JESUS AND THE TORAH

JESUS AND THE TORAH

The Judaism represented by the Mishnah and later writings offers
knowledge of God through the Torah and instruction on the right
conduct of life through learning in the Torah. God enters the world
through the Torah, and the way of life of that Judaism finds its
definition in thoughtful study of the Torah and the practice of its
teachings. For Christians, Jesus Christ the Incarnation of God accords
that same knowledge and instruction, the record of his days on earth
in the Gospels forming a narrative of what happens when God is
made flesh. The way of life set forth by both Judaisms found its
definition in imitating God. Humanity has been made “in our image,
after our likeness” (Genesis 1:26; 9:6). The task of Israel is to show
what it means, then, to be “like God.” The individual and “Israel”
serve as examples of the same thing, namely, God’s love, which is all
the greater because the person and the social entity are informed of
that love.