Jesus is not interested in followers who are mainly interested in promoting themselves. Self-promotion takes the spotlight away from the Jesus Christ, who literally does the promoting from death to life. Since Jesus Christ is the only One who is able to give eternal life to His followers, He is the one who must be known to all.

Those Jesus describes as hypocrites want to be seen as somehow especially close to God because of their overt religiosity. Ironically, this makes others feel God is somehow only interested in performance rather than rescue. Jesus’ mission is not moral or religious reform. His mission is redemption. There is a big difference.

Inherent in the desire for adulation by the masses is lifting oneself up by putting others down. It is a way of saying, “See, I’m more righteous than you are!” The last thing such a person wants is universal righteousness, because there would be no reason to show off. Gilbert and Sullivan’s lyrical words say it well, “When everyone is somebody then no one’s anybody.” The hypocrisy Jesus is referring to may well be that of saying that everyone should be redeemed while showing off how much better they are than the unredeemed multitude.

Jesus’ commission to His disciples involves being an example of redemption, not of moral or religious coercion. Moral coercion (especially by hypocrites) leads to compliance at best or disillusionment and falling away at worst. Jesus is interested only in the nurturing, growth and overcoming that come from His Spirit within a believer. It is a new heart that seeks to promote redemption of others to new life. That heart leads to the promotion or lifting up of the other person rather than the self.

Acts of charity or worship need to be done out of a pure heart, not a self-serving one. Avoiding public exposure of one’s acts of help or worship (where possible) will go a long way toward focusing on redemption rather than adulation.

With the demise of the Sinai/Deuteronomic Covenant in 586 BC, there needed to be a New Exodus, led by a New Moses. Jesus’ ministry is described by the Gospel writers in terms and symbolism that would be understood in “New Exodus” terms. The Sermon on the Mount becomes, the “Ten Commandments” of Jesus. Jesus plays the role of both Moses, who gathers them, and God, who speaks the terms and conditions of the New Covenant to a people who, while freed from sin, have not yet entered the Promised Land of the Kingdom of God.

Like the previous covenant, the terms and conditions reflect both current circumstances and promises for the future. It reflects the reality that Jesus’ disciples, while soon to be freed from the ultimate penalty for sin, will remain physically captives in a world still under the thrall of Gentile empires. The lack of temporal power (and frequently literal servitude) of the majority of Jesus’ disciples conditions many of the requirements of this covenant.

Before I understood the above, I could make no sense of both the similarities and differences between Old and New Covenants. For instance, the lack of a Sabbath command in Jesus’ Sermon on the Mount made no sense until I understood that He was addressing a physically enslaved people who did not control their own country. There could be no universal Sabbath (especially for the land-sabbath) without full territorial sovereignty. Besides this, many Gentile believers would come from the slave classes. Requiring a rest day for believers who were slaves of non-believing Gentiles would have imposed an impossible burden upon them.

Knowing that God tailors the covenant to its current circumstances enables us to see another dimension of His grace. He doesn’t make capricious requirements that automatically put our lives in jeopardy. While this does not completely rule out persecution that leads to death in an individual’s life, it does make sure that the deck is not stacked in favour of immediate and fatal confrontation.

What About “an Eye For an Eye?”

With this in mind, an examination of Jesus’ Ten Commandments proper displays this thread of avoidance of direct, fatal confrontation with the hated Roman authorities. I think this is in the background of Jesus’ instructions about retaliation and loving enemies in Matt. 5:38-48.

Jesus’ Fourth Commandment: Jesus’ reference to the Sinai Covenant’s “eye for an eye” principle is loaded with background that is rarely discussed. For instance, few of us notice that the principle was a civil regulation intended to limit the escalation of violence between unarmed civilians during normal, everyday disputes.

Zealots among the subjugated Jewish population seem to have been using that law to justify escalation of violence by civilians against an occupying army. That use was totally against the original intent of limiting violence by limited retaliation.

It is important to note that the Romans had no such limiting principles when it came to suppressing rebellion. Applying “an eye for an eye” to the occupying Romans was essentially an invitation for far more brutal retaliation by Rome. Jesus knew He was sending His disciples out as sheep among wolves, so there was no point in telling them to band together to provoke the wolves. Wolves are better armed and usually better organized than sheep.

Besides, protecting sheep from wolves is what shepherds are for.

So how does one resist the urge to retaliate? Jesus’ answer: love your enemies and do good to those who hate you. Jesus shocks His audience by expanding the concept of “neighbour” to include not only Gentiles, but even enemies!

Jesus also shocks them by playing the “don’t be like the Gentiles” card when defining the difference between His teaching and the common misinterpretation of the command to love one’s neighbour. Jesus is telling them that they are exactly like their most hated foes if they love only their friends.

Showing love for one’s enemies is also a prophetic sign to the world. Jesus wants the world to know, through His disciples, that He will usher in a world in which there are no longer any enemies. Living now as though that were the case is a sign of our deeply-held belief in its future reality. A deep knowledge that today’s enemy may become, in God’s time, an eternal neighbour, may go a long way toward reducing the desire to retaliate.

Even better would be a complete transformation of the heart and mind, such as that predicted in Jeremiah 31:31.

