Fulfilling the Law (Part 1)

Many of the biggest debates in any society revolve around the question of the law and how it should be applied. Is law about punishing crime or maintaining justice? Must we stick to the letter of the law or can we judge the intent behind it? Do extenuating circumstances matter when deciding a question of innocence and guilt? Are all parts of the law equally pursued, or are some things seen as more important than others? And who gets to decide? If these questions are as prevalent and important as they are when considering secular law, one can very well imagine how much more critical they become when law is considered sacred, as it is in Judaism.

We see different ideas about the Law of Moses throughout the Old Testament. The Prophets kept hammering home the importance of the social justice provisions of the Law, which rulers were apparently as apt to conveniently ignore then as they are today, and insisting that the rich not get preferential treatment. Jeremiah spoke of a day when the Law would no longer be external but internal, written on the hearts of the faithful (31.33). Isaiah showed an openness in thinking about the Law, prophesying a day when eunuchs (prevented by the Law of Moses from participating in public worship) would be welcomed into the house of God, and when Gentiles would flood Jerusalem to sing God’s praises. But figures like Ezra had a more closed view, even to the point of insisting that returning exiles who had married Gentiles must divorce them. The many different Jewish sects or parties of Jesus’ day also reflected differing approaches to the Law. The Sadducees emphasized those laws that dealt with Israel’s liturgical and ritual life. The Qumran community wanted to keep all of the Law meticulously — including those parts which speak of strict separation from Gentiles. The Pharisees established buffers around individual laws in order to ensure they didn’t even come close to violating them.

The point here is that Judaism has always been united around the principle of law-keeping, but there has always been great disagreement about what that actually looks like in practice. In the next section of the Sermon on the Mount (Matthew 5.17-48), we have Jesus’ approach to this all-important question. He begins:

Do not think that I have come to abolish the law or the prophets; I not have come to abolish but to fulfill. For truly I tell you, until heaven and earth pass away, not one letter or stroke, will pass from the law until all things come to pass. Therefore, whoever loosens one of the least of these commandments, and teaches others to do the same, will be called least in the kingdom of heaven; but whoever does them and teaches them will be called great in the kingdom of heaven. For I tell you, unless your righteousness exceeds that of the scribes and Pharisees, you will not enter the kingdom of heaven. (Matthew 5.17-20)

These are strong words — and words that come as a shock to some Protestants more familiar with Paul’s Letter to the Romans than the Gospels. At first glance, it appears Jesus is coming down on the side of the Pharisees, but then he adds that even they don’t go far enough. I’m sure this would have created a lot of confusion in his audience. How can one go further than those who already go to the most extreme lengths?

But what comes next is even more surprising. He radicalizes the Law, turning it inside out — or better, outside in. The next six teachings all have the same basic structure. Jesus introduces a stipulation from the Law of Moses (or common interpretation thereof) but then shifts the scope of that law. For the first four, he shifts the focus away from external behaviours to internal motivations and desires. He first tackles murder:

You have heard that it was said to those of ancient times, “You shall not murder”; and “whoever murders shall be put to judgement.” But I say to you that if you are angry with a brother or sister, you will be put to judgement; and if you say to your brother or sister,’You idiot!’, you will be put before the council; and if you say, “You fool!”, you will be fit for the fire of Gehenna. So when you are offering your gift at the altar, if you remember that your brother or sister has something against you, leave your gift there before the altar and go first be reconciled to your brother or sister, and only then return and offer your gift. Come to agreement quickly with your accuser while you are on the road with him, lest your accuser hand you over to the judge, and the judge to the guard, and you will be thrown into jail. Truly I tell you, you will never get out until you have paid the last penny. (5.21-26)

According to Jesus, we shouldn’t pat ourselves on the back for obeying the law not to kill. The true scope of what God’s Law is about is the heart — the ideas, thoughts, feelings, and ruminations that lead to behaviours. So, if we are angry with someone, are scornful or insulting toward them, or don’t do everything we can to reconcile with them before going to worship, we’re not living in full accordance with God’s ways.

He then does the same thing for laws against adultery (5.27-30), divorce (5.31-32), and bearing false witness under oath (5.33-37), and the principles of retributive justice (5.38-42) and doing good to one’s friends and family (5.43-47). If you are following God’s Law, you will not give space to lustful thoughts about someone ‘off-limits’ or to the hard-heartedness that leads to marital breakdown. Likewise you won’t need to worry about bearing false testimony under oath because your word will be so aligned with the truth that oaths are irrelevant. The teachings on retribution and love are different enough to require their own post, but similar ideas are at play. The Law of Moses can guide people to the right path but doesn’t go far enough to reach the real destination. And, as Jesus concludes this section of the Sermon on the Mount, that destination is nothing less than perfection: “Be perfect, therefore, as your heavenly Father is perfect” (5.48).

This is, to put it mildly, a tall order. In fact, it’s impossible. Such perfection is well beyond human capacity. We are finite beings in a fallen world, after all. Even if we could attain such perfection of motivation, it’s not possible to live fully into all of our relationships, since we have to make choices with our time, energy, and resources. The point of Jesus’ teaching on perfectionism isn’t that he actually expects perfection, but that he’s trying to get everyone to recognize that they’re in the same boat before God. No matter if you keep the Law as strenuously as a Pharisee or are one of the stereotypical ‘sinners’ with whom Jesus liked to spend time, there is no room for any self-righteousness or self-congratulation. Everyone is in need of God. Everyone is in need of salvation. Everyone is in need of grace.

This is a consistent teaching of Jesus throughout the Gospels, and has echoes in the epistles of John (”whoever obeys his word … has reached perfection” (1 John 2.5)) and James (pretty much all of James 2!) as well. And, while he comes at the question from a different direction, it’s also ultimately Paul’s teaching. If we follow the train of thought of Romans, the whole point of the book is to get Jewish and Gentile believers on the same page that they are all on the same footing before God, equally in need of God’s grace and the salvation that comes only through genuine, faithful relationship with God in Jesus through the transforming power of the Holy Spirit. The Law is good as far as Paul is concerned, but is powerless to enact the internal change necessary to live to the fullest expression of God’s heart in the world.

So then, Jesus’ teaching here about the Law is radical. He flips it on end and turns it inside out. Essentially, he upholds the Law in order to tear down legalism.

How might we apply this in our own lives? There are two sides to this. First, it applies literally. We are called to live as fully as possible into God’s ways. And that means guarding our hearts, thoughts, and intentions as much as our actions. But second, the consequence of this should never be to create an ‘us’ and ‘them’ of ‘saints’ and ‘sinners’, ‘believers’ and ‘infidels’. For in pursuing God’s ways, we will always realize how far we are from actually succeeding in them, and this means we’re in the same boat as everyone else. Our own inability to live in the ways we are called to is therefore an infinite well of empathy and grace towards everyone else who doesn’t get it right.

This is powerful stuff, and really, it’s the heart of the Gospel message.

Thanks be to God!