Christ’s Commandments

[James_Lai]

Hello.

Yesterday I learned about Jesus Christ’s commandments. This is an example of such list: What are the commands of Christ?

Though the person that told me about them said there are over a hundred of them.

Did you know about them like that as a single list?

Did you ever think of learning them all and following them? If not, why do you think it’s never presented like this? Do you think it’s a good idea?

Also, there are 1050 commandments in the New Testament: https://www.abc.net.au/reslib/201407/r1308729_17984331.pdf

What do you think of them?

Do you think that it’s possible to follow the commandments of Jesus Christ and of the NT in general today?

Thank you

 

[jesuslover811]

I think there are about 70. That list of 1000 is really specific and you can generalize them a bit.
But yes we are supposed to meditate on the commandments. I like this list. I do not think you can follow them all depending on the life you live monastic vs married. But yes I do think it is possible to apply the majority of them to your life.

From my understanding we are not supposed to follow 1000s of commandments. God made it clear in Israel that no matter how many rules he gives us we will break them all and always be sinners so we NEED a messiah(Jesus). God does not want us to slave away at laws like the Jews did Jesus came here to free us from the law and sacrifice himself and defeat death.

What are the commands of Christ?

 

[truthisfreedom2019]

In the list of do's, one that was missed is Matthew 23: 2-3 2 “The scribes and the Pharisees have seated themselves in the chair of Moses; 3 therefore all that they tell you, do and observe, but do not do according to their deeds; for they say things and do not do them.

 

[jesuslover811]

Also I may be wrong but that list you sent is missing alot of context like from "Seven "Abstains" - Abstain From: eating blood (ACTS 15:20). On the list it says it is forbidden to eat blood because of this new testament verse but here is the actual context.


"…19It is my judgment, therefore, that we should not cause trouble for the Gentiles who are turning to God. 20Instead, we should write and tell them to abstain from food polluted by idols, from sexual immorality, from the meat of strangled animals, and from blood. 21For Moses has been proclaimed in every city from ancient times and is read in the synagogues on every Sabbath.”…"

That part of acts is just debates about certain things like circumcision and how to handle gentiles from before Jesus. Im sure if I read more I would find a lot of out of context verses

 

[disciple Clint]

I believe that Jesus felt that 613 laws were a few too many and simply reduced them to two, I agree follow those two and no other commandments will be needed.
Mark 12:30-31

New International Version

30 Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind and with all your strength.’a]">[a] 31 The second is this: ‘Love your neighbor as yourself.’b]">[b] There is no commandment greater than these.”

 

[ChristServant]

I believe that Jesus felt that 613 laws were a few too many and simply reduced them to two, I agree follow those two and no other commandments will be needed.
Mark 12:30-31

New International Version

30 Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind and with all your strength.’a]">[a] 31 The second is this: ‘Love your neighbor as yourself.’b]">[b] There is no commandment greater than these.”

I think you missed a portion of the text out which seems to be a common occurrence for some reason.

7Jesus said to him, ""You shall love the LORD your God with all your heart, with all your soul, and with all your mind.' 38This is the first and great commandment. 39And the second is like it: "You shall love your neighbor as yourself.' 40On these two commandments hang all the Law and the Prophets."

Peace be to all those in the Body of Christ.

 

[Martinius]

Many on the list don't appear to be commandments, as we usually think of them. And some that are commandments come directly from, or are expansion on, earlier commandments. Much of what Jesus said was in the form of cautions and guidance, about how to live as his disciple and to follow the key commandments. Then he tells us that there are two great commandments, and all others follow from those, as mentioned in another post.

Jesus taught and exhorted, he did not provide one definitive list of essential commandments at one time. Most likely, it was only his closest followers who even heard most of his teachings. If he wanted to give us a list that everyone would know and follow, he would have done so. Like God did with Moses and the Israelites in the desert. He would have told his disciples to teach these clearly and consistently to everyone. Rather, he told them to go out and announce the Kingdom of God, for people to change their lives (repent), and to follow him and and his teachings. Then he provided examples of how, through stories and parables.

His greatest teachings, in the sermon on the mount, (or plain) included the beatitudes, which are not commandments, and he gave many examples and insights into what it meant to be his disciple. There was very little of the "thou shall not" type of teaching by Jesus. The few teachings of that type were to expand on or more clearly define earlier commandments.

