Old Wine

Jesus and the Kingdom

In light of the extensive and detailed predictions by the biblical prophets of an end-time Kingdom of God, with a descendant of David as the king, the Jews of Jesus’ time were looking for the arrival of such a kingdom at anytime.

It’s significant that, from the announcement of his birth, Jesus is identified as this king. The angel speaking to Mary said, “You will be with child and give birth to a son, and you are to give him the name Jesus. He will be great and will be called the Son of the Most High. The Lord God will give him the throne of his father David, and he will reign over the house of Jacob forever; his kingdom will never end.” (Luke 1:31-33) When the Magi came seeking him, their question was, “Where is the one who has been born king of the Jews?” (Matthew 2:2) The teachers, who were familiar with the prophetic claims, answered, “In Bethlehem in Judea, for this is what the prophet has written: ‘But you, Bethlehem, in the land of Judah, are by no means least among the rulers of Judah; for out of you will come a ruler who will be the shepherd of my people Israel.'” (Matthew 2:5-6) However the Magi had learned about this birth, they, as well as the Jews, were expecting the Son of David who would be king of Israel.

There are several titles by which Jesus went, which we tend to take for granted without thinking much about their meaning. The most common one is probably “Christ”, which was used by Herod in inquiring for the Magi. “Christ” is a Greek rendering of the Hebrew term which means “anointed”. It is used almost exclusively to refer to a king. The kings of Israel were anointed by the priest in preparation for their role. Whether we realize it or not, when we call Jesus “Christ”, we’re referring to him as the king over the kingdom of Israel.

Another term that was used commonly of Jesus is “Son of David.” This term also refers to the king of the kingdom that the prophets announced. The people’s use of this term and Jesus’ acceptance of it shows that their expectations of him were similar.

A term that Jesus often applied to himself was “Son of Man”. By itself, this is a Hebrew idiom meaning a human one. God addresses Ezekiel with this term many times with this meaning. But when Jesus uses it of himself, he’s alluding to the vision in the book of Daniel. In chapter seven Daniel sees the “Ancient of Days” on a fiery throne. Four beasts, representing human kingdoms, are destroyed. And then he saw “one like a son of man, coming with the clouds of heaven. He approached the Ancient of Days and was led into his presence. He was given authority, glory and sovereign power; all peoples, nations and men of every language worshiped him. His dominion is an everlasting dominion that will not pass away, and his kingdom is one that will never be destroyed.” (Daniel 7:13-14) Jesus is clearly identifying with this eternal king over the entire world when he refers to himself as the “Son of Man”, which he does often.

The bulk of Jesus’ preaching is related to this kingdom. Before he even appeared in public, his cousin John announced him by saying, “Repent, for the kingdom of heaven is near.” (Matthew 3:2) This might be referring to a kingdom from heaven, or Matthew might have been using “heaven” as an evasive synonym to keep from naming God. Luke seems to use the phrase “kingdom of God” where Matthew uses “kingdom of heaven”, but they both refer to the predicted righteous kingdom of Israel and its Davidic king.

Much of Jesus’ preaching is about the good news (gospel) of the kingdom. In fact, when he uses the term “gospel”, he is referring to the coming of the kingdom in the person of himself. One of the prophetic signs of the presence of the kingdom was to be miraculous healings, and Jesus uses this to testify to his filling of that role. (cp. Luke 4:16-21) Many of his parables were to explain about the kingdom that he was offering.

Many interpreters are tripped up by Jesus’ statement in Luke 17:21 where some translations say, “the kingdom of God is within you”. They believe that this kingdom is an internal thing, despite the words of the prophets. The Greek preposition is ambiguous, and is probably better understood as “among you”. The Kingdom, represented by Jesus, was in their midst.

This Kingdom of God, that Jesus was offering, was accepted by many, as illustrated by its climax at the triumphal entry into Jerusalem. But it was rejected by the leaders of the Jewish people, which was God’s plan all along. From that point on, Jesus’ message turned to his death and resurrection and the salvation that would bring.

But the promised kingdom was not cancelled, only delayed. Before his ascension, when the disciples asked if he was now going to restore the kingdom to Israel, he basically told them, “Later”. (Acts 1:6-7) After he was taken up, angels told them that he would return.

Though the promised kingdom did not come immediately, Jesus intended that his followers desire and pray for its coming. The prayer that he taught his disciples begins with a request for the kingdom to come so that God’s will is done on earth. Some manuscripts have the prayer end with “for thine is the kingdom and the power and the glory forever.” (Matt. 6:9-13)

The last few words of the New Testament at the end of the book of Revelation are a plea for Jesus to come back to earth. This future messianic kingdom has been a focus for Jews through the ages because they know the prophetic scriptures. But Christians tend to ignore these promises, even though their name implies that Jesus is the messianic king of that kingdom. May we continually pray the prayer that Jesus gave: “May your kingdom come”, and may we eagerly anticipate it.

