In Leviticus, God sets all these rules for his chosen people to follow. Why then do we as Christians not follow these rules? Weren’t we all Jews to begin with? Wasn’t Jesus Jewish? Wasn’t he a descendant of God’s chosen people? So, shouldn’t we be following his traditions that were set down for him?
The answer to this question is complex. First of all, yes, Jesus was Jewish. It is also true, however, that he took a radical approach to his Jewish faith. He believed he had come to fulfill various parts of the law and to inaugurate a new covenant.
—Ben Witherington III