 

[ViaCrucis]

Hello.

Yesterday I learned about Jesus Christ’s commandments. This is an example of such list: What are the commands of Christ?

Though the person that told me about them said there are over a hundred of them.

Did you know about them like that as a single list?

Did you ever think of learning them all and following them? If not, why do you think it’s never presented like this? Do you think it’s a good idea?

Also, there are 1050 commandments in the New Testament: https://www.abc.net.au/reslib/201407/r1308729_17984331.pdf

What do you think of them?

Do you think that it’s possible to follow the commandments of Jesus Christ and of the NT in general today?

Thank you

I'm not aware of any serious attempt to systematize Jesus' commandments and instructions into some kind of list. The Church, of course, has always affirmed Jesus' commandments and instructions; His commandments given His Sermon such as "turn the other cheek" and "love your enemy" for example. But there's no list you can look up to find Jesus' commandments.

Instead we are required to actually pay attention to what Jesus said, and then take Him seriously in what He said. The Great Commandment is that we love God and love our neighbor. That is the Commandment that stands above all other commandments and rules them all.

And loving our neighbor is not always so easy as to be able to look up what we have to do in any given circumstance--it requires actually taking our neighbors seriously. If my neighbor is hungry I feed him, if she is thirsty I give her drink, if they are naked I give them clothes, etc. But often loving others means making real connections through our own shared humanity--my neighbor is my fellow human being created in the image and likeness of God, and deserves to be treated with compassion, love, kindness, and respect.

When I sin against my neighbor I deny not only their humanity, I deny my own. Through sin I continue to insult the image of God in which both I and my neighbor were made.

The Church instead looks to the Decalogue, the Ten Commandments, and looks at them through Christ to understand them in Christ; as a basic blueprint or outline of what is right and wrong: Loving God and neighbor involves worshiping no other gods since all other gods are false, it means not bringing God's name and reputation into disrepute by treating His name as vain, it means recognizing the need for all God's creatures to have rest because a life of labor without rest is cruel and unjust and unloving, it means honoring our parents and loving those who have loved and raised and brought us up in the world, it means not killing our neighbor, it means being faithful in our commitments with one another, it means not stealing from our neighbor, it means not lying about and dragging our neighbor's name and reputation through the mud, it means not coveting what our neighbor has.

The Decalogue, in Christianity, serves to orientate us toward our neighbor, because in our neighbor is found God's image and likeness. It is therefore impossible, says St. John, to say you love God but hate your brother; because whoever says "I love God" but hates their brother "is a liar and the truth is not in them".

We obey the Commandments through this, says St. Paul, "The entirety of the Law is summed up in this one word: 'You shall love your neighbor as yourself'" (Galatians 5:14).

So the Apostle says elsewhere, such as in 1 Corinthians 13, that though we may sell all we own and give the money to the poor, or speak in the myriad tongues of men or even the angels of heaven, or if offer our bodies to be burned, or if we have such great faith to move mountains--but have not love--we have nothing at all. For love, says the Apostle, is the greatest of all. Without love we squander the faith we have received, we squander the hope we claim to believe.

Jesus also reminds us, in Matthew ch. 7, that when all is said and done He's not interested in people who say, "Lord, Lord, look at all our great deeds that we have done in Your name", He calls them workers of iniquity whom He never knew. So what if you have a ministry that is broadcast to millions of people across the globe, what does that matter unless human beings are actually having their hungry mouths fed, or having their naked bodies clothed, or given clean drinking water, or have shelter to protect them from the elements. Jesus says He doesn't want lazy servants who sit on their inheritance while the Master is away and then when He returns say, "Lord, Lord we kept all the riff raff out of your vineyard" For the Lord has prepared His vineyard for the many, He has sent out the invitation to the great feast and the poor, the orphan, the widow, the outcast, the prostitute, the tax-collector, and the sinner is seated with new clean white robes.

Those who say in Matthew ch. 7 "Lord Lord" are we when we demand God recognize us for our works and honor us for our works--that is, our so-called "religious works"; the works we claim we do for God. Christ would rather that we simply imitate Him, live like Him, and give ourselves away in love--to do the will of the Father, which is that we love one another and love all His creatures.