The Kingdom of God

The prophets of the Hebrew scriptures wrote at quite some length about a reconstituted kingdom of Israel in the future. Virtually every prophet, except possibly Jonah, mentions it, some quite extensively.

Some of the things written are quite clear. This kingdom will be preceded by a period of God’s judgment on the nations. “In those days and at that time, when I restore the fortunes of Judah and Jerusalem, I will gather all nations and bring them down to the Valley of Jehoshaphat. There I will enter into judgment against them concerning my inheritance, my people Israel, for they scattered my people among the nations and divided up my land.” (Joel 3:1-2) The nation of Israel will be established forever with Jerusalem as its capital. “Look upon Zion, the city of our festivals; your eyes will see Jerusalem, a peaceful abode, a tent that will not be moved; its stakes will never be pulled up, nor any of its ropes broken.” (Isaiah 33:20)

God will reign through the person of a king who is a descendant of David. “‘The days are coming,’ declares the Lord, ‘when I will raise up to David a righteous Branch, a King who will reign wisely and do what is just and right in the land. In his days Judah will be saved and Israel will live in safety. This is the name by which he will be called: The Lord (is) our righteousness.'” (Jeremiah 23:5-6) “I will place over them one shepherd, my servant David, and he will tend them; he will tend them and be their shepherd. I the Lord will be their God, and my servant David will be prince among them. I the Lord have spoken.” (Ezekiel 34:23-24)

From the lengthy descriptions of this coming kingdom, it is clear that there will be universal peace, prosperity, health and righteousness. War between nations will cease. “He will judge between many peoples and will settle disputes for strong nations far and wide. They will beat their swords into plowshares and their spears into pruning hooks. Nation will not take up sword against nation, nor will they train for war anymore.” (Micah 4:3) “The fruit of righteousness will be peace; the effect of righteousness will be quietness and confidence forever. My people will live in peaceful dwelling places, in secure homes, in undisturbed places of rest.” (Isaiah 32:17-18)

Animal predation will also cease. “The wolf will live with the lamb, the leopard will lie down with the goat, the calf and the lion and the yearling together; and a little child will lead them. The cow will feed with the bear, their young will lie down together, and the lion will eat straw like the ox. The infant will play near the hole of the cobra, and the young child put his hand into the viper’s nest. They will neither harm nor destroy on all my holy mountain, for the earth will be full of the knowledge of the Lord as the waters cover the sea.” (Isaiah 11:6-9)

Prosperity will be widespread. “‘The days are coming,’ declares the Lord, ‘when the reaper will be overtaken by the plowman and the planter by the one treading grapes. New wine will drip from the mountains and flow from all the hills. I will bring back my exiled people Israel; they will rebuild the ruined cities and live in them. They will plant vineyards and drink their wine; they will make gardens and eat their fruit. I will plant Israel in their own land, never again to be uprooted from the land I have given them,’ says the Lord your God.” (Amos 9:13-15) “Every man will sit under his own vine and under his own fig tree, and no one will make them afraid, for the Lord Almighty has spoken.” (Micah 4:4) “For the Lord will ransom Jacob and redeem them from the hand of those stronger than they. They will come and shout for joy on the heghts of Zion; they will rejoice in the bounty of the Lord– the grain, the new wine and the oil, the young of the flocks and herds. They will be like a well-watered garden, and they will sorrow no more.”

Healing and good health will be rampant. “But for you who revere my name, the sun of righteousness will rise with healing in its wings. And you will go out and leap like calves released from the stall.” (Malachi 4:2) “This is what the Lord Almighty says: ‘Once again men and women of ripe old age will sit in the streets of Jerusalem, each with cane in hand because of his age. The city streets will be filled with boys and girls playing there.'” (Zechariah 8:4-5) “I will rejoice over Jerusalem and take delight in my people; the sound of weeping and of crying will be heard in it no more. Never again will there be in it an infant who lives but a few days, or an old man who does not live out his years; he who dies at a hundred will be thought a mere youth; he who fails to reach a hundred will be considered accursed.” (Isaiah 65:19-20)

And universal righteousness will be the order of the day. “For I will take you out of the nations; I will gather you from all the countries and bring you back into your own land. I will sprinkle clean water on you, and you will be clean; I will cleanse you from all your impurities and from all your idols. I will give you a new heart and put a new spirit in you; I will remove from you your heart of stone and give you a heart of flesh. And I will put my Spirit in you and move you to follow my decrees and be careful to keep my laws. You will live in the land I gave your forefathers; you will be my people, and I will be your God.” (Ezekiel 36:24-28) “The remnant of Israel will do no wrong; they will speak no lies, nor will deceit be found in their mouths. They will eat and lie down and no one will make them afraid.” (Zephaniah 3:13) “For the earth will be filled with the knowledge of the glory of the Lord, as the waters cover the sea.” (Habakkuk 2:14)

