Jesus & the Law – on land & property rights … (11/09/18)
Though the Law did in significant part delineate the property rights of its Jewish citizenry (see Exodus 22:1-9, Leviticus 25:23-27, Leviticus 25:34, Numbers 27:8-11, Deuteronomy 19:14, Deuteronomy 22:1-3, & Deuteronomy 23:26 et al), Jesus – who more often than not spoke to those who were deprived, destitute, &/or disenfranchised; those for whom such concerns of ownership were of far less concern – spent little time in the Gospel texts commenting on the same. That having been said, when he did offer his few nuggets of wisdom related thereto, they proved to be courageously truthful nuggets indeed. Consider …
.*Whereas the Law focused upon sternly prohibiting acts of robbery & theft (see Exodus 20:15 & Deuteronomy 5:191 – along with Exodus 21:37, Leviticus 5:23, & Leviticus 19:11-13), Jesus commanded his followers to selflessly give of their both their money & their possessions (see Matthew 19:21, Mark 10:21, Luke 12:13-21, Luke 12:33-34, Luke 14:33, & Luke 18:22 et al).2
*Whereas the Law made it clear that it was forbidden to even covet the possession of others (a la Exodus 20:17 & Deuteronomy 5:21), Jesus strongly admonished his listeners to be thankful for one’s station instead (and this, no matter how destitute – see Matthew 6:22-25 & Luke 6:20-22 et al) and to joyfully serve God’s will by giving to others even when having very little oneself (see Matthew 6:25-33, Matthew 20:26-28, Matthew 26:39, Mark 12:41-44, Mark 14:36, Luke 6:29-30, Luke 6:38, Luke 21:1-4, & Luke 22:42).
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1 It is worth noting that the prohibition against “stealing” listed in these versions of “the Ten Commandments” has been traditionally interpreted by a significant majority of scholars to relate to human theft (that is, kidnapping – see the Talmudic Midrash commentary Sanhedrin 86a on Exodus 20:15; also Exodus 21:16 & Deuteronomy 24:7, both which also proscribe the death penalty for the offense of taking another human). That having been said, the Hebrew word translated as “steal” in said verses (ganab, Strong’s #1589) is indeed far more often than not used in the biblical texts to indicate the theft of another’s possessions or chattel – see Exodus 22:12, Leviticus 19:11, & Joshua 7:11 et al.
2 While it is indeed true that Jesus openly stated “ask and it will be provided” (see Matthew 7:7 & Luke 11:9) and “I have come that they might have life, and have it abundantly” (John 10:10), it is critical to remember two things: 01) that any such seemingly materialistic promises completely contradict the blatantly selfless nature of Jesus’ ministry, and 02) that Jesus only promised that all prayers made “in Christ’s name” would be fulfilled (i.e. those who actively “abide in him” by fulfilling his commandments of selfless Love – see John 14:13, John 15:7, John 15:16, & John 16:23-24; also 1 John 3:22 & 1 John 5:14-15); something that could only be done by those who prayed to be of greater service to others &/or primarily yearned to relieve their burdens.
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