According to Francis it was not necessary for Jesus to have come and died for the old law was never revoked!
247. We hold the Jewish people in special regard because their covenant
with God has never been revoked, for “the gifts and the call of God are
irrevocable” (Rom 11:29).
Francis, EVANGELII GAUDIUM
Pope
Piux XII, Mystici Corporis Christi, 29-30: “…the New Testament took the
place of the Old Law which had been abolished…but on the gibbet of His
death Jesus made void the Law with its
decrees fastened the handwriting of the Old Testament to the Cross. On
the Cross then the Old Law died, soon to be buried and to be a bearer of
death, in order to give way to the New Testament of which Christ had
chosen the Apostles as qualified ministers.”
The Catechism of
the Council of Trent: Part III: The Decalogue: “With regard to the
exposition of this Commandment, the faithful are carefully to be taught
how it agrees with, and how it differs from the others, in order that
they may understand why we observe and keep holy not Saturday but
Sunday. The point of difference is evident. The other Commandments of
the Decalogue are precepts of the natural law, obligatory at all times
and unalterable. Hence, after the abrogation of the Law of Moses, all
the Commandments contained in the two tables are observed by Christians,
not indeed because their observance is commanded by Moses, but because
they are in conformity with nature which dictates obedience to them.”[3]
Council of Florence: “that the matter pertaining to the law of the Old
Testament, of the Mosaic law…although they were suited to the divine
worship at that time, after our Lord’s coming had been signified by
them, ceased, and the sacraments of the New Testament began.”[4]
Pope Urban VIII, Profession of Orthodox Faith, 1642: “Similarly, we
profess that the legalities of the Old Testament, the ceremonies of the
Mosaic Law, the rites, sacrifices, and sacraments have ceased at the
coming of Our Lord Jesus Christ; they cannot be observed without sin
after the promulgation of the Gospel. The distinction of clean and
unclean foods found in the old Law pertains to the ceremonies which have
passed away with the rise of the Gospel. The Apostles' prohibition on
food offered to idols, blood, and the meat of strangled animals was
suitable at that time to remove cause for disagreement between Jews and
Gentiles; but since the reason for this prohibition has ceased to be,
the prohibition too has come to an end.”
Pope Benedict XV, Ex
Quo, 63: “The second consideration is that although the ceremonial
precepts of the old Law have come to an end with the promulgation of the
Gospel, and the new Law does not contain any precept which
distinguishes between clean and unclean foods, nevertheless the Church
of Christ has the power of renewing the obligation to observe some of
the old precepts for just and serious reasons, despite their abrogation
by the new Law.”[5]
The Fathers (representative sample of their consensus):
St. John Chrysostom: “Yet surely Paul’s object everywhere is to annul
this Law….And with much reason; for it was through a fear and a horror
of this that the Jews obstinately opposed grace” (Homily on Romans,
6:12); “And so while no one annuls a man’s covenant, the covenant of God
after four hundred and thirty years is annulled; for if not that
covenant but another instead of it bestows what is promised, then is it
set aside, which is most unreasonable” (Homily on Galatians, Ch 3);
St. Augustine: “Instead of the grace of the law which has passed away,
we have received the grace of the gospel which is abiding; and instead
of the shadows and types of the old dispensation, the truth has come by
Jesus Christ. Jeremiah also prophesied thus in God’s name: ‘Behold, the
days come, says the Lord, that I will make a new covenant with the house
of Israel, and with the house of Judah...’ Observe what the prophet
says, not to Gentiles, who had not been partakers in any former
covenant, but to the Jewish nation. He who has given them the law by
Moses, promises in place of it the New Covenant of the gospel, that they
might no longer live in the oldness of the letter, but in the newness
of the spirit” (Letters, 74, 4);
Justin Martyr: Now, law placed
against law has abrogated that which is before it, and a covenant which
comes after in like manner has put an end to the previous one; and an
eternal and final law – namely, Christ – has been given to us, and the
covenant is trustworthy…Have you not read…by Jeremiah, concerning this
same new covenant, He thus speaks: ‘Behold, the days come,’ says the
Lord, ‘that I will make a new covenant with the house of Israel and with
the house of Judah…’” (Dialogue with Trypho, Ch 11).
Scripture’s Testimony:
Hebrews 7:18: “On the one hand, a former commandment is set aside because of its weakness and uselessness ”
Hebrews 10:9: “He abolishes the first in order to establish the second
Hebrews 8:13: “In speaking of a new covenant he treats the first as
obsolete. And what is becoming obsolete and growing old is ready to
vanish away
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