To be fully HUMAN — A Daily Reflection

 

For this reason the Jews tried all the harder to kill him; not only was he breaking the Sabbath, but he was even calling God his own Father, making himself equal with God.

 

For this reason… With every step, every word, in every way, Jesus infuriated the Jews.  It was bad enough that he kept breaking the Law, but Jesus made things worse by saying that he was equal with God.  Later on, He would tell them that He WAS God! 

 

In this instance, he had broken the Sabbath.  Then he took it one step further and said, "My Father is always at his work to this very day, and I, too, am working."  In other words, "The Father has been working, and continues to work, even on the Sabbath; I, too, have been working, and continue to work, even on the Sabbath." And that, to those faithful, law-abiding Jews, was the final straw.  Or so they thought. 

 

For this reason… Whoa!  Doesn’t Genesis 2:2 say that God rested on the seventh day?  Yes, it does.  But He was resting from His creation activity, which was complete.  (Hebrews 4:3) Several thousand years later, the weekly Sabbath was ordained in order for the Jews to commemorate that fact.  Once creation was finished, God began the work of conserving what he had created.  And now, he is "sustaining all things by His powerful word."  (Hebrews 1:3)  When sin entered God’s creation, he began the long work of redeeming his cursed and disintegrating creation.  (Romans 8:20-23).  So it was perfectly proper for Jesus to "do good" on the Sabbath.  (Luke 6:9)

 

For this reason… What does this mean for you and me?  The same thing Jesus was trying to tell the Jews… that we should not allow man-made restrictions, traditions and "laws" to drag us back into the bondage Jesus broke on the cross.  Romans 10:4 (NIV) says, "Christ is the end of the law, so there may be righteousness for everyone who believes." Jesus is the complete end and fulfillment of the law’s 613 commandments, ending their jurisdiction over us completely.  We are no longer justified by law keeping of any kind.

 

For this reason… Galatians 2:16 (NIV) says, "… know that a man is not justified by observing the law, but by faith in Jesus Christ.  So we, too, have put our faith in Christ Jesus that we may be justified by faith in Christ and not by observing the law, because by observing the law no one will be justified."  And in Hebrews 7:18-19 (NIV), "The former regulation is set aside because it was weak and useless (for the law made nothing perfect), and a better hope is introduced, by which we draw near to God."

 

For this reason… God’s rending of the veil in the temple at the moment of Jesus’ death was a powerful demonstration that the Old Testament covenant had been done away with, and that God was beginning a new and superior covenant with His church.  Matthew 27:51 says, "At that moment the curtain of the temple was torn in two from top to bottom.  The earth shook and the rocks split."  God showed in a wonderful way that the way to Him was opened (Hebrews 10:14-16).  No longer is there a need for priesthoods, altars, temples, rites or sacrifices.  Jesus has finished, once for all, the works of salvation by His death on the cross. (Hebrews 7:27; Hebrews 10:10; Romans 6:10).  This earthquake is parallel with the earthquake at Mt. Sinai when God gave Moses the Law.  (Exodus 19:16-19)  The earthquake at Calvary signified that the demands of the law were over and curse of the law forever abolished. (Hebrews 12:18-24)  The torn veil indicates He conquered sin; the earthquake that he conquered the law and fulfilled it.

 

For this reason… The law was never intended to be a permanent administration, but rather a temporary one.  Galatians 3:19 (NIV) states, "What, then, was the purpose of the law?  It was added because of transgressions until the Seed to whom the promise referred (Jesus) had come."  (emphasis mine)  Here, Paul is showing that the Law of Moses is an addition to God’s covenant with Abraham.  It was added for the express purpose of revealing the holiness of God and the sinful nature of man, in order to make men know just how sinful they really were.  Paul said in Romans 7:7 (NIV), "Indeed I would not have known what sin was except through the law."

 

For this reason…  The law was meant to be a temporary measure until the Messiah came.  Now that Jesus has come, the law is no longer in effect.  Take a look at Romans 3:20-21 (NIV), "Therefore, no one will be declared righteous in his sight by observing the law; rather, through the law we become conscious of sin. But now a righteousness from God, apart from the law, has been made known, to which the Law and the Prophets testify."

 

For this reason… Every bit of the law was nailed to that bloody cross at Calvary , having been completed and fulfilled in the life of our Lord Jesus Christ.  Colossians 2:14-16 (NIV) says, "…having cancelled the written code, with its regulations, that was against us and that stood opposed to us; he took it away, nailing it to the cross.  And having disarmed the powers and authorities, he made a public spectacle of them, triumphing over them by the cross.  Therefore do not let anyone judge you by what you eat or drink, or with regard to a religious festival, a New Moon celebration, or a Sabbath day.  These are a shadow of the things that were to come; the reality, however, is found in Christ."

 

For this reason… The "written code" was the Decalouge, written by the finger of God himself, representing the whole law.  This handwriting opposed us in that it only amplified every man’s guilt and unworthiness before God.  Jesus blotted out this handwriting by His triumph at Calvary .  He rendered it null and void. The Greek term used by Paul in verse 14 is "exaleipho" - "to totally wipe and wash away" or "to wipe off, wipe away, to obliterate." God used such a strong word to emphasize in unmistakable language the fact of the law’s obliteration for the Christian.

 

For this reason… Through Jesus’ death on the cross, we have been freed forever from the whole law.  And we have also been freed from the “laws” the church of today has instilled.  We must resist any temptation to become legalistic and thereby to become ensnared into new bondage to legalistic requirements.  And we must resist the temptation to create a new set of laws – laws that were never written by God, and which were solely written by man. 

 

Remember, the letter of the law will kill you, but the spirit of the law will set you free.