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| From the Schoolmaster to The Master |
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Gospel came with the teachings of Jesus Christ. Christ was born into the tradition of the Law of Moses, and while he fulfilled it, he clearly declared that he had not come to do away with it (Matthew 5:17). What is the relationship between the Law of Moses and the Gospel of Christ? Paul tells us that the Law of Moses was a preliminary gospel, an instructive gospel: "Wherefore the law was our schoolmaster [to bring us] unto Christ, that we might be justified by faith" (Galations 3:24). In Paul's reference, the law of Moses taught lessons which were important to learn. However, those lessons were subservient to that which is to be learned by immersion in Christ's Gospel. Interestingly enough, Paul uses faith as the key to the transition. What can we learn from the transition from Law to Faith? Christ taught the quintessential sermon describing precisely the nature of that change. The Sermon on the Mount contains many tremendous lessons, and one section of the sermon deals specifically with the nature of the transition from the Law of Moses to the Gospel of Christ. Christ sets the stage for the discussion by bringing up the topic of the Law of Moses and his relationship to it: Matthew 5:17-19: Think not that I am come to destroy the law, or the prophets: I am not come to destroy, but to fulfil. 18 For verily I say unto you, Till heaven and earth pass, one jot or one tittle shall in no wise pass from the law, till all be fulfilled. 19 Whosoever therefore shall break one of these least commandments, and shall teach men so, he shall be called the least in the kingdom of heaven: but whosoever shall do and teach [them], the same shall be called great in the kingdom of heaven. Right from the beginning Christ clarifies that he has no desire to destroy the Law or the prophets. While stating that he is fulfilling them, he makes the point as strong as possible by indicating that the Law will stand until heaven and earth pass. He condemns those who break those commandments, and particularly those who might teach one to break the commandments of the Law. Clearly Christ does not see himself as one of those teachers. Nevertheless, Christ did come to do something to the Law. His transition statement highlights the nature his lesson: "Matthew 5:20 For I say unto you, That except your righteousness shall exceed [the righteousness] of the scribes and Pharisees, ye shall in no case enter into the kingdom of heaven." This was a sentence designed to perk the ears of the listeners. The Pharisees were infamous for their adherence to the details of the Law. Those who were listening to Christ that day were not the Pharisees, and they would likely have been conditioned (by the Pharisees, if by no one else) to believe that the Pharisees were among the most righteous in Israel. Yet Christ says that unless their righteousness should exceed that of the Pharisees that they should not enter into the kingdom of heaven. His listeners should have been in mild shock at this point. The next major section of Christ's sermon proceeds to tell them exactly how they should accomplish this goal. It is the clearest explanation in all scripture of the nature of the transition between the Law of Moses, and that gospel which Christ indicates can exceed the righteousness of even the most adamant followers of the Law. The message of the text is presented in two ways. The first is the way we normally expect it. It is the words of the text itself. However, there is another means of communicating the message at work in these passages, and that is the structure of the message. In this case, the general structure of the text allows us to generalize the kind of meaning Christ is illustrating, so that the message can be applied to situations which he did not specifically describe. To show the nature of the structure of the text, I have marked sections of the text: Matthew 5:21-48 Ye have heard that it was said by them of old time, Thou shalt not kill; and whosoever shall kill shall be in danger of the judgment: 22 But I say unto you, That whosoever is angry with his brother without a cause shall be in danger of the judgment: and whosoever shall say to his brother, Raca, shall be in danger of the council: but whosoever shall say, Thou fool, shall be in danger of hell fire. 23 Therefore if thou bring thy gift to the altar, and there rememberest that thy brother hath ought against thee; 24 Leave there thy gift before the altar, and go thy way; first be reconciled to thy brother, and then come and offer thy gift. 25 Agree with thine adversary quickly, whiles thou art in the way with him; lest at any time the adversary deliver thee to the judge, and the judge deliver thee to the officer, and thou be cast into prison. 26 Verily I say unto thee, Thou shalt by no means come out thence, till thou hast paid the uttermost farthing. 27 Ye have heard that it was said by them of old time, Thou shalt not commit adultery: 28 But I say unto you, That whosoever looketh on a woman to lust after her hath committed adultery with her already in his heart. 29 And if thy right eye offend thee, pluck it out, and cast [it] from thee: for it is profitable for thee that one of thy members should perish, and not [that] thy whole body should be cast into hell. 30 And if thy right hand offend thee, cut it off, and cast [it] from thee: for it is profitable for thee that one of thy members should perish, and not [that] thy whole body should be cast into hell. 31 It hath been said, Whosoever shall put away his wife, let him give her a writing of divorcement: 32 But I say unto you, That whosoever shall put away his wife, saving for the cause of fornication, causeth her to commit adultery: and whosoever shall marry her that is divorced committeth adultery. 33 Again, ye have heard that it hath been said by them of old time, Thou shalt not forswear thyself, but shalt perform unto the Lord thine oaths: 34 But I say unto you, Swear not at all; neither by heaven; for it is God's throne: 35 Nor by the earth; for it is his footstool: neither by Jerusalem; for it is the city of the great King. 36 Neither shalt thou swear by thy head, because thou canst not make one hair white or black. 