Lev. 19-20
I just want to mention, before I get to my main thought, that this is the second time God has mentioned not being partial to the poor in court. I note this because it flies in the face of the concept of “equity”. Somebody being better off than somebody else does not automatically make the former an oppressor and the later oppressed. Justice should be served regardless of social status. Moving on…
So my main thought is regarding God’s statement in vs. 1, “You shall be holy, for I the LORD your God am holy.” I mentioned yesterday how God’s laws seem to be largely about having His people behave and do things differently than the cultures around them. As it turns out, that is precisely what being “holy” means. The Hebrew word means “to be set apart for a purpose.” When God says He is holy, He is basically saying that there is none like Him; He is separate from ALL creation. So when He tells the Jews (who are a representation of all of God’s people) to be “holy”, He is setting them apart from those who do not belong to Him.
It seems that this is what is at the heart of all the laws – do things differently; do not be self-serving and recognize that God is above all. Be holy. The last section of chapter 20 (vs. 22-26) seems to confirm this idea – “…you shall not walk in the customs of [other nations]”, “I am the LORD your God, who has separated you from the peoples…that you should be mine.” We, as God’s people, should be different from the world around us.
Mark 9:30-50
Jesus teaches His disciples things that He does not teach the general population. He has set them apart for the purpose of carrying out His mission after He is gone. I think our world has the concept of being set apart all wrong. People think being set apart makes you special; more important somehow. But that is not what Jesus teaches here. Jesus sets people apart to do as He did – to give up his rights to power and privilege in order to serve others. He became last and least so that we might be put first. We, in turn, must become last and least in order to serve others.
I think that children in Bible times were considered the “least” in society. After all, they really have nothing to offer anybody. And I think that’s why Jesus used a child to make this point. When you do for those who can do nothing for you in return, you know you are doing for the other’s sake and not your own. You are making yourself less to make somebody else more. And that, it seems to me, is at the heart of being set apart for Christ.