The Law of God will be the standard of behavior. “Many peoples will come and say, ‘Come, let us go up to the mountain of the Lord, to the house of the God of Jacob. He will teach us his ways, so that we may walk in his paths.’ The law will go out from Zion, the word of the Lord from Jerusalem.” (Isaiah 2:3) “I will give them an undivided heart and put a new spirit in them; I will remove from them their heart of stone and give them a heart of flesh. Then they will follow my decrees and be careful to keep my laws. They will be my people, and I will be their God.” (Ezekiel 11:19-20) “My servant David will be king over them, and they will all have one shepherd. They will follow my laws and be careful to keep my decrees.” (Ezekiel 37:24)

This kingdom, though it be of Israel, will extend its dominion throughout the earth. “He will proclaim peace to the nations. His rule will extend from sea to sea and from the River to the ends of the earth.” (Zechariah 9:10b) “Then the survivors from all the nations that have attacked Jerusalem will go up year after year to worship the King, the Lord Almighty, and to celebrate the Feast of Tabernacles. If any of the peoples of the earth do not go up to Jerusalem to worship the King, the Lord Almighty, they will have no rain.” (Zechariah 14:16-17) “In that day the Root of Jesse will stand as a banner for the peoples; the nations will rally to him, and his place of rest will be glorious.” (Isaiah 11:10) “At that time they will call Jerusalem The Throne of the Lord, and all nations will gather in Jerusalem to honor the name of the Lord. No longer will they follow the stubbornness of their evil hearts.” (Jeremiah 3:17)

There has never been a time in history when these things have been even remotely true. And reading the prophets makes it clear that these conditions will occur in the future, in the last days. This coming kingdom of God is mentioned in several Psalms (e.g. 2, 72, 89, 110). But it’s discussed at great length in the prophets in the following passages: Isaiah 2:2-5; 9:6-7; 11; 12; 14:1-2; 16:5; 25; 26; 27; 29:17-24; 30:18-24; 32:1-4, 15-20; 33:17-24; 35; 45:17-25; 49:5-26; 51:1-16; 52:1-12; 54; 55; 59:19-21; 60; 61; 62; 65:17-25; 66:18-24; Jeremiah 3:14-18; 23:5-8; 30:8-22; 31:1-14, 27-40; 32:36-44; 33:6-26; Ezekiel 11:16-20; 34:23-31; 36; 37; 39:25-29; Daniel 2:44-45; 7:13-14, 18, 27; Hosea 1:11; 2:16-23; 3:5; Joel 3:17-21; Amos 9:11-15; Obadiah 17-21; Micah 2:12-13; 4; 5:2-5; 7:11-20; Nahum 1:15; Habakkuk 2:14; Zephaniah 3:9-20; Haggai 2:6-9; Zechariah 8; 9:9-10:12; 14:8-21; Malachi 4:2-4.

It’s unthinkable that these passages could be referring to the church. Any reader who takes the prophets seriously would have to agree; this kingdom is yet to come.

What is The Church?

Many people have the understanding that the church is a brand new entity, started from scratch after the resurrection and ascension of Jesus, specifically at the event recorded in Acts 2 on the Jewish festival of Pentecost. Is that the position that is supported by scripture? Let’s take a look and find out.

The New Testament doesn’t describe a beginning for the group it calls the “church”. We are left to infer such things on our own. Probably one of the bases for thinking that it was started from scratch in the first century is Jesus’ statement to Peter, recorded in Matthew 16:18 (and only there) that “I will build my church.” The assumption is that he is speaking about creating this “church” from a state of non-existence.

The Greek word for “build” in this passage can refer to erecting something new. But it can also refer to continuing construction of something that already exists. An example of this is Romans 15:20 where Paul speaks of building on another man’s foundation.

There are also a couple of mentions of the word “church” in the New Testament that imply its previous existence. In Matthew 18:17 Jesus is talking to his disciples about how to deal with a brother who sins against you. He says to confront the brother alone, then with two or three others. If that doesn’t work, “tell it to the church”. That implies the existence of a church at this time.

Another passage that implies a far older origin for the church is Stephen’s speech in Acts 7:38 where he talks about Moses being with “the church in the wilderness”. (KJV) Some modern translations render this “assembly” because of their preconception of what the “church” is. But it’s the same Greek word, “ekklesia”, that is usually rendered “church”.

The Greek word is derived from a verb meaning “to call out”. So the church is “the called out ones.” It is used of both local gatherings, congregations, and also the worldwide collection of followers of God through Jesus. Incidentally, local gatherings are also referenced with the word “synagogue” as in James 2:2, also usually translated otherwise because of the translator’s presuppositions.

In the Septuagint, the Greek translation of the Hebrew Bible, the word “ekklesia” occurs many dozens of times, usually to translate the Hebrew word “Qahal” referring to the congregation of Israel. One example of this is in Deuteronomy 9:10 referring to the assembly at Mt. Sinai for the giving of the Torah. It is also used in this sense in Deut. 18:16.

