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10 Things I Hate About You
By Kyle Cease, Cameron Fraser, Joseph Gordon-Levitt, Tarance Houston, Greg Jackson (II), Allison Janney, Andrew Keegan, Demegio Kimbrough, David Krumholtz, Heath Ledger, David Leisure, Quinn Maixner, Larry Miller, Daryl Mitchell, Larisa Oleynik, Susan May Pratt, Eric Riedmann, Julia Stiles, Gabrielle Union
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The history of the Israelites up to the time of Jesus was marked by a profound failure to be "a light to the Gentiles" as they were supposed to be. The Law was forgotten and rediscovered, forgotten and rediscovered. By the time of Jesus, it had become encumbered by added traditions; in seeking to provide guidance on how to obey the Law, the Jews had completely missed the point of the Law. They imagined that God created the Law, and then created men so that men could obey the Law that God had created beforehand. They had arguments about whether God himself abided by the Law. They conjured from the air the idea that the Law's purpose was to regulate behavior (see Deut. 10:12-17, 30:6, and Jer. 4:4 for evidence that it was not).
Into this mix comes Jesus:
"Do not think that I have come to abolish the Law or the Prophets; I have not come to abolish them but to fulfill them. I tell you the truth, until heaven and earth disappear, not the smallest letter, not the least stroke of a pen, will by any means disappear from the Law until everything is accomplished. Anyone who breaks one of the least of these commandments and teaches others to do the same will be called least in the kingdom of heaven, but whoever practices and teaches these commands will be called great in the kingdom of heaven. For I tell you that unless your righteousness surpasses that of the Pharisees and the teachers of the law, you will certainly not enter the kingdom of heaven." (Matthew 5:17-20)
He has already taken the world of his disciples and turned their perception of 'blessing' upside-down (Matthew 5:3-12). He had then told his disciples that they were going to take up the task that had been formerly given to Israel: as God's new 'chosen people,' Jesus's disciples were going to be "the light of the world" (vv. 13-16). He then announced to them (in what I like to call the "preemptive strike") that this would not involve getting rid of the Law; instead, the Law will be even more central in the kingdom of heaven. This was foretold by the prophet Jeremiah:
"'The time is coming,' declares the LORD, 'when I will make a new covenant with the house of Israel and with the house of Judah. It will not be like the covenant I made with their forefathers when I took them by the hand to lead them out of Egypt, because they broke my covenant, though I was a husband to them,' declares the LORD. 'This is the covenant I will make with the house of Israel after that time,' declares the LORD. 'I will put my law in their minds and write it on their hearts. I will be their God, and they will be my people. No longer will a man teach his neighbor, or a man his brother, saying, "Know the LORD," because they will all know me, from the least of them to the greatest,' declares the LORD. 'For I will forgive their wickedness and will remember their sins no more.'" (Jer. 31:31-34)
And so the righteousness that Jesus talks about in v. 20 which surpasses that of the scribes and the Pharisees is based in the same Law that the scribes and Pharisees purported to teach and follow. Jesus' teachings in vv. 21-48 talk about actions, yet his words in vv. 17-20 indicate that the "righteousness of the kingdom" and that his own teaching on the Law will be qualitatively different from what has come before. We can thus understand that the teaching in vv. 21-48 is describing actions which flow from the heart which has had God's law written on it.
And not just written on it. We always talk about how Jesus seemed to see the intent of the Law, how he points us always to what the Law means for our hearts or our inner selves. Yet we don't recognize the same sort of teaching here. Jesus is showing us what life looks like when one's heart has been circumcised. Having God's law written on our hearts means something different than merely having the words enshrined there; the Law is supposed to shape our hearts. Look at the command against murder: what sort of people are we to be on the inside if we are commanded not to be murderous towards each other? Our attitude towards people should be life-giving; thus we will not be saying things ("Raca!") to our brothers that lead us down a destructive road--for what earthly court can actually prosecute one for being angry? No, they can only prosecute you for what results from your anger. The command against murder is supposed to shape your heart such that you don't have to worry about your anger leading you to do things that can be prosecuted or pulling others into such a situation with you.
Edit:
Just thought I'd include a little something about how/what I'm doing. I've grown ever more sure over the past few months that where I'm going is not where I want to go--I'm thinking that my current educational pursuits don't have as much to do with what I'm interested in as I would like. So, in all probability, I'm about to enter Careerland.
Another thing some of you should know is that there have been long periods of intense doubt for me in the past year-and-a-half or so. And by "intense doubt," I don't mean the common "I'm questioning my faith" stage that most Christians go through as they grow up. When that happened for me, it was the working of my mind that brought me back. This time, it has been my heart crying out against the life-blaspheming alternatives.
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| | Posted 12/18/2006 3:53 PM - 29 Views - 8 eProps - 7 comments
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