2 minute read.
Daily Reading: Deuteronomy 29:1-30:20 ESV, Luke 11:37-12:7 ESV, Psalm 78:1-31 ESV, Proverbs 12:19-20 ESV
Daily Verse: “And he said, “Woe to you lawyers also! For you load people with burdens hard to bear, and you yourselves do not touch the burdens with one of your fingers.” (Luke 11:46 ESV)
NOMIKOS (3544): “An adjective, ‘learned in the law.’ They devoted themselves mainly, but by no means exclusively, to the study of the law. They became jurists rather than theologians and received names which of themselves called attention to that fact.”[I]
Became jurists.
Lawyers, during Biblical times, dedicated their lives to learning the Levitical law. At first, the scribes studied the scriptures, but then they became primarily devoted to understanding the law, becoming “jurists rather than theologians,” as described above. For whatever reason, the lawyers gravitated towards the law more than any other part of scripture.
Some personalities prefer a clear-cut path to take. With 613 Levitical laws in the Old Testament, they covered much ground. No one on earth can keep the Ten Commandments. Only Jesus lived without sin. Which means not becoming a jurist.
Become a theologian.
When I think of ‘lawyers’ in church, memories of broken relationships, deep hurts, and open wounds come to mind. People who cared more about judging others than loving them. If your theology centers around Jesus, you love first and foremost. Jesus didn’t call us to judge; He called us to love.
“And one of the scribes…asked him, “Which commandment is the most important of all?” Jesus answered…And you shall love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind and with all your strength.’ The second is this: ‘You shall love your neighbor as yourself.’ There is no other commandment greater than these.” (Mark 12:28-31 ESV)
Don’t become a lawyer, enforcing the Levitical law. Become a theologian, follow Christ, fulfill the Greatest Commandment, love God and others.
[i] Strong, J., & Strong, J. (2010). The New Strong’s expanded exhaustive concordance of the Bible. Greek Dictionary of the New Testament (p. 172) Thomas Nelson
