10 March 2021
Wednesday of the Third Week of Lent
Throughout the ministry of Jesus people notice that He does things a little differently. He eats with sinners, touches lepers, visits with Samaritan women, does not insist on His followers washing their hands before eating, and so on. Surely some people have started thinking that if He is the Messiah, He is going to do away with the Law. But He says quite clearly today that this is not the case; if anything He emphasizes the Law’s importance even more. Nothing will pass from the Law “…until heaven and earth pass away…” He says; in other words, until the Law is no longer necessary. Has Jesus been sending mixed signals? Of course not; rather, He has been showing the people of God that His laws are not meant to be restrictive and suffocating, but exist for the sake of freedom. In other words Jesus lives the Law from His Heart, rather than from the page; of Him it can never be said that He honors God with His lips, but His heart is far from Him. People are amazed and puzzled, as the Law was always seen as burdensome, yet Jesus lives it with ease, for He lives according to the first and greatest commandment: “…you shall love the Lord, your God, with your whole heart…” (Deuteronomy 6:5).