Then God spoke all these words:
2
I am the Lord your God, who brought you out of
the land of Egypt, out of the house of slavery; 3 you shall have no
other gods before me.
4
You shall not
make for yourself an idol, whether in the form of anything that is in heaven
above, or that is on the earth beneath, or that is in the water under the
earth.
7
You shall not
make wrongful use of the name of the Lord
your God, for the Lord will not
acquit anyone who misuses his name.
8
Remember the
sabbath day, and keep it holy. 9 Six days you shall labor and do all
your work.
12
Honor your
father and your mother, so that your days may be long in the land that the Lord your God is giving you.
13
You shall not
murder.
14
You shall not
commit adultery.
15
You shall not
steal.
16
You shall not
bear false witness against your neighbor.
17
You shall not
covet your neighbor’s house; you shall not covet your neighbor’s wife, or male
or female slave, or ox, or donkey, or anything that belongs to your neighbor.
18
When all the
people witnessed the thunder and lightning, the sound of the trumpet, and the
mountain smoking, they were afraid and trembled and stood at a distance, 19
and said to Moses, “You speak to us, and we will listen; but do not let
God speak to us, or we will die.” 20 Moses said to the people, “Do
not be afraid; for God has come only to test you and to put the fear of him
upon you so that you do not sin.”
Exodus
20:2-17 with a re-telling in Deuteronomy 5:7-21, form the Ten Commandments. We
often pray for guidance. We want the Lord to lead us. Yet, some passages in the
Bible quite direct guidance and leadership. If we approach them prayerfully,
they become opportunities for confession. Too often, we do not even want to
follow direction we receive from the word God has given us. The Ten
Commandments are one of the places of clear direction. Properly understood, many
of the problems in the world would dissolve if it followed this 3000-year-old
prescription. They are all humanity needs to make this a beautiful world. As
modern men and women, we think we have come up with new ideas to make a good
world. The truth is, in this area of human life, there is nothing new to say.
If people and countries lived by the Ten Commandments, the great moral problems
would disappear. To put it another way, the great evils of the world involve
the violation of one or more of these commandments. They provide the principles, the
parameters, within which we live our lives and play this game of life in many
different ways: the parameters within which we make sure we do not in the
process defeat ourselves.
The first four
commandments give further content to the love of God. They also give content to
what it means to “hallow” the name of God in the Lord’s Prayer. The final six
commandments help us give content to the love of neighbor. They also help us
reflect upon the request that we do the will of God as we honor parents, life,
truth, our word, and the property of others.
I have an
extensive study of the passages in my study of the theological and spiritual
insights we find in the Old Testament. I invite the reader to find in these
commandments a wonderful opportunity to discuss the theological history of the
Mosaic period (Torah), the Tribal Federation period and the period of sacral
kingship. We should also gain some insight into how the J document in
particular incorporated the concerns of the commandments into its account of
the history of the Patriarchs. The intellectual leaders of Israel in exile
wrestled with what God wanted of them, given the reality of exile. The kingship
of the line of David is gone, having had behind it the promise of God. They are
no longer in the land promised to the Patriarchs and to the twelve tribes. They
are no longer in the city, Jerusalem, which seemed impregnable. The temple is
gone. Who are the people of God now, in this changed situation? The Torah and the
theological history of Joshua, Judges, Samuel, and Kings will show how Israel
deserved the punishment of the exile because it steadily and regularly broke
its side of the covenant. These commandments also provide a wonderful
opportunity to show how the New Testament offers its own interpretation of the
commandments. We can see this particularly in Matthew 5, where Jesus ascends
the mountain and utter his words, even as Moses will do. Jesus begins with the
beatitudes and a reinterpretation of the commandments around the theme of love
of God and neighbor.
The
passage begins with God speaking “all these words.” The passage begins with the
Lord (Yahweh) self-identifying as their God (Elohim), the one who brought them
out of Egypt and their houses of slavery.
Commandments
1-4 deal with what it means to love the Lord their God with all their heart,
mind, soul, and strength. We find these words in Mark 12:29-30, referring to
Deuteronomy 6:4-5.
