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| Jane Rosenberg, Courtroom Artists at Martha Stewart Trial |
Matthew 5:20-37
20 For I say to you, that unless your righteousness exceeds the righteousness of the scribes and Pharisees, you will by no means enter the kingdom of heaven.
New York artist Jane Rosenberg is careful about describing what she does for a job when speaking to others. Sure she tells them that she's an artist but being more specific than that is where it gets complicated. Chances are you've probably unknowingly seen her work. Jane is somewhat known for her plein air paintings of Central Park, Manhattan and other outdoor New York scenes, however, her bread and butter comes from her fame as a painter of New York interiors... court rooms. Jane Rosenberg is the go-to court room artist for New York city's most high profile court cases. We live in an age of Court TV but not all trials are given televised coverage. Some don't even allow photographers, so the tradition of the court room artist is the public's primary means of imagining the daily happenings of the trial. The court room artist's task is not an easy one due to a few challenges: the artist cannot take photographs and take them home to create an illustration so the pictures must be created live. The key to being a quality court room artist is picking points in the trial's daily action that capture the spirit of what you are trying to communicate. By "spirit" I mean the essence and overall direction of the message that one tries to communicate. Capturing the spirit of a message of any type (art, literature, laws, etc.) begins with communicating the intent of the creator.
This isn't the first time when a description of the legal process and this notion of spirit cross paths. It's actually Jesus' take on the legal process. What am I talking about? Well everyone knows that Jesus was a first century Jewish prophet. You are probably know that his disciples followed him as a rabbi. You are also probably familiar with him being a carpenter like his father Joseph. But what if I told you that Jesus was a lawyer? Say what? Well the first five books of the Old Testament/Hebrew Bible (the Torah) are actually a legal document. Yes they are used for religious law but there were various points in history when they were used as the only law of the land. So when Jesus or the latter New Testament writers (or even the Old Testament) refer to "The Law" they are referencing the Torah and later writings that explain and comment on it. The primary role of a rabbi was to study the Law and other scriptures and teach their disciples how to follow them: the scribes of the Law did it with their followers, the Pharisees did it with their disciples and Jesus did it with his own. So as Jesus' current day disciples is is critical that we understand his take on scripture: what did he understand as the Spirit of the Law? When Christians think about the Law aspect of Scripture they usually think of the 10 Commandments, however, when our Jewish brethren think of the 613 Mitzvot. In actuality both are correct. The 613 Mitzvot are every mention of a command/law in the Torah enumerated while the 10 Commandments are more of are a gist of what God's law in general is about. Both are delivered from Moses but the 10 commandments appear to be an attempt to capture the spirit of the Law as a whole. Sometimes we can get overwhelmed by something large with a lot of intricate moving parts. This leads us to focusing on certain particular laws and missing the overall message of the Law. It's a classic case of "missing the forest for the trees." This appears to be the case with the Pharisees and their followers. Their focus on following the Law "down to the letter" caused them to miss the whole intent of the Law and simultaneously opened up major loopholes that defeated the original intent of the Laws that they professed to follow. Since they were a major religious faction in first century Judaism it made Jesus and his disciples' approach to the Law appear as if they were trying defy the Law and destroy it altogether. Jesus' answer to this was that he was not trying to destroy the Law but to fulfill it...and fulfill it in a way that went past the efforts of the Pharisees and other Jewish schools of thought. Jesus' teaching was focused on not only following the letter of the Law but the spirit of the Law... the original biblical intent. This being the case let's do an exercise in investigating Jesus' take on certain points of the law and how to honor the spirit of them fully.
Murder
21 “You have heard that it was said to those of old, ‘You shall not murder,[a] and whoever murders will be in danger of the judgment.’ 22 But I say to you that whoever is angry with his brother without a cause[b] shall be in danger of the judgment. And whoever says to his brother, ‘Raca!’ shall be in danger of the council. But whoever says, ‘You fool!’ shall be in danger of hell fire. 23 Therefore if you bring your gift to the altar, and there remember that your brother has something against you, 24 leave your gift there before the altar, and go your way. First be reconciled to your brother, and then come and offer your gift. 25 Agree with your adversary quickly, while you are on the way with him, lest your adversary deliver you to the judge, the judge hand you over to the officer, and you be thrown into prison. 26 Assuredly, I say to you, you will by no means get out of there till you have paid the last penny.
