1. In Deuteronomy 18:18-19, speaking of Jesus, God says to Moses, “I will raise up a prophet from among their countrymen like you, and I will put My words in his mouth, and he shall speak to them all that I command him. It shall come about that whoever will not listen to My words which he shall speak in My name, I Myself will require it of him.”
Jesus confirms this in John 12:48-50, “He who rejects Me and does not receive My sayings, has one who judges him; the word I spoke is what will judge him at the last day. For I did not speak on My own initiative, but the Father Himself who sent Me has given Me a commandment as to what to say and what to speak. I know that His commandment is eternal life; therefore the things I speak, I speak just as the Father has told Me.”
Jesus, our pattern, didn’t speak on his own when he was on earth, but he taught exactly as the gospel was given to him by the Father. If anyone could speak accurately on their own concerning God, surely Jesus could; but he didn’t, instead giving us the gospel as it was given to him. And why? “I know that his commandment is eternal life.”
2. Peter writes, “But know this first of all, that no prophecy of Scripture is a matter of one's own interpretation, for no prophecy was ever made by an act of human will, but men moved by the Holy Spirit spoke from God." 2 Peter 1:20-21.
None of the New Testament (indeed, none of Scripture) came from the mind of a man, but is God revealing his will to us. If then he has revealed to us what is pleasing and right in his sight, things we could not have known otherwise, how can we teach differently, and say that we’re right? Indeed,
3. Mark writes of Jesus, “And He said to them, ‘Rightly did Isaiah prophesy of you hypocrites, as it is written: “This people honors me with their lips, but their heart is far away from me. But in vain do they worship me, teaching as doctrines the precepts of men.” Neglecting the commandment of God, you hold to the tradition of men,’” Mark 7:6-8.
Isaiah prophesied, and Jesus confirmed, that Israel had changed God’s law, substituting their own precepts for the word of God. Jesus didn’t say they were acceptable in this; he condemned them for it.
4. “And a leper came to Him and bowed down before Him, and said, ‘Lord, if You are willing, You can make me clean.’ Jesus stretched out His hand and touched him, saying, ‘I am willing; be cleansed.’ And immediately his leprosy was cleansed. And Jesus said to him, ‘See that you tell no one; but go, show yourself to the priest and present the offering that Moses commanded, as a testimony to them,’” Matthew 8:2-4.
Jesus lived under the law of Moses; contrary to what the religious leaders of Israel did, in changing God’s law, Jesus upheld the law. He cleansed the leper, and then told him to do as Moses had commanded concerning the offering.
5. The writer of Hebrews, “For when the priesthood is changed, of necessity there takes place a change of law also. For the one concerning whom these things are spoken belongs to another tribe, from which no one has officiated at the altar. For it is evident that our Lord was descended from Judah, a tribe with reference to which Moses spoke nothing concerning priests,” Hebrews 7:12-14.
Jesus is our high priest; the writer of Hebrews shows that because of this, of necessity the law of Moses is no longer in effect, for according to that law the Levites were priests, and Jesus was from the tribe of Judah. Therefore, as the law could not be broken, in order for Jesus to be high priest it had to be removed, which it was at the cross.
In this, God also shows us how we are to interpret his word. When He named the Levites as priests, He didn't say that every other tribe was excluded; but that was clearly implied. It is the same with Nadab and Abihu; He gave instruction as to which fire to use, but didn't say, "Don't use any other." When they used a different fire, He slew them. When God gives the means or methods by which to do a thing, that is what He means; alternatives are not acceptable.
6. Matthew 5:17-19, “Do not think that I came to abolish the Law or the Prophets; I did not come to abolish but to fulfill. For truly I say to you, until heaven and earth pass away, not the smallest letter or stroke shall pass from the Law until all is accomplished. Whoever then annuls one of the least of these commandments, and teaches others to do the same, shall be called least in the kingdom of heaven; but whoever keeps and teaches them, he shall be called great in the kingdom of heaven.”
We have the example of our Lord in regard to the law of Moses, of the care shown by him to follow it as written, and he tells us that even the smallest part of it must be fulfilled. He then says in regard to his own law, that it is to be regarded the same. If we annul or change even the least of the New Testament, we will miss the mark. As John writes,
7. “For this is the love of God, that we keep His commandments; and His commandments are not burdensome,” 1 John 5:3.
John proclaims that to love God is to keep his commandments; how can we say we love God, if we don't do as he says?
8. John again, "And I saw the dead, the great and the small, standing before the throne, and books were opened; and another book was opened, which is the book of life; and the dead were judged from the things which were written in the books, according to their deeds. And the sea gave up the dead which were in it, and death and Hades gave up the dead which were in them; and they were judged, every one of them according to their deeds," Revelation 20:12-13.
What can the books which were opened be, if not the Law of Moses, and the Law of Christ, with each judged according to the covenant he lived under? This is what Jesus tells us in John 12:48, "...the word I spoke is what will judge him at the last day." If we will be judged according to our deeds, according to what is written in the books, is it not then wise to follow them?