The Old Covenant vs the New Covenant

Introduction One of the most difficult issues in theology is the place of the Old
Covenant in the New Covenant. Are we to keep the Old Covenant
because it was given by God to Moses and Israel and since Israel
is the nation of God? O are we to completely discard the Old
Covenant because the New Covenant has completely replaced
it? Or are we to combine the best of the Old Covenant with the
New Covenant as Jesus seems to have advocated?

This debate is essential to understanding what God through Je-

sus Christ wants us to do. Our obedience to Christ, our fulfillment
of our mandate, and our relationship to each other as brothers
and sisters in Christ hinge on understanding the conflict between
the old and new covenants and knowing which one to follow.

Christ's Sacrifice 1The law is only a shadow of the good things that are com-
Once for All ing—not the realities themselves. For this reason it can
never, by the same sacrifices repeated endlessly year after
year, make perfect those who draw near to worship. 2If it
could, would they not have stopped being offered? For the
worshipers would have been cleansed once for all, and
would no longer have felt guilty for their sins. 3But those
sacrifices are an annual reminder of sins, 4because it is
impossible for the blood of bulls and goats to take away
sins.
5Therefore, when Christ came into the world, he said:

"Sacrifice and offering you did not desire,

but a body you prepared for me;
6with burnt offerings and sin offerings

you were not pleased.

7Then I said, 'Here I am—it is written about me in the

scroll—
I have come to do your will, O God.' "
8First he said, "Sacrifices and offerings, burnt offerings and
sin offerings you did not desire, nor were you pleased with
them" (although the law required them to be made). 9Then
he said, "Here I am, I have come to do your will." He sets
aside the first to establish the second. 10And by that will,
we have been made holy through the sacrifice of the body

The Old Covenant vs the New Covenant 1


Is the Old Cove-
nant Expired?
Did Jesus Come to
Abolish the Old
Covenant?
The Old Covenant vs the New Covenant
of Jesus Christ once for all.
11Day after day every priest stands and performs his relig-
ious duties; again and again he offers the same sacrifices,
which can never take away sins. 12But when this priest had
offered for all time one sacrifice for sins, he sat down at the
right hand of God. 13Since that time he waits for his ene-
mies to be made his footstool, 14because by one sacrifice
he has made perfect forever those who are being made
holy.
Heb. 10:1-14
The Law pointed only to the reality but it was never meant to be
the reality itself. In much the same way as a photograph is only a
picture of the real person, the Law was just a picture of the reality
revealed at the coming of Christ. (See verse 1 above.) It could not
make the worshipper perfect. Something else had to come and
replace what did not work.
The argument presented here by the writer of Hebrews is that if
the sacrifices had worked in the first place and had perfected the
worshipper, all sacrifices would have been stopped. But they
didn't. Rituals do not make the worshipper perfect.
Annual rituals were simply a yearly reminder of sins — a stern
reminder that man is a sinner. Rituals cannot remove sins.
So what did Christ have to do? Verse 9 shows that Jesus had to
set "aside the first to establish the second." The second covenant
could not be established without setting aside the first. The old
had to be removed in order to introduce the new!
It's as simple as that. You cannot put new wine in a wineskin if it
is still filled with the old wine. In fact, Jesus even advocated that
the old wineskin had to be thrown out along with the old wine be-
cause the old wineskin cannot endure the power of the new wine!
Didn't Jesus say that He did not come to abolish the Law but to
fulfill it?
17"Do not think that I have come to abolish the Law or the
Prophets; I have not come to abolish them but to fulfill
them. 18I tell you the truth, until heaven and earth disap-
pear, not the smallest letter, not the least stroke of a pen,
will by any means disappear from the Law until everything
2
 is accomplished."

Matt. 5:17-18

Yes, indeed, Jesus did not come to abolish the Old Testament
(known among Jews in Jesus' time as "the Law and the Proph-
ets"). Instead, he came to fulfill everything that the Old Testament
pointed to. The Law pointed to the Ultimate Sacrifice. The Proph-
ets prophesied about the coming Messiah. The Writings prefig-
ured the coming King.

Verse 18 gives two conditions that are misunderstood by many.

The first is "until heaven and earth disappear." The second is "un-
til everything is accomplished." The first is very clear. Not the
smallest letter nor the least stroke will disappear from the Law un-
til the end of the physical universe. However, the second provides
a nearer event and limit.

Two conditions in one sentence is like the instructions for chang-

ing engine oil in a car. Change oil every 20,000 km or every 12
months, whichever comes first. This means that if you drive long
distances and reach 20,000 km in 3 months, you need to change
engine oil that soon. Otherwise, if you drive short distances and
reach 20,000 km in 15 months, you need to change engine oil at
the end of 12 months.

