49 Bible Verses about Law, Letter And Spirit Of

The Pharisees and some of the scribes who had come from Jerusalem gathered around Jesus. They noticed that some of his disciples were eating with unclean hands, that is, without washing them. (The Pharisees and indeed all the Jewish people don't eat unless they wash their hands properly, following the tradition of their elders. read more.
They don't eat anything from the marketplace unless they dip it in water. They also observe many other traditions, such as the proper washing of washing cups, jars, brass pots, and dinner tables.) So the Pharisees and the scribes asked Jesus, "Why don't your disciples live according to the tradition of the elders? Instead, they eat with unclean hands." He told them, "Isaiah was right when he prophesied about you hypocrites. As it is written, "These people honor me with their lips, but their hearts are far from me. Their worship of me is worthless, because they teach human rules as doctrines.' You abandon the commandment of God and hold to human tradition."

Then some Pharisees and scribes came from Jerusalem to Jesus and asked, "Why do your disciples disregard the tradition of the elders? They don't wash their hands when they eat."

Then the Lord said: "Because these people draw near with their mouths and honor me with their lips, but their hearts are far from me, worship of me has become merely like rules taught by human beings.

While he was having dinner at Matthew's home, many tax collectors and sinners arrived and began eating with Jesus and his disciples. The Pharisees saw this and asked his disciples, "Why does your teacher eat with tax collectors and sinners?" When Jesus heard that, he said, "Healthy people don't need a physician, but sick people do. read more.
Go and learn what this means: "I want mercy and not sacrifice,' because I did not come to call righteous people, but sinners."

Later, he was having dinner at Levi's house. Many tax collectors and sinners were also eating with Jesus and his disciples, because there were many who were following him. When the scribes and the Pharisees saw him eating with sinners and tax collectors, they asked his disciples, "Why does he eat and drink with tax collectors and sinners?" When Jesus heard that, he told them, "Healthy people don't need a physician, but sick ones do. I did not come to call righteous people, but sinners."

Later, Levi gave a large banquet at his home for Jesus. A large crowd of tax collectors and others were eating with them. The Pharisees and their scribes started complaining to Jesus' disciples, "Why do you eat and drink with tax collectors and sinners?" But Jesus answered them, "Healthy people don't need a physician, but sick people do. read more.
I have not come to call righteous people, but sinners, to repentance."

Then he told them, "You have such a fine way of rejecting the commandment of God in order to keep your own tradition! Because Moses said, "Honor your father and your mother,' and, "Whoever curses his father or mother must certainly be put to death.' But you say, "If anyone tells his father or mother, "Whatever support you might have received from me is Corban,"' (that is, an offering to God) read more.
"you no longer let him do anything for his father or mother.' You are destroying the word of God through your tradition that you have handed down. And you do many other things like that."

But he answered them, "Why do you also disregard the commandment of God because of your tradition? Because God said, "You are to honor your father and your mother,' and, "Whoever curses father or mother must certainly be put to death.' But you say, "Whoever tells his father or his mother, "Whatever support you might have received from me has been given to God," read more.
does not have to honor his father.' Because of your tradition, then, you have disregarded the authority of God's word.

