The Defining Characteristic of God

In studying the gospels we observe that Jesus was immersed in a religious culture of purity. Purity rules determined who was in (Pharisees, temple priests, scribes, rulers, and experts in the Jewish law) and those who were out (tax collectors, the poor, lepers, prostitutes, Gentiles, women and "sinners"). The Pharisees considered the poor to be "sinners" because the book of Proverbs taught that God blesses the righteous with wealth. By that logic, if someone was living in poverty, they must not be righteous.

This culture of purity was all about following the Jewish law (Torah) in the way prescribed by the Pharisees (a powerful Jewish sect at the time). Even good-hearted people who loved God could be labeled "sinners" by the Pharisees if they did not follow every detail. Keep in mind these religious laws were not Torah itself, but a specific interpretation of Torah. The Pharisees viewed life through the lens of the command in Torah to "be holy for the Lord your God is holy." (Leviticus 19:2).

Out of this culture, Jesus emerged as a young Rabbi, teaching something very different. While the Pharisees saw holiness as the defining characteristic of God, and the most important value for ordering our lives, Jesus saw the Love of God as his defining characteristic and insisted that our lives are to be ordered by love.

Instead of focusing on Leviticus 19:2 like the Pharisees, Jesus viewed God and life through the lens of Leviticus 19:18 - "you shall love your neighbor as yourself." He emphasized loving God and loving neighbor as the two greatest commandments. In fact, He said that these two commandments were a summary of Torah and the prophets (what we know as the Hebrew Bible or "Old Testament").

It was this difference that led Jesus to welcome the tax collector, the prostitute, the lepers and the poor to his table. It was this difference that led him to pronounce God's forgiveness over people instead of judgment. It was this difference that led him to elevate women and include them among his disciples. It was this difference that led him to teach "Blessed are the poor, for theirs is the Kingdom of God."

(Note:  I am indebted to Marcus Borg for these wonderful insights.)

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