Did you know that Jesus often disobeyed the Bible?

The Prodigal Son’s Father Disobeyed the Bible

When Jesus told his parable about the Prodigal Son, what strikes me the most is that Jesus lauded the father who welcomed back his son. Jesus was trying to show both the “sinners” and the religious men in his audience the heart of God, that he accepts sinners and doesn’t reject them.

Why is that so striking? Because the father in the parable boldly disobeyed clear teaching from the Old Testament. In Deuteronomy, Moses taught that disobedient and rebellious sons should be stoned by the city elders. See Deuteronomy 21:18-21. Jesus compared God to this father. The father was more concerned about showing his son compassion than judgment. 

The Bible Can Do Damage

Jesus told this parable to show the religious men that they were missing the heart of God for sinners with their judgmental attitude. They were wrong by being “right,” that is, you can fulfill the letter of the law perfectly while breaking the spirit of the law. That’s why the apostle Paul said:

… the letter kills but the Spirit gives life. (2 Corinthians 3:4-6). 

The cold, hard letter of the law… with no compassion or empathy, kills. It has no heart.

Jesus Disobeyed the Bible

We see this idea again with the story of the woman caught in adultery. Deuteronomy 22:22 requires that both the man and woman caught in adultery should be stoned. But Jesus required neither in the story found in John 8:1ff. Jesus wanted mercy from the men and transformation for the woman.

And then again, Jesus did the same thing when he chose to feed and heal on the Sabbath. The Sabbath is listed as one of the Ten Commandments but Jesus felt free to sidestep the command if it helped someone by feeding them or healing them. He said:

“The Sabbath was made for man, not man for the Sabbath.” Mark 2:27

Mercy Triumphs Over Judgment

This was a dramatic paradigm shift that rocked the religious people of Jesus’ day. It was a mind bender that they couldn’t adjust to. They saw it as blasphemy.

That’s why they ended up killing Jesus. It was too much to absorb. They couldn’t wrap their heads around this shift. It was easier to just kill him and go back to their old ways.

But it must have gotten through to Jesus’ disciples because James said that …

…mercy triumphs over judgment (James 2:13).

But… Jesus Came to Fulfill the Law

This all sounds good to me… truly Good News. I’ve always preached that we need to preserve our relationships over rules.

But here’s a conundrum. Jesus also said that he wanted to fulfill the law of Moses.

“Until John the Baptist, the law of Moses and the messages of the prophets were your guides. But now the Good News of the Kingdom of God is preached, and everyone is eager to get in. But that doesn’t mean that the law has lost its force. It is easier for heaven and earth to disappear than for the smallest point of God’s law to be overturned. “For example, a man who divorces his wife and marries someone else commits adultery. And anyone who marries a woman divorced from her husband commits adultery.” Luke 16:16-18

Just when you think that Jesus is lax on the law, he says something like this. It seems as though he WANTS people to fulfill the letter of the law. He said something similar in his Sermon on the Mount:

“Don’t misunderstand why I have come. I did not come to abolish the law of Moses or the writings of the prophets. No, I came to accomplish their purpose. I tell you the truth, until heaven and earth disappear, not even the smallest detail of God’s law will disappear until its purpose is achieved.” Matthew 5:17,18

So which is it? Does Jesus want us to toe the line of the law or not?

We Are Not Under Law But Grace

I think Jesus wants the ideals of the law to be fulfilled… faithfulness to God and each other… but there is mercy and grace for those who fail and there is even “wiggle-room” if breaking a law serves a higher purpose (like ignoring the Sabbath restrictions to feed or heal people). 

Paul said that we are not under law but under grace (Romans 6:14).  

Now, this can lead some people down the wrong path. They will justify all kinds of sin thinking that they are serving a higher purpose and they can jettison scripture at will. That’s the essence of Paul’s discussion in Romans 6…

…shall we sin because we are not under law? Certainly not!

Grace doesn’t give us a free pass to sin. To the contrary, Paul precedes his words on grace by saying, “Sin shall not be your master FOR you are not under law but under grace.”

In other words, grace isn’t an excuse to sin. Grace isn’t what we rely on to clean up the mess after we’ve done wrong. 

Grace is a force more powerful than the Law. The Law offers no power, only condemnation. But God’s grace offers us the power to live a new life. (see my recent post on: Grace, it’s more than you think).

Using Scripture Requires Discernment

My point in all of this is that we should be careful with how we interpret and use scripture… both ways. Don’t use it to condemn people and don’t use grace to justify sin. It requires balance. It requires discernment in each and every situation by listening to God’s Spirit and following his guidance, typically involving members of the church body.

Applying scripture might require strict adherence in one scenario while it might allow for more freedom in a similar but different scenario. We need to be careful how we handle God’s word.

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