean, he is Elijah; the one the prophets said would come [at the time the Kingdom begins]. If ever you were willing to listen, listen now!”

The Law is as unshakable as heaven and earth
LIKE 16:16-17
Jesus said, “Until John the Baptist began to preach, the Laws of Moses and the messages of the prophets were your guides. But John introduced the Good News that the Kingdom of God would come soon. And now eager (enthusiastic) multitudes are pressing in. But that doesn’t mean that the Law has lost its force in even the smallest point. It is as strong and unshakable as heaven and earth.”

The rich man in torment
LUKE 16:27-31
“Then the rich man said, ‘O Father Abraham, then please send him to my father’s home – for I have five brothers – to warn them about this place of torment lest they come here when they die.’”
“But Abraham said, ‘The Scriptures have warned them again and again. Your brothers can read them any time they want to.’”
“The rich man replied, ‘No, Father Abraham, they won’t bother to read them. But if someone is sent to them from the dead, then they will turn from their sins (their disobedience of God’s Laws).’”
“But Abraham said, ‘If they won’t listen to Moses and the prophets, they won’t listen even though someone rises from the dead.’”

Philip and Nathanael find Jesus
JOHN 1:45
Philip now went off to look for Nathanael and told him, “We have found the Messiah – the very person Moses and the prophets wrote about! His name is Jesus, the son of Joseph from Nazareth.”

The risen Lord on the Emmaus road
LUKE 24:27
Then Jesus quoted them passage after passage from the writings of the prophets, beginning with the Book of Genesis and going right on through the Scriptures, explaining what the passages meant and what they said about himself.

The risen Lord appears
LUKE 24:44-48
Then Jesus said, “When I was with you before, don’t you remember my telling you that everything written about me by Moses and the prophets and in the Psalms must all come true?” Then he opened their minds to understand at last these many Scriptures. And he said, “Yes, it was written long ago that the Messiah must suffer and die and rise again from the dead on the third day; and that this message of salvation should be taken from Jerusalem to all the nations: There is forgiveness of sins (disobedience of God’s Laws) for all who turn to me. You have seen these prophecies come true.”
JOHN 1:17
For Moses gave us only the Law with its rigid demands and merciless justice, while Jesus Christ brought us loving forgiveness as well.