The
first commandment (Exodus 20: 3, Deuteronomy 5:7) is to have no other gods
before Yahweh. This appears as a simple and direct command. However, when we
read back to Genesis 3, the estrangement and alienation that humanity
experiences in its relation with each other and with creation has its origin in
forsaking the command of the Lord God. Even placed in a perfect spot, Eden,
humanity has a tendency to listen to other voices. However, the key to the
theological interpretation of biblical Israel begins in Exodus 31:18-32: 35. In
Exodus 32:4, Aaron takes gold from the people and casts into the image of calf.
“These are your gods, O Israel, who brought you up out of the land of Egypt.”
Already in the Mosaic period, the Israelites broke this commandment. Later, in
the period sacral kingship, Solomon would build altars in the high places for
his many wives who continued to serve foreign gods. Jeroboam would also build a
calf.
The commandment
seems to assume the existence of other gods. It connects with zeal as an expression
of holiness. It relates to the transcendence and infinity of God. Such an
explicit proclamation of only one God waits for the time of exile and Isaiah
40ff. Therefore, this commandment establishes that the covenant between Yahweh
and these people involves an exclusive covenant.[1]
We might say that in which we place our trust is our god. When we trust the
temporary things of this world, we have constructed an idol.[2]
The people of God are to exalt, worship, and adore the Lord alone. They are to
rest in God and consider themselves as partners of God. Our lives are to be an
offering of worship to God.[3]
Israel rarely engaged in direct apostasy but rather, experimented with holding
to Yahweh while also mixing the gods of Canaan and other surrounding peoples.[4]
This commandment becomes the basis for the priority Jesus gives to the imminent
rule of God over all other human duties and concerns. This commandment was the
motivating force behind the development of the thought of the royal rule of Yahweh
in ancient Israel, along with the associated concept of the holy jealousy of
the God of Israel, which we find in Exodus 20:4, 34:14, and Deuteronomy
6:14-15.[5]
The second
commandment (Exodus 20: 4-6 and Deuteronomy 5:8-10, but also Leviticus 26:1 and
Deuteronomy 27:15, and a discussion of the command in Deuteronomy 4:9-20) is
that they shall not make for themselves an idol, whether its form is something
in heaven above, in earth beneath, or the water under the earth. They shall not
bow down to them or worship them, for the Lord is a jealous God, punishing
children for the iniquity of parents to the third and fourth generations. In
contrast to such brief punishment, the Lord will show steadfast love and mercy
to those who love the Lord and keep the commandments to the thousandth
generation. Martin Luther says that this warning shows us how angry God is with
people who put their trust in anything other than God.[6]
It prohibits making a physical representation of the Lord, which could lead to
idolatry. The Old Testament is likely too extreme in its criticism, for the
ancient world never identified deity with the image. They simply gave
visibility to the divine.[7]
The image is inappropriate because the manner of divine revelation is the word
rather than a form discovered in nature. The image encroached upon the freedom
of God to relate to the world. The self-revelation of God occurs in the
ambiguity of history rather than the static form of nature. New revelation can
come for new times in the word of the Lord, while the image remains static.
This commandment protects the freedom of God to enter human history. Again, in
the organization of the Torah and the history of Israel, we see the breaking of
this commandment. We see it especially in Exodus 32:4, where the Israelites
build an image of a calf, and proclaim it as the god who brought them out of
Egypt. Joshua 24:14-24 invites the people to put away their gods. We see the
breaking of this commandment in the sin of Jeroboam, who builds a similar image
in I Kings 12:26-33. The Hebrew prophets focused intensely on the issue of idol
worship. Jeremiah 10:3-5 speaks strongly. II Isaiah (44:12-20) did as well.
Today, we are more likely to develop a worldview or a political ideology in
such a way that it becomes an idol. When we do so, we resist the command not to
make an idol and therefore escape the exclusive loyalty to which we owe God.[8]
Jesus (Matthew 6:24) draws a sharp distinction between serving God and
“mammon,” which one can interpret as property or wealth. In this case, Jesus
argues for the interpretation of the first two commandments that makes it clear
that any of us can have a god or image before God that claims our loyalty.
The third
commandment (Exodus 20: 7 and Deuteronomy 5:11) is that they are not to make
wrongful use of the name of the Lord their God. The Lord will not acquit anyone
who misuses the name of the Lord. The commandment protects the name of the Lord
from harm. The people of God are to hold the name of the Lord sacred. The point
was to prohibit the attempt to control God through the magical use of the name,
which may explain the prohibition against images as well.[9]
The final edition of the Torah and the theological history of Israel make it
clear in dramatic fashion that already in the Mosaic period, Israel broke this
commandment in Leviticus 24:10-16. The episode is terrifying to us as readers.
