Keywords

Law of Moses, source criticism, ethics

Abstract

During the last week of his life, Christ was confronted by a group of Jewish authorities who asked him, “Master, which is the great commandment in the law?” (Matthew 22:36). Christ’s answer, that one should love God with all one’s heart, soul, and might (Deuteronomy 6:5), as well as one’s neighbor as oneself (Leviticus 19:18), was then followed by the assertion “On these two commandments hang all the law and the prophets” (Matthew 22:40). Clearly, in Christ’s day the law of Moses was regarded as providing crucial instruction regarding one’s behavior both with one’s fellow man and with God, and as such was a subject of much interest. In fact, references to the law can be found throughout the New Testament, not only in the teachings of Christ but also in the Pauline writings where there is considerable engagement with it.

Original Publication Citation

New Testament: History, Culture, and Society, A Background to the Texts of the New Testament