The heart of God toward sinners is revealed in Jesus’ notion of becoming perfect sons of our perfect Father. Jesus uses the example of how God causes the sun to rise on the evil, and causes the rain to fall on the just and the unjust. In other words, God gives the non-believer even the breath he or she uses to curse Him. Retaliation is not the main motivation in God’s character. If that were the case, not a single human being would survive. A strong desire for doing good to all, including even our enemies, comes naturally to those who allow their minds to be transformed by the Holy Spirit.

This section of Jesus’ Sermon on the Mount will be a very good one to keep foremost in our minds if our Western society becomes, as some are predicting, increasingly hostile to expressions of Christianity.

With Jesus on the Mountain, surrounded by His disciples and a multitude, we have a picture of God once again giving His Ten Commandments. In a previous post, we covered how radically different these commandments are from the original Ten Commandments. We also covered the first two commandments: 1) murder/anger/put-downs and 2) adultery/divorce. In both cases, the solution to the problem is prevention of bitterness by proactive reconciliation and mutual respect.

Jesus’ Third Commandment is instruction about vows. In short, don’t bother with vows. If we are speaking the truth, God will back us up without the need to invoke His name. If the lie we are telling brings dishonour upon God, He will be our judge whether we have invoked His name or not.

It goes without saying that making an oath in the name of any other god is completely out of the question for a Christian. There are, however, areas involving oaths and truthfulness that are less black and white.

For instance, does Jesus’ statement about “letting your ‘yes’ be yes and your ‘no’ be no is commonly understood to require a standard of truthfulness for every occasion. Is this really the case? There may be circumstances in a dangerous world in which doing God’s will might involve, shall we say, less than full disclosure. For instance, was it wrong for believers in Nazi Germany to lie about whether they were harbouring Jews in their homes? Must believers be completely up-front about distributing Bibles in closed countries?

(There is a similar common understanding about the command against “false witness” in the original 10 Commandments. In that command, the key words are “against your neighbour.” This is a command against slander or false conviction in court. It is not a command requiring truthfulness for all occasions. Naturally, things work much more smoothly if truthfulness is generally adhered to, but that is not the purpose of this particular command. The purpose of the command is to prevent damage to a person’s reputation by slander or to prevent wrongful conviction of innocent persons by false accusation.)

Like its elder counterpart, the language of Jesus’ commandment seems to involve formal, legally binding promises rather than everyday truthfulness. Where possible, making a solemn declaration is to be preferred over making an oath in God’s name. In regular life, wisdom and discretion must prevail in decisions about disclosure and responses to questions. Once again, truth is almost always to be preferred over falsehood under normal circumstances. There may be, however, times when hiding or diverting the truth are the right thing to do. Obadiah’s hiding of 100 prophets of God during the reign of Ahab is one such instance. He could not have hidden and fed them without some sort of cover-up and a network of conspirators. He was apparently a trusted employee of the king who ordered their imprisonment. Leading such a double life undoubtedly involved some degree of duplicity in his dealings with the king, but God does not seem to be excessively troubled by this.

One thing that might not be familiar to the normal Bible reader is the fact that, with the exception of judicial matters, making vows was optional. Jesus seems to be referring to optional vows made regarding offerings to God. If this is the case, this optional vowing may often involve a sort of public boasting about what you intend to do for God. Jesus covers public piety in more detail in other portions of the sermon. Why get God’s name involved if you don’t have to?

If Jesus is referring to all forms of vows, including the judicial, one may ask whether Jesus’ words are intended as a total prohibition or as sage advice to cover most contingencies. For instance, would a Christian be prohibited from holding any job or office that required an oath of allegiance or secrecy in God’s name? Are Christians prohibited from any court testimony that requires an oath?

I’m not sure of the answer to the questions in the preceding paragraph. I think Jesus is referring to the optional vows in this case, rather than all forms of vows. There are probably times when you have no choice but to sign an oath of office or secrecy or allegiance. However, getting God’s name involved in backing up my word still makes me nervous. My understanding of the above could easily be wrong, so wherever possible I try to “solemnly declare” instead of swearing an oath.

God expelled His chosen people out of the Promised Land because they made a public mockery of His great name. Attaching His name to my promises opens me up to the possibility of publicly bringing disrepute upon Him if I fail to follow through. The last thing Jesus needs is yet another follower who brings Him public shame by being making promises he or she doesn’t follow through on.

The story of Jesus’ birth has deep roots in the history of the people of Israel, the remnant of whom we now know as the Jewish people. Their first great leader, Moses, prophesied that there would be a prophet like him, who would lead the people of Israel in a similar manner to his own leadership (Deut. 18:14-19).

Moses was born in a time of slavery and oppression of the Israelite people in Egypt. The pharaoh was concerned that there might be an uprising of these people, so he began a program to eliminate Israelite newborn boys. When this did not succeed due to a lack of cooperation by Egyptian midwives, he ordered his troops to seek out and kill all Israelite by children.

When Moses was born, his mother had to take extreme measures to hide him until it became too dangerous. In desperation, she sent him up the Nile, hoping he would be discovered and saved. (His sister followed the basket as a backup, just in case anyone is wondering about child neglect.) Sheltered by an Egyptian princess, he eventually grew up to lead the people out of Egyptian captivity, and into a covenant with God at the base of Mount Sinai. From there, he led them (following God, of course) through the wilderness for 40 years and then to the edge of the Promised Land.

