(Audio)
Hear, O Israel!
The Lord our God is Lord alone!
In one sense, Jesus came to remind people of things they already knew, the call they had already received. They were called to love God and neighbor. This was to be the priority even above all the rituals, burnt offerings, sacrifices and other particular aspects of the law. The call to love God was actually prior to these other things in the history of the Jewish people. It was in fact the ground reality for that people from the beginning.
Yet when Jesus said stated this priority it silenced those around him. It did not have the effect we might think, of putting everyone on the same page, giving them common ground, and a basis for ongoing conversation.
And when Jesus saw that he answered with understanding,
he said to him, “You are not far from the Kingdom of God.”
And no one dared to ask him any more questions.
There was something about the way that Jesus taught that was threatening enough to business as usual that those around him became reluctant to pursue it further. Jesus confirmed that the answer of the scribe was the right one. Yet that answer, in and of itself, only put him near the Kingdom of God. Just knowing the right answer was not enough.
At the same time, it is a new commandment that I am writing to you, which is true in him and in you, because the darkness is passing away and the true light is already shining (see First John 2:8).
In Jesus the commandment is transformed from the letter which brings condemnation to the Spirit which gives life (see Second Corinthians 3:6).
Jesus came to proclaim that the Kingdom was at hand. It is as though he told the scribe that the words of the Shema, the most sacred of the commandments, pointed toward fulfillment only in Jesus and his Kingdom. What was the the people to make of being told that they knew the truth, but apparently to no profit, if it stopped short of the Kingdom? People were legitimately afraid to find out.
Only in Jesus could the commandment be perfectly fulfilled. And only after, by his Spirit, could the just requirements of the law be fulfilled in us as well (see Romans 8:4). This is our own call: to not just know the truth, but to "obtain the salvation that is in Christ Jesus".
If we have died with him
we shall also live with him;
if we persevere
we shall also reign with him.
The truth is vital. Confusing it by arguing about words is a huge disservice. We need the word of truth without deviation. But more than this we need to die and live with Christ, for this is the direction to which all truth directs us. In him we do begin to do what seems impossible, to love God with all our hearts, and our neighbor as ourselves.
All the paths of the LORD are kindness and constancy
toward those who keep his covenant and his decrees.
The friendship of the LORD is with those who fear him,
and his covenant, for their instruction.
No comments:
Post a Comment