The Only Mountain Between Us
An old Jewish rabbi who decisively rejected Jesus taught me something I’ll never forget about the teachings of Jesus.
It was about 2002 and his name was Rabbi Isaac. I was developing a faith element for a program designed to reintroduce parolees into society and someone told me that Rabbi Isaac had done something similar in Europe. He generously accepted my request to discuss our projects and share his insights. I was tip-toeing through New Testament principles hoping to avoid offending him when he looked me square in the eyes and addressed the elephant in the room - “John, I agree with the teachings of Jesus… if you don’t include Jesus.” I was intrigued. “Please tell me more.”
He told me to open my Bible to Jesus’ first teaching, the Sermon on the Mount in Matthew 5-7, and begin reading aloud. With each verse I read, he responded, “I agree with that.” He continued for 16 verses.
Then as I finished Matthew 5:17 and began verse 18, He sharply responded,
“Stop! That’s where the train left the track. You see, while Jesus was challenging the interpretations and applications of the Pharisees and scribes, he neither changed nor reduced any part of the Law until he added himself. But when Jesus claimed to fulfill the Law in verse 17, then started verse 18 with ‘I say to you’ rather than ‘thus saith the Lord,’ as Moses and all the prophets had done, he was claiming to be God. In that moment we were divided. For the moment one claims to be God, each one of us must choose to believe that he is either God or he’s a madman. There is no other option. Had I been there I would have sided with the Pharisees - concluding that Jesus was a madman. I believe that today. Jesus’ interpretations of the Law revealed deep wisdom and understanding, though his claims to be God were nothing short of blasphemy.”
Awestruck by the calm, clear, raw, honest opinions, and openness of one so simultaneously spiritually insightful and blind, I could not resist asking more questions. He laughed when I leveled questions regarding the harsh indictments Jesus cast upon the Pharisees and scribes, remarking,
“We don’t measure all Christians by the dishonesty, corruption, and hypocrisy of those of given power. Yet, how quickly you judge Jews as a whole based on the behavior and views of those who were in power in Jesus’ day. Clearly, there was hypocrisy, legalism, and perhaps dishonesty among the seats of power. Has the church avoided such corruption? Are any of these issues in the modern church?”
I spent my first decade as a pastor believing there were mountains of differences between Christians and Jews. Rabbi Isaac taught me that we are far more alike in our teachings and tendencies while far more apart in our beliefs than I realized. There is only one mountain between us. He changes everything. He demands a choice. He is the difference between light and dark, life and death, and grace and judgement. He is our savior and our hope. His claims to be God make him a madman or God. There is no middle ground. His name is Jesus. He’s the King of Kings or the Crazy of Crazies.
It’s not his teaching, but his identity that divides us. My prayer is that all will see him as he is before it’s too late. For a denying his lordship will not be an option when he returns.
Thanks for Reading,
John