[Bible] Does Jesus Reset Biblical Morality?

[Phrontist]

This is neither pro- or anti- Christian, as seems to be the thread trend nowadays. I just want to know, is there anywhere in the New Testament where Jesus is reported to have said that we can disregard the rules/teachings of the Old Testament? Does he comment on the old texts at all?

Put differently, are there any good Biblical reasons to ignore some of the messy rules, laws, and apparently condoned behaviours that occur in the first few chapters of the Bible?

[Polycarp]

Yes and no. Jesus’s teachings on the Law and “righteousness” are a bit opaque, sometimes appearing to endorse it and sometimes to supersede it.

The explanation, so far as Christians are able to provide a rationale here, lies in two divergent strains of Judaistic practice: the tendency to legalism, exemplified by “the Pharisees” [specifically one group among them whom he disliked], on the one hand – God’s word is law, to be obeyed to the letter and to be enforced on the community; and on the other, a tendency to look at the spirit of the Law, what it was seeking to instill in the people. The prophets, many of the great rabbis, etc., took this perspective; Hillel is famous for it.

Jesus clearly adhered to the “meaning of the Law” understanding of God’s will, and this is exemplified in what he called most important: “Thou shalt love the Lord thy God, with all thy heart, and with all thy soul, and with all thy mind, and with all thy strength. This is the first and great commandment. And the second is like unto it: Thou shalt love thy neighbor as thyself.” Both these, by the way, are quotations from Torah. And “Do unto another as thou wouldst have him do unto you.”

Evidently, to Jesus, the Law is to be kept, but to be kept creatively, in a manner that focuses on God’s intent in giving it: devotion to him and fair, compassionate treatment of one’s fellow man. And the examples where he appears to supervene it are ones where a literalistic reading of a passage would result in action contrary to the two great commandments.

[Thudlow_Boink]

This is slightly post-Jesus, but one of the major controversies of the earliy Church was over the question of whether Gentile (non-Jewish) converts to Christianity should be required to conform to the Jewish Law (with its dietary requirements, circumcision, etc.).

@Acts 15:5-6

Then some of the believers who belonged to the party of the Pharisees stood up and said, “The Gentiles must be circumcised and required to obey the law of Moses.”
The apostles and elders met to consider this question.

The issue is described in the 15th chapter of the book of Acts, and there are also references to it in Paul’s letters.

@Acts 15:19-20

"It is my judgment, therefore, that we should not make it difficult for the Gentiles who are turning to God. Instead we should write to them, telling them to abstain from food polluted by idols, from sexual immorality, from the meat of strangled animals and from blood.

[Chronos]

Mark 2:23-28: We shouldn’t be slaves to the Law (specifically in this case, the Sabbath)

[sup]23[/sup]One Sabbath Jesus was going through the grainfields, and as his disciples walked along, they began to pick some heads of grain. [sup]24[/sup]The Pharisees said to him, “Look, why are they doing what is unlawful on the Sabbath?”

[sup]25[/sup]He answered, “Have you never read what David did when he and his companions were hungry and in need? [sup]26[/sup]In the days of Abiathar the high priest, he entered the house of God and ate the consecrated bread, which is lawful only for priests to eat. And he also gave some to his companions.”

[sup]27[/sup]Then he said to them, “The Sabbath was made for man, not man for the Sabbath. [sup]28[/sup]So the Son of Man is Lord even of the Sabbath.”

Acts 10:9-16: All animals are made clean

[sup]9[/sup]About noon the following day as they were on their journey and approaching the city, Peter went up on the roof to pray. [sup]10[/sup]He became hungry and wanted something to eat, and while the meal was being prepared, he fell into a trance. [sup]11[/sup]He saw heaven opened and something like a large sheet being let down to earth by its four corners. [sup]12[/sup]It contained all kinds of four-footed animals, as well as reptiles of the earth and birds of the air. [sup]13[/sup]Then a voice told him, “Get up, Peter. Kill and eat.”

[sup]14[/sup]“Surely not, Lord!” Peter replied. “I have never eaten anything impure or unclean.”

[sup]15[/sup]The voice spoke to him a second time, “Do not call anything impure that God has made clean.”

[sup]16[/sup]This happened three times, and immediately the sheet was taken back to heaven.

On the other hand, we have Matthew 5:17-20:

[sup]17[/sup]"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. [sup]18[/sup]I tell you the truth, until heaven and earth disappear, not the smallest letter, not the least stroke of a pen, will by any means disappear from the Law until everything is accomplished. [sup]19[/sup]Anyone who breaks one of the least of these commandments and teaches others to do the same will be called least in the kingdom of heaven, but whoever practices and teaches these commands will be called great in the kingdom of heaven. [sup]20[/sup]For I tell you that unless your righteousness surpasses that of the Pharisees and the teachers of the law, you will certainly not enter the kingdom of heaven.