I will start a new thread, since the wopik discussions took place before I joined this forum.

The Old Law is seen as a "first stage" (CCC 1962), "good, yet still imperfect" (CCC 1963), and "a preparation for the Gospel" (CCC 1964).

Matthew 5:18 is the difficult one to explain: "Amen, I say to you, until heaven and earth pass away, not the smallest letter or the smallest part of a letter will pass from the law, until all things have taken place."

The notes to the NAB say that "until heaven and earth pass away" is not to be understood apocalyptically here, but refers rather to the dissolution of the old order.

This happens when "all things have taken place," i.e., after the Resurrection.

I suppose that is one way of understanding it, but then Jesus could just have left out the until heaven and earth pass away part and he would still have made his point. Although Jesus may well have had reason to keep people a little in the dark in order to achieve his mission in a hostile environment.

I know the verse that teaches that the law was a school master and that we no longer need someone holding a stick over us...are there any other verses in the New Testament (or in the Old) that indicate this inferior status of the Old Testament law in contrast with the Gospel.

quote:

Originally posted by Jacques:
[qb] are there any other verses in the New Testament (or in the Old) that indicate this inferior status of the Old Testament law in contrast with the Gospel. [/qb]

There are many passages in St. Paul that hammer home the point that the Law is now no longer necessary.

As for an analysis of Jesus' teachings on this subject, we have to wait until May 26, 2009, when volume 4 of John P Meier's series A Marginal Jew will discuss this question:

quote:

John Meier�s previous volumes in the acclaimed series A Marginal Jew are founded upon the notion that while solid historical information about Jesus is quite limited, people of different faiths can nevertheless arrive at a consensus on fundamental historical facts of his life. In this eagerly anticipated fourth volume in the series, Meier approaches a fresh topic�the teachings of the historical Jesus concerning Mosaic Law and morality�with the same rigor, thoroughness, accuracy, and insightfulness on display in his earlier works.

After correcting misconceptions about Mosaic Law in Jesus� time, this volume addresses the teachings of Jesus on major legal topics like divorce, oaths, the Sabbath, purity rules, and the various love commandments in the Gospels. What emerges from Meier�s research is a profile of a complicated first-century Palestinian Jew who, far from seeking to abolish the Law, was deeply engaged in debates about its observance. Only by embracing this portrait of the historical Jesus grappling with questions of the Torah do we avoid the common mistake of constructing Christian moral theology under the guise of studying �Jesus and the Law,� the author concludes.

Quoted from http://www.amazon.com/dp/0300140967

Yes, it certainly is more complicated than, "no, we don't need the Law or laws," or "yes, we should continue to keep the Mosaic Law." E.g., the Ten Commandments have continued to be a cornerstone of Christian ethics since the beginning. Considering that their primary purpose was to define the terms of the Sinai Covenant, one might think we don't need them any more. Same goes for a lot of other teachings -- e.g., marriage and divorce, tithing, usury (for centuries, that is), and many others.

But I think the main point of the Council of Jerusalem was that you don't have to become a Jew to be a Christian. What does it mean to be a Jew, however? That's not an easy question to answer. The Fathers at that Council were concerned largely about "outward observances," especially circumcision. Their ruling made it clear that you don't have to do all that stuff, and the spirit of it would include the Jewish feast days. After all, why require Christians who aren't Jews to keep Jewish feast days? And if the Gentile Christians weren't required to keep them, neither would the Jewish Christians. Even the Jewish sabbath was changed from Saturday to the Lord's Day, or Sunday. None of this is to say that the "inner dimension" of Judaism was to be neglected, however, especially its core monotheistic insights, its place in salvation history, and its ethical tradition. How to hold onto that and, at the same time, affirm that we are put right with God through faith in Christ was the genius of Paul.