Law

CONTROVERSY AT GALATIA

/ David R Maas / 4 Comments

SYNOPSIS – The key dispute at Galatia was whether Gentile converts must be circumcised and keep some, at least, of the required deeds of the Torah. 

The Letter to the Galatians is often read as a broadside by the Apostle Paul against “legalism,” the belief that right standing with God is “earned” through good works and human effort.  This reading stems from the influence of Reformation theology, which tends to see Divine grace and human obedience in constant tension, if not inherently incompatible with each other.

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Jesus and Tradition

/ David R Maas / 2 Comments

In Mark, the city of Jerusalem is the headquarters of the opposition to Jesus, especially the priestly authorities of the Temple. As his popularity grows, he experiences growing conflict with the religious authorities, the Pharisees, the scribes, and the representatives of the high priest. And his enemies began to plot his destruction.

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TWO WOMEN RESTORED

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Jesus healed two women, restoring both to a state of ritual purity – Mark 5:21-43.

Mark presents two stories about women in need of healing. The theme that links the two accounts is that of a woman in need of physical healing and restoration to a state of ritual purity. Both were “unclean” due to their physical condition; the first because of a flow of blood, and the second due to her recent death.

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AUTHORITY OVER THE SABBATH

/ David R Maas / 2 Comments

In response to Jewish leaders, Jesus demonstrated that he is Lord even over the “Sabbath Day” – Mark 2:23-3:6.

On one occasion. a group of religious leaders objected to his looseness to their Sabbath traditions. But Jesus used the opportunity to demonstrate that the “Son of Man” is “Lord” even over that day. God did cease His creative activities on the seventh day, but its formal establishment as a regulated day did not occur until the Torah was given (“Remember the Sabbath day, to keep it holy”).

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REDEEMED AND ADOPTED

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The Law was an interim stage with a termination point. Christian believers are no longer “under the Law,” instead, they are “in Christ” – Galatians 4:1-7.

In his letter to the Galatians, Paul points out that if Christians adopt the rite of circumcision, they will regress to that which is rudimentary, and to an earlier stage in Salvation History. The adoption of a Torah-compliant lifestyle means a return to a minority status and the reintroduction of social divisions.

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