How Things Work: A Brief History of Reality
BOOK II: The Power of Three (Science & Religion) – Consideration #107. "The Teachings of Jesus: Transcending the Law of Moses"
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Tuesday October 31, 2023
“Had the doctrines of Jesus been preached always as pure as they came from his lips, the whole civilized world would now have been Christians.”
– Thomas Jefferson
PREFACE
Welcome Everybody!
Jesus begins his ministry by clearly stating that he is not here to destroy the law of Moses. The law is real, and the law is important. In fact, in the world of human beings, the law is completely necessary. However, the law is really just the first step. It represents the beginning of knowledge and understanding related to God, it is the minimal needed to start a real investigation into what God expects from us. It is not the final answer.
“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. For truly I tell you, 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.”
– Matthew 5:17-18
Jesus gives direct and specific examples of how to transcend the law. To follow the letter of the law is not as important as understanding the spirit of the law. For Jesus, the law of Moses is designed to help keep us from taking wrong actions that are against God.
However, the “new” law is designed to help keep us from thinking wrong thoughts, or thinking against God, which is what leads to sin and wrong actions in the first place.
Righteousness is no longer a matter of right actions, but right thinking, and even right feeling. One by one, Jesus goes through the laws explaining how they should ultimately live in your heart, not your mind.
“You have heard that it was said to the people long ago, ‘You shall not murder, and anyone who murders will be subject to judgment.’ But I tell you that anyone who is angry with a brother or sister will be subject to judgment.”
– Matthew 5:21-22
“You have heard that it was said, ‘You shall not commit adultery.’ But I tell you that anyone who looks at a woman lustfully has already committed adultery with her in his heart.”
– Matthew 5:27-28
Jesus suggests that evil actions are the result of an evil heart. To get to the root of the problem requires going to the heart of the problem. Sinful action is the symptom of a sinful heart; the real issue is the heart itself. If the heart is pure, there will be no sinful actions.
Truly Righteous people do more than act like God, they think like God – becoming more like God. This radical concept supported by Jesus even suggests loving and being merciful to your enemies, certainly not an Old Testament tradition; or any other ancient tradition.
“You have heard that it was said, ‘Love your neighbor and hate your enemy.’ But I tell you, love your enemies and pray for those who persecute you, that you may be children of your Father in heaven. He causes his sun to rise on the evil and the good, and sends rain on the righteous and the unrighteous. If you love those who love you, what reward will you get? Are not even the tax collectors doing that? And if you greet only your own people, what are you doing more than others? Do not even pagans do that? Be perfect, therefore, as your heavenly Father is perfect.”
– Matthew 5:43-48
CONSIDERATION: #107 – The Teachings of Jesus: Transcending the Law of Moses
What is important for Jesus is purity of heart, making hypocrisy the most un-spiritual state of existence possible. Hypocrites perform righteous actions for “show,” whereas truly righteous people perform righteous actions out of love.
One key principle emphasized by Jesus is that God rewards actions taken in private where they are not seen by others: secret actions.
“Be careful not to practice your righteousness in front of others to be seen by them. If you do, you will have no reward from your Father in heaven.
So when you give to the needy, do not announce it with trumpets, as the hypocrites do in the synagogues and on the streets, to be honored by others. Truly I tell you, they have received their reward in full. But when you give to the needy, do not let your left hand know what your right hand is doing, so that your giving may be in secret. Then your Father, who sees what is done in secret, will reward you.”
– Matthew 6:1-4
“When you fast, do not look somber as the hypocrites do, for they disfigure their faces to show others they are fasting. Truly I tell you, they have received their reward in full. But when you fast, put oil on your head and wash your face, so that it will not be obvious to others that you are fasting, but only to your Father, who is unseen; and your Father, who sees what is done in secret, will reward you.”
– Matthew 6:16-18
Jesus encourages his disciples to focus on spiritual goals, as opposed to physical earthly goals. To worry about physical existence shows a lack of faith that God is in control of everything.
