Missing the Point

by following the letter of the law

Yesterday at my women’s Bible Study, I learned something fascinating. I learned that Jesus, in the Sermon on the Mount, was correcting the way the Pharisees and the Teachers of the Laws were interpreting scripture. They had taken the laws in Deuteronomy and Leviticus and followed them literally without following what God meant through them.

For example, in Matthew 5:21, Jesus reminds his audience that they’ve heard (presumably from the Pharisees and Teachers of the Law) not to murder. Then he gets at the heart of this commandment. From what Jesus says, it sounds like the Pharisees and the Teachers of the Law either taught or practiced that murder was wrong, but that it was okay to call each other “fool” or insult others. Jesus is showing them that they’ve been getting the law wrong. It’s not just about refraining from stabbing someone. It’s about having loving actions that come from a loving heart. The Teachers of the Law had gotten it all wrong.

Likewise in Matthew 6:31, Jesus reminds his audience that they’ve heard (presumably from the Pharisees and the Teachers of the Law) that whoever divorces his wife, let him give her a divorce certificate. We see one Pharisees’ interpretation of this when he quizzes Jesus on divorce. “Why then did Moses command one to give a certificate of divorce and to send her away?” (Matt. 19:7 ESV). Did you catch that? This Pharisee called Moses’ allowance for divorce a “command.” This Pharisee had turned the instructions meant to protect marriage and spouses into commands from the Lord. The way I understand it, the Pharisees and Teachers of the Law taught a man could divorce his wife for any old reason without truly breaking the literal meaning of the law. The Teachers of the Law had gotten it wrong.

Here’s another example from Jesus sermon. “You have heard that it was said, ‘You shall love your neighbor and hate your enemy.’ (Matt. 5:43.ESV). I believe Jesus is quoting Leviticus 19:18.

You shall not take vengeance or bear a grudge against the sons of your own people, but you shall love your neighbor as yourself: I am the Lord.

It seems that the Pharisees and teachers of the law, read this and interpreted it something like this, “Well, if I'm not supposed to take vengeance on my brother or my people, then I can take vengeance and hate anyone who isn’t my brother.” In essence, they thought the law was saying; love the Jews; hate the Gentile. This was a classic example of misunderstanding scripture, of taking scripture at “face value,” some might say. And this interpretation has led to all sorts of problems.

This understanding of the law—“Love the Jews; hate the Gentile”—resulted in huge problems for the Jews in accepting Gentiles into their Christian churches. Paul had to deal with those problems. First, the Jews thought the Gentiles were unclean and thus they wouldn’t associate with them. Then, they thought Gentiles had to be circumcised to be part of their company. Then, they thought Gentiles needed to follow Jewish ceremonial laws about what they could or couldn’t eat. The Apostle Paul had his work cut out for him to straighten out what the Pharisees and Teachers of the Law had falsely dictated as truth.

Is it any wonder why Paul says in 1 Timothy 1:8-10:

Now we know that the law is good, if one uses it lawfully, understanding this, that the law is not laid down for the just but for the lawless and disobedient, for the ungodly and sinners, for the unholy and profane, for those who strike their fathers and mothers, for murderers, the sexually immoral, men who practice homosexuality, enslavers, liars, perjurers, and whatever else is contrary to sound doctrine,"

Sadly, neither Paul’s nor Jesus’ clarification of what the Law was for prevented further misinterpretations of scripture. In the last two thousand years, teachers of the law have used the Sermon of the Mount as new laws to follow. Some have maimed themselves because of what Jesus says in Matthew 5:29. “If your right eye causes you to sin, tear it out and throw it away.” (ESV).

Some judges and bishops have not allowed remarriage after divorce or allowed divorce even in the case of abuse because of what Jesus says in Matthew 5:32.

“But I say to you that everyone who divorces his wife, except on the ground of sexual immorality, makes her commit adultery, and whoever marries a divorced woman commits adultery.”

Some refuse to say the pledge of allegiance because of what Jesus says in Matthew 5:34. “But I say to you, Do not take an oath at all, either by heaven, for it is the throne of God…”

Doesn’t Scripture say these things quite clearly? Doesn’t that mean we need to take the plain reading of what Jesus said and do it? This is Jesus we’re talking about!? Didn’t he come to tell us the right way to do things? All we have to do is obey it and we’ll know we are good.

History repeats itself. The Pharisees and Teachers of the Law used the letter of the law to define their own righteousness, and teachers of the Bible continue to do so now, making rules that everyone ought to follow based on the plain reading of Jesus’ teachings and Paul’s letters.

I believe we have missed the point. I believe we have fallen into the age-old trap of misusing the words of the law just like the snake did to Eve “Did God actually say you must not eat the fruit of any tree? . . . Eve, let’s focus on the words themselves. Did God say to both Adam and you that you couldn’t eat the fruit? Didn’t God just mean that Adam shouldn’t eat the fruit? That doesn’t include you, does it?” I’m adding to the original text here. But it does seem that from the beginning, Satan has been twisting God’s literal words to get us to focus on defining the rules instead of understanding who the rules point to. And from the very beginning the Teachers of the Law, starting with Adam, have been failing to pass along God’s message through the laws.

I think this is happening now with Paul’s teachings on women. I think teachers of the Bible have been so focused on defining women’s roles that they have missed what Paul was saying in his letters. They’ve missed his words about how the body of Christ is to treat others and defer to others. They’ve missed how Paul seems to be appealing to the Christian communities to let the women be educated. They’ve missed what Paul has to say about having a teachable spirit. They’ve missed his missional approach to the culture and his ideas on how to be a pleasing aroma to others without compromising the gospel message. They’ve missed so much. I’ve missed so much.

Isn’t it time to stop clinging to the letters of the law and understand Paul’s heart behind his words? Understand where the words lead us?

To read more on this topic, click the link.