Impossible Commandment

God's Commandments are impossible

Neither the Law nor the New Commandment can be fulfilled by a human being

God gave commandments. First, ten. Later, through religious zeal, the Jews turned those ten into many precepts. And they could not keep them either. Not the ancients. Not the moderns. Not the holiest.

Because the truth is simple: all of God's commandments are impossible for a natural human being to fulfill.

The Law was given to reveal, not to transform. Its role was to expose the frailty of the flesh, the inability of man, and to lead him to Christ. As Paul said: “through the Law we become fully conscious of sin.”

Religion increased the burden

Ten commandments would already be impossible. But the teachers of the Law expanded them far too much. And this system of demands became an unbearable burden.

The precepts of the Mosaic Law

Over the centuries, Jewish scholars identified 613 precepts (“mitzvot”) drawn from the Torah (the first five books of Moses):

• 248 positive commandments (“do this”), such as keeping the Sabbath, honoring parents, giving alms, celebrating feasts, offering sacrifices, etc.
• 365 negative commandments (“do not do this”), such as do not kill, do not commit adultery, do not eat certain foods, do not work on the Sabbath, do not touch the unclean, etc.

This structure covered every aspect of life: food, hygiene, clothing, sexuality, justice, agriculture, rituals, sacrifices, social and family relationships.

It was a life completely regulated by the letter of the Law. A heavy yoke.

Peter, in Acts 15, honestly acknowledges:
“Why do you want to test God, by putting on the disciples a yoke that neither we nor our ancestors were able to bear?”

Jesus also denounced this system:
“They tie up heavy burdens and put them on other people's shoulders, but they themselves are not willing to move them with so much as a finger.”

The Law served as a shadow, but it did not make anyone perfect.

The summary of the Law is also insufficient

Jesus and Paul state that the whole Law is summed up in loving God above all things and your neighbor as yourself. But even this summary, though simpler, remains impossible for the natural man.

Because loving my neighbor “as myself” still makes me the measure. And my love for myself is weak, unstable, limited. So that love will never be able to reflect the fullness of God's love.

Hebrews 7:18-19 says clearly:
“The Law was set aside because it was weak and useless (for the Law had made nothing perfect), and a better hope was introduced, by which we draw near to God.”

The New Commandment is also impossible

Jesus gave a new commandment:
“Love one another as I have loved you.”

This is not an improvement on the Law. It is something totally new.
It is a love that has no reference point in man. That does not depend on reciprocity. That does not seek its own interests. That gives itself even when rejected. That forgives during the crucifixion. That serves traitors.

This love cannot be lived by a natural human being.

What is impossible for men…

Jesus said:
“What is impossible for men is possible for God.”

And also:
“Without me, you can do nothing.”

The new commandment is not a call to effort, discipline or religion. It is an invitation to surrender.

Because this love can only be lived in Christ, with Christ formed in us:

• by the grace Jesus brought to the world
• because of the great love with which God loved us
• sending his Holy Spirit to dwell in us

The fruit of the Spirit

Paul says that love is the fruit of the Spirit (Galatians 5:22). It is not a polished human feeling. It is the result of Christ's life in us.

This is the secret of the new commandment:
It is not to be fulfilled.
It is to be lived by a new creature, born of the Spirit.

An easy yoke, a light burden

Jesus makes an invitation with a promise that sets free:
“Take my yoke upon you and learn from me, for I am gentle and humble in heart, and you will find rest for your souls. For my yoke is easy and my burden is light.” (Matthew 11:29-30)

The yoke of religion is heavy, but the yoke of Christ is light. Because it is not about weight on the shoulders, but about life in the heart.

God does not expect our effort

The Gospel is not behavior training. It is a new birth.

God is not trying to improve us. He tells us to crucify our old nature, so that Christ may live in us.

So every time you try to love and cannot, to forgive and feel no strength, to serve and feel exhausted… remember:

It really is impossible. But in Christ, everything becomes possible.