The gathering of Israel at Mt. Sinai was actually the first Pentecost. “Pentecost” is the Greek term for “Shavuot”, the biblical feast of weeks or sevens, based on counting seven weeks after first-fruits, which occurred around Passover. This feast is treated in the Bible as a harvest festival and is never specifically equated to the Sinai experience, but the chronology given in Exodus 19 seems to line up pretty closely. Additionally, the parallels with the Sinai experience lead me to think of the Acts 2 celebration of Pentecost as the Sinai of the New Covenant.

Most of the time, “ekklesia” was used in the Septuagint of the assembly of Israel, gathered as a nation. One example among many of this use is in I Kings 8:14 when Solomon is dedicating the temple. The word is used this way frequently in the historical books and the Psalms (e.g. 22:22).

Since Paul explains in his New Testament epistles that Gentile believers in Jesus are added to the covenant community of Israel (Rom. 11:17; Eph. 2:11, 13, 19; 3:6), it might be better to think of the “church” as the covenant community of Israel, to which Gentile believers in Jesus are added. The Gentile believers in the early second century made the mistake of ceasing to think of themselves as identified with Israel. It’s time we got back to the New Testament teaching of our identity in Jesus being connected with God’s covenant people, Israel.

Foreigners and Sabbath

We often tend to think that in the time before the life of Jesus, God was working exclusively with the nation of Israel, and in the time since he works mostly with Gentile believers. This may be generally true. Paul expresses in Ephesians 3 the mystery that was not made known in earlier times. “This mystery is that through the gospel the Gentiles are heirs together with Israel, members together of one body, and sharers together in the promise in Christ Jesus.” (3:6)

But this division is not nearly as clear cut as we tend to think. For one thing, the “church” has not replaced Israel in God’s working, as many like to think. This passage in Ephesians emphasizes that Gentiles who turn to God through Jesus are joined together with Israel. In Romans 11 Paul uses the metaphor of wild olive branches grafted into a cultivated olive tree to show how Gentiles become part of covenant Israel when they turn to God through Jesus.

But an interesting part of this issue is that God folding Gentiles in with Israel is not really anything new. We recall that when Israel left Egypt, they were joined by a “mixed multitude”. (Exodus 12:38) Throughout the Pentateuch instructions are given, mostly for the observance of holy days, and it is emphasized that “the same law applies to the native-born and to the alien living among you”. (Exodus 12:49 – cp. Leviticus 24:22; Numbers 15:15, 29)

We also have examples of Gentiles/foreigners who attached themselves to Israel, such as Ruth. Her passionate plea to Naomi that “your people will be my people and your God my God” ought to resonate with all Gentiles who believe in Jesus today.

Jesus also references the integration of Gentiles into Israel when he presents himself as the good shepherd in John 10. “I have other sheep that are not of this sheep pen. I must bring them also. They too will listen to my voice, and there shall be one flock and one shepherd.” (10:16)

There is a passage that’s less well-known but deals with this same theme in Isaiah 56. Here Isaiah addresses two groups of people who were considered to be somewhat out of God’s favor, foreigners and eunuchs. He gives the same message to each, a message of welcome and inclusion followed by an urging to righteous living and a sense of the reward to follow.

It’s worth noting what Isaiah records God as saying to these groups in his instruction for righteous living. We can get some sense of God’s priorities in passages like this. To the eunichs he says, “To the eunuchs who keep my Sabbaths, who choose what pleases me and hold fast to my covenant…” (56:4)

To the foreigners he says, “And foreigners who bind themselves to the LORD to serve him, to love the name of the LORD, and to worship him, all who keep the Sabbath without desecrating it and who hold fast to my covenant…” (56:6) The list to foreigners is a little longer, but both include keeping the Sabbath and holding fast to his covenant.

It’s interesting that there are verses in the immediate vicinity, both preceding and following, that address the importance in God’s eyes of keeping the Sabbath. “This is what the LORD says: ‘Maintain justice and do what is right, for my salvation is close at hand and my righteousness will soon be revealed. Blessed is the man who does this, the man who holds it fast, who keeps the Sabbath without desecrating it, and keeps his hand from doing any evil.'” (56:1-2) “If you keep your feet from breaking the Sabbath and from doing as you please on my holy day, if you call the Sabbath a delight and the LORD’s holy day honorable, and if you honor it by not going your own way and not doing as you please or speaking idle words, then you will find your joy in the LORD, and I will cause you to ride on the heights of the land and to feast on the inheritance of your father Jacob.” (58:13-14)

It is, in my view, a major tragedy that in the second century the bulk of “Christianity” turned against Israel (the Jews) and against God’s law. Admittedly it was mostly driven by the Fiscus Judaicus, an onerous tax on Jews and those who lived similarly. But in trying to distance themselves from the Jews by establishing different days of worship and festivals than the biblical ones, Gentile believers surrendered much of God’s approval and blessing.

