Christians and the Old Testament laws

Do not suppose that I came to abolish the Law or the Prophets; I did not come to abolish them but to fulfill them. I tell you truly, until heaven and earth pass away, not the smallest letter or slightest stroke of the pen will pass away from the Law until everything is accomplished. Therefore, whoever sets aside one of the smallest of these commandments and teaches others to disregard them will be called the least in the kingdom of heaven, but whoever does them and teaches them will be called great in the kingdom of heaven. For I tell you that unless your righteousness goes far beyond that of the scribes and Pharisees, you will never enter the kingdom of heaven.
Matthew 5:17–20

God gave his ancient people the “Law and the Prophets” (another name for the Old Testament) to help them identify the Messiah and prepare for his coming. In the fullness of time, the Messiah came to accomplish what the Scriptures predicted. This did not abolish the authority of the Scriptures, but the role of the first testament changed when the One it pointed to arrived. Since Jesus’s coming, every Old Testament commandment must be filtered through what we might call a “fulfillment-in-Christ” grid. We do that by identifying the eternal principle behind the commandment and applying it to our circumstances.

Let’s look at a couple of examples of how Old Testament laws can be filtered through the fulfillment-in-Christ grid and applied in today’s world:

• Let’s start with an easy one. Leviticus 19:9–10 says, “When you harvest the crops of your land, do not harvest the grain along the edges of your fields, and do not pick up what the harvesters drop. It is the same with your grape crop–do not strip every last bunch of grapes from the vines, and do not pick up the grapes that fall to the ground. Leave them for the poor and the foreigners living among you. I am the Lord your God.” Our God is overflowing with love and compassion for the destitute and displaced. We can honor this law today by being compassionate to the poor and sensitive to the needs of the immigrants and refugees living among us.
• The commandment found in 19:28 is a little trickier: “Do not cut your bodies to mourn the dead, and do not mark your skin with tattoos. “Why the commandment against getting a tat? Is God against body art? Is there something inherently evil about putting ink into your skin? No. The problem in ancient Israel was not God’s aversion to inked skin. The problem was idolatry. In the ancient world, people did not get tattoos to beautify themselves– they got tattoos to signify their loyalty to their god(s) and point others to their religion. And getting tats for pagan worship purposes is as forbidden today as it was in Moses day. God still hates idolatry. On the other hand, tattoos have flourished in Christian cultures since the third century, and every day people get tattoos that point others to Jesus. That is not idolatry. So when I filter the law against tattoos through the fulfillment-in-Christ grid, I come to the conclusion that some tats are God-honoring, and some are not.

What all this means is that Christians are not locked into a list of do’s and don’ts. Commit your life to Jesus, and you will soon discover that following him is a lot more challenging than following a rule book. God’s truth never changes, but the way it should be applied may change according to circumstances.

This is why Jesus warned his disciples that, “unless your righteousness goes far beyond that of the scribes and Pharisees, you will never enter the kingdom of heaven.” That statement surely stunned the people listening to Jesus’s sermon. The righteousness of the scribes and Pharisees was legendary. If they weren’t righteousness enough, what hope was there for anyone else? But the righteousness of the religionists was external and focused on tradition and ritual. Jesus speaks of a righteousness that is based on the character of God, not a list of  “thou shalt nots.” His righteousness is focused on loving God and others. Jesus calls his apprentices to a different quality of righteousness, not a greater quantity of righteousness.

King David expressed the process well when he prayed, “Wash my guilt and cleanse me from my sin, for I know I am rebellious, and my sin is ever before me… Create in me a clean heart, O God, and renew a right spirit within me… You do not desire a sacrifice, or I would offer one. You do not want a burnt offering. The sacrifice you desire is a broken spirit. You will not reject a broken and repentant heart, O God” (Psalm 51:2–3, 10, 16-17).

In his sermon, Jesus offers six examples of the righteousness that “goes far beyond that of the scribes and Pharisees.” Jesus wants his followers to learn that God doesn’t make us righteous from the outside-in by giving us a list of rules to obey. God’s righteousness envelopes us entirely–body, mind, and spirit are changed.

Next:  You have heard… but I say to you… (about anger)

How Jesus “fulfilled” the Law and the Prophets

Do not suppose that I came to abolish the Law or the Prophets; I did not come to abolish them but to fulfill them.
Matthew 5:17

Our world is driven by the desire to discover the truth about everything. We want to know what’s going on in the furtherest reaches of space, and we want to understand the smallest particles of the universe. And after all our research, are there things we can say are true? Yes. We call many of these truths “laws.” We have the law of gravity, the first and second laws of thermodynamics, and many others.

We are confident affirming many of our universe’s physical laws, but how sure are we about its non-physical laws–laws that are based on truths invisible to microscopes and telescopes. The ancient Hebrew Scriptures (“the Law and the Prophets”) have a lot to say about these truths, and Jesus taught on them often, but his message was so different from what the people usually heard that many wondered if he was a false prophet. Jesus addresses this subject in verse 17. He says he did not come to loosen or destroy the authority of the Scriptures, but to “fulfill” them.

