Old Testament: Exodus 12:1-14 or Ezekiel 33:7-11
Gospel: Matthew 18:15-20
Epistle: Romans 13:8-14
Paul has some interesting words for us this week concerning
the concept of love. He follows Jesus’ own words in saying that “he who loves
his neighbor has fulfilled the law.” He quotes Leviticus 19:18, as does Jesus, which
reads, “You shall not take vengeance, nor bear any grudge against the sons of your people, but you shall love your neighbor as yourself; I am the Lord.” The reason this fulfills the law is kind of self-explanatory,
but Paul makes it clear: “Love does no wrong to a neighbor;
therefore, love is the fulfillment of the
law.” Perhaps it is the message which leads Jesus to say that he has not
come to nullify the law, but to fulfill it. If love of God and others is the
defining feature of one’s life, then all the other precepts of the law will
fall into place. I find it interesting that Paul quotes 4 of the 10
commandments, basically summarizing them, and then adds the line about “loving
your neighbor as yourself” and places them on the same level. It reveals to me
that the “Law” as defined in the Old Testament is seen on the same level and
interconnected. Jesus and Paul both take this one line from Leviticus, and
place it on equal ground with the Shema, the great statement of faith in Deut.
6, and the 10 commandments respectively. They are then able to read the rest of
the Law through the key interpretive lens of love of God and neighbor.
I bring this point up because we basically have to do the same thing when it comes to how we interpret Scripture and how we view God. To begin with, we should look at how Jesus interpreted the Old Testament and follow him. So, if he tells us what the two greatest commandments are in the Old Testament, we should view those as the two greatest as well. We should be careful to note how the New Testament writers interpret the Old Testament because it provides at least one way for us to do so.
We are also instructed, and believe, that
to understand who God is, we should look at who Jesus is. Thus, when we read
the Old Testament, we should see God through the lens of Jesus. This is
different than those who don’t believe that Jesus is God. Jews, scholars, New
Agers, etc. might all read the Old Testament for various reasons, but they don’t
read it through the lens of belief that Jesus is God incarnate who reveals God
to the world.
If you read the Matthew passage this week,
then you know it is Jesus’ threefold method of confronting people in their sin.
First, go to them in private; next, approach them with a small group to seek repentance;
and finally, bring the matter to the whole church if they still have not
accepted their sin. This is probably one of the most quoted passages when it
comes to church discipline, but the least practiced. This is probably because
we all dislike confrontation and we know that we have our own sins; how can we
confront others? I went back to John Wesley’s Notes on the Bible[i] and Wesley laments the fact that no one is following this practice.
I kind of thought that maybe back then they might have been better at this, but
it appears that even when Wesley was alive in the 18th century,
these instructions were hard to put in to practice.
Through the power and guidance of the Spirit,
the church does have the place and authority to administer discipline and
rebuke (vs. 18), and we should strive towards the standard Jesus sets here
concerning confronting sin in the Church. We can say that confronting sin in
the church is important and to be done in a loving way. Notice, however, that
even when individuals have to be excommunicated, it is not a total cutting-off.
Jesus says that we are to see them as Gentiles and tax collectors. Even though
Gentiles and tax collectors were despised by Jesus’ listeners, these were the
ones Jesus hung out with and called to repentance. The offer is always extended
for people to accept the discipline of the Church and return. Again, this may
be something we are uncomfortable doing on a personal level and may think it
sounds strange on a historical, corporate level. However, this is the way the Church
has grown and stayed true to its beliefs when heretics and others have tried to
lead the Church astray in belief or practice.
To put these two passages in harmony, whether we are dealing
with people that annoy us or who we dislike, or are confronting those in the
church, we do so with love. Love is to be the overriding motivation and
principle. Thus, even when the church rebukes, it does so out of love and a
desire to see the individual repent and grow closer to Christ. This is, of
course, easier said than done, since we tend to love imperfectly. But let us
strive to love as God loves. Jesus, who indwells us through his Spirit, desires
that we continue to grow in the love of God. May it be so.
Grace and Peace.
[i] http://wesley.nnu.edu/john-wesley/john-wesleys-notes-on-the-bible/notes-on-the-gospel-according-to-st-matthew/#Chapter+XVIII
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