Clarity And Substance In The Law

𝐌𝐀𝐑𝐂𝐇 𝟏𝟏, 𝟐𝟎𝟐𝟔: 𝐓𝐇𝐈𝐑𝐃 𝐖𝐄𝐄𝐊 𝐎𝐅 𝐋𝐄𝐍𝐓

𝐑𝐞𝐚𝐝𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝟏: 𝐃𝐞𝐮𝐭 𝟒:𝟏, 𝟓-𝟗

𝐑𝐞𝐬𝐩𝐨𝐧𝐬𝐨𝐫𝐢𝐚𝐥 𝐏𝐬𝐚𝐥𝐦: 𝐏𝐬𝐚 𝟏𝟒𝟕:𝟏𝟐-𝟏𝟑, 𝟏𝟓-𝟏𝟔, 𝟏𝟗-𝟐𝟎 “𝐏𝐫𝐚𝐢𝐬𝐞 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐋𝐨𝐫𝐝, 𝐉𝐞𝐫𝐮𝐬𝐚𝐥𝐞𝐦.”

𝐆𝐎𝐒𝐏𝐄𝐋: 𝐌𝐀𝐓𝐓 𝟓:𝟏𝟕-𝟏𝟗

𝐊𝐞𝐲 𝐕𝐞𝐫𝐬𝐞: “𝐈 𝐡𝐚𝐯𝐞 𝐧𝐨𝐭 𝐜𝐨𝐦𝐞 𝐭𝐨 𝐚𝐛𝐨𝐥𝐢𝐬𝐡 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐥𝐚𝐰, 𝐛𝐮𝐭 𝐭𝐨 𝐟𝐮𝐥𝐟𝐢𝐥𝐥 𝐭𝐡𝐞𝐦.” (𝐯.𝟏𝟕) 

          At the core of today’s Gospel is what we refer as the Law. What is the Law? To the Israelites, the Law or Laws are the Ten Commandments and the Five Books of Moses that they call the Pentateuch.

          From this simple collection of Laws, the Scribes added hundreds of variants to the original set of Laws such that the people at that time found it difficult to observe the Law which was originally intended to bring the people closer to God. This was the condition that Israel was in when Jesus began his mission.

          To make it simpler and easier for the people of Israel to understand, Jesus summarized the whole Law into two basic concepts – love of God and love of neighbor. This became the bone of contention raised by the Scribes and Pharisees who thought that Jesus was replacing the Law with his own teachings.

          What they failed to comprehend was that Jesus did not introduce a new set of teachings, but what he taught was the essence of God’s Law – the fulfillment of His commandments and way of life.

           If you will look closely and reflect upon the teachings of Jesus, you will find that throughout the three years of his mission he never departed from main message of his mission which is reverence for God’s law, for God Himself, for the Lord’s Day, respect for parents, respect for life, for property, for the good of another person, respect for self and neighbor.

          What Jesus did was that he taught in a different way for the people to appreciate and discover on their own the substance of the teachings of Jesus by using parables and actual experiences to illustrate a point.

          Let’s go forward to the present age. What is your impression of the Law especially the Ten Commandments whenever this is brought up during the homily at Mass or during a church teaching or Christian seminar that you attend. Do you view it positively or negatively?

          Some will surely say these are difficult teachings. Others will probably say these are for the Israelites or for the Priests and the Religious. Do we have to follow the letter of the Law? If we consider ourselves as Christians, then perhaps we can look at the attitude of Jesus himself towards the law of God and this can be summed up in what Psalm 119 says: “Oh, how I love your law! It is my meditation all day.”

         Laws, especially civilian laws, are necessary because they put order in what otherwise may be an unruly society, church or community perhaps. In fact, there are rules that are observed even in the most basic unit of society, which is the family. What do you think would happen if there were no traffic rules to regulate the flow of traffic in the city that we live in. Won’t there be chaos and anarchy on the streets?

         By just glancing at the Scriptures without getting inside it we may be drawn to think that there is a contradiction in the way Jesus pursued his ministry in that while he was emphatic when he said in this Gospel passage that he did not come to abolish the law but to fulfill them (𝐯.𝟏𝟕), we also know that Jesus had broken some of the Laws that were in place in his time.

         But before we go further, we need to have a clear understanding of what the Law was all about in the life of the ancient Jews since this passage speak of its abolition and fulfillment at the same time.