Then Jesus told the crowds and his disciples, "The scribes and the Pharisees administer the authority of Moses, so do whatever they tell you and follow it, but stop doing what they do, because they don't do what they say. read more.
They tie up burdens that are heavy and unbearable and lay them on people's shoulders, but they refuse to lift a finger to remove them. "They do everything to be seen by people. They increase the size of their phylacteries and lengthen the tassels of their garments. They love to have the places of honor at festivals, the best seats in the synagogues, to be greeted in the marketplaces, and to be called "Rabbi' by people. "But you are not to be called "Rabbi,' because you have only one teacher, and all of you are brothers. And don't call anyone on earth "Father,' because you have only one Father, the one in heaven. Nor are you to be called "Teachers,' because you have only one teacher, the Messiah! The person who is greatest among you must be your servant. Whoever exalts himself will be humbled, and whoever humbles himself will be exalted. "How terrible it will be for you, scribes and Pharisees, you hypocrites! You shut the door to the kingdom from heaven in people's faces. You don't go in yourselves, and you don't allow those who are trying to enter to go in. "How terrible it will be for you, scribes and Pharisees, you hypocrites! You devour widows' houses and say long prayers to cover it up. Therefore, you will receive greater condemnation! "How terrible it will be for you, scribes and Pharisees, you hypocrites! You travel over land and sea to make a single convert, and when this happens you make him twice as fit for hell as you are. "How terrible it will be for you, blind guides! You say, "Whoever swears an oath by the sanctuary is excused, but whoever swears an oath by the gold of the sanctuary must keep his oath.' You blind fools! What is more important, the gold or the sanctuary that made the gold holy? Again you say, "Whoever swears an oath by the altar is excused, but whoever swears by the gift that is on it must keep his oath.' You blind men! Which is more important, the gift or the altar that makes the gift holy? Therefore, the one who swears an oath by the altar swears by it and by everything on it. The one who swears an oath by the sanctuary swears by it and by the one who lives there. And the one who swears an oath by heaven swears by God's throne and by the one who sits on it. "How terrible it will be for you, scribes and Pharisees, you hypocrites! You give a tenth of your mint, dill, and cummin, but have neglected the more important matters of the Law: justice, mercy, and faithfulness. These are the things you should have practiced, without neglecting the others. You blind guides! You filter out a gnat, yet swallow a camel! "How terrible it will be for you, scribes and Pharisees, you hypocrites! You clean the outside of the cup and the plate, but on the inside they are full of greed and self-indulgence. You blind Pharisee! First clean the inside of the cup, so that its outside may also be clean. "How terrible it will be for you, scribes and Pharisees, you hypocrites! You are like whitewashed tombs that look beautiful on the outside but inside are full of dead people's bones and every kind of impurity. In the same way, on the outside you look righteous to people, but inside you are full of hypocrisy and lawlessness. "How terrible it will be for you, scribes and Pharisees, you hypocrites! You build tombs for the prophets and decorate the monuments of the righteous. Then you say, "If we had been living in the days of our ancestors, we would have had no part with them in shedding the blood of the prophets.' Therefore, you testify against yourselves that you are descendants of those who murdered the prophets. Then finish what your ancestors started! You snakes, you children of serpents! How can you escape being condemned to hell?

After Jesus had said this, a Pharisee invited him to have a meal with him. So Jesus went and took his place at the table. The Pharisee was surprised to see that he didn't first wash before the meal. But the Lord told him, "Now you Pharisees clean the outside of the cup and the dish, but on the inside you are full of greed and evil. read more.
You fools! The one who made the outside made the inside, too, didn't he? So give what is inside to the poor, and then everything will be clean for you. "How terrible it will be for you Pharisees! You give a tenth of your mint, spices, and every kind of herb, but you neglect justice and the love of God. These are the things you should have practiced, without neglecting the others. How terrible it will be for you Pharisees! You love to have the places of honor in the synagogues and to be greeted in the marketplaces. How terrible it will be for you! You are like unmarked graves people walk on them without realizing it." Then one of the experts in the Law told him, "Teacher, when you say these things, you insult us, too." Jesus said, "How terrible it will be for you experts in the Law, too! You load people with burdens that are hard to carry, yet you don't even lift a finger to ease those burdens. How terrible it will be for you! You build monuments for the prophets, and it was your ancestors who killed them! So you are witnesses and approve of the deeds of your ancestors, because they killed those for whom you are building monuments. That is why the Wisdom of God said, "I will send them prophets and apostles. They will kill some of them and persecute others,' so those living today will be charged with the blood of all the prophets that was shed since the foundation of the world, from the blood of Abel to the blood of Zechariah, who died between the altar and the sanctuary. Yes, I tell you, it will be charged against this generation! How terrible it will be for you experts in the Law! You have taken away the key to knowledge. You didn't go in yourselves, and you kept out those who were trying to go in."

Jesus also told this parable to some people who trusted in themselves, thinking they were righteous, but who looked down on everyone else: "Two men went up to the Temple to pray. One was a Pharisee, and the other was a tax collector. The Pharisee stood by himself and prayed, "O God, I thank you that I'm not like other people thieves, dishonest people, adulterers, or even this tax collector. read more.
I fast twice a week, and I give a tenth of my entire income.' "But the tax collector stood at a distance and would not even look up to heaven. Instead, he continued to beat his chest and said, "O God, be merciful to me, the sinner that I am!' I tell you, this man, rather than the other one, went down to his home justified, because everyone who exalts himself will be humbled, but the person who humbles himself will be exalted."

