As Jewish followers of Yeshua (Jesus), we value our Jewish identity. And that includes believing in the ongoing value of the Torah. But what does that look like for 21st-century Jewish Jesus followers?

Among Messianic Jews, there is a spectrum ranging from those who try to observe the 613 commandments (usually as understood by rabbinic tradition) to those who are more selective (for example, celebrating the biblically-based Jewish holidays or keeping kosher as described in the biblical texts). Some ignore the Torah in their daily lives.

Why the Torah Is Good

First, we need to understand that the Torah is good.

In the Tanakh, the Torah is spoken of as a gift from God, a guide to life, something to be cherished and enjoyed, as well as something to be obeyed under penalty of disobedience. It is intimately bound up with the covenant God established with the Jewish people.

For example, the longest psalm in the Tanakh, Psalm 119, is an extended meditation of praise and gratitude for the Torah and its commandments. The psalmist derives great joy from keeping the mitzvot (commandments).

Moreover, the Torah was given so that the Jewish people could fulfill their calling to be a “light to the nations.” In Deuteronomy 4:6–8 we read:

Keep them [the commandments] and do them, for that will be your wisdom and your understanding in the sight of the peoples, who, when they hear all these statutes, will say, “Surely this great nation is a wise and understanding people.”

For what great nation is there that has a god so near to it as the LORD our God is to us, whenever we call upon him? And what great nation is there that has statutes and rules so righteous as all this law that I set before you today?

The mitzvot are wise, and when Jews keep them, the nations (meaning Gentiles) will be attracted to the God of Israel.

Later rabbinic tradition riffed on this idea, saying that when God gave the Torah, his voice was divided into many flames of fire, corresponding to each nation of the world—so all the nations hear the Torah.

In the New Testament too, the Apostle Paul reminds us that the Torah is good. The idea that we should obey God is continually highlighted from the Sermon on the Mount (Jesus’ longest recorded sermon) to Jesus’ words in John’s Gospel and on through the letters written by the apostles. Nine of the Ten Commandments are explicitly reiterated in the New Testament. In fact, the Ten Commandments are a bedrock of Western civilization and of the Christian Church as well.

Observing the Mitzvot Today

The world has changed a lot since the days of Moses. So have the Jewish people. So how can we observe the Torah today?

Orthodox Jews hold that along with the written Law, at Mount Sinai God also gave the Oral Law which furnished the correct interpretation of the written Torah. This is combined with the idea that the rabbis hold final authority in interpreting the biblical text. This is why in Orthodox Judaism, one does not read the biblical text without also studying the Talmud and the commentaries of later rabbis.

It was necessary to explain how to keep the Torah in light of new situations that arose.

Together, these two ideas—the Oral Law and rabbinic authority—are the substructure of thousands of years of rabbinic discussion on exactly how we are meant to follow the Torah today—especially in light of the Temple’s destruction, the disappearance of the priesthood, and the expulsion from the Land of Israel.

Even before the idea of the Oral Law came about, it was necessary to explain how to keep the Torah in light of new situations that arose. Hence, traditions such as those adopted by the Pharisees in the first century were developed to implement the Torah under circumstances that were far different from those in the time of Moses.

At the other end of the religious spectrum, Reform Jews originally (meaning in 18th century Germany) held that the ritual commandments of the Torah—such as kashrut¹ and even circumcision—were outdated, primitive, and should be abolished. Over time, the pendulum swung in Reform Judaism so that today many rituals have been reinstated, while in the private lives of Reform Jews, there is an individualistic choose-your-own-adventure approach to the commandments and their interpretation.

Conservative Judaism, mediating between Orthodoxy and Reform, holds that the Jewish people as a whole determine the what and how of observing the Torah. This raises its own set of problems, since the Jews “as a whole” are today fractured among different denominations and traditions, so that from the 18th century on, it is very difficult to determine what Jews “as a whole” believe and how they act.

What Does the New Testament Teach About the Torah?

Many believe that the New Testament denigrates (some would even say “abolishes”) the Torah. But in fact, it speaks positively in numerous places about the Law or Torah.

For example, here is Jesus on the Law:

Do not think that I have come to abolish the Law or the Prophets; I have not come to abolish them but to fulfill them. For truly, I say to you, until heaven and earth pass away, not an iota, not a dot, will pass from the Law until all is accomplished. (Matthew 5:17–18)

Later, a lawyer asked Jesus to identify the most important commandment. This is how Jesus responded:

You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind. This is the great and first commandment. And a second is like it: You shall love your neighbor as yourself. On these two commandments depend all the Law and the Prophets. (Matthew 22:37–40)

In addition, various characters in the New Testament are shown obeying the Law in detail. In this passage we read about Jesus’ parents Joseph and Miriam (generally known in English as “Mary”):

And when the time came for their [Jesus’ parents] purification according to the Law of Moses, they brought him [Jesus] up to Jerusalem to present him to the Lord (as it is written in the Law of the Lord, “Every male who first opens the womb shall be called holy to the Lord”) and to offer a sacrifice according to what is said in the Law of the Lord, “a pair of turtledoves, or two young pigeons.” … And when they had performed everything according to the Law of the Lord, they returned into Galilee, to their own town of Nazareth. (Luke 2:22–24, 39)

The Apostle Paul,² though often wrongly portrayed as the “villain” who supposedly tried to abolish the Torah, observed the Torah himself. He followed the Torah’s instructions for the Jewish holy days:

For Paul had decided to sail past Ephesus, so that he might not have to spend time in Asia, for he was hastening to be at Jerusalem, if possible, on the day of Shavuot³ (Acts 20:16).

