Scripture records the following as a "hard saying".
[Jhn 6:41-49, 51-60 KJV] 41 The Jews then murmured at him, because he said, I am the bread which came down from heaven. 42 And they said, Is not this Jesus, the son of Joseph, whose father and mother we know? how is it then that he saith, I came down from heaven? 43 Jesus therefore answered and said unto them, Murmur not among yourselves. 44 No man can come to me, except the Father which hath sent me draw him: and I will raise him up at the last day. 45 It is written in the prophets, And they shall be all taught of God. Every man therefore that hath heard, and hath learned of the Father, cometh unto me. 46 Not that any man hath seen the Father, save he which is of God, he hath seen the Father. 47 Verily, verily, I say unto you, He that believeth on me hath everlasting life. 48 I am that bread of life. 49 Your fathers did eat manna in the wilderness, and are dead. ... 51 I am the living bread which came down from heaven: if any man eat of this bread, he shall live for ever: and the bread that I will give is my flesh, which I will give for the life of the world. 52 The Jews therefore strove among themselves, saying, How can this man give us [his] flesh to eat? 53 Then Jesus said unto them, Verily, verily, I say unto you, Except ye eat the flesh of the Son of man, and drink his blood, ye have no life in you. 54 Whoso eateth my flesh, and drinketh my blood, hath eternal life; and I will raise him up at the last day. 55 For my flesh is meat indeed, and my blood is drink indeed. 56 He that eateth my flesh, and drinketh my blood, dwelleth in me, and I in him. 57 As the living Father hath sent me, and I live by the Father: so he that eateth me, even he shall live by me. 58 This is that bread which came down from heaven: not as your fathers did eat manna, and are dead: he that eateth of this bread shall live for ever. 59 These things said he in the synagogue, as he taught in Capernaum. 60 Many therefore of his disciples, when they had heard [this], said, This is an hard saying; who can hear it?
Those who could not reason on a "figurative" level and see that Christ's Death, Burial, and Resurrection would be a liberating event for the condemned souls of mankind had trouble fully comprehending these scriptures.
They felt that being complicit accomplices in the sacrifice of Christ's and the consumption of His Blood was an act that none of them could easily reason about it. It like many "hard sayings" grated against their collective conscious.
Yet, when He speaks, He commands. He does not suggest. Meek and Mild He might be. Yet, His Word is an Imperative of Infinite Potency, Presence, and Prescience.
And, His Commands are not always easy on one's conscience. Yet, He says, "[Mat 11:30 KJV] 30 For my yoke [is] easy, and my burden is light."
Without equivocation, He states, "[Mat 5:17-20 KJV] 17 Think not that I am come to destroy the law, or the prophets: I am not come to destroy, but to fulfil. 18 For verily I say unto you, Till heaven and earth pass, one jot or one tittle shall in no wise pass from the law, till all be fulfilled. 19 Whosoever therefore shall break one of these least commandments, and shall teach men so, he shall be called the least in the kingdom of heaven: but whosoever shall do and teach [them], the same shall be called great in the kingdom of heaven. 20 For I say unto you, That except your righteousness shall exceed [the righteousness] of the scribes and Pharisees, ye shall in no case enter into the kingdom of heaven.".
Christ came not so we might be free from any and every Old Testament Law. These are not the needless legalisms of an antiquated system of rewards and punishments. The scriptures of the Old Testament are very alive and new each an everyday plus present and intricately interwoven among the tapestry of Teachings in the New Testament.
Christ did not. does not, not will He ever condone "willful" sin and disobedience.
As the man of God whose mother gave his life an "avowed" oblation poured out for just knowing the pleasure and joys of childbirth's painfulness said,
[1Sa 15:22 KJV] 22 And Samuel said, Hath the LORD [as great] delight in burnt offerings and sacrifices, as in obeying the voice of the LORD? Behold, to obey [is] better than sacrifice, [and] to hearken than the fat of rams.
His Resurrection was for the Salvation of those who sinned, sin, and will sin without malice or evil intent. He died for all of those who we beaten, stoned, and killed for situation of sin which were outside of their personal control. He died for those accidental and unintentional sins.
Consider,
[Mat 21:12-13 KJV] 12 And Jesus went into the temple of God, and cast out all them that sold and bought in the temple, and overthrew the tables of the moneychangers, and the seats of them that sold doves, 13 And said unto them, It is written, My house shall be called the house of prayer; but ye have made it a den of thieves.
Why would He show any concern for these "unjust and sinful" acts if His Blood was an atonement for such? Conducting business transactions with its many concomitant deceptions, lies, and thefts should never be done in His House. Such is obvious. These were not "accidental" but "willful" misdeeds. For such, Christ has woven a scourge from three strands.
And, if His Word is an Imperative and not a suggestion or advisement, what should "we", the modern Christian say of the following verse well-seated in His Communal Legislation found among the scriptures of the Old Testament,
[Exo 22:18-20 KJV] 18 Thou shalt not suffer a witch to live. 19 Whosoever lieth with a beast shall surely be put to death. 20 He that sacrificeth unto [any] god, save unto the LORD only, he shall be utterly destroyed.
[Lev 20:13-16 KJV] 13 If a man also lie with mankind, as he lieth with a woman, both of them have committed an abomination: they shall surely be put to death; their blood [shall be] upon them. 14 And if a man take a wife and her mother, it [is] wickedness: they shall be burnt with fire, both he and they; that there be no wickedness among you. 15 And if a man lie with a beast, he shall surely be put to death: and ye shall slay the beast. 16 And if a woman approach unto any beast, and lie down thereto, thou shalt kill the woman, and the beast: they shall surely be put to death; their blood [shall be] upon them.
We, the modern Christian should simply say, "Yea, and amen! Praise El-Olam."
The verses found in Matthew 5:17-20 (KJV) irreversibly bind three faith groups by establishing the purpose and potency of the Old Testament in the life of the Christian believer. A God-fearing Christian should not be at "odds" with any sincere God-fearing member of Judaism of Islam.
In the permissiveness of modern "developed" nations touting a message of "pluralism", sin abounds and run rampant and roughshod within the ranks of modern God-fearing religious groups. So those who "seek peace and pursue it" might not experience persecution, they must tolerate and live amongst those who advocate for anarchy and the proliferation of unchecked and unpunished sin.
The paradox in all of this is that those who seek peace often find killing difficult. While, traditionally, those who set themselves up as "gods" and promote the genocide of entire groups of humans based upon phenotypical traits versus those of personal character or behavior have very little with killing. They often do not feel an ounce of compunction when an innocent God-fearing person is unjustly killed for reason such as being a member of ethnic group which they loathe. Yet, they worship and idolize those who participate in the sins of Leviticus 20:13-16 when they are glamourized by their society and national media machine,
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