Jewish Law Persuasive Speech

Samuel ben Jacob (S): Hello gentlemen! Today, we, a group of old friends, have gathered in the city of Ephesus. Let us dine and discuss what it means to be “Christians”.

Ezekiel Cohen (E): Yes, let us discuss this over our meal!

Abraham Samuelides (A): I would also appreciate this topic. Following Jesus movement, leads to many questions. What topic should we start with?

Judah ben Hur (J): Well, in my Church, we were stuck on one particular topic: Jewish law.

E: Quite an interesting topic to discuss. Do we have to observe the Jewish Law? Are we required to keep all of it, some of it, or none of it? Who would like to begin to try and answer this interesting question?

S: I would like to begin. In my ekkelisa, we are using the Gospel of Matthew

S: Well, as followers of Jesus we should fulfill the Jewish law; we should even take it as far and fulfill it better than the Pharisees and scribes. In my opinion, the Gospel of Matthew does not tell to abandon the Jewish law; it in fact, says the opposite. Jesus fulfills this Law and prophecy!

A: Can you please elaborate where you find this information in Matthew?

S: Of course! In one of passages, Jesus tells his followers that he is not trying to abolish the Law; rather he has come to fulfill it. He then goes on to say that the Law will only be abolished when the world ends (Matthew 5: 17-19).

E: This is all rather interesting, but what does the Gospel of Matthew of concerning Jesus’s lineage. In other words, how do they back up his “messiahship”?

S: Well, I was getting to that before you interrupted me Ezekiel. Jesus’s lineage can be traced back as far as Abraham and David. So, in my opinion yes, it is Jesus’s will that we should observe the Jewish law, because He is the prophecy

From my reading of Galatians, I would say that we should not follow the Jewish Law. If the Jewish law were the only way a person can be saved, then there would be no need for Jesus’s death. The apostle Paul also noticed this error because he tells the readers that because of his new understanding of the Law, he has come to reject the Law (Galatians 2:19). The Law is not the “end-all-be-all”, it is simply a filler until Jesus. Before the time of Jesus, people needed a moral code to live by, but they have a new Law to follow: the teachings of Jesus Christ!

J: How then do you account for the recklessness of people that might occur without the Law?

E: Because they will love their neighbor and because they know that if they know if they take too much from one person, then another person might do the same to them (Galatians 5:14-16). In my understanding of the Pauline letter to the Galatians, as Christians, we should not follow the Jewish law because Jesus has replaced the teachings. And, whoever wants to be in the right standing before God should measure themselves through the teachings of Jesus, and not the Jewish Law.

J: An interesting view, which quite contradicts Samuel’s view. Abraham, you have been quiet this whole time, which is rather interesting considering your ekkelisa also uses the letter to Galatia in your gatherings. What is your