John 5:46–47, Believed Moses. These two verses at the end of chapter five can easily be overlooked, but their implications are huge.
Quite simply, Yeshua is saying that those who don’t believe the writings of Moses (i.e., the Torah) won’t believe the words of Yeshua who himself uphold the Torah and taught its validity in the lives of his disciples.
This then begs the question, “Where does this leave all those who claim to be followers of Yeshua, but who believe that the law of Moses was abrogated?” It’s hard to be absolutely black and white on this matter, since only YHVH can judge the heart condition of each individual, for undoubtedly many who claim the law was “done away with” still adhere to many of the law’s tenets (e.g., you shall not steal, murder, lie, commit adultery, worship idols and you shall honor your parents, etc.) and are thus obedient to the law to one degree or another. However, we can safely say that it’s a matter of degrees: To the degree that we don’t believe the words of Moses, we don’t believe the words of Yeshua who was a proponent (and, in reality, as the Word of Elohim, the Originator) of the Torah-law of Moses.
John makes a similar statement in his first epistle from which we can deduce the following: To the degree we don’t keep the (Torah) commandments of Elohim, we won’t know him; that is to say, conversely, if we keep his commandments which are a reflection of his character, we will be able to know what pleases him, which in turn will determine the depth of our spiritual relationship with him (1 John 2:4).
In reality, these should be simple concepts to grasp and put into practice in one’s spiritual walk, yet, sadly, most religious leaders have misled YHVH’s people to believe anything and everything but the simple truth through their convoluted doctrines and traditions of men by which they have made the word of Elohim no effect (Mark 7:13).
Natan, this post grabbed my heart. John 5:46-47 shocked me into the reality that in my four decades of following Yeshua, I really didn’t believe ALL the words He said, even though I knew a LOT of what He said and practiced it. Principles of spiritual warfare, I knew a lot and used His Word to great advantage, BUT I didn’t believe Yeshua’s words re: Sabbath and Torah. And since those make up the basic foundation of our walk before God, my house was built on sand. Scary and shocking, but that has all changed now. Thank You, Yeshua for being so kind and patient with me. May our Christian brethren be shocked into repentance and loved into reconciliation. May our Jewish brethren receive the same shock treatment that lands them squarely in the arms of their/our Messiah. Amen..
I have you to thank for this post. I watched your YouTube video advertising your new book where you talk about this verse as part of your testimony. Like many, I had read this passage many times, but not in the light you shed on it, so I decided to make a blog post about it. It just so happened that we’re in this chapter in John in our Scripture reading schedule, so I wrote this post this morning with you in mind. So a big thank you! It’s the body of Yeshua edifying itself.
Brother, Yahusha Messiah said “If you love me keep My Commandments! What were His Commandments? “Love Yahuah Elohim with all your strength, all your heart, and your entire mind, and love your neighbors as yourself. In these two you keep all the Commandments.” He also so said, “Love one another as I have loved you.” These were His Commandments, He did not change the Ten Commandments at all, He just summed them up in 2 commandments. I can not understand how any believer can say the Ten Commandments are outdated! I love my Savior so I keep His Commandments to the best of my ability! He is my Brother, my Master, my King, and the lover of my soul! Amen!
Shalom brothers and sisters, this scripture really kicks into touch any doctrine that says we are no longer obligated to keep Torah.