Categories: Bible Lessons Leave a comment

#DailyDevotion The Torah Is Abrogated In Christ Jesus Who Is Our Righteousness

#DailyDevotion The Torah Is Abrogated In Christ Jesus Who Is Our Righteousness

Mark 7:14[Jesus] called the people to him again and said to them,  “Hear me, all of you, and understand: 15 There is nothing outside a person that by going into him can defile him, but the things that come out of a person are what defile him.” 17 And when he had entered the house and left the people, his disciples asked him about the parable. 18 And he said to them,  “Then are you also without understanding? Do you not see that whatever goes into a person from outside cannot defile him, 19 since it enters not his heart but his stomach, and is expelled?” (Thus he declared all foods clean.)

 

Prof. Voelz of Concordia Seminary, when speaking about this passage, “Do you not see that whatever goes into a person from outside cannot defile him, 19 since it enters not his heart but his stomach, and is expelled?” answers Jesus in his commentary, “Well no, we didn’t know that. We have a whole book of Leviticus that tells us otherwise.” Jesus is also going after bigger fish than the traditions of men. He is going after the Torah itself.

 

The eating of unclean foods and having other unclean happenings in one’s life only made someone ceremonially unclean, unable to participate in certain religious community events. But those things did not make the heart unclean, unable to participate in the life of God. They had a purpose up to this point, but now in Jesus that point is swiftly moving to a conclusion.

 

You see while Jesus had not died yet, the whole of the Torah was still to be obeyed, every bit of it. But Jesus, the author of the Torah, has come to fulfill it and institute a New Testament. The Lord promised through Jeremiah as much. Israel had long ago broken the First Covenant through Moses. The Lord was going to make a new one. Jesus in his baptism, life, death and resurrection fulfilled all righteousness. On the cross he declared it was finished. Now the whole Mosaic covenant was fulfilled and abrogated. There is not one bit that is enforced anymore.  If you were married and your spouse dies or divorces you, that whole marriage contract is done, complete. (Mind you this is just an analogy) Similarly when a contract has been fulfilled, it’s over, done, kaput. The whole Torah is done, complete, fulfilled and is over and done in Jesus.

 

If that is the case, in Jesus all the food regulations are done, complete, fulfilled. Not only the food regulations, other civil laws, the sacrificial laws but also the moral ones as well (because they are part of that contract, covenant, etc.) Rom 10:4 “For Christ is the end of the law for righteousness to everyone who believes.”

 

Our righteousness, i.e. that of believers is now Jesus. For the Lord Jesus is our righteousness. There can be no other way. That does not mean we do not have morality or we live licentious lives. We have a new law in Christ, believe in Jesus, God’s Son and love one another.

 

Gracious God and Father, grant that we may trust in your Son Jesus Christ for our righteousness before you and that by Christ’s indwelling we may fulfill his command to love one another. In Jesus’ name we pray. Amen.

Share this post
Rev. Guillaume J. S. Williams, Sr.

The Reverend Guillaume Williams is the Pastor of Hope Lutheran Chapel of Osage Beach, Missouri. His pastoral ministry with Hope began in 2005 where he preaches the Christ crucified.

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *