Christianity: A Continuation of Judaism, or a Brand New Covenant?

When Jesus came to earth, He changed religion forever. The implications of His arrival were extremely serious to the devoutly religious audience that he chose. Jesus descended to a people who traced their religion back four thousand years, and their ancestors back to Adam, not to add to their religion, but to completely abolish it and to establish a new one. It must have been extremely difficult for the Jewish people to overcome their proud entrenched ideas, and conform to a completely new order: many never did.

Ephesians 2:14-16 “¹⁴For He Himself is our peace, who made both groups into one and broke down the barrier of the dividing wall, ¹⁵by abolishing in His flesh the enmity, which is the Law of commandments contained in ordinances, so that in Himself He might make the two into one new man, thus establishing peace, ¹⁶and might reconcile them both in one body to God through the cross, by it having put to death the enmity.” The phrase “one new man” is key. There are two words in the Greek for the word “new,” ‘Kainos,’ and ‘Veos.’ ‘Kainos’ literally means “made brand new,” and ‘Veos’ literally means “old made new, or renewed.” The Greek word used in this verse is ‘Kainos.’

Jesus fabricated an entirely brand new religion. The old religion was completed by the establishment of the new one. Jesus wanted the Jewish people to clearly see this, and illustrated it by speaking out against the temple (later allowing it to be destroyed,) and choosing to present the gospel to the gentiles. At times, He did not observe the Sabbath, and overall, His actions on earth portrayed a person out from under the laws of Judaism.

II Timothy 3:16 states that all scripture is inspired by God. With this in mind, God also chose to use the word ‘Kainos,’ not ‘Veos’ in Hebrews 8:7-9 “⁷For if that first covenant had been faultless, there would have been no occasion sought for a second. ⁸For finding fault with them, He says, "BEHOLD, DAYS ARE COMING, SAYS THE LORD, WHEN I WILL EFFECT A NEW COVENANT WITH THE HOUSE OF ISRAEL AND WITH THE HOUSE OF JUDAH; ⁹NOT LIKE THE COVENANT WHICH I MADE WITH THEIR FATHERS ON THE DAY WHEN I TOOK THEM BY THE HAND TO LEAD THEM OUT OF THE LAND OF EGYPT; FOR THEY DID NOT CONTINUE IN MY COVENANT, AND I DID NOT CARE FOR THEM, SAYS THE LORD.”

The word ‘Kainos’ is also chosen in Hebrews 9:15, “¹⁵For this reason He is the mediator of a new covenant, so that, since a death has taken place for the redemption of the transgressions that were committed under the first covenant, those who have been called may receive the promise of the eternal inheritance. ¹⁶For where a covenant is, there must of necessity be the death of the one who made it. ¹⁷For a covenant is valid only when men are dead, ^[b]for it is never in force while the one who made it lives. ¹⁸Therefore even the first covenant was not inaugurated without blood.” Again, a clear distinction is made between the “old,” or “first,” covenant, and the ‘Kainos’ “made brand new covenant.”