It’s also recorded in Acts 21 (verses 20–24) how Paul helped four Jewish men complete their purity vows.

Finally, we have Paul’s own words: “So the law is holy, and the commandment is holy and righteous and good” (Romans 7:12).

A quick aside about Paul:

In the past, Paul has been read as though he were telling everyone to not keep Torah. But that is a misunderstanding. Paul told Gentiles not to get circumcised and become Jews because the Tanakh had promised that the peoples of the nations would come to believe in the God of Israel. God’s “wide tent” embraces Jews and Gentiles alike without the need for non-Jews to become Jewish.

Paul also said that we are ultimately unable to keep Torah. That fact is obvious throughout the Tanakh in the history of the Jewish people. We need deliverance from our inability. But this is completely different from denigrating or ignoring the Torah.

What do Jewish followers of Jesus today do?

The answer is, it depends who you are talking to! Here are some common perspectives:

New covenant?

Some point out that followers of Jesus are living under a new covenant as spoken of in the Tanakh (Jeremiah 31:31–34). Jesus announced this new covenant at his final Passover meal: “This cup that is poured out for you is the new covenant in my blood” (Luke 22:20). Biblical covenants were ratified in the blood of a sacrifice; the new covenant was ratified by Jesus’ death shortly after his announcement.

We should expect that obedience to God today will look different.

Many Jewish believers point out that the new covenant is said by Jeremiah to be not like the covenant made at Sinai:

“not like the covenant that I made with their fathers on the day when I took them by the hand to bring them out of the land of Egypt …” (Jeremiah 31:32)

So, we should expect that obedience to God today will look different than it did when the covenant of the Torah directed the life of Israel.

New times?

Others will point out that our lives have drastically changed since biblical times. Today, we have no Temple, no priests. Most Jews do not live in Israel. Many commandments are therefore impossible to keep. So, whatever we do, we simply cannot obey God in the same way we once did.

Still obligated?

Still, other Jewish believers will say that although we are living under the New Covenant, we are still obligated to the covenant which was made specifically with the Jewish people. These obligations mean we must do our best to live according to the specific commandments of the Torah; many will follow rabbinic tradition in doing this.

Here’s the thing:

Despite different views about how or whether to keep the commandments of the Torah, “all roads lead to Rome” (or Jerusalem, in this case!). In other words, in terms of what practical everyday life looks like, many Jewish believers end up with similar lifestyles regardless of their reasons for doing so.

• Most Jewish followers of Jesus observe Jewish holidays, particularly Passover, the High Holy Days (Rosh Hashanah and Yom Kippur), and Hanukkah. Many observe Sukkot, Purim or Shavuot.
• Many of us meet for worship on Friday evening or Saturday morning and/or have Shabbat in our homes.
• Quite a few choose to keep kosher to one degree or another.
• Many put a mezuzah on the doorpost and some will lay tefillin (laying tefillin is a Jewish expression).

So, regardless of our exact views about the Torah, we often live in similar ways.

Should Jewish Believers Observe the Torah today?

I can leave you with my own view. Namely, that every mitzvah in the Torah (613 by traditional count) has a moral or theological underpinning.

For example, take this commandment in Deuteronomy:

When you build a new house, you shall make a parapet for your roof, that you may not bring the guilt of blood upon your house, if anyone should fall from it. (Deuteronomy 22:8)

The moral principle here is ensuring safety. In ancient times, people entertained on their roofs. The parapet (or railing) was intended to provide for the safety of guests. Most modern homes like mine don’t have that feature. So, I will best obey the principle of that commandment by ensuring safety more generally in my home.

The Jewish holidays have an ongoing theological underpinning too: they bring to mind what God has done in our past. When we observe them, it helps us to remember in the present and to pass on memories to our children and grandchildren. The holy days are part of the ongoing story that makes us a distinctive people with a history, a destiny, and a promise that we will be a blessing to the world (Genesis 12:1–3).

These moral, theological, and historical truths are with us (and always will be with us) wherever we land on the issue of Torah observance.

Endnotes

1. Jewish dietary laws.

2. Writer of many letters in the New Testament.

3. The Feast of Weeks. Most English translations render “Shavuot” as “Pentecost,” the Greek equivalent.