The son of the Israelite woman Shelomith, in the midst of a fight with another
Israelite, “blasphemed the Name in a curse.” Those who heard this brought him
to Moses. The Lord told Moses to take him outside the camp and have the
congregation stone him to death, for one who blasphemes the name of the Lord
shall receive the punishment of death. Yahweh has entrusted the knowledge of
this name to this people (Exodus 3:13-15 and 6:3), and therefore the name is to
receive honor. While profanity (using such words as “God” inappropriately, as
in a curse) would certainly violate this commandment, the commandment more
broadly opposes using the name of God in any empty or meaningless way or
exploiting the holy name of God in swearing falsely (Jeremiah 7:9, Hosea 4:2,
Zechariah 5:4) an oath or in magical attempts to force God’s action. According
to Matthew 26:57-68, opponents accused Jesus of blasphemy. The origin of this
charge may be the claim of messiahship, but it could also have its origin in
his statements against the Temple. In either case, if that were the accusation,
it would be in accord with the Old Testament that such person must die.
The
fourth commandment (Exodus: 20: 8-11 and Deuteronomy 5:12-15) says they are to
remember the Sabbath day, keeping it holy. They shall labor six days. The
seventh day is a Sabbath to the Lord for their children, slaves, and livestock.
In Exodus, the reason is that the Lord created in six days and rested on the
seventh. In Deuteronomy, they are to remember that they were slaves in Egypt;
the Lord delivered them with a mighty hand and an outstretched arm. The fourth
commandment is the positive command to remember the Sabbath, leaving one day
undisturbed by any use for the benefit of people, for it belongs to God and
sets a standard undefiled by any kind of human business. Sabbath allows
identification with the Lord in worship and identification with those in
society most in need of rest. Keeping the Sabbath upheld the original order of
creation.[10]
The Torah and the theological history of Israel make it clear in a dramatic
little story that the Israelites in the Mosaic period in Numbers 15:32-36 broke
this commandment. Some Israelites discovered a man gathering sticks on the
Sabbath. They brought him to Moses, Aaron, and the congregation. The Lord told
Moses to stone him to death outside the camp. Sabbath suggests that one day
become undisturbed by any use for the benefit of people, for it belongs to God
and sets a standard undefiled by any kind of human business. The text does not
mention a cultic celebration of any sort on this day. One might assume that
they celebrated by abstaining demonstratively from productive labor and symbolically
handing the day back to God. Israel considered Sabbath a day of joy and
pleasure, not a day of abstinence and asceticism, for which see Hosea 2:13,
Isaiah 58:13. Sabbath is a time to identify with the creator and to identify
with the slave and servant in need of rest. The commandment recognizes the need
of the common people, who have worked hard during the week and now receive
refreshment. We offer praise to God and receive instruction.[11]
This commandment invites a reappraisal of work and leisure that is both
theological and practical. To heed it is to be set free from the twin slavery
of worshipping our own deeds and abusing the work of others, and set free for
the joy of collective effort and shared success. It is to link arms with the
creative impulse of the cosmos. The people of God should look upon it as a gift
rather than a matter for controversy. Time is a gift of God, with the Sabbath
demonstrating the holiness of time.
In
one way of reading the New Testament, this commandment does not fare well. Mark
tells us several stories that suggest Jesus had an issue with the leaders of
his day regarding the Sabbath. Jesus heals the mother-in-law of Peter on the
Sabbath (Mark 1:29-31), his disciples “work” on the Sabbath (Mark 2:23-28), he
heals a man with a withered hand on the Sabbath (3:1-6). Further, Paul in
Romans 14:1-12 discusses people who honor one day better than others do, while
others honor all days the same. The point appears to be a discussion of Jewish
holy days and possibly Sabbath days. It seems both Jesus and Paul were willing
to treat this commandment in a different way than the commonly accepted
practice in their day among their fellow Jews.
Commandments 5-10
deal with what it would mean to love their neighbors as themselves as Jesus
taught in Mark 12:31, drawing from Leviticus 19:18. Genesis 4 already shows the
disruption in the relationship with the neighbor as Cain killed his brother
Abel. “Am I my brother’s keeper?” was the first question addressed to God by a
human being. The murderer Cain formulated the question, after God interrogated
him concerning the whereabouts of his dead brother. It was not a question
really, but rather a sarcastic retort by Cain, designed to distance himself
from all responsibility for his heinous crime. Given the original context, the
question reveals much about the nature of our fallen humanity and our
persistent refusal to accept our God-given responsibilities toward our fellow
human beings. The answer to the question has tremendous implications for how we
live in community.
