February 13, 2023

In these directions Jesus uses what would have been a familiar rabbinical rhetorical device where the second statement seeks to deepen, intensify and radicalize the first. Jesus has made clear that he has not come to abolish the law but to fulfill it. The Law has been a gift from God. What Jesus pulls those committed to following him toward is that keeping the mere letter of the law is not enough. Love itself must be the true guide.