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It’s Day 82!!
Yesterday we began ARTICLE 4: JESUS CHRIST SUFFERED UNDER PONTIUS PILATE, WAS CRUCIFIED, DIED AND WAS BURIED
One of the highlights of this is Christ’s RELATIONSHIP with the people of Israel
Jesus is Jewish!!
The Scribes, Pharisees, and Sadducees conspired with the Romans to put Jesus to death
We want to understand what was the depth of Christ’s relationship with the People of Israel?
It’s one of LOVE
Jesus wept and lamented over the fate of Jerusalem
These are HIS OWN PEOPLE
Of course, ALL OF US are God’s Creation and God’s beloved creatures
BUT…
The People of Israel were SPECIALLY CHOSEN
Jesus knew that SOME OF THEM would reject Him
MANY MANY OF THEM SAID YES!!
WHICH IS AMAZING!!
WHICH IS INCREDIBLE!!
WE CANNOT FORGET THAT!!
We have to ALWAYS REMEMBER that Jesus is the FULFILLMENT OF JUDAISM
Today we are going to talk about the relationship between JESUS AND THE LAW
Tomorrow and the next couple of days we will talk about JESUS AND THE TEMPLE
And then JESUS AND ISRAEL’S FAITH IN THE ONE GOD AND SAVIOR
Talking about JESUS AND THE LAW can often be a problematic moment
For many reasons, Jesus was rejected by the elders, chief priests, Sadducees etc.
One of the reasons is because Christ placed HIMSELF as the AUTHOR OF THE LAW
He has AUTHORITY
Because of that, that is one of the many reasons the Scribes, the Pharisees, the elders, etc. REJECTED HIM
THEY DID NOT ACCEPT HIM FOR WHO HE WAS!!
Even though His mighty works VALIDATED AND VERIFIED that HE DOES HAVE AUTHORITY OF THE AUTHOR
The term AUTHORITY in English comes from the term “author’s rights”
If you are the AUTHOR of the book, you have the AUTHOR’S RIGHTS
You have the right of the story
You can tell…(Squirrel? 🤔🤨)
Think of any famous fiction author (For this exercise, we will use Michael Crichton because Jurassic Park is one of my favorite books of all time and I would love to have a pet T. Rex and I would ride her to work and name her Trixie 😁)
They get to tell us the reality of the character
Whether we agree with him or not, he’s the author
Therefore he has the AUTHOR’S RIGHT to have the AUTHORITY to be able to teach DEFINITIVELY
THAT’S WHAT JESUS DOES!!
There are MANY interpretations of the Old Law
Jesus ultimately says, “But this is the DEFINITIVE interpretation of many of these laws.”
For example, the Jewish dietary laws
They had a function
IN FACT…
They had a PEDAGOGICAL FUNCTION
They TAUGHT people something
Jesus then says, “Ok. Now here is the ULTIMATE MEANING of those Jewish dietary laws.”
He has the AUTHORITY to be able to give the DEFINITIVE INTERPRETATION OF THE LAW
Yes there might be many interpretations
BUT…
Here is the DEFINITIVE INTERPRETATION
He has the AUTHORITY to do that because He has VERIFIED AND VALIDATED
He is the AUTHOR OF THE LAW
Does that make sense?
Let’s start with a prayer!!
Prayer by Fr. Mike: “Father in Heaven, we give you praise and glory. We thank you for the Law. We thank you for the gift of the Jewish dietary laws. We thank you for the gift of the Jewish Temple laws. We thank you for the gift of the Eternal laws that you have revealed to us, those moral laws that are true at all times, in all places, for all people. Lord God, we also give you thanks that in you, you have offered the definitive interpretation of many of these laws. You have revealed to us who it is you are and how it is you want us to come to know you. How it is you want us to worship you and love you as best we possibly can. With your Grace, send us your Grace right now so that we can know you and love you and worship you the way you have asked, but also the way you deserve. On our own we can never do this. So please, send your Grace upon us this day and every day. In the name of Jesus, we pray. Amen”
There we have it!!
We are here to remember the fact that Jesus DID NOT come to ABOLISH the Law
JESUS CAME TO FULFILL THE LAW!!
If we can remember ANYTHING when it comes to what Jesus is doing with the Old Covenant and the Old Testament it’s that He is NOT ERADICATING IT
IT IS NOT DEAD!!
IT IS MORE ALIVE THAN EVER!!