God was fairly clear in the Hebrew scriptures which day he considered to be the Sabbath, and there is no hint of a change of day in the New Testament. “The Lord’s day” in Isaiah 58:13 is clearly the seventh-day Sabbath.

The issue among believers is not “worshiping on Sundays”. It’s a good thing to worship God on any day of the week. The problem is in not giving the regard to the seventh day that God commanded. I urge those Gentile believers in Jesus who really want to follow God’s priorities to set aside Saturday (Friday sunset until Saturday sunset) as a holy day and refrain from doing work and normal day-to-day activities. This should be done not to try to earn God’s favor, but out of love for him and obedience to his commands.

A Slave to What?

In the sixth and seventh chapters of Romans Paul discusses the issue of slavery. He suggests that we are all slaves to either sin or righteousness. “Don’t you know that when you offer yourselves to someone to obey him as slaves, you are slaves to the one whom you obey — whether you are slaves to sin, which leads to death, or to obedience, which leads to righteousness.” (6:16) “You have been set free from sin and have become slaves to righteousness.” (6:18)

He puts it in a slightly different way later in the chapter. “But now that you have been set free from sin and have become slaves to God, the benefit you reap leads to holiness, and the result is eternal life. (6:22)

In a previous passage Paul discussed the contrast between being under law and under grace. The law of God is a factor in both conditions, but the contrast is in two different relationships to the law, the obligation to obey it in your own strength, and the internalization of it, obeying through the power of the Spirit.

Basically the same contrast is in view in these chapters. The law has a role in being a slave to sin in that it defined what sin was. Without the law, there is no concept of sin, no standard of behavior. In discussing this side of the issue, Paul says some things that have been taken by some interpreters to imply that the law is no longer a standard to be aspired to. “So, my brothers, you also died to the law through the body of Christ, that you might belong to another, to him who was raised from the dead, in order that we might bear fruit to God.” (7:4) “But now, by dying to what once bound us, we have been released from the law so that we serve in the new way of the Spirit, and not in the old way of the written code.” (7:6)

With Paul saying that “you died to the law… (that) once bound us, we have been released from the law…”, it’s no wonder that in the second century Christianity was able to find supposed biblical support for its new anti-Torah theology. It seems that Paul is discussing the same dichotomy he was earlier when he was not “under law”, but also not free from God’s law. (cp. I Cor. 9:20-21)

In Romans chapter seven he goes on to emphatically state the positives of the law so that we don’t get the mistaken impression that we can ignore it. “What shall we say, then? Is the law sin? Certainly not!” (7:7) “So then, the law is holy, and the commandment is holy, righteous and good.” (7:12) “We know that the law is spiritual; but I am unspiritual, sold as a slave to sin.” (7:14) “I agree that the law is good.” (7:16)

This string of affirmations by Paul seems to be given as a caution so that his readers don’t get the wrong impression from what he said previously. The earlier mentions of the law seem to be in connection with the definition of sin and being a slave to sin. Paul elucidates this in 7:13. “Did that (the law) which is good, then, become death to me? By no means! But in order that sin might be recognized as sin, it produced death in me through what was good, so that through the commandment sin might become utterly sinful.”

So it was actually sin, as defined by the law, that brought death, not the law itself. And when Paul says, “you died to the law”, he’s talking about the relationship to the law of obligation to obey it in his own strength, as was the case under the “old covenant”.

Paul seems to give us his ultimate conclusion at the end of chapter seven. “For in my inner being I delight in God’s law.” (7:22) “So then, I myself in my mind am a slave to God’s law, but in the sinful nature a slave to the law of sin.” (7:25)

Paul, and each one of us, can choose to be a slave to the “law” of sin, or to God’s law. Which one will you choose?

Under Law

In Romans 6:14 we find the statement that “You are not under law but under grace.” The phrase is not “under the law” but “under law”. What does it mean to be “under law”? Paul uses this term several times in Romans, I Corinthians, and Galatians. Let’s look at these passages to try to determine what Paul means by it.

In Galatians 4:4-5 we see that Jesus was “born under law, to redeem those under law, that we might receive the full rights of sons.” In this passage Paul identifies with those who are “under law”. In I Corinthians 9:20, however, he claims that he in not “under law”. “To the Jews I became like a Jew, to win the Jews. (He was a Jew.) To those under law I became like one under law (though I myself am not under law) so as to win those under law.”

It seems from these passages that “under law” refers to the relationship of the Jews to the law based on the Mosaic covenant, referred to by Paul sometimes as the “old covenant”, and by the writer of Hebrews as the “first covenant”. When God spoke the ten commandments from Sinai and gave additional laws, the people responded, “Everything the Lord has said we will do.” (Exodus 24:3) Moses then took the blood from burnt offerings and sprinkled half of it on the altar and the other half on the people (Exodus 24:6-8), obligating them to follow these laws in order to please God.

