What Did Jesus Specifically Teach About the Law and Commandments?¶

A Plain-English Summary of the Biblical Evidence

The question of what Jesus actually taught about the law and commandments is one of the most important questions a Bible student can ask. Did Jesus uphold the Ten Commandments? Did He replace them with something new? Did He abolish any moral command? Rather than relying on assumptions or theological traditions, this study examines every recorded instance where Jesus addresses the law -- the rich young ruler encounter, the greatest commandment teaching, the "new commandment," the "keep my commandments" statements, the Apostle John's reflections, Jesus's warnings about lawlessness, the weightier matters of the law, and His declarations about the law's permanence. What follows is what the biblical text actually says.

Jesus Pointed People to the Ten Commandments for Eternal Life¶

When a rich young man came to Jesus and asked what he must do to have eternal life, Jesus did not point him to a new set of rules. He pointed him directly to the Ten Commandments:

"If thou wilt enter into life, keep the commandments." (Matthew 19:17)

When the young man asked "Which?" Jesus named specific commandments from the Decalogue -- do not murder, do not commit adultery, do not steal, do not bear false witness, honour thy father and thy mother. This encounter is recorded in all three synoptic Gospels (Matthew 19:18-19, Mark 10:19, Luke 18:20), and the core list of commandments is consistent across all three accounts.

Jesus did tell the young man that if he wanted to be "perfect," he should sell what he had and give to the poor. But this was presented as an additional step beyond the commandments, not a replacement for them. The commandment-keeping was accepted as valid; the further invitation was offered on top of it.

A similar exchange occurs in Luke 10:25-28, where a lawyer asks how to inherit eternal life. After the lawyer answers with the love commandments, Jesus says:

"Thou hast answered right: this do, and thou shalt live." (Luke 10:28)

In both cases, Jesus presents the doing of God's commandments as the path connected to life.

The Greatest Commandment Does Not Replace the Law -- It Organizes It¶

One of the most frequently cited teachings of Jesus is His identification of the greatest commandment:

"Thou shalt love the Lord thy God with all thy heart, and with all thy soul, and with all thy mind. This is the first and great commandment. And the second is like unto it, Thou shalt love thy neighbour as thyself. On these two commandments hang all the law and the prophets." (Matthew 22:37-40)

The key word here is "hang." Jesus does not say that these two love commandments replace all the law. He says all the law hangs on them -- the way a door hangs on its hinges. The love commandments are the organizing principle that holds everything else together. Remove the hinge and the door falls; but the hinge does not eliminate the door.

A scribe in Mark's account restated this principle by saying that love for God and neighbor is "more than all whole burnt offerings and sacrifices" (Mark 12:33). This is significant because it draws a clear line between the moral commands (love God, love neighbor) and the ceremonial obligations (burnt offerings and sacrifices). Jesus affirmed this distinction, telling the scribe, "Thou art not far from the kingdom of God" (Mark 12:34).

The "New Commandment" Was Not Actually New in Content¶

Jesus told His disciples:

"A new commandment I give unto you, That ye love one another; as I have loved you, that ye also love one another." (John 13:34)

This verse is sometimes understood to mean that Jesus was introducing an entirely new law-system that replaced the old one. But the text does not support that reading. The word translated "new" is the Greek word kainos, which means new in quality or freshness -- not neos, which would mean new in time or origin.

The Apostle John, who recorded this commandment, later clarified exactly what he meant:

"Brethren, I write no new commandment unto you, but an old commandment which ye had from the beginning." (1 John 2:7)

And again:

"Not as though I wrote a new commandment unto thee, but that which we had from the beginning, that we love one another." (2 John 1:5)

John explicitly says the love commandment is old -- it existed "from the beginning." What was new about it was not its content but its standard: "as I have loved you." Jesus raised the bar on how deeply and sacrificially love should be expressed, but the command itself to love one another was already present in the Old Testament (Leviticus 19:18).

"My Commandments" and "My Father's Commandments" Are the Same¶

Jesus repeatedly told His disciples to keep His commandments:

"If ye love me, keep my commandments." (John 14:15)

Some have suggested that "my commandments" refers to a brand-new set of commands that Jesus introduced, categorically different from the Ten Commandments. But Jesus Himself connects these directly to the Father's commandments in the same breath:

"If ye keep my commandments, ye shall abide in my love; even as I have kept my Father's commandments, and abide in his love." (John 15:10)

The same Greek word -- entole -- is used for both "my commandments" and "my Father's commandments" in this single verse. Jesus presents His own obedience to the Father's commandments as the model for His disciples' obedience to His commandments. The text draws no line of separation between the two.

Jesus also said, "As the Father gave me commandment, even so I do" (John 14:31), placing Himself under the Father's entole and presenting His obedience as the pattern for His followers. And when Jesus defended the fifth commandment (honour thy father and mother) against the Pharisees' Corban tradition, He called it "the commandment of God" (Mark 7:8-9) -- using the same entole vocabulary.

Sin Is Defined as Lawlessness -- and Jesus Rejects the Lawless¶

The Apostle John provides a concise definition of sin:

"Whosoever committeth sin transgresseth also the law: for sin is the transgression of the law." (1 John 3:4)

The Greek word here is anomia -- literally "without law" or "lawlessness." This is not a vague concept of moral failure. The word itself is built from the root nomos (law) with the negating prefix a-. Sin, by John's definition, is lawlessness.

