Jesus bucked the Old Testament’s harsh teachings

By birth and by choice, I am a follower of Jesus of Nazareth. I freely refer to Jesus as “my lord.” By the time I was a teenager, following Jesus was a settled commitment. The task of my life is summed up in the words, “how then shall I live?”

In sorting out the specifics of my living, I learned that there is a big difference between what the Bible says and what Jesus said.

The Bible, in selected passages, advocates and approves of some behaviors that are abhorrent to most civilized people. Old Testament passages report instructions from God to Israel to completely destroy its enemies. Israel was to be a conquering nation by direction of God, even to the point of God’s instruction to practice complete genocide.

Certain Psalms glorify conquering and killing, and victory is seen as proof of the blessing of God.

During the first 350 years of the American experience, Christian preachers had no difficulty in finding Bible passages to justify slavery based on race. The Bible is loaded with passages that justify wealth and glorify wealth as an indication of God’s blessing. A plain reading of certain Bible passages in both New and Old Testaments makes it clear that God’s intention for women is for them to be subordinate to men. Women were property owned by men. For at least 400 years Christian preachers in America were certain of the subordinate place for women. Some preachers and churches are still certain that some roles are off limits to women.

Compare these Bible assertions with what Jesus said. The contrast is startling. Jesus said to love our enemies and to do good to those who do bad things to us. He told Peter to put away his sword. War and fighting simply were not his style.

He told a rich man to give away all that he had to the poor and then to follow him. He taught that being poor was a blessing. Not one of the parables of Jesus puts a person of wealth in a good light. Jesus characterized a great person as one who was a servant of all. He offered unreserved acceptance of women. His relationship with women was one of the recurring complaints of his critics. Jesus redefined the meaning of neighbor to include the despised of society. Elitism of any kind had no place in the kingdom of God.

What are we to make of this contrast? I came to the conclusion that Jesus carried on an intense argument with much of the Old Testament tradition and defied those of his own day who justified selfish behavior by quoting the Old Testament.

When I took a closer look at the Bible witness, I found that Jesus was not alone in questioning the violent, selfish, racially bigoted, sexist traditions found in the Old Testament. Jesus found the prophetic tradition of the Old Testament and added his voice to that of the great prophets.

Isaiah was his favorite. Isaiah rejected the war and wealth path to the will of God. He was Jesus’ mentor. Isaiah left us with the images of swords made into plowshares and the lion and the lamb lying together. Isaiah, more than any other Old Testament writer, questioned the war and wealth ethic.

When Jesus was asked about the guiding dictates of his life, his answer was simple and to the point: Love God. Love neighbor.

The writings we today call the Bible were selected for inclusion by religious leaders. As a whole the writings that were selected are a mixed bag of differing opinions. Jesus, on the other hand, gave us a simple and singular challenge with an endless number of applications.

Love of neighbor applies to our attitude and dealings with Iraq, Iran, North Korea, China and Cuba. Love of neighbor applies to immigration policy. Love of neighbor applies to health care for all. Love of neighbor applies to the fowling of our environment. Love of neighbor applies to providing money to educate all our children. Love of neighbor applies to the way we relate to the grocery store checker and the server at our favorite restaurant. Love of neighbor applies to those we incarcerate.

Love of neighbor is a standard to which I can relate. The great challenge of my life is to actually do it.

The Rev. Howard Bess is pastor of the Church of the Covenant, an American Baptist church in Palmer. His e-mail address is hdbss@mtaonline.net.