On These Two

In his earthly ministry Jesus was not an innovator, he was a restorer. He didn't introduce new ideas, in fact, he taught the same content as other first century rabbis from the Hebrew Scriptures. As a prophet, like all the prophets who came before, He called out Israel for it’s sin. Jesus never said anything new, He spoke from the Torah, the Prophets, and the Writings, as well as Jewish tradition. But, when He spoke from the Hebrew Scriptures he didn't speak from opinion, He spoke with Authority. The rabbis he speaks with in the Gospels gave varying opinions and interpretations of the Torah; Yeshua interpreted the Torah as the One who wrote it. It is as if he was saying, “Here is what I meant when I wrote it.” He didn't only speak as a prophet but as the God who wrote the commandments. There is no record in the New Testament of people who after hearing Jesus teach said, “These are brand new ideas that no one has taught before!” Rather, their reaction was “This is different because of the authority with which He speaks.” Jesus didn’t come to start a new religion but to call people back to right relationship with the One True God. Jesus never said anything new but He spoke with the authority of the One who gave the Torah to Moses. He spoke with the authority of The Word in flesh.