The
fifth commandment (Exodus 20: 12 and Deuteronomy 5:16) is to honor father and
mother, so that their days may be long in the land the Lord is giving them.
The
Torah and the theological history of Israel in Deuteronomy 21:18-20, stubborn
and rebellious children brought to the elders for the punishment of stoning to
death, show that Israel broke this command as well. It receives attention in
several places, such as Exodus 21:15, 17, Leviticus 20:9, and Leviticus 19:3.
If the Decalogue arose from life in the clan, here is the biggest evidence for
the theory. Parents represent divine authority. The extended family was the
basic social unit in antiquity. They lived in settled community with their
wives and children. In that setting, one could slight the authority of parents,
especially of the aged ones. Antiquity considered filial responsibilities
important for maintaining social order. The powerful story of Absalom in II
Samuel 13-19 relates his disobedience to his father, David. It also shows the
inability of David to parent Absalom. It has terrible ramifications for the
kingdom of David. By extension, it suggests honor and respect toward all human
authority.
Jesus
honored his parents. Yet, he also talked of hating parents, leaving them, in
order to follow him in Luke 14:26. He says his family is those who do the will
of God in Luke 8:19-21. Luke 9:57-62, the kingdom of God is to have priority
over family relationships. However, in saying this, Jesus was only saying what
his Scripture taught him, that God is the final arbiter of life. Yet, Paul
seems to extend this notion of honoring parents into the Hellenistic social
network of the household cold. We see this in Colossians 3:18-4:1 and Ephesians
5:21-6:9. We need to remember that in the missionary situation of these first
Christians, they often had to urge people to place priority on the kingdom of
God rather than their obedience to their family. Sadly, people in our time
often must do so as well. This commandment finds itself relativized, we would
say today, when we give the kingdom of God priority.
The sixth commandment
(Exodus 20: 13 and Deuteronomy 5:17, but also Exodus 21:12, Leviticus 24:17,
Deuteronomy 27:24, and a prohibition to hate in Leviticus 17:17-18, Numbers
35:30-34, Deuteronomy 19:11-13, and sanctity of life in Genesis 9:6) is that
they shall not murder. Stated negatively, the commandment establishes a limit.
Do not cross this line. However, let us consider putting the commandment in the
form of the fifth commandment, had been “Honor life.” The effect is different,
for now, it stimulates some creative thought as to how we will do that in our
lives and culture. In any case, by the 8th century BC, the verb carried the
meaning of intentional killing, murder, while earlier it could have included
unintentional killing. It may refer to illegal killing inimical to the
community. It protected the life of the Israelite from illegal and
impermissible violence. The formulation in such an absolute manner includes any
possible human being, including suicide. Clearly, this commandment had its
restrictions within the Old Testament, as God authorized killing in warfare and
in many judicial acts of stoning people to death. The Torah and the theological
history of Israel finds the breaking of this commandment in the Tribal
Federation period in the startling story in Judges 19-20 of the Levite and his
concubine. In the period sacral
kingship, the story of David includes his murder of Uriah, the husband of the
woman with whom he committed adultery, in II Samuel 11-12. Further, Absalom
would murder his half-brothers in II Samuel 13. One could argue that this
commandment suggests that we are responsible for the safety of each other. God
forbids all violence to the other. God calls us to defend the life of the
other.[12]
God grants us freedom for life. The living God has respect for and values life.
We must not tire of life. We must battle sickness as a messenger of death. We
must have joy and gratitude in life.[13]
The Hebrew slaves
in Egypt live under a murderous cloud. Moses is already a murderer. Suffering
and death set the people of God free. Following the directive from God, they
practice holy war. No prisoners. No spoils. All must die. The slaves may not
become the masters of others, nor may they grow fat on their bounty. The change
of residency must be clean. Consequently, it is all the more murderous. This
contains an eerie logic that we will never puzzle out.
