City Life Starter

Written by Megan Meier

The Word

“So if you are offering your gift at the altar and there remember that your brother has something against you, leave your gift there before the altar and go. First be reconciled to your brother, and then come and offer your gift.”

Matthew 5:23-24 (ESV)

Megan’s Musings

Jesus spoke the above passage as part of His Sermon on the Mount, where the majority of His audience were Jewish. Their society was dominated by tradition and rules, some legitimate (the ones God established through Moses) and some made up (by the Pharisees and Sadducees). Jesus made it clear He did not come to undo the Law or the Prophets, but to fulfill them (Matthew 5:17). Even though Scriptures declared God prefers love over sacrifice (Hosea 6:6), the idea of neglecting a sacrifice was quite radical. God established through Moses the rules and regulations on sacrifices in Leviticus 1-7 and Numbers 15:1-31 (there were sacrifices for intentional sins, unintentional sins, special vows, festivals, and thankfulness – they must have had a LOT of livestock). If Jesus held a Q&A session after his Message, I’m sure someone would have asked, “Do we leave the altar despite the reason of the sacrifice?” To which Jesus would have responded, “Yes, but come back after you’ve made things right with your brother.”

Jesus is saying to value love more than tradition. He did not say neglect the rules, but to first reconcile with whoever is angry with you (or vice versa), then offer your gift. In fact, according to the rules, we would be doomed to hell. But through Jesus’ love, He freed us. He showed the Ultimate Commitment to the family of God by giving Himself and now we are His brothers and sisters (Matthew 12:49-50). Maybe the whole point of the sacrifices and offerings (namely livestock massacres) for 1,500 years were to make the Israelites realize there is a heavy price to pay for sin – death. Jesus had come to fulfill the Law and the Prophets through His Sacrifice, abolishing the need for formal sacrifices on altars (so glad of that, if it had continued, I’d likely be a vegetarian today).

Application

God wants love more than sacrifices, or in the modern case, to go through the motions, but have no compassion for the spiritual family. It doesn’t matter if a person has superhero-like powers, mountain-moving faith, or even gives all their possessions away and their own selves (for the sake of boasting), if there is no love, they have nothing (1 Corinthians 13:1-3). Love is the underlying reason for the sacrifice of time, money, talents, and spiritual gifts. A big (and very difficult) part of love is forgiveness. Jesus emphasized without forgiveness of our spiritual family, the sacrifice means very little. 

Here’s a hard question: Is there someone in the family you need to forgive, or (even harder question) ask forgiveness from?

Prayer

Dear Jesus, help me to truly love my family. In Your Name I pray, amen.