Whichever comes first of two conditions sets the stage for the
statement. If everything is fulfilled before heaven and earth dis-
appear, then the Law ends.

Until what is fulfilled? Remember Jesus said he came to fulfill the

Law. The question therefore is, "Has Christ fulfilled the Law?"
29A jar of wine vinegar was there, so they soaked a sponge
in it, put the sponge on a stalk of the hyssop plant, and
lifted it to Jesus' lips. 30When he had received the drink,
Jesus said, "It is finished." With that, he bowed his head
and gave up his spirit.

John 19:29-30

Did Christ fulfill the Law or not? If he did not, then he failed in his
mission. If he did, it is obvious that when he said "It is finished" he
meant he had done what he came to do.

The simple answer then is that Jesus did not come to abolish the
Old Covenant. Instead, he came to fulfill the requirements of the
Old Covenant. In doing so, he fulfilled all that the Law and the

The Old Covenant vs the New Covenant 3

 Prophets pointed to and required. Once the requirements had
been fulfilled, the Old Covenant is finished. Jesus had to go all
the way to the cross in order to finish everything.

What are These 19"Anyone who breaks one of the least of these com-
Commandments? mandments and teaches others to do the same will be
called least in the kingdom of heaven, but whoever prac-
tices and teaches these commands will be called great in
the kingdom of heaven. 20For I tell you that unless your
righteousness surpasses that of the Pharisees and the
teachers of the law, you will certainly not enter the kingdom
of heaven."

Matt. 5:19-20

What are "these commandments" that Jesus mentions? Do they

refer to the Law (the Old Covenant)? Verse 20 insists that follow-
ing the righteousness of the Pharisees (keeping the Law to the
letter) will not save a person. Instead, Jesus pointed out that one
must "surpass" or exceed their righteousness!

Verse 19 mentions two categories of people in the Kingdom of

Heaven: 1) Those who break "these commandments" and teach
others to do the same, and 2) those who practice "these com-
mands" and teach others to do the same.

The Pharisees practiced the Law and taught others to do the

same. Do they belong to Category 2 who are called "great in the
kingdom of heaven" even after Jesus said in verse 20 that they
won't qualify? Apparently, the Pharisees do not qualify and there-
fore cannot be called great in the kingdom! Those who are called
great are those who keep "these commands"! Which commands?

From verse 21 up to the end of the chapter, Jesus follows a pat-

tern in his teaching: "You have heard that it was said …. But I tell
you …." He starts off by quoting a law from the Old Covenant,
then he either expands or entirely negates it by stating his own
commands. Here in Matthew 5-7 we find a new list of commands
from Jesus. These commands either expand or contradict the
commandments handed down through Moses! Jesus' commands
stand in contrast to the Law!

These are the commands that if you obey and teach others to do
the same, you will be called "great in the kingdom of heaven"!

"Therefore everyone who hears these words of mine and

puts them into practice is like a wise man who built his

The Old Covenant vs the New Covenant 4

 house on the rock."

Matt. 7:24

Why Not Combine "36No one tears a patch from a new garment and sews it
the Old and the on an old one. If he does, he will have torn the new gar-
New? ment, and the patch from the new will not match the old.
37And no one pours new wine into old wineskins. If he

does, the new wine will burst the skins, the wine will run
out and the wineskins will be ruined. 38No, new wine must
be poured into new wineskins."

Luke 5:36-38

Combining the old and the new doesn't work. Jesus used an illus-
tration taken from wine-making to point out that using old prac-
tices in the context of the new will not work. We cannot take the
commandments of the Old Covenant and arbitrarily include them
in the New Covenant. The result is disaster — confusion at the
least.

How do you build According to Jesus:

your house on the
rock? "Therefore everyone who hears these words of mine and
puts them into practice is like a wise man who built his
house on the rock."

Matt. 7:24

Jesus is the Rock. It is upon Him that we must build our house. It
is His commands that we need to obey rather than the com-
mandments handed down to Moses.

We are not saying here that the commandments given in the Old
covenant were wrong. We are saying instead that Jesus' instruc-
tions here in these chapters of the Sermon on the Mount consti-
tute the commands for the New Covenant. Jesus says that obe-
dience to His commands is like building your house upon a rock.
Wisdom says that we should obey Him rather than a list of com-
mandments that we chose to take from the old.

Notice the Great Commission.