Jeremiah speaks of this when he announces the new covenant. “‘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 to lead them out of Egypt, because they broke my covenant, though I was a husband to them’, declares the Lord.” (Jer. 31:31-32) The people were not able to keep the covenant with God in their own strength. These people, the Jews to whom the law was given, were “under law”. Jesus was born under law, and Paul was under law before he found Jesus.

The blood of Jesus inaugurated the new covenant as pointed out by the author of Hebrews (7:22; 8:6, 13; 9:15-22). Under the first covenant, under law, people were responsible for their sins, and no one was able to keep the obligations. Paul’s message to those under law was that under the new covenant Christ took their past sins and they were no longer responsible for them.

What does that mean for life under the new covenant? Are people free to do whatever they want? Jeremiah described the new covenant (with Israel) as involving putting God’s law in their minds and writing it on their hearts, being their God and they his people. Even under the new covenant God identifies his law with his character.

Paul makes that clear in the passages that we mentioned earlier. In I Corinthians 9:21 he goes on to say, “To those not having the law (Gentiles) I became like one not having the law (though I am not free from God’s law but am under Christ’s law) so as to win those not having the law.” Whatever Paul meant by becoming like one not having the law, he wants to make clear to us that he is not free from God’s law, which Christ affirmed in Matthew 5:17-19 and elsewhere.

But Paul is even more emphatic on that point in the Romans passage. In Roman 6, after stating that “you are not under law, but under grace”, he goes on to say, “What then? Shall we sin (break the law) because we are not under law but under grace? By no means!” (6:15) Here he uses the same extreme phrase that he uses in 3:31 to assure people that he is not abandoning the law as a guide to behavior — “Absolutely Not!”

He makes the same point just as emphatically in 6:1. “What shall we say, then? Shall we go on sinning so that grace may increase? By no means!” Just because we are no longer “under law” as the Jews were before the death of Christ doesn’t mean that we are free to ignore God’s instructions in his law about how to live.

Those of us who have trusted Jesus, been brought near to Israel, and been grafted into the olive tree, have God’s Holy Spirit to help us obey his instructions that we couldn’t do in our own strength. As the prophet Ezekiel said, “I will give you a new heart and put a new spirit in you; I will remove from you your heart of stone and give you a heart of flesh. And I will put my Spirit in you and move you to follow my decrees and be careful to keep my laws.” (Ezekiel 36:26-27) No wonder that the day of God’s sending the Holy Spirit coincided with the festival that Jews use to remember the revelation at Mt. Sinai: Shavuot or Pentecost.

In conclusion, Paul contrasts these two different relationships with the law in Galatians 5:18 when he says, “But if you are led by the Spirit, you are not under law.”

Ephesians 2 – Abolish?

In the second chapter of Ephesians there is a passage that trips up a lot of readers. It seems to say that the law was abolished. Let’s look at this passage and see what Paul was really talking about.

In the familiar verses 8-10 Paul points out that salvation is by grace through faith, not by works. Then in verse ten he clarifies that we are created to do good works, lest anyone think that works were not important.

In verses 11-13 he discusses the situation of Gentiles; they were once excluded from citizenship in Israel and foreigners to the covenants. But those who believe in Christ and his work are no longer in that state. They are included in Israel and the covenants. (cp. v. 19)

But in verses 14 and 15 we get the passage that is so often misunderstood. “For he himself is our peace, who has made the two one (Jew and Gentile) and has destroyed the barrier, the dividing wall of hostility, by abolishing in his flesh the law with its commandments and regulations.” With a translation like this, it is natural to think that Paul is claiming that the law has been abolished.

There are a couple of problems with this understanding. Paul emphasized in Romans 3:31 that faith does not nullify the law. He uses the strongest possible epithet to declare that. We could translate it, “Absolutely Not!” Also he uses the same Greek word in both passages for abolish or nullify – katargeo.

So we know that Paul did not consider the law to be nullified or abolished. What then did he mean by his statement?

It’s clear that the main thing he’s talking about is the dividing wall between Jews and Gentiles. This wall has been destroyed through the death of Jesus, as he points out in verse 16. The result is that both Jews and Gentiles are together as one new man.

The law clearly had a part in this separation between Jew and Gentile. Paul pointed out in Romans 3:2 that the Jews have a great advantage over Gentiles in that they were entrusted with the very words of God. They had the instructions about how to live in a way that was pleasing to God. The Gentiles for the most part were unfamiliar with these instructions about how to live.

The law has also played a part in the hostility that Gentiles have historically held toward Jews. Unfortunately, Christians have been guilty of antisemitism as much as any other group throughout history. Jews lived differently than others and considered themselves a people chosen by God. Thus others hated and persecuted them. This hostility is alluded to by Paul in verses 14 and 16.

Given the context and Paul’s other statements, it’s fair to conclude that what has been abolished is the law’s role as a barrier, a dividing wall between Jew and Gentile. That seems to be the emphasis of the passage.