37 But let your communication be, Yea, yea; Nay, nay: for whatsoever is more than these cometh of evil. 38 Ye have heard that it hath been said, An eye for an eye, and a tooth for a tooth: 39 But I say unto you, That ye resist not evil: but whosoever shall smite thee on thy right cheek, turn to him the other also. 40 And if any man will sue thee at the law, and take away thy coat, let him have [thy] cloke also. 41 And whosoever shall compel thee to go a mile, go with him twain. 42 Give to him that asketh thee, and from him that would borrow of thee turn not thou away. 43 Ye have heard that it hath been said, Thou shalt love thy neighbour, and hate thine enemy. 44 But I say unto you, Love your enemies, bless them that curse you, do good to them that hate you, and pray for them which despitefully use you, and persecute you; 45 That ye may be the children of your Father which is in heaven: for he maketh his sun to rise on the evil and on the good, and sendeth rain on the just and on the unjust. 46 For if ye love them which love you, what reward have ye? do not even the publicans the same? 47 And if ye salute your brethren only, what do ye more [than others]? do not even the publicans so? 48 Be ye therefore perfect, even as your Father which is in heaven is perfect. The verses have been spaced to show the sets of themes which go together. Each of them is set forth in the identical way. As an introduction to a theme, Christ indicates that "ye have heard it said," whereupon he cites what must have been well known admonitions associated with the Law of Moses as they understood it. After the pronouncement of the well known principle from the Law, Christ says "but I say unto you," after which Christ gives a short example of what he expects of his followers related to that same theme. By presenting his specifics in this very similar way, Christ not only made it easy for his listeners to compare and learn the differences he was trying to teach, he makes it possible to make generalizations on what he was trying to point out even beyond the specific examples he used. Clearly Christ would not have us believe that these few examples were the sum total of the Gospel! The lessons are contained in the contrasting sets of statements and admonitions. Briefly, they are:
Some of the sets are easier to understand than others. Let's start with the first: "not kill/not be angry." The prohibition against killing sometimes gets in our way of understanding because we assume that we know why it is prohibited. It seems so obviously wrong. Not that it isn't, but our sympathy for the person who dies takes away from our understanding of what happens to the one who kills. In the eternities, what is the effect of a shortened life on the person who is killed? From an eternal perspective, that person will have all of the opportunities needed to achieve his salvation. While it is certainly sad that he died early, it has no lasting eternal consequences. This is quite the opposite for the killer, however. Assuming that the killer did so maliciously and not accidentally, there are serious eternal consequences for his act. The prohibition against killing is therefore protecting the person who would kill more than the person who might be killed. In this light it is easier to see the context of Christ's admonition not to be angry. For Christ the anger and the killing are related concepts, and in the light of this understanding of the prohibition against murder, they do have much in common. In both cases, there is something within the person which wells up. In many cases, the murder is simply the act of an uncontrolled anger. Let's assume that the killer became so angry that he almost kills someone. There has been no death and so the Law of Moses does not technically apply. However, the eternal consequences for one who could come so close are still dire, and do not depend on technicalities. Christ prohibits not just the act, but the emotions and state of being which could lead up to the action. The adultery/lust set is easily seen in the same context. Christ is prohibiting the desires which lead up to the act as much as the act itself. Even the two most difficult sets "divorce/not divorce" and "swear/not swear" can fit into the same concept of marshaling our internal passions. The divorce/not divorce set teaches against the emotions which so easily could put away a wife in ancient Israel. Christ is urging more internal development and commitment. The swear/not swear pair relates to the nature of oath taking in ancient Israel. In other places Christ condemned the practice of proclaiming goods "corban" to exclude them from sharing with one's parents. There was a hierarchy of oaths, each of which might be broken under certain situations. Christ is precluding the duplicity such actions. What is the message of all of the sets? The Law of Moses was a law of actions. The gospel of Crist is a gospel of being. One can live the Law of Moses based on actions or inactions. It is clear whether or not one has killed. It is clear whether or not one has committed adultery. Christ asks more of us. He asks that the principle be internalized, and that we tame the inner person. Christ wants us to become someone different and better, not simply refrain from expressing our worst desires. How then does the Law of Moses become a schoolmaster to bring us to Christ? Modern athletes have learned a technique called patterning, where they not only practice what they should be doing, but visualize it. The Law of Moses serves to pattern us by controlling our actions. If we can first perform the actions correctly, then perhaps the correct reasons will follow. |
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| by Brant Gardner. Copyright 1998 |
The Gospel has been
presented to mankind in different times. In all times, the essential ability of the revealed Gospel (however much
of it was revealed at any time) to accomplish the work and glory of God has been well present. In some cases, however,
there have been times when there was clearly more or less of the revelation of things as they really are.
The most interesting and instructive transition in the nature of the revealed
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