How did Jesus fulfill them? To answer that question we need to understand the purpose of the Hebrew Scriptures. And according to the writers of the New Testament, the earlier testament was a foreshadowing of the advanced studies the Messiah would bring.

• The book of Hebrews refers to the Old Testament as “the elementary teachings about Christ” (6:1) and “only a shadow of the good things that are coming–not the realities themselves.” (10:1).
• Colossians 2:17 says, “These rules are only shadows of the reality yet to come, and Christ is that reality.”

So the purpose of the Law and the Prophets was to identify the Messiah and prepare God’s people for his coming. How did Jesus “fulfill” these Scriptures? Some say he fulfilled them by being perfectly obedient to all 613 commandments found in the Torah. Others say he fulfilled the Scriptures by bringing out their full meaning. These answers have merit, but they are only part of the truth. The ultimate answer is more encompassing–Jesus “fulfilled” the Scriptures by being the one they pointed to. Jesus would bring all the laws and prophecies to fruition. If we paraphrase verse 17, Jesus is saying something along the lines of, “Don’t think that I came to set aside the Scriptures. I didn’t come to set them aside. I came to accomplish what the Scriptures predicted and to carry them into a new era of fulfillment.”

According to Jesus, the authority of the Scriptures is not abolished, but the role of the law and prophets is different now that the one they pointed to has arrived. “Search the Scriptures,” Jesus said. “You think that in them you have eternal life, and these are the Scriptures that testify about me” (John 5:39). When we grasp the fact that the entire Old Testament is an elementary textbook designed to teach humankind about Jesus, we will be better prepared to consider how the laws and regulations in the Old Testament affect Christians. In essence, it means that every Old Testament commandment must be filtered through what we might call a “fulfillment-in-Christ” grid. We do that by identifying the eternal principle behind the commandment and applying it to our circumstances.

Next:  Some examples of how Christians can apply Old Testament laws in today’s world.

How to be Salt and Light

You are the salt of the earth, but if the salt becomes flavorless, how can it be made salty again? It is no longer good for anything except to be thrown out and trampled under people’s feet.

You are the light of the world. A city set on a hill cannot be hidden. Nor do people light a lamp and put it under a basket–they put it on the lamp stand so that it gives light to everyone in the house. In the same way, let your light shine before others so that they can see your good works and give glory to your Father in heaven.
Matthew 5:13-16

Jesus’s disciples were probably shocked to hear him describe them with such lofty titles as “salt of the earth” and “light of the world.” The men and women on the hillside were new believers. How could Jesus describe these often confused and perpetually fumbling followers as the salt of the earth and the light of the world?

Jesus could confidently describe his apprentices as salt and light because Jesus is the salt of the earth and the light of the world.

His disciples are salt and light because they are identified with him. The men and women on the hillside may have been full of wayward beliefs and practices, but they had given their heart and allegiance to Jesus, and they trusted in God for all their needs. In other words, they followed the lead of their master– Jesus frequently confessed that he was completely dependent on his Heavenly Father to sustain him.

The metaphors of salt and light also give us insight into what the beatitudes are all about: the beatitudes are identity statements–first about Jesus, then about those who follow him. Jesus is the salt. Jesus is the light.

• The apostle John opened his gospel with this declaration: “In him was life, and the life was the light of men. The light shines in the darkness, and the darkness has not overcome it” (1:4).
• John uses the image again in chapter 3 when he explains why Jesus was so hated and persecuted: “God’s light came into the world, but people loved the darkness more than the light because their actions were evil. All who do evil hate the light and refuse to go near it for fear their sins will be exposed. But those who live by the truth come to the light so others can see that they are doing what God wants” (3:19-21).
• Toward the end of his ministry, Jesus applied the image directly to himself: “I am the light of the world. If you follow me, you won’t have to walk in darkness because you will have the light that leads to life” (8:12).

So before we look into the finer points of what Jesus is teaching, let’s consider the most foundational lesson here: Jesus is describing who he is. He is speaking about his identity and the identity of those who will become his apprentices. Jesus’s emphasis is not on what we do, but on who we are in him. That’s why Jesus’s statement in John 9:5 is so interesting. He tells his disciples, “As long as I am in the world, I am the light of the world.” Jesus made that claim 2,000 years ago. He is no longer in the world physically, but he continues to be the light of the world because he is shining his light through his followers. It is essential that we understand this connection, or we will never comprehend how weare the light of the world. In and of ourselves, Christians have no light to illuminate the world’s spiritual darkness, but in Christ we are light because he is light.

What might that look like in everyday life? The images of salt and light hold no mystery: they describe how Christians will influence their neighbors in positive ways. How does that happen? What makes it possible for disciples of Jesus to help others?