As he was walking along, he observed a man who had been blind from birth. His disciples asked him, "Rabbi, who sinned, this man or his parents, that caused him to be born blind?" Jesus answered, "Neither this man nor his parents sinned. This happened so that God's work might be revealed in him. read more.
I must do the work of the one who sent me while it is day. Night is approaching, when no one can work. As long as I'm in the world, I'm the light of the world." After saying this, he spit on the ground and made mud with the saliva. Then he spread the mud on the man's eyes and told him, "Go and wash in the pool of Siloam" (which is translated "Sent One"). So he went off, washed, and came back seeing. Then the neighbors and those who had previously seen him as a beggar said, "This is the man who used to sit and beg, isn't it?" Some were saying, "It's him," while others were saying, "No, but it's someone like him." But he himself kept saying, "It's me!" So they asked him, "How, then, did you gain your eyesight?" He said, "The man named Jesus made some mud, spread it on my eyes, and told me, "Go to Siloam and wash.' So off I went and washed, and I received my sight." They asked him, "Where is that man?" He said, "I don't know!" So they brought to the Pharisees the man who had once been blind. Now it was a Sabbath day when Jesus made the mud and healed his eyes. So the Pharisees also began to ask him how he had gained his sight. He told them, "He put mud on my eyes, then I washed, and now I can see." Some of the Pharisees began to remark, "This man is not from God because he does not keep the Sabbath." But others were saying, "How can a sinful man perform such signs?" And there was a division among them.

Now if you call yourself a Jew, and rely on the Law, and boast about God, and know his will, and approve of what is best because you have been instructed in the Law; and if you are convinced that you are a guide for the blind, a light to those in darkness, read more.
an instructor of ignorant people, and a teacher of infants because you have the full content of knowledge and truth in the Law as you teach others, do you fail to teach yourself? As you preach against stealing, do you steal? As you forbid adultery, do you commit adultery? As you abhor idols, do you rob temples? As you boast about the Law, do you dishonor God by breaking the Law? As it is written, "God's name is being blasphemed among the gentiles because of you."

"Now therefore, what am I doing here," asks the LORD, "seeing that my people are taken away without cause? Those who rule over them are deluded," says the LORD, "and continuously, all the day long, my name is blasphemed.

Just then a man came up to Jesus. "Teacher," he asked, "what good deed should I do to have eternal life?" Jesus asked him, "Why ask me about what is good? There is only one who is good. If you want to get into that life, you must keep the commandments." The young man asked him, "Which ones?"read more.
Jesus said, ""You must not murder, you must not commit adultery, you must not steal, you must not give false testimony, honor your father and mother,' and, "you must love your neighbor as yourself.'" The young man told him, "I have kept all of these. What do I still lack?" Jesus told him, "If you want to be perfect, go and sell what you own and give the money to the destitute, and you will have treasure in heaven. Then come back and follow me." But when the young man heard this statement he went away sad, because he had many possessions. Then Jesus told his disciples, "I tell all of you with certainty, it will be hard for a rich person to get into the kingdom from heaven. Again I tell you, it is easier for a camel to squeeze through the eye of a needle than for a rich person to get into the kingdom of God." When the disciples heard this, they were completely astonished. "Who, then, can be saved?" they asked. Jesus looked at them intently and said, "For humans this is impossible, but for God all things are possible." "Look!" Peter replied. "We have left everything and followed you. So what will we get?" Jesus told them, "I tell all of you with certainty, when the Son of Man sits on his glorious throne in the renewed creation, you who have followed me will also sit on twelve thrones, governing the twelve tribes of Israel. In fact, everyone who has left his homes, brothers, sisters, father, mother, children, or fields because of my name will receive a hundred times as much and will inherit eternal life. But many who are first will be last, and the last will be first."

As Jesus was setting out again, a man ran up to him, knelt down in front of him, and asked him, "Good Teacher, what must I do to inherit eternal life?" "Why do you call me good?" Jesus asked him. "Nobody is good except for one God. You know the commandments: "Never murder.' "Never commit adultery.' "Never steal.' "Never give false testimony.' "Never cheat.' "Honor your father and mother.'"read more.
The man replied to him, "Teacher, I have obeyed all of these since I was a young man." Jesus looked at him and loved him. Then he told him, "You're missing one thing. Go and sell everything you own, give the money to the destitute, and you will have treasure in heaven. Then come back and follow me." Shocked at this statement, the man went away sad, because he had many possessions. Then Jesus looked around and told his disciples, "How hard it will be for those who are wealthy to enter the kingdom of God!" The disciples were startled by these words, but Jesus told them again, "Children, how hard it is for those who trust in their wealth to get into the kingdom of God! It's easier for a camel to squeeze through the eye of a needle than for a rich person to get into the kingdom of God." The disciples were utterly amazed and asked one another, "Then who can be saved?" Jesus looked at them intently and said, "For humans it's impossible, but not for God. All things are possible for God." Then Peter began to say to him, "See, we have left everything and followed you." Jesus said, "I tell all of you with certainty, there is no one who has left his home, brothers, sisters, mother, father, children, or fields because of me and the gospel who will not receive a hundred times as much here in this world homes, brothers, sisters, mothers, children, and fields, along with persecution as well as eternal life in the age to come.

Then an official asked Jesus, "Good Teacher, what must I do to inherit eternal life?" "Why do you call me good?" Jesus asked him. "Nobody is good except for one God. You know the commandments: "Never commit adultery. Never murder. Never steal. Never give false testimony. Honor your father and mother.'"read more.
The official replied, "I have kept all of these since I was a young man." When Jesus heard this, he told him, "You still need to do one thing. Sell everything you have and give the money to the destitute, and you will have treasure in heaven. Then come back and follow me." But when the official heard this he became sad, because he was very rich. So when Jesus saw how sad he was, he said, "How hard it is for rich people to get into the kingdom of God! Indeed, it's easier for a camel to squeeze through the eye of a needle than for a rich person to get into the kingdom of God." Those who were listening to Jesus asked, "Then who can be saved?" Jesus replied, "The things that are impossible for people are possible for God." Then Peter said, "See, we have left everything we have and followed you." Jesus told them, "I tell all of you with certainty, there is no one who has left his home, wife, brothers, parents, or children because of the kingdom of God who will not receive many times as much in this world, as well as eternal life in the age to come."

At that time, Jesus walked through the grain fields on a Sabbath. His disciples became hungry and began picking heads of grain to eat. When the Pharisees saw this, they told him, "Look! Your disciples are doing what is not lawful to do on the Sabbath!" But he told them, "Haven't you read what David did when he and his companions were hungry? read more.
How is it that he went into the house of God and ate the Bread of the Presence, which was not lawful for him and his companions to eat but was reserved for the priests? Or haven't you read in the Law that on every Sabbath the priests in the Temple violate the Sabbath and yet are innocent? But I tell you, something greater than the Temple is here! If you had known what "I want mercy and not sacrifice' means, you would not have condemned the innocent, for the Son of Man is Lord of the Sabbath." Moving on from there, Jesus went into their synagogue. Suddenly, a man with a paralyzed hand appeared. The people asked Jesus if it was lawful to heal on Sabbath days, intending to accuse him of doing something wrong. But he asked them, "Is there a man among you who, if he had one sheep and it fell into a ditch on the Sabbath, wouldn't take hold of it and pull it out? How much more is a human being worth than a sheep! So it is lawful to do good on Sabbath days." Then he told the man, "Hold out your hand." He held it out and it became normal, as healthy as his other hand. The Pharisees, however, went out and plotted against Jesus to kill him.

One time Jesus was walking through some grain fields on a Sabbath. His disciples were picking the heads of grain, rubbing them in their hands, and eating them. Some of the Pharisees asked, "Why are you doing what isn't lawful on Sabbath days?" Jesus answered them, "Haven't you read what David did when he and his companions became hungry? read more.
How was it that he went into the house of God, took the Bread of the Presence and ate it, which was not lawful for anyone but the priests to eat, and then gave some of it to his companions?" Then he told them, "The Son of Man is Lord of the Sabbath." Once, on another Sabbath, Jesus went into a synagogue and began teaching. A man whose right hand was paralyzed was there. The scribes and the Pharisees were watching Jesus closely to see whether he would heal on the Sabbath, in order to find a way of accusing him of doing something wrong. But Jesus knew what they were thinking. So he told the man with the paralyzed hand, "Get up, and stand in the middle of the synagogue." So he got up and stood there. Then Jesus asked them, "I ask you, is it lawful to do good or to do evil on the Sabbath, to save a life or to destroy it?" He looked around at all of them and then told the man, "Hold out your hand." The man did so, and his hand was restored to health. The others were furious and began to discuss with each other what they could do to Jesus.

Then they went to Capernaum. As soon as it was the Sabbaths, Jesus went into the synagogue and began to teach. The people were utterly amazed at his teaching, because he was teaching them like one with authority, and not like their scribes. All of a sudden, there was a man in their synagogue who had an unclean spirit! He screamed, read more.
"What do you want with us, Jesus of Nazareth? Have you come to destroy us? I know who you are the Holy One of God!" But Jesus rebuked him. "Be quiet," he ordered, "and come out of him!" At this, the unclean spirit shook the man, cried out with a loud voice, and came out of him. All the people were so stunned that they kept saying to each other, "What is this? A new teaching with authority! He tells even the unclean spirits what to do, and they obey him!" At once his fame began to spread throughout the surrounding region of Galilee.

Then Jesus went down to Capernaum, a city in Galilee, and began teaching the people on Sabbath days. They were utterly amazed at what he taught, because his message was spoken with authority. In the synagogue was a man who had a demon. He screamed with a loud voice, read more.
"Oh, no! What do you want with us, Jesus of Nazareth? Have you come to destroy us? I know who you are the Holy One of God!" But Jesus rebuked him. "Be quiet," he said, "and come out of him!" At this, the demon threw the man down in the middle of the synagogue and came out of him without hurting him. Overwhelmed with amazement, they all kept saying to one another, "What kind of statement is this? because with authority and power he gives orders to unclean spirits, and they come out!" So news about him spread to every place in the surrounding region.

Jesus was teaching in one of the synagogues on the Sabbath. A woman was there who had a spirit that had disabled her for eighteen years. She was hunched over and completely unable to stand up straight. When Jesus saw her, he called to her and said, "Woman, you are free from your illness." read more.
Then he placed his hands on her, and immediately she stood up straight and began praising God. But the synagogue leader, indignant because Jesus had healed on the Sabbath, told the crowd, "There are six days when work is to be done. So come on those days to be healed, and not on the Sabbath day." The Lord replied to him, "You hypocrites! Doesn't each of you on the Sabbath untie his ox or donkey and lead it out of its stall to give it some water? Shouldn't this woman, a descendant of Abraham whom Satan has kept bound for eighteen long years, be set free from this bondage on the Sabbath day?" Even as he was saying this, all of his opponents were blushing with shame. But the rest of the crowd was rejoicing at all the wonderful things he was doing.

One Sabbath, Jesus went to the house of a leader of the Pharisees to eat a meal. The guests were watching Jesus closely. A man whose body was swollen with fluid suddenly appeared in front of him. So Jesus asked the Pharisees and experts in the Law, "Is it lawful to heal on the Sabbath or not?" read more.
But they kept silent. So he took hold of the man, healed him, and sent him away. Then he asked them, "If your son or ox falls into a well on the Sabbath day, you would pull him out immediately, wouldn't you?" And they couldn't argue with him about this.

Later on, there was another festival of the Jews, and Jesus went up to Jerusalem. Near the Sheep Gate in Jerusalem is a pool called Bethesda in Hebrew. It has five colonnades, and under these a large number of sick people were lying blind, lame, or paralyzed waiting for the movement of the water. read more.
At certain times an angel of the Lord would go down into the pool and stir up the water, and whoever stepped in first after the stirring of the water was healed of whatever disease he had. One particular man was there who had been ill for 38 years. When Jesus saw him lying there and knew that he had already been there a long time, he asked him, "Do you want to get well?" The sick man answered him, "Sir, I don't have anyone to put me into the pool when the water is stirred up. While I'm trying to get there, someone else steps down ahead of me." Jesus told him, "Stand up, pick up your mat, and walk!" The man immediately became well, and he picked up his mat and started walking. Now that day was a Sabbath. So the Jewish leaders told the man who had been healed, "It is the Sabbath, and it is not lawful for you to carry your mat. But he answered them, "The man who made me well told me, "Pick up your mat and walk.'" They asked him, "Who is the man who told you, "Pick it up and walk'?" But the one who had been healed did not know who it was, because Jesus had slipped away from the crowd in that place. Later on, Jesus found him in the Temple and told him, "Look! You have become well. Stop sinning or something worse may happen to you." The man went off and told the Jewish leaders that it was Jesus who had made him well. So the Jewish leaders began persecuting Jesus, because he kept doing such things on the Sabbath.

Jesus answered them, "I performed one action, and all of you are astonished. Moses gave you circumcision not that it is from Moses, but from the Patriarchs and so you circumcise a man on the Sabbath. If a man receives circumcision on the Sabbath so that the Law of Moses may not be broken, are you angry with me because I made a man perfectly well on the Sabbath? read more.
Stop judging by appearances, but judge with righteous judgment!"

At daybreak he appeared again in the Temple, and all the people came to him. So he sat down and began to teach them. But the scribes and the Pharisees brought a woman who had been caught in adultery. After setting her before them, they told him, "Teacher, this woman has been caught in the very act of adultery. read more.
Now in the Law, Moses commanded us to stone such women to death. What do you say?" They said this to test him, so that they might have a charge against him. But Jesus bent down and began to write on the ground with his finger. When they persisted in questioning him, he straightened up and told them, "Let the person among you who is without sin be the first to throw a stone at her." Then he bent down again and continued writing on the ground. When they heard this, they went away one by one, beginning with the oldest, and he was left alone with the woman standing there. Then Jesus stood up and asked her, "Dear lady, where are your accusers? Hasn't anyone condemned you?" "No one, sir," she replied. Then Jesus said, "I don't condemn you, either. Go home, and from now on don't sin anymore."

When the Pharisees heard that Jesus had silenced the Sadducees, they met together in the same place. One of them, an expert in the Law, tested him by asking, "Teacher, which is the greatest commandment in the Law?"read more.
Jesus told him, ""You must love the Lord your God with all your heart, with all your soul, and with all your mind.' This is the greatest and most important commandment. The second is exactly like it: "You must love your neighbor as yourself.' All the Law and the Prophets depend on these two commandments."

Then one of the scribes came near and heard the Sadducees arguing with one another. He saw how well Jesus answered them, so he asked him, "Which commandment is the most important of them all?" Jesus answered, "The most important is, "Hear, O Israel, the Lord our God is one Lord, and you must love the Lord your God with all your heart, with all your soul, with all your mind, and with all your strength.' read more.
The second is this: "You must love your neighbor as yourself.' No other commandment is greater than these." Then the scribe told him, "Well said, Teacher! You have told the truth that "God is one, and there is no other besides him.' To love him with all your heart, with all your understanding, and with all your strength, and to love your neighbor as yourself is more important than all the burnt offerings and sacrifices." When Jesus saw how wisely the man answered, he told him, "You are not far from the kingdom of God." After that, no one dared to ask him another question.

"When the Son of Man comes in his glory and all the angels are with him, he will sit on his glorious throne. All the nations will be assembled in front of him, and he will cull them out, one from another, like a shepherd separates sheep from goats. He will put the sheep on his right but the goats on his left.read more.
"Then the king will say to those on his right, "Come, you who have been blessed by my Father! Inherit the kingdom prepared for you from the foundation of the world, because I was hungry, and you gave me something to eat. I was thirsty, and you gave me something to drink. I was a stranger, and you welcomed me. I was naked, and you clothed me. I was sick, and you took care of me. I was in prison, and you visited me.' "Then the righteous will say to him, "Lord, when did we see you hungry and give you something to eat, or thirsty and give you something to drink? When did we see you as a stranger and welcome you, or see you naked and clothe you? When did we see you sick or in prison, and visit you?' The king will answer them, "I tell all of you with certainty, since you did it for one of the least important of these brothers of mine, you did it for me.' "Then he will say to those on his left, "Get away from me, you who are accursed, into the eternal fire that has been prepared for the Devil and his angels! Here's why: I was hungry, and you gave me nothing to eat. I was thirsty, and you gave me nothing to drink. I was a stranger, and you didn't welcome me. I was naked, and you didn't clothe me. I was sick and in prison, and you didn't visit me.' "Then they will reply, "Lord, when did we see you hungry or thirsty or as a stranger or naked or sick or in prison and didn't help you?' Then he will say to them, "I tell all of you with certainty, since you didn't do it for one of the least important of these, you didn't do it for me.' These people will go away into eternal punishment, but the righteous will go into eternal life."

For circumcision is valuable if you observe the Law, but if you break the Law, your having been circumcised has no more value than if you were uncircumcised. So if a man who is uncircumcised keeps the requirements of the Law, his uncircumcision will be regarded as circumcision, won't it? The man who is uncircumcised physically but who keeps the Law will condemn you who break the Law, even though you have the written Law and circumcision. read more.
For a person is not a Jew because of his appearance, nor is circumcision something just external and physical. No, a person is a Jew inwardly, and circumcision is a matter of the heart, brought about by the Spirit, not by a written law. That person's praise will come from God, not from people.

Samuel said, "Does the LORD delight as much in burnt offerings and sacrifices as in obeying the LORD? Surely, to obey is better than sacrifice, to pay attention is better than the fat of rams. Indeed, rebellion is the sin of divination, and arrogance is iniquity and idolatry. Because you have rejected this message from the LORD, he has rejected you from being king."

Indeed, you do not delight in sacrifices, or I would give them, nor do you desire burnt offerings. True sacrifice to God is a broken spirit. A broken and chastened heart, God, you will not despise.

To do what is right and just is more acceptable to the LORD than sacrifice.

"How do your voluminous sacrifices benefit me?" the LORD is asking. "I've had enough of burnt offerings of rams and the fat of well-fed beasts. I don't enjoy the blood of bulls, lambs, or goats. "When you come to present yourselves in my presence, who has required you to trample on my courts? Stop bringing useless offerings! Incense is detestable to me, as are your New Moons, Sabbaths, and calling of convocations. I cannot stand iniquity within a solemn assembly.read more.
As for your New Moons and your appointed festivals, I abhor them. They've become a burden to me; I've grown weary of carrying that burden. When you spread out your hands in prayer, I'll hide my eyes from you. Even though you pray repeatedly, I won't listen. Your hands are full of blood, your fingers drenched with iniquity." "Wash yourselves, and make yourselves clean; remove your evil behavior from my presence; stop practicing what is evil. Learn to practice what is good; seek justice, alleviate oppression, defend orphans in court, and plead the widow's case.

This is what the LORD of the Heavenly Armies, the God of Israel, says: "Add your burnt offerings to your sacrifices and eat the meat. Indeed, when I brought your ancestors out of the land of Egypt, I didn't speak or command them about burnt offering and sacrifice, but I did give them this command: "Obey me and I'll be your God, and you will be my people. Walk in all the ways that I command you so it will go well for you.'

For it is love that I seek, and not sacrifice; knowledge of God more than burnt offerings.

"I hate I despise your festival days, and your solemn convocations stink. And if you send up burnt offerings to me as well as your grain offerings, I will not accept them, nor will I consider your peace offerings of fattened cattle. Spare me your noisy singing I will not listen to your musical instruments.read more.
"But let justice roll on like many waters, and righteousness like an ever-flowing river.

How am I to present myself in the LORD's presence and bow in the presence of the High God? Should I present myself with burnt offerings, with year-old calves? Will the LORD be pleased with thousands of rams, or with endless rivers of oil? Am I to give my firstborn to pay for my rebellion, the fruit of my body in exchange for my soul? He has made it clear to you, mortal man, what is good and what the LORD is requiring from you to act with justice, to treasure the LORD's gracious love, and to walk humbly in the company of your God.

You foolish Galatians! Who put you under a spell? Was not Jesus the Messiah clearly portrayed before your very eyes as having been crucified? I want to learn only one thing from you: Did you receive the Spirit by doing the actions of the Law or by believing what you heard? Are you so foolish? Having started out with the Spirit, are you now ending up with the flesh? read more.
Did you suffer so much for nothing? (If it really was for nothing!) Does God supply you with the Spirit and work miracles among you because you do the actions of the Law or because you believe what you heard?

You are demonstrating that you are the Messiah's letter, produced by our service, written not with ink but with the Spirit of the living God, not on tablets of stone but on tablets of human hearts. Such is the confidence that we have in God through the Messiah. By ourselves we are not qualified to claim that anything comes from us. Rather, our credentials come from God, read more.
who has also qualified us to be ministers of a new covenant, which is not written but spiritual, because the written text brings death, but the Spirit gives life.

The woman told him, "Sir, I see that you are a prophet! Our ancestors worshipped on this mountain. But you Jews say that the place where people should worship is in Jerusalem." Jesus told her, "Believe me, dear lady, the hour is coming when you Samaritans will worship the Father neither on this mountain nor in Jerusalem. read more.
You don't know what you're worshiping. We Jews know what we're worshiping, because salvation comes from the Jews. Yet the time is coming, and is now here, when true worshipers will worship the Father in spirit and truth. Indeed, the Father is looking for people like that to worship him. God is spirit, and those who worship him must worship in spirit and truth."

In the same way, my brothers, through the Messiah's body you also died as far as the Law is concerned, so that you may belong to another person, the one who was raised from the dead, and may bear fruit for God. For while we were living according to our human nature, sinful passions were at work in our bodies by means of the Law, to bear fruit resulting in death. But now we have been released from the Law by dying to what enslaved us, so that we may serve in the new life of the Spirit, not under the old writings.

