God gave Moses the Ten Commandments about 1,445 years before Jesus was born. Did Jesus consider them old and out of date? Let’s take a look at what He taught.
1. Old Testament - Exodus 20:3 - God said you should not have other gods, only Him.
Jesus said – Matthew 4:10 Jesus said to worship the Lord your God and to serve Him only and single-mindedly.
2. Old Testament – Exodus 20:4 - God said no idols. The people had a tendency to worship carved wood or stone or molten metal idols. The worship of God is meant to be spiritual. Devotion is to be given to Him only.
Jesus said – Luke 16:13 - Jesus said that you can’t serve both God and money. Love for money will drive you away from God. Loving God will lead you not to make money your primary concern. As Paul said in 2 Timothy 6:10, the love of money is the root of all kinds of evil.
3. Old Testament – Exodus 20:7 - God said that His name is not to be used in curses or silly talk. His name is to be honored and protected. No one was to use His name for any frivolous or insincere purpose such as speaking His name when taking an oath with no intention of keeping it.
Jesus said – Matthew 5:34 - Jesus said that we should not swear at all. An oath shouldn’t be necessary. Our life should be sufficient to back up our words. James 5:12 says, “ Don’t swear either by heaven or earth. Let your “yes” be yes and your “No” be no.
4. Old Testament – Exodus 20:8 – We are to keep the Sabbath day holy. Keeping it holy means to separate it from other days and dedicated to God. It should be a day of worship and spiritual service. When the Israelites were captive in Egypt, they had no day of rest. This was to remind them of how God saved them from bondage.
Jesus said – Mark 2:27, 28 – Jesus said that the Sabbath was made for man, not man for the Sabbath. He was Lord even of the Sabbath. The Sabbath day was instituted by God for our rest. Jesus was refuting the laws made by men that required people to meet stringent regulations in their Sabbath activities. Many Christians celebrate their day of rest on Sunday to commemorate the day of Jesus’ resurrection.
5. Old Testament – Exodus 20:10 – God said to honor your mother and father. We are to respect our parents. This means obedience and submission to their wishes. If we do this, we are promised long life in the land. Proverbs 20:20 says that if a man curses his father or mother, his lamp will be snuffed out in pitch darkness.
Jesus said – In Matthew 10:37, Jesus says that if someone loves their father and mother more than Him, they are not worthy of Him. Is this contradictory? I don’t think so. Jesus cared for His mother until the very end of His life on this earth. God has always taken first priority. Following Christ may mean being ridiculed or hated by one’s own family. If that is the case, our first allegiance is to Christ.
Commandments 6 through 10 are on the next page.
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