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Thou Shalt Not Change the Law

In the Tanakh / Old Testament, YHWH explicitly states that his Laws—which form the foundation of Judaism and its teachings—must never be changed.[68]

In the Four Gospels, Jesus seems to reaffirm this law with statements such as “And it is easier for heaven and earth to pass away, than for one tiny stroke of a pen of the [Judaic] Law to drop out”[69] and “Do not think that I have come to destroy the [Judaic] Law or the Prophets: I have come not to destroy, but to fulfill. For verily I say to you, until heaven and earth pass way, not even one letter or one stroke shall in any way pass away from the Law, until all things are accomplished. And whoever shall break one of these least commandments, and shall teach others to do so, shall be called the least in the kingdom of heaven. But whoever shall do and teach them, the same shall be called great in the kingdom of heaven.”[70]

But notwithstanding both the Tanakh’s and Jesus’s declarations that the Law must be retained in its entirety, Jesus himself preached a number of precepts that seem to both add to and diminish from this Law.

In Matthew 5:38-39, he says, “You have heard that it has been said ‘An eye for an eye, and a tooth for a tooth’[71]. But I say to you, do not resist evil; but whoever shall smite you on your right cheek, turn to him the other as well.”

In Matthew 5:27-28, he says, “You have heard that it was said by them of old time, ‘You shall not commit adultery.’[72] But I say to you, that whoever looks on a woman to lust after her has already committed adultery with her in his heart.”

In Matthew 5:31-32, he says, “It has been said, ‘Whoever shall put away his wife, let him give her a writing of divorcement.’[73] But I say to you, that whoever shall put away his wife—except for her being unfaithful—causes her to commit adultery; and whoever shall marry the divorced woman commits adultery.”

Don’t these precepts alter the very Law that both Jesus and the Tanakh state must not be changed?


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[68] For instance, Deuteronomy 4:2 says, “You shall not add to the word that I command you, nor shall you diminish from it, that you may keep the commandments of YHWH your God that I command you.”

And Deuteronomy 12:32 states, “Whatever I command you, observe to do it. You shall not add to or diminish from it.”

[69] Luke 16:17

[70] And in Matthew 5:17-19, he says,

[71] As in Exodus 21:24, Leviticus 24:20, and Deuteronomy 19:21

[72] Exodus 20:14

[73] Deuteronomy 24:1