For a thirsty heart - John 7:37-39

John 7:37-39   On the last and greatest day of the Feast [of Tabernacles], Jesus stood and said in a loud voice, “If anyone is thirsty, let him come to me and drink.  Whoever believes in me, as the Scripture has said, streams of living water will flow from within him.”  By this he meant the Spirit, whom those who believed in him were later to receive.  Up to that time the Spirit had not been given, since Jesus had not yet been glorified (NIV).

   Can you recall a time when you were really thirsty?  Can you recall a time when you needed to guzzle liquid?  I remember such a time, and I wrote about that occasion years ago after hiking on the Appalachian Trail in 1990.

   “Heat continued to be a factor as I hiked.  Coming to a stream in the afternoon, I lifted my shirt right over my head.  Dunking it in the stream, I then placed it over my torso.  My whole body seemed to contract, and I made a noise of surprise.  Letting water flow into my plastic water bottle, I then poured the quart of cold water onto my head.  I put an iodine tablet into the water bottle after a second filling.  I sat on the dirt ground and watched the tablet bubble on the bottom of the bottle, slowly dissolving…..After a period I figured to be about fifteen minutes (the minimum amount of time one was supposed to wait for a purification tablet to dissolve), I put the cap on the bottle.  After shaking the bottle, I poured the entire quart of water down my throat in one consecutive drink.”

   As in this passage, Jesus spoke of "living water" to a Samaritan woman at a well as recorded in John 4:10-11.  The Samaritan asked where Jesus was going to get the "living water" told of by Jesus.  The first time I ever read this passage, my question was: What is this living water?  The term as the Samaritan woman probably first understood it referred to water from a flowing source, as opposed to a stagnant source.  A flowing spring, stream, or river was a source of living water.  Judea is a desert climate.  Water was of primary value.  “The Jordan flows all year round, fed by snow from Mt. Hermon.  But this is exceptional.  Most streams flow in sudden spates, followed by months when their beds are dry.  So, from earliest times, the towns and villages of Israel have relied on wells and springs for their water supply.” (1)

   Flowing water is less likely to be contaminated with germs.  Contaminated water was a huge problem 2000 years ago in Judea and may have contributed to the reason goat’s milk, wine, and juice was so prevalent in that culture then.  “In Roman times when water was brought to the towns by aqueduct (as it was to Caesarea and Bethlehem) or by pipeline (as it was to Jerusalem), the water was still not fit to drink.  For this reason other liquids made better drinks.” (2)

   Living water was fresh.  Yet Jesus was not talking about H2O.  Jesus was talking about the Holy Spirit, using living water as a metaphor.  All of us need God; Father, Son, and Holy Spirit, for life.  There is a need, a thirst, by the spiritual heart we all have inside our soul.  God, who is love (I John 4:16), is who our hearts need.

   I spoke to a youth group on Valentine’s Day of 2000.  I said a key thing about love is you cannot see it, yet you can see the results of it.  Jesus loves everyone!  Jesus died on a cross for the forgiveness of sins of anyone.  Jesus was God; He could have prevented His own death.  Instead He was obedient to the Father, being the atoning sacrifice for the penalty of sin, which is spiritual death.  If you believe in Jesus, you will be saved from the consequence of sins, and you will have eternal life.  You will be baptized by Jesus with the Holy Spirit.  Then you can be sustained by the living water of Christ, which is available daily.  And you can live by the Holy Spirit to do what Jesus commanded us all to do; to love God and to love people.  The Holy Spirit is the Spirit of true Love!

Hunter Irvine

Scripture Love Blog

(1)   Pat Alexander, ed., Eerdmans’ Family Encyclopedia of the Bible (Grand Rapids: WM. B. Eerdmans Publishing Company, 1978), 5.

(2)   Ibid., 219.

How many years were the Jewish people in exile in Babylon?

   There is frequent confusion about the length of time which Israelites were held captive in Babylon.  The confusion is cleared up when we learn that the capturing of Jewish people by King Nebuchadnezzar took place in three waves!  Thus Israelites were in exile from 70 to 50 years.
   King Nebuchadnezzar, King of Babylon, captured Judah in 606 B.C. (probably just before 605 B.C.), which is discerned from Daniel 1:1 and Jeremiah 25:1.  At that time some people from the royal family and from the “nobility” were forced to leave Judah and to enter exile in Babylon.  That was the first wave, albeit a small captivity, of exiles.
   The second wave of Jewish people forced to go to Babylon was in 597 B.C., which is learned from 2 Kings 24:12-14.  That was the largest group brought to Babylon!  Then in 586 B.C., after a siege in the wake of the King of Judea, Zedekiah, rebelling against Nebuchadnezzar, Jerusalem was destroyed, the Temple was burned, and a final group of Jewish people were brought as exiles to Babylon, which is told in 2 Kings 25:1-12.
   So even though Jerusalem was not destroyed until 586 B.C., there had been Israelites taken captive to Babylon eleven years before and twenty years before, thus Jeremiah’s prophecy was right on.
   It is my opinion the odds were zero the Jewish people would ever again be able to go home.  Yet in 536 B.C., King Cyrus of Persia captured Babylon.  (A number of modern scholars say it was 539 B.C., contradicting numerous scholars from the entire 20th century without solid evidence.)  This is learned from Ezra 1:1-4.  (You can also get details about this capture from Herodotus the historian from the 5th century.  And Herodotus records how Babylon was a tough country not only to conquer, but to hold, since they even broke away at least once for a short period of time under Persian rule.)  Then King Cyrus allowed the Jewish people to go home.  I think it was a miracle.
Hunter Irvine

Foot Washing - John 13:1-17

   In John 13:1-17, Jesus washes His disciples’ feet.  Foot washing in Judea at that time was a common practice.  Yet why was Peter so insistent at first that Jesus should never wash his feet?  The answer is that though foot washing was a common practice in Judea, the practice involved the work being done by a servant.  Thus the foot washing by Jesus was radical because Jesus was taking the position of a servant.  Peter rightly identified Jesus as the Messiah, the Son of the living God in Matthew 16:16.  Peter realized Jesus was the Messiah who should have been served by everyone else.  And Jesus exclaimed, “You call me ‘Teacher’ and ‘Lord,’ and rightly so, for that is what I am” (John 13:13 NIV).  Yet Jesus humbled Himself to a low position of servitude.
   I advocate Jesus was not teaching we Christians are supposed to go around washing the feet of our fellow Christians consistently, and I do not think He was establishing a "church" ordinance.  Rather when Jesus taught that disciples should wash one another’s feet, He gave a metaphor showing Christians are supposed to serve one another in a variety of ways and according to our gifts.  I say this due to the context of the passage.  For example, during this act Jesus tells Peter, "...Unless I wash you, you have no part with me" (John 13:8 NIV).  I think this was a metaphor for Jesus cleansing people of sins, rather than Jesus setting a regulation that any apostle who did not get his feet washed that night was banished from discipleship.  Also, there was the metaphor given by Jesus regarding Judas.
   However the statement by Jesus, “Now that I, your Lord and Teacher, have washed your feet, you also should wash one another’s feet…” (John 13:14 NIV) could be taken literally since instead He could have said something to the effect of “now that I have served you, you should serve others.”  So I understand and respect why some Christians advocate washing feet as an ordinance.  For example, my Brethren and Mennonite brothers and sisters-in-Christ have carried out a rich foot washing commitment since the Reformation period.  Also foot washing has been practice throughout Christian history.  Today a number of Christians who do not consider it an ordinance within many denominations where it is not deemed an ordinance still carry out the washing of feet on occasion.  They are even done in some youth groups meetings within various denominations.
   I advocate Jesus was teaching we are supposed to express our true love in serving.  John states, “…Having loved his own who were in the world, he now showed them the full extent of his love” (John 13:1 NIV).  My interpretation here is that this statement is referring to the crucifixion of Jesus, of which a series of events begin at this point.  As Jesus taught, “Greater love has no one than this, that he lay down his life for his friends” (John 15:13 NIV).  Still this foot washing act done there on the night of the betrayal of Christ was an act of love.
   So followers of Jesus should be serving.  I do not think our manner of service is key, rather the key is we serve.  I have been worshiping in churches for twenty-five years, and I have seen many people serve in many ways, and I have likewise served in a variety of manners at a variety of times.  Yet I think remembering this specific act of service by Jesus is a good thing.
   For a season in 2013 to 2014, I taught Bible and History at a small Christian school in a rural area in Appalachia.  I loved teaching, and I gave my all to be the best teacher I could be.  One week when we reached this passage, I decided I wanted to offer a foot washing for my students, something I had never done before.  I thought it would be a great "visual" lesson.  I brought to class plastic jugs of distilled water and a towel, and I got a school trash can to act as the basin to catch the water I poured directly onto their feet.  Normally I had students read the passages we learned about, but on that occasion I started class by reading the passage.  I then gave a few comments, and then I announced to the class I was offering to wash any of their feet.  They were excited.  Of course it was voluntary.  Some really wanted their feet washed, some did so but were hesitant, and some had no intention of taking their shoes off.  As I started washing the feet of the first student, I realized something special was taking place.  Washing the feet of all of the students who wanted to participate, one by one I felt the love of Jesus as I did the task.  And after that class was over, I felt as though that lesson was my best “teaching” of the year; even after all of the eloquent and intelligent things I said for months.  :)
   Though I loved teaching at that school it was a tough season for me.  Moving 1350 miles was hard on me.  Being single and being in such a rural area, I sometimes felt lonely.  And worse of all, being an outsider I sometimes felt like I could not be myself.  Yet I had such fulfillment and emotion walking back to my dorm room after teaching that day.  I even thought to myself, “How many teachers in all of America had the blessed opportunity to wash the feet of their students today.”  I had served my students in a unique way.  I normally felt fulfilled after teaching those students day by day, yet I think I only had fulfillment on par with that day three other times, all after I gave the sermons for the school chapel services.  This sound corny, but I felt honored to be able to do a foot washing.  I love those students, and I felt like God gave me that unique opportunity to express my love.  Praise be to Jesus.
Hunter

Poured out for you - Matthew 26:28

   Eating the Passover meal, lamb, with His twelve disciples, Jesus stated: “This is my blood of the covenant, which is poured out for many for the forgiveness of sins” (Matthew 26:28 NIV).  This is the most direct statement by Jesus of how He would make the atonement for sins.  In speaking of pouring out blood, Jesus states it is His blood.  He is using the wine as a symbol for His blood, yet less than 24 hours later, Jesus did shed His blood as He was nailed to a cross.  The blood of Jesus was poured out on the day of the Passover.  And Jesus even said disciples of Him are supposed to partake of the elements of bread and wine in a manner of remembrance of Him.
   In my last piece I told of how Jesus stated the Son of Man would be the “ransom for many.”  Yet in that statement, Jesus speaks of the Son of Man in the third person.  Speaking in the third person, speaking in flowing discourses which have the main point tucked within, and speaking with metaphors, are all manners of an “oriental” style of speech and writing indicative of the culture of the “ancient near east.”  Especially those who adhere to a Greek style of speech and writing poplar in Western culture can dispute Jesus was speaking of Himself.  Yet after I wrote that piece I remembered this statement by Jesus which was a direct claim He would be the atonement for sins.
   The purpose of pouring out His blood was for the forgiveness of sins.  And He stated it at a Passover feast, a time when a lamb was slaughtered at twilight, and then the blood was brushed on the top and both sides of a door frame.  Doing such was to be a lasting ordinance for Jewish people as is stated in Exodus 12:24.  Jesus truly was the Passover Lamb for the whole world.
   Further His pouring out of blood was the fulfillment of the atoning sacrifices made in the temple in Jerusalem which were supposed to be made consistently and which were supposed to be done every year on the Day of Atonement.  On that occasion the high priest was to sprinkle blood on and in front of the “atonement cover” (Leviticus 16:15) of the Ark of the Covenant.  Why all of this blood stuff?  Blood gives life to the body, including bringing oxygen to the body.  That is why a person needs a properly functioning heart to stay alive.  The pouring out of the blood of the animals signified the death of the animal, a sacrifice.  Yet what did the sacrifice accomplish? The forgiveness of sins.  Romans 6:23 states, “For the wages of sin is death, but the gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord.”  The consequence of sin by people is death, physical and spiritual.  The animal sacrifice represented this, but such physical death of animals could not be a permanent substitute for the spirits of people.  Only God could provide the permanent sacrifice, and He did.  Jesus, God the Son, was the substitutional atonement as He died, pouring out His blood, on the Cross.
   So Jesus was direct in saying the reason His blood was poured out was for the forgiveness of sins.  And Jesus shed His blood on the Cross.  Thus Jesus directly stated what His disciples taught:
   “…for all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God, and are justified freely by his grace through the redemption that came by Christ Jesus.  God presented him as a sacrifice of atonement, through faith in his blood…” (Romans 3:23-25 NIV).  Taking this verse in context, it does not mean you only have faith in the blood of Jesus, but that faith in Jesus is faith in Him who was the atonement for the world by his sacrificial atonement on the Cross where He shed His blood.  I add Paul often uses the word God generally where more specifically you could say “God the Father.”
   And as Jesus physically shed His blood, there was also a spiritual element to the sacrifice!  “How much more, then, will the blood of Christ, who through the eternal Spirit offered himself unblemished to God, cleanse our consciences from acts that lead to death, so that we may serve the living God!” (Hebrews 9:14 NIV).  Christ’s death on the cross was physical and spiritual.
   Jesus stated the ransom by the Son of Man was for many, and that His blood was poured out for many.  A number of folks in Christian history have interpreted this to mean that Jesus died for a select number of people, those predestined by Him to be saved.  But that is a wrong interpretation.  (Calvin was right on with his doctrine of penal substitution, saying Jesus took the punishment for sins, and I even go with Calvin regarding his doctrine for the Lord’s Supper that there is a spiritual feeding taking place in addition to the remembrance, a doctrine many of my “Calvinist” brothers and sisters do not even adhere to, yet Calvin’s doctrine of predestination conflicts with Scriptures overall.)  Scripture teaches Jesus loves everyone, thus He died for everyone, that all may have an opportunity to be saved.  “He is patient with you, not wanting anyone to perish, but everyone to come to repentance (2 Peter 3:9 NIV), is a key verse, and John 3:16 is another.  Then why was His blood only poured out for “many?”  Jesus, being God the Son, knew that some people would reject Him and thus would not be saved.  It is a person’s choice.  So the doctrine of universalism which claims all people are saved by the atonement of Jesus is also shown to be wrong, since Jesus foreknew those saved would be “many” not all.  Yet all have the opportunity.  “This is love: not that we loved God, but that he loved us and sent his Son as an atoning sacrifice for our sins” (I John 4:10 NIV).  If you believe in Jesus, you will be forgiven of your sins by God, the One who died on a cross for the forgiveness of sins of anyone.  If you believe in Jesus, you will have everlasting life with God the Father, God the Son, and God the Holy Spirit in heaven!
+: Thank You Jesus for pouring out Your blood so we can be forgiven of our sins.  Thank You!
Hunter

The Ransom – Matthew 20:28 and Mark 10:45

   Disciples of Jesus teach about the sacrificial atonement of Jesus in letters of the inspired Scriptures in books often referred to as Epistles.  Yet did Jesus Himself teach He is the atonement?  As God incarnate, I think the central mission of Christ needs to be proclaimed by the Messiah Himself.  Truth is, Jesus did teach of Himself as the sacrificial atonement.  And a key word He used in His direct teaching on the subject was ransom.

   (Granted Jesus spoke of Himself as the ransom in the third person, which was fitting for the ancient near east culture, yet after I wrote this piece I thought of even a more direct occasion from Matthew 26:28.  For that proclamation by Jesus, see my next blog piece, "Poured out for you."  Yet ransom is key!)

   “Kidnappers” are people who have captured a person or people, and sometimes their motive is to ask for money from family of the person they abducted along with a threat to harm the hostage if money is not given, whereas stating they will free the hostage if money is given.  The money demanded is the ransom.  (Sometimes there is some other ransom demand, such as a political demand.)  Thus the purpose of the kidnappers in this evil act of abduction is to steal money by such a sinister scheme.

   A movie was released in 1973 entitled Benji about a smart and cute dog named Benji who does not have a family.  The movie was made on a limited budget, yet it became one of the biggest hits of the year.  I saw the movie as a young boy and then again one year ago on DVD.  Benji is befriended by two children and their nanny, but their father who is a medical doctor refuses to allow a dog to be brought into the family.  But then the two children are kidnapped, brought to a deserted house, and held for ransom.  Imagine the damaging trauma a kidnapping would actually bring to a child, (or anyone), which was not expressed in the movie, and you can guess who the star of the movie is by the title of the movie.  Yet I thought the movie was a quality film.  And it is a fictional yet prime example of the demand for ransom.  

   The question involved in a ransom scheme: “Why is a ransom needed? What if the ransom is not paid?”  Such a scheme always involves a threat by the kidnappers that they will harm or kill the person they have abducted, usually within a time limit so the police do not have time to track them down.  Modern philosophy on the subject is to not pay a ransom, since criminals may harm the person or persons abducted anyway so that no clues are left as to their identity.  Also, agreeing to pay a ransom only encourages others to try such evil.  Yet others advocate you should pay a ransom to save lives.

   Though Benji was a fictional movie, evil demands for ransom have taken place in real life throughout history.  And ransom was the word which Jesus used of His mission.  Rather than people being abducted by sinister kidnappers, people are on the tract of spiritual death because of their own wrong doings.  It all started with Adam and Eve being disobedient to God, which caused humanity to be separated from God.  Once there was separation, people began to sin, sin defined as that which is apart from the will of God.  And now there is a need for all people to be saved from spiritual death, the results of sin as stated in Romans 6:23.  The only one who can save people from sins is God.  And God provided the Lamb as a ransom.

   Jesus gives a number of metaphors regarding His atoning work, such as in John 10:14-18, yet where was the direct teaching?  The direct teaching by Jesus on the subject of His atonement is this: “…just as the Son of Man did not come to be served, but to serve, and to give his life as a ransom for many” (Matthew 20:28 NIV).  Likewise, Mark quotes Jesus: “For even the Son of Man did not come to be served, but to serve, and to give his life as a ransom for many” (Mark 10:45 NIV).  Jesus paid the ransom for sins for all people who accept His sacrifice by dying on the Cross as the substitute for sins.

   So the ransom was Jesus dying on the cross.  But who was the ransom paid to?  Not Satan, as was a popular theological conviction in the west in the early medieval period.  God is sovereign over Satan and owes him nothing.  Rather the ransom was necessary payment to satisfy the justice before our Holy God.  God is merciful, and God is just.  The ransom of Jesus’ death on the cross carried out both mercy and justice by and before our Holy God.