Deuteronomy 18:16, part of the prophecy about the prophet, specifically mentions Moses’ commission as spokesman for God at Mt. Sinai, when God thundered the 10 Commandments from the summit, beginning the Book of the Covenant in Exodus 20-23.

The birth narratives of Jesus were not so much intended to be a heart-warming story as to demonstrate that Jesus is the prophet who is most like Moses in all of Israel’s history.

Like Moses, Jesus is born in a time of Israel’s servitude to and oppression by a foreign nation, Rome. This is demonstrated by the ride to Bethlehem by a very pregnant Mary because of a Roman taxation decree. There is not a great deal of care and concern for conquered people in the Roman system.

Herod’s slaughter of the innocent children and Jesus’ escape from it show a likeness to conditions at Moses’ birth. His rescue by divinely sent dreams, both to the magi and to his parents, demonstrates that God intends world-changing things for this boy, just as He did for Moses.

The point of all of this is not just to add a dimension to the story of Jesus’ birth. The resemblance to Moses sets the stage for Jesus’ mission. Jesus is not just a “newborn king.” He is much, much more.

The history of Israel is defined by the turning point in their history: the Exodus from Egypt. They rebelled against God and were eventually exiled from their land. They had been warned of that possibility by Moses, who also gave them the hope of a new exodus in Deut. 30:1-6. Jeremiah, writing just before Israel’s captivity to Babylon, reminds them of that hope in Jeremiah 31:31-34.

The way the story of Jesus is told in the New Testament shows Jesus as the new Moses who is leading a new Exodus of the remnant of Israel out of captivity. Just as there were many Egyptians who tagged along in what the account calls a “mixed multitude,” Gentile Christians are riding on the coattails of a uniquely Israelite Exodus when they begin to follow Jesus.

With this in mind, the story of the Sermon on the Mount takes on aspects of the Mount Sinai gathering, except that this time, Jesus is on the mountain rather than at its base. He becomes both Moses and the voice of God as He utters the words of the New Covenant, Jesus’ Ten Commandments.

So, why an Exodus? Why not just a spiritual salvation that gets sins forgiven?

Canada is one of the very best countries in the world to live in. Reading the newspaper even once indicates that there are problems in our paradise. Even within our congregations, we see that all is not well with our world. We are affected by the results of our own sin and that of others around us. We are separated from our loved ones by death, whether by natural causes, accident or foul play. Families can be divided by greed and selfishness. Nations lie about other nations in order to gain advantage. There are civil (and uncivil!) wars all over the world.

Underneath it all, the game of empire-building goes on. Whether it is building a secure position in a bureaucracy or literally trying to rule over nations, the power-brokers of the world concentrate power in their hands at the expense of ordinary people who are just trying to get by. Their schemes to get rich and collect power leave many people broken and helpless in their wake. This is a very sick world.

This is not intended as a tirade against the rich and powerful, as such. It is more a comment about human nature as it now stands. The rich and powerful just happen to be better at gaining advantage than the rest of us. It is a quantitative rather than a qualitative difference.

Jesus’ mission is to lead an Exodus out of a broken and corrupt world into a “new heavens and a new earth.” This isn’t a move into a heavenly realm of harps and wings. It isn’t a move from a physical plane to a non-physical, spiritual realm.

Rather, it is a completely fresh start for humanity.

Jesus came to initiate a reboot of the universe, with the bad habits, sin, oppression and empire-building ideologies left behind.

His first coming was to start a harvest: a gathering of the “remnant of Israel” who are scattered around the whole world, along with all who wish to join them in a completely new life. It begins with a new heart now, and will culminate in a new world in which everyone lives by an entirely different motivation.

In summary: The story of Jesus’ birth in the Gospels introduces us to Him as a new, better Moses who has come to set His people free. His first coming initiates us with a new heart. His second coming will settle those with new hearts into a new “promised land,” where they can live forever, freed from destructive and self-destructive impulses, within God’s will.

The last verse of the prologue contains a puzzling statement that is often understood to mean that the Ten Commandments are still binding on Christians, and are included in the New Covenant. What are “the least of these commandments” that Jesus says are necessary to be “greatest in the kingdom?”

If this understanding is true, we should probably be keeping the seventh day holy and refusing to work on it. I held this way of viewing it for almost 20 years myself. While I no longer believe this to be the case, I continue to have a great deal of respect for those who do.

Do we understand the two covenants as overlapping or discontinuous?

The most popular argument for continuity is that Jesus seems to be taking categories from the Ten Commandments and deepening or spiritualizing them. One can see how deepening the understanding of murder or stealing or coveting or adultery in the way Jesus describes makes sense if the new covenant is a deeper version of the older one.

What is more difficult to explain is how you can expand the fourth commandment outside the boundaries of the seventh day without violating it. Can you keep the spirit while violating the letter? For instance, following Jesus’ advice about lusting after another woman also prevents sexual relations outside of your marriage. Should a spiritual understanding of the Sabbath allow a change of day or a relaxation of the requirement to rest? Many have so concluded.

