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Seventh-day Adventism Refuted:
Jesus was a Jew
Jesus was a Jew.
He was born under the Old Covenant Law to redeem
us from the curse of the Law.
 
 

Galatians 4:4-5 says, “But when the fullness of time had come, God sent forth his Son, born of woman, born under the law, 5 to redeem those who were under the law, so that we might receive adoption as sons.”

Jesus was without sin and kept the Law perfectly (the way God intended).

John 8:46 says, “Which one of you convicts me of sin? If I tell the truth, why do you not believe me?”

2 Corinthians 5:21 says, “For our sake he made him to be sin who knew no sin, so that in him we might become the righteousness of God.”

1 Peter 2:22 says, “He committed no sin, neither was deceit found in his mouth.”

1 Peter 3:18 says, “For Christ also suffered once for sins, the righteous for the unrighteous, that he might bring us to God, being put to death in the flesh but made alive in the spirit.”

1 John 3:5 says, “You know that he appeared in order to take away sins, and in him there is no sin.”

Romans 5:18-21 says, “Therefore, as one trespass led to condemnation for all men, so one act of righteousness leads to justification and life for all men. 19 For as by the one man’s disobedience the many were made sinners, so by the one man’s obedience the many will be made righteous. 20 Now the law came in to increase the trespass, but where sin increased, grace abounded all the more, 21 so that, as sin reigned in death, grace also might reign through righteousness leading to eternal life through Jesus Christ our Lord.”

Hebrews 4:15 says, “For we do not have a high priest who is unable to sympathize with our weaknesses, but one who in every respect has been tempted as we are, yet without sin.”

And Hebrews 7:26 says, “For it was indeed fitting that we should have such a high priest, holy, innocent, unstained, separated from sinners, and exalted above the heavens.”

While Jesus experienced every kind of human temptation, he never succumbed to sin (John 8:29, 46; 15:10; 2 Cor. 5:21; Heb. 7:26; 1 Pet. 2:22; 3:18; 1 John 3:5).

“Christ was born under Law as a Jew. He kept the Law perfectly, fulfilled it (cf. Matt. 5:17), and finally paid its curse (cf. Gal. 3:13).”
[1]

Jesus told His disciples to keep the Law faithfully.

Matthew 5:48 says, “You therefore must be perfect, as your heavenly Father is perfect.”

Matthew 7:21 says, “Not everyone who says to me, ‘Lord, Lord,’ will enter the kingdom of heaven, but the one who does the will of my Father who is in heaven.”

Jesus said He came to fulfill the law.

Matthew 5:17-18 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. 18 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.”

The Old Covenant came to an end when Jesus offered a perfect sacrifice for our sins and then died for us.

Ephesians 2:13-16 says, “But now in Christ Jesus you who once were far away have been brought near through the blood of Christ. 14 For he himself is our peace, who has made the two one and has destroyed the barrier, the dividing wall of hostility, 15 by abolishing in his flesh the law with its commandments and regulations. His purpose was to create in himself one new man out of the two, thus making peace, 16 and in this one body to reconcile both of them to God through the cross, by which he put to death their hostility.” (NIV)

Colossians 1:22 says, “he has now reconciled in his body of flesh by his death, in order to present you holy and blameless and above reproach before him,”

Colossians 2:13-14 says, “When you were dead in your sins and in the uncircumcision of your sinful nature, God made you alive with Christ. He forgave us all our sins, 14 having canceled the written code, with its regulations, that was against us and that stood opposed to us; he took it away, nailing it to the cross.” (NIV)

When Jesus died He established a new, eternal priesthood and ushered in the New Covenant.

Hebrews 7:12 says, “For when there is a change in the priesthood, there is necessarily a change in the law as well.”

Hebrews 8:13 says, “In speaking of a new covenant, he makes the first one obsolete. And what is becoming obsolete and growing old is ready to vanish away.”