Biblical Reference: Exodus 20:13
Spirit of the Law: It is not enough to abstain from murdering your brother but rather one must address that which leads to murder. The original root of the sin lies at disrespect, hatred and revenge. Therefore one must treat these three things as sin to truly honor the Law.
Biblical Intent: The intention of the Law is not to have hatred in your heart or react in anger but to react to an offence in love.
Adultery
27 “You have heard that it was said to those of old,[c] ‘You shall not commit adultery.’[d] 28 But I say to you that whoever looks at a woman to lust for her has already committed adultery with her in his heart. 29 If your right eye causes you to sin, pluck it out and cast it from you; for it is more profitable for you that one of your members perish, than for your whole body to be cast into hell. 30 And if your right hand causes you to sin, cut it off and cast it from you; for it is more profitable for you that one of your members perish, than for your whole body to be cast into hell.
Biblical Reference: Exodus 20:14
Spirit of the Law: Adultery (and various types of sexual sin) is the end result of a chain of events. The evil does not start with the breaking of the marriage bond but rather with an unrighteous desire for that which is not yours... a.k.a. lust. The prevention of this sin is to remove those things within you that cause you to trip up. Jesus says the hand and the eye for hyperbole's sake but the true culprits are usually the mind and the heart.
Biblical Intent: The intention is to abstain from unrighteous lust on any level by embracing self control. By no means is Jesus saying that sexual desire is evil but rather unrestrained sexual desire not put to its proper purpose (in love, commitment and marriage) can lead to destructive ends.
Marriage
31 “Furthermore it has been said, ‘Whoever divorces his wife, let him give her a certificate of divorce.’ 32 But I say to you that whoever divorces his wife for any reason except sexual immorality[e] causes her to commit adultery; and whoever marries a woman who is divorced commits adultery.
Biblical Reference: Deuteronomy 24:1-4
Spirit of the Law: This is a tricky one and there are divergent opinions between various Christians over the permissibility and parameters of divorce. many of them seem to earnestly be using their interpretation of Scripture's guidance despite their varied outcomes. Jesus is shown speaking on this subject a second time in Matthew. His later response directly references the permission of divorce granted by Moses. He states that Moses allowed divorce due to the "hardness of your hearts." Divorce is not preferable but in some cases it is permissible, understandable and in some cases the best option at hand. Jesus appears to be commenting on our motivation and considerations for divorce... specifically considering the good of the other person and not leading them into sin. Disclaimer: If you are being abused by your please consider it your duty to prevent them from committing the act of murder or further harming you by removing yourself from hat dangerous situation. Sometimes you ca still show Godly love for someone by removing your presence from them and praying for them at a safe distance.
Biblical Intent: The intention of this Law is to be considerate of others in every situation and not lead them into sin. This even carries through with instances of separation from others such as divorce. You can still show love in hard circumstances.
New York artist Jane Rosenberg is careful about describing what she does for a job when speaking to others. Sure she tells them that she's an artist but being more specific than that is where it gets complicated. Chances are you've probably unknowingly seen her work. Jane is somewhat known for her plein air paintings of Central Park, Manhattan and other outdoor New York scenes, however, her bread and butter comes from her fame as a painter of New York interiors... court rooms. Jane Rosenberg is the go-to court room artist for New York city's most high profile court cases. We live in an age of Court TV but not all trials are given televised coverage. Some don't even allow photographers, so the tradition of the court room artist is the public's primary means of imagining the daily happenings of the trial. The court room artist's task is not an easy one due to a few challenges: the artist cannot take photographs and take them home to create an illustration so the pictures must be created live. The key to being a quality court room artist is picking points in the trial's daily action that capture the spirit of what you are trying to communicate. By "spirit" I mean the essence and overall direction of the message that one tries to communicate. Capturing the spirit of a message of any type (art, literature, laws, etc.) begins with communicating the intent of the creator.
