Monday: Jesus Deepened the Meaning of the Law
After establishing the perpetuity of the Ten Commandments, Jesus continued His Sermon on the Mount, now setting forth a few specific examples of Old Testament laws. People had so greatly misunderstood these specific commandments that Jesus felt the vital need of explaining their true meaning.
Image © Krieg Barrie from GoodSalt.com
What contrast did Jesus make with each aspect of the law mentioned in the Sermon on the Mount? To what authority did He appeal in each case? Matt. 5:21-44.
Note that in each instance Jesus first cites an Old Testament text (Exod. 20:13-14; Deut. 5:17-18; Exod. 21:24; Lev. 24:20; Deut. 19:21) and then appears to argue against it. Was Jesus discrediting the law? Of course not. By further explaining and expanding what the religious leaders had narrowed down to nothing but formality, He was simply contrasting the teachings of the Pharisees with the true meaning of the law.
The rabbis cited tradition as their authority for their interpretation of the law. In contrast, Christ spoke on His own authority, as the Lawgiver Himself. The expression but I say unto you
appears six times in this chapter. Who alone but the Lord Himself could rightly make a claim like that?
What’s fascinating, too, is that Christ’s requirements went radically beyond the simple form of the law. His teachings included the spirit behind the letter of the law. The spirit that imparts meaning and life to what otherwise can only be pure formalism. Law-keeping, in and of itself, as an end in itself, leads to nothing but death if the law is not understood as an expression of what it means to be saved by grace.
Consider the scribes’ and Pharisees’ attitudes as described in Matthew 23:3-5, Mat. 23:23-28. How can we obey God’s commandments wholeheartedly without falling into similar hypocrisy and legalism? What crucial role does understanding grace play in sparing us from legalism?
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Christ came so that the burden that had been loaded on believers through legalism could be made lighter.They now needed to know that vainly craming and clinging on to the law could not amount to anything if their moral character was wanting.Their daily undertakings were to testify their law abiding.Thus the law was to act like a mirror.This is a great lesson for us today,the law directs us to Christ in whom its fullfilled.What the law could not do grace came in to accomplish.
We are thankful that our good Lord saw the need to take the noose from around our necks. It is so much easier to praise when we know that it is possible to keep the whole law now that He has given us a better insight of the law. Let us encourage each other in upholding the law and setting the standards for others to follow. By so doing we can represent our calling to be sons and daughters of God.
We can do nothing of ourselves it is salvation through Jesus Christ that enables us to keep the commandments, our love for Christ empowers us. Therefore we should be on our knees daily. Our righteous are like filthy rags!
For various reasons Jesus statement on divorce in the Sermon on the Mount is often skirted over or given very little attention. Sometimes other areas Jesus addressed, like adultery, oaths, murder, retaliation and love are quickly read without a pause to reflect on the deep and far reaching significance of what He was saying.
Jesus was not just concentrating on legalism and pointing to a higher standard. He was also concerned about hypocrisy – preaching one thing and practicing another or requiring of another a standard we do not intend to meet ourselves. Some of what was outlined was already understood, but was unfavorable because of what would be required. This concern is highlighted in Matthew 23:3-5 and Matthew 23:23-28.
It becomes us to check ourselves on how committed we are to what we teach and the law in its highest sense, as opposed to conveniently using grace as a way to get around what God requires and simply making provision for the flesh.
A special feature of Christ's ministry was his compassion for those caught up in messy relationships. While there was always the admonition to "Go and sin no more!" there was the compassion of not offering condemnation to those who were broken.
Justice must go hand in hand with mercy. Forgiveness and restoration must be seen as part of the deal. We need to remember that while we are condemned by the law, we are saved by grace.
Yes, Hugh, there does seem to be avoidance of the passage on divorce. Yet, if we are faithful to the Word, we must preach the whole Word. Jesus was amazing in His ability to speak plainly enough for there to be no excuse for continuing in sin, while He made plain also the remedy for sin. He hated the sin while loving the sinner. May God help us to hate sin as He did. And in our reaching out to others, may He help us to be both as plain and as loving in our spheres as He was in His.
Jesus discussed divorce plainly.... Mark 10:1-12 and Matthew 19:1-10. The Bible says God hates divorce, Malachi 2:16. Old testament law did permit divorce Deutoronomy 24:1. Jesus said that marital unfaithfulness was the only acceptable reason to divorce. However with SDA denomination the other acceptable reason to permit divorce is when there is physical abuse, which makes sense. You need to separate the abused and abuser before one get killed.