Hebrews 9:11-15 says, “But when Christ appeared as a high priest of the good things that have come, then through the greater and more perfect tent (not made with hands, that is, not of this creation) 12 he entered once for all into the holy places, not by means of the blood of goats and calves but by means of his own blood, thus securing an eternal redemption. 13 For if the blood of goats and bulls, and the sprinkling of defiled persons with the ashes of a heifer, sanctify for the purification of the flesh, 14 how much more will the blood of Christ, who through the eternal Spirit offered himself without blemish to God, purify our conscience from dead works to serve the living God. 15 Therefore he is the mediator of a new covenant, so that those who are called may receive the promised eternal inheritance, since a death has occurred that redeems them from the transgressions committed under the first covenant.”

Hebrews 9:16-17 says, “For where a will is involved, the death of the one who made it must be established. 17 For a will takes effect only at death, since it is not in force as long as the one who made it is alive.”

Hebrews 9:23-28 says, “Thus it was necessary for the copies of the heavenly things to be purified with these rites, but the heavenly things themselves with better sacrifices than these. 24 For Christ has entered, not into holy places made with hands, which are copies of the true things, but into heaven itself, now to appear in the presence of God on our behalf. 25 Nor was it to offer himself repeatedly, as the high priest enters the holy places every year with blood not his own, 26 for then he would have had to suffer repeatedly since the foundation of the world. But as it is, he has appeared once for all at the end of the ages to put away sin by the sacrifice of himself. 27 And just as it is appointed for man to die once, and after that comes judgment, 28 so Christ, having been offered once to bear the sins of many, will appear a second time, not to deal with sin but to save those who are eagerly waiting for him.”

Hebrews 10:7-14 says, “Then I said, ‘Behold, I have come to do your will, O God, as it is written of me in the scroll of the book. 8 When he said above, “You have neither desired nor taken pleasure in sacrifices and offerings and burnt offerings and sin offerings” (these are offered according to the law), 9 then he added, “Behold, I have come to do your will.” He does away with the first in order to establish the second. 10 And by that will we have been sanctified through the offering of the body of Jesus Christ once for all. 11 And every priest stands daily at his service, offering repeatedly the same sacrifices, which can never take away sins. 12 But when Christ had offered for all time a single sacrifice for sins, he sat down at the right hand of God, 13 waiting from that time until his enemies should be made a footstool for his feet. 14 For by a single offering he has perfected for all time those who are being sanctified.”

We are made holy and cleansed from sin and consecrated to God’s service because Christ was able to keep God’s Law holy and then offer up His life as a sacrifice for our sins. He alone was worthy!

Some people use John 5:16-18 to support their belief that Jesus didn’t keep the Sabbath according to the Law.

John 5:16-18 says, “And this was why the Jews were persecuting Jesus, because he was doing these things on the Sabbath. 17 But Jesus answered them, “My Father is working until now, and I am working. 18 This was why the Jews were seeking all the more to kill him, because not only was he breaking the Sabbath, but he was even calling God his own Father, making himself equal with God.”

John was simply summarizing what the Jews were saying in his gospel, not making those claims about Jesus himself.

Later in John’s gospel, Jesus asked, “Which one of you convicts me of sin? If I tell the truth, why do you not believe me” (John 8:46)? And near the end of His time on earth, Jesus said to His disciples, “If you keep my commandments, you will abide in my love, just as I have kept my Father’s commandments and abide in his love.” (John 15:10)

If Jesus truly broke the Sabbath command then why didn’t His detractors arrest Him for breaking the Sabbath?

John 5:16-18 contains two claims. First, that Jesus was breaking the Sabbath; and Second, that He was making Himself equal with God.

In healing on the Sabbath, Jesus was not acting against the Father’s commands, He was doing what the Father wanted. The Jews were outraged, not because Jesus was wrong to heal on the Sabbath, because they didn’t even answer His reply to them regarding His Sabbath healing. Jesus silenced the Jews repeatedly by showing it was acceptable to God for someone to do good and heal a person in need on the Sabbath (Matt. 12:1-37; Mark 2:27-28; Luke 6:5; 14:5; John 7:21-24).

