Jesus & the 10 Commandments
Exodus 20 & the New Testament
20 And God spoke all these words:
2 “I am the Lord your God, who brought you outof Egypt, out of the land of slavery.
3 “You shall have no other gods before me.
4 “You shall not make for yourself an image in the form of anything in heaven above or on the earth beneath or in the waters below. 5 You shall not bow down to them or worship them; for I, the Lord your God, am a jealous God, punishing the children for the sin of the parents to the third and fourth generation of those who hate me, 6 but showing love to a thousand generations of those who love me and keep my commandments.
7 “You shall not misuse the name of the Lord your God, for the Lord will not hold anyone guiltless who misuses his name.
8 “Remember the Sabbath day by keeping it holy. 9 Six days you shall labor and do all your work, 10 but the seventh day is a sabbath to the Lord your God. On it you shall not do any work, neither you, nor your son or daughter, nor your male or female servant, nor your animals, nor any foreigner residing in your towns. 11 For in six days the Lordmade the heavens and the earth, the sea, and all that is in them, but he rested on the seventh day.Therefore the Lord blessed the Sabbath day and made it holy.
12 “Honor your father and your mother, so that you may live long in the land the Lord your God is giving you.
13 “You shall not murder.
14 “You shall not commit adultery.
15 “You shall not steal.
16 “You shall not give false testimony against your neighbor.
17 “You shall not covet your neighbor’s house. You shall not covet your neighbor’s wife, or his male or female servant, his ox or donkey, or anything that belongs to your neighbor.”
18 When the people saw the thunder and lightning and heard the trumpet and saw the mountain in smoke, they trembled with fear. They stayed at a distance 19 and said to Moses, “Speak to us yourself and we will listen. But do not have God speak to us or we will die.”
20 Moses said to the people, “Do not be afraid. God has come to test you, so that the fear of God will be with you to keep you from sinning.”
21 The people remained at a distance, while Moses approached the thick darkness where God was.
22 Then the Lord said to Moses, “Tell the Israelites this: ‘You have seen for yourselves that I have spoken to you from heaven: 23 Do not make any gods to be alongside me; do not make for yourselves gods of silver or gods of gold.
24 “‘Make an altar of earth for me and sacrifice on it your burnt offerings and fellowship offerings, your sheep and goats and your cattle. Wherever I cause my name to be honored, I will come to you and bless you. 25 If you make an altar of stones for me, do not build it with dressed stones, for you will defile it if you use a tool on it. 26 And do not go up to my altar on steps, or your private partsmay be exposed.’
Video for this Service can be viewed @: February 7, 2022
NewDay Friends,
Even though the 10 commandments that God were given to a specific group of people for a specific period of time, they show us something profound about God’s character and desire for us as humans. Jesus actually gives us greater understanding of what they meant as we go through the teaching of the New Testament.
There was that time when Jesus walked this earth that the religious leaders of the laws and commands of Moses tried to trap Jesus with his words. They were proud of their ability to come closest in their attempts to hold to the 613 commands from the books of law (at least in the functional aspect of it). One such teacher came to Jesus and asked him this question…
“Teacher, which is the greatest commandment in the Law?”
Jesus replied: “‘Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind.’ This is the first and greatest commandment. And the second is like it: ‘Love your neighbor as yourself.’
All the Law and the Prophets hang on these two commandments.” Matthew 22:36-40
This is SO significant because this is the DEFINING IDENTITY of a person who has truly entered into a life-changing relationship with Jesus. One of the key ways you can know IF you are truly connected to Jesus is
1) how you view yourself in relationship to Him. And secondly,
2) how you view others around you.
I’ve been reading this book called, “Renovated: God, Dallas Willard & the Church that Transforms”
In one chapter the author challenges us to try on some wording and see if you can identify with it. Here is the phrase: “I am an unceasing spiritual being with an eternal destiny in God’s great universe.”
Do you believe that?
The following 10 Commandments can be seen in a more profound way when we discover how Jesus and the NT writers give us more clarity on what was behind them.
1st Commandment: You shall have no other gods (Exodus 20:1-3; 1 Corinthians 20:20-21; Matthew 4:9)
2nd Commandment: You shall not make or bow down to an idol (Exodus 20:4-6; 1 Corinthians 5:9-11; Ephesians 5:5-7)
3rd Commandment: “You shall not misuse the name of the Lord (YHWH) your God, for the Lord (YHWH) will not hold anyone guiltless who misuses his name. (Exodus 20:7; Matthew 5:33-37; Colossians 3:17; 2 Corinthians 5:20)
4th Commandment: You shall remember the Sabbath Day by keeping it holy. (Exodus 20:8-11)
5th Commandment: “Honor your father and your mother, so that you may live long in the land the Lord your God is giving you. (Exodus 20:12; Ephesians 6:1-2; 1 Timothy 5:8)
6th Commandment: “You shall not murder.” (Exodus 20:13; 1 John 3:15)
7th Commandment: “You shall not commit adultery. (Exodus 20:14; Hebrews 13:4)
8th Commandment: You shall not steal. (Exodus 20:15; Ephesians 4:28)
9th Commandment: “You shall not give false testimony against your neighbor. (Exodus 20:16; Colossians 3:8-10)
10th Commandment: Do not Covet! (Exodus 20:17; Colossians 3:5)
All of these get filtered through Jesus new challenge to his followers...
A new command I give you: Love one another. As I have loved you, so you must love one another. By this will everyone know you that you are my disciples, if you love one another." (John 13:34-35)
Grateful to be on this journey with you,
John