The Letter Kills but the Spirit Gives Life
(Exhortation - March 1999)
Obsession with the law
The Jews became obsessed with keeping the commandments of the law but, in so doing,
lost the meaning of the life-giving lessons and spirit behind it. The essential element
was that because of the fall in the garden of Eden, everyone fell under the domination of
sin. Man was in a sin-prone state and needed to be reconciled to God through atonement.
The Mosaic law was added, because of transgression, so that sin might appear in its full
blackness. Through this law, Israel was taught flesh is inherently sin-prone; it was their
constraining influence to prepare them for Christ (Gal. 3:24).
The ritualistic washings and sacrifices associated with leprosy and bodily discharges pointed to the corrupt state of the flesh, graphically foreshadowing the great need for Christ’s sacrifice. The faithful God-seeking Jew recognized the teaching aspect of the law and the spirit behind it. Sorrowful at his inability to avoid sin, but rejoicing in the forgiveness of his merciful God, he took courage that God would not despise a broken spirit and a broken and a contrite heart (Psa. 51:17). This attitude of understanding and contrition would anticipate the coming of "the Lamb of God, which taketh away the sin of the world" (Jn.1:29).
Sadly, the majority of Israelites saw the law simply as a code of rules that must be punctiliously performed and missed the lessons it taught.
The Pharisees
The Pharisees, adroit in following their own interpretation of this written code,
became inflated with self-imposed righteousness. Puffed up with pride and looking upon
others with disdain, they regarded themselves as superior beings. The Lord Jesus
skillfully captured the situation in his parable.
"Two men went up into the temple to pray; the one a Pharisee, and the other a publican. The Pharisee stood and prayed thus with himself, God, I thank thee, that I am not as other men are, extortioners, unjust, adulterers, or even as this publican. I fast twice in the week, I give tithes of all that I possess. And the publican, standing afar off, would not lift up so much as his eyes unto heaven, but smote upon his breast, saying, God be merciful to me a sinner. I tell you, this man went down to his house justified rather than the other: for every one that exalteth himself shall be abased; and he that humbleth himself shall be exalted" (Lk. 18:11-14).
The Pharisee, in spite of assiduous effort, had missed the whole point. He was only following the letter and was hurtling towards death, whereas the despised publican had grasped the spirit and had hold of life. The self-opinionated leaders of the people, the Pharisees, had gone dreadfully astray. Demonstrating pride and arrogance they sought praise and honor from men by various outward signs: enlarging the borders of their garments in exaggeration of the requirements; public display in the giving of alms and long, repetitive prayers.
Loving debate and argument, they fine-tuned every jot and tittle of the law, yet were blind to the import of it! The Lord condemned them soundly:
"Woe unto you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! for ye pay tithe of mint and anise and cummin, and have omitted the weightier matters of the law, judgment, mercy, and faith: these ought ye to have done, and not to leave the other undone" (Matt. 23:23).
The living bread
If the energy of the scribes and Pharisees had been directed towards understanding
instead of dissecting the law, they would have had a basis for enlightenment and insight
into the teachings of Jesus. His words "I am the bread which came down from
heaven" (Jn.6:41) would have immediately sent them hurrying to ponder the
underlying meaning of the manna and to conclude that Jesus was the anti-type. As far as
they were concerned, the manna was simply food given to sustain physical needs. They did
not trouble themselves to wonder why it became wormy and stank when it was kept until the
next morning, or why a double portion gathered on the sixth day did not spoil.
Their minds were closed. Obstinate and self-willed, they refused to be led by the law, which would have brought them to recognise the living bread. "I am the living bread which came down from heaven: if any man eat of this bread, he shall live for ever: and the bread that I will give is my flesh, which I will give for the life of the world"(Jn.6:51).
Instead of insight there was incredulity. "The Jews therefore strove among themselves saying, how can this man give us his flesh to eat? Then Jesus said unto them, verily, verily, I say unto you, except ye eat the flesh of the Son of man, and drink his blood, ye have no life in you. Whoso eateth my flesh, and drinketh my blood, hath eternal life; and I will raise him up at the last day" (Jn. 6:52-54). Confused and angry, they left him. Even some of his followers were offended and deserted him.
Freedom in Christ
What are the implications for us who are not bound by the law? Our Master taught, "The
law and the prophets were until John: since that time the kingdom of God is preached, and
every man presseth into it" (Lk. 16:16). We have freedom in Christ, but freedom
from the ritual of the law does not mean an absence of commandments. Paul writes, "the
things that I write unto you are the commandments of the Lord" (I Cor. 14:37).
Asked to define the greatest commandment the Lord Jesus replied, "Thou shalt love
the Lord thy God with all thy heart, and with all thy soul, and with all thy mind. This is
the first and greatest commandment. And the second is like unto it, thou shalt love thy
neighbor as thyself." James defined this as the "royal law"
(Jam. 2:8), which we do well to fulfil.
We see then that the very essence of the law is love and we are instructed to apply this attribute in our interactions with each other. "And this commandment have we from him, that he who loveth God love his brother also" (I Jn. 4:21). To give lip service to these things, while maintaining a grudging, critical and judgmental attitude, is surely to be missing the spirit of the teachings of the Lord.
The Lord’s command
The command we have received from the Lord Jesus Christ is the one we endeavor to
honor on the first day of the week. "This do in remembrance of me."
"For my flesh is meat indeed and my blood is drink indeed. He that eateth my flesh,
and drinketh my blood dwelleth in me, and I in him. As the living Father hath sent me, and
I live by the Father: so he that eateth me, even he shall live by me" (Jn.
6:55-57).
Understanding the Lord to mean that he was the life-sustaining bread from heaven, we were washed by his shed blood at our baptism, making the commitment to share his life and follow his example. Now in obedience to his instructions to remember him, we partake of the memorial feast.
Self examination
Each participant is exhorted:
"Wherefore, whosoever shall eat this bread, and drink this cup of the Lord unworthily, shall be guilty of the body and blood of the Lord. But let a man examine himself, and so let him eat of that bread, and drink of that cup. For he that eateth and drinketh unworthily, eateth and drinketh damnation to himself, not discerning the Lord’s body" (I Cor. 11:27, 28).
The purpose of this careful self-scrutiny is to ensure that we come to the Lord’s table with the right attitude of mind. Do we humbly acknowledge our sins? Do we realize our utter dependence upon the atonement achieved by the sacrifice of the lamb of God? Do we recognise the cost of the reconciliation wrought and respond with a sense of awe, joy and gratitude? If we have explored the written code of God’s ways and discerned the spirit behind them, our answer will be in the affirmative. We will truly understand that "The letter killeth, but the spirit giveth life."
Bernard Readman, Vernon, BC