I don’t think Jesus is correcting the Law of Moses when he said ‘You have heard that it was said love your neighbors and hate your enemies.’ The OT law commanded them to live at peace with their neighbors under Abraham’s covenant, the father of our faith. I think Jesus is correcting Essene’s teaching.

N____

Hi N____,

Thank you for your comments. I know that it is hard to comprehend how God could tell Israel to do something and that something is only temporary and is actually carnal. But so it is with not just ‘Love your enemies’ versus,…

Deu 20:16 But of the cities of these people, which the LORD thy God doth give thee for an inheritance, thou shalt save alive nothing that breatheth:

Deut. 20:16 is not the teachings of the Essenes. Neither were any of the teachings of the law that Christ contradicted in His sermon on the mount, of which I will give but one more example:

Mat 5:38 Ye have heard that it hath been said, An eye for an eye, and a tooth for a tooth:
Mat 5:39 But I say unto you, That ye resist not evil: but whosoever shall smite thee on thy right cheek, turn to him the other also.
Mat 5:40 And if any man will sue thee at the law, and take away thy coat, let him have thy cloke also.
Mat 5:41 And whosoever shall compel thee to go a mile, go with him twain.
Mat 5:42 Give to him that asketh thee, and from him that would borrow of thee turn not thou away.

It is not my goal to make you see what God has blinded you to. But I think that even you must concede that what Christ is quoting is Moses. Not the ‘Essenes.’

Exo 21:24 Eye for eye, tooth for tooth, hand for hand, foot for foot,
Exo 21:25 Burning for burning, wound for wound, stripe for stripe.

Read the entire paper on ‘The Law of Moses Versus The Law of The Spirit’, then if you still have a question please feel free to ask it. “The law is : established… to bring us to Christ.”

Gal 3:22 But the scripture hath concluded all under sin, that the promise by faith of Jesus Christ might be given to them that believe.
Gal 3:23 But before faith came, we were kept under the law, shut up unto the faith which should afterwards be revealed.
Gal 3:24 Wherefore the law was our schoolmaster to bring us unto Christ, that we might be justified by faith.
Gal 3:25 But after that faith is come, we are no longer under a schoolmaster.
Luk 5:36 And he spake also a parable unto them; No man putteth a piece of a new garment upon an old; if otherwise, then both the new maketh a rent, and the piece that was taken out of the new agreeth not with the old.

Mike