A Different Law - John 14:23-31

I really liked Martin Luther’s sermons on this text. They reveal why he was viewed as such a threat to traditional Christianity. Traditional religion is so easily drawn into obedience to the laws of Moses as the right way to act because God declared it so. Brother Martin takes an ax and cuts off the branch of the law as a necessary part of our religious practice. This was his sermon for Pentecost, and he relates it to the Jewish practice of Pentecost. The Jewish tradition celebrated it as the 50 day journey to Mt. Sinai, after having been released from bondage in Egypt. At Sinai, Moses received the law from God and delivered it to the people.

The Christian Pentecost celebration, for Luther, comes at the end of 50 days of journey after we were released from bondage to sin and death through the resurrection, and on the 50th day, we received a new and different law – the gift of the Holy Spirit. He says the old law does not enter the heart, nor does it cause works to follow (like feeding the hungry, caring for the sick, etc.). “The Law is dead-writing only, and has ruled a dead people, for hearts are dead who do not willingly do God’s commandments” (1-#10). Notice that he doesn’t say the Law is of no value. Only the Spirit can change the heart to make one see the wonder and blessing of the Law of God, and thereby willing to follow it.

“We cannot make people godly by preaching the Law. There must be love in the heart, otherwise nothing is accomplished in keep the Law.” Thomas Merton said it right when he said, “In Christianity, motivation is everything.” That motivation is love. And love alone is the fulfillment of the Law (Rom. 13:10). Jesus said if you love me, you will keep my word. Love is what helps us commit to the well-being of our neighbor.

One of the key points for Luther is that the Holy Spirit changes our hearts by bearing witness to Christ, helping us to see God rightly, and this helps us to love God as we ought. In sermon 2, he says ‘the knowledge of Christ converts, nothing else.’ The Spirit helps us recognize God is kind and gracious, not angry. Since God is not angry, we can know peace, even when the conditions of life are anything but peaceful.

People are drawn to Jesus because of the peace and comfort he offers. The Law offers us no peace. So what do we preach most to others? Blessings, PWM