Old
Testament law made wide provision for the death penalty. Capital punishment
covered such offenses as kidnapping, blasphemy, idolatry, witchcraft, adultery,
rape, incest, bearing false witness in death penalty cases, and cursing or
striking a parent. Capital trials allowed no circumstantial evidence. They
required at least two witnesses who had observed the premeditation of the crime
and that the person carried it out in hate and that it involved a deadly
weapon. If, after all this, the criminal received the punishment of death by
stoning, these same witnesses were to cast the first stones.
We
find Jesus offering that it is not enough not to murder. One must deal with the
heart, the source of murderous acts. Matthew 5:21-26 contains sayings of Jesus
concerning killing.
The
seventh commandment (Exodus 20: 14 and Deuteronomy 5:18, but also Leviticus
18:20, 20:10, Deuteronomy 22:22, Numbers 5:11-30, Jeremiah 29:23, Ezekiel
16:32, Hosea 3:1, 4:13, Proverbs 6:32) is that they shall not commit adultery.
The commandment occurs in the context of a conception of marriage that was not
monogamous. A man was free to have sexual intercourse with the female slaves of
his household. In the final
edition of the Torah and theological history of Israel we find startling
examples of adultery, including Genesis 20:1-18 (Abraham and Sarah) Genesis 39
(Joseph), and II Samuel 11-12 (David and Bathsheba). The point is to protect marriage.[14]
God wants us to have a partner in life, even if we can admit that celibacy is
the plan of God for some.[15]
In Canterbury Tales, the priest says
that the commandment concerning adultery comes between the commandments on
murder and theft because adultery is the greatest theft and the greatest
murder, the theft of the body of the spouse and the murder of the one flesh
union of spouses.
Jesus
will refer to this commandment explicitly. While the sexual act of adultery may
apply to many people, it will be a limited number. Jesus seems to broaden the
command to apply to many more.[16]
Matthew 5:27-30 are sayings regarding adultery. The new righteousness Jesus is
explaining now touches upon the most personal of relationships, that of
marriage. John 8:1-11 contains the response of Jesus to one caught in the act
of adultery. Interestingly, he rejects the notion that the woman caught in
adultery should receive the biblical penalty of stoning. My point here is that
we can legitimately understand this as an abrogation of the death penalty for
the other Ten Commandments as well. John 4 and the story of the woman at the
well offer another story of Jesus with one who was clearly not sexually pure.
Luke 7:36-50 tells the story of a woman with a bad reputation disturbing a
dinner, at which Jesus offers her forgiveness. In this case, as a sentence of
holy law (verses 27-28 from Matthew), Jesus again says that they have heard it
said they should not commit adultery (the sixth commandment). However, Jesus
says that anyone who looks at a woman to lust has already committed adultery
with her in his heart. Such a statement is consistent with what Jews at the
time taught concerning lust, as we see in the tenth commandment not to covet
the wife of the neighbor. Even the ancient world in general would have agreed.
Lust dehumanizes people into objects that we use for our own pleasure. We might
be able to avoid the physical act of adultery and thus obey the law, but we
forget that the emotional or psychological attachment of lust is just as
destructive. Jesus here calls us not to merely avoid breaking the law but to
avoid breaking the fidelity of marriage that supports community, trust and
love. In an expansion (verses 29-30 from Mark 9:47), Jesus says that if the
right (symbolic of good, precious, and important) eye causes sin, tear it out
and throw it away. It would be better to lose a member of the body that for God
to throw the whole body into hell. If the right hand causes sin, cut it off and
throw it away. It would be better to lose a member than for God to throw the
whole body into hell.
Jesus’ extended
application of the commandment against adultery brings up several major issues.
Notice the overlap between the seventh and eighth commandments and the tenth
commandment. As Jesus observed, desire and acting on desire go hand in hand.
This raises interpretive issues beyond that of the original separate
commandments; but then again, so do most significant biblical texts when we try
to interpret and apply them. The question is how far to go with this. The Ten
Commandments inspire us to go well beyond their original statements, in that we
use them as guiding principles (preferably principled) to use in deciding about
wider behaviors in response to our covenant-making-and-keeping God, all in the
light of Jesus Christ.
The
eighth commandment (Exodus 20: 15 and Deuteronomy 5:19, but also Exodus 21:16,
Deuteronomy 24:7, Exodus 22:1-13) is that they shall not steal. The Torah and
the theological history of Israel present a strong case that Israel broke this
commandment at deep levels, as in Joshua 7:1, 10-26 (Achan) and I Kings 21
(Ahab). The commandments have protected the person and spouse in the previous
two commands, and they protect property. To steal is to acquire wrongfully the
property of the neighbor. One can steal from one’s employer by not working
properly. One can steal from customers by not providing the good or service
that one indicated.[17]
James 5:1-6 may well offer a Christian commentary upon this commandment.
