Did Jesus cancel or “abolish” the Torah?

Introduction

In many Christian teachings, the Torah is often viewed as obsolete, canceled, or no longer significant in the light of the New Testament. Over the past two lessons, we have explored how the Torah continues to hold profound value and meaning, serving as a guide and teacher pointing us toward the Messiah. Yet, the lingering question remains: Did Jesus cancel or "abolish" the Torah? This lesson will confront this critical issue head-on, examining what Jesus himself said about the Torah and exploring whether His teachings support the idea that the Torah is now irrelevant, or if instead, He upheld its timeless truths and purpose for His followers. Let's delve into the heart of this question to better understand Jesus' relationship with the Torah.

Cancelled?

Christ representing the end of the law for righteousness does not mean that the Torah or the law of Moses is canceled. This idea of "canceling" is a common misinterpretation. In the Greek language of Romans 10:4, the word telos is better understood to mean that the Messiah is the goal of the Torah. In other words, Messiah is the destination at which the journey of the Torah arrives. Once again, Paul alludes to this idea in Galatians 3:24: 

So then, the law was our guardian until Christ came,  in order that we might be justified by faith. But now that faith has come, we are no longer under a guardian, for in Christ Jesus you are all sons of God, through faith. (Galatians 3:24-26, ESV Bible)

During the first century, wealthy families may designate a household servant as their children's custodians, similar to a modern-day nanny. This servant was called a pedagogue. The pedagogue did not teach the child but ensured the child got to school for the instruction. All things in the Torah, the Prophets, and the Writings point to Messiah. Jesus himself made this comment:

Then he said to them, “These are my words that I spoke to you while I was still with you, that everything written about me in the Law of Moses and the Prophets and the Psalms must be fulfilled.” (Luke 24:44-45, ESV Bible)

Traditional church beliefs have thought that the Torah and the Mosaic Law only remained in effect until the coming of Messiah and his subsequent death on the cross. But is that the case? Much of Christianity anticipates the apocalypse and the second coming of the Messiah, preceded by the coming of the antichrist, also known as the “son of lawlessness” (aka Torahlessness). In 2 Thessalonians 2:1-12, we read:

Now concerning the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ and our being gathered together to him, we ask you, brothers, not to be quickly shaken in mind or alarmed, either by a spirit or a spoken word, or a letter seeming to be from us, to the effect that the day of the Lord has come. Let no one deceive you in any way. For that day will not come, unless the rebellion comes first, and the man of lawlessness is revealed,  the son of destruction, who opposes and exalts himself against every so-called god or object of worship, so that he takes his seat in the temple of God, proclaiming himself to be God. Do you not remember that when I was still with you I told you these things? And you know what is restraining him now so that he may be revealed in his time. For the mystery of lawlessness  is already at work. Only he who now restrains it will do so until he is out of the way. And then the lawless one will be revealed, whom the Lord Jesus will kill with the breath of his mouth and bring to nothing by the appearance of his coming. The coming of the lawless one is by the activity of Satan with all power and false signs and wonders, and with all wicked deception for those who are perishing, because they refused to love the truth and so be saved. Therefore God sends them a strong delusion, so that they may believe what is false, in order that all may be condemned who did not believe the truth but had pleasure in unrighteousness. (2 Thessalonians 2:1-12, ESV Bible)

We see here that the man of lawlessness will appear and say he is God. He will do all the works which the true Messiah has done. In short, he will look like Jesus. But 2 Thessalonians 2 is not the first time Israel and the children of God are warned about a false prophet. Moses warns Israel about this in Deuteronomy 13:1-6:

“If a prophet or a dreamer of dreams arises among you and gives you a sign or a wonder, and the sign or wonder that he tells you comes to pass, and if he says, ‘Let us go after other gods,’ which you have not known, ‘and let us serve them,’ you shall not listen to the words of that prophet or that dreamer of dreams. For the LORD your God is testing you, to know whether you love the LORD your God with all your heart and with all your soul. You shall walk after the LORD your God and fear him and keep his commandments and obey his voice, and you shall serve him and hold fast to him. But that prophet or that dreamer of dreams shall be put to death, because he has taught rebellion against the LORD your God, who brought you out of the land of Egypt and redeemed you out of the house of slavery, to make you leave the way in which the LORD your God commanded you to walk. So you shall purge the evil from your midst.” (Deuteronomy 13:1-6, ESV Bible)

Deuteronomy 13 warns against false prophets who will turn the Jewish people away from the Torah. Moses says anyone who “makes you leave how the LORD your God commanded you to walk” is deemed a false prophet. What is how God commanded them to walk? Their command to walk is the Torah, and the commandments stated, “You shall walk after the LORD your God and fear him and keep his commandments and obey his voice, and you shall serve him and hold fast to him.” Moses tells the Jewish people that if anyone claims to speak on God’s behalf and declares the Torah has been canceled or that the Jews no longer need to observe the Torah, this person will be seen as a false prophet. Even if they come doing signs and wonders.