-CryptoLutheran

 

[James_Lai]

Many on the list don't appear to be commandments, as we usually think of them. And some that are commandments come directly from, or are expansion on, earlier commandments. Much of what Jesus said was in the form of cautions and guidance, about how to live as his disciple and to follow the key commandments. Then he tells us that there are two great commandments, and all others follow from those, as mentioned in another post.

Jesus taught and exhorted, he did not provide one definitive list of essential commandments at one time. Most likely, it was only his closest followers who even heard most of his teachings. If he wanted to give us a list that everyone would know and follow, he would have done so. Like God did with Moses and the Israelites in the desert. He would have told his disciples to teach these clearly and consistently to everyone. Rather, he told them to go out and announce the Kingdom of God, for people to change their lives (repent), and to follow him and and his teachings. Then he provided examples of how, through stories and parables.

His greatest teachings, in the sermon on the mount, (or plain) included the beatitudes, which are not commandments, and he gave many examples and insights into what it meant to be his disciple. There was very little of the "thou shall not" type of teaching by Jesus. The few teachings of that type were to expand on or more clearly define earlier commandments.

For example, if Jesus said “don’t gather riches on earth but in heaven”, why it’s generally ignored? If He’s truly accepted as God, why would people take only a portion of His commands seriously? Isn’t it a problem?

 

[James_Lai]

I'm not aware of any serious attempt to systematize Jesus' commandments and instructions into some kind of list. The Church, of course, has always affirmed Jesus' commandments and instructions; His commandments given His Sermon such as "turn the other cheek" and "love your enemy" for example. But there's no list you can look up to find Jesus' commandments.

Instead we are required to actually pay attention to what Jesus said, and then take Him seriously in what He said. The Great Commandment is that we love God and love our neighbor. That is the Commandment that stands above all other commandments and rules them all.

And loving our neighbor is not always so easy as to be able to look up what we have to do in any given circumstance--it requires actually taking our neighbors seriously. If my neighbor is hungry I feed him, if she is thirsty I give her drink, if they are naked I give them clothes, etc. But often loving others means making real connections through our own shared humanity--my neighbor is my fellow human being created in the image and likeness of God, and deserves to be treated with compassion, love, kindness, and respect.

When I sin against my neighbor I deny not only their humanity, I deny my own. Through sin I continue to insult the image of God in which both I and my neighbor were made.

The Church instead looks to the Decalogue, the Ten Commandments, and looks at them through Christ to understand them in Christ; as a basic blueprint or outline of what is right and wrong: Loving God and neighbor involves worshiping no other gods since all other gods are false, it means not bringing God's name and reputation into disrepute by treating His name as vain, it means recognizing the need for all God's creatures to have rest because a life of labor without rest is cruel and unjust and unloving, it means honoring our parents and loving those who have loved and raised and brought us up in the world, it means not killing our neighbor, it means being faithful in our commitments with one another, it means not stealing from our neighbor, it means not lying about and dragging our neighbor's name and reputation through the mud, it means not coveting what our neighbor has.

The Decalogue, in Christianity, serves to orientate us toward our neighbor, because in our neighbor is found God's image and likeness. It is therefore impossible, says St. John, to say you love God but hate your brother; because whoever says "I love God" but hates their brother "is a liar and the truth is not in them".

We obey the Commandments through this, says St. Paul, "The entirety of the Law is summed up in this one word: 'You shall love your neighbor as yourself'" (Galatians 5:14).

So the Apostle says elsewhere, such as in 1 Corinthians 13, that though we may sell all we own and give the money to the poor, or speak in the myriad tongues of men or even the angels of heaven, or if offer our bodies to be burned, or if we have such great faith to move mountains--but have not love--we have nothing at all. For love, says the Apostle, is the greatest of all. Without love we squander the faith we have received, we squander the hope we claim to believe.

Jesus also reminds us, in Matthew ch. 7, that when all is said and done He's not interested in people who say, "Lord, Lord, look at all our great deeds that we have done in Your name", He calls them workers of iniquity whom He never knew. So what if you have a ministry that is broadcast to millions of people across the globe, what does that matter unless human beings are actually having their hungry mouths fed, or having their naked bodies clothed, or given clean drinking water, or have shelter to protect them from the elements. Jesus says He doesn't want lazy servants who sit on their inheritance while the Master is away and then when He returns say, "Lord, Lord we kept all the riff raff out of your vineyard" For the Lord has prepared His vineyard for the many, He has sent out the invitation to the great feast and the poor, the orphan, the widow, the outcast, the prostitute, the tax-collector, and the sinner is seated with new clean white robes.

