Life is limited by fear, while a life filled with faith flourishes. Fear meets us where we are, but faith takes us to where we never thought possible (2 Tim. 1:7).
Month: May 2020
The Song of the Mountains
verse XXIV – Pre-Tending to Imitation
Escalating complexity.
Having climbed the “Matterhorn” of the Sermon on the Mount, of loving neighbor, stranger, enemy, going the extra mile, giving to those who ask, and praying for those persecuting you, Yeshua/Jesus concludes Matthew chapter 5 by saying, “Be perfect, therefore, as your heavenly Father is perfect” (Matt. 5:48). With the aforementioned challenges to our human nature and sensibilities, He now speaks an even greater challenge: be perfect. Not perfect as compared to those around us, but as our Father in Heaven is perfect.
Perfect?
Most of us would agree that this seems beyond our ability and perhaps, even a bit unfair; after all, how can we be perfect as our Father in Heaven is perfect? He is perfect in wisdom, knowledge, love, mercy, grace and patience to name but a few; personally, being a bit self-reflective, I am perfect in precisely none of these areas.
So what is Yeshua telling us?
This is a complex command, yet not unduly complex if we think, search and reflect on how the Apostolic Writings instruct us. Based on Matthew 5:48, there have been many Christian sects that have attempted to live perfect, to go so far as claiming that they live perfectly without sin. That being said, is this what Yeshua is expecting or asking of us? After all, the apostle James says, “We all stumble in many ways, and if anyone does not stumble in what he says, he is a perfect man” (Jas. 3:2). James, the brother of Yeshua and the first leader of the Church in Jerusalem is not contradicting Yeshua, but telling us, in his unique way, that none of us are perfect, in ourselves.
Forgiveness.
If we simply examine the teachings of Yeshua, specifically the Lord’s Prayer, we find that He is not expecting us to walk in unnatural perfection, or pretend supernatural perfection, devoid of our humanity – as He taught us to pray, “Forgive us our trespasses and we forgive those who have trespasses against us.” The Greek word translated “perfect” means “mature, complete, of full age.” The Hebrew equivalent was used to describe sacrificial animals without defect; but also Noah and David, to very imperfect human beings.
Like Father, like son.
Yeshua is calling us, in Matthew 5:48, away from an urge to mature in our own perfection, resulting in a self-righteous attitude, to mature in our imitation of our Father. Imitation in the Hebraic culture was a high form of devotion and love for your teacher, as Paul writes, “Imitate me as I imitate Messiah” (I Cor. 11:1). As a parent, have you ever noticed, whether you like it or not, your children imitate you? While this can be something negative, it can also be positive.
Based on the teachings of Yeshua that we have examined thus far in the Sermon on the Mount:
- We should control our temper and measure our words carefully.
- We should resist the temptation to lust and desire after what the Lord has not given to us.
- We should not use the Lord’s name in order to puff ourselves up.
- We should pray for our enemies daily.
- The above are only some examples of the many ways that we should seek to imitate our Father in Heaven.
As the teachings of Yeshua are implanted in our lives on a daily basis by the Holy Spirit, in faith, relying on His grace and mercy, then and only then, do we begin to imitate our Father’s perfection.
How did He treat you?
What exactly are we imitating? How the Lord treats us – we will treat others in like manner. Yeshua isn’t expecting us to reach a moral perfection now that has heretofore eluded us. He is reflecting on how the love of the Father is in and works through our lives. Empowered by the Holy Spirit, in faith, we are no longer controlled by the objects outside of us and our immediate control, but by our commitment to the way the Father has loved us in Yeshua. In this perfection, we will not allow the attractiveness, worthiness, or loveliness of a person, object or situation create a conditional response, neither will we love only those we can rely on for a positive return. We are controlled by the love of the Father who first loved us, even while we were yet sinners.
A sinless perfection?
Matthew 5:48 is not speaking of a sinless perfection, that is in realty, unattainable for us; no, Yeshua is directing us to walk in faith maturity that is attainable. Generosity, gentleness, guilelessness, genuineness, and graciousness, these attributes are not only attainable but, as Yeshua directs us, they are expected of us as His disciples. We are to become imitators of Him.
Imago Dei.
Our ethical responsibility is to imitate God, exactly what Yeshua is directing us to do in Matthew 5:48. We are made in His image (Gen. 1:26-27), and this fact distinguishes our nature from that of other creatures. Should we behave like animals? No, we are called to a higher way of living as ethical creatures in God’s creation. We are to reflect the light of heaven, and the Lord’s moral purity.
As the image of God in Messiah, we are to show forth the character and nature of who He is, respond as He would respond, and do what He has shown He would do. Let us, then, imitate our Father in Heaven, let us mature in the faith so that, as the apostle Peter commanded us, we can be “examples to the flock” (I Pet. 5:3).
Shalom. Be well.
The Song of the Mountains
verse XXIII – The Sanctity of Life
Shockwaves.
Violence and murder are shocking not only to the psyche of the individual, but also to the psyche of a community. The sound of gunshots and sirens, the echoing voices of those directly caught up in a moment of terror. We do not always readily acknowledge the fragility of life until we experience firsthand the shock of loss.
In my articles covering the Decalogue of Exodus 20, we have covered the vertical commands, and now, moving to the second table of commandments, will consider the meaning of the horizontal commandments. This table begins with an ethical, apodictic law protecting the sanctity of human life.
