Jesus regularly engaged the Law and its interpretation in his interactions with both crowds and other teachers. While many scholars have interpreted his teaching as criticizing legalism, nationalism, or external piety, in this groundbreaking study of Jesus and the Law in the Synoptic Gospels, Paul Sloan suggests an alternative. Putting the Gospels in conversation with other early Jewish sources, Sloan argues that the proper framework for understanding Jesus's legal instruction is his announcement of Israel's covenantal restoration. In this context, the Gospels depict Jesus as the divinely commissioned herald of the restoration and the authoritative interpreter of the Law, criticizing misinterpretation and transgression--not legalism, nationalism, and external rituals. From this perspective, Jesus's disputes with contemporaries constitute intramural debates about the Law's interpretation and proper observance. Sloan also shows how Jesus's action in the temple and his crucifixion are better understood within this restorationist context, and he concludes by examining the congruity between Jesus's teaching of the Law and the use of the Law in Acts and in Paul's Letters. This thorough study contributes to the ongoing discussion of Jesus and the Law in the first-century Jewish context. It will challenge students of the Gospels and readers of the broader New Testament to reconsider some common misunderstandings of the Law and its reception in early Christianity.

ISBN: 9781540966384

Title: Jesus and the Law of Moses: The Gospels and the Restoration of Israel within First-Century Judaism

Author: Paul T. Sloan

Publisher: Baker Publishing Group

Publication Date: 16/09/2025

Binding: Paperback / softback

Pages: 288

Readership: Tertiary Education (US: College)

Availability: Not yet available

Size: 229 x 152

Imprint: Baker Academic, Div of Baker Publishing Group

Country Of Publication: United States

BIC Subject: Biblical studies & exegesis

DEWEY Classification: 232.954

Product Category: Religious Studies: Textbooks & Study Guides