The Purpose of the Law

When Adam and Eve sinned, God spoke a curse over man, over woman, and over Satan (Genesis 3:14-19). The Curse’s purpose became immediately obvious: it identified each one as rebellious. It’s purpose was to punish that rebellion, but it could never cure it. Nor did the sacrifice of the lamb to make the outer coverings for Adam and Eve atone for their sin (Hebrews 10:3-4). Rather, the sacrifice and the punishment were to show guilt and remind them of how terrible it is to listen to the wrong voice, to disobey God.(Romans 5:12-19).

In Genesis chapter 4, another curse is pronounced. This time, God declares to Cain, “Your brother’s blood cries out to Me from the ground. Therefore, you are cursed…” (v10-11). Cain cries out, “My punishment is more than I can bear!” (v13) His cry is the echo of every heart when a true understanding of the penalty for sin occurs (Romans 3:19, 6:23). When Israel becomes a nation and receives the Law from the Lord on Mount Sinai, curses and blessings are pronounced upon the people according to their behavior. The curses are meant to stigmatize and punish anyone who disobeys the Law while the Lord promises to bestow blessings on those who adhere to the Law and show that their hearts are set on obeying His voice (Deuteronomy 27:11-28).

The Apostle Paul explains much later in history, as a redeemed Pharisee, that the Law was designed to identify everyone as sinners but it could never save anyone out of that sin (Romans 3:20, Hebrews 7:18-19). In point of fact, the law condemned us all and etched an eternal identity of ‘hopeless sinner’ upon each and every one of us, because there is no one who meet the perfect standards of Heaven (Rom 7:7-24). Because of this stigmatism, this hopeless state, Jesus stepped in to pay for our sins with His own blood and place a new heart in us by the power of His Spirit. This is why Paul so fervently and joyfully declared the Good News of Jesus' death and resurrection, because He offered us what the Law could not: a new identity as children of God, forever free from condemnation when we accept the payment of Jesus' blood upon the Cross and the power of His Spirit giving us a new heart(Galatians 3:13, Romans 8:15, Ezekiel 36:25-27).

However, between the time of Moses and Jesus, the Israelite nation began to view the Law as a way to separate ‘sinner’ from ‘righteous’. They took the requirements, placed upon outward behavior (for only God can see the heart) and based their judgment completely on people’s outward behaviors. This is why, when Jesus began His ministry, He spoke ruthlessly against the attitude of a Pharisee. He exposed the sins of their hearts, not allowing them to hide behind the appearance of good behavior (Matthew 15:18-20). He called them white-washed tombs, full of dead man’s bones. He said they needed to cleanse not only the outside but also the inside (Matthew 23:25-28). And He preached the entire Sermon on the Mount with the intent to expose every flaw in a self-righteous person’s thinking. He said, “You haven’t committed outward adultery, but you’ve lusted in your heart, and to God, it’s the same thing” (Matthew 5:28). He said, “You haven’t physically murdered anyone, but you’ve lived hating that person and using all your power to hurt him in all other ways. To God, it’s the same thing!” (Matthew 5:21)

In all His dialogues with the nation of Israel, Jesus’ message is strong, personal, and clear: “God sees the inside. God judges righteously (John 5:30). It’s all the same to God. He cares about the heart attitude and not just the behavior (Luke 11:40). You’re wronging people and creating new traditions to call it good (Matthew 15:3-9). But the purpose of the Law is to show you how much you need a Savior (Romans 7:7). Yet you’ve turned God’s commandments into a cudgel that you wield upon others instead of falling to your knees in repentance (Luke 11:46).  David said a broken and contrite heart is what God desires, and he was right (Psalm 51:17)! I told Samuel the prophet, ‘Man looks at outward appearances but God looks inside the heart’ (I Samuel 16:7). I’ve come to this Earth to die for your sins, but you won’t receive Me if you don’t believe you’ve sinned!”

The whole point of Jesus’ strange harshness is to get the nation ready: ready to cry out in repentance and desperation for the mercy He was about to offer at the Cross (John 7:37-39). He ate with sinners because they already recognized their deep need for healing, mercy, and restoration (Matthew 9:12-13). They longed to be in fellowship with the One they had always been ostracized from. But the Pharisees, who upheld all the Laws and kept ‘sinners’ out of God’s holy presence, needed to know that they were in the same boat (Matthew 23:13). Jesus longed for them to recognize their need so they, too, could receive forgiveness and a new nature (II Corinthians 5:17).