Exodus 21, Luke 18

Tuesday, March 4, 2008 - Brandon Hatmaker (Exodus 21, Luke 18)

"The Law and the Heart"

“Here are the laws you are to set before them:” (Ex 21:1)

“All of these I have kept since I was a boy,” he said. When Jesus heard this he said to him, “You still lack one thing. Sell everything you have and give to the poor…Then come, follow me” (Lk 18:21-22)

A good friend of mine wrote the following thoughts about these two chapters: Laws are good, but they can’t change the heart. That’s the amazing thing about Jesus coming to fulfill the law and actually raise the standard. While it was certainly difficult to keep the hundreds of laws established by the Pharisees, it’s much harder to keep our hearts in the right place. Is it easier to not commit adultery, or not to look at a woman lustfully? Is it easier not to murder, or not to have hateful feelings about someone?

God established His laws in Exodus… Jesus came to offer salvation and gave two commands, to love God and to love others. The message he was giving the ruler in Luke was that abiding by a checklist… was no longer enough. He desired a changed heart and devotion to God. While some see this story as an indictment on the rich, I see it as a warning against having anything, material or otherwise, that you cling to more tightly than God. Are there things we are holding on to rather than God? Is it a relationship, a position, a title, a desire for recognition, a lifestyle, or any of the material things referred to in the story?