Your Question: The Bible has a lot of teachings that run against to what Jesus taught, such Jacob’s trickery and murdering of enemies. How could that be true?
There are numerous things in the Bible that conflict with what Jesus taught for a variety of reasons.
Not everything is an example to follow
Firstly, not everything found in the Bible is meant to be emulated. Many of the stories are not so much instances as they are cautionaries to us. One illustration of that is when Jacob lies to other people. A story by itself cannot judge what is good or terrible that occurs in it. To decide if anything is good, harmful, or a combination of the two, we need to read the whole of God’s Word. Because the Bible is a book about people, and humans are sinners, a large portion of its content contradicts the teachings of Jesus.
Situation
Secondly, we must determine if a statement made by Jesus is applicable to a given circumstance. In Matthew 5:44, Jesus commanded us to love our adversaries. However, He also said that God will punish his enemies eternally at the end of time (Matthew 25:46). God’s edict to love therefore does not conflict with God’s chastisement of evildoers. You could even argue that evil cannot be unpunished because God loves humans.
Difference between Old and New Testament
Third, the way God treats [his people] in the Old Testament and the way He treats them in the New Testament differs. The Lord bestowed many earthly rewards and meted out earthly penalties throughout the Old Testament. This contained directives to Israel to carry out God’s wrath on nations that had repeatedly and severely transgressed against Him.
God offers his people celestial blessings in the New Testament. Eternal life is given far more attention. Although it will occur on the Last Day, God’s judgment is nevertheless a significant part of the message. It will be Jesus who judges. As Christians, we are spared the judgment of this age. To get sinners to turn from their sin and turn to God, all we need to do is love them and share the gospel.
Higher plane
Fourth, in the teaching of Jesus, the glory and the loveliness of God is displayed in a way that could not be found in the Old Testament yet. The Bible says that in Christ “all the treasures of wisdom and knowledge” are hidden (Colossians 2:3). “In him the whole fullness of deity dwells bodily, and you have been filled in him” (Colossians 2:9,10). No wonder then that since Christ came to express who God really is, God’s children are called to live on a higher plane, displaying more love than we see in the Old Testament. But this should not be taken so far as to suggest they are opposites. In the Old Testament as well as in the New Testament we encounter God as both loving and righteous.
