Did Jesus ABOLISH the Mosaic Law?

[TonyChanYT]

That depends on what you mean by abolish.

Moses' Law separated Jews from the Gentiles.

Jesus predicted the destruction of the temple in Matthew 24:

2 he answered them, “You see all these, do you not? Truly, I say to you, there will not be left here one stone upon another that will not be thrown down [G2647].”

thrown down
καταλυθήσεται (katalythēsetai)
Verb - Future Indicative Passive - 3rd Person Singular
Strong's 2647: From kata and luo; to loosen down, i.e. to demolish.

Strong's Greek: 2647. καταλύω (kataluó) — 17 Occurrences

Jesus predicted the temple would be G2647-demolished or broken down or dismantled.

This same Greek word was used earlier. Jesus declared in Matthew 5:

17 “Do not think that I have come to abolish [G2647] the Law or the Prophets; I have not come to abolish them but to fulfill them.

Jesus did not H2647-dismantle the Law but the physical Jerusalem temple would be H2647-dismantled. The demolition of the temple was a sign that Jesus fulfilled the Law. The temple was no longer necessary to reach the LORD.

Paul added in Ephesians 2:

14 For he himself is our peace, who has made us both one and has broken down in his flesh the dividing wall of hostility 15a by abolishing [G2673] in His flesh the law of commandments and decrees.

This is a different κατα-word.

by abolishing
καταργήσας (katargēsas)
Verb - Aorist Participle Active - Nominative Masculine Singular
Strong's 2673: From kata and argeo; to be entirely idle

Strong's Greek: 2673. καταργέω (katargeó) — 27 Occurrences

HELPS Word-studies:

2673 katargéō (from 2596 /katá, "down to a point," intensifying 691 /argéō, "inactive, idle") – properly, idle down, rendering something inert ("completely inoperative"); i.e. being of no effect (totally without force, completely brought down); done away with, cause to cease and therefore abolish; make invalid, abrogate (bring to nought); "to make idle or inactive".

By his sacrifice on the cross in the flesh, Jesus G2673-abolished or idled down the Law and did not G2647-demolish it.

15b He did this to create in Himself one new man out of the two, thus making peace

In Christ, there is no more distinction between Jews and Gentiles. There is only one new humanity.

16 and reconciling both of them to God in one body through the cross, by which He extinguished their hostility.

In Christ, there is no partition between Jews and Gentiles and there is no partition between men and God. Now, everyone can approach God through the sacrifice of Christ.

Instead of abolished, Berean Literal Bible uses:

having annulled in His flesh the law of commandments in ordinances, so that He might create in Himself the two into one new man, making peace,

Did Jesus abolish Moses' law?

Because the meanings of καταλύω and vκαταργέω overlap, I am not even against people who say that Jesus abolished the Law so long as they understand that Jesus did not dismantle the Law into fallen pieces as the Romans did to the Temple in 70 AD. In any case, Jesus did abolish the partition between Jews and Gentiles, and between men and God, by fulfilling the Law and the Prophets.

Paul explained in Acts 13:

39 Through him [Jesus] everyone who believes is set free from every sin, a justification you were not able to obtain under the law of Moses.

and in Romans 10:

4 For Christ is the end of the law for righteousness to everyone who believes.

Bottom line, Hebrews 8:

13 In speaking of a new covenant, he makes the first one obsolete. And what is becoming obsolete and growing old is ready to vanish away.

The Mosiac Law is not destroyed but is annulled.

 

[Randy Kluth]

A really good subject I'll have to re-read in light of your comments. But I've had thoughts on this for a long time, and will briefly share my view.

Jesus did not come to immediately nullify the Law--the Law was in place when he came, and he sustained its validity. It was a necessary precursor to his own Coming and purpose. So he upheld all 613 or so requirements of the Law--he did not come to immediately abrogate the Law, although that is what happened at the cross.

So what happened at the cross? The Law had been a contract between God and the nation Israel. If Israel sinned under the Law, by those who had no intention of destroying the contract, the Law made provisions for their forgiveness and restoration.

But if the entire nation deliberately rebelled against the contract itself, then God promised He would abandon that very contract until such time that it could be renewed or remade. At the cross, Jesus made a brand new covenant--he remade the Law, but did not renew it.