   Josh McDowell gives an illustration of how wrong doing results in consequences which must be dealt with in More Than A Carpenter.  “For example, let’s say my daughter breaks a lamp in my home.  I’m a loving and forgiving father, so I put her on my lap, and I hug her and I say, ‘Don’t cry, honey.  Daddy loves you and forgives you.’  Now usually the person I tell that story to says, ‘Well, that’s what God ought to do.’  Then I ask the question, ‘Who pays for the lamp?’  The fact is, I do.  There’s always a price in forgiveness.”(1)

   When a person sins, God is grieved, and that person and often other people get hurt.  God accounts for sin because He is just, wanting no one to get hurt.  A child of God can always be grateful to Jesus that He paid the penalty which we could never pay, since the hurt we have inflicted upon ourselves and others has no less required payment than separation from our perfect God which results in spiritual death.

   Why was Jesus’ death an acceptable ransom?  Because Jesus is God.  An angel from God told Joseph, the earthly father of Jesus, “All this took place to fulfill what the Lord had said through the prophet: ‘The virgin will be with child and will give birth to a son, and they will call him Immanuel’ --which means, ‘God with us’” (Matthew 2:22-23 NIV).  Because Jesus was Immanuel, He could be the ransom required to save people.  Jesus freed me from the bondage of sin so I have everlasting life.  I could not have escaped sin on my own.  I could not overpower sin.  There was no hero animals or people who could save me.  I was like a helpless child in the hands of a fatal need being unfulfilled which was going to bring my inevitable spiritual death in h-ll.  Yet Jesus saved me.  Jesus is one with the Father, and Jesus is God the Son.  As I received Jesus into my heart by faith, I received the ransom He paid.  Thus I have forgiveness, and thus I have been united with God.  The same can be true for you, because though Jesus makes it clear that some are not saved by His ransom, all have the opportunity, as is expressed by the apostle Peter in 2 Peter 3:9.

   And lastly, why did Jesus pay that ransom?  Because Jesus loves everyone.  If you believe in Jesus as your Savior and Lord, you will be forgiven of your sins, because Jesus paid the price for sins.  Jesus died in your place on the Cross.  Believe in Jesus, and you will have everlasting life.

Hunter Irvine

Scripture Love Blog

[1] Josh McDowell, More Than A Carpenter (Wheaton: Living Books, 1977), 116.

The Day of Preparation - John 19:14 and John 19:31

John 19:14  "It was the day of Preparation of Passover Week, about the sixth hour" (NIV).

John 19:31  "Now it was the day of Preparation, and the next day was to be a special Sabbath.  Because the Jews did not want the bodies left on the crosses during the Sabbath, they asked Pilate to have the legs broken and the bodies taken down" (NIV).

   The Passover took place at twilight on the fourteenth day of Abib as is stated in Exodus 12:6 and Deuteronomy 16:1.  Now a new Jewish day began at sundown.  Thus the Passover was to be sacrificed there at the beginning of a day, since if it is twilight, then the sun must be down "under" the horizon.

   There are a huge number of current Bible scholars who advocate John is in conflict with the testimonies of Matthew, Mark, and Luke concerning what day Jesus celebrated the Passover, which I learned about in the course of my CCU studies.  Matthew, Mark, and Luke clearly note Jesus celebrated the Passover on the first day of the Feast of Unleavened Bread [Matthew 26:17, Mark 14:12, and Luke 22:7].  But John states the day Jesus was crucified was the "day of Preparation of Passover Week."  Many scholars interpret this to mean that John states Jesus celebrated the Passover with His disciples a day early!  Then many of those scholars say John was trying to make the metaphorical point that Jesus was the Passover lamb.  But then the Passover lamb died before the Passover, because Jesus died before twilight!  He died at three o'clock in the afternoon.  There is a huge misinterpretation of John's witness.

