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Essay / A Comparative Analysis of Old Testament and New Testament Laws
The laws and commandments of the Old Testament and the New Testament have many similarities. Some believe that the presence of Jesus and his fulfillment of the law abolishes the laws found in the Old Testament. According to Charles Cosgrove, “the Law of Moses was fundamentally changed by the appearance of the Messiah” (2014). From this quote, we can infer at one point that individuals believed that we were not obligated to obey laws or commandments following the arrival of Jesus. Say no to plagiarism. Get a tailor-made essay on “Why Violent Video Games Should Not Be Banned”? Get the original essay In the New Testament it is stated that we are now under grace and no longer under the law. However, Jesus did not come to set aside the laws of Moses, but rather to fulfill the laws and commandments. This can be confirmed in Matthew 5:17-18, where Jesus states: “Do not think that I have come to destroy the law or the prophets. I did not come to destroy but to fulfill. . . A single title will in no case disappear from the law until everything is accomplished.” The quote presented talks about all the laws found in the Old Testament. The moral laws are still in effect, but the laws relating to ceremonies found in the Old Testament were not applicable. Specifically the sacrifice of lambs for the forgiveness of sins. Periodically, Jews were required to sacrifice lambs to obtain forgiveness for their sins. This process did not grant them a full or permanent pardon. For this reason, Jesus died on the cross to provide permanent forgiveness to those who will accept it. The mention of grace rather than law refers to the fact that we no longer need to make animal sacrifices and are now under God's grace and mercy because His Son died for us. Another aspect of the law that no longer needed to be done was death. punishment for specific offenses. In the Old Testament, people were stoned to death for committing an act of adultery. Jesus changed the concept of this law. In John 8:1-11, there is a woman who commits adultery. Religious law teachers and Pharisees introduced women and circumstances to Jesus. They told him how the law of Moses reveals that the punishment for such an act is stoning. Jesus’ response to them: “. . . let him who has never sinned cast the first stone” (John 8:7). Those who had told Jesus left one by one, and Jesus asked the women if they had condemned her. After she said no, Jesus said to her, “Neither do I.” Go and sin no more” (John 8:11). In the past, people who committed adultery were stoned to death. This circumstance shows that it is no longer necessary to stone people who have committed such acts. It was no longer necessary to stone individuals for these crimes. Instead, they now had to deal with God and not other people. Another part of the law that undergoes changes in both Testaments is the concept of “Eye for and Eye.” In the Old Testament, an example of this law is when someone killed someone else. If this were to be done, the individual committing the crime would have to commit suicide. Death is also a punishment for those who have been adulterous or for those involved in the occult sciences. This may be because the punishments had to be severe for those in the Old Testament, in order to show them to those who came after. This punishment sort of follows the idea of an eye for an eye – perhaps even to the extreme. In the New Testament, in Matthew more