I was thinking of all this when I read Jesus’ words in the
Sermon on the Mount.
Do
not think that I have come to abolish the law or the prophets; I have come not
to abolish but to fulfill. For truly I
tell you, until heaven and earth pass away, not one letter, not one stroke of a
letter, will pass from the law until all is accomplished. Therefore, whoever breaks 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 never enter the kingdom of heaven. (Matt. 5: 17-20)
The scribes and Pharisees were always accusing Jesus of
trying to do away with the law. Jesus
would do something like healing someone on the Sabbath, and the scribes and
Pharisees would freak out. “You broke
the law!” they’d say. “You’re trying to
throw away what Moses and the prophets gave us!” they’d say. But he wasn’t. You see, Jesus was there when the “basic
tune” – the law – was given to Moses.
What Jesus did with the law was what every jazz, blues, and bluegrass
artist does. He danced with it.
The “law” never was the point, anyway. The law was meant to point us to a greater
reality…God, and God’s love for us and desire to be in relationship with us.
The scribes and Pharisees (both in Jesus’ day and in ours) are so obsessed with
following the law with mathematical precision that they miss the whole
point.
It’s like my dog, Daisy.
I could point to something that I wanted her to see. Instead of looking at the thing I wanted her
to see, she would stare at my hand. (Try
this sometime with your own dog.) The
scribes and Pharisees were focused on the hand, and not what the hand was
pointing to.
A musician can play a piece of music with technical
correctness…hit the right notes and all…and not make music. Does that make
sense? Likewise, a person could keep all
the commandments technically, and still miss out on the kingdom of God. That’s why Jesus said that we would never see
the kingdom of God if our righteousness didn’t exceed that of the scribes and
Pharisees.
So we don’t throw out the law. We don’t take our scissors and cut the parts
of our Bible we don’t like out of there.
Neither do we focus on the law so intently that we miss what the law is
pointing to…loving God…loving our neighbor.
When we do this the right way, it’s magical!