The Old Covenant vs the New Covenant 5

What is the Great "19Therefore go and make disciples of all nations, baptizing
Commission? them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the
Holy Spirit, 20and teaching them to obey everything I have
commanded you."

Matt. 28:19-20

We are commanded to "go." This does not mean to "go" as on a

mission. But rather this means that as we are going through our
daily routines in life, we ought to fulfill the next three commands.

#1 Make disciples — a disciple is a follower of Jesus, not a fol-

lower of other men or organizations. Jesus' invitation to the peo-
ple around Him was not "Accept me and be saved." His invitation
was "Come, follow me." It is that same simple invitation that we
are delivering to people. We are simply asking them to come with
us as we follow Christ. If a person drops what he is doing and de-
cides to follow Jesus along with us, he has become a disciple of
Christ.

#2 Baptize them — the command is for us to baptize those fol-

lowers. Note that they are not commanded to be baptized.
Rather, we are commanded to baptize them!

#3 Teach Jesus' commands — we are to teach disciples "to

obey everything I have commanded you." In most congregations
and denominations, the commandments that are taught are the
Old Covenant, denominational distinctives (what makes them dif-
ferent from all the others), and traditions started by their founders
and leaders. Christianity has veered so far away from the real
Great Commission! Instead, we are commanded to teach Jesus'
commands!

What comprises Just so we know, the following comprises the core of the Old
the Old Covenant? Covenant:

✦ 10 commandments and the moral laws (that dictate what is

considered a crime by the society and the proper mode of
punishment)

✦ Civil laws (involving agriculture and relationships between citi-

zens and even slaves and what may be considered as proper
payment for damages)

✦ Dietary laws (that dictate what is acceptable as food in Israel-

ite society)

The Old Covenant vs the New Covenant 6

 ✦ Temple and sacrificial laws and rituals (that dictate what things
may or must be done at the temple and the altar and how
those rituals may be performed properly, including laws of
cleansing)

✦ Priesthood regulations (that dictate who are permitted to serve

in the temple and other religious rites)

✦ Sabbath and holy days (that dictate which days during the
week, month, and year are set aside for religious purposes
and how those days may be properly observed)

Notice that all world religions have a holy place (temple), holy
time (days of worship), and holy men (priesthood). All religions
have a set of moral and civil laws, dietary laws, and priesthood
regulations. The religion given by God to Israel was no different.

How about the New Covenant?

What comprises The New Covenant is remarkably different from the Old Covenant
the New Covenant? and all other world religions. The core of the new are simply:

✦ Commands of Jesus (in the Gospel accounts)

✦ Apostolic teaching (which is an explanation for how the com-

mands of Jesus apply to daily living and in our relationships to
each other, to neighbors, and to enemies)

It is amazing how the New Covenant turns religion upside-down

by making these unprecedented distinctions:

✦ No dietary laws that separate disciples from others. We are

instead separated from sin by a consumption of the Living
Water and the Bread of Life and living/walking in the Spirit.

✦ We are the New Temple, the Body of Christ, and our act of
worship is joining Him in His sufferings by laying down our
lives as a sacrifice for others.

✦ We are the Holy Priesthood under our High Priest, Jesus

Christ, whose sole sacrifice cleansed His entire holy nation of
all its sins once and for all. There is no longer any need for
another physical sacrifice.

✦ No holy day or time which is marked for the Lord. Rather, our
entire life is set apart for the Lord and for His glory. Jesus is
our Sabbath (our eternal rest), the reality of what was pictured
in the Old Covenant.

The Old Covenant vs the New Covenant 7

Conclusion The Old Covenant was given to Israel through Moses. That cove-
nant did not and could not give life. There was no salvation
through the rituals and sacrifices in the Temple. Thank God, He
provided an expiration date for the old.

Jesus came to fulfill all the requirements and prophecies that the
Old Covenant pointed to. At the cross, He fulfilled and finished
the work the Father gave Him to do. At the cross, the Old Cove-
nant expired and the New Covenant began. Hence, we cannot
have both old and new together.

When Jesus came, He gave a new set of commands based on

the New Commandment to love one another. The New Com-
mandment is an expression of His ultimate act of love — an eter-
nal sacrifice on the cross — the ultimate act of worship.

When we obey His commands, our house is built upon the Rock
— the only truly solid foundation. And, He commands us to teach
the same commands to all His disciples.

This is the New Covenant — a New Temple of believers, a new

priesthood, where Jesus is our Eternal Rest, High Priest, Living
Water, and Bread of Life, and whose commands we obey. The
New Covenant is a far better and much more glorious covenant
than the first.

by Ruel Guerrero
01 May 2009

The Old Covenant vs the New Covenant 8