Love beyond the rules

Reflecting on Mark 2:18-22

“David ate the consecrated bread, which is lawful only for priests to eat.” (Mark 2:26)
As a Jesus follower, I understand God’s Law through the lens of love.
The bible is not a book of rules to be followed.
It is a collections of stories inspired by God to show God’s heart.
All the stories in the Jewish bible hang on God’s desire for love.

“‘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.’ All the Law and the Prophets hang on these two commandments.” (Matthew 22:37-40)

We read the bible as a guide for love, not as a book of rules.
If it was a book of rules, then David broke the rules.

God had established a system in the temple for feeding the priests.
This holy (set apart) food was for the priests and their families.
Otherwise they would have been hungry and in need.
This holy bread was set aside for a reason: compassion and kindness.
It was not about the rule itself, but the reason for the rule!
This is the same about the Sabbath Law.
It was made to provide rest for the weary, and protection for the workers.

Actually, it is the same for all the rules in the bible.
They serve a higher purpose, that of justice, mercy and compassion.
To our eyes, not all the laws seem to be just or merciful.
Laws about slavery and marriage, about war and sacrifice seem cruel to us.
Yet in that ancient culture and context, they were ahead of their time.
In a time of escalating revenge, ‘eye for an eye’ was actually merciful.
Yet the purpose of justice and mercy goes beyond ‘eye for an eye’.
Which is why Jesus moves beyond Moses to Godlike mercy (Matthew 5:38-42).

My sense from Jesus is that there are only two Laws.
All our ways need to be an expression of love for God and people.
All the other laws in the bible are contextual applications or examples.
‘If you love your neighbour, you will feed the hungry and needy.’
‘If you love your neighbour, you will not abandon or abuse your spouse.’
‘If you love your neighbour, you will not overwork your workers.’
‘If you love your neighbour, you will not deceive or slander them.’
Love is the Jesus Way, and He reveals it most clearly.
Everything else is contextual application, examples of love in action.
Paul’s advice about marriage and slavery are contextual applications of the Jesus Way.
What Jesus-like love applied could look like in a patriarchal, slave-owning society.
Jesus did not insist on His rights, nor rebel against the authorities: He lived love in action!
Sometimes there may be situations when love requires us to not follow the rules.
Like the priest feeding David and his companions.
Like the disciples eating on the Sabbath, with Jesus’s permission.

Following the laws will not always honour love.
But following love will always honour the laws.

“Let no debt remain outstanding, except the continuing debt to love one another, for whoever loves others has fulfilled the law. The commandments, ‘You shall not commit adultery,’ ‘You shall not murder,’ ‘You shall not steal,’ ‘You shall not covet,’ and whatever other command there may be, are summed up in this one command: ‘Love your neighbor as yourself.’ Love does no harm to a neighbor. Therefore love is the fulfillment of the law.” (Romans 13:8-10)

As Jesus followers, our priority is love, compassion and mercy.
The big question for us to wrestle with is what love looks like in our context.
Our world is different, our cultures are not the same as ancient Israel or Rome.
We need the Spirit of Jesus, wisdom and discernment to apply love in our day.
Who are the hungry and needy around us that we need to show compassion to?
This is what all the stories, teachings and rules in the bible are pointing us to.

PRAYER
Lord Jesus, forgive me for putting laws before love. Teach me the meaning and purpose of stories and laws and teachings of the bible, so that may honour them by applying them to my own culture and context.

Open my eyes to see the needy and hungry, the harassed and the helpless, the ridiculed and rejected, the abandoned and the abused, the shunned and the silenced, the desperate and defeated. Open my heart to follow Your will above and beyond the rules in the bible.