The apostle John tells us that "the law was given by Moses, but grace and truth came by Jesus Christ." In that section of the sermon on the mount which comprises the fifth chapter of Matthew, exclusive of the first sixteen verses, Jesus shows the relation of the Christ-idea to divine law and also to human legislation; and he illustrates his teaching by expounding certain of the commandments and laws of Moses in the light of this idea.
Jesus affirms the manifestation of the Christ-idea to be not only in harmony with the law and the prophets, but to be the legitimate and inevitable result of their activities; and in defense of the old commandments of the Jewish law he reads into them the spirit of his new commandment: "That ye love one another; as I have loved you, that ye also love one another." which after all is not a foreign graft upon these precepts, but a return to their original intent, and is rather the sign of their coming into their own; for love is the basis of law, and its reflection through the dominance of ethical rightness in the affairs of men is the fulfilling of the law.
Although these passages show Jesus to be the great exponent of law, it is evident that he did not regard the authorization of specific precepts or statutes as the distinguishing feature of this office. The law which Jesus taught and exemplified was not of his own making; neither is it within the power of any human code to give it the expression which he knew to be needful. This law as understood in Christian Science proceeds from infinite divine Principle. Principle is by its nature permanent. It remains changeless throughout the ages. Legislation changes, for it is finite and must change or fail to meet the varying demands of changing times. Its provisions may prove to be good under the conditions of today and evil under the conditions of tomorrow. Legislation, at its best, is an attempt to apply the rule of right to shifting mortal conditions. In so far as it really makes for this end, it may serve for the time as a partial expression of the changeless and eternal law; but it cannot fully embody that law, and therefore does not share its permanence. The statute admits of exceptions because it falls short of its intent and fails to express Principle adequately. Divine law admits of no exceptions.