Jesus uses this same word in some of His most serious warnings. At the final judgment, He says to those who performed religious works but lived lawlessly:

"And then will I profess unto them, I never knew you: depart from me, ye that work iniquity." (Matthew 7:23)

The word translated "iniquity" is anomia -- lawlessness. Jesus also says that at the end of the world, the angels will gather out of His kingdom "them which do iniquity [anomia]" (Matthew 13:41). And in describing the last days, He warns:

"Because iniquity shall abound, the love of many shall wax cold." (Matthew 24:12)

The pattern is consistent: anomia (lawlessness) is what defines sin, and those who practice it are rejected at the judgment -- even if they performed miracles and prophesied in Jesus's name.

Jesus Deepened the Law but Never Revoked It¶

In the Sermon on the Mount, Jesus addressed several commandments with the formula "Ye have heard that it was said... but I say unto you." Some have read this as Jesus overturning or replacing the Old Testament law. But a closer look shows the opposite. In the first two of these so-called antitheses, Jesus quotes two Decalogue commandments -- the sixth (do not murder) and the seventh (do not commit adultery) -- and then extends them to the level of the heart:

"Ye have heard that it was said by them of old time, Thou shalt not kill... But I say unto you, That whosoever is angry with his brother without a cause shall be in danger of the judgment." (Matthew 5:21-22)

"Ye have heard that it was said by them of old time, Thou shalt not commit adultery: But I say unto you, That whosoever looketh on a woman to lust after her hath committed adultery with her already in his heart." (Matthew 5:27-28)

Jesus was not abolishing these commandments. He was deepening them -- showing that they apply not only to outward actions but to the thoughts and attitudes of the heart.

Jesus Affirmed Both the Weightier and the Lighter Matters of the Law¶

When addressing the Pharisees, Jesus criticized their hypocrisy but was careful not to dismiss even the smaller details of the law:

"Woe unto you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! for ye pay tithe of mint and anise and cummin, and have omitted the weightier matters of the law, judgment, mercy, and faith: these ought ye to have done, and not to leave the other undone." (Matthew 23:23)

The phrase "not to leave the other undone" is significant. Jesus did not say the lighter matters were unimportant -- He said they should not have been neglected. Both the weightier matters (justice, mercy, faithfulness) and the lighter matters were affirmed as things that "ought" to be done.

Jesus Declared the Law More Permanent Than Heaven and Earth¶

Jesus made statements about the permanence of the law that could not be clearer:

"It is easier for heaven and earth to pass, than one tittle of the law to fail." (Luke 16:17)

"Think not that I am come to destroy the law, or the prophets: I am not come to destroy, but to fulfil. For verily I say unto you, Till heaven and earth pass, one jot or one tittle shall in no wise pass from the law, till all be fulfilled." (Matthew 5:17-18)

A "jot" is the smallest letter in the Hebrew alphabet. A "tittle" is a tiny stroke that distinguishes one Hebrew letter from another. Jesus is saying that even the smallest detail of the law is more durable than the physical universe.

John likewise connects commandment-keeping to the knowledge of God and to love itself:

"For this is the love of God, that we keep his commandments: and his commandments are not grievous." (1 John 5:3)

"Hereby we do know that we know him, if we keep his commandments. He that saith, I know him, and keepeth not his commandments, is a liar." (1 John 2:3-4)

What the Bible Does NOT Say¶

Honest study requires acknowledging what the text does not explicitly state. Several common claims about Jesus and the law go beyond what the biblical evidence supports:

The text does not say that Jesus abolished any moral commandment. Across all four Gospels, there is no recorded instance of Jesus revoking, canceling, or declaring obsolete any of the Ten Commandments. Every time He addresses a specific Decalogue commandment, He either affirms it, deepens it, or defends it.

The text does not say that "the law and the prophets were until John" means the moral law ended. Luke 16:16 is sometimes cited to argue that the law ceased at John the Baptist's ministry. But the very next verse (Luke 16:17) says it is easier for heaven and earth to pass than for one tittle of the law to fail. And the verse after that (Luke 16:18) applies the seventh commandment. The context does not support a reading of total law-cessation.

The text does not say that the "new commandment" replaced the Decalogue. John himself explicitly calls it an "old commandment from the beginning" and denies that it is new in the replacement sense. What was new was the standard -- "as I have loved you" -- not the content of the command itself.

The text does not say that "my commandments" refers to something categorically different from the Ten Commandments. Jesus uses the same word (entole) for both His commandments and the Father's commandments, and He equates them in the same verse. When asked "which commandments?" His answer is the Decalogue.

The text does not say that "lawlessness" in Jesus's warnings is a vague reference to general wrongdoing without a specific law in view. The word anomia is built from the root for "law" (nomos), the definite article is used ("the lawlessness"), and John explicitly defines sin as "the transgression of the law."

Conclusion¶

When every recorded teaching of Jesus about the law and commandments is catalogued and examined, a consistent picture emerges. Jesus pointed people to the Ten Commandments as the path connected to eternal life. He identified the two love commandments as the organizing principle on which the entire law hangs. His "new commandment" was new in quality, not in content -- and the Apostle John explicitly says so. Jesus equated His own commandments with the Father's commandments. He deepened the Decalogue to heart-level application without ever revoking a single commandment. He affirmed both the weightier and the lighter matters of the law. He declared the law more permanent than heaven and earth. And He warned that at the final judgment, the lawless would be rejected.

No passage in any Gospel records Jesus abolishing, revoking, or declaring obsolete any moral commandment of the Decalogue. Every claim that He did so requires adding concepts the text does not contain or overriding what the text explicitly states.

Based on the full technical study completed 2026-02-24

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The Final Fate of the Wicked	A 21-study investigation examining every major text, word, and argument bearing on the final fate of the wicked. 632 evidence items classified.
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