... for this is the law and the prophets
Y‘shua does not say, "for this replaces the Law and the Prophets‖. He clearly said that He did not come to do
that (Matt 5:17-21). He is summarising His teachings that the whole of Torah is given for the good of man—
to establish and improve His relationship with YHWH and with his fellow man. It is by learning and following
YHWH's Torah that we "do what is right unto others‖.
James had a similar way of summarising what true faith is:
―Pure religion and undefiled before God and the Father is this, To visit the fatherless and widows in their
affliction, and to keep himself unspotted from the world‖. (Jam 1:27)
James brings together several of these points in one section of his letter. He reiterates the idea of "do unto
others‖, but says that if you show favouritism, then you sin. He then states that you cannot pick and choose
what parts of the Torah (the "royal law") you feel like keeping, as it is a unity:
(8) ‖If ye fulfil the royal law according to the scripture, Thou shalt love thy neighbour as thyself, ye do
well:
(9) But if ye have respect to persons, ye commit sin, and are convinced of the law as transgressors.
(10) For whosoever shall keep the whole law, and yet offend in one point, he is guilty of all.
(11) For he that said, Do not commit adultery, said also, Do not kill. Now if thou commit no adultery, yet if
thou kill, thou art become a transgressor of the law.
(12) So speak ye, and so do, as they that shall be judged by the law of liberty‖. (Jam 2:8-12)
Paul and James agree that knowing the Torah is not enough - we are to DO the Torah:―(For not the hearers of the law are just before God, but the doers of the law shall be justified‖. (James 1:22)
―But be ye doers of the word, and not hearers only, deceiving your own selves‖. (Rom 2:13)
Paul and James also state that willfully violating the Torah is tantamount to blaspheming YHWH:
(23) ―Thou that makest thy boast of the law, through breaking the law dishonourest thou God?
(24) For the name of God is blasphemed among the Gentiles through you, as it is written‖. (Rom 2:23-
24)
(7) ‖Do not they blaspheme that worthy name by the which ye are called?
(8) If ye fulfil the royal law according to the scripture, Thou shalt love thy neighbour as thyself, ye do
well:
(9) But if ye have respect to persons, ye commit sin, and are convinced of the law as transgressors.
(10) For whosoever shall keep the whole law, and yet offend in one point, he is guilty of all‖. James 2:7-
10
7:13-14 Enter ye in at the strait gate
―(13) Enter ye in at the strait gate: for wide is the gate, and broad is the way, that leadeth to destruction, and
many there be which go in thereat: (14) Because strait is the gate, and narrow is the way, which leadeth unto
life, and few there be that find it‖.
The question at this point is, "Has YHWH indicated to us which the straight and correct gate is and what the
broad ways of destruction are – or do we simply pick what sounds good to us?"
Of course the answer is that He has given us the Torah as our guideline to define sin, how to live, how to
sanctify ourselves, and how to learn more of Him.
Narrow is the way
Here we have a picture of two paths from which we can choose – one is broad and followed by the majority,
but it ends in eternal death. The other is narrow and followed by few, yet it leads to life everlasting.
Until I studied these verses and their context in detail, I had always thought of these as being either the way
of the world - rejection of the Messiah, or the other way of following Y‘shua. But having made closer
examination of the context, I find that this is not accurate. These verses are actually a warning to those who
follow Y‘shua!