You shall not…
Exodus 20:13 is very short in English, “You do not murder,” and even shorter in Hebrew:
לֹא תִרְצָח
How these two Hebrew words have historically been translated has been a source of confusion as to their specific meaning. In the KJV, RSV and the ASV, it has been translated “You do not kill,” causing many to believe that there is a general prohibition to killing even for purposes of food. An interpretation of “kill” leaves a terrible theological struggle with sacrifice, also commanded by the Lord.
What’s this about?
This, however, is not the case. The sixth commandment does not forbid killing. Rather, when we consider the Hebrew language, we understand more clearly what is being expressed and prohibited. In the Hebrew Scriptures, we find at least eight different words that are used to communicate killing. In the sixth commandment, the underlying Hebrew verb is רָצַח, ratsach, which appears for the first time in this verse. It is then used dozens of times thereafter specifically referring to murder, not killing.
Dr. Mark Rooker defines “ratsach” as “any act of violence against an individual out of hatred, anger, malice, deceit, or for personal gain, in whatever circumstance and by whatever method, that might result in death.” Bearing this in mind, we discover that the sixth commandment does not forbid the killing of animals, as it is addressing issues relating to human beings.
More development.
As the Torah unfolds, the Lord through Moses will define the difference between murder and manslaughter. An individual who accidently kills another is not guilty of murder according to the Torah; neither are those who have killed someone in self-defense, during times of war, or state-ordered capital punishment.
Why does the Lord take this issue so seriously?
In Genesis 9:5-6 we read, “But only your blood for your lives I require, from the hand of every beast I require it, and from the hand of every man. From the hand of every man’s brother I require the life of man. Whoever sheds man’s blood, by man his blood is shed, for in the image of God has He made man.”
Man, the image bearer.
Man is made in the image of God, and as Rabbi Dr. Joseph Hertz explains, “The infinite worth of human life is based on the fact that man is created ‘in the image of God.’ God alone gives life, and He alone may take it. The intentional killing of any human being, apart from capital punishment legally imposed by a judicial tribunal, or in a war for the defense of national or human rights, is absolutely forbidden.”
Man, created in the image of man, is of immeasurable value; thus, we learn that the sixth commandment not only prohibits murder – but it also sets as an ethical absolute: respect for the sanctity of human life – both born and unborn – as the Torah gives legal protection to an unborn child, just as it does the mother (Ex. 21:22-25). Still, in instances where an ethical dilemma emerged, and the mother of an unborn child’s life is in danger, Jewish law has always placed priority on the life of the mother.
Killing in effigy.
Murder and destruction of human life can be likened to smashing the very image of God, or even killing God in effigy. Rabbi Hertz continues, “Child life is as sacred as that of an adult. In Greece, weak children were exposed; that is, abandoned on a lonely mountain to perish. Jewish horror of child-murder was long looked upon as a contemptible prejudice. ‘It is a crime among the Jews to kill any child,’ sneered the Roman historian Tacitus.”
The sanctity of life.
The sanctity of human life is the fundamental principle of this commandment; therefore we could rightly translate this verse in two additional ways without doing damage to the underlying spirit of the text: 1) “Preserve innocent human life;” and 2) “Protect the life of the other.”
Not only are we commanded to abstain from vengefully, or angrily taking human life, the sixth commandment implies that we must also protect the sanctity of human life. The protection of this commandment is not only a guard against murder, but it also addresses issues such a hunger, oppression, and slavery. It not only addresses one’s actions, but it also intends to govern one’s heart.
The application of Yeshua.
In Matthew 5:21-22, Yeshua specifically references the sixth commandment, and not only forbids the physical act, but also the thought life and speech that would lead to the act. Alasdair Begg has made this succinct observation, “We kill people all the time without contemptuous anger, our animosity and malice, our hostility and gossip. Little hidden murders.”
Hidden murders.
Our inability to control our tongues, which the apostle James writes extensively about in the third chapter of his epistle, can do irreparable damage to someone’s life (Gal. 5:13-15). In such situations, in causing them to stumble, will we not be judged? Is this displaying the holiness that the Lord God has called us to when we murder with our tongues? Being “under grace” are we able to damage others without regard for the long-term wounds they now carry? Certainly not.
Holiness.
The expectation of holiness found in the Bible is not blind adherence to a commandment, or a rule, or an adage – it is loving the Lord God and acting in community in self-giving ways to ensure the safety, well-being and life of those around you. We can make for ourselves priorities for holiness, yet we will find that our priorities and the Lord’s priorities are often not in agreement. The Pharisees, too, set their own priorities in holiness, and it left them lacking righteousness in faith (Matt. 5:20). Therefore, biblical holiness is a matter of loving God and our neighbor, not of doing homage to a rule. This is why it is vital to not add to, or take away from what the Lord has commanded.
The Heidelberg Catechism makes an interesting observation about the sixth commandment, “In forbidding murder God means to teach us that he abhors the root of murder, which is envy, hatred, anger, and the desire for revenge, and that he regards all these as hidden murder.”
Yeshua, in the Sermon on the Mount, explains how the internal presence of the Torah, written on our hearts, appears as we walk in life. If we are earnestly seeking the Lord God, not only will we preserve the sanctity of life by guarding the forcible and violent taking of life, but we will also guard the dignity of human life, by tending to the needs of those around us. We will lay aside the root causes of murder by speech, and we will honor the image of God in the other.
Shalom. Be well.
the mountain mensch 