Understanding Alfred Edersheim’s “The Law in Messianic Times”

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 to 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.

What did Paul mean in his rebuke of Peter in Galatians 2:11-14? (Q&A)

Q:  I’m almost finished reading your Jewish Roots of Christianity book. I’ve appreciated learning so much history that I never knew, but it makes me sad to think that people who have called themselves by the name of Christ have acted so horrendously… It helps me to understand a little better the anti-Semitism that we saw (and were SHOCKED by) in Ukraine.

I’m meditating on the thought that you bring forth in the book that Messianic Jews still need to follow the law… What do you do then with Paul’s remarks in Galatians 2:11-14, where Paul calls Peter on the carpet for reverting back to following the laws when the circumcision party shows up in Antioch? Paul certainly talks here, and in other places, like he is not following the dietary laws at least…

Infant Baptism? (Q&A)

Q:  [In response to our teaching, “The Washing of Water with the Word”:]  I'm going to get into trouble here, but here goes anyway....please notice that the verse you mention says that the Messiah does the cleansing by the washing of water with the word.  We don't do it.  Therefore it is a gift, just like our name from our parents.  So there is no need for someone to wait until they are "ready" for baptism.  It is a gift that we cannot by our own power or will do anything to be "ready" to receive.  Moral of my story is --get your kids baptized and don't wait another day.  –Stephanie K.

A:  Thanks for your enthusiasm in defending infant baptism--a long-held and widely practiced tradition of the Church.  But this tradition ignores a key component of the original idea of baptism:  that receiving the word of God—being “cleansed...by his word” (Eph. 5:26)—requires being able to understand that word.  Traditional churches themselves admit to the inadequacy of infant baptism by their practice of confirmation, a rite mentioned nowhere in the Bible.  Having teenagers confirm or accept their baptisms is a recognition that infant baptism is incomplete without the conscious and believing participation of the one being baptized.  And that's exactly the point.  Baptism is the outward, public response to an inner faith:  the sign of a conscious repentance of sin and a decision to follow Jesus.  This decision brings an inner cleansing (Acts 15:9), while baptism completes the process with an outer washing:  “the outward sign of an inward grace,” as Augustine of Hippo put it.  There is just no other way to make sense of the Biblical description of this rite as a "baptism of repentance for the forgiveness of sins," unless there is an actual repentance on the part of the person being baptized (Mark 1:4, Luke 3:3, Acts 13:24, 19:4).  This requires a conscious appeal to God (1 Pet. 3:21) by faith (Col. 2:12).  Infants are completely incapable of doing these things.

Sabbath for Non-Jews? (Q&A)

Q:  Very good comment on Isa 56 about Jesus as Salvation [see our Q&A on Isaiah 56]. But what about the context: Israel has to offer also Sabbath-keeping as a sign of the new covenant that is brought about by the Messiah (verse 8 "to HIM" will be gathered all). Do you agree that the Sabbath is also the sign of the new covenant for non-Jews, for all Christians? –Jens S.

A:  Thank you for bringing up the issue of Sabbath with regard to Isa. 56.  As you correctly point out, this is a key element in the chapter.  I'm not sure exactly what you mean by Sabbath-keeping being a “sign of the new covenant” for Israel, since Sabbath-keeping is usually considered a sign of the old covenant as it specifically says in Exo. 31:13; Eze. 20:12.  But if you simply mean that it continues as part of the practice of Jewish believers in Jesus, this is certainly true. 

With regard to Isa. 56:8 ("The Lord GOD, who gathers the banished ones of Israel, declares, 'Yet others I will gather to him, to those already gathered.'"), the phrase "yet others will I gather to him" is a reference back to Israel in the same verse, and as a result, is often translated for clarity “to them.”  This is how Jesus understood it when he alluded to this verse in John 10:16, speaking of the "other sheep" that were to be added to the Jewish people who had already believed in him.

Is Baptism Essential to Salvation? (Q&A)

Q:  Jeff, I chanced upon the website while surfing the internet. For the past few months, I have been trying to understand whether a person needs to be baptized to be saved. I would like to consult you on the relation between baptism and salvation, as understood by the early church (made up of mainly Jews). I have read what was written in your Q&A question “The Jewish Roots of Baptism,” and it seems like baptism is (and was) seen as a cleansing.

Did the early church (or maybe present day Jewish Christians) believe/teach that baptism is necessary for salvation? --BK

A:  Christian baptism is a rite of initiation adopted from immersion in the Jewish mikveh bath.  The mikveh bath was used for ritual cleansing from many different kinds of uncleanness, most of them found in Lev. 15.  But the use that most strongly influenced Christian baptism was the conversion of a Gentile to Judaism, for which ritual immersion was required.  In Christianity, this became an important part of the overall cleansing—both inner and outer—that marked coming to faith in Jesus (Yeshua) as the Messiah and Son of God.