Since the contract of Law was obliterated by Israel, and not by God, Jesus indicated he had not come to abrogate the Law, but to find a way to fulfill it. And this he did by remaking the Law as a New Covenant. So it wasn't the Law itself, but rather, a new contractual agreement. It meant that the Law was no longer in force.

And because the Law was no longer in force, all of the infrastructure of the Law became worthless. In God's hostility towards Israel's rebellion and unfaithfulness God had the entire superstructure of the Law torn down--the temple was destroyed, taking with it the priesthood, the sacrifices, and virtually everything associated with redemption under the Law. The only hope of recovery was a remaking of the Law--a salvation coming from outside of the provisions of the Law--a means of mercy.

I have trouble putting these thoughts into a form by which these various words can be discussed--words like fulfill, abrogate, abolish, idle, etc. But I always begin with the historical context and how the Prophets discussed this process. It has everything to do with a contract with God, and which contract it is. Is it a contract that is renewed, or does it even need renewal, there being provisions under the Law itself to sustain itself?

Or, does the Law at some point become completely incapacitated or at some point become no longer needed in God's overall plan of redemption? The Law fell once, during the Babylonian Captivity, and it was restored. But it fell again in the time of Jesus. Can it be restored again, or does it no longer need to be restored?

I think that the 2nd Fall of the Law in Jesus' time, coupled with Jesus' 1st Coming, made it so that the Law no longer had to be restored. Jesus essentially fulfilled what a restoration of the Law had hoped to accomplish--a restoration to contract relationship with God.

But Jesus, in forgiving failure under the Law, made following him better than a restoration to God based on temple rituals, the priesthood, and animal sacrifices. Following Christ accomplished all this without the need for external religious works designed to show the need for a final redemption from Sin.

What set Jesus apart from a remaking of the Law was his ability to rise from the dead and to convey to us this same ability, along with all of the necessary virtues. Once death was overcome, attention to religious works stopped being necessary. Acknowledgment of Christ accomplished all that the Law had required in a contract relationship with God--it was a contract that for some became unbreakable due to Christ's victory over death.

 

[Bob Estey]

That depends on what you mean by abolish.

Moses' Law separated Jews from the Gentiles.

Jesus predicted the destruction of the temple in Matthew 24:


thrown down
καταλυθήσεται (katalythēsetai)
Verb - Future Indicative Passive - 3rd Person Singular
Strong's 2647: From kata and luo; to loosen down, i.e. to demolish.

Strong's Greek: 2647. καταλύω (kataluó) — 17 Occurrences

Jesus predicted the temple would be G2647-demolished or broken down or dismantled.

This same Greek word was used earlier. Jesus declared in Matthew 5:


Jesus did not H2647-dismantle the Law but the physical Jerusalem temple would be H2647-dismantled. The demolition of the temple was a sign that Jesus fulfilled the Law. The temple was no longer necessary to reach the LORD.

Paul added in Ephesians 2:


This is a different κατα-word.

by abolishing
καταργήσας (katargēsas)
Verb - Aorist Participle Active - Nominative Masculine Singular
Strong's 2673: From kata and argeo; to be entirely idle

Strong's Greek: 2673. καταργέω (katargeó) — 27 Occurrences

HELPS Word-studies:


By his sacrifice on the cross in the flesh, Jesus G2673-abolished or idled down the Law and did not G2647-demolish it.


In Christ, there is no more distinction between Jews and Gentiles. There is only one new humanity.


In Christ, there is no partition between Jews and Gentiles and there is no partition between men and God. Now, everyone can approach God through the sacrifice of Christ.

Instead of abolished, Berean Literal Bible uses:


Did Jesus abolish Moses' law?

Because the meanings of καταλύω and vκαταργέω overlap, I am not even against people who say that Jesus abolished the Law so long as they understand that Jesus did not dismantle the Law into fallen pieces as the Romans did to the Temple in 70 AD. In any case, Jesus did abolish the partition between Jews and Gentiles, and between men and God, by fulfilling the Law and the Prophets.

Paul explained in Acts 13:


and in Romans 10:


Bottom line, Hebrews 8:


The Mosiac Law is not destroyed but is annulled.

It seems to me Matthew 5:17 (RSV) answers the question:

"Think not that I have come to abolish the law and the prophets; I have come not to abolish them but to fulfil them."