When you think about it, was the wall destroyed in order to let the Jews out or to let the Gentiles in? Is it God’s intention that the Jews give up their heritage of revelation and live like Gentiles? Or did he intend to let believing Gentiles in to join with Israel in living lives according to God’s instructions? The answer seems obvious.

The bulk of the passage in Ephesians 2 and other places in Paul’s writings talks of Gentiles being brought near, joining with Israel, and being grafted into the Jewish olive tree. The unique possession of the Jews is God’s self-revelation in his law. That is now available to the Gentiles as well.

If more evidence is needed, Paul goes on in the fourth chapter of Ephesians to exort his readers (and insist on it) that they no longer live as the Gentiles do. Since he is speaking to Gentiles who lived like this in the past, what is the change he is looking for?

The obvious antonym of living like Gentiles is living like Jews. Paul is implying here that once Gentiles have believed in Jesus, they should change their lifestyle to a non-Gentile (i.e. Jewish) one and live according to God’s instructions to his covenant people, of whom they are now a part.

The Definition of Sin

In his epistle to the Romans, Paul expresses a theology of salvation through faith in Jesus. The starting point is usually that all men have sinned, and sin results in condemnation. Thus the default state for all is a state of condemnation.

This raises the question of “what is sin?”. If sin is to cause condemnation, it helps to be able to define that causation. In both Hebrew and Greek the word for sin comes from an archery term meaning “missing the mark”. But what is the mark?

In the case of Adam’s original sin, the mark was a direct command from God, not to eat of a particular tree. Under the influence of his wife, who had not been a party to the command, he ate the fruit, and thus sinned, disobeying a direct command. Paul discusses this in the latter half of Romans 5.

But in general, when Paul defines sin in the Roman epistle, he repeatedly ties it to the law. For example, at the end of the discussion in Romans 5 he says, “The law was added so that the trespass might increase” (5:20).

He says similar things earlier in the epistle. In chapter 3, after making the point that no one will be declared righteous by “works of law”, he states that, “rather, through the law we become conscious of sin.” (3:20) He makes a similar point in chapter four when he says that “law brings wrath. And where there is no law, there is no transgression.” (4:15)

The first epistle of John makes it even clearer. “Everyone who sins breaks the law; in fact, sin is lawlessness.” (I John 3:4) So for both Paul and John the definition of sin seems to be transgressing the law. The law is necessary to define sin.

This brings up an internal self-contradiction in much Christian theology. On the one hand, Christ’s death is necessary for salvation since all have sinned (transgressed the law), and are therefore condemned to eternal damnation. On the other hand, much of Christianity believes that the law is no longer in effect since the death of Christ. So we are condemned for violating a standard that doesn’t exist anymore. You can see where the problem lies.

It’s true that in Romans 2 Paul states that, “All who sin apart from the law will also perish apart from the law, and all who sin under the law will be judged by the law.” (2:12) This makes it seem that sin can be “apart from the law.” But the context makes it clear that Paul is contrasting Jews, who have knowledge of the law, and Gentiles, who generally don’t. The following verses make it clear that they both are accountable to the same standard, whether they know about it or not.

It’s a shame that many Christians in the second century took an anti-Jewish, anti-Torah turn in order to preserve themselves from the Fiscus Judaicus, the onerous tax on Jews and those who lived Jewishly. The first century followers of Jesus seem to have embraced the law as God’s standard for a holy life, based on statements by both Jesus (e.g. Matt. 5:18) and Paul (e.g. Romans 3:31).

For many centuries Christianity as a whole has been in open rebellion against God’s law. It is the intention of this blog to show how the New Testament confirms the role of God’s law and to summon believers back to it. Then we will be like the saints in Revelation who “obey God’s commandments and hold to the testimony of Jesus.” (Revelation 12:17 cp. Rev. 14:12) May we become like them.

Passover in I Corinthians

Paul’s first epistle to the Corinthians seems to have been written immediately before or after the biblical festival of Passover. He mentions it a number of times in addressing his readers.

One reason for thinking that Paul was writing at Passover time is the explicit time frame that he mentions in chapter 16. He expresses a desire to visit Corinth after going through Macedonia. But he is currently in Ephesus, and he says, “I will stay on at Ephesus until Pentecost…” (16:8). Pentecost, as you know, is the Greek term for the biblical festival of Shavuot, or Weeks, that comes fifty days after Passover.

There are also internal evidences that Paul had Passover on his mind when writing to the Corinthians. In chapter five he is discussing immorality within the congregation. He is comparing the sin with leaven/yeast in bread in that a little of it works its way through the whole batch, so they should get rid of the sin, like unleavened bread. “For Christ, our Passover lamb, has been sacrificed. Therefore let us keep the Festival, not with the old yeast, the yeast of malice and wickedness, but with bread without yeast, the bread of sincerity and truth.” (5:7-8)

Even though Paul is interpreting the Passover bread and yeast in a somewhat allegorical sense, it’s clear that he expects his readers (mostly Gentiles) to observe the Passover and learn lessons about life from its symbolism.

