all that stuff is still in play

Not really, at least not in the sense of needing to follow the commandments and whatnot given to ancient Jews. Jesus came to fulfill the law, that means the law that existed is still important for edification, but he established a new law to take its place.

So the value of the old testament is mostly to understand how God delivered his people and expects obedience. Jesus has the same message, but the new law is simpler:

1. Love God
2. Love your neighbor

There are some new observances expected (e.g. baptism, taking the bread and wine, etc), but those are merely part of the two great laws (you’ll obey God if you love him, you won’t kill a neighbor you love, etc).

The old laws of sacrifice, passover observance, etc are all fulfilled and replaced with a simpler law, which is possible because of Jesus’ sacrifice. The old law isn’t changed, it’s replaced in it’s entirety.

That said, there are additional proscriptions in the new testament, such as obesity, drunkenness, etc (see 1 Cor. 6:12-20) because your body is a temple. But again, that circles back to the first law, God gave you your body, and mistreating it disrespects him (e.g. how would you feel if you gave a gift to a friend and they destroyed it?).

Jesus doesn’t seem to expect the old law to be enforced (see the prostitute that Jesus forgave instead of carrying out the Jewish law of stoning), but instead replaces it with a more flexible law, but that law carries greater personal responsibility because you’re judged by your intent, not the actions themselves.

A lot of denominations just skip to the interesting parts, like pulling random verses to demonize their enemies and justify their actions. That misses the whole point since the entire gospel is about love to God and your fellow man.

Nah, I like the idea of the reader never quite being sure.