“Do not think that I have come to abolish the Law
or the Prophets; I have not come
to abolish them but to fulfill them.
Exodus 20:3-17
New International Version (NIV)
(1)
3
“You shall have no other gods before[a]
me.
(2)
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
(3)
7
“You shall not misuse the name of the LORD your God
(4)
8
“Remember the Sabbath day by keeping it holy
(5)
12
“Honor your father and your mother
(6)
13
“You shall not murder.
(7)
14
“You shall not commit adultery.
(8)
15
“You shall not steal.
(9)
16
“You shall not give false testimony against your neighbor.
(10)
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.”
Are the 10 Commandments old? Did Jesus come to throw them away so
that they no long apply to us? NO! Jesus had said that He was not
here to abolish the law but to fulfill it. Jesus had said in
Matthew 5:17
“Do not think that I have come
to abolish the Law or the Prophets; I have not come
to abolish them but to fulfill them.
So what then can we say that the 10
Commandments are? I believe the answer lies in studying who Jesus
is. 1 Corinthians 13, is known as the description or definition of
love to many. I have learned a truth in my study of God’s word.
Quite simply that Jesus is Love! Now if we read 1 Corinthians 13,
substituting Jesus’s Name for the word love. It rings with truth.
It helps us to understand that truly Jesus is Love!
So what are the the Ten Commandments? When
Jesus was asked about the greatest Commandment, his answer was based
on Love.
Mark 12:28-31
28
One of the teachers of the law came and heard them debating.
Noticing that Jesus had given them a good answer, he asked him, “Of
all the commandments, which is the most important?”
29
“The most important one,” answered Jesus, “is this: ‘Hear, O Israel:
The Lord our God, the Lord is one.[a]30 Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with
all your soul and with all your mind and with all your strength.’[b]31 The second is this: ‘Love your neighbor as yourself.’[c]
There is no commandment greater than these.”
Jesus with this statement gave us the perfect
definition of the Ten Commandments, Love!
Paul confirms this in his summation of the Ten
Commandments...
Galations 5:14 “The entire law is
summed up in a single command: “Love your neighbor as yourself.”
Quite simply the 10
Commandments are Love. Jesus is Love. Jesus is the Ten
Commandments. This is perfectly illustrated by John 1:1-5
1 In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the
Word was God. 2 He was with God in the beginning. 3 Through him all
things were made; without him nothing was made that has been made. 4
In him was life, and that life was the light of all mankind. 5 The
light shines in the darkness, and the darkness has not overcome[a]
it.