What Testament Was In Effect When Jesus Lived, The Old or New?

Many times Bible teachers will speak about New Testament times, referring to the time when Jesus lived.

However, the time Jesus lived, prior to his death and resurrection, is the time of the old testament of law rather than the new testament of grace.

We read many references in the Bible of Jesus referring to the old testament of law, reveling that during his life (prior to his death and resurrection) the time of the old testament of law was in effect.

Before we look at three of these verses, let’s start with Jesus’ birth in Luke 2:22-24.

22When the time came for the purification rites required by the Law of Moses, Joseph and Mary took him to Jerusalem to present him to the Lord 23(as it is written in the Law of the Lord, “Every firstborn male is to be consecrated to the Lord”), 24and to offer a sacrifice in keeping with what is said in the Law of the Lord: “a pair of doves or two young pigeons.”

These verse show that Jesus was born under the old testament law of Moses (Law of the Lord), and Mary and Joseph followed the requirements of the law after the birth of Jesus by offering animal sacrifices.

These sacrifices were a shadow pointing to Jesus who would sacrifice himself for the sins of the world; thus replacing the old testament of law with the new testament of grace (Hebrews 10), and rendering the old testament of law outdated and obsolete (Hebrews 8:13).

Paul writes about how Jesus was born under the law (Galatians 4:4) to free people from the law.

Jesus freed people from the law through his death and resurrection, thus establishing the new testament of grace (Galatians 4).

Now let’s look at three verses that show Jesus lived during the time of the old testament of law and not the time of the new testament of grace.

Matthew 8:4 says,

Then Jesus said to him, “See that you don’t tell anyone. But go, show yourself to the priest and offer the gift Moses commanded, as a testimony to them.”

In this verse, Jesus heals a man with leprosy, telling him to go show himself to the priest.

Jesus told him to do this because this is consistent with the requirements of the old testament of law found in Leviticus 14:1-32.

According to Jesus, the man who was healed was to show himself to the priest and make animals sacrifices (gift) as prescribed by the law of Moses.

These sacrifices were shadows pointing to the new testament of grace established when Jesus shed his blood on the cross (see Hebrews 8-10).

Let’s look at two more verses to demonstrate that when Jesus was alive prior to his death, he was living in the time of the old testament of law.

Matthew 5:23-24 say,

“Therefore, if you are offering your gift at the altar and there remember that your brother or sister has something against you, leave your gift there in front of the altar. First go and be reconciled to them; then come and offer your gift.”

In these verses, Jesus is telling the Jewish people living under the old testament of law (time of the law) that before they present the gift of an animal (for forgiveness and reconciliation with God) to a priest to be sacrificed on the alter outside the temple in Jerusalem, to first go and be reconciled to the person who has something against them, meaning to first seek reconciliation with another person before seeking reconciliation with God through an animal sacrifice under the law of Moses.

Following the death and resurrection of Jesus, the priests were no longer needed, since Jesus was the final priest bringing full and forever forgiveness to the human race (Hebrews 7-10).

The animal sacrifice (gift) Jesus spoke about is a shadow of Jesus himself when he offered himself to God to reconcile humanity to God (Hebrews 7-10).

Under the New Testament, God has reconciled himself to us through the sacrifice of Jesus; therefore God remembers our sins no more (2 Corinthians 5:18-21) - we now have full, forever, and final forgiveness.

Because we have been reconciled to God through the sacrifice of Jesus, we seek reconciliation with people based upon the grace of Jesus given to us when he established the new testament in his blood (Matthew 26:26-28; Luke 22:20).

We don’t seek reconciliation with others so we can be reconciled to God, as they did under the law of Moses in Matthew 5:23-24.

Rather, we seek reconciliation with others because we have been reconciled to God in Christ (Ephesians 4:30-5:2).

As long as Jesus was living, the old testament of law was in effect.

This is why we see Jesus telling people to offer sacrifices in following the law of Moses.

But when Jesus died, the new testament of grace went into effect (Hebrews 9:16-21), resulting in full, final, and forever forgiveness (Hebrews 9:12; 10:17-18).

Why is it important for us to know Jesus did not live during the time of the new testament?

If we do not understand this, we will misinterpret many of the words and teachings of Jesus, thinking they apply to us, when actually many of the words and teachings of Jesus do not apply to us who live under the new testament of grace but only to those living under the old testament of law.

For example, when Jesus says that unless you forgive others God will not forgive you, Jesus is teaching under the old testament law of Moses where forgiveness was conditional.

This is equally true when Jesus tells his disciples that unless they forgive 70 x 7, they will not be forgiven by God.

Both of these teachings, as well as others, are during the time of the old testament of law and not the new testament of grace.

Under the new testament of grace, we forgive others as we have been forgiven by Jesus (Colossians 3:13)

Again, why is it important for us to know Jesus did not live during the time of the new testament?

If we do not understand this, then we will not understand much of Matthew, Mark, Luke, and John.

These books will be constantly miss-understood, miss-taught, and miss-applied.

But most importantly, if we do not understand Jesus lived and taught during the time of the old testament of law, then we will not understand his death, where he established the new testament of grace in his blood.

Just prior to his death, Jesus said that his body and blood were being offered for the new testament, the forgiveness of sins.

When Jesus sent his disciples out with what is commonly called the Great Commission, he is telling them to teach others to observe all that he has commanded them, which was to no longer observe the old testament of law but to observe the new testament of grace established in his blood.

He taught them the new testament of grace in the upper room just prior to this death.

The writer of Hebrews effectively explains to the Jewish people that the blood of Jesus established the new testament of grace, replacing the old testament of law and rendering it outdated and obsolete.

So it is vital if we are to understand the Bible that the time of the old testament of law was while Jesus was living, and the time of the new testament of grace began when Jesus died on the cross - we are living in the time of the new testament of grace not the old testament of law.