The ninth commandment
(Exodus 20: 16 and Deuteronomy 5:20, but also Exodus 23:1, Deuteronomy
19:16-19, Leviticus 19:16, Hosea 4:2, Jeremiah 7:9) is that they shall not
offer a false witness against the neighbor. Such truth telling in court can be
a matter of life or death. Psalms often has complaints about false
witness. We can see a relationship with
the third and eighth commandments. Ancient Israel attached great value to the
testimony of the witness. Note the disastrous effect of false testimony in the
story concerning Naboth’s vineyard in I Kings 21. Legal proceedings placed the
burden of proof on the accused. One had to prove innocence in the face of the
accusation. In that sense, the whole world is a courtroom. We have moved from
protection of body, to spouse, to property, and now to protection of our name
or honor. Rather than spreading idle talk, follow what Jesus said in Matthew
18:15 and go to the person first. If you do, you have done a “precious and
excellent” thing.[18] God hates falsehood, so we must cultivate
truthfulness toward each other. Human beings tend to delight in sharing the
faults of others. This commandment forbids listening to gossip and slander.[19]
Jesus
offered a different perspective on this theme of false witness. Matthew 5:33-37
are sayings around oaths. The source is Matthew but with a relationship with
James 5:12 as well. The point is that they are to let their word be yes or no.
They are to be honest and truthful in all they do. Anything more than this
comes from the evil one.
The
tenth commandment (Exodus 20: 17 and Deuteronomy 5:21) is that they shall not
covet the house of the neighbor. This means not the wife, slave, ox, donkey, or
anything that belongs to the neighbor. The commandment suggests an emotional
element that often leads to commensurate action. It suggests seizing objects
for oneself. It suggests a wish for the appropriation of the property of
another person for personal use. It suggests lust and inner desire for wealth.
The final edition of the Torah and the theological history of Israel offer some
prime examples of coveting. Genesis 3 is the story of the entry of sin and
death into the world that disrupts the intimacy humanity had with God and with
each other. We find coveting in the story of Achan (Joshua 7:1, 10-26), David
coveted Bathsheba (II Samuel 11:1-12:15), King Ahab (I Kings 21: 1-20, 23-24)
coveted the property of his neighbor. Deception is a reminder that we are good
a hiding the rascal that resides in us. Dealing with the heart as it does, if
we deal with this commandment, we will set aside reason for the other
commandments.[20]
We are to desire the best for the neighbor.[21]
The Ten
Commandments are a good way to read a large portion of the Old Testament. They
help us understand the Torah and the theological history of Israel we find in
Joshua, Samuel, and Kings. The central stories illustrate ways in which Israel
was not faithful to the covenant the Lord made with them. When scholars break
down the various levels of the Old Testament, whether with J (900s), E (800s),
or the history itself (600s), we find the Ten Commandments a helpful
interpretive tool. Israel broke the covenant in significant ways. The prophets
themselves continually called the people and its kings back to this covenant.
This story, which is not just history in the modern sense, but also a
theological history, accomplishes three things. The first is that in exile,
Jewish scholars conclude that they are to people of the Torah, as symbolized
dramatically in the Ten Commandments. The Torah would become the way they
identify themselves as the people of God. The second is that the Torah and the
history demonstrate that God was just in bringing judgment upon Israel. God
took away what God had promised – land, city, temple, and Davidic king. Third,
we learn in the post-exilic period that their learning from all of this was
that they were to restore to themselves the land, the city, the Temple, and a
king. They learned quickly that a Davidic king would not be a possibility.
However, they did not get their city back, and would build a wall around the
city. They rebuilt the Temple. Their learning from the judgment of exile was
that they needed an increasingly strict interpretation of Torah and needed to
obey it.
