Redefining God's Character

Let's jump straight into this difficult topic by looking at the whole of Deuteronomy 28. We are interested in the entire chapter, so I have summarised some sentences. I have not added or subtracted anything substantive, but you may still want to read the entire text in the click link above.

(And then it gets worse, so let's skip that part)

(There's still more, but we've probably had enough!) So finally we get to ...

So it was that the crowd and the disciples on the mountainside, listening to Jesus first sermon, were familiar with Deuteronomy 28, with its fourteen verses of blessing, and its fifty-three graphic and detailed verses of cursing. Deuteronomy 28 is their mental picture of God. So when Jesus begins with eleven verses of blessings - the beatitudes - they are probably expecting at least fifty verses of cursing. But there is no cursing. Instead what follows is a shocking, systematic reinterpretation of the law, like they have never heard.

In reinterpreting Old Testament law, Jesus at some points, set the bar higher ... exposing MOTIVES. For example,

In other places in this disturbing sermon, Jesus completely refutes the law by turning it around. Let me give you some examples:

Those listening on the mountainside have been taught from Deuteronomy ...

But Jesus says,

And those in the crowd had learned from Deuteronomy this foundational principle of retributive justice,

But then they hear Jesus say ...

The disciples are shocked of course. They've never heard anything like this. Because Jesus is not simply giving them a kinder set of rules to live by. He is redefining the character of God! Deuteronomy 28 paints a picture of a God who is both psychologically capable and determined to exact the cruellest most disgusting punishment and vengeance on anyone who does not love him. This is the image of God that the disciples have grown up with - learned at their mother's knee. Scriptures read by their fathers, by their priests.

I wonder what image of God you have grown up with. Maybe the Old Testament verses of a vengeful God in whose presence you would be terrified, have stuck in the back of your mind. Maybe somehow you have managed to carry this dual image of a God who claims to be love, yet decides to keep people in hell forever, with no remission. Maybe you too need to hear what Jesus is saying - redefining the image of God.

You may ask, 'Is Jesus really doing that? Is He really telling us that God is not vengeful, that Almighty God turns the other cheek when slapped in the face?'

Yes - here it is in Jesus very own words. Let's compare them with what we read earlier in Deuteronomy 28:

Now listen to what Jesus says ...

Wait for it!! Don't miss this ...

It is a direct and clear contradiction of the principle of holy vengeance which Deuteronomy 28 so clearly describes.

We haven't maybe noticed this before because we're not first century Jews, who have been schooled in the synagogue, with an Old Testament mindset, but this sermon on the mount is a redefinition of the character of God.

The clearly stated principle in the law is that God will respond to obedience with blessing, and to disobedience with cursing, misery and destruction. But Jesus is radically and fundamentally amending the law.

So can we detect the rationale by which Jesus is doing this - whether deleting parts, reversing or upholding parts, emphasising or augmenting parts of the law, bearing in mind that this is a representation of the heart of God, and that as we read scripture, it is to bring us to a knowledge of God.

It is no surprise to see that in every case, it is that agape love for people, seeking always to restore, to renew, to encourage and forgive. This is what shapes Jesus interpretation. Jesus amends the law of Moses to eliminate those parts that destroy, that degrade, that dehumanise, that seed any bitterness and hatred and terror of God. Jesus highlights good motives and pure hearts. He removes those phrases that alienate and tear people down, and emphasises those phrases that reconcile and build people up.

It shouldn't be a surprise, because it fits with Jesus inaugural scripture reading in the synagogue of his home town Nazareth ...

You remember?

And then all eyes are on him, as he rolls up the scroll, puts it back on the shelf, and sits down. They are all thinking, 'He's stopped in the middle of the sentence! Why is He not going to read the last part - you know, the part where our enemies get it!

Paul was a man steeped in the Old Testament law, Deuteronomy 28 was his mindset, his picture of God, and it led him to violently repress, persecute and murder others. In slaughtering Christians who refused to unquestioningly obey the Hebrew Bible, he was literally following the law of Moses.

On the road to Damascus, the Holy Spirit showed Paul that the law and the prophets give us a distorted view of God - like looking into an extremely poor quality first century mirror, made of beaten metal. Paul was converted away from that violent religion, and understood that God IS love. Later, writing to the Corinthian church, Paul says 'When I was a child, I talked, walked, behaved like a child. But now I'm an adult. I've got rid of those childish things.' Love, says Paul, does not dishonour others, is not self-seeking, it keeps no record of wrongs, it always protects, always trusts, always hopes, always perseveres. Love, says Paul, (and he's talking about God's love) - love never fails.

So what do we understand from this about how we should read scripture? Because we need to read scripture - all of it!

A traditional theological understanding of this, that many Christians have, would be that Jesus can remove those passages from the law, because he carries the curse of God' law for us on the cross, hence there is no need for that law to apply to us. The rationale would be that Jesus Christ took the vengeful retribution of God, on our behalf.

However, this interpretation leaves us with the problem that Deuteronomy 28 is said still to represent the character of God, which is utterly at odds with what we see of the character of the incarnate God in Christ. Scripture tells us,

If you can't see it in Jesus, it isn't in God.

A careful reading of the writings of St Paul, which comprise much of the New Testament, shows that he does exactly the same thing as Jesus. Paul reinterprets the law in the light of the revelation that God is love, all love. Multiple times in his letters, Paul specifically chooses to quote violent and vengeful Old Testament passages and in quoting them, he deliberately and blatently omits the violent and vengeful parts.

OK, so if we want to read scripture the way Jesus read scripture (and who wouldn't?), we now know we neither have to obey, nor condone those parts that degrade, destroy, humiliate, and dehumanise. It's okay! That's the way Jesus read it. That's the way Paul read it. So that's how we can read it.

And this is how Paul describes God's character...

Read it and re-read it until it begins to grip you. Be convinced that God is exactly like Jesus Christ, who gave everything for you. Experience again in increasing measure, that truth "we love Him because he first loved us". Read about how Jesus treated people like you and I, healing, washing feet, pouring out his time and energy and ultimately his life.