         The Law as the Jews have accepted it was also divided into three categories and these are the ceremonial law that pertains to how Israel should worship (𝐋𝐞𝐯 𝟏:𝟐-𝟑), the civil law that applies to how Jews should live (Deuteronomy) and, the moral law which includes the Ten Commandments that the Jews acknowledge as a direct command of God and thus requires strict obedience. The moral law bares the nature and will of God and Jesus obeyed this law to its fullest.

         Of these, it was the Scribal Law that Jesus condemned. In the course of time prior to the coming of Jesus, the Scribes have expanded The Law into numerous rules and regulations that the Pharisees kept and which they passed on to the people. And the rigidity of these expanded Laws was what kept the Jews from a true worship of God that is rooted in having a relationship with God and this was what Jesus was against.

         An example of this was the law that says to heal someone during the Sabbath constitutes work and this was prohibited. But the Scribes inserted in the law that healing was allowed if there was danger to life such as afflictions that affect the ear, nose and throat. However, the Scribal Law directs that such healing was limited only to prevent the person afflicted from getting worse, but it is against the Scribal Law if the healing will make the person better.

         Jesus came at this time when the Jewish topography was dotted with laws that the Scribes believed complied to the Will of God. What Jesus did was that he brought a paradigm shift in the way The Law was to be observed. Jesus was not against The Law, but he condemned the expanded rules because it kept the people from getting a clearer view of God. What Jesus did was that he wanted the people to refresh their memories as to the original purpose of The Law which was to unite the people with God.

         Jesus also did not come to abolish The Law because that same law contains prophecies about the coming of the Messiah and Jesus was right in saying that he came not to abolish The Law because it spoke of his coming as the Messiah and that this can only be fulfilled by his death on the cross (𝐯.𝟏𝟖).

         We also need to go beyond what is before us in this Gospel passage because what lies hidden from our eyes was the underlying prescription for every Christian to supplant the righteousness of the Scribes and the Pharisees with love that will propel us to an authentic reverence for God.

         What the Scribes failed to grasp in those days is what Jesus is telling us to do today. What Jesus is saying is that it is only through love that we can obey God’s laws and teach them to others and he assures us that those who do so will be great in the Kingdom of Heaven (𝐯.𝟏𝟗).

         What Jesus was pointing out in this Gospel passage was that this new law will never pass away and even the smallest detail of this new law will remain until its purpose is achieved (𝐯.𝟏𝟖) and its fulfillment comes when we heed and obey the Law of God that includes our complete reverence for God that will cascade down into our reverence for the Lord’s Day, respect for parents, life, property, upholding the reputation of the other person, respect for oneself and for our neighbor.

         If the ancient Jews tried to follow even the burdensome Scribal Laws because they believe these set of laws was the Will of God, I was the exact opposite not that I still wasn’t in the renewal at the time but I then thought that the power I had as a media practitioner gave me the right to disobey and go against the law especially traffic rules and regulations.

         I have been driving since I was 17 and I only applied for a driver’s license when my second child was born and I was 34 at the time. It meant that I was driving without a driver’s license in all those 17 years. I had a penchant to violate other civilian laws as some sort of bragging rights and I only came to realize that this was wrong as well as the other stupid things I did when Our Lord Jesus Christ found me and brought me to the renewal. The rest is history. That was then. The now is a life that is predisposed to serving God.  

         In this Season of Lent, let us take this opportunity to look into our relationship with God and our neighbor as well. And we can all begin by developing a deeper relationship with God because it is this reverence for God that will move us to love our neighbor as well.

        We may find ourselves struggling, especially for those who find it hard to lay to rest their pride and worldly attachments. But what may be impossible to men is possible to God especially for those of us who will put our faith and trust in God.

        We can find strength in the fact that God gives us the grace by the power of the Holy Spirit to love as he loves, to forgive as he forgives, to think as he thinks, and to act as he acts. During this season of purgation, Jesus is giving us the opportunity to renounce sin and to turn away from what is harmful and destructive to our minds and hearts, and our very lives. As Christians we must love and respect his commandments and hate every form of sin. (𝘌𝘥 𝘔𝘢𝘭𝘢𝘺 - 𝘔𝘢𝘳𝘤𝘩 11, 2026)