This is reminiscent of the Israelites’ constant complaining over being hungry, thirsty, and tired during their Exodus from Egypt. Always chastising Moses or God for their terrible situation, instead of appreciating all that God had done and given them.
Jesus promotes a promise that if you focus and take care of your spiritual needs, God will take care of your physical needs. All you really need is faith. Put God first, just as the first commandment says, and you will live a life of grace under God.
“Do not store up for yourselves treasures on earth, where moths and vermin destroy, and where thieves break in and steal. But store up for yourselves treasures in heaven, where moths and vermin do not destroy, and where thieves do not break in and steal. For where your treasure is, there your heart will be also.”
– Matthew 6:19-21
“Therefore I tell you, do not worry about your life, what you will eat or drink; or about your body, what you will wear. Is not life more than food, and the body more than clothes? Look at the birds of the air; they do not sow or reap or store away in barns, and yet your heavenly Father feeds them. Are you not much more valuable than they? Can any one of you by worrying add a single hour to your life?”
– Matthew 6:25-27
Jesus cautions that truly righteous people are not judgmental toward others, unlike the Pharisees and Sadducees. Jesus comforts and strengthens his disciples by reassuring them that if they in fact seek out heavenly endeavors, God will reward them for their effort.
“Do not judge, or you too will be judged. For in the same way you judge others, you will be judged, and with the measure you use, it will be measured to you.
Why do you look at the speck of sawdust in your brother’s eye and pay no attention to the plank in your own eye? How can you say to your brother, ‘Let me take the speck out of your eye,’ when all the time there is a plank in your own eye? You hypocrite, first take the plank out of your own eye, and then you will see clearly to remove the speck from your brother’s eye.”
– Matthew 7:1-5
“Ask and it will be given to you; seek and you will find; knock and the door will be opened to you. For everyone who asks receives; the one who seeks finds; and to the one who knocks, the door will be opened.”
– Matthew 7:7-8
Jesus completes his explanation of the new law not with a set of more difficult rules or commands to follow; but instead by incorporating the entire law of Moses and the Prophets into one simple precept, commonly known as the “Golden Rule.”
So in everything, do to others what you would have them do to you, for this sums up the Law and the Prophets.
– Matthew 7:12
Eighteen-hundred years later the renowned Enlightenment philosopher Immanuel Kant would reformulate the Golden Rule into his Categorical Imperative in an attempt to establish a singular universal model of morality.
POSTSCRIPT
When asked the best way to pray, Jesus provides a clear understanding of what real prayer is, as opposed to the prayer of hypocrites. The Lord’s Prayer focuses on God’s will, not ours, making the perfect prayer one of complete faith, trust, and humility. It is simple, humble, and powerful.
The Lord’s Prayer:
“And when you pray, do not be like the hypocrites, for they love to pray standing in the synagogues and on the street corners to be seen by others. Truly I tell you, they have received their reward in full. But when you pray, go into your room, close the door and pray to your Father, who is unseen. Then your Father, who sees what is done in secret, will reward you. And when you pray, do not keep on babbling like pagans, for they think they will be heard because of their many words. Do not be like them, for your Father knows what you need before you ask him.
This, then, is how you should pray:
Our Father in heaven, hallowed be your name,
your kingdom come, your will be done,
on earth as it is in heaven.
Give us today our daily bread.
And forgive us our debts, as we also have forgiven our debtors.
And lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from the evil one.
For if you forgive other people when they sin against you, your heavenly Father will also forgive you. But if you do not forgive others their sins, your Father will not forgive your sins.
– Matthew 6:5-14
In the Sermon on the Mount Jesus openly and directly explains his teachings. However, often times his explanations were more cryptive. One of the techniques Jesus used to identify believers from non-believers of his teaching was through the use of parables.
Next week we take a break from the Gospel of Matthew to consider morality and Artificial Intelligence…
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