In the Christian Era, Our High Priest is the Lord Jesus Christ, Not Moses
It is quite frustrating that even if we are already in the Christian dispensation lots of people are still affected by the laws of Moses, to the point that if they find the said law to be inconsistent with the state of things, in reality, their tendency is to question the authenticity of the Bible.
For example, under the law of Moses, the hare had been classified as unclean and, therefore, should not be eaten because “it ruminates and it is not cloven-footed.” In line with that prohibition, somebody asked me if such a pronouncement would not jeopardize the authenticity of the Bible inasmuch as, in reality, hares are cloven-footed and they do not ruminate.
First of all, allow me to give you an insight about the laws given by God, through Moses, to the Israelites – they being the first people who served God.
In the epistle of the Apostle Paul to the Hebrews, one of the important things he wrote concerned the prohibitions on what they should and should not eat or ingest.
HEBREWS 9:10 says,
Which stood only in meats and drinks, and divers washings, and carnal ordinances, imposed on them until the time of reformation.
There were ordinances regarding meats, drinks, and diverse washing, or cleansing of the body that were imposed on them until the time of reformation, implying that there was an appointed time that these laws would be reformed. There was an appointed time set by God that these laws would be superseded by another set of laws. And that appointed time had come, according to the Apostle Paul in HEBREWS 7:12, which says,
For the priesthood being changed, there is made of necessity a change also of the law.
So, it was necessary for the law to be changed because there had been a change in the priesthood. HEBREWS 3:1-3 says,
1 Wherefore, holy brethren, partakers of the heavenly calling, consider the Apostle and High Priest of our profession, Christ Jesus;
2 Who was faithful to him that appointed him, as also Moses was faithful in all his house.
3 For this man was counted worthy of more glory than Moses, inasmuch as he who hath builded the house hath more honor than the house.
The verses clearly tell us that the high priest that had been replaced was Moses, and his replacement was the Lord Jesus Christ. In those verses, the Apostle Paul was speaking to the Hebrews who were converted to Christianity during the first century of our era, and not to the Hebrews who remained in their Jewish religion. He was telling them that our Apostle and High Priest of our profession is the Lord Jesus Christ. Christ was found to be more glorious than Moses as a priest. So, He was called the High Priest of our profession.
When the priesthood was changed, there was a necessity to also change the law. And the law that was replaced was the law that was administered by Moses. It had been replaced by another law.
ACTS 13:39 says,
And by him all that believe are justified from all things, from which ye could not be justified by the law of Moses.
The law of Moses was found to be insufficient for the justification of believers in the Christian era because, in the Christian era, justification rests on the Lord Jesus Christ. In other words, the faith of Christians must be based on the law of Christ, and not on the law of Moses.
Let us be definite. What is being referred to as the law of Moses?
MALACHI 4:4 says,
Remember ye the law of Moses my servant, which I commanded unto him in Horeb for all Israel, with the statutes and judgments.
So, it was the law given by God to Moses in the mountain. Specifically, what was that law?
EXODUS 31:18 says,
And he gave unto Moses, when he had made an end of communing with him upon mount Sinai, two tables of testimony, tables of stone, written with the finger of God.
They were the laws that were contained in the two tables of stone, which were written with the finger of God. And those laws included statutes and judgments.
DEUTERONOMY 4:13 says,
And he declared unto you his covenant, which he commanded you to perform, even ten commandments; and he wrote them upon two tables of stone.
Therefore, the law of Moses being referred to was the ten commandments. And these laws, together with the statutes and judgments, were meant for the Israelites. For instance, there were statutes regarding what to eat, what not to eat, what to drink, and what not to drink which the Israelites had to observe.
But in our dispensation, we do not have problems about what to eat and what not to eat. In the New Testament, there is another law that was explained by the Lord Jesus Christ.
In MARK 7:19, it says,
Because it entereth not into his heart, but into the belly, and goeth out into the draught, purging all meats?
The Lord Jesus Christ declared that the type of food that the Israelites had been forbidden to eat did not go to the heart, but only to the belly. And He had purged, or cleansed, all of those. The Apostle Paul explained in 1 TIMOTHY 4:4-5,
4 For every creature of God is good, and nothing to be refused, if it be received with thanksgiving:
5 For it is sanctified by the word of God and prayer.
So, even if it is pork, which was regarded as unclean during the time of the Israelites, in the Christian dispensation, when the priesthood had been changed from Moses to the Lord Jesus Christ, those meats that had been declared as unclean had been purged, or cleansed, by the Lord Jesus Christ. They are sanctified by the word of God, by the decree of God, and by prayer. Through the power of prayer and by the word of God, those things which had been considered abominable then are cleansed. Therefore, there is no longer any problem with eating pork, or any meat from those that do not chew the cud, or from those that have no cloven feet.
Bear in mind that we are in the Christian era. Our teacher is the Lord Jesus Christ, and not Moses. If we are truly Christians and we believe that we are living in the Christian dispensation, we have to refer to the teachings of the Lord Jesus Christ, and not of Moses. Moses is no longer our high priest but the Lord Jesus Christ. The revelation that the Lord Jesus Christ carries with Him is the revelation that we must receive now.
