Matthew 5:17

Throughout his ministry, Jesus seemed to be in constant conflict with the teachers of the Jewish law. So it isn’t surprising that there were those who assumed that his intention was to scrap it. Look at the way in which he failed to observe the regulations about handwashing, or the fact that
he healed people on the Sabbath even though the law clearly forbade any kind of work on that day. Jesus didn’t object to the law but rather the way in which it was being applied.

Take the law of the Sabbath for example. Jesus completely upheld Moses’ command to keep the Sabbath holy, but he objected to the ridiculous layers of complicated regulations that the Jews had added to that vital law. The Jewish lawyers delighted in giving everything a precise definition, so a word like work had to be very precisely defined. All kinds of things were defined as work, such as carrying a burden. This meant that the word burden had to be defined. The lawyers argued endlessly on such issues as to whether a person could or could not lift a lamp from one place to another on the Sabbath. They tried to work out whether a tailor had committed a sin if he went out with a needle in his robe. They even discussed whether it was lawful for someone to go out on the Sabbath with their false teeth or an artificial limb. It would be incredibly funny if it wasn’t so serious.

Jesus came not to scrap the law of Moses, but to do away with the absurd weight of detailed regulations that had been laid on top. His purpose was to help people to live their lives for God and not for these absurd rules. And that is still Jesus’ intention today. He wants us to share our lives with him so that we can find true fulfilment in him, and not be burdened down by regulations.

Question

Do you think we are ever guilty of making up unhelpful rules and regulations?

Prayer

Lord Jesus, thank you that you came to help us to live life to the full. Amen