The MacArthur Study Bible says this about John 5:16, “Jesus did not break God’s law since in it there was no prohibition of doing good on that day (Mark 2:27). However, Jesus disregarded the oral law of the Jews that had developed, i.e., “the tradition of the elders” (cf. Matt. 15:1-9). Most likely, Jesus deliberately practiced such healing on the Sabbath to provoke a confrontation with their religious hypocrisy that blinded them to the true worship of God.”
[2]

What the Jews were really furious about was that Jesus was “calling God his own Father, making himself equal with God.”

First, did Jesus actually break the Sabbath?

According to Exodus 31, Jesus would be worthy of the death penalty since He was born under the Law, and breaking the Sabbath would have been a sin (Gal. 4:4-5).

Exodus 31:14-15 says, “You shall keep the Sabbath, because it is holy for you. Everyone who profanes it shall be put to death. Whoever does any work on it, that soul shall be cut off from among His people. 15 Six days shall work be done, but the seventh day is a Sabbath of solemn rest, holy to the LORD. Whoever does any work on the Sabbath day shall be put to death.”

Jesus said He came to uphold the Law.

He said in Matthew 5:17-18, “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. 18 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.”

This important statement of our Lord gives us insight into His mission and the importance of God’s Word.

Jesus did not contradict the Old Covenant Law in any point. The truth is, Jesus went out of His way to promote the authority of God’s Law. Regardless of what the Pharisees accused Him of, He said He did not come to abolish the Law, but to fulfill it. In fact, Jesus commended those who taught the Law faithfully.

Matthew 5:19-20 says, “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. 20 For I tell you, unless your righteousness exceeds that of the scribes and Pharisees, you will never enter the kingdom of heaven.”

Jesus’ point in the Sermon on the Mount was that God sees the heart, and that we are actually held to a higher standard than external conformity to the Old Covenant Law.

On the cross, Jesus fulfilled the righteous requirements of the law on our behalf (Col. 2:13-14; Rom. 8:1-4).

The scriptures say that Jesus was without sin.

Jesus kept the Sabbath in the way God intended it to be kept under the Old Covenant. He pointed out that David and his men could eat the temple bread without being guilty of sin (Mark 2:26). The temple bread was holy; it could only be eaten by priests, but that law could be set aside when people were hungry and had no other food to eat (Lev. 24:5-9).

How could the scriptures say Jesus was without sin if He broke the very Law that He authored, and as a human being was born under? And why would Jesus tell His disciples to keep the Law faithfully and then break it Himself?

Jesus considered the law prohibiting work on the Sabbath to be a ceremonial law that could be set aside when there was a human need such as healing.

It is also important to notice that the Jews were upset because Jesus told the paralyzed man he healed to pick up his mat after he healed him. Rabbinic tradition had formulated nearly 40 different forbidden activities in the Mishnah, one of which was carrying your mat, but there is no command in the Old Covenant not to carry your mat on the Sabbath. Neither Jesus, nor the man He healed broke the Old Covenant laws regarding the Sabbath, they only broke the Rabbinic traditions.

Jeremiah 17:21 said not to “carry a burden” on the Sabbath but he never explained what he meant by that. To carry a burden meant to “carry a heavy load.” Telling a poor man who was just healed to pick his mat up and go home was not a sin. To leave his mat would most likely mean he would lose his property if he left it unattended. Again, Jesus was trying to teach Israel the true intent of the law. What was lawful to do on the Sabbath contrary to the legalistic approach the scribes and Pharisees took to the Sabbath commands.

Second, the claim that Jesus was making Himself equal with God.

Jesus was God; and He was claiming the same right as His Father to do good and heal on the Sabbath, but He defended His right to do so based on the scriptures alone, not on His divine prerogatives.

Jesus tried repeatedly to show Israel that healing people and caring for their needs was not breaking the law. He showed them what was lawful to do on the Sabbath.

Jesus taught that Israel needed to be practical about the way they approached the Sabbath law.

