The Law, intended to give Life.

Christ is risen – arise my soul! The thought of your resurrection explodes on me again. Against all the laws of this world you took back your life – as a demonstration of your dominance and control of your creation.

” The act of my resurrection was not only or primarily to demonstrate my control of creation, although it does do that. It was primarily to demonstrate the finality of the victory which I won on the cross. The victory over the forces of darkness, the victory over the sinful nature of all those who would choose to share it. The victory over the curse my Father has placed on the earth. The victory which shows that I have the final say. There are many convulsions going on in the world as the forces of evil try to fight a rearguard battle – but I have news for them – the battle has already been won – and you all participate in that victory although the dust of the battle is still all around you. Look up and see the light – my light shining brighter than the Sun and calling you Home.”

We are reading John 7:14 – 24. Jesus follows his brothers to the Passover festival at Jerusalem secretly. He is not yet ready to expose himself to the possibility of a premature conclusion to His ministry by being put to death at this stage. However He is seen teaching in the temple courts and the crowd is amazed by His teaching. This reaction of amazement is mentioned a number of times in the gospels as a response by the hearers to the demonstration of His supernatural nature in His actions and teaching.

This section makes two important points. The Pharisees have been beating Jesus with the law and here Jesus addresses His relationship to the law. The first important point that we can see from this section is that the law was intended to bring life and wholeness. We see that in verse 23 b: “Why are you angry with me for healing the whole man on the sabbath“?The law was never meant to limit and judge. We read in Paul’s letters that the law was given so that we may understand what sin is. However the ultimate purpose of the law was to lead us to Christ. In Romans 10:4 we read that “Christ is the end of the law”, in other words he was the ultimate fulfilment of the law. He personifies the law in all His actions and teaching.

Although the Pharisees held the law up constantly as a standard by which people should live, they themselves were guilty of breaking the very spirit of the law which was to give life. It is so important for us today to understand the role of the law so that we live our lives according to the gospel of Jesus who is the fulfilment of the law and not by trying to legalistically obey each letter of the law.

The second point in this message comes from verse 17, where Jesus says, “if anyone chooses to do God’s will, he find out whether my teaching comes from God or whether I speak on my own”. The underlying message of that statement is that for us to understand the whole of the interaction of the law and Jesus we have to have an attitude of willing obedience to God’s will. We see elsewhere where Jesus explained this in his parables for instance in Matthew chapter 13 where he says, “whoever has will be given more and he will have an abundance”. This is an underlying principle which is necessary for us to understand if we are going to fully grasp the whole teaching not only of the law but of the Bible.

This spiritual principle pervades the whole New Testament. On the one hand there are the insiders who are willing to receive and obey the teachings of Jesus of whom it is said they will receive more and understand more clearly. On the other hand are those that are sceptical and are called outsiders. What little understanding they have is drained away from them. The Pharisees were a clear example of this latter group. Despite the clear evidence that had as to who Jesus was they did not understand and continually rejected him. This reminds me of the importance of our attitude towards the Scriptures when we read them. Are we ready to receive them and put them into practice or are they simply words which may be interesting or not?

It is also important to note that Jesus continues to hold up His relationship to His Father as a vital part of understanding who He is and what His mission is.

There is plenty here to consider and apply to ourselves. Be blessed till I see you again next week.