Below is the YouTube description and Claude.ai’s summary of the transcript of Ross Nichol’s “Sunday School” YouTube video “Did Jesus Point to Moses?” as recorded live on 12/7/2025. The transcript is in his directory in Dropbox. Claude was told to preserve Ross’ logical progression in making his points.
YouTube Description:
Exploring the Faith of Jesus Within the Religion of Moses. Who was Jesus—religiously? According to the earliest sources, both canonical and extra-canonical, Jesus of Nazareth continually directed his followers toward “Moses”—not a person alone, but a faith and practice embodied in the Torah. Long before Christianity existed, Jesus lived and taught as a Jew within the diverse Judaisms of the first century, embracing certain Mosaic commandments as foundational while sharply challenging other interpretations of Moses current in his day. In this class, we will examine how Jesus is portrayed as both appealing to Moses and disputing with those who claimed to represent Moses. How did he understand the path to eternal life? What did he believe was the true “faith of Moses”? And why does he at times condemn the religious leaders who “sit in Moses’ seat” while seemingly affirming their authority? We will also consider the ancient Ebionite understanding of Jesus—a portrait that preserves early views of a Torah-faithful teacher whose message stood in tension with other forms of emerging Judaism. Join us as we explore a provocative question: When Jesus pointed his followers to Moses, which Moses did he mean—the Moses of his own reading, or the Moses presented by his religious opponents? And what might this reveal about the message he intended to preserve?
Claude.ai’s Summary of the Transcript
Opening Premise: Meeting Moses to Understand Jesus
Nichols argues that understanding Jesus requires understanding Moses and the Torah. The canonical Gospels present a Torah-observant Jesus who debates and teaches “his version of Moses.” To understand Jesus, one must be familiar with the various Jewish groups of his time (Sadducees, Pharisees, Essenes) and how they interpreted Moses.
Statistical Foundation
Nichols provides evidence of Moses’ centrality in the Gospels:
- Moses is mentioned 20 times in the synoptic gospels
- “Law” (Torah) appears 17 times
- “Commandments” appears 6 times
Jesus is presented as “born under the law” with his infancy narratives referencing Mosaic customs and laws.
The Religion OF Jesus vs. Religion ABOUT Jesus
Nichols distinguishes between:
- Religion of Jesus: Based on Moses’ Torah, focused on keeping commandments.
- Religion about Jesus: Later development claiming the law is “done away with”.
Salvation According to Jesus
Examining three parallel accounts (Matthew 19:16, Mark 10:17, Luke 18:18), Nichols shows that when asked “What must I do to inherit eternal life?” Jesus consistently answers: “Keep the commandments.“
All three accounts list commandments primarily from the Ten Commandments, but Matthew and Mark each add commandments from Leviticus 19:
- Matthew adds: “Love your neighbor as yourself” (Lev 19:18b)
- Mark adds: “You shall not defraud” (Lev 19:13)
The Greatest Commandment: “An Inside Job”
Jesus identifies the greatest commandments as:
- Love God with all your heart, soul, and mind (Deuteronomy 6:4-5)
- Love your neighbor as yourself (Leviticus 19:18)
Nichols emphasizes that the phrase “with all your heart, with all your soul” appears exclusively in Deuteronomy (4:29, 6:5, 10:12, 11:13, 13:4, 26:16, 30:2, 6, 10). This points to an internal, heart-based Torah faith – “an inside job” – which is the essence of true religion.
He connects this to James 1:27 (pure religion is caring for orphans and widows) and James 2:8 (the “royal law” of loving your neighbor).
Not All of Moses is From Moses
Nichols argues that Jesus himself indicates not everything in the Pentateuch is equally authoritative:
The Circumcision Paradox: John 7:22 contains a parenthetical statement noting circumcision is “not from Moses, but from the patriarchs.” Nichols points out that Moses’ own writings emphasize circumcision of the heart (Deuteronomy 10:16, 30:6), not flesh. Additionally, Joshua 5 reveals no circumcisions occurred during 40 years of wilderness wandering under Moses’ leadership.
The Divorce Debate: In Matthew 19:3-9, when asked about divorce, Jesus distinguishes between what God intended “from the beginning” (lifelong marriage) and what “Moses allowed you because of your hardness of heart.” This suggests some Mosaic laws were accommodations rather than ideals.
Commands That Were “Not Good”
Nichols cites Ezekiel 20:25: “Moreover, I gave them statutes that were not good and ordinances by which they could not live.” He argues this cannot refer to child sacrifice (which God explicitly says never entered his mind in Jeremiah 7:31, 19:5), but rather to other laws that were accommodations.
Examples of non-ideal but accommodated laws:
- Rules of warfare (Deuteronomy 20-21)
- Captive women policies
Nichols notes Isaiah 2:4’s vision of a future with no war, questioning whether warfare laws will be relevant in the age to come.
The Ebionite Key
Nichols introduces the Ebionites (Jewish Christian groups, Jesus’ first followers), who were criticized for:
- Mixing law and grace
- Believing the Pentateuch had been corrupted with both true and false elements
The Ebionites had a variant of Matthew 22:29/Mark 12:24. Instead of “you know neither the Scriptures nor the power of God,” their version read: “you know neither the true things of Scripture nor the power of God.”
Their interpretive principle: “Become honest money changers who can distinguish between genuine and false coins” – meaning discern what is authentically Mosaic from what was added.
The Test of Authenticity
The Ebionites used Matthew 5:17 (“not one letter will pass from the law until all is fulfilled”) as a test: If something from the law no longer exists, it wasn’t original. Since heaven and earth still endure, anything that has passed away wasn’t authentic Torah.
Two major examples:
The Monarchy: Deuteronomy 17:14-20 anticipates a king, but in 1 Samuel 8, Samuel and God both act surprised by the request. God tells Samuel the people rejected Him by asking for a king. The law about kingship was written down at that time (1 Samuel 10:25), suggesting it wasn’t there “from the beginning.” Jesus speaks of the “kingdom of God,” not a Davidic monarchy.
Sacrifices: Hosea 6:6 (quoted twice by Jesus in Matthew 9:13 and 12:7) states: “I desire steadfast love and not sacrifice, the knowledge of God rather than burnt offerings.” Nichols argues God explicitly says He does not desire sacrifices – this isn’t about having the right heart while sacrificing, but about sacrifice itself not being what God truly wants.
Conclusion
Nichols argues that the religion of Jesus points back to the core of Moses’ Torah: an internal, heart-centered faith focused on loving God and neighbor. Not all laws in the Pentateuch reflect this original vision – some were accommodations for “hardness of heart,” and the truly authentic elements can be discerned by whether they endure and align with Jesus’ teaching about what matters from “the beginning.”
