Not a very helpful response ...
Are Christians remaining true to Israel? Shame or Glory? (or new rules?)
Well not so much 'new rules' as a 'new' commandment as outlined by Christ – Love God and love thy neighbour (cf John 13:34). I say 'new' because it is the same commandment, the scope of which was misunderstood by Israel, as spoken by the scribe of the 'school of John' (the author of the Johannine Epistles): "Dearly beloved, I write not a new commandment to you, but an old commandment which you had from the beginning. The old commandment is the word which you have heard. Again a new commandment I write unto you, which thing is true both in him and in you; because the darkness is passed, and the true light now shineth" (1 John 1 John 2:7-8).
Israel is to be honoured in the recognition that their God was not (as perhaps their first founders believed) a more powerful God than the gods of their neighbours, but the One True God, whereas those of their neighbours were not 'Gods' at all, thus we have the essence of Hebrew monotheism, but contained within in the 'form' of Israel that remained true to the circumcision of the flesh rather than of the heart (Jeremiah 9:26 and Romans 2:29) – that is a tribe, or the twelve tribes, and not every nation on earth.
Christ then 'opened up' the Covenant to the whole world, and rebuked the Jews for not doing so from the beginning. I think this extract from Mark says volumes, so please allow a lengthy citation (Mark 7:1-10):
"And there assembled together unto him the Pharisees and some of the scribes, coming from Jerusalem. And when they had seen some of his disciples eat bread with common, that is, with unwashed hands, they found fault. For the Pharisees, and all the Jews eat not without often washing their hands, holding the tradition of the ancients:"
If 'all the Jews' wash their hands, then the 'common' mark refers to might well mean the Gentiles, or at least those Gentiles who had embraced Jewish religious ideas.
"And when they come from the market, unless they be washed, they eat not: and many other things there are that have been delivered to them to observe, the washings of cups and of pots, and of brazen vessels, and of beds."
Keep that description in mind ...
"And the Pharisees and scribes asked him: Why do not thy disciples walk according to the tradition of the ancients, but they eat bread with common hands? But he answering, said to them: Well did Isaias prophesy of you hypocrites, as it is written: This people honoureth me with their lips, but their heart is far from me. And in vain do they worship me, teaching doctrines and precepts of men. For leaving the commandment of God, you hold the tradition of men, the washing of pots and of cups: and many other things you do like to these. And he said to them: Well do you make void the commandment of God, that you may keep your own tradition. For Moses said: Honour thy father and thy mother; and He that shall curse father or mother, dying let him die."
This I could suggest is Christ chastising the Jews for 'confining' the Covenant within their own cultural traditions, that is within their tribal heritage. If we wanted to go further, we could say honouring thy father and thy mother means Adam and Eve and their descendants, the human race.
So I don't see 'new rules' so much as the 'old rules' expressed universally, as applying to all. Christ asserts the pure principle – indeed He is that Principle (Logos) incarnate, the Logos is Love – love God (the vertical axis) and love thy neighbour (the horizontal). A love that's all-inclusive because there is but One God, who is God and Father of all.
In the Parable of the Prodigal Son, it is Israel who is the older brother, who remained close to his Father's side from the beginning of time. We are the younger brother, the prodigal – whom He has brought home.