HEBREWS 1:1-2 says,
1 God who at sundry times and in divers manners spake in time past unto the fathers by the prophets,
2 Hath in these last days spoken unto us by his Son, whom he hath appointed heir of all things, by whom also he made the worlds;
God had spoken to the fathers through the prophets, but in these last days, He speaks to us through His Son. So, if we want to know about God’s words and teachings we will learn them through His Son, not through Moses. But if you keep on observing the laws of Moses, you are at the wrong track. You are out of time; you are out of place.
LEVITICUS 11:1-7 says,
1 And the LORD spoke unto Moses and to Aaron, saying unto them,
2 Speak unto the children of Israel, saying, These are the beasts which ye shall eat among all the beasts that are on the earth.
If you are a meticulous reader of the Bible, as early as verse 2, you will realize that, if you are an American or a Filipino, you are not a concerned party because those words were only meant for the Israelites.
3 Whatsoever parteth the hoof, and is cloven-footed, and cheweth the cud, among the beasts, that shall ye eat.
4 Nevertheless these shall ye not eat of them that chew the cud, or of them that divide the hoof: as the camel, because he cheweth the cud, but divideth not the hoof; he is unclean unto you.
5 And the coney, because he cheweth the cud, but divideth not the hoof; he is unclean unto you.
6 And the hare, because he cheweth the cud, but divideth not the hoof; he is unclean unto you.
7 And the swine, though he divide the hoof, and be cloven-footed, yet he cheweth not the cud; he is unclean to you.
At this point, allow me to give some clarifications concerning verse 6 because this is the part being questioned by one reader of the Bible. According to him, what the verse states is a challenge to the authenticity of the Bible because what it said is contrary to reality. It stated that the hare should not be eaten because it chews the cud and is not cloven-footed when in truth, hares have cloven feet and they do not ruminate or chew the cud.
Let me make it clear that what the Israelites were forbidden to eat were animals, or beasts, that ruminate and are cloven-footed. Those two characteristics must be present in one particular beast. If one characteristic is absent, then, it should not be eaten. In the case of a hare, its hooves are divided but they do not ruminate, so the Israelites were forbidden from eating it.
But, granting that Leviticus 11:6 should have described the hare the other way around, that is, it does not chew the cud and it has cloven feet, still, that would not make the prohibition wrong. It, still, should not be eaten because one of the characteristics of a beast or animal that should be eaten is absent.
Indeed, there are people who challenge the authenticity of the Bible. They are those who do not consider human error. They always blame the Bible for errors which could have been committed by the people who did its translation.
Actually, people who question the authenticity of the Bible would never run out of issues to raise against the Bible. Let me cite an example. The Bible classified bats as birds because birds fly by their wings, and bats fly because they are also winged. So now, people who try to discredit the Bible accuse the Bible as speaking of lies because, according to them, bats are not birds but mammals. Let us accept that a bat is classified as a mammal, the question is, who did the classification and when was the classification made?
Remember that when the Bible was written there were no classifications yet as to whether a creature is a mammal, or a reptile, or a bird. The classification happened only very recently, specifically, thousands of years after the Bible was written. And the classification was made by man only. Who knew about mammals during the time of Moses? The word “mammal” was coined by Linnaeus only in the 18th century, whereas the book of Leviticus was written more than 3,000 years ago (1512) by Moses at the wilderness of Sinai. So how would you expect the Bible to classify bat as a mammal when the word mammal was coined only in 1758? So, that time, the Bible was absolutely correct when it classified bat as a bird because it flies.
But whether or not there were pronouncements in the law of Moses which do not jive with the actual characteristics of certain animals in reality, like the case of hare, for me they are immaterial. Still, the hare was rightfully included among the animals that the Israelites should not eat because its characteristics fail to meet the qualities of a beast or animal that they could eat. Although the hare is cloven-footed, yet, it does not chew the cud, so the Israelites should not eat it.
But inasmuch as we are not under the law of Moses but of the law of Christ, there is practically no need for us to be troubled about the kinds of food that the Israelites had been prohibited from eating. First, we are not among the Israelites that Moses led so the prohibition does not concern us; second, Christ had cleansed all that were regarded unclean during the time of the Israelites; and third, through the power of prayer, our food could be sanctified.
Let us not forget, our High Priest today is the Lord Jesus Christ. And it is best not to doubt the authenticity of the Bible.
Indeed, very much correct. It is crystal clear in the Bible. Thanks be to God!
ReplyDelete#TheHighPriestOfChristians
ReplyDeleteThanks be to God for his goodness. Not allowing us to be decieved by false belief which is not logical.
ReplyDeleteMosses had his time and today, it is the Lord Jesus Christ for us to listen to according to the will of God...
ReplyDeleteMy life is controlled by the essence of time so that today, I know it is only Bro. Eli who is teaching the biblical truth...
ReplyDeleteVery well said. To God be the glory, forever!
ReplyDeleteTo GOD be the glory!
ReplyDeleteAmen!
ReplyDeleteAmen. Thanks to God.
ReplyDeleteFor the priesthood being changed, there is made of necessity a change also of the law.
ReplyDeleteHebrews 7:12
King James Version with Strongs Dictionary
Datapuwa't siya, sapagka't namamalagi magpakailan man ay may pagkasaserdote siyang di mapapalitan.
ReplyDeleteHebreo 7:24
Tagalog (Ang Dating Biblia)(1905)
and since we have a great priest over the house of God,
ReplyDeleteHebrews 10:21
English Standard Version