I have never been happy with that contradictions inherent in this view. In fact, I went to Bible College and Seminary primarily to get my head around contradictory ideas about the Old and New Covenants.

One key to understanding why this is not just the reworking of the previous covenant is the fact that the previous covenant predicted that a new covenant “not like the covenant I made with your forefathers when I took them by the hand to lead them out of Egypt.” (Heb. 8:9-13 cf Jer. 31:31-34). According to the writer of Hebrews, Jeremiah is already aware that the covenant he was living under was on its way out. Why did he know that? Because the Babylonians were already about to sack Jerusalem and scatter the inhabitants all over their empire during Jeremiah’s day. Jeremiah had read about it in Deuteronomy 28-30 and knew what was coming.

There is a new covenant with a new historical prologue and new stipulations. It has a new form of circumcision: circumcision of the heart. (Remember that circumcision was how the Old Covenant was entered into.) This new circumcision enables believers to obey a new set of instructions that run so much deeper than the old set that they cannot be the same rules made more spiritual.

Worship is done differently, and the new required sacrifice was offered by Jesus Christ, who in return asks us (via the Apostle Paul) to present our bodies as a living sacrifice that brings glory to Him. The holiness required of several orders of magnitude higher: “be perfect as your Father in heaven is perfect.”

With the description of Jesus on the mountain teaching His disciples and the gathered crowd, we see God talking to His gathered people around another Mt. Sinai. Jesus is not just giving an interpretation of the law God gave to the Israelites. He is telling His people how to make their righteousness greater than that of the most astute keepers of the ancient law: keep My new (and much better!) law!

His “first commandment,” for example, is light-years ahead of the old commandment against murder. Any activity that causes believers to lose confidence in God puts their souls at risk and is therefore against God’s will. Calling a brother or sister useless or irredeemable can cause a wound that leads to a fracture of Jesus’ community through bitterness. This is incalculable spiritual harm. A malicious put-down is not to be tolerated in the body of Christ. (I think the reader is intended to see that the judge and jailer in this case is Jesus Himself.)

While it bears a surface resemblance to the law against murder, it cuts much closer to God’s intent for a harmonious, creative and prolific humanity. It isn’t just damage-control. It is growth-encouraging. It is the embodied will of God. And yet this doesn’t explain all of the differences between the covenants.

There is another element to be understood about this covenant. This is not a covenant that is made with a people already physically released from Egypt. This covenant begins within the captivity of the people of Israel to the Gentile-ruled system of empire-building, featuring the continuing attempt to concentrate wealth and power. The people of God are the underdogs of the world-system, not its lords. Any believers in Jesus Christ who think we can be the system’s masters are falling right into the hands of the empire-builders in the long run.

There is no physical Sabbath required because there is not yet true physical freedom from the empire-builders. Most Christians are still employed by employers and do not have the freedom to choose when they have time off. (Those who have such freedom are certainly encouraged to use it for spiritual purposes.) Because not everybody is free from slavery to working for others for their livelihood, God does not require a physical rest for all of His people. The second exodus begins in the heart and will eventually find its way to the liberation of our bodies from being lorded over.

But until that great day, the New Covenant and its stipulations belong to a people who are still scattered and persecuted. Jesus’ instructions are marching orders for living in a God-hating world that reviles God’s will. Do not be surprised if you, as followers of Jesus, end up being reviled for your good deeds. Rules about living in the Promised Land are pointless and would be counterproductive for us at this time.

Instead, Jesus tells us to be of good cheer, because He has overcome the world. We need to be living examples of His way of overcoming the world. This way includes putting away the greed inherent in empire-building ideaologies. It includes not trying to make a living off the backs of others. It includes avoiding the quick score or defrauding others for a quick profit. It runs completely counter to the “greed is good” ideology of the present world order.

That’s why His New Covenant is not just a spiritualizing of the Old Covenant. The demise of the previous covenant in disobedience and curse, combined with the scattered condition of the New Covenant believers makes it necessary for the New Covenant to have different stipulations, conditions and rewards than the previous covenant.

Genesis 2 describes the first home of humanity as a garden watered by a river that is the headwater of all of the major rivers in the world. The picture here is that God’s river brings life-giving water to the whole world.

In Revelation 22 A river flows from the throne of God to bring life and water the tree of life (which appears for the first time since Genesis 3)

Zech 14:8 – On that day living water will flow out from Jerusalem, half to the eastern sea and half to the western sea, in summer and in winter. The LORD will be king over the whole earth. On that day there will be one LORD, and his name the only name.

These prophecies were memorialized yearly each morning of the Feast of Tabernacles during a priestly water-drawing ceremony. Priests would draw water from a well and carry it in a procession up to the Temple. At one corner of the Temple the High Priest would pour out the water, symbolizing the promise of a stream starting at God’s Temple as mentioned in Zech. 14 and other places. It was considered a Messianic prophecy.

John 7 depicts Jesus Christ preaching during the entire Feast of Tabernacles, amazing the crowd. We pick up the story in verse 37.