Jesus asked in Mark 3:4, “Is it lawful on the Sabbath to do good or to do harm, to save life or to kill?” But they were silent.” And Matthew 12:10-12 says, “And a man was there with a withered hand. And they asked him, “Is it lawful to heal on the Sabbath?”—so that they might accuse him. 11 He said to them, “Which one of you who has a sheep, if it falls into a pit on the Sabbath, will not take hold of it and lift it out? 12 Of how much more value is a man than a sheep! So it is lawful to do good on the Sabbath.”

Jesus did not break the Sabbath! Not the way God intended it to be kept. The accusation of Sabbath-breaking came from the scribes and Pharisees who had nullified God’s Word by their traditions (Mark 7:13). According to Jesus, healing and doing acts of mercy was not violating the Sabbath command because He said it was, “lawful to do good on the Sabbath.” (Matt. 12:12). Jesus was never convicted on the charge of breaking the Sabbath. How else could He say, “Which one of you convicts me of sin? If I tell the truth, why do you not believe me?” (John 8:46).

When Jesus was convicted by the Sanhedrin, and then sentenced to death by Pontius Pilate, the charge was blasphemy for claiming to be the Messiah and making Himself equal with God (Matt. 27:17, 22; Mark 14:61-64; Luke 22:66-71).

What the Sanhedrin and Pontius Pilate didn’t understand was that Jesus really was the Christ. He gave many proofs throughout His ministry that demonstrated He was God in human flesh. The New Testament refers to Jesus as being God in many places (Matt. 3:16-17; John 1:1-18; 8:58-59; 10:30; 20:28; Rom. 9:5; Phil. 2:5-8; 2:9-11; Col. 1:16-19; 2:9-10; 1 Tim. 6:15; Titus 2:11-13; Heb. 1:3, 8; 13:8; 2 Pet. 1:1; 1 Jn. 5:20; Rev. 1:8, 17; 2:8; 17:14; 19:16; 21:6; 22:13).

If Jesus actually broke the Sabbath command then He was guilty of sin by breaking the Old Covenant Law that He was born under and worthy of death.

Galatians 4:4-5 says, “But when the fullness of time had come, God sent forth his Son, born of woman, born under the law, 5 to redeem those who were under the law, so that we might receive adoption as sons.”

What did Paul mean by saying Jesus was born under the law?

“First of all, the Law consists of the do’s and don’ts of moral and civil behavior (613 total) that is revealed in the first five books of the Old Testament: Genesis, Exodus, Leviticus, Numbers, and Deuteronomy. To be under the Law means that the Law has jurisdiction and authority over a person to judge and condemn. If such a person breaks the Law (sins, 1 Jn. 3:4), then there is a necessary judgment and condemnation based on the Law. All law-breaking brings separation between God and the sinner (Isa. 59:2) and results in death (Rom. 6:23). So, to be under the Law means that the person is obligated to keep that Law in all its aspects (Deut. 27:26), and if he does not the Law condemns him.”
[3]

“Like all men, Jesus was obligated to obey God’s law. Unlike anyone else, however, He perfectly obeyed that law (John 8:46; 2 Cor. 5:21; Heb. 4:15; 7:26; 1 Pet. 2:22; 1 Jn. 3:5). His sinlessness made Him the unblemished sacrifice for sins, who perfectly obeyed God in everything. That perfect righteousness is what is imputed to those who believe in Him.”
[4]

The Mosaic Law, or the Old Covenant was given specifically to the nation of Israel (Exod. 19; Lev. 26:46; Rom. 9:4), and the command to keep the Sabbath was meant for Israel alone because it served as a ceremonial sign of the Mosaic Covenant (Exod. 31:16-17; Ne. 9:13-14; Ezek. 20:12, 20). Christians live under the New Covenant and are not under any of the laws of the Old Covenant (2 Cor. 3:1-11; 3:12-18; Heb. 8:1-9:4; Rom. 14:5-12; Eph. 2:11-16; Gal. 4:10-11; Col. 2:16-17).

