Christianity's Dirty Secret

When Paul returned to Jerusalem after having spread Christianity among the Gentiles, some of the local Christians jumped on him for requiring Gentile converts just to obey the seven Noahide laws and accept Jesus Christ as their lord and savior, without having to convert to Judaism. Peter defended him (Acts 15:10) in part as follows:

Now then, why do you try to test God by putting on the necks of Gentiles a yoke that neither we nor our ancestors have been able to bear?

In other words, the first Christians, who started out as Jews, were motivated by a desire to get out from under the burden of the 613 commandments. This despite Jesus' own message, in the Sermon on the Mount (Matthew 5:18) that his followers still were bound by Halakha, and later (Matthew 23:2-3) that if you want to know the Halakha, ask the Pharisees.

The irony is that Jesus placed a much heavier burden on his followers. The Sermon on the Mount, by deeming sinful thoughts to be just as evil as sinful deeds, sets the bar too high:

Matthew 5:21-22:

You have heard that it was said to the people long ago, ‘You shall not murder, and anyone who murders will be subject to judgment.’ But I tell you that anyone who is angry with a brother or sister will be subject to judgment.

Matthew 5:27-28:

You have heard that it was said, ‘You shall not commit adultery.’ But I tell you that anyone who looks at a woman lustfully has already committed adultery with her in his heart.