Jesus' Thesis

I've had a thought developing in my mind for a couple months, and I'm not sure how well I'll be able to articulate it, but here it goes.

Let's start with this.

“Turn to me and be saved, all the ends of the earth! For I am God, and there is no other. By myself I have sworn; from my mouth has gone out in righteousness a word that shall not return: ‘To me every knee shall bow, every tongue shall swear allegiance.' “Only in the Lord, it shall be said of me, are righteousness and strength; to him shall come and be ashamed all who were incensed against him. In the Lord all the offspring of Israel shall be justified and shall glory.” (Isaiah 45:22-25)

This is God. The one who created everything by words, who formed man with His hands, who breathed life into man for the very first time. God, who looked at His creation and said that it was good, and after creating humanity, said that is was "Very good." The very first relationship that ever existed in humanity was between God and man, and the second was between God, man, and woman. From that moment, to the present, God has shown us how He values these relationships. Even in His description of who He is, He included us. His relationship with humanity is a defining feature for Him, He thinks of us when He thinks of Himself.

 Then the Lord saw that the wickedness of man was great in the earth, and that every intent of the thoughts of his heart was only evil continually. (Genesis 6:5)

Meet man. Only a few generations after the man that God had declared, "Very good," humanity had managed to become something so evil, they were not even capable of thinking good things. This theme is not unique to Noah's time, we see shadows of the evil tendencies of mankind throughout history.

When the wife of Uriah heard that Uriah her husband was dead, she mourned for her husband. (2 Samuel 11:26)

Why did all-creating nature 
           Make the plant for which we toil? 
Sighs must fan it, tears must water, 
           Sweat of ours must dress the soil. 
Think, ye masters iron-hearted, 
           Lolling at your jovial boards, 
Think how many backs have smarted 
           For the sweets your cane affords. 
(Excerpt from "The Negroe's Complaint," by William Cowper)

It is not truth that matters, but victory. -Adolf Hitler

The most merciful thing that a family does to one of its infant members is to kill it. -Margaret Sanger

Somehow, God was able to see beyond inexcusable evil, and love souls that were created by Him, for Him. Somehow, God knew He could change them, and bring beauty from the madness. So, though He was always with humanity, perceiving their every hurt, fear, and heart's desire, He came close to them in a way that they could perceive. He became like them, left His throne, and was born the way the most humble of them were born.

Why?

For we do not have a High Priest who cannot sympathize with our weaknesses, but was in all points tempted as we are, yet without sin. Let us therefore come boldly to the throne of grace, that we may obtain mercy and find grace to help in time of need. (Hebrews 4:15-16)

In order to be fit to judge us, He wanted to understand fully what it was like to live in the world that we live in. Wasn't that good of Him? Surely, coming to live in fallen humanity, He now must understand how incredibly difficult it is to be perfect. Surely, knowing, He must see that we are really not to blame, we're victims of our environment. Products of an evil system called "sin nature." This explains why the conclusion of that thought was, "Let us therefore come boldly to the throne of grace."

Or... Isn't that what He would discover?

Now that I think about it, I can't exactly blame Adam for everything I have done. I definitely bear at least some responsibility for my actions. Oooh. As I think about it more, I am starting to remember plenty of times when I definitely had a choice, and I chose the wrong thing. Even after I became a Christian... Isn't that what Hebrews talks about, "trampling on the Son of God?" Have I "put Him to an open shame?"

No, now that I think about it, I can't blame my "sin nature" for things that I did willingly, any more than King David can blame his "sin nature" for the things He did. I don't deserve the grace of God, I deserve whatever the consequence of my sin is, even if it's hell.

Maybe it's worse that Jesus came to be like us, He experienced the same temptations that I did, "yet without sin." He chose the right thing, I chose the wrong thing. I think, having come and endured the same hardship that I have struggling against sin, He more likely would have come to the conclusion that I should receive the full consequence for my actions, nothing spared.

I may as well have yelled, "Crucify Him!" My actions sure did.

I should be numbered among the ones that said, "Let His blood be on us and on our children!"

So what was His actual conclusion?

