Not Under Law
Reading Zanchius' Absolute Predestination, he observes that Abram didn't think ill of
God's command to slay his son (Gen 22), though mankind knew such an act was
evil (Gen 4). Abram knew the expressed will of God was better than the
prohibition against taking a life without cause. Similar to the order to
plunder Egypt (Ex 3) contrasted with the word to not steal (Ex 20). Is God of
two minds? Perish the thought. His purpose and plan are often hidden from us,
but ever being worked out to bring Him glory and do good for His own.
We read time and again how Jesus came to do
the Father's will - echoing Abram! In John 4:34 Jesus said His food was to do
the Father's will; in John 6:38 He said He came from heaven to do His Father's
will. And in Matt 7:21 we read that those who do the Father's will are the ones
who inherit heaven; For I have come down
from heaven, not to do My will, but the will of Him who sent Me. This is the
will of Him who sent Me: that I should lose none of those He has given Me but
should raise them up on the last day. For this is the will of My Father: that
everyone who sees the Son and believes in Him may have eternal life, and I will
raise him up on the last day.” (John
6:38-40). God desires mercy, not the sacrifices demanded by the law. The One
Who made a pleasing sacrifice on our account gives us His righteousness and
provides mercy, day-by-day. As our call
to worship reminds us, Moses was faithful as a servant in the house but Jesus
is a Son over His own house. When Peter asked Him about paying the temple tax
(Matt 17:24-27), Jesus said strangers pay the tax but the sons are free. God
the Father was not subject to the Mosaic Law; the Son is Lord over His house
and is free. All the sons and daughters are free! When Jesus began His public
ministry, He was showing people a better way, revealing a covenant built on
better promises. He did not lead people to the Old Covenant, He led people away
from it as it was being brought to its end. He left the Old Covenant to show us
the way to the New.
We also read of God violating laws of nature
that He established, making the sun stand still (Joshua 10:13) and giving life
to that which was dead (John 11). He cured leprosy with dirty water (2 Kings 5).
God is not bound the laws He gives man!
It was against the Mosaic Law for a healthy
person to touch one with leprosy (Lev 5:3 - page 127). Some lepers were healed in the Old Covenant
era, but the lepers were not touched. They were not touched when declared clean
by the Levitical priests. Jesus was sending a message by touching this man.
When Jesus began His kingdom ministry, He was no longer under the Mosaic Law as
He was as a minor child, else He would not have touched the man. He was working
to show the Jews that their Messiah was greater than Moses, even God in the
flesh, bringing a new and better covenant founded on better promises to His
spiritual people. In Luke 8:19-56 Jesus touched a dead child and raised her to
life; touching the dead was prohibited by the law (Num 19:11). The Mosaic Law
forbade spitting on a person: Num 12:14 declares one unclean who has been
spit-on; Deut 25:9 refers to spitting in in another's face as a curse on the
person. Jesus spit on the ground, made clay to apply to a blind man's eyes to
bring healing (John 9:6); He spit on a mute man's tongue to heal him (Mark
7:33); and He spit in a blind man's eyes to heal him (Mark 8:22-25), contrary
to Mosaic Law. Jesus declared all foods clean (Mark 7:15, 19), contrary to the
Levitical law; He healed a paralytic on the Sabbath (John 5:7-10), for which
they wanted to kill Him (John 5:18), for He not only violated their Sabbath, He
made Himself equal with God. In Matt 12, Jesus defended His disciples plucking
grain on the Sabbath, positioning Himself as greater than David (who had eaten
bread meant only for priests) and greater than (Lord of/over) the Sabbath. In
this instance, He cites Hosea 6:6, "For
I desire mercy and not sacrifice." While the law was not full of
mercy, it provided no specific exceptions to the weekly Sabbath for acts of
mercy. Healing was required in the law but no provision for doing so on the
Sabbath was given. Circumcision was required on the 8th day, which sometimes
happened on a Sabbath. Jesus pointed out the priests broke the Sabbath to keep
the law of circumcision. I think these points of tension were there to lead the
Jews to seek guidance from YHWH, but they built up a system of rules that they
thought they keep and be pleasing to God. Of old He told them, "I desire mercy and not sacrifice."
God is not bound the laws He gives man - He
is Lord over both man and law!
