PLEASE READ THIS FIRST: Matthew 23:23-24
What do you sense the Lord saying to you in this passage?
“The more important matters of the law—justice, mercy and faithfulness.” (Matthew 23:23)
Are some parts of the law more important than others?
There is confusion because we conflate God’s Law with the Law of Moses.
God’s Law is the eternal Law of Love, that is revealed through the Law of Moses.
The Law of Moses (Torah) was the whole book, including the many stories.
It was tied to the Mosaic covenant, the covenant with Israel as a nation.
There were many laws shaped by and for the context, the specific needs and challenges.
But all that was written by Moses depended on the Law of Love (Matthew 22:40).
Love is a summary word for justice, mercy and faithfulness – what is most important.
The religious leaders kept the rule to the nth degree, but they did not love.
As citizens of Israel and under the Moses covenant, they should have kept that covenant.
But more importantly, they should have honoured what it was all about: love.
Today we see the same error among christians; neglecting the more important matters.
We are not under Moses’s Law but Christ’s Law, the Law of Love (1 Corinthians 9:21).
Am I being fair? merciful? loyal to God and people? – this is what matters most!
Lord Jesus, the spirit of the pharisees is alive and well in me, and in the church. Help me focus on what matters most to you, and to devote myself to that!