All
of this will set up two things important for the New Testament. First, one can
see that Jesus and Paul will run up against the Torah as interpreted in the
first century Judaism. The New Testament is suggesting that the Jewish people
of the exile, while learning some important things about themselves and God,
made a mistake in focusing so much on the minute details of the Law. One could
say that the way the Law became a hedge around the Jewish people brought shame
to the name of the Lord among the nations. Thus, second, we see the New
Testament embarking upon re-interpretation of the Old Testament. For Jesus, the
Torah receives interpretation through the lens of the two great commandments,
to love God with all the heart, and to love the neighbor as oneself. For Paul,
what it will mean is that salvation is now by the grace of God shown in Christ,
and by turning to that act of God by faith in what God has done in Christ, and
therefore, significantly, apart from the Law. As we have seen, Jesus is already
re-interpreting the Ten Commandments. This will lead to the New Testament
re-thinking the entire Old Testament. It will do so by looking again at
significant passages like Psalm 2, 22, and 118, as well as Isaiah 53. They will
interpret the life of Jesus as a fulfillment in the sense that he is the Son
who is the suffering servant of the Lord. They will interpret the mission of
Israel to be a light to the nations as impossible as long as the Law is the
center. The Law could only separate Israel from Gentiles. In this separation,
Israel did not fulfill its God-giving mission to the nations. Instead, God set
up a new covenant in Jesus Christ, a covenant that opens up the God of Abraham,
Isaac, Jacob, Moses, David, and the prophets to the nations.
All
of this has significant implications for scriptural interpretation and
authority. What I would emphasize is that the New Testament opens the door for
a conversation about what the Old Testament to the people of God today. For
example, when Jesus said that his disciples are to love their enemies, it might
mean that the imprecatory Psalms that call for curses upon enemies might not be
appropriate upon their lips, at least as written. It certainly means that the
death penalty for disobedience to the covenant is not binding on the people of
God today (John 8:1-11). The food limitations on the Jewish people are no
longer binding upon the people of God. The death of Christ means that the one
sacrifice necessary is one God has made, as Father and Son worked together for
the one offering necessary for a sinful humanity. The resurrection of Jesus
means many things for Christians, but one thing it means is that his approach
to the Old Testament finds its justification in God raising him from the dead.
The judgment of him by Jewish leaders and Roman alike is not the truth concerning
him. Such a reality also means looking upon the appearance of the angel of the
Lord in the Old Testament in a different way, as if pre-figuring the appearance
of Jesus as the Son.
My suggestion is that the New
Testament already does a critical reading of the Old. We need to read the New
Testament carefully to see its use of the Old Testament. This will also keep us
away from purely subjective judgments concerning passages that we simply do not
like. Rather, we will have a solid basis for making such judgments, not so much
in our preferences, but we will ground judgments in a reading of the Old
Testament through the lens of the New.
[1]
(Pannenberg, Systematic Theology 1998, 1991) , Vol I, 148, 191)
[2]
Martin Luther, The Large Catechism,
2-29.
[3]
John Calvin, Institutes of the Christian
Religion, Book Two, Chapter 8, section 16.
[4]
(Barth, Church Dogmatics 2004, 1932-67) IV.3 [69.2] 101-2.
[5]
(Pannenberg, Systematic Theology 1998, 1991) Vol II, 330)
[6]
Martin Luther, The Large Catechism,
32.
[7]
(Pannenberg, Systematic Theology 1998, 1991) , Vol I, 180, 444)
[8]
(Barth, Church Dogmatics 2004, 1932-67) IV.3 [69.3] 255.
[9]
(Pannenberg, Systematic Theology 1998, 1991) , Vol I, 181, 360)
[10]
(Pannenberg, Systematic Theology 1998, 1991) Vol II, 163)
[11]
Martin Luther, The Larger Catechism, 78-102.
[12]
John Calvin, Institutes of the Christian
Religion, Book Two, Chapter 8, sections 39-40.
[13]
(Barth, Church Dogmatics 2004, 1932-67) III.4 [55].
[14]
Martin Luther, The Larger Catechism,
199-221.
[15]
John Calvin, Institutes of the Christian
Religion, Book Two, Chapter 8, section 41-44.
[16]
(Barth, Church Dogmatics 2004, 1932-67) III.4 [54.1] 232.
[17]
Martin Luther, The Larger Catechism,
222-253.
[18]
Martin Luther, The Larger Catechism,
254-290.
[19]
John Calvin, Institutes of the Christian
Religion, Book Two, Chapter 8, 47-48.
[20]
Martin Luther, The Larger Catechism,
292-
[21]
John Calvin, Institutes of the Christian
Religion, Book Two, Chapter 8, section 49-59.
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