On the last and greatest day of the Feast, Jesus stood and said in a loud voice, “If anyone is thirsty, let him come to me and drink. Whoever believes in me, as the Scripture has said, streams of living water will flow from within him.” By this he meant the Spirit, whom those who believed in him were later to receive. Up to that time the Spirit had not been given, since Jesus had not yet been glorified. On hearing his words, some of the people said, “Surely this man is the Prophet.” Others said, “He is the Christ.” Still others asked, “How can the Christ come from Galilee?”

The imagery of streams of living water goes all the way back to the Garden of Eden, and is picked up in Ezekiel and Isaiah in passages like the following:

Ezek 47:1 The man brought me back to the entrance of the temple, and I saw water coming out from under the threshold of the temple toward the east (for the temple faced east). The water was coming down from under the south side of the temple, south of the altar. He then brought me out through the north gate and led me around the outside to the outer gate facing east, and the water was flowing from the south side. As the man went eastward with a measuring line in his hand, he measured off a thousand cubits and then led me through water that was ankle-deep. He measured off another thousand cubits and led me through water that was knee-deep. He measured off another thousand and led me through water that was up to the waist. He measured off another thousand, but now it was a river that I could not cross, because the water had risen and was deep enough to swim in–a river that no one could cross. He asked me, “Son of man, do you see this?” Then he led me back to the bank of the river. When I arrived there, I saw a great number of trees on each side of the river.8 He said to me, “This water flows toward the eastern region and goes down into the Arabah, where it enters the Sea. When it empties into the Sea, the water there becomes fresh. Swarms of living creatures will live wherever the river flows. There will be large numbers of fish, because this water flows there and makes the salt water fresh; so where the river flows everything will live.”

Is. 35:1 “The desert and the parched land will be glad; the wilderness will rejoice and blossom. Like the crocus, it will burst into bloom; it will rejoice greatly and shout for joy. The glory of Lebanon will be given to it, the splendor of Carmel and Sharon; they will see the glory of the LORD, the splendor of our God. Strengthen the feeble hands, steady the knees that give way; say to those with fearful hearts, “Be strong, do not fear; your God will come, he will come with vengeance; with divine retribution he will come to save you.” Then will the eyes of the blind be opened and the ears of the deaf unstopped. Then will the lame leap like a deer, and the mute tongue shout for joy. Water will gush forth in the wilderness and streams in the desert. The burning sand will become a pool, the thirsty ground bubbling springs. In the haunts where jackals once lay, grass and reeds and papyrus will grow.”

Based on the descriptions above, living water seems to bring life to all the land it touches. Living water brings joy and gladness to the desolate places. It decorates the surroundings with lush growth by creating conditions for growth. Like the Nile, Tigris or Euphrates rivers, it overflows its banks at just the right time of the year, spreading fertile soil and moisture to ensure a marvellous, sustaining crop along its flood plain.

If Jesus provides us with streams of living waters coming out of our innermost being, how is that reflected in our lives and in the lives of those who touch our lives? Do we bring life, health and joy to those around us? Do we radiate the peace of Christ to those who are near us?

Or do we bring shame, condemnation and fear to those around us? Are we the downer in the lives of our neighbours? Are they afraid to talk to us because of what they know we’ll say about their way of living?

I think Jesus calls us to let His streams of living water flow out of our hearts and into the hearts and lives of others around us. He gives us living water to refresh and bring joy to others, not to hoard it for ourselves or even for the church. It overflows our banks, spreading hope, life and joy and growth wherever the water reaches.

Let’s let the streams flow unhindered in our lives.

Two posts ago (the last post was catching up from a session in the late early autumn) we ended with the question of what exactly was supposed to be accomplished by the Law and the Prophets. We read Deuteronomy 30:1-6 for clues as to what the blessings and curses were expected to accomplish, and what relevance that may have regarding Jesus’ statement in Matt. 5:17 about coming to fulfil them. I will comment at relevant points in Deut. 30:1-6.

When all these blessings and curses I have set before you come upon you

Note that there is no “if” here. They were going to end up with both the blessings and the curses.

and you take them to heart wherever the LORD your God disperses you among the nations

Here is the first clue as to the intent of the blessings and curses: a change of heart that draws them back to God.

and when you and your children return to the LORD your God and obey him with all your heart and with all your soul according to everything I command you today,

The phrase “with all your heart and with all your soul” reminds the alert reader of the first of Jesus’ “greatest commandments,” which is based on a previous verse in this same book, 6:5.

then the LORD your God will restore your fortunes and have compassion on you and gather you again from all the nations where he scattered you. Even if you have been banished to the most distant land under the heavens, from there the LORD your God will gather you and bring you back. He will bring you to the land that belonged to your fathers, and you will take possession of it. He will make you more prosperous and numerous than your fathers.

Notice that they need a heart that loves and obeys God first, then comes a gathering from the uttermost parts of the earth of those so changed in heart.

The LORD your God will circumcise your hearts and the hearts of your descendants, so that you may love him with all your heart and with all your soul, and live.

Here once again is an even more explicit reference to the Greatest Commandment in 6:5. This is accompanied by a promise to “circumcise” their hearts in order for them to be enabled to love and obey God. What many modern readers miss is the symbolism of circumcision in terms of membership in the covenant of Israel. No uncircumcised male was allowed to belong to Israel.

A “circumcised heart” is an expression that denotes entry into a covenant with God. If we miss this, we probably miss the thrust of what Jesus was talking about.