• The most obvious lesson is found in how salt and light are fundamentally different than the environments they move into. Light is not a type of darkness. It is completely different.
• The second big lesson comes from the first: not only are salt and light different, they are perceived to be different by the environment they enter. When salt is added to raw fish or meat, there is a reaction. The chemical composition of the food begins to change and the process of decay is slowed. When light comes into the darkness, there is a reaction–the darkness disappears. And Jesus says the same thing will happen when his apprentices are in the world. Their presence will cause a reaction. Sometimes the reaction will be positive, and sometimes the response will be persecution. But there will be a reaction and there will be change.

And that’s why Jesus came–he came to change life as we know it. He didn’t try to place his values alongside the values of his culture. Instead, he set up a radically different culture that is based on the values described in the beatitudes: his disciples will be humble, repentant, merciful, gentle, godly peacemakers, and as they live out these values they will become salt and light in their neighborhoods. Those around them will notice the difference, and they will be faced with a choice. Some will be drawn by the light, and others will be offended by its brightness. That’s the way it was with Jesus, and that’s the way he says it will be for his people. They will be different, and they will be recognized as different.

Jesus created the church to be the kind of nurturing culture he describes in the sermon. Some churches are admirable examples of Jesus’s grace and goodness, but I think there is cause for concern about contemporary Christian culture as a whole. I say that because I see and hear the same things from Christians that I see and hear from everyone else: there is complaining and blaming and fears about everything from terrorists to the economy. Many who profess to be Christians are quick to judge and gossip and believe the worst about others. We enjoy the same off-color humor and “reality” shows as everyone else. We often worry about the future and feel guilty about our past. We are busy and in a hurry all the time, and most of us can’t find the “off” switch. The list goes on and on. Have you also noticed this, or is it just me?

“You are the salt of the earth,” Jesus said, “but if the salt becomes flavorless, how can it be made salty again? It is no longer good for anything except to be thrown out and trampled under people’s feet.” Here’s what Jesus is saying: if we who identify ourselves as Christians are content to just blend into our culture and embrace its values, we won’t be mocked or persecuted. We will simply be ignored because we are irrelevant. May the Lord give us eyes to see who we are in Christ.

Next: I came not to abolish, but to fulfill.

Salt of the Earth–Light of the World

You are the salt of the earth, but if the salt becomes flavorless, how can it be made salty again? It is no longer good for anything except to be thrown out and trampled under people’s feet.

You are the light of the world. A city set on a hill cannot be hidden. Nor do people light a lamp and put it under a basket–they put it on the lamp stand so that it gives light to everyone in the house. In the same way, let your light shine before others so that they can see your good works and give glory to your Father in heaven.
Matthew 5:13-16

Jesus begins the Sermon on the Mount with a dynamic list that describes his life and the life of his apprentices, and it doesn’t take long for the reader/listener to realize that Jesus is describing a life of activity and engagement. He mentions characteristics like showing mercy and being a peacemaker that are a call to participate in life in positive ways– showing compassion to the hurting, opposing injustice, confronting prejudice, standing for righteousness, seeking reconciliation between people in conflict with God or one another–this is how Jesus lived and how he wants his followers to live, but he says there will be a cost: persecution. Jesus then uses two familiar images to illustrate the impact his apprentices will have on the world around them: they will be salt and light.

Why does Jesus use these two metaphors to describe his followers? Perhaps the most basic reason is that both substances are essential for life on earth. The human body needs salt to live, and all life on earth requires light.

• Salt had many uses in the ancient world, but it was especially treasured as a food preservative. Salt slows the corruption in perishable items like fish and meat. Properly salted provisions would keep for months and could be the difference between survival and starvation. When Jesus likens his apprentices to salt, he is saying their presence will slow down corruption in their family, neighborhood, and world. Salt was also valued for its seasoning properties, and Jesus may also have had this in mind when he used the metaphor. Salt adds zest and flavor and makes food more interesting and enjoyable.
• When Jesus likens his disciples to “light,” they were probably reminded of Isaiah’s prophecy about Israel: “For behold, darkness shall cover the earth, and thick darkness the peoples, but the Lord will shine upon you, and his glory will be seen upon you. All nations will come to your light, and mighty kings will come to see your radiance” (60:2-3).

Salt and light have something else in common besides being essential for life on earth: both are catalysts. Light and salt radically change the environment they enter.

• When salt is put on fish or meat, it does not simply change the taste; it alters the chemical properties of the food and immediately begins to slow down decomposition.
• The same is true of light. It doesn’t just add something to help us see better in the darkness; light eliminates darkness and creates an entirely new environment.

These two metaphors describe the essential nature of God’s people, but they also speak to the woeful condition of the world we live in. The world needs light and salt because it is filled with darkness and corruption. But what does spiritual salt and light look like in today’s world?

Next: How to be salt and light.