What do you think about the rules and laws we live by every day? Laws enacted by governments. Unwritten rules of social interaction. Why do we need all these rules? Why can't we just have the freedom to do what we want? Secular philosophers would say that rules and laws exist so that people can interact with each other in a reasonably peaceful and orderly manner, to avoid conflicts as much as possible. Christian theologians would generally agree with that and would also add that rules and laws also exist so that people can have a peaceful and appropriate interaction with God.
Pharisees - "Letter of the Law"
There was a group of religious leaders in Judea during Jesus' time here on earth who had a very legalistic, technical understanding of the law. They would spend hours at a time studying, parsing, and discussing the Law of Moses. Their goal was to define the law in such a way that they could do certain things and avoid certain things so they could say they successfully obeyed all of the Law, that is, so they could say they were "righteous". What was their idea of "righteous"?
- What is the minimum I can do to stay within the letter of the law?
- What actions can I do to earn "brownie points" with God?
- What can I do to earn my ticket into Heaven?
- What can I do so that everyone will know that I obey all the rules?
Jesus - "Spirit of the Law"
In Matthew Chapter 5 Jesus gave us some guidance on how we should view laws and rules, and his guidance comes down to attitude and motive being the key to “keeping the law”; that “keeping the law” was about being concerned for and caring about others. I want to look at a couple of examples from that chapter.
Anger
“You have heard that it was said to an older generation, ‘Do not murder,’ and ‘whoever murders will be subjected to judgment.’ But I say to you that anyone who is angry with a brother will be subjected to judgment." (Matthew 5:21-22 NET)In defining the true meaning of the law, Jesus goes beyond the action of murder to the motive or attitude of anger. Jesus looks at our attitude, our motive, what is in our heart, before we ever take a violent action. If you are angry with your brother you are just as guilty of breaking the law as if you had murdered him. What is Jesus' remedy to this situation?
So then, if you bring your gift to the altar and there you remember that your brother has something against you, leave your gift there in front of the altar. First go and be reconciled to your brother and then come and present your gift. (Matthew 5:23-24 NET)Jesus wants us to take the initiative and reconcile with our brother, to live in peace and harmony as much as possible. By the way, the word "brother" here does not just refer to your physical blood brother, it refers to relatives, friends, classmates, co-workers, anyone you know and interact with.
Getting Even
There is a term used today: "I will get even with him." There is a biblical term in the Law of Moses that has a similar meaning: "An eye for an eye and a tooth for a tooth". Many saw this phrase in the law as approval for or even a requirement for retaliating for a wrong done to you, but this phrase was actually intended to be a limit on retaliation. In other words, if someone wrongfully takes something from you, you cannot take back any more than they took from you. But what does Jesus say about this:
“You have heard that it was said, ‘An eye for an eye and a tooth for a tooth.’ But I say to you, do not resist the evildoer. But whoever strikes you on the right cheek, turn the other to him as well. And if someone wants to sue you and take your tunic, let him have your coat also. And if anyone forces you to go one mile, go with him two. Give to the one who asks you, and do not reject the one who wants to borrow from you."Jesus seems to go beyond limiting retaliation; he seems to say that, not only should we not retaliate ("get even"), we should sacrifice something of ourselves and do good to the person who has wronged us. Again, Jesus is looking at our motives and attitudes, not just our actions.
(Matther 5:38-42 NET)
A Higher Standard
Jesus is calling us to a higher standard than just obeying the letter of the law, a standard of loving and caring about the other person, even if they have wronged us; a standard based not only on our actions, but more importantly on the attitude in our heart.
A few days before he was crucified, Jesus was being harassed by the legalistic Pharisees, trying to trip him up with their legal tricks. What was his response?
Now when the Pharisees heard that he had silenced the Sadducees, they assembled together. And one of them, an expert in religious law, asked him a question to test him: “Teacher, which commandment in the law is the greatest?” Jesus said to him, “‘Love the Lord your God with all your heart, with all your soul, and with all your mind.’ This is the first and greatest commandment. The second is like it: ‘Love your neighbor as yourself.’ All the law and the prophets depend on these two commandments.”---
(Matthew 22:34-40 NET)
Scripture quoted by permission. Quotations designated (NET) are from the NET Bible®
copyright ©1996-2016 by Biblical Studies Press, L.L.C. http://netbible.com All rights reserved.
This post is the result of my studies based on the book by Mark E. Moore, Core 52: A Fifteen-Minute Daily Guide to Building your Bible IQ in a Year, published by WaterBook (Penguin Random House)
Trade Paperback ISBN 978-0-525-65325-7
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