Way back as Israel was about to enter their promised land, God was already telling them that their covenant would fail and that they would need to enter into a new covenant with Him in order to be restored.

In case we have missed the real reason the so-called Old Covenant failed, God tells us in Deut 5:29.

O that there were such an heart in them , that they would fear me, and keep all my commandments always, that it might be well with them, and with their children for ever!

That verse follows the reiteration of the 10 Commandments in Deut. 5 and introduces the rest of the laws that follow in the book.

With all of that being said, the main purpose of the Law and the Prophets was to be a witness to the exiles of Judah and Israel (and anyone else who has ears to hear!) that reminds them to seek their Lord once again. Jesus came to give them a new, circumcised heart in order to fulfil the Law and the Prophets. [This does not mean I am unaware of His life, ministry, death and resurrection. This is an overview, not a detailed look.]

The reaction to Peter’s sermon in Acts 2 follows the description of Deut. 30:1-6 closely in terms of the change of heart intended by the witness of the Law and the Prophets. Jesus puts His own heart in believers through the Holy Spirit.

Insofar as people have come to believe in and obey Jesus Christ as their Lord and receive the Holy Spirit, the Law and the Prophets are fulfilled in their individual lives. They do not have to worry about ultimately being cursed by the law, because the curse has fulfilled God’s intent for it by bringing them back into a new covenant with God.

It is a new covenant, with stipulations, warnings, exhortations that are both similar to and different from previous covenants. That is frightening for those of us brought up to think that there is only one covenant in the Bible. Just as frightening as it was to Paul’s Jewish converts who could not understand why Gentiles did not have to be circumcised to enter the New Covenant.The Holy Spirit within the believer is the circumcision of the heart that allows them to enter the New Covenant.

This seems to be where most Christian preaching stops regarding what Jesus intended to accomplish, as though it were already a done deal. If that is the case, why does Jesus plan to return? Why the terrifying imagery and resolution in the book of Revelation?

I think we need to remember that God promised the Israelites an earthly restoration following a spiritual restoration. Jesus will return to complete the fulfillment of the Law and the Prophets. (Believe it or not, the Prophets also had things to say about the destruction and restoration of Israel’s Gentile neighbours, too.)

According to Paul, Christians are grafted into the promises God made to Abraham (Romans 11:11-24). Among other things, God did promise Abraham that the nations of the world would be blessed through his Seed.

There is a lot of saving yet to be completed.

Jesus promises to complete it.

I lately stumbled upon his book, State of Fear, at a used book sale and bought it. What I found unusual in a book of fiction was the extended appendix and bibliography. His research into global warming science convinced him that global warming is a pseudo-scientific ideology that is most assuredly not proven scientifically. Of course, Crichton is not a scientist, so he could certainly have misunderstood the evidence. This was an interesting enough idea that I thought it worthwhile to examine the evidence in his bibliography.

By no means did I exhaust the bibliography, but I found myself persuaded that all was not well in the world of climate science with respect to global warming. Perhaps the most persuasive short piece in the collection, a peer-reviewed article by geoscientist David Deming, will illustrate the problems with the theory.

In brief, even if the world is in a current warming phase (which is far from proven)it is not a new phenomenon, either in duration or degree (or degrees!). Even within historical times there have been periods of warming and cooling that are both scientifically and historically documented.

Much of the general public has heard of something called the “Little Ice Age” that effectively shut down transatlantic exploration after the first Viking voyages to North America in the 1000’s AD. Less well-known by the general public was the warming period called the Medieval Warm Period that warmed up the 1300’s and 1400’s causing swamps to drain and improving crops during the entire Medieval period following. Rates of plague and other illness fell during the warming. Overall human and animal health improved. Crops improved in quality and quantity due to longer growing-seasons. Transoceanic travel again became relatively safe and profitable. The prosperity engendered by this warming trend allowed human ingenuity to thrive and eventually blossom into a true scientific age.

This documented warming trend produced temperatures that seem to have been higher than current temperatures, suggesting that the gloom-and-doom scenarios of desertification, habitat destruction, rising oceans, etc. were more-than-survivable by societies with much lower technology than our own. His paper is available online at the Journal of Scientific Exporation and its title is Global Warming, the Politicization of Science, and Michael Crichton’s State of Fear.

It is certainly true that the truth or falsity of the claims of global warming science will have no effect on salvation. So, why bother a group gathered for a religious purpose with a scientific debate unrelated to their faith?

The theory of global warming is used to highlight the main theme of both Crichton’s book and Deming’s article: the politicization of science. The problem is not so much whether global warming is true or not, but rather the role scientists are being asked to play in the political arena. Scientists are being asked to formulate political or social policies or back certain political actions. The intent is to add the credibility of “science” to the political agenda of the party or movement.

This seems scarcely different in kind from adding the moral voice of religious concerns to a political agenda. The constituency being appealed to is different, but the attempt to co-opt remains the same. Instead of a moral crisis being the issue, it becomes an environmental crisis. Our world seems to have become a collection of crises that change flavours every week or month or year. It seems to have become, in fact, what Crichton calls the “state of fear.”

