“The Commands of God”
Mark 7:8-9

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Pastor Kevin Vogts
Trinity Lutheran Church
Paola, Kansas
Third Sunday after Pentecost—June 13, 2021

Grace to you and peace from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ.  Amen.

Our text is today’s Gospel Reading, in which Jesus says to the Pharisees, “You have let go of the commands of God and are holding on to the traditions of men.  You have a fine way of setting aside the commands of God.”  You are invited to follow the sermon outline on the last pages of the bulletin as we consider “The Commands of God.”

Several years ago a nationally syndicated political columnist published a piece titled, “Biblical Literalism Doesn’t Work.”  In this column he said that it isn’t legitimate for Christians to draw any moral or ethical principles from the Bible, because Christians themselves don’t obey all the laws and commandments contained in the Bible.  He cited various Old Testament rules and regulations, which Christians indeed do not observe, and then concluded that Christians can’t claim SOME parts of the Bible remain morally binding if THEY get to just arbitrarily pick and choose which parts of the Bible they follow and which they don’t.

That’s a common accusation against Christians, and a very commonly used defensive mechanism, especially against the proclamation of the Ten Commandments as God’s will.  “Well, if you think we must follow the Ten Commandments, then why aren’t YOU following ALL those rules and regulations in the Old Testament?”  On the surface, it LOOKS like a good argument.  In fact, it LOOKS as though Christians today are doing exactly what Jesus criticizes the Pharisees for in his day: “You have let go of the commands of God and are holding on to the traditions of men.  You have a fine way of setting aside the commands of God.”

As I read that article several years ago I thought, “I should write that columnist and explain why Christians AREN’T just arbitrarily picking and choosing which parts of the Bible we follow and which we don’t; that there is a rational, systematic, Biblical reason we observe some of the laws from the Old Testament and not others.”  I never got around to composing that letter.  But, today’s Gospel Reading got me thinking: This IS an important topic for us Christians ourselves to understand.  Why DON’T we follow all the rules and regulations found in the Old Testament?  If we take the Bible literally, if we believe these Holy Scriptures to be God’s eternal, unchanging Word and will for our lives, shouldn’t we follow ALL of it?  For example, the elaborate dietary regulations and restrictions in the Old Testament.  If I truly believe the Bible is the inerrant, unchangeable Word and will of God, then why did I have barbequed pork for supper last night?

The KEY for understanding this is recognizing that there are three categories of laws in the Old Testament.  The MORAL law, summarized in the Ten Commandments, and the CIVIL and CEREMONIAL law, found mainly in Exodus, Leviticus, Numbers and Deuteronomy.  The moral law is God’s basic moral principles, binding on all people at all times.  But, the civil and ceremonial laws were only for the Israelite people of the Old Testament, telling them how they, back in that time, were to conduct their government and worship God.

This threefold distinction is clearly seen in God’s giving of the law on Mt. Sinai.  God first gave the Ten Commandments by proclaiming them himself, in the hearing of all the people.  After that Moses goes alone into the thick darkness on the mountain and receives the civil law, which he is to pass on to the people.  Finally, Moses again ascends the mountain to receive the ceremonial law.  So, the threefold division of moral, civil, and ceremonial law is demonstrated in the very order and progress of their promulgation.  God gave the law in these three episodes because of the three different types of the law.

This distinction between the three types of Old Testament law is also seen many other places in text of Scripture.  In today’s Old Testament Reading from Deuteronomy, Moses says to the Israelites, “These are the commandments, ordinances, and statutes which the Lord your God directed me to teach you to observe.”  Why does Moses specify “commandments, ordinances, and statutes”?  That represents the giving of the law in three distinct parts at Mt. Sinai.  You could translate the Hebrew this way, “These are the commandments, ceremonies, and civil laws which the Lord your God directed me to teach you to observe.”*

We are not held accountable before God because of failures to observe the ceremonial or civil laws of the Old Testament.  They were only for the ancient nation of Israel and are no longer in effect.  They were NEVER intended to apply to us in the New Testament era.

