Matthew 22:34-40 But when the Pharisees heard that Jesus had silenced the Sadducees, they gathered themselves together. One of them, a lawyer, asked Him [Jesus] a question, testing Him. "Teacher, which is the great commandment in the Law?" And He said to him, "YOU SHALL LOVE THE LORD YOUR GOD WITH ALL YOUR HEART, AND WITH ALL YOUR SOUL, AND WITH ALL YOUR MIND. This is the great and foremost commandment. The second is like it, YOU SHALL LOVE YOUR NEIGHBOR AS YOURSELF. On these two commandments depend the whole Law and the Prophets." (NASB)So, to repeat, instead of these ten (from the NIV):
Mark 12:28-34 One of the scribes came and heard them arguing, and recognizing that He [Jesus] had answered them well, asked Him, "What commandment is the foremost of all?" Jesus answered, "The foremost is, 'HEAR, O ISRAEL! THE LORD OUR GOD IS ONE LORD; AND YOU SHALL LOVE THE LORD YOUR GOD WITH ALL YOUR HEART, AND WITH ALL YOUR SOUL, AND WITH ALL YOUR MIND, AND WITH ALL YOUR STRENGTH.' The second is this, 'YOU SHALL LOVE YOUR NEIGHBOR AS YOURSELF.' There is no other commandment greater than these." The scribe said to Him, "Right, Teacher; You have truly stated that HE IS ONE, AND THERE IS NO ONE ELSE BESIDES HIM; AND TO LOVE HIM WITH ALL THE HEART AND WITH ALL THE UNDERSTANDING AND WITH ALL THE STRENGTH, AND TO LOVE ONE'S NEIGHBOR AS HIMSELF, is much more than all burnt offerings and sacrifices." When Jesus saw that he had answered intelligently, He said to him, "You are not far from the kingdom of God." After that, no one would venture to ask Him any more questions. (NASB)
Luke 10:25-28 And a lawyer stood up and put Him [Jesus] to the test, saying, "Teacher, what shall I do to inherit eternal life? And He said to him, "What is written in the Law? How does it read to you? And he answered, "YOU SHALL LOVE THE LORD YOUR GOD WITH ALL YOUR HEART, AND WITH ALL YOUR SOUL, AND WITH ALL YOUR STRENGTH, AND WITH ALL YOUR MIND; AND YOUR NEIGHBOR AS YOURSELF." And He said to him, "You have answered correctly; DO THIS AND YOU WILL LIVE." (NASB)
1. You shall have no other gods before me.
2. You shall not make for yourself an idol in the form of anything.
3. You shall not misuse the name of the Lord your God.
4. Remember the Sabbath day by keeping it holy.
5. Honor your father and your mother.
6. You shall not murder.
7. You shall not commit adultery.
8. You shall not steal.
9. You shall not give false testimony against your neighbor.
10. You shall not covet.
we have these two (also from the NIV):
1. Love the Lord your God with all your heart, with all your soul, and with all your might; and
2. Love your neighbor as yourself.
Much easier to remember, wouldn't you agree? Better yet, Christ's summary of the original Ten Commandments is, as Canon J. John desired, presented in the affirmative, so no need to change anything. Right? So, why did the esteemed pastor move forward with his project to make the Ten Commandments more accessible to believers and seekers alike by summarizing them, in effect duplicating work that Christ, the Savior, already accomplished? Who knows?
Personally, I think Just10 loses something in translation. Here are both the adult and the child versions presented side-by-side, along with the paraphrased originals. Judge for yourself between the three:
Original
|
Adult
|
Children
|
1. Have no
other gods before Me.
|
1. Live by
priorities.
|
1. Bee
Loving.
|
2. Do not set
up idols.
|
2. Know God.
|
2. Bee Loyal.
|
3. Do not
take God’s name in vain.
|
3. Take God
seriously.
|
3. Bee
Careful.
|
4. Remember
the Sabbath.
|
4. Catch your
breath.
|
4. Bee Still.
|
5. Honor your
father and mother.
|
5. Keep the
peace with your parents.
|
5. Bee
Respectful.
|
6. Do not
murder.
|
6. Manage
your anger.
|
6. Bee Calm.
|
7. Do not
commit adultery.
|
7.
Affair-proof your relationships.
|
7. Bee
Faithful
|
8. Do not
steal.
|
8. Prosper
with a clear conscience.
|
8. Bee
Trustworthy.
|
9. Do not
bear false witness.
|
9. Hold to
the truth.
|
9. Bee
Truthful.
|
10. Do not covet.
|
10. Find
contentment.
|
10. Bee
Thankful.
|
Granted, some of the rules don't suffer too terribly from the transformation process, such as "Honor your father and mother." The adult version becomes "Keep the peace with your parents," while the child translation is reduced to "Bee respectful." On the other hand, some restatements really miss the point. For example, "Do not murder" is not just about the act of killing; it is about the act of planning the physical death of another human being with malice aforethought (meaning with evil intent and premeditation). Does this involve anger? Oftentimes, yes. But to reduce the entire meaning of the original commandment to only being about losing your temper and, if you are talking about the child version, just being calm runs the risk of creating a mental picture of nothing more than a man sitting quietly on the beach in a lotus position, breathing deeply and chanting a mantra in order to reduce his everyday stress. Any mention, implication, or thought of violence towards another has been completely eliminated from the restatement, thereby losing the original meaning altogether.
Even worse, Just10 website makes a point of misguiding people about the purpose of the Ten Commandments, reducing them to the equivalent of Captain Jack Sparrow's Pirate Code --- "more like guidelines anyway." To quote:
Most people have heard of the Ten Commandments, God's basic instructions for our lives that, when followed, help us live in freedom every day. These core principles are designed to equip and guide us through life, keeping us on the right path, and helping us navigate through the tough times.
So, God's rules are really a self-help tutorial that, if followed, will bring daily, earthly freedom? Ummm. No, I don't think so. God's Law, comprised of the original Ten Commandments, was given to the nation of Israel to make God's people aware of how far short they fall of the perfection that God requires as the holy Creator of the universe, thereby pointing to their ever-present need for a Savior. That Savior is Jesus Christ.
For God so loved the world that He gave His one and only son, that whoever believes in Him shall not perish but have eternal life. --- John 3:16 (NIV)
Following the rules does nothing to free you from the bondage of sin and death. Only the understanding that you need the shed blood of Christ to cover your sins and the belief (by faith) that Christ died for that purpose for you personally will bring the freedom that Canon J. John speaks of. Once redeemed by the blood of Christ, two restated rules --- love the Lord your God with all your heart and love your neighbor as yourself --- can act as behavioral guidelines so that you demonstrate to others the love and grace that the Triune God shows to you every moment of every day.
No comments:
Post a Comment