Therefore, there is now no condemnation for those who are in union with the Messiah Jesus. For the Spirit's law of life in the Messiah Jesus has set me free from the Law of sin and death. For what the Law was powerless to do in that it was weakened by the flesh, God did. By sending his own Son in the form of humanity, he condemned sin by being incarnate, read more.
so that the righteous requirement of the Law might be fulfilled in us, who do not live according to human nature but according to the Spirit. For those who live according to the flesh set their minds on the things of the flesh, but those who live according to the Spirit set their minds on the things of the Spirit. To focus our minds on the human nature leads to death, but to focus our minds on the Spirit leads to life and peace. That is why the mind that focuses on human nature is hostile toward God. It refuses to submit to the authority of God's Law because it is powerless to do so. Indeed, those who are under the control of human nature cannot please God. You, however, are not under the control of the human nature but under the control of the Spirit, since God's Spirit lives in you. And if anyone does not have the Spirit of the Messiah, he does not belong to him. But if the Messiah is in you, your bodies are dead due to sin, but the spirit is alive due to righteousness. And if the Spirit of the one who raised Jesus from the dead is living in you, then the one who raised the Messiah from the dead will also make your mortal bodies alive by his Spirit who lives in you.

This, indeed, is what is written: "The first man, Adam, became a living being." The last Adam became a life-giving spirit. The spiritual does not come first, but the physical does, and then comes the spiritual.

not like Moses, who kept covering his face with a veil to keep the people of Israel from gazing at the end of what was fading away. However, their minds were hardened, for to this day the same veil is still there when they read the old covenant. Only in union with the Messiah is that veil removed. Yet even to this day, when Moses is read, a veil covers their hearts. read more.
But whenever a person turns to the Lord, the veil is removed. Now the Lord is the Spirit, and where the Lord's Spirit is, there is freedom. As all of us reflect the glory of the Lord with unveiled faces, we are becoming more like him with ever-increasing glory by the Lord's Spirit.

But if you are being led by the Spirit, you are not under the Law.

Indeed, because it was weak and ineffective, the former commandment has been annulled, since the Law made nothing perfect, and a better hope is presented, by which we approach God. Now none of this happened without an oath. Others became priests without any oath, read more.
but Jesus became a priest with an oath when God told him, "The Lord has taken an oath and will not change his mind. You are a priest forever." In this way, Jesus has become the guarantor of a better covenant.

Now the main point in what we are saying is this: we do have this kind of high priest, who sat down at the right hand of the throne of the Majesty in heaven and who serves in the sanctuary, the true tent set up by the Lord and not by any human. For every high priest is appointed to offer both gifts and sacrifices. Therefore, this high priest had to offer something, too. read more.
Now if he were on earth, he would not even be a priest, because other men offer the gifts prescribed by the Law. They serve in a sanctuary that is a copy, a shadow of the heavenly one. This is why Moses was warned when he was about to build the tent: "See to it that you make everything according to the pattern that was shown you on the mountain." However, Jesus has now obtained a more superior ministry, since the covenant he mediates is founded on better promises. If the first covenant had been faultless, there would have been no need to look for a second one, but God found something wrong with his people when he said, "Look! The days are coming, declares the Lord, when I will establish a new covenant with the house of Israel and with the house of Judah. It will not be like the covenant that I made with their ancestors at the time when I took them by the hand and brought them out of the land of Egypt. Because they did not remain loyal to my covenant, I ignored them, declares the Lord. For this is the covenant that I will make with the house of Israel after that time, declares the Lord: I will put my laws in their minds and write them on their hearts. I will be their God, and they will be my people. Never again will everyone teach his neighbor or his brother by saying, "Know the Lord,' because all of them will know me, from the least important to the most important. For I will be merciful regarding their wrong deeds, and I will never again remember their sins." In speaking of a "new" covenant, he has made the first one obsolete, and what is obsolete and aging will soon disappear.

"Look, days are coming," declares the LORD, "when I'll make a new covenant with the house of Israel and the house of Judah. It won't be like the covenant I made with their ancestors on the day I took them by the hand to bring them out of the land of Egypt. They broke my covenant, although I was a husband to them," declares the LORD. "Rather, this is the covenant that I'll make with the house of Israel after those days," declares the LORD. "I'll put my Law within them and will write it on their hearts. I'll be their God and they will be my people. read more.
No longer will a person teach his neighbor or his relative: "Know the LORD.' Instead, they'll all know me, from the least to the greatest of them," declares the LORD. "Indeed, I'll forgive their iniquity, and I'll remember their sin no more."