The Ten Commandments and the Teachings of Jesus: A Theological, Cultural, and Political Exposition
1. Introduction
The second commandment addresses the manner in which God is to be worshipped. While the first commandment prohibits false gods, the second prohibits the false representation of the true God. It establishes that God cannot be contained in physical form, and to do so is to reduce His glory, mislead His people, and degrade the worship relationship. Jesus’ teachings and identity sharpen this distinction, ultimately revealing Himself as the true image of the invisible God (Col. 1:15). This entry examines the theological, historical, and Christological dimensions of this commandment.
2. Text and Translation
“You shall not make for yourself an idol, or any likeness of what is in heaven above or on the earth beneath or in the water under the earth; you shall not bow down to them or worship them. For I, the Lord your God, am a jealous God…”
— Exodus 20:4–5a, cf. Deuteronomy 5:8–9
Hebrew: לֹא תַעֲשֶׂה לְךָ פֶסֶל (lō’ ta‘ăśeh lekā pesel) – “You shall not make for yourself a carved image”
The command specifically targets physical representations (pesel, often statues or idols), extending to anything resembling created beings—celestial, terrestrial, or aquatic. It is not merely about idolatry in general, but about how God is to be approached: without material mediation.
3. Historical and Cultural Background
The cultures surrounding ancient Israel—Egypt, Canaan, Mesopotamia—were all deeply iconographic. Deities were represented in:
- Animal–human hybrids (e.g. Horus, Anubis)
- Stone, wood, or metal statues
- Sacred objects or symbolic animals (e.g. bulls, serpents)
These idols were not merely artistic but active spiritual loci—places where gods were believed to reside and receive worship.
The Golden Calf incident (Exod. 32:1–6) is a direct violation of this command. Notably, Aaron did not claim to introduce a new god, but tried to represent Yahweh through an image:
“This is your god, O Israel, who brought you up out of the land of Egypt.” (Exod. 32:4)
Thus, the second commandment also prohibits misrepresenting God, even with sincere intent.
4. Theological Significance
The second commandment protects two key theological truths:
- God is spirit and invisible (Exod. 33:20; John 4:24)
- God defines Himself; human imagination may distort Him (Isa. 40:18–25)
To reduce God to an image:
- Limits His transcendence
- Distorts His holiness
- Substitutes human control for divine mystery
Idolatry not only dishonours God—it deforms the worshipper:
“They who make them become like them; so do all who trust in them.”
— Psalm 115:8
The spiritual consequence is clear: image-worship shapes us into less-than-human beings, trading glory for shadow (Rom. 1:23).
5. Jesus and the Image of God
Jesus’ coming transforms the understanding of divine image. He is not a man-made idol, but the perfect, divinely appointed self-revelation of God.
“He is the image of the invisible God, the firstborn of all creation.”
— Colossians 1:15
“Whoever has seen Me has seen the Father.”
— John 14:9
This does not violate the second commandment, because:
- Jesus is not a likeness made by humans
- He is not a substitute for God, but God Himself incarnate
- His “image” is not static material but a living Person
Thus, Christ supersedes the Old Testament prohibition without negating its theological foundation. In Jesus, God is no longer abstractly invisible but personally present, not carved from stone but born of a woman (Gal. 4:4).
6. Jesus’ Teaching on Worship
Jesus reorients worship away from location, image, and ritual, toward spirit and truth:
“The hour is coming, and is now here, when the true worshippers will worship the Father in spirit and truth… God is spirit, and those who worship Him must worship in spirit and truth.”
— John 4:23–24
This aligns with the second commandment’s rejection of external forms as mediators of divine presence. Jesus embodies and teaches a direct, internalised relationship with the Father, made possible by the Spirit.
7. Contemporary Violations and Applications
Modern believers may not bow before statues, but the spirit of idolatry remains.
Forms include:
- Visual overdependence: substituting icons, imagery, or emotional experiences for God Himself
- Celebrity Christianity: elevating pastors or public figures as spiritual proxies
- Cultural nationalism: equating God’s kingdom with national symbols or political agendas
- Theology of control: crafting a “God” who agrees with personal preferences
The second commandment calls for humility, purity of vision, and reverent awe of God’s transcendence. Only Christ is the proper image—not created by us, but given to us.
8. Conclusion
The second commandment forbids worshipping God through images—not because God is remote, but because He is holy, free, and self-revealing. Jesus Christ fulfils the command not by cancelling it, but by being the true image through whom God is known. In the age of visual saturation and spiritual consumerism, this command remains a vital safeguard for authentic worship and theological clarity.