Two questions regarding divine inspiration and (selective) fulfillment of Torah Law by Jesus

[meltzerboy]

My first question concerns whether Christians are obligated to believe the Torah Law of the Hebrew Bible was divinely inspired in order to believe that Jesus fulfilled the Law? Or can Christians (let’s say Catholics) believe only that Jesus fulfilled the Law without necessarily believing in its direct transmission from G-d to Moses? Some Jews don’t even believe in the latter, and some biblical historians have their doubts.

My second question involves what I often hear from Christians, quoted from Jesus’ own words, that Jesus did not come to abolish the Law but to fulfill it. In that case, did Jesus fulfill the entire Torah Law (all 613 commandments) or only the ritual portions of it, not the moral or legal and ethical commandments? If so, what about those parts that are difficult to classify in one category or another, such as specific rules concerning the care and treatment of animals? IOW, is Jesus’ fulfillment of the Law selective, and if it is, how does the Church know which part He fulfilled?

 

[NeedImprovement]

Hi Meltzerboy.

These are only my opinions:

To the first question -

My first question concerns whether Christians are obligated to believe the Torah Law of the Hebrew Bible was divinely inspired in order to believe that Jesus fulfilled the Law? Or can Christians (let’s say Catholics) believe only that Jesus fulfilled the Law without necessarily believing in its direct transmission from G-d to Moses? Some Jews don’t even believe in the latter, and some biblical historians have their doubts…

… I would say yes . The reasoning works a little better if it is taken in several steps. First here are a couple of definitions from one of the foremost catechists of our day, Father John Hardon, S.J. - from his Modern Catholic Dictionary

PENTATEUCH. The first five books of the Bible taken collectively, that is, Genesis, Exodus, Leviticus, Numbers, and Deuteronomy, written from about 1400 to 1300 B.C. The name may be traced to Origen (A.D. 254). A decision of the Biblical Commission (June 27, 1906) stated that Moses was the principal and inspired author of the Pentateuch and that the books were finally published under his name. But in 1948 the secretary- of the Pontifical Biblical Commission acknowledged that “today there is no longer anyone who questions the existence of sources used in the composition of the Pentateuch or who does not admit the progressive accretion of Mosaic laws due to the social and religious conditions of later times.”

MOSAIC LAW. The body of civil, moral, and religious legislation found in the last four books of the Pentateuch and traditionally ascribed to Moses. The foundation of this law is the Decalogue (Exodus 20),and its center is the Book of the Covenant (Exodus 20-23). The civil legislation is mainly in Exodus (18-23), and Deuteronomy (16-26). The moral laws are in Exodus (20-23), supplemented by Leviticus (11-20) and Deuteronomy (5). The religious and ceremonial precepts are in Exodus (25-30) and especially Leviticus (1-27). Compared with similar laws in other nations of that time, the Mosaic code is vastly superior by reason of its strong monotheism, its proclamation of God as the only source and final sanction of all laws, and from its summation of the whole law in the love of God and of neighbor .

If we look at that last sentence in the quote, we would have to say that there can practically be no question that the Mosaic Law is divinely inspired.

Now, one more definition by Father Hardon - which pretty well eliminates the possibility of any doubt.

TORAH. 1. the first five books of the Old Testament: Genesis, Exodus, Leviticus, Numbers, and Deuteronomy; 2. the entire body of Jewish law revealed by Yahweh and interpreted and taught by priests, prophets, and sages.

Here’s one more thing concerning how Catholics view the Torah/Pentateuch overall. There is a principle : “lex orandi lex credendi” , loosely translated" the law of prayer is the law of belief" , or “the Church prays as She believes” . Here’s how Father Hardon puts it:

LEX ORANDI. Name of the axiom of Pope St. Celestine I (422-32), “Legem credendi statuit lex orandi” (The rule of prayer determines the rule of faith). By this is meant that the Church’s liturgy is the most effective means of preserving and interpreting the true faith.