Leaders of political and religious movements have long known that fear is the most consistently powerful motivating force of human nature, so it should not surprise us to see it being used as a force to mould social organization and polity in nations and states. Whether it is fear of everlasting torment in hell or fear of global catastrophic climate change makes no difference to the movers and shakers in the political arena, so long as it can be used to motivate people into following their agenda.

There are a number of reasons for pointing these things out. The first is to help us notice that not everything labelled as scientific fact by the media has been proven beyond a doubt. This means that appeals to the morality of fossil-fuel use or conservation on the grounds of supposed prevention of global calamity should be viewed with scepticism. Carbon dioxide is not actually a pollutant. It has not been proven to contribute to global warming. Attempts by governments to clamp down on its use by increasing prices may be motivated by reasons other than altruism.

A second reason to note this debate is to highlight how easy it is for well-meaning human beings to get roped into political agendas that are not necessarily in the best interests of themselves or of their field of endeavour. This means that science is not substantially different than religion in that respect. Both fields are populated by very human people who are not immune to coercion or intimidation, or just plain bad judgment. This is not to say that the majority of scientists do not attempt to objectively seek truth. It is simply that they are equipped with the same human nature as the rest of us, and this human nature creates blind spots in the discernment of truth or values.

A third reason is to suggest the scary side of this debate for purposes of faithful followers of Jesus Christ. If the community of the best critical thinkers in the world can be fooled by pseudo-science, what about Christians? Can we be fooled by a pseudo-Christ?

Do we know our Good Shepherd enough to know His voice when things seem to be going strangely all around us? Can we tell when our teachers are following His word instead of another spirit?

All we need to do is look at the warnings of Jesus and His disciples to see that discernment is not automatic for believers.

Scientists need to remind themselves of the scientific principles of objective observation, experimentation and reproducible results to remain true to their calling as objective seekers of truth.

So also must believers remind themselves of their timeless spiritual and moral foundations through meditation on the Scriptures and through prayer to the Father in Jesus’ name.

This time we’ll have a brief look at what I have called the prologue: Matthew 5:2-21. It seems to have three parts: blessings, a mission statement for Jesus’ disciples, and a mission statement by Jesus.

The Blessings

The blessings may well have been part of a blessings/curses formula such as in the Sinai Covenant. Luke records four of the nine blessings along with four opposite woes in Luke 6:20-23. It may be more helpful to think of a blessings/curses formula as an encouragement/warning formula, since there are warnings, both explicit and implied, throughout the prologue.

The blessings themselves would have tended to stand the disciples’ understanding of “blessings” on its head. Poverty and humility would not have been held in high esteem at that time. They would have been looking for victory over their oppressive Roman overlords, not attitudes that bring peaceful resolution or meekness in the face of oppression. The prior covenant had military advantage and prosperity among its blessings.

Clearly the reward for the longsuffering of Jesus’ disciples must come at a future time of rewarding of the saints, and not in their this-worldly lifetime. For the present time, the blessings would feel more like curses during their lives. Jesus was telling them that only the tough and committed need apply.

The concluding statement of the blessings in verse 12 contains an interesting hint about the disciples’ mission to follow in verses 13-16. The final blessing is upon those who are reviled, persecuted and lied about for Jesus’ sake. They are to rejoice, not only because their reward in heaven would be great, but also because the prophets who were before them were persecuted in just the same way.

A careful reading of that last statement suggests that Jesus is commissioning His disceiples as prophets.

The Disciples’ Mission

The next section focuses on the basic mission of the disciples. Their job is to promote Jesus Christ by doing good deeds that display the true nature of Jesus Christ and His Kingdom.

They are to leave people with a good taste in their mouth about what the Kingdom is about by being Kingdom people who do Kingdom works. Jesus warns disciples against merely conforming to worldly kingdom expectations so that their lives make no difference to those around them. He warns that losing the “saltiness” will result in being “cast out” and “trampled upon.”

Being a disciple of Jesus means being noticed for all the right reasons. It means casting light in the shadows. It means being a beacon of hope for other struggling human beings. It means lighting a candle in the darkness when everyone else is cursing the darkness (and a whole bunch of other cliches besides.)

It means being different in a way that brings out both admiration and jealousy from people around. It means being different in a way that requires others to lie in order to accuse or convict a disciple of wrongdoing.

Jesus’ Mission

Jesus’ mission is to fulfil, not abolish/destroy/nullify the Law and the Prophets. These are to remain in force “until everything is accomplished.” What does this mean? What exactly needs to be accomplished?

We did not have enough time to explore that big subject in detail, but we began be going to Deuteronomy 30:1-6 to see if there was any clue about the intent of the law in a post-exilic Israel.

“When all these blessings and curses I have set before you come upon you and you take them to heart wherever the LORD your God disperses you among the nations, and when you and your children return to the LORD your God and obey him with all your heart and with all your soul according to everything I command you today, then the LORD your God will restore your fortunes and have compassion on you and gather you again from all the nations where he scattered you. Even if you have been banished to the most distant land under the heavens, from there the LORD your God will gather you and bring you back. He will bring you to the land that belonged to your fathers, and you will take possession of it. He will make you more prosperous and numerous than your fathers. The LORD your God will circumcise your hearts and the hearts of your descendants, so that you may love him with all your heart and with all your soul, and live.”

