A disruptor — this was how Jesus’ enemies viewed Him, and it was precisely why they feared him. But Jesus claimed otherwise, saying that He came not to destroy the law, but to fulfill it. And He called on the people to do the same.
Today, we live in a world of convenient relativity and loose interpretation. There are many ways around rules, and people have grown lax, even in their faith. It’s easy to understand why. We are a generation so fixated on freedom and so exposed to information and “noise” of all kinds. Permissiveness becomes a way of life.
But Jesus does not condone that kind of approach. He vehemently says that He stands for His Father’s law, and that the law is unchanging. But the law for Him was not a restriction, but an invitation to freedom – from sin, and all the pain that comes with it.
He poses us the same challenge today: to stand on the side of God’s law, despite every temptation to break it. Coldplay puts it eloquently in the song Clocks: “Am I part of the cure? Or am I part of the disease?” Do we live lives of permissiveness, and influence others to do the same? Or do we stand for God’s law, and bring others with us to true freedom?