After the Perfect God, creates men that rebel and spit in His face, comes to see for Himself why, and discovers that they have no excuse and are fully responsible for their actions, His conclusion is this:

And Jesus said, “Father, forgive them, for they know not what they do.” (Luke 23:34a)

I'll be honest, I didn't plan an ending for this one. When that thought occurred to me, I was literally speechless, and even now, I have no explanation to offer, just the suggestion to... think. About that.

What goes through my mind, (and again, this is not an explanation, just thoughts) is that He definitely was not suggesting to God that they (or us) were truly ignorant. They were literally the most learned men of the day, if anyone would have known the magnitude of what was being done, it should have been them. 

There's something more, that's all I can say. There's always something more to be found in Jesus. "They know not what they do," are old, old words. But I don't have any confidence that I know what they mean anymore. I think I "know not what (they) did," either.

Does the Law Have a Purpose Anymore?

Now that we are under grace, does the law still have purpose?

Confusion has always been my reaction to this question.

"YES!" I would respond, in light of verses like Matthew 5:17,

“Do not think that I came to destroy the Law or the Prophets. I did not come to destroy but to fulfill."

But when it came to verses like Hebrews 10:9,

then He said, “Behold, I have come to do Your will, O God.” He takes away the first that He may establish the second.

He TAKES AWAY the first. Doesn't that sound like it is done with?

How then did He not destroy the law?

Therefore the law was our tutor to bring us to Christ, that we might be justified by faith. (Galatians 3:24)

There. It's done. The law's purpose was to bring us to Christ, so now that we are under grace, the law is done.

Isn't it?

Of course, I understand that the law still has purpose in the lives of the unbelievers. They still need to be shown their sin, their need for a savior, so the law still is needed. But for the believer, for the one who has already been saved, who has already repented of their sin and are now under grace...what is the law for?

What shall we say then? Is the law sin? Certainly not! On the contrary, I would not have known sin except through the law. For I would not have known covetousness unless the law had said, “You shall not covet.” (Romans 7:7)

I used to just believe that the law still had purpose, because it says so in Matthew 5:17, without fully wrapping my head around it.

But now that's changed! :D

In my personal devotions a few days ago I realized a clear way of understanding what I already had believed, a new way of seeing it that made sense in my mind.

I was reading in Psalm 19, and I particularly noticed verses 7-8,

The law of the Lord is perfect, converting the soul; The testimony of the Lord is sure, making wise the simple; The statutes of the Lord are right, rejoicing the heart; The commandment of the Lord is pure, enlightening the eyes; (Psalms 19:7, 8)

Normally, when I read in the Psalms about "the law," I make a subconscious switch in my mind to, "things that God/Jesus has said."

This isn't a bad thing, I don't think, but I think I deprived myself of this realization by doing that.

This time, for whatever reason, I decided to read it the way it was written, as, "The law."

(Okay, side note: Bible journals are AWESOME! I have some of the greatest insights sometimes just by writing down my thoughts on a passage. It is amazing.)

It didn't click right away, but I wrote my thoughts out until I saw it, this is what I wrote.

I think as Christians, we often put so much emphasis on grace that we neglect the law. (emphasis on grace is good, don't get me wrong, but we sometimes overlook the law) The bible tells us that the law was like a tutor to bring us to Christ, but that doesn't mean we forget it. Jesus said He did not come to do away with the law, but to fulfill it. God made the law to show us who He is, how perfect and holy He is.

If we are striving to be like Him, what better place to look than the law? We shouldn't use it as a means for salvation, but it has rewards in itself. To look at these verses, you see that the law does not just condemn without grace, but with grace it frees.

That is where it clicked.

"...The law does not just condemn without grace, but with grace it frees."

The law and grace were designed to work together. In the old testament, the law was without grace, and all it was good for was to bring us to Christ, because all it could do on its own is condemn.

But when Jesus died, He opened a door for grace and the law to work together, a door where we could be saved without having to die for our own sins, and we could benefit from the law.

The law, we are told in Psalm 19, "Makes wise the simple," "Rejoices the heart," and "Enlightens the eyes." There is more still, if you read the rest of the chapter.

These things are there for us to have, because Jesus died for us, uniting grace and the law.