We’ll leave this post with one question. Now that you have read this passage about what is supposed to happen after both the blessings and curses of the Sinai/Deuteronomic covenant occur, what do you think Jesus meant when He said that no part of the Law and the Prophets was to be abrogated or changed until everything is accomplished?

In other words, what, exactly, was going to be accomplished?

Is Paul really telling Jewish believers to go reject every Torah-based principle they learned growing up? Is he telling Gentile believers to avoid every appearance of Torah-observance? Or is he really just putting the Jewish anti-Gentile zealotry of his day into biblical perspective?

In Galatians 3 Paul explains that current obedience to the Old Covenant law does not bring retroactive forgiveness of past sin. Nor does an attempt to enter into Israel’s Sinai Covenant automatically bring the blessings promised within it.

Paul also notes that the law was intended to show all human beings that they are sinners. The law becomes a kind of beginning-point toward understanding our need for a saviour. It was designed to be a warning flag about our condition before God and our need for a change of mind, heart and soul.

What Paul doesn’t explain directly is why “relying on the law” automatically brings a curse. The answer to that question requires an understanding of the place the law in ancient Israel.

This code functioned within a social contract that was entered into between Israel and their God, Yahweh. This social contract is what is usually referred to by Christians as the Old Covenant. The Law and the Covenant are not necessarily the same thing. The Law forms part of what are sometimes called the “stipulations” of the covenant.

This covenant contained specific blessings for obedience to the stipulations and specific curses for disobedience. These curses are the ones Paul is referring to when he says that anyone who wants to “rely” on that law are under a curse. The curse and its ultimate results are specified in Deuteronomy 28:15-68. The ultimate result is mentioned in vs. 65-67,

“Then the LORD will scatter you among all nations, from one end of the earth to the other. There you will worship other gods–gods of wood and stone, which neither you nor your fathers have known. Among those nations you will find no repose, no resting place for the sole of your foot. There the LORD will give you an anxious mind, eyes weary with longing, and a despairing heart. You will live in constant suspense, filled with dread both night and day, never sure of your life. In the morning you will say, “If only it were evening!” and in the evening, “If only it were morning!”–because of the terror that will fill your hearts and the sights that your eyes will see. 68 The LORD will send you back in ships to Egypt on a journey I said you should never make again. There you will offer yourselves for sale to your enemies as male and female slaves, but no one will buy you.” (NIV version)

The “curse of the law” was ultimately to result in a national disgrace unparalleled in history. It was to result in ejection from the promised land, life under Gentile domination, and sporadic persecution that would make life hazardous and uncertain under Gentile rule. The people of this broken covenant would be in constant danger of loss of possessions and loss of life in a hostile world. In other words, the “curse of the law” is a national punishment involving permanent personal uncertainty and danger to its citizens under foreign domination.

Comedian Jerry Lewis put the situation in a humorous way when he presented Bob Hope with a certificate making him an honorary Jew. As he presented it, he told Bob that this certificate entitled him to two thousand years of retroactive persecution.

The Apostle Paul was telling Gentile believers the same thing, but he was no comedian. The Israelite nation was already living under the curse that irremediable disobedience to the covenant law entailed. The attempt to enter into a covenant relationship with God through circumcision into the nation of Israel entitles you to enter into the judgment already pronounced by God Himself against that people for violating the covenant.

There was no provision within the covenant itself for repairing the covenant relationship once the disobedience reached the point of no return.

God does not leave them entirely without hope, however.

Once the scattering takes place, the only hope is for God Himself to gather the people of the nation once again in a second exodus. This hope was promised for a time after all these curses had taken place (Deut 30).

Jesus Christ came to gather His people from all nations into an inheritance that will last forever. This gathering is predicted to include Gentile believers. The gathering continues through His disciples and continues until His return to bring them into that inheritance.

In the meantime, just what constitutes an attempt to enter into the “Old Covenant”? What does it mean to “rely” on the law?

Was it wrong for Jesus’ disciples to continue to worship in the Temple area?
Was it wrong for Paul or Jewish disciples to participate in the vow ritual at the Temple (Acts 21: 17-26)?
Was it wrong for Jewish disciples to be “zealous for the law” (Acts 21:20)?
Was it wrong for Paul to worship in synagogues as he preached Jesus Christ?
Was it wrong for Paul to have Timothy circumcised (Acts 16:1-4)?

The answer to all of the above seems to be a resounding “no.” There seems to be something going on in all of those cases that does not fall under the category of “relying on the law.”

The distinguishing characteristic that seems to bother Paul is the attempt to become retroactively righteous by starting to keep the law that has already resulted in Israel being cursed. In other words, relying on covenant-law observance to undo one’s sinful nature is a non-starter.

On the other hand, grateful recognition of forgiveness in Jesus in a new, Spirit-empowered life seems to allow lifestyle choices that include many things found in the Old Covenant law. This shouldn’t be surprising, because the Old Covenant law also includes many commonsense principles common to human societies around the world.

I don’t think I need to be worried that I am somehow under the “curse of the law” if I choose to refrain from eating pork products or choose to memorialize Jesus’ life, death, resurrection and return on festival days mentioned in the Old Testament. These are choices I can make for myself, but not for other believers.