And here is where much of Christianity finds itself today. Jesus has often been taught as the Jesus who canceled the law, who abolished the Torah, who discarded the Sabbath, who did away with the distinction between Jew and Gentile, whose death replaced the Levitical priesthood and the Levitical services, who declared all food clean, who canceled Judaism and started Christianity. Do you see the problem with this teaching? This Jesus described here is the same false prophet mentioned in Deuteronomy 13.

And when this false prophet Jesus is taught, it is no wonder why many Jews cannot accept the claims of Christianity. They cannot accept a Messiah that turns them away from the commandments of God. And this is precisely what Moses is describing in Deuteronomy 13. He is explaining a commandment of God. In other words, in the context of Deuteronomy 13, the rejection of Jesus, who cancels the law, is a commandment they must follow.

And the context of Deuteronomy 13 does not stop there. If Jesus did cancel the law, then not only is he a false prophet, but the disciples, Paul, and anyone preaching his message is also a false prophet or teacher. The only problem with this line of thinking is the words of Jesus seem to suggest something completely different. Jesus ‘ words contradict this line of thought when he says:

“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.” (Matthew 5:17, ESV Bible)

And just in case we think that Jesus fulfilled the law, thereby canceling it or terminating the law, Jesus goes on to say:

“For truly, I say to you, until heaven and earth pass away, not an iota, not a dot, will pass from the Law until all is accomplished.” (Matthew 5:18, ESV Bible)

Has heaven and earth passed away? Of course not! Does this not imply that the Torah or the law of Moses is still valid? Messiah is the goal of the Torah but not the end or termination of the Torah. And should we ever doubt or wonder if He represents the termination of the Torah, we reflect on Matthew 5:17-18.

In addition, Jesus goes on to encourage his disciples to keep even the least of the commandments of the Torah:

Therefore whoever relaxes 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 does them and teaches them will be called great in the kingdom of heaven. For I tell you, unless your righteousness exceeds that of the scribes and Pharisees, you will never enter the kingdom of heaven. (Matthew 5:19-20, ESV Bible)

Not only did Jesus say they should do the commandments, He says their righteousness should exceed that of the scribes and the Pharisees! Not only do the commandments better than the Pharisees but also listen to the teachers of the law, the Pharisees and Sadducees:

Then Jesus said to the crowds and to his disciples, “The scribes and the Pharisees sit on Moses’ seat, so do and observe whatever they tell you, but not the works they do. For they preach, but do not practice.” (Matthew 23:1-3, ESV Bible)

Although Jesus often rebuked these leaders of the Jews as failing to live up to the same standards to which they held everyone else, he still commands his followers to obey the rulings of the Sanhedrin because they sit in the “seat of Moses.”

In this example, we see Jesus instructing a young man to follow the commandments of Moses to inherit eternal life:

And behold, a man came up to him, saying, “Teacher, what good deed must I do to have eternal life?” And he said to him, “Why do you ask me about what is good? There is only one who is good. If you would enter life, keep the commandments.” He said to him, “Which ones?” And Jesus said, “You shall not murder, You shall not commit adultery, You shall not steal, You shall not bear false witness, Honor your father and mother, and, You shall love your neighbor as yourself.” The young man said to him, “All these I have kept. What do I still lack?” Jesus said to him, “If you would be perfect, go, sell what you possess and give to the poor, and you will have treasure in heaven; and come, follow me.” When the young man heard this he went away sorrowful, for he had great possessions. (Matthew 19:16-22, ESV Bible)

Not once does Jesus say, “believe in me and you will go to heaven.” What we see is Jesus directing the young man to keep the commandments, and then to sell his possessions. This is a very performance, works based response.

So we see, again and again, ample evidence that Jesus respected, followed, and encouraged obedience to God’s commandments found in the Torah.

Conclusion

In this lesson, we have confronted the common misconception that Jesus abolished the Torah and discarded its relevance. The words and actions of Jesus tell a different story—one of continuity and fulfillment rather than cancellation. He upheld the Torah, directing His Jewish followers to keep God’s commandments and even urging them to surpass the righteousness of the religious leaders of His time. Far from abolishing the Torah, Jesus affirmed its enduring significance, pointing us to a deeper understanding of how it leads us toward a life of faithfulness and relationship with God. As we continue to explore the teachings of Jesus, it becomes clear that the Torah remains central to His mission and message, guiding us on the path toward righteousness and eternal life.