Those who say in Matthew ch. 7 "Lord Lord" are we when we demand God recognize us for our works and honor us for our works--that is, our so-called "religious works"; the works we claim we do for God. Christ would rather that we simply imitate Him, live like Him, and give ourselves away in love--to do the will of the Father, which is that we love one another and love all His creatures.

-CryptoLutheran

If Jesus is God, aren’t His commands as important as God’s commands in the OT? What’s the difference? Why take one list seriousely, and treat another collection of “do’s and don’ts” lightly?

 

[Soyeong]

Hello.

Yesterday I learned about Jesus Christ’s commandments. This is an example of such list: What are the commands of Christ?

Though the person that told me about them said there are over a hundred of them.

Did you know about them like that as a single list?

Did you ever think of learning them all and following them? If not, why do you think it’s never presented like this? Do you think it’s a good idea?

Also, there are 1050 commandments in the New Testament: https://www.abc.net.au/reslib/201407/r1308729_17984331.pdf

What do you think of them?

Do you think that it’s possible to follow the commandments of Jesus Christ and of the NT in general today?

Thank you

Christ set a sinless example of how to walk in obedience to God's law, so he would have still taught full obedience to it by example even if he hadn't spoke any commandments, and as his followers we are told to follow his example (1 Peter 2:21-22) and that those who are in Christ are obligated to walk in the same way he walked (1 John 2:6). So while we do not have a record of everything that he commanded, and there are many commands that are not recorded that he repeated, what he commanded should not be be understood as being different from what he practiced. In John 14:24, Jesus said that his teachings were not his own, but that of the Father, so he did not teach his own commands in departure from what the Father has taught, but rather there has never been another person whose teachings were more thoroughly rooted in the OT.

 

[ViaCrucis]

If Jesus is God, aren’t His commands as important as God’s commands in the OT? What’s the difference? Why take one list seriousely, and treat another collection of “do’s and don’ts” lightly?

I think my point may have been missed because I brought up the Ten Commandments.

My point is that there isn't a list of Jesus' commandments. The list you linked to isn't a recognized authoritative list of commandments because that doesn't exist.

I'm saying that the commandments of Jesus can't be found by looking up a list of do's and don'ts. And I'm not saying the Decalogue should be used instead of Jesus; that's almost the opposite of what I intended. What I am saying is that the Decalogue provides us with an underlying structure that provides the way(s) in which being obedient to Jesus' command to love looks like. If we give false worship to false gods, drag God's name through the mud, if we are killing, stealing from, lying about, dishonoring, being faithless to our promises, and being envious and jealous over our neighbor's good (rather than rejoicing and thankful and happy that our neighbor prospers) then we are NOT obeying Christ.

Because Christ's Commandment, the Greatest Commandment, is "Love the Lord your God with all your heart, soul, mind, and strength; and love your neighbor as yourself." Jesus says "The Law and the Prophets all hang upon these two commandments" (Matthew 22:40)

If you want a list of Jesus' rules it's this: Love.

But captured up into that love is the rejection of idolatry, not just Pagan idolatry, but all idolatry all false worship, all false gods "You shall have no other gods before Me".

In that commandment to love is that we don't behave and live in such a way that we drag God's name through the mud, "Do not take the Lord your God's name in vain".

In that commandment to love is that we sanctify our time by setting time aside for rest from our labors and GIVE rest to our neighbors, and this time of sanctifying our time with rest also affords us with the time to devote ourselves to coming together for the express purpose of gathered Christian worship, "Remember the Sabbath and sanctify it".

In that commandment to love is that we give honor to our parents, but not only to our biological parents, but to our elders, to our spiritual fathers and mothers in the Church, etc; "Honor your mother and your father".