At the same time, there are certain laws that NO LONGER APPLY
Yes, it is ALIVE because God’s Covenant is a LIVING COVENANT
God is a God of the LIVING and NOT THE DEAD
He is the God of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob
Jesus is the FULFILLMENT OF THE LAW
Jesus is the FULFILLMENT OF THE TEMPLE
TEMPLE WORSHIP is fulfilled in Jesus as well
EVERYTHING in the Old Testament is REVEALED in the New
EVERYTHING in the New Testament is HIDDEN in the Old
Jesus is coming with a DEFINITIVE INTERPRETATION OF THE LAW
Jesus is NOT eliminating it
Jesus is giving it the TRUE INTERPRETATION AND FULFILLMENT IN HIMSELF
There are a couple of things to keep in mind…
Not only did Jesus give the definitive interpretation of say, the dietary laws
How do we read the Old Covenant Laws in the Books of Deuteronomy, Leviticus, or Numbers?
Not only are they FULFILLED IN JESUS
THAT IS VERY IMPORTANT!!
BUT…
There are also certain kinds of laws in the Old Covenant
Some of them we still attend to
Some of them we still pay attention to and obey
Some of them have been FULFILLED FULLY
We can distinguish them into three kinds
THE TEMPLE LAWS
THE KINGDOM OF ISRAEL LAWS
THE MORAL LAWS
All of them have a MORAL COMPONENT
Because if God COMMANDS IT then we ought to DO IT
THAT IS MORALITY!!
What we mean by MORAL LAWS is those laws that are true AT ALL TIMES IN ALL PLACES FOR ALL PEOPLE
The Temple Laws have to do with how Temple worship and care go down
The Kingdom Laws have to do with how to live life in the Kingdom of Israel, that Jewish community that was brought together under the covenant
The Moral Laws are ABSOLUTE
Why are some laws fulfilled in a way that are still applicable to our lives?
For example, Jesus said, “You have heard it was said of old that you should not murder. But I say to you that even if you grow angry with your brother, you are committing murder in your heart.”
“You have heard it said, ‘an eye for an eye and a tooth for a tooth.’ But I tell you to forgive and love your enemies.”
“You have heard it was said that you should not commit adultery. But I say to you if you even look at another with lust in your heart, you have committed adultery.”
So Jesus is taking those COMMON MORAL LAWS
These laws are applicable AT ALL TIMES IN ALL PLACES TO ALL PEOPLE
Jesus is FULFILLING THEM by saying, “Not only do they have to reach your ACTIONS. They have to go ALL THE WAY TO YOUR HEART.”
Jesus has FULFILLED and in some ways AMPLIFIED and EXPANDED those laws
THEY ARE STILL IN EFFECT!!
BUT…
There are some laws that we do not follow
You may hear people talk about this when it comes to The Book of Leviticus
There are some laws in Leviticus that we know are STILL IN EFFECT
Particularly, there are laws governing human sexual relations THAT ARE STILL IN EFFECT
The question comes up, “Wait, why are THOSE still in effect but we don’t stone people for violating the Sabbath?”
“Why are the laws about sexual action still in effect but we can mix fabrics in our clothing?”
The reality, of course, is because the laws that are no longer applicable are no longer applicable because the CONTEXT in which they EXISTED no longer EXISTS
If you have a TEMPLE LAW well, there is NO TEMPLE ANYMORE
Therefore those laws governing worship in the Temple CEASE TO EXIST because the Temple has CEASED TO EXIST
Similarly, the laws for governance for the People of Israel cease to exist
Why?
Because the Kingdom of Israel as it existed in the Old Covenant has CEASED TO EXIST (Now, the NATION of Israel exists, but in a different way)
Here is an analogy
Outside Fr. Mike’s house is a speed limit sign that says 30 MPH
At some point, the United States will FALL and will CEASE TO EXIST (Probably because of those DARN DIRTY APES!!!! https://youtu.be/bYaTlw4Xlyk 🤣)
Minnesota will FALL and will CEASE TO EXIST
When that happens, the speed limit will CEASE TO EXIST
If there is a governmentally enacted law and there is no more government, then the law will cease to be in effect
Does that make sense?
The law has been FULFILLED in the sense that Jesus has now ESTABLISHED THE KINGDOM
JESUS HAS ESTABLISHED THE CHURCH ON EARTH!!
So the FORMER kingdom that has been fulfilled now in the Church CEASES TO EXIST
The FORMER Temple that is now fulfilled in the worship of God at Mass CEASES TO EXIST
AND YET…
THE MORAL LAWS CONTINUE TO EXIST!!
Hope that makes sense!!
Tomorrow, we will talk about JESUS AND THE TEMPLE
We will talk about JESUS AND ISRAEL’S FAITH IN THE ONE GOD AND SAVIOR
IT IS GOING TO BE INCREDIBLE!!
Then we will move on to JESUS DIED CRUCIFIED and THE TRIAL OF JESUS
IT IS INCREDIBLE!!
Fr. Mike is praying FOR YOU!!
Please pray for Fr. Mike and for each other!!
I cannot WAIT to see you tomorrow!!
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