A CHART: Two Ways of Interpreting Torah

Many times each year, both in the classroom and online, I get into discussions about how to interpret and apply Biblical laws, especially those that are found in the Hebrew Torah (the first five books of the "Old Testament": Genesis, Exodus, Leviticus, Numbers, and Deuteronomy). I do not have the time or space here to get into a complete theology of how to interpret the Old Testament from a Christian point of view. I have written elsewhere that Scriptural difficulties are worked out when we see Scripture as a process of Developmental Revelation, which is on a trajectory that is fulfilled in the person of Jesus Christ. In this understanding, to use words spoken by Martin Luther King Jr.: The Moral Arc of History (and Scripture) is long, but it trends toward Justice. This view has been shaped by voices as diverse as CS Lewis (in terms of overall narrative development of History), Walter Brueggemann (in terms of looking at the Hebrew Bible through the lens of the Prophets), NT Wright (in terms of looking at the Old Testament from the perspective of the New Testament), Rabbi Jonathan Sacks (in his work on confronting violence in the Torah), and Roy Heller (my Hebrew Bible prof in Seminary). 

To summarize all of this, I have developed the CHART posted above (available here in PDF). In trying to describe this view briefly in class and in discussions, I often start with Jesus and how he interpreted and used the laws of the Torah. In particular, I like to note the following: Jesus often broke the Letter of the Law in order to uphold the Spirit of the Law. Jesus seems to show us that when the cultural situation changes, often the concrete application of a Law is in conflict with the original intent, and the Law must be deconstructed and disobeyed in order to uphold the justice and love which the Law was meant to enact. As a demonstration of this, Jesus did the following:


Jesus made a distinction between parts of the Law that are "weightier" or more important than others [Mat 5.17-20; 22.36-40; 23.18-23; Mar 2.21-3.6; 7.1-23; Luk 10.42], giving rise to a distinction between the "Letter" and "Spirit" of the Law [2Co 3.4–18; John 6.63; Rom 8.2-11; Cf. language of type and anti-type, shadow and reality in Colossians, Hebrews, and 1Co 13]

Jesus completely invalidated the Law of Retribution (Lex Talionis), thereby directly contradicting the letter of the Law at several points. [Mat 5.38–42; Exo 21:22-27; Lev 24:19-20]

Jesus partially invalidated or reinterpreted Torah on divorce and oaths [Mat 5.31-37; Deu 5:11, 23:21-23; 24:1-4]

Jesus deepened the meaning of laws against adultery and murder beyond literal text [Mat 5.21–30; Deu 5.17-18]

Jesus touched lepers to heal them [Mat 8.2-3; Mar 1.40-41; Luk 5.12-13] despite explicit prohibitions in Torah to not touch lepers [Num 5:2; Lev 13:1-46; Deu 24:8-9]

Jesus touched corpses to raise the dead, and touched menstruating women to heal them [Mat 9.18-26; Mar 5.22-43; Luk 8.40-56; Luke 7.11-15; Joh 11.43] despite prohibitions against touching the dead [Lev 21.1; 21:11, 22:4; Num 19:14-16; Deu 21:23] and menstruating women [Lev 12:1-5; 15:19-30]

Jesus healed on the Sabbath [Mat 12:9-14; Mark 3:1-6; Luk 6:6-11; Mark 1:30-31; Luk 4:38-40; 13:10-17; 14:1-6; John 5:5-18; 9:1-16] and harvested on the Sabbath [Mat 12:1-2; Luke 6.1-5] which are both violations of Sabbath laws [Deut 5.12-15; Lev 23:3; Exo 16:27-28; 34:21; 35:3; Nu 15:32] 

Jesus claimed to be the Lord of the Sabbath, and inverted the primacy of Torah, claiming that it was made to serve humans, not humans to serve the Torah [Mark 2.27-28; Mat 12:5-6]

Jesus refused to enforce Torah death sentence [John 8.3-11; Lev 20:10; Deu 22:21-24]

Jesus allowed Eunuchs to have full inclusion into religion and society [Mat 19.10-12; cf. Isa 56; Acts 8.26-30] despite laws against them [Deu 23.1; Lev 21.16-23, 22.22-25]. 

Jesus taught and did things that allowed his disciples to declare all foods clean [Mark 7.18-23; cf. Rom 14:2-20; 1Co 8:7-10], thus invalidating kosher laws [Lev 11].

Jesus reinterpreted the Jewish table blessing to refer to his New Covenant and to mediate his presence [Mat 26:28; Mark 14:24; Luke 22:20]

Jesus called God his Father, thereby making himself equal to God [John 5.18; Mark 4:61-64] which is a literal violation of the first of the Ten Commandments [Deu 5.7]

Jesus violated taboos by not washing hands before eating [Mat 15:1-2; cf. Exo 30:17-21], by healing Gentiles and speaking with Samaritan women [Mat 8.5; 15.21; Luk 7.1; Mar 7.24; John 4], by hanging out with tax collectors and prostitutes [Mat 9.9-11; Mark 2.15-17; Luke 15:2-7], and by not fasting [Mark 2.18–20; cf. Lev 16:29-31]

Jesus called out Pharisees for hypocrisy for an overly literal enforcement of the Law that rejects the meaning and motive of the Law, while also ignoring or subverting the Deeper Values which inspire the Law [Mat 23].


Jesus upset the moneychangers' and animal vendors' business in the Temple [Mat 21:12-13; Mar 11:15-17; Luk 19:45-46; Joh 2:14-22]
 despite the fact they had been sanctioned by the duly constituted religious and governmental authorities of his time. 

Jesus allowed himself to be crucified on a cross, violating Torah laws against such a death [Gal 3.13; Deu 21:23]

Using this as my basic data, in light of the interpretive paradigm outlined above, I have summarized this in a handy CHART which looks at two ways of interpreting and applying Torah. One of these is what I call "outside in" spirituality, which leads followers into legalistic hypocrisy and self-condemnation, and the other is an "inside out" spirituality, which leads followers into life and love and Christlikeness. Granted, the chart, like all charts, is a vast over-simplification. But it is a helpful way of getting across the basic idea, and it works well as a frame within which to discuss ethical and spiritual issues at a deeper level. May it help you on your path to Christlikeness. 

The chart is available in jpeg above, or in PDF form here.