John 7:19 “Did not Moses give you the Law, and yet none of you carries out the Law? Why do you seek to kill Me?”
In the Law which Moses gave them, law number six commands, “You shall not murder.” Jesus asked the Jewish leaders why they were seeking to kill Him. He knew they wanted to kill Him, which means they have no intention of carrying out the Law. In fact, let’s connect this to what Jesus had just said. Verse 17: “If anyone is willing to do His will, he will know of the teaching, whether it is of God or whether I speak from Myself.” In this context, He was saying, “If anyone is willing to do the Law, they would know His teaching was from God.” But they were already committed to killing Him, so there was no way they would listen to Him or believe in Him.
Let’s notice that Jesus spoke the truth to them in love. He gave them an opportunity to rethink what they were doing by appealing to their authority, Moses and the Law. He was correct in saying that none of them carried out the Law. The truth is that there is no one but Christ who carries out the Law. The point of Jesus’ questions to the men who were accusing Him of breaking the Law of Moses was this: Can you not see that in seeking to kill Me, you are breaking the Law of Moses? No, they could not, and that is what we can expect from those who have been blinded by their self-ambition and bitter jealousy. Their hearts are hardened and are so convinced that they are right in their judgment that as they persecute Jesus in you, they think they are doing right.
The apostle Paul summarized the Law in his letter to the Galatians when he wrote, “For the whole Law is fulfilled in one word, in the statement, ‘You shall love your neighbor as yourself’” (5:14). Of course, the one word in the statement is the word, love. As we live to love with Jesus in the power of the Holy Spirit, we are fulfilling what James called the royal law, the law of love, by which we are all bound (James 2:8). Again, the only way we can fulfill the law of God is through Jesus Christ. He alone bears fruit for the glory of God, and He brings pleasure to His Father by loving through His people.
We have the high calling and singular privilege today to fulfill the law of God by loving with Jesus. I hope you are encouraged by recognizing the blessing you have in having the life of Jesus dwelling within you. Let me wrap up today’s live to love scripture encouragement with the words of the apostle Paul from his second letter to the Corinthians. He said, we are “always carrying about in the body the dying of Jesus, so that the life of Jesus also may be manifested in our body” (2 Cor. 4:10). Jesus died for us, and He lives for us. Daily we are putting off the old man who died in Christ and putting on the new man, Jesus Christ, who lives in us.
I invite you to become a partner in our ministry. Would you pray about becoming a regular supporter of Elijah Ministries and the Live to Love with Jesus ministry? I hope you will receive the joy and benefit of "giving it forward," so others may receive encouragement to turn their hearts to God and to live to love with Jesus. You may give online or send a check to the address listed at www.spiritofelijah.com/donate.