For example, God gave the Israelites detailed civil laws because they had a theocracy.  The government was ruled and directed by God himself.  That is what the people of Jesus’ time expected him as the Messiah set up, a new theocracy, a literal, physical kingdom of God here on earth.  And that is why “He came unto his own, and his own received him not,” as St. John tells us.  Because Jesus disappointed them, by refusing to become an earthly king, to set up a new theocracy, as St. John later tells us, “Jesus, knowing that they intended to come and make him king by force, withdrew by himself.” 

Jesus for all time set aside the Old Testament theocratic system of government when he said to Pontius Pilate, “My kingdom is not of this world.”  While Christians should be good citizens and actively participate in government, it is not the goal of the Christian Church to establish a Christian theocracy.  That is why we don’t follow the civil laws of the Old Testament, because we don’t live in a theocracy anymore.  The civil law dictated in the Old Testament was only for those people at that time. 

What was the purpose of the Old Testament civil law?  The Lord told Abraham, the founding father of the nation of Israel, “Through your Offspring all nations on earth will be blessed.”  That meant someday the promised Messiah would come from Abraham’s descendants, the people of Israel.  So, the civil law of the Old Testament had a Messianic purpose, to help maintain Israel through the centuries as a nation, a distinct people from whom the Messiah would come.  As St. Paul says in Romans, “From them is traced the human ancestry of Christ, who is God over all, forever praised!”

Much lengthier and more elaborate than the civil law is the ceremonial law of the Old Testament.  Large portions of Exodus, Leviticus, Numbers and Deuteronomy give a very detailed, specific system of worship, special holy days and feast days, animal and grain sacrifices, elaborate ceremonies, rites and rituals.  Obviously, we don’t follow any of that anymore.  St. Paul explains WHY in Colossians: “Do not let anyone judge you by what you eat or drink, or with regard to a religious festival, a New Moon celebration or a Sabbath day.  These are a shadow of the things that were to come; the reality, however, is found in Christ.”

Like the civil law of the Old Testament, the ceremonial law also had a Messianic purpose and significance.  As St. Paul says, they were “shadows” pointing forward to CHRIST.  Imagine Christ standing at the gateway between the Old and New Testaments.  His glory casts a shadow back across the Old Testament.  We follow that shadow and arrive at the reality it represents. 

The Old Testament ceremonial law, with its system of worship, special holy days and feast days, animal and grain sacrifices, elaborate ceremonies, rites and rituals, were all designed and intended to point the people forward to the coming of the Messiah.  We no longer follow the ceremonial laws of the Old Testament because the One they pointed forward to has actually come, as St. Paul says, “These are a shadow of the things that were to come; the reality, however, is found in Christ.” 

We no longer follow the ceremonial laws of the Old Testament because they have been abrogated by Christ himself.  The Woman at the Well asked him about the longstanding argument between the Samaritans and Hebrews, whether they should worship at the Samaritan temple on Mt. Gerizim or at the Hebrew temple on Mt. Zion in Jerusalem.  Jesus told her, “Believe me, woman, a time is coming when you will worship the Father neither on this mountain nor in Jerusalem. . .  a time is coming and has now come when the true worshipers will worship the Father in spirit and truth, for they are the kind of worshipers the Father seeks.  God is spirit, and his worshipers must worship in spirit and in truth.”  With these words Christ abrogated all the Temple worship and sacrificial system of the Old Testament, because they found their fulfillment in his coming.  That is what Jesus means when he says about himself, “I tell you that One greater than the Temple is here.”

In today’s Gospel Reading Jesus says, “Listen to me, everyone, and understand this.  Nothing outside a man can make him ‘unclean’ by going into him. Rather, it is what comes out of a man that makes him ‘unclean.’”  With those words Jesus also set aside all the DIETARY restrictions of the Old Testament.  Those dietary restrictions were only for those people at that time.  That’s why I can believe the Bible is the inerrant, unchangeable Word and will of God, and still have barbequed pork for supper last night!  St. Paul puts it this way in Romans, “I know and am convinced by the Lord Jesus that no food is unclean in itself,” and in 1st Timothy he says, “For everything God created is good, and nothing is to be rejected if it is received with thanksgiving.” 

