Was Jesus too strict or too lenient with the Law?

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There is a pattern in Jesus’ speech in our Gospel today (Matthew 5:17-37). Four times he utters a variation of the phrase “It was said…” and follows it up with “But I say to you….” What he then pronounces makes the Law harder to follow. For example, he starts from not killing and proceeds to not even being angry; from not committing adultery to not even looking at someone with lust.

Was Jesus making life more difficult?

The rabbis or teachers of the Law during Jesus’ time would have agreed with him. There is actually a rabbinic term for what Jesus was doing: Building a hedge around the Torah (or the Law). When you build a hedge around something, you lessen the chances of people stepping on it.

If you try not to be angry with your brother, the possibility that you might kill him decreases. If you try to refrain from looking at someone with lust, the possibility of having physical relations with that person diminishes. When you expand the coverage of the Law, you lessen the chances of people violating its core.

But what is at the core of the Law?

Jesus seems to be pointing to this core when, at other times, he seems to disregard the Law. In Matthew 12, he sees nothing wrong with his disciples picking grain on the Sabbath even though no work was permitted on the Lord’s Day. Jesus himself worked on the Sabbath by healing the man with the withered hand in the next passage.

Was Jesus making life easier?

Was Jesus too strict or too lenient with the Law? This question cannot be answered with a simple yes or no. I think that Jesus realized what the core of the Law was and interpreted the letter of the Law in light of its true spirit.

And what is at the core of the Law? I think it’s all about relationships – our relationship with God and our relationships with others. For example, the Law about keeping the Sabbath is about setting aside a special day to honor God. On the surface, Jesus seems to be violating the Sabbath by healing and by allowing his disciples to work so that they could eat. But as we read in 1 John 4:20: “Whoever does not love a brother whom he has seen cannot love God whom he has not seen.”

When we try not just to avoid murder but also anger, it is a good step towards understanding others and building relationships. When we try not just to avoid adultery but also lust, it is a good step towards seeing the other not merely as a body but as a person with whom we should build a deeper relationship.  

We cannot really separate our relationship with God and our relationships with others. Our Gospel today talks about having a sacrifice but not proceeding with the offering if… surprise quiz! Try to complete this line from our Gospel today: “If you bring your gift to the altar, and there recall that ____________, leave your gift there at the altar.” How will you fill in the blank? Pause for a bit and try to remember Jesus’ words or try to figure it out using conventional wisdom.

When I run this experiment, the most common answer I get is: “If you bring your gift to the altar, and there recall that you have anything against your brother, leave your gift there at the altar.”

Ready for what the Gospel says? “If you bring your gift to the altar, and there recall that your brother has anything against you, leave your gift there at the altar, go first and be reconciled with your brother, and then come and offer your gift.”

The Gospel tells us to reflect on whether someone is angry with us even before considering our own anger. Hindi kung galit ka kundi kung may galit sa iyo. Not if you are angry, but if someone is angry with you. This really turns things upside down, doesn’t it? And by the way, turning things around is essentially what conversion—from com (with, together) + vertere (to turn)—is all about.

It’s another step towards building relationships. We live out our relationship with God in our relationships with others, and we let our relationships with others influence our relationship with God. This can happen when our difficult relationships make us go to God for help, but it can also happen when we feel that in the love others give us, God is loving us.

It’s not just about following rules. At its heart, the Law is about relationships. It’s about connection. Jesus summarized all the 613 commandments of the Law into just two: Love God, and love your neighbor as yourself (Matthew 22:37-40).

When faith is reduced to technicalities and the intricacies of the Law, it becomes a burden. The reason rabbis spoke of building a hedge around the Law was not to trap people, but to protect something precious. After all, what do you build a hedge around? A garden. And while there may be thorns, relationships can also reveal the roses.

I was reminded of this earlier this week when someone shared her experience of lining up at a government center at 2:00 AM to secure medical financial assistance for her father. I expected her to talk about the humiliation of begging for help or the quiet and not-so-quiet competition for limited funds. Instead, what struck her was the realization that everyone in line had a story. Everyone mattered. And in that moment of shared need, she felt a surprising sense of unity.

If connection can be discovered even in that situation, in the middle of exhaustion, bureaucracy, and scarcity, surely it can also be found in the Law.

Your prayer assignment this week:

We start Lent in a few days. In the fasting, in the abstinence, in whatever form your sacrifice takes, can you see how it’s not about whether you will be strict or lenient with yourself this Lent? Can you see that at the core of this is relationships?

People from my generation probably still remember a commercial that featured a song that you couldn’t stop humming: “I’d like to teach the world to sing in perfect harmony… and keep it company.” The refrain ended with: “That’s the real thing.” But the real thing is not about buying a bottle of soft drink. The real thing is relationship.

Fr. Francis teaches Theology, Education and Scripture at both the Ateneo de Manila University and Loyola School of Theology. As a classroom teacher, he is first and foremost a student. As a professor, he sees himself primarily as a pastor.