Many Christians think that the Ten commandments still exist today according to the Sermon on the Mount here:

Matthew 5 “17 “Do not think that I have come to abolish the Law or the Prophets; I have not come to abolish them but to fulfill them. 18 For truly I tell you, until heaven and earth disappear, not the smallest letter, not the least stroke of a pen, will by any means disappear from the Law until everything is accomplished.”

Jesus said that the entire law (613 commandments) would remain until all things were accomplished.

These were the words of Jesus spoken BEFORE the cross, He was talking to Jews and not Gentiles.

If you read the rest of the passage, you will see that Jesus told Israel to be righteous by the Law, not just keeping the ten commandments externally, but being PERFECT as the Father in heaven.

Matthew 5:48 “Be perfect, therefore, as your heavenly Father is perfect.”

Why did Jesus say all this? It was because He was using the Law to show that nobody is righteous by works!

Romans 3 “19 Now we know that whatever the law says, it says to those who are under the law, so that every mouth may be silenced and the whole world held accountable to God. 20 Therefore no one will be declared righteous in God’s sight by the works of the law; rather, through the law we become conscious of our sin.”

On the Cross, Jesus died and ended the Law so that we are Righteous by faith and not by works!!

Romans 10 “Brothers and sisters, my heart’s desire and prayer to God for the Israelites is that they may be saved. 2 For I can testify about them that they are zealous for God, but their zeal is not based on knowledge. 3 Since they did not know the righteousness of God and sought to establish their own, they did not submit to God’s righteousness. 4 Christ is the culmination of the law so that there may be righteousness for everyone who believes.”

Romans 3 “21 But now apart from the law the righteousness of God has been made known, to which the Law and the Prophets testify. 22 This righteousness is given through faith in Jesus Christ to all who believe. There is no difference between Jew and Gentile, 23 for all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God, 24 and all are justified freely by his grace through the redemption that came by Christ Jesus.”

Galatians 2 “16 know that a person is not justified by the works of the law, but by faith in Jesus Christ. So we, too, have put our faith in Christ Jesus that we may be justified by faith in Christ and not by the works of the law, because by the works of the law no one will be justified…..19 “For through the law I died to the law so that I might live for God. 20 I have been crucified with Christ and I no longer live, but Christ lives in me. The life I now live in the body, I live by faith in the Son of God, who loved me and gave himself for me. 21 I do not set aside the grace of God, for if righteousness could be gained through the law, Christ died for nothing!””

The CROSS of Jesus was a MYSTERY that was hidden from Israel. Jesus did not tell Israel that they would be Righteous by the Cross until AFTER He died on the cross.

The Righteousness of Faith through the CROSS was a MYSTERY that was hidden from Israel, so that they would crucify Jesus and bring GRACE to the world.

1 Corinthians 2 “2 For I resolved to know nothing while I was with you except Jesus Christ and him crucified….7 No, we declare God’s wisdom, a mystery that has been hidden and that God destined for our glory before time began. 8 None of the rulers of this age understood it, for if they had, they would not have crucified the Lord of glory. “

This is why Jesus never spoke about the CROSS in the Sermon on the mount. Instead he spoke about Righteousness by the Law so that Israel would be blinded and they would crucify Jesus to END the Law.

On the Cross, ALL things were FULFILLED when Jesus said it was FINISHED. That is when the Law and it’s commandments were abolished.

John 19:30 “30 When he had received the drink, Jesus said, “It is finished.” With that, he bowed his head and gave up his spirit.”

Ephesians 2 “14 For he himself is our peace, who has made the two groups one and has destroyed the barrier, the dividing wall of hostility, 15 by setting aside (ABOLISHING) in his flesh the law with its commands and regulations. His purpose was to create in himself one new humanity out of the two, thus making peace, “

When Jesus died on the cross, the law ended.

Galatians 3 “23 Before the coming of this faith, we were held in custody under the law, locked up until the faith that was to come would be revealed. 24 So the law was our guardian UNTIL Christ came that we might be justified by faith. 25 Now that this faith has come, we are no longer under a guardian (Law).”

The Old Covenant was the Law (Ten commandments) that passed away on the CROSS.

But it fully disappeared after 40 years when Jerusalem was destroyed.

Hebrews 8:13 “13 By calling this covenant “new,” he has made the first one obsolete; and what is obsolete and outdated will soon disappear.”

Luke 21 “20 “When you see Jerusalem being surrounded by armies, you will know that its desolation is near. 21 Then let those who are in Judea flee to the mountains, let those in the city get out, and let those in the country not enter the city. 22 For this is the time of punishment in FULFILLMENT of ALL that has been written…..32 “Truly I tell you, this generation will certainly not pass away until all these things have happened. 33 Heaven and earth will pass away, but my words will never pass away.”

The Law was fulfilled and ABOLISHED in that 40 year period from the CROSS in AD30 to when Jerusalem was destroyed in AD70.

Those were the LAST DAYS of Israel when the Law ended.

That GENERATION (40 years from AD30-AD70) saw the FULFILLMENT of all things that Jesus spoke – when the Law was abolished on the Cross and it disappeared when Jerusalem was destroyed..

Jesus was saying that His words would not pass away even if the world will end.

He did not mean that the Law remains until the end of the world.

It’s a figure of speech – saying that HIS WORDS will remain forever even if the world will end…what He says will happen and cannot be stopped.

His words were fulfilled on the Cross.

What did Jesus say on the CROSS?

IT IS FINISHED – the Law ended on the cross.

Do you want proof? – Jerusalem was destroyed in AD70 so that the Law was destroyed and removed from the face of the earth.

Under the Law, the world was locked under sin until Jesus died.

Today the Law does not exist.

The Old Covenant was replaced by the New Covenant.

Law was replaced by Grace.

Jesus took away the sins of the world on the CROSS by removing the law to bring eternal life to all men.

Jesus forgave all the sins of the world.

Believe in Jesus to receive the forgiveness of sins!