We are not held accountable before God because of failures to observe the ceremonial or civil laws of the Old Testament.  They were only for the ancient nation of Israel and are no longer in effect.  They were NEVER intended to apply to us in the New Testament era.  But, the third type of law does apply to us.  The moral law as summarized in the Ten Commandments is God’s unchangeable will for all people at all times.  When we speak of transgressions against God’s law, we are talking about this moral law summarized in the Ten Commandments.  Jesus is speaking about the moral law when he says, “Do not think that I have come to abolish the law . . . until heaven and earth pass away, not one letter, not the smallest stroke of a pen, will pass from the law. . .  Anyone who breaks one of the least of these commandments and teaches others to do the same will be called least in the kingdom of heaven, but whoever practices and teaches these commands will be called great in the kingdom of heaven.”

In the Sermon on the Mount, Jesus reaffirms and amplifies the Ten Commandments: “You have heard that it was said to the people long ago, ‘Do not murder, and anyone who murders will be subject to judgment.’  But I tell you that anyone who is angry with his brother will be subject to judgment. . .  You have heard that it was said, ‘Do not commit adultery.’ But I tell you that anyone who looks at a woman lustfully has already committed adultery with her in his heart.”  Jesus sums up and reaffirms what we call the two “tables” of the moral law, commandments 1-3 dealing with our relationship to God, and commandments 4-10 dealing with our relationship with our fellow humans: “‘Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind.’  This is the first and greatest commandment.  And the second is like it: ‘Love your neighbor as yourself.’”

We are not held accountable before God because of failures to observe the civil or ceremonial laws of the Old Testament.  But, we are held accountable for our failures to observe the MORAL law of God.  St. James is talking about the moral when he says, “You sin and are convicted by the law as lawbreakers.  For whoever keeps the whole law and yet stumbles at just one point is guilty of breaking all of it.”  The moral law is still binding on us—on all people, at all times.

We all have failed and sinned against God’s moral law.  But, St. Paul says in Galatians, “Christ redeemed us from the curse of the law by becoming a curse for us, for it is written: ‘Cursed is everyone who hangs on a tree.’”  That’s what Christianity is all about, the Good News that Christ took upon himself the curse you deserved.

Many aspects of the Old Testament civil and ceremonial law were prophetic, pointing forward to Christ.  The most significant is the Passover lamb.  The blood of this sacrificial lamb was painted on the Israelites’ doorposts so that the angel of death literally “passed over” them.  St. Paul says in 1st Corinthians, “Christ, our Passover lamb, has been sacrificed for us.”  Because of his blood shed on the cross, your sins are forgiven, “passed over” by God himself.  That is why John the Baptist pointed to Jesus and proclaimed, “Behold, the Lamb of God, who takes away the sin of the world.”

So, Christians DON’T just arbitrarily pick and choose which parts of the Bible we follow and which we don’t.  There is a rational, systematic, Biblical reason we observe some of the laws from the Old Testament and not others.  We are not held accountable before God to observe the ceremonial or civil laws of the Old Testament, because the civil and ceremonial laws were only for those people at that time. 

But the moral law, summarized in the Ten Commandments, is God’s basic moral principles, binding on all people at all times.  The Good News is, Christ perfectly fulfilled all the requirements of God’s law for you.  God credits his Son’s perfect obedience to you, as St. Paul says in Romans, “Through the obedience of the one Man the many will be made righteous.”  Christ’s perfect obedience of all God’s law is credited to you, earning for you complete forgiveness and the assurance of eternal life.  As St. John’s Gospel says, “For the law was given through Moses; grace and truth came through Jesus Christ.”

Amen.