Preaching the Law with the Gospel
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Luther Seminary Digital Commons @ Luther Seminary Doctor of Ministry Theses Student Theses 2020 Preaching the Law with the Gospel Jonathan Saur Follow this and additional works at: https://digitalcommons.luthersem.edu/dmin_theses Part of the Biblical Studies Commons, Christianity Commons, and the Practical Theology Commons Recommended Citation Saur, Jonathan, "Preaching the Law with the Gospel" (2020). Doctor of Ministry Theses. 54. https://digitalcommons.luthersem.edu/dmin_theses/54 This Thesis is brought to you for free and open access by the Student Theses at Digital Commons @ Luther Seminary. It has been accepted for inclusion in Doctor of Ministry Theses by an authorized administrator of Digital Commons @ Luther Seminary. For more information, please contact [email protected], [email protected]. PREACHING THE LAW WITH THE GOSPEL by JONATHAN SAUR A Thesis Submitted to the Faculty of Luther Seminary In Partial Fulfillment of The Requirements for the Degree of DOCTOR OF MINISTRY ST. PAUL, MINNESOTA 2020 © 2020 by Jonathan Saur All rights reserved ABSTRACT Preaching the Law with the Gospel by Jonathan Saur Preaching tools like the Revised Common Lectionary infrequently draw preachers to the legal texts of the Pentateuch, even though the New Testament, and especially the four Gospels, are heavily influenced by the legal texts of the Pentateuch. Congregations are at a disadvantage in understanding the New Testament message when one of the primary sources that shaped the New Testament is ignored. This study addresses this problem by utilizing relevant scholarship focused on New Testament interpretation of the legal texts to develop suggestions for preaching these texts. The four gospels are surveyed to glean insights into how they interpret the legal texts of the Pentateuch. Four scholars are then consulted to present possibilities for preaching derived from the Apostle Paul's letters. Then, the legal texts are addressed more directly, followed by the presentation of six broad suggestions for preaching these texts. The study closes by applying the suggestions to a sermon preached by the author, highlighting ways these suggestions could make the sermon better and ways the sermon already utilized the suggestions well. The hope is that a preacher reading this project can approach the legal texts of the Pentateuch with confidence and preach these texts to a congregation regularly. ii ACKNOWLEDGMENTS The congregation of John Knox Presbyterian Church made this project possible, by providing funding for my participation in the Doctor of Ministry in Biblical Preaching at Luther Seminary. The congregation is also due thanks for listening to multiple sermons on legal texts from the Pentateuch with grace and interest. "Thanks" are also due to my cohort at Luther Seminary, who put up with my constant jokes, some of which were funny and some of which, I am sure, were annoying. Professor Eugene Lemcio read early drafts of the chapters and provided needed and critical comments on the exegetical work. His suggestions were immensely helpful. My gratitude goes to Rev. Dr. Jeff McCrory, who served as my Hebrew tutor initially, but over the years has become a close friend and mentor. In our tutoring sessions, we read the Hebrew text and my fascination with the Pentateuch was born. The knowledge he has shared with me has given me joy in reading the Pentateuch. His friendship, though, has given me confidence as a pastor, husband and now father. Finally, my deepest gratitude goes to Emily. I began this project as a bachelor. I finish it married to you, raising our beautiful son and rooming with the two best cats ever. Thank you for the time you allowed me to read, to write and to travel to Minnesota, even when we were planning a wedding and then pregnant. (Not concurrently.) Thank you most for the way you love me and encourage me to pursue the message found in the Gospels. I love you. iii TABLE OF CONTENTS ABSTRACT ........................................................................................................................ ii ACKNOWLEDGMENTS ................................................................................................. iii LIST OF ABBREVIATIONS ........................................................................................... vii 1. STATEMENT OF THE PROBLEM .............................................................................1 2. WHAT ARE THE LAW AND THE GOSPEL? ...........................................................5 A. Introduction ......................................................................................................5 B. "Law" ................................................................................................................6 C. "Gospel" ..........................................................................................................10 D. A Note on "Faithful" Reading of Scripture ....................................................15 E. Conclusion ......................................................................................................18 3. THE LAW IN THE GOSPELS ...................................................................................20 A. Introduction ....................................................................................................20 B. The Gospel of Matthew ..................................................................................20 1. Jesus' View of the Law According to Matthew ........................................20 2. Matthew's Use of the Law in the Gospel ..................................................24 a. Matthew 4:4 -10 ................................................................................24 b. Matthew 5:21, 27, 31, 33, 38, 43 ......................................................26 c. Matthew 18:16 ...................................................................................29 3. Summary ..................................................................................................30 4. Preaching the Law with Matthew .............................................................31 a. The Law Is Positive ...........................................................................31 b. The Law Can Seem Confusing but Should Be Engaged Nonetheless ...........................................................................................32 c. Jesus Is the Teacher of the Law .........................................................32 d. There Is an Underlying Value to the Specific Laws That Reflects God's Desire and Is Relevant to Our World ..........................................33 C. The Gospel of Mark ........................................................................................35 1. Jesus' View of the law According to Mark ..............................................35 2. Mark's Use of the Law in the Gospel .......................................................38 a. Mark 7:10 ..........................................................................................38 b. Mark 10:19 ........................................................................................40 c. Mark 12:29-31 ...................................................................................41 3. Summary ..................................................................................................42 4. Preaching the law with Mark ...................................................................43 a.. The Law Is Assumed to Be Important and Good .............................43 b. The Law Helps Us Understand Jesus as God's Son ..........................43 iv c. Jesus Reveals a Hierarchy Amongst the Commandments in the Law ........................................................................................................44 D. The Gospel of Luke ........................................................................................45 1. Jesus' View of the law According to Luke ...............................................45 2. Luke's Use of the Law in the Gospel ........................................................48 a. Luke 2:22-24 .....................................................................................48 b. Luke 16:14-31 ...................................................................................50 c. The Central Section of Luke and Deuteronomy ................................52 3. Summary ..................................................................................................54 4. Preaching the Law with Luke ...................................................................55 a. The Law Serves the Purposes and Aims of God ...............................55 b. The Law Is Rooted in the Narrative of God's Actions in the World .56 c. The Law Can Prepare Us for How God Will Act in the Future ........57 E. The Gospel of John .........................................................................................58 1. Jesus' View of the law According to John ................................................58 2. John's Use of the Law in the Gospel ........................................................61 a. John 19:36 and the Relative Lack of Legal Quotes in John ..............61 b. Events in John That Relate to the Law .............................................63 c. Institutions and Practices That Relate to the Law in John ................64 3. Summary ..................................................................................................66 4. Preaching the Law with John ...................................................................67