   This is a golden example that Scriptures of the "New Testament" must be taken in the context of Scriptures of the "Old Testament."  From Exodus 12:16, we learn what the "day of Preparation" really is: "On the first day hold a sacred assembly, and another one on the seventh day.  Do no work at all on these days, except to prepare food for everyone to eat--that is all you may do" (NIV).  So we learn from Exodus 12:16 that in daylight hours following the night before when the Passover lambs were to be killed, blood was to be put on the doorposts, and the lambs roasted and eaten, there was to be a sacred assembly with only food preparation work allowed.  Thus the first day of the Feast of Unleavened Bread and the "day of preparation" are the same day.  This "preparation" is not in regards to preparing for the Passover meal.

   I admit the issue is not totally settled because reconciling John 18:28 is tough.  This verse states some Jewish people had yet to eat the Passover, but wanted to eat the Passover, at the time they took Jesus to Pilate.  My only suggestion is that maybe these folks had been so preoccupied with the arrest and trial of Jesus that they failed to eat the Passover at twilight.

   Thus I still say with confidence Jesus was crucified on the first day of the Feast of Unleavened Bread and the day of Preparation, both of which were the first day of "Passover!"  Eating the Passover meal at twilight, the start of the day, Jesus then died within 24 hours.  He truly was the Lamb of God, as so identified by John the Baptist in John 1:29.  Jesus was the atoning sacrifice for the sins.  "...For Christ, our Passover lamb, has been sacrificed" (I Corinthians 5:7 NIV).
Hunter Irvine

Jesus furthered and fulfilled the Mosaic Law - Matthew 5:17

"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" (Matthew 5:17 NIV).

   In the spring of 2000, I was the Youth Minister for a special youth group in a church in Wheat Ridge, Colorado, and one Sunday I asked the students a question, a question which I had pondered as a young Christian, yet one which remained unanswered until I read about the topic in a book by John Stott. (1)  "Would it be a sin if you ate lobster at the neighborhood seafood restaurant after church?"  Right in the Bible it states in the Law given by God through Moses: “‘Of all the creatures living in the water of the seas and the streams you may eat any that have fins and scales.  But all creatures in the seas or streams that do not have fins and scales—whether among all the swarming things or among all the other living creatures in the water—you are to regard as unclean.  And since you are to regard them as unclean, you must not eat their meat; you must regard their carcasses as unclean.  Anything living in the water that does not have fins and scales is to be regarded as unclean by you'" (Leviticus 11:9-12 NIV).

   The purpose of this question was to get students thinking about the relationship of a Christian to what is often referred to as the Mosaic Law.  Was it only for the Hebrews?  The "Old Covenant," the Mosaic Covenant, the covenant made by God between Himself and the Hebrew people, with Moses as the mediator, only involved the Hebrew people, and no other humans.  Thus if the Mosaic Law was only for the ethnic group of Hebrews, then are other Christians exempt also from the Ten Commandments?  The answer comes from the teachings of Jesus.

   First of all, Jesus did teach the Mosaic Law, as is recorded in places like Matthew 19:18-19.  In fact, in what many term "The Sermon on the Mount," Jesus made the statement which is in the verse listed at the start of this piece: "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" (Matthew 5:17 NIV).  And after making this statement, Jesus proceeded to further the Mosaic Law.  For example: "You have heard that it was said to the people long ago, 'Do not murder, and anyone who murders will be subject to judgment.' But I tell you that anyone who is angry with his brother will be subject to judgment.  Again, anyone who says to his brother, 'Raca,' is answerable to the Sanhedrin.  But anyone who says, 'You fool!' will be in danger of the fire of h-ll" (Matthew 5:21-22 NIV).  What Jesus does in this teaching is get to the root of evils.  I remember driving down the road once real close to the neighborhood seafood restaurant by our church, and I had the car radio on to a lesson of Chuck Swindoll.  Pastor Chuck was talking about the Law, and his words bellowed out through the speakers of my little car, "The Law condemns!  The Law puts you behind bars and throws away the key!"  It was quite the graphic picture stated at a loud volume, yet he was correct.