This isn't the first time when a description of the legal process and this notion of spirit cross paths. It's actually Jesus' take on the legal process. What am I talking about? Well everyone knows that Jesus was a first century Jewish prophet. You are probably know that his disciples followed him as a rabbi. You are also probably familiar with him being a carpenter like his father Joseph. But what if I told you that Jesus was a lawyer? Say what? Well the first five books of the Old Testament/Hebrew Bible (the Torah) are actually a legal document. Yes they are used for religious law but there were various points in history when they were used as the only law of the land. So when Jesus or the latter New Testament writers (or even the Old Testament) refer to "The Law" they are referencing the Torah and later writings that explain and comment on it. The primary role of a rabbi was to study the Law and other scriptures and teach their disciples how to follow them: the scribes of the Law did it with their followers, the Pharisees did it with their disciples and Jesus did it with his own. So as Jesus' current day disciples is is critical that we understand his take on scripture: what did he understand as the Spirit of the Law? When Christians think about the Law aspect of Scripture they usually think of the 10 Commandments, however, when our Jewish brethren think of the 613 Mitzvot. In actuality both are correct. The 613 Mitzvot are every mention of a command/law in the Torah enumerated while the 10 Commandments are more of are a gist of what God's law in general is about. Both are delivered from Moses but the 10 commandments appear to be an attempt to capture the spirit of the Law as a whole. Sometimes we can get overwhelmed by something large with a lot of intricate moving parts. This leads us to focusing on certain particular laws and missing the overall message of the Law. It's a classic case of "missing the forest for the trees." This appears to be the case with the Pharisees and their followers. Their focus on following the Law "down to the letter" caused them to miss the whole intent of the Law and simultaneously opened up major loopholes that defeated the original intent of the Laws that they professed to follow. Since they were a major religious faction in first century Judaism it made Jesus and his disciples' approach to the Law appear as if they were trying defy the Law and destroy it altogether. Jesus' answer to this was that he was not trying to destroy the Law but to fulfill it...and fulfill it in a way that went past the efforts of the Pharisees and other Jewish schools of thought. Jesus' teaching was focused on not only following the letter of the Law but the spirit of the Law... the original biblical intent. This being the case let's do an exercise in investigating Jesus' take on certain points of the law and how to honor the spirit of them fully.
21 “You have heard that it was said to those of old, ‘You shall not murder,[a] and whoever murders will be in danger of the judgment.’ 22 But I say to you that whoever is angry with his brother without a cause[b] shall be in danger of the judgment. And whoever says to his brother, ‘Raca!’ shall be in danger of the council. But whoever says, ‘You fool!’ shall be in danger of hell fire. 23 Therefore if you bring your gift to the altar, and there remember that your brother has something against you, 24 leave your gift there before the altar, and go your way. First be reconciled to your brother, and then come and offer your gift. 25 Agree with your adversary quickly, while you are on the way with him, lest your adversary deliver you to the judge, the judge hand you over to the officer, and you be thrown into prison. 26 Assuredly, I say to you, you will by no means get out of there till you have paid the last penny.
Biblical Reference: Exodus 20:13
Spirit of the Law: It is not enough to abstain from murdering your brother but rather one must address that which leads to murder. The original root of the sin lies at disrespect, hatred and revenge. Therefore one must treat these three things as sin to truly honor the Law.
Biblical Intent: The intention of the Law is not to have hatred in your heart or react in anger but to react to an offence in love.
Adultery
27 “You have heard that it was said to those of old,[c] ‘You shall not commit adultery.’[d] 28 But I say to you that whoever looks at a woman to lust for her has already committed adultery with her in his heart. 29 If your right eye causes you to sin, pluck it out and cast it from you; for it is more profitable for you that one of your members perish, than for your whole body to be cast into hell. 30 And if your right hand causes you to sin, cut it off and cast it from you; for it is more profitable for you that one of your members perish, than for your whole body to be cast into hell.
Biblical Reference: Exodus 20:14
Spirit of the Law: Adultery (and various types of sexual sin) is the end result of a chain of events. The evil does not start with the breaking of the marriage bond but rather with an unrighteous desire for that which is not yours... a.k.a. lust. The prevention of this sin is to remove those things within you that cause you to trip up. Jesus says the hand and the eye for hyperbole's sake but the true culprits are usually the mind and the heart.
