Jesus’ talk of the kingdom, His triumphal entry, and His
dramatic and judging words and actions in the Temple that fit within Israel’s
narrative history, are rooted in hopes concerning the Creator God’s promise to
His people and the covenant faithfulness of that God. Occupation and
possession of that land, in which their God would build His temple and in which
He would dwell amongst His people, was always the evidence of their God’s power
and of the fulfillment of His promises to His people. So when Jesus
speaks in the way that He does when challenged by the expert in the law, He is
not simply offering up aphorisms on how the people of the covenant God are to
live. Rather, He is building upon the edifice that is already in place,
and He must be heard to be speaking in the context of promise, land, Temple,
and kingdom.
So even though it does not appear, on the surface, that this
particular exchange is linked to His Temple concerns, one can affirm that it
most certainly is linked to Jesus’ opinions concerning the Temple and that it
continues in the narrative flow. It is not an isolated statement or
encounter, but one that absolutely demands to be understood in connection to
the Temple, as has all that has been examined to this point of this study, and it
builds to a conclusion concerning Jesus’ insistence that no man can know the
day or the hour.
If the quotation from
Deuteronomy conjures up a wider context, does Jesus other statement about
loving one’s neighbor as one loves self, which is taken from Leviticus, do the
same? Based upon what has been learned to this point, it would be a
surprise if it did not. Just as there was no disappointment when turning
to Deuteronomy, turning to Leviticus again disparages disappointment.
When Jesus speaks these words about the love of God and the law, He is quoting
from the eighteenth verse of the nineteenth chapter. As one examines what
is to be found in the preceding verses, it is almost possible to be stunned at
what can be found.
Beginning in the
eleventh verse and quoting extensively (always remembering that calling to mind
a larger section of Scripture, understood within Israel’s history, is the
function of an isolated quotation), the Levitical text insists that “You must
not steal, you must not tell lies, and you must not deal falsely with your
fellow citizen. You must not swear falsely in My name, so that you do not
profane the name of your God. I am the Lord. You must not oppress
your neighbor or commit robbery against him. You must not withhold the
wages of the hired laborer overnight until morning” (19:11-13). This last
part, concerning the laborers, is of even greater interest if this entire
section is being called to mind, taking on a more interesting dimension and
revealing Jesus’ and Matthew’s theological genius, as Matthew, just before
Jesus’ triumphal entry, records Jesus’ telling of the parable of the workers in
the vineyard, which begins with “For the kingdom of heaven is like...” (Matthew
20:1a). Once again the reader is reminded that land, Temple, and
kingdom are inseparably bound.
Continuing in
Leviticus: “You must not curse a deaf person or put a stumbling block in front
of a blind person. You must fear your God; I am the Lord. You
must not deal unjustly in judgment: you must neither show partiality to the
poor nor honor the rich. You must judge your fellow citizen fairly.
You must not go about as a slanderer among your people. You must not
stand idly by when your neighbor’s life is at stake. I am the Lord.
You must not hate your brother in your heart. You must surely reprove
your fellow citizen so that you do not incur sin on account of him. You
must not take vengeance or bear a grudge against the children of your people,
but you must love your neighbor as yourself” (19:14-18).
Now, it is rather
simple to agree that this does in fact delineate the way in which the people of
the Creator God should strive to live, and it would be wonderful to insist that
Jesus was speaking in such a way so as to encourage His people (then and now)
to live in such a way. Certainly that is part of what He is doing, but
considering the setting, it is obvious that it reaches beyond that. Would
this not remind the reader or listener of something that Jesus has already
said? Does this not provide a reminder of a narrative that has been
called to mind by what Jesus said? It should.
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