Paul goes even deeper into discussing Passover in chapter 11 when he criticizes their actions during a recent Passover seder. In the traditional seder, there is a lot of liturgy to go through before the meal is served, and Paul criticizes the impatience of some (perhaps Gentiles) who go ahead and start eating the food before the proper time in the ceremony. He clarifies that the purpose of celebrating Passover is not to eat (you can do that at home) but to commemorate the things God has done.

He then goes into a review of Christ’s last Passover seder with his disciples as recorded in the gospels. On this occasion, Christ gives no hint that he intends to initiate a new ceremony. Instead, he is celebrating Passover with his disciples in the biblically prescribed manner. There is a lot of symbolism in the events of the seder that recall the deliverance from Egypt. Jesus is telling his disciples to apply this same symbolism to his passion and death which delivers from sin.

Jesus has already been compared to the Passover lamb by John at his baptism. (John 1:29) Now he compares himself to the Passover matzah, the unleavened bread. In the same way that the matzah is ceremonially broken at the seder, Jesus’ body is broken in death.

He uses the third cup (out of four), the cup of Redemption, to signify his blood to be shed on the cross to bring redemption from sin. As the blood of the lamb was spread on the doorpost of the house in Egypt so that God would not exact punishment on that household, so the shed blood of Jesus tells God to spare the believer from the punishment for sin that Jesus took, inaugurating the new covenant that is foreseen in Jeremiah 31.

Jesus then went on to instruct his disciples to continue to observe Passover until his return, but when they did it, to apply the symbolism to his suffering and death as well as to the deliverance from Egypt. “For whenever you eat this bread (the Passover matzah) and drink this cup (the third cup of Passover), you proclaim the Lord’s death until he comes.” (I Cor. 11:26)

It’s a shame that so many followers of Jesus have misapplied this passage to create a new ceremony that has no biblical warrant at all, and to dilute it by performing it monthly, weekly, or daily. Many of these same people ignore Passover entirely, and substitute other, man-made holidays for the ones God ordained.

It wasn’t an accident that the passion of Jesus took place during the Passover season; it was God’s perfect timing. And Paul urges his readers, Gentiles as well as Jews, to celebrate the Passover in commemoration of God’s gracious deliverance, both from Egypt, and its analog, the redemption of Christ on the cross.

The Tension Between Law and Faith

In the third chapter of Romans Paul focuses on a natural tension that arises. He has been talking about demonstrating righteousness by keeping the law rather than merely hearing it. Some people might conclude from this that you become righteous by keeping the law. So he devotes chapter three to a discussion of this tension.

He starts out by pointing out the advantage of the Jew in having been exposed to God’s words and commands. But even some of them did not have faith, the circumcision of the heart that we talked about last week. He goes on to declare that no one is righteous in himself, whether Jew or Gentile; all are under sin.

He then goes on to discuss the righteousness that comes through faith in Jesus, apart from merely keeping the law. He explains how Jesus had to die to fulfill the demand for justice, since he wasn’t punishing the sinners themselves.

A phrase that Paul uses several times in this passage (as well as others) is “works of law” (ergon nomou). It is not “works of the law”, but just “works of law”. Some treat it as if it means observing the law of God given in the Hebrew Scriptures. The phrase is not used in rabbinic literature, but it is found in the Dead Sea Scrolls. There it appears to refer to specific actions that mark one as Jewish rather than Gentile. In light of this Paul seems to be making the point that a person is not righteous simply because he’s a Jew. He’s not discussing the merits of keeping the law.

In verses 27 and 28 Paul uses the phrase twice, to argue against boasting, and to contrast with justification by faith. In the next verse, however, he appears to draw a parallel by asking, “Is God the God of Jews only” Is he not the God of Gentiles too?” So in light of the meaning of the phrase “works of law” in the Dead Sea Scrolls, it appears that Paul’s main argument boils down to “you aren’t saved just by being a Jew”.

In verse 30 he points out that God justifies the Jew and the Gentile in the same way, through faith. Jews or Gentiles who embrace God through the death of Jesus have this righteousness.

But having emphasized that salvation, for anyone, is through faith, Paul makes a special point of correcting a misconception that has since become prevalent among believers. He says, “Do we, then, nullify the law by this faith? Absolutely not! Rather, we uphold the law!” This is Paul’s last word on the subject, and it never seems to get quoted when discussing Paul’s position on the law.

Interestingly, Paul makes a similar statement in I Corinthians 7:19. Paraphrased, it would say, “It doesn’t matter if you’re a Jew or a Gentile. Keep God’s commands!” Again, this isn’t for the purpose of obtaining salvation, but out of love for God. As John says in I John 5:3, “This is love for God, to obey his commands.” It’s hard to imagine that so many people are convinced that the New Testament teaches against keeping God’s law.