2 Corinthians 3:7-11. 7Now if the ministry of death, carved in letters on stone, came with such glory that the Israelites could not gaze at Moses’ face because of its glory, which was being brought to an end, 8will not the ministry of the Spirit have even more glory?
Yesterday we connected Pentecost to the Jewish Feast of Weeks, the harvest festival where people would offer their loaves of bread to God.
Today we will connect Pentecost to the giving of the Law, the Ten Commandments, on Mount Sinai. You might remember that Pentecost is fifty days after Passover. Fifty days after the very first Passover, when the Israelites left Egypt, they came to Mount Sinai where Moses received the Law from God.
In today’s scripture, the Apostle Paul is comparing the giving of the Law that was carved in letters on stone (the Ten Commandments) and the giving of the Holy Spirit. He’s saying that the Law came with a whole lot of glory, but the Spirit came with even more.
Why is that? Why is the Holy Spirit way better than the Law?
What does Paul call the Law of God? A ministry of death! Yikes. Why would he call it that? Because he knows that the Law puts us under rules that we could never obey. The Law demands that we love everyone but it doesn’t give us the power to do that. In the end, God’s Law is what makes us guilty before God. Unless you obey all God’s rules perfectly, then you are guilty. And the penalty for our sin is death – a ministry of death.
Now, this does not mean that God’s Law is bad. Not at all. It’s actually perfect and holy. It’s not the Law that is bad, it’s us that are bad. When the Law of God sentences us to death it’s just doing its job. When God’s law reveals our sin, it has succeeded in its goal – condemnation.
All of this is why we needed a better way. A way that does not depend on us at all. We needed a greater glory, the glory of Jesus. This will require a new Pentecost, and with it a new gift. A greater gift. The ministry of the Spirit.
What is this ministry of the Spirit? The ministry of the Spirit is when the Holy Spirit makes us like Jesus. How? By making us like the cross of Jesus – loving, sacrificial, giving, and brave.
Always remember, you won’t become more like Jesus by simply trying to obey all the rules. We can’t obey to law and become like Jesus. We have to be made like Jesus by the ministry of the Spirit who changes us from the inside out as we trust God’s love for us more and more.
You: In what ways has trying to keep all the rules been hard for you?
You with Jesus: What is the difference between trying to let the Law change you and being changed by the Holy Spirit and his love?
Prayer: Father, I know just obeying the Law or rules can’t really change me. Help me to obey because your Holy Spirit has already changed me, not so that he will change me. Amen.
TLICfamily 