Biblical Intent: The intention is to abstain from unrighteous lust on any level by embracing self control. By no means is Jesus saying that sexual desire is evil but rather unrestrained sexual desire not put to its proper purpose (in love, commitment and marriage) can lead to destructive ends.
Marriage
31 “Furthermore it has been said, ‘Whoever divorces his wife, let him give her a certificate of divorce.’ 32 But I say to you that whoever divorces his wife for any reason except sexual immorality[e] causes her to commit adultery; and whoever marries a woman who is divorced commits adultery.
Biblical Reference: Deuteronomy 24:1-4
Spirit of the Law: This is a tricky one and there are divergent opinions between various Christians over the permissibility and parameters of divorce. many of them seem to earnestly be using their interpretation of Scripture's guidance despite their varied outcomes. Jesus is shown speaking on this subject a second time in Matthew. His later response directly references the permission of divorce granted by Moses. He states that Moses allowed divorce due to the "hardness of your hearts." Divorce is not preferable but in some cases it is permissible, understandable and in some cases the best option at hand. Jesus appears to be commenting on our motivation and considerations for divorce... specifically considering the good of the other person and not leading them into sin. Disclaimer: If you are being abused by your please consider it your duty to prevent them from committing the act of murder or further harming you by removing yourself from hat dangerous situation. Sometimes you ca still show Godly love for someone by removing your presence from them and praying for them at a safe distance.
Biblical Intent: The intention of this Law is to be considerate of others in every situation and not lead them into sin. This even carries through with instances of separation from others such as divorce. You can still show love in hard circumstances.
Oaths
33 “Again you have heard that it was said to those of old, ‘You shall not swear falsely, but shall perform your oaths to the Lord.’ 34 But I say to you, do not swear at all: neither by heaven, for it is God’s throne; 35 nor by the earth, for it is His footstool; nor by Jerusalem, for it is the city of the great King. 36 Nor shall you swear by your head, because you cannot make one hair white or black. 37 But let your ‘Yes’ be ‘Yes,’ and your ‘No,’ ‘No.’ For whatever is more than these is from the evil one.
Biblical Reference: Exodus 20:7 and Leviticus 19: 12
Spirit of the Law: Despite what your parents taught you the third of the 10 Commandments has nothing to do with using profane language. That's the common mistake of confusing the two uses of the word "swearing." Of course profanity is not a good thing, especially when used to insult others, but this commandment deals with the swearing definition that means to take an oath... specifically one that entails using God's name or the promise of God's assistance to perform it. Yeah, like the thing that you do when you go to court and put your hand on the bible. Honestly the only Christian group that I know that takes a overall stance against this practice are the Quakers. Jesus' objection to this is based on people promising things that they cannot perform. Sure it may seem like a noble and even religious thing to say "Lord willing" or "with God's help" but if God has other plans than you on how the rest of history will shape out it seems to make Him appear to be a liar doesn't it? We shouldn't use any inflated terms or divine cosigning to authorize our credit. As Jesus says our ‘Yes’ should be ‘Yes,’ and our ‘No’ should be ‘No.’ If we are honest, reliable and dutiful to our service then that should be good enough.
Biblical Intent: The intention is to be honest and reliable in your dealings
Conclusion
So if Jesus' teachings about biblical intent help us discover the Spirit of the Law, what then is the overall intent of Jesus' message? The four major pillars of his message in Matthew 5:20-37 seem to boil down to Forgiveness, Abstinence from Sin/Personal Holiness, Concern for Other's Spiritual Well Being and Honesty/Reliability. Isn't it interesting that the things that God is interested in getting out of us the most has to deal with our treatment of other people? That's because all of these four pillars can be categorized into pieces of one thing: Love. It is what St. Paul in Galatians 6:2 would call the Law of Christ: bearing the burdens of your brethren. It is what Christ and Moses would phrase as loving your neighbor as yourself. Why? Well because God is Love. So in the end when we stand before God as our judge his basement will be based on how we loved. To those who showed love He will show even more love and accept them as His dear children.
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