What will happen to the Law of Moses in the time of the Messiah? This was an open question in Jesus’ day. And it still generates strong opinions today. Does the Law of Moses have any legitimate place in the Christian Church? What about for Messianic believers in Jesus? And what about in the Messianic age to come? You may think your church or Christian organization is exempt from such controversies. But if your church teaches that Jesus did away with the Law of Moses, how does it explain continued obedience to the Ten Commandments? This “moral law” as some call it is still nevertheless a part of the Law of Moses. So is the Law of Moses in force today or not?
The famous Messianic scholar Alfred Edersheim laid out some important insights into these questions in the 14th appendix of his classic The Life and Times of Jesus the Messiah. Unfortunately, his style of writing and the difficulty of tracking down his references cause many skip over this little gem. So to make it more accessible, I’ve written a brief summary with explanatory comments, complete with internet links to his rabbinical references in English. His original writing is also linked below. (A few of the links require you to sign-in to archive.org and to “borrow” the book in order to read it. The references that I can’t find at the indicated location are marked with a “?”.)
Edersheim may not answer all our questions. But he helps us understand the background to this discussion among the Jewish people. Hopefully, this short summary will make it easier to grasp his main points and to find many of his references.