Pretending??---That is of course, your opinion that He was talking about all 600---the ones He had mentioned where only the 10--but you go right ahead and think what you will. However, I wonder why Luther, and the Catholics, and the Baptists all think the same way and never mentioned the other 600 when they hung the 10 commandments on courthouses and their homes--and certainly when Rev talks about keeping His commandments, are you saying it means we should be keeping all 600 then?---That, of course, is silly. Most of them involved sacrificing animals. Now if you think that is what is means, then you go right ahead and keep all 600--pretty exhausting I would think.
For the covenant God made with Israel, He gave them 613 commandments, not just 10. These are the commandments of His Torah.
The reason why Christians don't offer sacrifices, don't follow the dietary laws, and don't observe the Jewish Sabbath is because that Torah was given exclusively to the Jews as part of the covenant God made with them. That is made abundantly clear in both the Old and New Testament, this was the fundamental issue in the Gentile Controversy and St. Paul's ongoing struggle against the Judaizers; it is why Paul is clear that feast days,
sabbaths, etc were all shadows that pointed toward the fuller reality of Christ, it is why the author of Hebrews is emphatic about how the new covenant established in Christ is not like the former covenant God made with ancient Israel.
The Sabbath was never for anyone but the Jews. It wasn't for the Assyrians, it wasn't for the Egyptians, it wasn't for the Moabites, it wasn't for the Babylonians. It was for the covenant nation, Israel, as part of the national covenant which God made with them. That's something, by the way, that both Jews and Christians have
always understood--and it is one of the very few things that Jews and Christians do happen to agree upon historically.
So no, I'm not saying Christians should observe the Torah--that's kind of my point, the Torah isn't
for us. I am not part of the covenant which God made with the Israelites on the mountain.
And yes, Christians have historical looked to the Decalogue as a summary of God's Law; and yet have never understood the mitzvah concerning the Sabbath to mean that Christians are to observe the Sabbath. Here is how Luther comments on the 3rd Commandment in the Large Catechism:
"
The Third Commandment.
78] Thou shalt sanctify the holy day. [Remember the Sabbath day to keep it holy.]
79] The word holy day (Feiertag) is rendered from the Hebrew word sabbath which properly signifies to rest, that is, to abstain from labor. Hence we are accustomed to say, Feierabend machen [that is, to cease working], or heiligen Abend geben [sanctify the Sabbath].
80] Now, in the Old Testament, God separated the seventh day, and appointed it for rest, and commanded that it should be regarded as holy above all others.
As regards this external observance, this commandment was given to the Jews alone, that they should abstain from toilsome work, and rest, so that both man and beast might recuperate, and not be weakened by unremitting labor. Although they afterwards restricted this too closely, and grossly abused it, so that they traduced and could not endure in Christ those works which they themselves were accustomed to do on that day, as we read in the Gospel; just as though the commandment were fulfilled by doing no external, [manual] work whatever, which, however, was not the meaning, but, as we shall hear, that they sanctify the holy day or day of rest.
82] This commandment, therefore, according to its gross sense, does not concern us Christians; for it is altogether an external matter, like other ordinances of the Old Testament, which were attached to particular customs, persons, times, and places, and now have been made free through Christ.
83] But to grasp a Christian meaning for the simple as to what God requires in this commandment, note that we keep holy days not for the sake of intelligent and learned Christians (for they have no need of it [holy days]), but first of all for bodily causes and necessities, which nature teaches and requires; for the common people, man-servants and maid-servants, who have been attending to their work and trade the whole week, that for a day they may retire in order to rest and be refreshed.
84] Secondly, and most especially, that on such day of rest (since we can get no other opportunity) freedom and time be taken to attend divine service, so that we come together to hear and treat of God's Word, and then to praise God, to sing and pray.
85] However, this, I say, is not so restricted to any time, as with the Jews, that it must be just on this or that day; for in itself no one day is better than another; but this should indeed be done daily; however, since the masses cannot give such attendance, there must be at least one day in the week set apart. But since from of old Sunday [the Lord's Day] has been appointed for this purpose, we also should continue the same, in order that everything be done in harmonious order, and no one create disorder by unnecessary innovation.
86] Therefore this is the simple meaning of the commandment: since holidays are observed anyhow, such observance should be devoted to hearing God's Word, so that the special function of this day should be the ministry of the Word for the young and the mass of poor people; yet that the resting be not so strictly interpreted as to forbid any other incidental work that cannot be avoided.
87] Accordingly, when asked, What is meant by the commandment: Thou shalt sanctify the holy day? answer: To sanctify the holy day is the same as to keep it holy. But what is meant by keeping it holy? Nothing else than to be occupied in holy words, works, and life. For the day needs no sanctification for itself; for in itself it has been created holy [from the beginning of the creation it was sanctified by its Creator]. But God desires it to be holy to you. Therefore it becomes holy or unholy on your account, according as you are occupied on the same with things that are holy or unholy.
88] How, then, does such sanctification take place? Not in this manner, that [with folded hands] we sit behind the stove and do no rough [external] work, or deck ourselves with a wreath and put on our best clothes, but (as has been said) that we occupy ourselves with God's Word, and exercise ourselves therein.
..."
-CryptoLutheran
I didn't say it was!! I said Jesus said on these 2 hang all the law and He narrowed the 10 down to those 2-- geez--what is that--1 out of 613?