   And from the top of the "Sermon on the Mount," the teaching was for all people, not only the Hebrews, thus Gentiles and Jewish people were put under the Mosaic Law by Jesus when He spoke of His mission to fulfill the Law, and then when He furthered the Mosaic Law.  Scripture reveals this in verses such as Romans 3:23, which states that all have sinned.  Hebrews were not the only ones condemned by the Law and in need of a Savior, since all were incorporated under the Law when Jesus taught what is termed the Sermon on the Mount.  All people have sinned, failing to obey God at some time.  All people need a Savior.  Thus we all were condemned, because Gentiles, just as much as Hebrews, were unable to perfectly obey the Law.   Praise be to God, Jesus also fulfilled the Law for all people, thus making it possible for all people to be saved.

   How did Jesus fulfill the Law?  He died as the substitutionary atonement for the forgiveness of sins.  Much of the Mosaic Law involved animal sacrifice for the forgiveness of sins.  Jesus was the Lamb of God, the One who made the eternal sacrifice for the sins of people!  Jesus was the perfect atonement for the sins of all people.  I John 2:2 states: "He is the atoning sacrifice for our sins, and not only for ours but also for the sins of the whole world" (NIV).  This verse truly explains that Jesus died for all people, since all people were in need of salvation.  Now people have a choice to make.  If you want Jesus to be your Savior, you can believe in Jesus right now, and you will be saved from the h-ll which Jesus taught about - see Acts 16:30-31!

   I conclude by answering the original question.  My conviction is that those students who were followers of Jesus could have gone and eaten lobster after church without sinning, because when Jesus fulfilled the Law, His fulfillment negated certain laws of the Mosaic Law for those who are in Christ.  For example, the Hebrews needed to make animal sacrifices.  Jesus making the sacrifice as the Lamb of God made it so that His disciples are no longer in need of animal sacrifice.  Sacrificial laws have been fulfilled by Jesus!

   Jesus fulfilling the Mosaic Law made it possible for there to be freedom from sin in Christ.  As Dr. David Beckman, my mentor who was the president of Colorado Christian University, once taught in a sermon at Windsor Gardens Community church from his careful examination of Romans 7 through 8:17, people who have been saved by Jesus are no longer "under" the Law, rather they are "under" the Spirit.  Yet followers of Jesus still have a command from Jesus to obey Him, the One who taught people to love God and to love people as was commanded in the Mosaic Law, and the One who still commands moral laws, since to break a moral law is always the opposite of loving God and loving people.  In John 14:15, Jesus states: "If you love me, you will obey what I command" (NIV).  And this included His teaching of moral laws in the Sermon on the Mount.  Being disobedient to the moral commands, which Jesus furthered, is unloving!  The result is grieving the Holy Spirit and hurt of oneself and maybe other people.  Jesus is Holy.  The Father is Holy.  The Spirit of Christ is Holy.  The teachings of Jesus reveal He is calling His children to be holy.  Such is the journey a follower of Jesus begins by taking up his or her cross and following Jesus.  Success can only come as a follower of Jesus relies on the Holy Spirit.

   So moral laws are as much in effect as ever.  Says John Stott, "The moral laws of Moses, however, have not been abrogated.  On the contrary, they are still in force.  Christ died that the righteous requirement of the law might be fulfilled in us, and the Holy Spirit writes God's law in our hearts (Rom. 8:3,4; Jer. 31:33, cf. 2 Cor. 3:6-8)." (2)  Whereas certain laws such as what I would term sacrificial laws and civil laws, and which Dr. Stott calls "ceremonial rules" and "civil laws," are not applicable to followers of Jesus.  So you can go and chow down on crabs and shrimp tonight if you so desire.

Hunter Irvine

Scripture Love Blog

(1) John Stott, Understanding the Bible 

(Grand Rapids: Zondervan Publishing House, 1972),

180-181.

(2) Ibid., 180.