The letter of the law vs. the spirit of the law.
Ever since mankind broke the one and only rule that existed in Paradise at the beginning of time, there has been a love/hate relationship between humans and the law.
When God created Adam and Eve and put them in the middle of a perfect, most beautiful place He gave them one rule. Don’t eat from the tree in the middle of the garden. It was for their own good. And in order to keep that rule, they would have to trust that God had their best interest at heart even if they didn’t completely understand it.
Well, we all know how that turned out. They disobeyed the rule and turned their world, quite literally, upside down. God’s reasons for making ANY rule was to preserve relationships – between God and people and between people and people.
Throughout history, “religious” people got caught up in the words of the law and neglected the intent or spirit behind the law. It was easier to hide behind the literal interpretation than it was to live out the the true intention of why that rule was made in the first place. Law versus love.
And then Jesus came to earth and once again the world was turned upside down. Or rather, right side up. He didn’t get people’s attention by following the letter of the law. In fact, He broke a lot of the rules. He healed people on the Sabbath (a day where absolutely no work was to be done). He shared meals and conversation with “tax collectors and sinners” (the “scum of the earth” of that day). He ate when He wasn’t supposed to and didn’t fast every time others were fasting. He ate with “unclean” hands. The list goes on and on.
The Pharisees, the “religious” people that saw Jesus do these things, were appalled and they let Jesus know it. They always phrased their accusations in the form of questions to try and trap Him. What they neglected to realize was that they were questioning God Himself, the author of the rules and the King of all right answers.
Every time Jesus answered them, it had to do with the spirit of the law. And every time the spirit of the law benefitted others and brought glory to God. THAT was the reason for the laws the Pharisees were so stringent about. Relationships between God and people and between people and people. But they were so worried about the letter of the law and watching for Jesus to “fail” that they missed the whole point. Their minds were engaged but their hearts were empty.
It might look a little different for us now, but I think that even today the most devout Jesus followers can get stuck in knowing all the right things, but neglecting the relationships for which those right things were established. We look only at people’s behaviors or outward appearance or position and don’t take the time to listen to their hearts. We hide behind following rules and the things we don’t do and keep ourselves so cocooned that we don’t make an impact on our world. We say the right things but we don’t say the real things. We don’t risk in relationships with others because rules are easier and more concrete and less messy. We don’t invest in our relationship with Jesus because it has the potential to go deep and to places our hearts have not experienced before and that’s scary.
Letter versus spirit. Law versus love. Religion versus faith. Pharisees versus Jesus. Seems like a really easy choice…
Romans 2:29 – No, a true Jew is one whose heart is right with God. And true circumcision is not merely obeying the letter of the law; rather, it is a change of heart produced by God’s Spirit. And a person with a changed heart seeks praise from God, not from people.
John 7:24 – Stop judging by mere appearances, and make a right judgment.
Mark 2:27 – The Sabbath was made for man, not man for the Sabbath.
James 1:27 – Pure and genuine religion in the sight of God the Father means caring for orphans and widows in their distress and refusing to let the world corrupt you.
Mark 7:6-9 – “These people honor me with their lips, but their hearts are far from me. They worship me in vain; their teachings are but rules taught by men” You have let go of the commands of God and are holding on to the traditions of men…You have a fine way of setting aside the commands of God in order to observe your own traditions.
Matthew 22:37-40 -Jesus replied: “‘Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind.’ This is the first and greatest commandment. And the second is like it: ‘Love your neighbor as yourself.’ All the Law and the Prophets hang on these two commandments.”
