The Letter of the Law

I suppose there is a bit of a hypocrite in every one of us, at least if we are honest with ourselves. Jesus confronted this vice on a number of occasions usually with the religious elite of the time. On one occasion in Matthew 15:1-9 some Pharisees confront Jesus because his disciples did not wash their hands before eating. Most mothers have these same opinions about their kids however; this was different because the Pharisees wanted the disciples to wash their hands for the sake of tradition and not as a germ control issue sponsored by the CDC. Jesus immediately confronts the Pharisees because of their hypocrisy with regard to the law. When it comes to the letter of the law that sword cuts two ways.

I will tell the story in my own words;

One day when Jesus and his disciple chums were traveling down a dusty road some pesky Pharisees confronted them all with a challenge. The Pharisees did this so often the disciples expected to see it almost every day. One of the Pharisees, a high falutin type, walks up to Jesus and says, “Why is it that your disciples transgress the traditions of the elders? These traditions have been handed down to us for generations and we know the value of paying homage to them.”

Jesus says to them. “What, pray tell, are we talking about now? The grand poo baah Pharisee says, “The one about washing your hands before you eat bread.” Jesus takes a small loaf of bread from the bread bag, with unwashed hands of course, and then takes a great big bite out of it and begins talking with His mouth full; another thing the Pharisees hate. Jesus says to them. “Don’t you guys ever get tired of being hypocrites? “I mean come on get a life. “You Bozos have got to be kidding me. Can’t you find some real issues to come after me with?”

Jesus continues, “Oh by the way, speaking of transgressing the law why do you make a mockery of the law by your distortion of it. God said that children should honor their father and mother and anyone who does not honor their father and mother should be put to death. “However, you say that children are permitted to pay tithes to the synagogue with money that might have been used to help their parents. “In other words a child could say, ‘Hey mom and dad I would love to help you pay for the groceries this week but I gave the money to God. ‘If you don’t like it take it up with Him.’ “So you see you are telling a child not to honor their father and mother and they can dishonor their father and mother by filling your pockets.”

No doubt the Pharisees were steamed by what Jesus had pointed out to them however it reveals the painful side of pointing the finger at another’s transgressions. The simple fact is we all transgress at least some of God’s laws and pointing out one person’s faults will invariably lead to someone else pointing out some of our own.

Hypocrisy is a street that runs both ways. I find myself walking the hypocrisy line if I am watching a ball game on TV and I see a call made that goes against my team. I might say to the referee, who can’t hear me of course, “Yo ref why are you calling that a penalty? Are you kidding me that wasn’t roughing the quarterback.” Now to be fair, the grounds crew is on the field with a backhoe trying to dig the quarterback’s helmet out of the ground. While the entire city’s paramedic squad has surrounded the player with several priests administering last rites. So the officials may have seen something I missed.

When my team’s offense is on the field and one of the opponent’s defensive linemen so much as breathes in the direction of my quarterback I scream at the official for not making the call. I tell the ref that a visit to the optometrist is in order and I demand that he admit to the National Football League authorities that he is on the take for the other team. You see even I can be a hypocrite at times.

What Jesus was trying to point out to the religious leaders of the day was that the letter of the law is too difficult to live by and living by the spirit of the law is more practical. The instructions about washing hands before eating is more of a ceremonial gesture not a command punishable by death if not obeyed. Jesus later points out to his disciples that the body is not contaminated by what goes into it but, rather what comes out of it. The evil words we say to one another and the slanderous statements we make are not the result of our unwashed hands, but rather our unwashed hearts.

Remember, the letter of the law kills but the Spirit of the law gives life.