In that commandment to love is that we don't kill, it's hard to love your neighbor if you kill them; but our Lord also adds this to the commandment, "If you have anger toward your brother than you have committed murder in your heart"; here Christ does not allow us only to imagine that God's will is that we only refrain from direct bodily harm toward another, but rather that God's will is that we not even have it within us to commit violence. For from the deceitfulness and depravity of the heart flows the sickness of wicked works, so the Prophet Jeremiah has said, "The heart is deceitful above all else, and desperately sick, who can understand it?" (Jeremiah 17:9). So here in the commandment "You shall not murder" is contained not only the refrain from committing violence and bodily harm to our neighbor, but that also we should go out of our way to preserve our neighbor from bodily harm. For it is from peace, forgiveness, and reconciliation that we put an end to strife.

In that commandment to love is that we be faithful to our spouses; but not only this but that we not even so much as lust over another, craving and objectifying others. I have been called to faithfulness to my spouse, and to love my spouse. The Apostle explains in Ephesians 5 that husband and wife submit to one another in Christ in love. Jesus says that we are unfaithful even in our gaze if we lust after someone other than our spouse or the spouse of another. And even outside of marriage, here we should also be reminded to be faithful in all our commitments and relationships. "You shall not commit adultery".

In that commandment to love is that we do not scheme or steal or cheat or take from our neighbor what belongs to them. Neither ought I hoard what I have and therefore be found guilty of stealing from the poor. For to steal from my neighbor, whether it be outright theft or some other scheme to deprive my neighbor of what is rightfully theirs is indeed a failure to love. An unjust employer who deprives his employees of their just living wages, hoarding wealth and refusing to pay taxes that are used to benefit my neighbor--especially my poor neighbor--is theft, it is robbery of the poor and therefore robbery of God (God calls robbing the poor robbing Himself, and that He Himself will be their Advocate, see Malachi 3:5-9 and Proverbs 22:16, 22). "You shall not steal".

In that commandment to love is that we do not bear false witness, we do not lie about our neighbor and bring our neighbor's name into disrepute. We do not gossip, spread rumor, or belittle our neighbor through slander. We instead speak honestly, testify truthfully, keep our promises, and stand upright on the side of our neighbor, coming to our neighbor's defense when they are falsely accused. "Do not bear false witness against your neighbor"

In that commandment to love is that we do not covet what our neighbor has, neither our neighbor's land or home or possessions or livestock or food or spouse or servants. We rejoice in our neighbor's prosperity, and we aim to help our neighbor prosper and see to their prosperity. For the commandments "Do not covet your neighbor's house" and also "Do not covet your neighbor's wife" covers also all things: servants, livestock, land, belongings, spouse, family, all things which are your neighbor's.

1. You shall have no other gods before Me, you shall not make any graven image and worship it.
2. You shall not take the name of the Lord your God in vain.
3. You shall remember the Sabbath and sanctify it.
4. You shall honor your mother and your father.
5. You shall not murder.
6. You shall not commit adultery.
7. You shall not steal.
8. You shall not bear false testimony against your neighbor.
9. You shall not covet your neighbor's house.
10. You shall not covet your neighbor's spouse.

-CryptoLutheran

 

[disciple Clint]

I think you missed a portion of the text out which seems to be a common occurrence for some reason.

7Jesus said to him, ""You shall love the LORD your God with all your heart, with all your soul, and with all your mind.' 38This is the first and great commandment. 39And the second is like it: "You shall love your neighbor as yourself.' 40On these two commandments hang all the Law and the Prophets."

Peace be to all those in the Body of Christ.

Maybe that is because I was quoting the Book of Mark while you were reading the Book of Matthew

 

[Martinius]

For example, if Jesus said “don’t gather riches on earth but in heaven”, why it’s generally ignored? If He’s truly accepted as God, why would people take only a portion of His commands seriously? Isn’t it a problem?

Tell me which of the "Ten Commandments" most people take seriously, by actually following them?

The teachings of Jesus are even harder to follow, such as not even being angry with someone else, way beyond not killing them. I don't think people ignore commandments or teachings, as most know very well what they are. But we find it extremely difficult to follow them, to live them. Then we think that by professing Jesus as our savior, saying some prayers, going to church, and donating money, we make up for our failures.

 

[ChristServant]

Maybe that is because I was quoting the Book of Mark while you were reading the Book of Matthew

I do apologise.

Peace be to all those in the Body of Christ.