Keeping in mind now that our Liturgy is the most effective means of interpreting the true faith, have a look at this excerpt below from Eucharistic Prayer I - a prayer that is central to the Mass. It is also known as the *Roman Canon *and was the only Eucharistic prayer used by the Church for (I believe somewhere in the vicinity of ) 1600 years, up until the early 1960’s. Now there are 4 main Eucharistic prayers with several others. But the Roman Canon/Eucharistic Prayer I has always ranked first . I’ve highlighted the parts most pertinent to your question:

EUCHARISTIC PRAYER I
(THE ROMAN CANON)

1. Be pleased to look upon these offerings
   with a serene and kindly countenance,
   and to accept them,
   as once you were pleased to accept
   the gifts of your servant Abel the just,
   the sacrifice of Abraham, our father in faith,
   and the offering of your high priest Melchizedek,
   a holy sacrifice, a spotless victim.

94.Bowing, with hands joined, he continues:
In humble prayer we ask you, almighty God:
command that these gifts be borne
by the hands of your holy Angel
to your altar on high
in the sight of your divine majesty,
so that all of us, who through this participation at the altar
receive the most holy Body and Blood of your Son,
He stands upright again and signs himself with the Sign of the Cross, saying:
may be filled with every grace and heavenly blessing.
He joins his hands.
(Through Christ our Lord. Amen.)

… we pray as we believe .

For your second question, the answer isn’t totally cut & dry . Sections 577-582 of the Catechism of the Catholic Church provide a fair overview of what is meant by Christ fulfilling the law. This link should put you right on that page . Almost that entire page is pertinent to your question.

… hope it helps.

 

[Pug]

Catholics must believe the Pentateuch (the first five books, like the T in TNK) is inspired. I’m not sure if that answers your specific question about believing it “in order to believe” another thing, since I’m indicating that we believe it on the grounds of it being inspired, without reference to what things we may go on to deduce. Here is proof that we believe it from our Catechism:**105 **God is the author of Sacred Scripture. “The divinely revealed realities, which are contained and presented in the text of Sacred Scripture, have been written down under the inspiration of the Holy Spirit.” “For Holy Mother Church, relying on the faith of the apostolic age, accepts as sacred and canonical the books of the Old and the New Testaments, whole and entire, with all their parts, on the grounds that, written under the inspiration of the Holy Spirit, they have God as their author, and have been handed on as such to the Church herself.”
You will find that Christians are not unanimous in their theories about the precise involvement of Moses in the final product that we now call the Pentateuch. The variation is large.

Catholics don’t tend to use the phrase 613 Mitzvot, but they do make a distinction concerning rules/laws/sayings from the Pentateuch. The one about slander is moral and is natural law. We must not slander. The one about not reaping the whole field has a moral aspect to it, and we must observe the moral aspect - the concern for the widows that they can eat, but a Catholic can reap an entire field. So, if by “fulfilled” you mean to ask a question about current observance of the 613, then our observance is quite spotty. But if you mean to ask did Jesus observe moral and ritual/legal rules, then yes he did.

Perhaps you might enjoy this cut from St. Thomas Aquinas:
Now Christ fulfilled the precepts of the Old Law both in His works and in His doctrine. In His works, because He was willing to be circumcised and to fulfil the other legal observances, which were binding for the time being; according to Galatians 4:4: “Made under the Law.” In His doctrine He fulfilled the precepts of the Law in three ways. First, by explaining the true sense of the Law. This is clear in the case of murder and adultery, the prohibition of which the Scribes and Pharisees thought to refer only to the exterior act: wherefore Our Lord fulfilled the Law by showing that the prohibition extended also to the interior acts of sins. Secondly, Our Lord fulfilled the precepts of the Law by prescribing the safest way of complying with the statutes of the Old Law. Thus the Old Law forbade perjury: and this is more safely avoided, by abstaining altogether from swearing, save in cases of urgency. Thirdly, Our Lord fulfilled the precepts of the Law, by adding some counsels of perfection: this is clearly seen in Matthew 19:21, where Our Lord said to the man who affirmed that he had kept all the precepts of the Old Law: “One thing is wanting to thee: If thou wilt be perfect, go, sell whatsoever thou hast,” etc. [St. Thomas combines Matthew 19:21 with Mark 10:21.