Topical Bible: The Law of Moses: Christ: Bore the Curse of

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The Law of Moses, also known as the Mosaic Law, is a comprehensive set of commandments and ordinances given by God to the people of Israel through Moses. It encompasses moral, ceremonial, and civil laws, and is primarily recorded in the first five books of the Bible, known as the Torah or Pentateuch. The Law served as a covenant between God and Israel, outlining the standards of holiness and righteousness required by God.

Central to the understanding of the Law of Moses is the concept of blessing and curse. Obedience to the Law brought blessings, while disobedience resulted in curses, as outlined in Deuteronomy 28. The Law, however, also revealed the inability of humanity to fully comply with God's standards, highlighting the need for a savior.

In the New Testament, Jesus Christ is presented as the fulfillment of the Law. He perfectly obeyed the Law and, through His sacrificial death, bore the curse of the Law on behalf of humanity. The Apostle Paul, in his epistle to the Galatians, articulates this profound truth: "Christ redeemed us from the curse of the Law by becoming a curse for us. For it is written: 'Cursed is everyone who is hung on a tree'" (Galatians 3:13). This passage references Deuteronomy 21:23, where being hung on a tree is associated with being under God's curse.

The curse of the Law is fundamentally the penalty for sin, which is death and separation from God. By taking upon Himself the curse, Christ provided a way for believers to be reconciled to God, freeing them from the condemnation that the Law pronounced. This act of redemption is central to the Christian gospel, emphasizing that salvation is not achieved through adherence to the Law but through faith in Jesus Christ.

The Apostle Paul further explains in Romans that the Law was powerless to save due to human weakness, but God sent His Son in the likeness of sinful flesh to be a sin offering, thus condemning sin in the flesh (Romans 8:3). Through Christ's atoning work, believers are no longer under the Law's curse but are justified by faith, receiving the righteousness of God.

The bearing of the curse by Christ also signifies the inauguration of a new covenant, one that is based on grace rather than works. This new covenant, prophesied in the Old Testament (Jeremiah 31:31-34), is characterized by the internalization of God's laws and a personal relationship with Him through the Holy Spirit.

In summary, the Law of Moses, while holy and good, ultimately pointed to the need for a savior. Jesus Christ, by bearing the curse of the Law, fulfilled its demands and provided a means of redemption for all who believe, thus transforming the curse into a blessing for those who are in Him.

Torrey's Topical Textbook

Deuteronomy 21:23
His body shall not remain all night on the tree, but you shall in any wise bury him that day; (for he that is hanged is accursed of God;) that your land be not defiled, which the LORD your God gives you for an inheritance.
Torrey's Topical Textbook

Galatians 3:13
Christ has redeemed us from the curse of the law, being made a curse for us: for it is written, Cursed is every one that hangs on a tree:
Torrey's Topical Textbook

Library

Faustus Abhors Moses for the Awful Curse He Has Pronounced Upon ...
... redeemed us from the curse of the law, being made a ... Confess then that Christ died,
and you may confess that ... the curse for us; and that when Moses said, "Cursed ...
/.../faustus abhors moses for the.htm

Since those Marvellous Works which from the Days of Moses were ...
... marvellous works which from the days of Moses were shown ... all the saints who lived
under the law of the ... must either believe with the heretics that Christ is not ...
/.../cassian/the seven books of john cassian /chapter ix since those marvellous.htm

A Death in the Desert
... It is confirmed and exhausted in Jesus Christ. ... the old city wall, pure and sinless
in Himself, He therein both said 'Amen' to the Law of Moses, and swept it ...
/.../maclaren/expositions of holy scripture f/a death in the desert.htm

Messiah Suffering and Wounded for Us
... determined to know nothing to depend upon nothing, to glory in nothing, but Jesus
Christ, and Him ... And it was typified under the law of Moses (Deuteronomy 21 ...
/.../newton/messiah vol 1/sermon xix messiah suffering and.htm

The Law Established through Faith
... could not be justified by the law of Moses, but only ... that is, God, through the merits
of Christ, accepts him ... being obliged to keep the whole moral law, as the ...
/.../wesley/sermons on several occasions/sermon 35 the law established.htm

The Stretched-Out Hands of Moses Signified Beforehand the Cross.
... and so dishonourably by the death cursed in the law. ... For it was not because Moses
so prayed that the ... Nor even the stone symbolized Christ, as I have shown. ...
/.../chapter xc the stretched-out hands of.htm

On the Offices of Our Lord Jesus Christ
... also shall strengthen him." (Psalm 89:21.) But God hath made Jesus of Nazareth Lord
and Christ, (Matthew 2 ... Exodus 19:6.) (4.) Because the law of Moses was to ...
/.../arminius/the works of james arminius vol 1/disputation 14 on the offices.htm

Faustus Willing to Believe not Only that the Jewish but that all ...
... did not observe even the plain literal precepts of Moses. So Christ says to them:
"Ye pay tithe of mint ... and omit the weightier matters of the law, mercy and ...
/.../faustus willing to believe not.htm

The Doctrine of Jesus Christ.
... Moses and Elias, the heavenly visitors to this earth, conversed ... us from the curse
of a broken law by Himself ... Christ Himself bore our sins in His own body on ...
/.../evans/the great doctrines of the bible/the doctrine of jesus christ.htm

Faustus Denies that the Prophets Predicted Christ. Augustin Proves ...
... Lord Himself gives the explanation of this: "As Moses lifted up ... which are to be found
in the law and the ... for many, for the remission of sins." Christ is the ...
/.../faustus denies that the prophets.htm