Be Like Jesus—Pick And Choose Your Scriptures!

When conservatives say, “You can’t pick and choose which parts of the Bible support your beliefs, and ignore the rest,” How do you respond?

Icon of Jesus holding a Bible — Image by Thomas from Pixabay

Recently, a friend gave me this conservative line about selectively reading and interpreting scriptures. I pointed out that almost nobody follows the whole Bible. There’s a reason why Christians don’t sell our daughters for a bride price, or marry them off to someone who rapes them. As it should be, you never hear about Jesus’s followers stoning their children to death for disobedience. Justice demands that slavery be illegal, even though Moses provided for its existence as an institution. There’s a reason we no longer have cities of refuge where people can escape punishment for manslaughter. Neither do we legally prevent farmers from harvesting the corners of their fields, or from shaving the corners of their beards.

Why is this? It’s because Jesus taught us how to pick and choose which laws apply to us. I told my friend, “While we might say all of the Bible is equally inspired, not all of the Bible is equally useful for today’s world.”

That set him off! He quickly retorted, “For today’s world? Really? Are you telling us that God’s word has an expiration date if it doesn’t agree with people’s personal desires?” How would you respond to this?

The Bible as a Jumping-Off Point

Jesus had a long history of contradicting and rewriting the Bible. Here are five Jesus quotes:

Matthew 5:21-22a – You have heard that it was said to those of ancient times, ‘You shall not murder,’ and ‘whoever murders shall be liable to judgment.’ But I say to you that if you are angry with a brother or sister, you will be liable to judgment, and if you insult a brother or sister, you will be liable to the council…
Matthew 5:2-27 – You have heard that it was said, ‘You shall not commit adultery.’ But I say to you that everyone who looks at a woman with lust has already committed adultery with her in his heart.
Matthew 5:31-32 – It was also said, ‘Whoever divorces his wife, let him give her a certificate of divorce.’ But I say to you that anyone who divorces his wife, except on the ground of sexual immorality, causes her to commit adultery, and whoever marries a divorced woman commits adultery.
Matthew 5:33-35 – Again, you have heard that it was said to those of ancient times, ‘You shall not swear falsely, but carry out the vows you have made to the Lord.’ But I say to you: Do not swear at all, either by heaven, for it is the throne of God, or by the earth, for it is his footstool, or by Jerusalem, for it is the city of the great King.
Matthew 5:38-39 – “You have heard that it was said, ‘An eye for an eye and a tooth for a tooth.’ But I say to you: Do not resist an evildoer. But if anyone strikes you on the right cheek, turn the other also.

Jesus taught us how to use the Bible as a jumping-off point for moral teaching. He also demonstrated how you can go beyond its basic precepts to create an ethical system for yourself. Moses’s law was radical for its day. It served to transform a nomadic group of tribes into a nation. But Jesus knew it needed revising. This is why he so often contradicted and broke the law.

Jesus Disregarded the Law as Needed

As an example, let’s look at Jesus’s willingness to disregard scripture that prohibited work on the Sabbath. For him, it was a matter of interpreting whether the work was meaningful, useful, or helpful. He got himself in trouble because he refused to allow religious people to bind him with the written law. Here are seven examples:

Mark 1:21-28 – On the Sabbath, Jesus heals a man with an unclean spirit.
Mark 1:29-31 – Jesus heals Simon Peter’s mother on the Sabbath.
Mark 3:1-6 – Jesus restores an injured hand on the Sabbath.
Luke 13:10-17 – On the Sabbath, Jesus heals a woman who could not stand straight.
Luke 14:1-6 – Jesus heals a man with dropsy on the Sabbath.
John 9:1-16 – On the Sabbath, Jesus gives sight to a man who was born blind.
John 5:1-18 – On the Sabbath, Jesus heals a man by the pool of Bethesda.

Jesus didn’t just break the law as needed—he taught his disciples to follow his example. In Matthew 12:1-8, the Pharisees criticize him for allowing his students to harvest and mill grain on the Sabbath.

Jesus’s Defense for Breaking the Law

Jesus knows his accusers won’t let him off without a good defense. So, he employs five justifications for breaking the law.

First, Jesus cites the precedent of David and his companions, who broke the law by eating consecrated bread in a moment of hunger (1 Samuel 21:6).
Next, Jesus points out that priests working in the temple break the law, and yet are guiltless (Leviticus 24:8; Numbers 28:9-10).
Then, Jesus tells them, “Something greater than the temple is here. But if you had known what this means, ‘I desire mercy and not sacrifice,’ you would not have condemned the guiltless.” What is greater than the temple, and all the religious rules that accompany it? Mercy. For the sake of mercy, Jesus breaks the law repeatedly.
Finally, Jesus claims his own authority. “For the Son of Man is lord of the Sabbath.” Basically, “I’m Jesus, so I’ll do what I want.”
As a bonus, to drive the point home, he immediately goes out and breaks the Sabbath again (Matthew 12:9-14).

Jesus Wants You to Pick and Choose, too!

As Jesus did all these things, his disciples watched and learned. They knew that Jesus wanted them to follow his example. In John 14:12, Jesus says, “Very truly, I tell you, the one who believes in me will also do the works that I do and, in fact, will do greater works than these, because I am going to the Father.” When Jesus ascended, he gave his followers the Holy Spirit, who would lead them in all truth. The Holy Spirit makes rule-following obsolete, as it was for Jesus. Instead, our law is love and mercy. We don’t need to ask, “Should I avoid this?” or “Can I do that?” We are not children seeking permission, not knowing what will please the Parent. Jesus makes it simple: anything that flows from love and mercy will be acceptable to God. So, as Saint Augustine put it, “Love God, and do what you will.”

But Didn’t Jesus Say He Came to Fulfill the Law?

At this point, a conservative reader may ask, “But, didn’t Jesus say he came to fulfill the law? And that the law must remain until everything is accomplished?’ Yes! That’s some good Bible reading you’ve done there! Here it is, from Matthew 5:17-20:

“Do not think that I have come to abolish the Law or the Prophets; I have come not to abolish but to fulfill. For truly I tell you, until heaven and earth pass away, not one letter, not one stroke of a letter, will pass from the law until all is accomplished. Therefore, whoever breaks one of the least of these commandments and teaches others to do the same will be called least in the kingdom of heaven, but whoever does them and teaches them will be called great in the kingdom of heaven. For I tell you, unless your righteousness exceeds that of the scribes and Pharisees, you will never enter the kingdom of heaven.

Jesus demonstrated what it would look like to evaluate and disregard certain laws for yourself. But his disciples did not do so without his supervision until after Jesus accomplished everything he set out to do. What does this mean? From the cross, Jesus declared, “It is accomplished (John 19:30).” People needed the law up until that point. But, with Jesus’s last breath, he fulfilled the law. Christians don’t need to keep it anymore.

Be sure to check out my next article, “Picking and Choosing: Why Selective Bible Reading is Okay” I’ll discuss how the apostles took Jesus’s example to heart, and you can, too.