The Tav Mark (Q&A)

Q:  I have read your message, "When did the 'Tav' mark start to look like a cross"?  I`d be very thankful, if you can answer some questions.

How do you know that the mark mentioned in Ezekiel 9:4 is the letter tav?  In the Bible it reads only "...and set a mark upon the forehead of the men."  Where is it mentioned in the Hebrew Bible that the mark was the letter "tav"?

You say that the Essenes marked Messianic prophecies in their Bible scrolls with a cross mark. Can you give me some example of that, how they use the cross? Is there no doubt that the crosses were placed there with some definitive purpose and not only to mark the messianic passages out of the others?

Is Right Standing with God the Result of Perfect Obedience? (Q&A)

Q:  My name is Troy T.  I am a Black American (non-Jewish) believer in Yeshua of Nazareth as the Holy One anointed by G-D to usher in the Kingdom of Heaven.  While I lived in Washington, D.C., I attended a Messianic Jewish Congregation because G-D, in a dream, told me to.  Before the dream, I did not even realize that, except for a few exceptions, that Jews existed who believed in Yeshua as the Anointed One.  However, now I come across them all the time.  Well, I loved the congregation but I have also come across many Messianic Jewish groups who teach salvation by faith and observance to the Law given to Moses.  However, I love your website because it is fair, balanced, and Scriptural.

I teach, according to the Scriptures, that right standing before and with G-D is only the result of perfect obedience to the Law of G-D.  In the beginning, G-D gave all humans a conscience that contains the Law of G-D, which is composed of His eternal law (love Him will all your being and love your fellow human) and natural law (do not murder, steal, commit adultery, commit sodomy, rape, lie, etc.).  Yet, due to the transgression of the one man (Adam), all humans acquired a predisposition to do that which G-D said do not do and to not do that which G-D said do.  Even though until the giving of the written Law of G-D, disobeyed G-D like Adam by breaking a direct command of G-D but only by violating the dictates of the conscience.  This predisposition is only inherited through the father (not the mother) since the sins of the father are transferred and Adam is the father of us all.  

Israel and Prophecy (Video)

Finally!  Here's a video of some of our Jewish Roots of Christianity Seminar (4a).  It's in English with a Chinese translation.  Continue below (or click "read more") to see the video.

The Messianic Seal of the Jerusalem Church (Review)

"Tomb of David" on Mt. Zion and the "Messianic Seal"

The symbol known as the "Messianic Seal" (pictured above) has become quite popular among Messianic believers in Jesus [Yeshua] and among Gentile believers interested in their Jewish roots.  It symbolizes the intimate connection between Judaism and Christianity which, from an historical point of view, can no longer be denied.  However a quite separate question related to this symbol is whether or not it is ancient.

The Jewish Roots of Christianity Seminar (Audio)

Now you can listen to our entire Jewish Roots of Christianity seminar free on-line, complete with notes and diagrams. Go to: http://www.totheends.com/mediar1.html

More Seminar Media

More To The Ends Of The Earth Teachings

---

Home  |  Seminars  |  Teachings  |  Media  |  About Us    |  Support    |  Search

---

Copyright © 2015, 2020 by To The Ends Of The Earth Ministries

www.totheends.com

Prayer Shawls and Money Belts (Video)

Here's a higher resolution copy of the first part of our Jesus of Nazareth Seminar (1a). Continue below to see the video.

Is the Law of Moses for Everyone?

The Ascent to Mt. Sinai

Many groups have appeared recently teaching that every Christian believer must obey the Law of Moses.  The whole Bible is God’s Word, right?  So therefore, they say, every Christian should obey the whole Bible.  Sounds convincing, doesn’t it?  They often refer to Num. 15:16:  “There will be one law (one torah) and one legal decision for you and for the stranger (the ger) who is staying as a stranger among you.”  Since the Hebrew word torah can refer to the whole Law of Moses, and since “stranger” (ger) refers to non-Jews, this verse can certainly appear to say that the Law (the Torah) of Moses is for every believer, even for non-Jews.

But if it were really that simple, why did this become a subject of controversy in the New Testament?  Why did the first generation of believers call a council to deal with it in Acts 15?  Why did the apostle Paul get upset when Gentile believers began to obey the Law of Moses?  “You are released [estranged, divorced] from Messiah, whoever is made righteous by Law; you have forfeited grace” (Gal. 5:4).  There must be more to it than that.

Prayer Shawls and Money Belts (Video)

This is an older version of the first part of our Jesus of Nazareth Seminar (1a). Check out our newer, higher resolution version.