Jesus skillfully expounded the physical and spiritual application of the law. His summary of the law is LOVE THY NEIGHBOR AS THY SELF. He specifies to LOVE our enemies: pray for their well-being, do good to those who hate you and mistreat you. I admit that I am struggling with this admonition. Jesus took the time to show us true godliness. I realize that only through the power of God I can LOVE those who despise me.
Jesus said "These you ought to have done, without leaving the others undone". When a person does "pay tithe of mint and anise and cumin", that person will be judged by some believers as that person is practicing legalism. The pendulum of believer's opinions swings in both directions.
Oh, that more Christians would love their Lord so much that they would be careful about what the world calls the little things of obedience. Yes, there would be misunderstanding and even persecution, but that's the price of unconditional devotion to Christ. "Yes, and all who desire to live godly in Christ Jesus will suffer persecution." (2 Timothy 3:12) That persecution will not only be from outside the church.
The author asks, "How can we obey the commandments wholeheartedly without falling into similar legalism and hypocrisy?" I believe that the only way to avoid this is to do whatever Our Father asks us to do Because WE LOVE HIM. The apostle Paul said it like this-'the love of Christ constrains us." It is God's unselfish and extravagant love for us, and our 'reciprocal' love for Him that should motivate us to surrender to His will, obey his commandments and accomplish any assignment He gives us. Any obedience or service that is motivated by anything else will place us on the path to legalism and hypocrisy. It would therefore serve us well to constantly check our motives and honestly question our reasons for doing the good we do.
Only by obeying His commandments and daily surrendering to Him can we know His will for us...until we have done so we are thoroughly exposed to satan and his lies. 2 Corinthians 5:15 should be a constant reminder to all who choose to follow Christ. Making this scripture a part of us, will allow us to daily be drawn closer to Jesus, and most of all we will tell others of his unconditional love and mercies towards us...while stripping satan of his power over us. When we start being the stones for His kingdom building as He has ordained all Christians to be, we will convey His goodness without trepidation. A true and pure relationship with Jesus negates self, therefore, no need for others to analyze our relationship with God, or question the meaning of our worship or deeds performed.
Have you ever noticed that 8 out of the 10 commandments start with "You shall not" or REST! One may argue the fifth commandment starts with honour your father and mother - but this also means REST in your christian parents' leadership and guidance - or do not revolt against them.
The one which begins with - Remember - ends up telling us also to REST "for in six days the Lord made the heavens and the earth, the sea, and all that is in them, and rested the seventh day. Therefore the Lord blessed the Sabbath day and hallowed it."
Brothers and sisters I believe that the ten commandments are the encapsulation of the Gospel - Matt 11:28 "Come to Me, all you who labor and are heavy laden, and I will give you REST." That is the reason why in verse 20 of Exodus 20 - And Moses said to the people, “Do not fear [Human fear]; for God has come to test you, and that His fear [holy fear] may be before you, so that you may not sin.” In order for us to REST from sinning and REST in God, we need to have holy fear - love, gratitude, respect, honour, acknowledgement, reverence for God. This only comes from knowing what He has done for us (He had just rescued the children of Israel from under the Egyptian bondage), He died on the cross for to save us - all this knowledge through the study of His Word.
God bless.
As we study the ten commandments, lets remember Hebrews chapter 4 as well. Verse 9 says "There remaineth therefore a rest to the people of God." As the people of God, lets keep his REST by obeying his 10 commandments.
Verse 10 (Hebrews 4) is even more profound! "For he that is entered into His REST, he also hath CEASED FROM HIS OWN WORKS, as God did from His."
And the icing of the cake is even better: Vs. 11 "Let us labour therefore to enter into that rest, lest any man fall after the same example of unbelief."
I think the heart of the matter to the question given is this: do we follow God by being Law-abiding TO BE SAVED or BECAUSE WERE SAVED – it is an ever so slight but fundamental difference.
