Tuesday 18 July 2023

Background

Having arrived secretly in Jerusalem for the festival of Booths (see yesterday’s Word in Time), Jesus began to teach. He was drawn into a debate about the nature of his authority and his relationship with the Jewish laws. Jesus referred back to an incident described in John chapter 5, which is once again set against the backdrop of a Jewish festival. Jesus encountered a man at the pool of Beth-zatha who had been ill for 38 years and asked if he wanted to be made well. Jesus healed him ‘at once’ – despite the fact that it was a sabbath, when work was forbidden. According to John’s Gospel, the Jews then began persecuting Jesus, who told them: "My Father is still working, and I also am working" (5:17). 

In Matthew 5:18-19, Jesus says that “until heaven and earth pass away, not one letter, not one stroke of a letter, will pass from the law until all is accomplished” and that whoever breaks a law, or encourages others to do so, will be called least in the kingdom of heaven. Jesus was well aware of the importance of the law because he understood better than anyone that it was an outworking of God’s love for all people. The laws concerning the sabbath were a gift, designed to ensure that people (and animals) from all walks of life received the rest they needed to flourish. When these laws were used to argue that Jesus should not have healed a chronically ill man on the sabbath, it was a sign that those who opposed Jesus had lost sight of the principles underpinning the law – the love of God for all God’s people, and God’s desire for human flourishing.  

To Ponder:

• In the Church today, do you think there is enough focus on God’s law? Or too much focus, perhaps?  
• How can we develop a healthy relationship with God’s law? 
• Can you think of an example where there has seemed to be a tension between the laws in the Bible and God’s love for all people? How have you navigated this? 

Prayer

Loving God, we thank you for the laws set down in the Bible, and for all they reveal to us about your desire for human flourishing. Give us the wisdom to understand your will and to be faithful to your calling on our lives. Amen.