Sunday, May 07, 2006

Sanctified By His Commandments

I came across this Torah commentary again this morning and decided to post it here, so I won't forget this message. This is from First Fruits of Zion.


Sanctified by His Commandments

Kedoshim : קדשים - “Holy”
Torah : Leviticus 19:1–20:27
Haftarah : Amos 9:7–15
Gospel : Luke 16,17

Thought for the Week

In his first epistle, the Apostle Shimon Peter quotes this week’s Torah when exhorting his readers to “Be holy.” It is a commandment to ‘be holy.’ Being ‘holier than thou’ is a good thing in as much as we are to be set aside as a holy people. If that requires being different than one’s neighbor, so be it.

Commentary


Leviticus 19. Here is the riddle. To be made holy, a thing must be separated from its context, clearly defined and demarcated, by God. He is the sanctifier. Yet somehow, we are to contribute to that holiness. We are to 'be' holy. The answer to this riddle is in the curious and oft repeated liturgical formula, "who has sanctified us with His commandments."

In Jewish practice, it is customary to preface the performance of a mitzvah with a brief blessing. For example, one who is about to put on the tzitzit is to say, "Blessed are you LORD our God, King of the Universe, who has sanctified us with His commandments and commanded us regarding the command of the tzitzit." Brothers and sisters well-versed in the Apostolic Scriptures might well object to a blessing like this by saying, "I am not sanctified by the commandments; I am sanctified by Messiah’s blood."

We are sanctified by Messiah,[1] by faith in Messiah,[2] by the sacrifice of Messiah,[3] by the blood of Messiah[4] and by His Holy Spirit.[5] These are all true and marvelous statements. Our separation is not by virtue of our own heroic achievement. Rather we have been set apart by Messiah. He is the one who sanctifies, sets apart and makes holy.

Yet sanctity is a cooperative process. God sanctified the Sabbath, and yet He tells us to keep it holy. Sanctity is definition. It is borders. It is limits. We have a role to play in maintaining sanctity. For example, the sanctity of the Sabbath is not dependent upon us at all. Though we profane her for 24 hours, her actual sacred status is not at all diminished. She has been declared sacred by God, and there is nothing we can do to disrupt that sanctity. But we can profane her in regard to our own participation. By profaning the Sabbath, we rob only ourselves of experiencing her sanctity. So too with our sanctity. We are declared holy and separate on the basis of our redemption in Messiah. Our sanctity arises from Messiah’s righteousness, His sacrifice and His blood. Yet we can rob ourselves of experiencing that sanctity by stepping outside of its bounds. If we cross the boundaries and demarcations of our own holiness, we rob ourselves of the sanctity with which Messiah has invested us.


The boundaries of sanctity are none other than the commandments of God. To cross them is to step outside of sanctity. To keep them is to remain within sanctity.

Endnotes1. Corinthians 1:2, 6:11, Hebrews 2:112. Acts 26:183. Hebrews 10:10, 144. Hebrews 10:295. Romans 15:16

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