The new covenant

Jesus said in Matthew 5:17 Do not presume that I came to abolish the Law or the Prophets; I did not come to abolish, but to fulfill.

There is a misconception in the churches that the 10 commandments were nailed to the cross. To come up with this doctrine really takes a lot of misinterpretation and twisting of scripture. The verse people use is Colossians 2:14 Blotting out the handwriting of ordinances that was against us, which was contrary to us, and took it out of the way, nailing it to his cross.

What is left out is something so obvious, the 10 commandments were written in stone, you can’t run a nail through stone. Exodus 24:12 Then the LORD said to Moses, “Come up to Me on the mountain and be there; and I will give you tablets of stone, and the law and commandments which I have written, that you may teach them.

What Colossians 2:14 is talking about is the laws of Moses, laws written by the hand of Moses “the handwriting of ordinances”.

2 Chronicles 33:8 and I will not again remove the foot of Israel from the land which I have appointed for your fathers—only if they are careful to do all that I have commanded them, according to the whole law and the statutes and the ordinances by the hand of Moses. This makes it so clear. There are 2 things here, the “whole law” and the “ordinances by the hand of Moses”. Colossians 2:14 is very clear, in saying “handwriting of ordinances” are nailed to the cross, not the laws.

The 10 commandments were not against us, they were for us. The Laws written by Moses are clearly stated to be the ordinances against us. Deuteronomy 31:26 Take this Book of the Law, and put it beside the ark of the covenant of the LORD your God, that it may be there as a witness against you;
The laws written by Moses were not in the ark of the covenant, they were placed outside, or as written, “beside the ark”. The 10 commandments were IN the ark: 1 Kings 8:9 Nothing was in the ark except the two tablets of stone which Moses put there at Horeb, when the LORD made a covenant with the children of Israel, when they came out of the land of Egypt.

Jesus said in Matthew 5:17 Do not presume that I came to abolish the Law or the Prophets; I did not come to abolish, but to fulfill.
Jesus did NOT come to abolish the law, the only thing abolished was the handwriting of ordinances.

Many say that Jesus gave us a new covenant, “And He said to him, “‘YOU SHALL LOVE THE LORD YOUR GOD WITH ALL YOUR HEART, AND WITH ALL YOUR SOUL, AND WITH ALL YOUR MIND.’ This is the great and [u]foremost commandment. The second is like it, ‘YOU SHALL LOVE YOUR NEIGHBOR AS YOURSELF.’ Upon these two commandments [v]hang the whole Law and the Prophets.”
Then Jesus explains how this is the actual 10 commandments when he said “on these 2 commandments depend the whole law and the prophets…
2 Chronicles 33:8 calls the laws of Moses as the “ordinances” and the 10 commandments as the “whole law”.
This is why we are told to “study” God’s word, meanintg, don’t just read it.

Here is how the 10 commandments are broken down and what Jesus meant when he said “on these 2 commandments”.

Commandments 1 through 4 are about loving God with all your heart, soul and mind.
1. You shall have no other gods before Me.
2. You shall not make idols.
3. You shall not take the name of the LORD your God in vain.
4. Remember the Sabbath day, to keep it holy.

Commandments 5 through 10 are about loving your neighbor as yourself.
5. Honor your father and your mother.
6. You shall not murder.
7. You shall not commit adultery.
8. You shall not steal.
9. You shall not bear false witness against your neighbor.
10. You shall not covet.

Commandments 1 through 4 = “YOU SHALL LOVE THE LORD YOUR GOD WITH ALL YOUR HEART, AND WITH ALL YOUR SOUL, AND WITH ALL YOUR MIND”.
Commandments 5 thorugh 10 = “YOU SHALL LOVE YOUR NEIGHBOR AS YOURSELF.’ Upon these two commandments hang the whole Law and the Prophets”.

Jesus was not giving us new commandments, he was repeating the 10 commandments. If you read the entire context you’ll see that the Sadducees were trying to trick Jesus and this is how Jesus put them in their place.

Something I find strange is many people who admit the 10 commandments are just as much for today as they were when written, still ignore the 4th commandment.