15/08/2026
Jesus’ commandments are the commandments of God understood and fulfilled through Christ.
1. Jesus did not come to replace God’s commandments
Jesus said:
“Think not that I am come to destroy the law, or the prophets: I am not come to destroy, but to fulfil.”
— Matthew 5:17
And He continued:
“If ye love me, keep my commandments.”
— John 14:15
Jesus consistently directed people back to God’s will. When asked about eternal life, He pointed to obedience to God’s commandments (Matthew 19:16–19).
2. So what does the Great Commission mean?
The Great Commission says:
“Teaching them to observe all things whatsoever I have commanded you.”
— Matthew 28:20
Notice the connection: Jesus commands His disciples to teach obedience to everything He commanded.
But Jesus’ teaching is not detached from the Father’s law. He summarized the whole law in love for God and love for our neighbor (Matthew 22:37–40).
Jesus also demonstrated that the commandments are fundamentally about love:
Love God → the first four commandments.
Love your neighbor → the last six commandments.
So Jesus didn’t create a new moral law that replaced God’s Ten Commandments. He revealed their true spiritual meaning.
3. Jesus took the commandments deeper
For example:
* “You shall not murder” → Jesus addressed anger and hatred (Matthew 5:21–22).
* “You shall not commit adultery” → Jesus addressed lust and the heart (Matthew 5:27–28).
* Sabbath → Jesus showed that the Sabbath is a blessing and that doing good and showing mercy on the Sabbath is consistent with God’s purpose (Mark 2:27–28; Matthew 12:12).
* Love your neighbor → Jesus expanded our understanding of love even to enemies (Matthew 5:43–48).
In other words, Jesus moved obedience from merely external compliance to transformed character.
4. What about the “new commandment”?
Jesus said:
“A new commandment I give unto you, That ye love one another; as I have loved you.”
— John 13:34
This doesn’t mean love was absent from God’s previous commandments. Leviticus 19:18 already said, “thou shalt love thy neighbour as thyself.”
What was “new” was the standard:
“As I have loved you.”
Jesus gives us Himself as the model of what obedience and love look like.
5. The Seventh Day understanding
A helpful way to put it is:
God’s commandments reveal God’s character.
Jesus revealed God’s character perfectly.
The Holy Spirit writes God’s law upon our hearts.
Therefore, obedience is not salvation by works—it is the fruit of a transformed relationship with Christ.
This fits beautifully with Revelation 14:12:
“Here is the patience of the saints: here are they that keep the commandments of God, and the faith of Jesus.”
Notice the two belong together:
Faith in Jesus + obedience to God = the experience of God’s faithful people.
So, Jesus’ commandments and God’s commandments are not two separate systems. Jesus is the Son of God who perfectly revealed the Father’s will. His command to “observe all things whatsoever I have commanded you” calls us to a life of faith, love, discipleship, and obedience.
And this connects strongly with the theme you’ve been developing: salvation is not merely justification; Christ saves us in order to restore us into obedient discipleship.