Consider: if one were to ask, “can we be saved apart from holy-living?” some might say “no.” But in doing so we have agreed that our GOOD CONDUCT is at least one CONDITION of our Salvation. Therefore it cannot be based on Christ’s Atonement alone, and Salvation is therefore NOT UNCONDITIONALLY GUARANTEED. If it is not guaranteed then we now have a VESTED INTEREST in ensuring we keep the Law – in other words, because of this NON-GUARANTEE there becomes a fear in losing our eternal lives and we therefore keep the Law to strive to SAVE OURSELVES – this inescapably turns us inward-looking. But in doing so we have conceded that we keep the Law for our own SELF-GAIN, namely so that ‘we might be saved.’ And the result of keeping the Law in this way is what we would define as LEGALISM (keeping the Law to be saved) and thus we are GUARANTEED to LOSE OUR LIVES since our CONDUCT is unavoidably MOTIVATED by SELF-INTEREST and not selfless love. What a fix we are therefore in.
Now consider if we were to change our answer to “yes” to the question “can we saved apart from holy-living?,” a totally new set of possibilities emerge. Suddenly the self-interest is removed because now salvation is GUARANTEED by JESUS’ CONDUCT and not our own – in other words, no matter what we try to do, it does not add to what Jesus ALREADY DID to save us COMPLETELY and UNCONDITIONALLY by HIS Law-keeping. And now because self-interest is taken out of the way we can truly follow His Law out of TRUE UNADULTERATED SELFLESS LOVE due to having ALREADY BEEN SAVED. Ultimately, it allows the Heart to be free to Truly Love Him in return.
Some might say that this gives the possibility that others would take this as a LICENCE TO SIN. Sure, there is that possibility. Indeed with every great sacrifice comes great risk that some may misuse it. But the POSSIBILITY to be MOTIVATED BY TRUE SELFLESS UNADULTERATED LOVE nevertheless remains. We have to accept that some will always pervert the Sacrifice. But the fact remains that the unconditional Sacrifice guaranteed that as we stumble and trip on our way we do not lose our salvation since it was based on His merit alone and has been accomplished already. Ultimately, it is a heart issue, and it is God who reads the Heart. Therefore it doesn’t necessitate that we throw away the Unconditional Salvation that the Sacrifice gave us because others misuse it.
An illustration to put it into perspective, and none better than one from war since we are in a spiritual war. I remember the film ‘Saving Private Ryan’ by Steven Spielberg. You know the film, where Tom Hanks plays an army captain, and his unit do all they can to save an unknown private named Ryan. The whole endeavour ends up being accomplished at the expense of nearly all of their lives, including the Captain’s life. But what struck me was the very last words he uttered to Ryan before his eyes deadened as he succumbed to his injuries incurred from trying to save Ryan. He simply whispered, “Live True.” The unfathomable sacrifice that was given, and the tragedy of life lost stirred something powerful and inexplicable in Ryan that he never forgets. The picture merges from Ryan the young man to Ryan the old man starring at Hanks’ grave, whilst the music emotively continues, and the memory of that unfathomable sacrifice feels ever-present. Ryan replies, “I have done all I could to ‘Live True’…” and breaks down sobbing on his knees, the memory of the sacrifice indelibly etched onto his heart as if it were yesterday. It is because he knows that what Hanks’ did those many years ago cannot be repaid, even by his ‘living true,’ or taken back. It was done. The sacrifice was made. His life was saved. All was accomplished so that Ryan may live, and that sacrifice could never be changed. And he knows that he can’t repay his Captain, because the Captain is dead. The Captain gave his life that he might be saved and live true. He didn’t have to ‘live true’ but he does so, not to earn anything in return, but because he is moved by an indescribable love that drives him from the core of his being.
It wasn’t theology or doctrinal arguments that he felt. He felt the indescribable and powerful love of that person, and he could do nothing but love him in return. And love is inexplicable. It is not just a principle, it is not just an emotion, it is something that perhaps we may never be able to explain but something that we all understand – I think love is best described as an unfathomable force of life. And that is exactly what happened at the Cross. It was more than argument, more than theology, more than life itself – I call it the Greatest Love Story in the Greatest War Story of All Time. Something happened that day that saved us – unfathomable and maybe indescribable but something that stirs the love deeply engrained within us and brings us to our knees sobbing. And until we understand that Indescribable Sacrifice, that Unfathomable Love, that Unconditional Acceptance, we will not be able to understand what it truly means to love back, and generate what can only be generated out of love – honor.
Conditional Acceptance makes True Selfless Love and Honor Impossible.
Unconditional Acceptance makes True Selfless Love and Honor a Reality.