quote:
Is there any way that can be read over than Jesus explicitly stating that the laws of the old Testament are not the true and perfect version of God's laws?
I don't think that's what Jesus is trying to say. I think it is interpreted that way sometimes depending on the need. Before Jesus was born, there were Jews who felt the laws weren't written by Moses. Jesus may be implying that the Oral Law is not the
true and perfect version of God's laws. Depends on which school he supported.
I found this article, so Jesus could also just be presenting the laws as they are practiced in Galilee.
Jesus the JewIn one case Jesus followed the Halakha of the more zealous Galileans.
"It was also said, `whoever divorces his wife, let him give her a certificate of divorce;. But I say to you that everyone who divorces his wife, except on the ground of unchastity, makes her an adulteress." (Matt. 5:31) In the Galilee according to Larry Shiffman, divorce was forbidden; Jesus was from Galilee. 10 In addition a document was found in Qumran that forbids divorce (11Q Temple 57:17-18). According to Shmuel Safrai some of the ‘commandments [were] being observed more scrupulously and strictly [in the Galilee] than in Judea’. 11
In other cases Galileans were less strict. As an example fowl for ancient Judean Jews was considered as meat, in the dietary laws, not allowing it to be cooked with milk or milk products. For Galileans like Jesus fowl was the equivalent of fish, neutral (called in Hebrew ‘parve’) for dietary laws and could be cooked with milk. Maimonides asks why chicken was considered a meat product and says it is not logical, but it is the Halakha. It is clear that Jesus like his brother James never ate non-kosher food (Gal. 2:12-13)
As I implied in the OP, there isn't a law in the OT that just deals with the general idea of divorce. IOW, divorce is allowed etc. The verses dealing with divorce are specific situations concerning divorce. So that tells us that divorce was legal and allowed.
The question would be does Deuteronomy contain laws from God or from Moses or from God through Moses?
Scripture is like Newton’s third law of motionfor every action there is an equal and opposite reaction.
In other words, for every biblical directive that exists, there is another scriptural mandate challenging it.
-- Carlene Cross in The Bible and Newton’s Third Law of Motion
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