Skip to main content

Easier For the Heavens and the Earth to Disappear

             The Law and the Prophets were proclaimed until John. Since that time, the good news of the kingdom of God is being preached, and everyone is forcing their way into it. It is easier for heaven and earth to disappear than for the least stroke of a pen to drop out of the Law. (Luke 16:16-17)

         When he heard this, he became very sad, because he was very wealthy.  Jesus looked at him and said, “How hard it is for the rich to enter the kingdom of God! Indeed, it is easier for a camel to go through the eye of a needle than for someone who is rich to enter the kingdom of God.”

            Those who heard this asked, “Who then can be saved?”

            Jesus replied, “What is impossible with man is possible with God.” (Luke 18:23-27)

              But the day of the Lord will come like a thief. The heavens will disappear with a roar; the elements will be destroyed by fire, and the earth and everything done in it will be laid bare. (II Peter 3:10)

 

            The passage from Luke 16 suggests a reason why Jesus said that John was the greatest of those born of women but less than those in the kingdom of God. It’s not because he did something exceptional. It was because he was in a position to change the announcement from “the kingdom of God will come” to “the kingdom of God is near.” Like Moses, he got to see that kingdom from just outside of it, but died before the people started to enter it.

            I should probably think about that a little more but as interesting as it is, and as much as we should set that as our goal, the bigger issue is that it is easier for heaven and earth to pass away than for any part of the Law to do so, and it’s “easier for a camel to go through the eye of a needle than for someone who is rich to enter the kingdom of God.”

          Jesus tells us that “What is impossible with man is possible with God.” We know from Revelation and II Peter 3:10 (above) that the heavens and the earth are going to pass away. What are we to make of these claims of difficulty? And what do we make of them in light of our being saved by grace and not by the Law?

          If there is nothing else here, there is the fact that in spite of what some folks say, we can’t make the world come to an end. If we can’t do that, how can we imagine that we can make the Law pass away? The Law never saved anyone. One doesn’t get into the kingdom by keeping the Law. Neither keeping the Law (and all the additions to it) nor being rich was proof of God’s favor. If you put your faith in either the Law or wealth, things won’t end well. That doesn’t mean the Law is bad, or that being wealthy is evil. Just that we can’t make the Law go away.

          But God can, and He has given us a new and better Covenant. Parts of the new are like the old, so the old isn’t gone, but some parts are not relevant to us. That’s discussed at length in the book of Hebrews. The point is still that we can’t make the Law go away, but God can.

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Think About These Things

                 Finally, brothers and sisters, whatever is true, whatever is noble, whatever is right, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is admirable—if anything is excellent or praiseworthy—think about such things. (Philippians 4:8) This passage is a major challenge for me. Like everyone else, I struggle to keep my thoughts from wandering off into the weeds, then wondering what possible benefits those weeds might have… Sigh. But as a writer, I have to delve at least a little into the ignoble, wrong, impure, unlovely, and debased. After all, there’s no story if everything’s just as it should be and everyone’s happy. As Christians, there are times when we need to deal with all the negatives, but that makes it even more important that we practice turning our minds by force of attention to what is noble, right, pure, lovely, admirable, excellent, and praiseworthy. It’s just too easy to get stuck in a swamp. With my...
1 comment
Read more

Higher Thoughts

  “For my thoughts are not your thoughts, neither are your ways my ways,” declares the  Lord . “As the heavens are higher than the earth, so are my ways higher than your ways and my thoughts than your thoughts. (Isaiah 55:8-9)           The person with the Spirit makes judgments about all things, but such a person is not subject to merely human judgments,   for, “Who has known the mind of the Lord      so as to instruct him?” But we have the mind of Christ. (I Corinthians 2:15-16) If you read about the ancient gods of the various peoples, you’ll find that they think just like people. In fact, they think just like the sort of people we really wouldn’t want to be around. They think like the most corrupt Hollywood producer or, like hormone overloaded teens with no upbringing.   It’s embarrassing to read. I have a friend who argues that because God is not just like us, He is so vastly dif...
2 comments
Read more

Pure...

            The goal of this command is love, which comes from a pure heart and a good conscience and a sincere faith. (I Timothy 1:5)   I know your deeds, that you are neither cold nor hot. I wish you were either one or the other! So, because you are lukewarm—neither hot nor cold—I am about to spit you out of my mouth. (Revelation 3:15-16) I’m probably cheating - or mishandling the Bible, but earlier I was thinking about love being pure and purifying. And hatred being pure and purifying. And anger…joy…patience… fear… jealousy… courage…lust… and other strongly felt feelings, attitudes, and beliefs. Today’s verse brings purity and love together, so it’s the verse of the day, but it’s not really the focus. That means my motive for sharing it with you probably isn’t pure. As you read through my list, you   probably thought, “Yeah” about some, and “What’s she on?” about others. But consider how much hatred, a...
Post a Comment
Read more