Ep. 15 Moses vs. Jesus - The Brooklyn Tabernacle

Moses Vs. Jesus

Law vs. Grace

For the law was given through Moses; grace and truth came through Jesus Christ. – John 1:17

“The Bible comprises sixty-six books, and it is divided into the Old and New Testaments. The Old Testament represents the old covenant, or agreement, that God made with his people Israel. It is characterized by the law and is represented by Moses. The problem with the old covenant was that it did not change one human heart. That is why the New Testament book of Hebrews says that a new covenant was needed. Instead of writing the laws on tablets of stone, as in the old covenant, God would now write his laws on the hearts of his people. Under the old covenant, God had Moses tell the people of Israel that if they broke even one commandment—and there were hundreds in the law—they were guilty of breaking the whole law. And without the shedding of blood, the law said, there was no forgiveness of sins; so there were animal sacrifices being offered day and night in the temple to atone for the guilt of the people. But the Bible says that it is impossible for the blood of bulls and goats to take away sins (Hebrews 10:4) and cleanse a guilty conscience. That is why the sacrifices had to be offered up continually. The law was actually never meant to save anyone. Its goal was to show the holiness of God and the sinfulness of sin and to point us to our need of a Savior. But when Jesus came as the representative of the new covenant, he gave his life as a sacrifice once for all to take away the sins of the those who would repent and put their trust in what he accomplished on the cross. So we see that the new covenant is characterized by grace, or God’s unmerited favor, for all who would believe —both Jew and Gentile alike. ’For the law was given through Moses; grace and truth came through Jesus Christ.’” – Pastor Cymbala