Jesus willingly lived under the Law to redeem us from the curse of the law. He said that He came to fulfill the Law and the Prophets, and the scriptures say He was without sin. Jesus kept God’s Law perfectly to establish the Word, to embody it, and to offer Himself as a sacrifice for our sins. Galatians 3:13 says, “Christ redeemed us from the curse of the law by becoming a curse for us—for it is written, “Cursed is everyone who is hanged on a tree.’”

The fact that Jesus kept the Sabbath does not in any way prove that the seventh day Sabbath is still in effect today. The Law of Moses was in effect until Jesus’ died on the cross (Acts 15:1-20; Rom. 3:28; 6:14-15; 7:1-8; Gal. 3:10-13; 3:18-19; Col. 2:13-14; Eph. 2:11-16). He kept the Sabbath for the same reasons that He kept the other laws of the Old Covenant. But when He died, He removed the Old Covenant Law and instituted the New Covenant in its place (Heb. 8:6-13; 9:1-4; 10:9-10). The New Covenant never made keeping the weekly, seventh day Sabbath a requirement for the church.

In fact, the New Testament explicitly teaches that Sabbath-keeping along with all of the other ceremonial requirements of the Old Covenant Law are not required for Christians who live under the New Covenant (Matt. 11:28-30; 12:1-8; Acts 15:1-20; Col. 2:14-17; Gal. 4:10-11; Rom. 14:5-12; Eph. 2:11-18; 2 Cor. 3:3-11; Heb. 3:7-4:13; 8:6-9:4; 10:23-25).

Jesus Christ brought an end to the Old Covenant by fulfilling it and then gave us a whole new way to live.

Romans 10:4 says, “For Christ is the end of the law for righteousness to everyone who believes.”

The word “end” in Romans 10:4, “probably includes the idea of both goal and termination. The Mosaic law has reached its goal in Christ (it looked forward to and anticipated him), and the law is no longer binding upon Christians (the Old Covenant has ended). Since Christ is the goal and end of the law, righteousness belongs to all who trust in Christ.”
[5]

Paul’s statement that Christ is “the end of the law,” is similar to his statement that believers are no longer “under the law” in Romans 6:14. Christians are not under the Old Covenant Law that God made with Israel alone at Mount Sinai, but under the New Covenant that Christ made with all those who put their trust in Him through His shed blood on Calvary’s cross (cf. Jer. 31:31-34; Luke 22:20; Heb. 8:8-12).

We can never live up to God’s moral standards on our own.

Jesus told His disciples in Matthew 5:48, “You therefore must be perfect, as your heavenly Father is perfect.”

Sin affects every fiber of our being! No matter how hard we try to be good, we will never live up to God’s perfect standard of righteousness on our own. Isaiah 64:6 says, “We have all become like one who is unclean, and all our righteous deeds are like a polluted garment. We all fade like a leaf, and our iniquities, like the wind, take us away.” Our own attempts at goodness are simply not good enough. We need Christ righteousness imputed to us to be saved (1 Cor. 1:30; 2 Cor. 5:21; Rom. 3:22; 5:18-21).

Jesus Christ was without sin. He kept the Old Covenant Law faithfully for us. His blood covers any and all who accept Him because He was the perfect sacrifice for our sins. When we put our trust in Him we are redeemed from the Law and have Christ’s righteousness imputed to us.

2 Corinthians 5:21 says, “For our sake he made him to be sin who knew no sin, so that in him we might become the righteousness of God.”

Jesus Christ was the only person to ever keep God’s Law perfectly. Without His righteousness credited to our account we could never be made right with God. That is why, “there is salvation in no one else, for there is no other name under heaven given among men by which we must be saved.” (Acts 4:12)

Have you put your trust in Jesus Christ alone for your salvation?

References:
1. The Bible Knowledge Commentary: Galatians 4:4
2. The MacArthur Study Bible: John 5:16
3. What does it mean to be under the Law? CARM
4. The MacArthur Study Bible: Galatians 4:4
5. ESV Study Bible: Romans 10:4
 

“Unless otherwise indicated, all Scripture quotations are from the ESV® Bible”
“Used by permission. All rights reserved.”
ESV Text Edition: 2016

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