I have been listening to Pensées, by Blaise Pascal on Audible Chapter 45, Section 610 has given me some food for thought that inspires this blog post. Pascal’s analysis may not be politically correct in the 21st Century, but he makes a sound point when we give him some grace.
Leading up to Section 610, Pascal makes the claim that anyone who understands the Jewish religion by its “course of forms” will misunderstand it. He interprets the Law by the prophets who “made it plain enough that they did not interpret the Law according to the letter.”
This distinction is not novel. Paul makes the same point in all of his writings. The Law was temporary. (Galatians 3:19) It was a tutor. (Gal. 3:24) Paul says the Law is just a shadow – specifically that the religious rules about food, drink, festivals, etc. are a shadow of the substance which is in Christ. (Colossians 2:16-17) Jesus, himself, said the religious leaders search Scripture for clues about eternal life, but Scripture bears witness to him. (John 5:39-40; see also Luke 24:27)
Pascal says the Messiah according to “carnal Jews” was to be “a great temporal prince.” They expected a good fortune for them in this life when the Messiah came. In the same vein, Pascal says, “Jesus Christ according to carnal Christians has come to dispense us the love of God and to give us sacraments that should do everything to benefit us without our help.” In other words, “carnal Christians” are also just looking for benefits from God.
Pascal concludes, “Such is not the Christian religion, nor the Jewish.” He says, “True Christians and true Jews have always expected a Messiah that would make them love God and, by that love, triumph over their enemies.” (607) He puts “true Christians” and “true Jews” on the same level. They desire and seek to know and love God for who He is – and not for what He can provide them.
Pascal says, “The carnal Jews hold a midway place before Christians and heathens. The heathens know not God and love the world only. The Jews know the true God and love the world only. Christians know the true God and love not the world. Jews and heathens love the same good. Jews and Christians know the same God. The Jews were of two kinds: the first had only heathen affections; the other had Christian affections.” (608)
Pascal says, among the Christians, the coarser-minded are the Jews of the new law. The carnal Jews looked for a carnal Messiah. The “coarser Christians” believe that the Messiah has dispensed them the love of God. True Jews and true Christians worship a Messiah who makes them love God.” (609) The difference is in desiring the good things God can give them versus desiring God who is good. In these ways, Pascal claims that true Christians are like true Jews, and “coarser Christians” are like the carnal Jews.
And this is where we get to the point. Pascal says that true Jews and true Christians have the same religion. The religion of the Jews seemed to consist of the fatherhood of Abraham, circumcision, sacrifices, ceremonies, the Ark of the Covenant, the temple, Jerusalem, and the Law of Moses. But, Pascal says the true religion of the Jews “consisted of none of those things, but only in the love of God.”
That “true religion” of the “true Jews” sets the stage for Jesus and Christianity. As a proof, Pascal offers the following:
Pascal
God did not accept the posterity of Abraham because “the Jews were to be punished like strangers if they transgressed.”
Bible
“If you ever forget the Lord your God and follow other gods and worship and bow down to them, I testify against you today that you will surely be destroyed.” Deuteronomy 8:19
“Strangers, if they loved God, were to be received by Him as the Jews.”
“Let no foreigner who is bound to the Lord say, ‘The Lord will surely exclude me from his people.‘” (Isaiah 56:3)
“True Jews considered their merit to be from God only, not from Abraham.”
“But you are our Father, though Abraham does not know us or Israel acknowledge us; you, Lord, are our Father, our Redeemer from of old is your name.”(Isaiah 63:16)
“Moses told the Jews that God would not accept persons or sacrifices.”
“For the Lord your God is God of gods and Lord of lords, the great God, mighty and awesome, who shows no partiality and accepts no bribes.” (Deuteronomy 10:17)
“The Sabbath was only a sign.”
“Say to the Israelites, ‘You must observe my Sabbaths. This will be a sign between me and you for the generations to come, so you may know that I am the Lord, who makes you holy.” (Exodus 31:13)
“and in memory of the escape from Egypt”
“Remember that you were slaves in Egypt and that the LORD your God brought you out… Therefore the LORD your God has commanded you…” (Deuteronomy 5:15)
“Circumcision was only a sign”
“You are to undergo circumcision, and it will be the sign of the covenant between me and you.” (Genesis 17:11)
“and after Jesus came it was no longer necessary; but the circumcision of the heart is commanded.”
“Circumcise your hearts, therefore, and do not be stiff-necked any longer.” (Deuteronomy 10:16)
God said He would someday circumcise their hearts
“The Lord your God will circumcise your hearts and the hearts of your descendants, so that you may love him with all your heart and with all your soul, and live.” (Deuteronomy 30:6)
“and the uncircumcised in heart would be judged” – both Gentiles and Jews
“Egypt, Judah, Edom, Ammon, Moab and all who live in the wilderness in distant places. For all these nations are really uncircumcised, and even the whole house of Israel is uncircumcised in heart.” (Jeremiah 9:26)
“The external is of no avail apart from the internal.”
“‘Why have we fasted,’ they say,
‘and you have not seen it?
Why have we humbled ourselves,
and you have not noticed?’
“Yet on the day of your fasting, you do as you please and exploit all your workers. (Isaiah 58:3,4)
“The love of God is enshrined in the whole of Deuteronomy.”
“This day I call the heavens and the earth as witnesses against you that I have set before you life and death, blessings and curses. Now choose life, so that you and your children may live.” (Deuteronomy 30:19)
“The Jews, for the lack of that love, should be rejected for their offenses, and the heathen chosen in their stead.”
“‘I will hide my face from them,’ he said,
‘and see what their end will be; for they are a perverse generation, children who are unfaithful.‘” (Deuteronomy 32:20)
“‘I revealed myself to those who did not ask for me; I was found by those who did not seek me. To a nation that did not call on my name, I said, ‘Here am I, here am I.’” (Isaiah 65:1)
“Temporal goods are false, and true goods are to be united to God.”
“Blessed is the people of whom this is true; blessed is the people whose God is the Lord.” (Psalm 144:15)
“Their feasts are displeasing to God”
“I hate, I despise your religious festivals; your assemblies are a stench to me.” (Amos 5:21) (also Isaiah 1:11; 66:1-3; Jeremiah 6:20)
“For I desire mercy, not sacrifice, and acknowledgment of God rather than burnt offerings.” (Hosea 6:6)
“That the sacrifices of the Gentiles will be accepted of God, and God will take no pleasure in the sacrifices of the Jews.”
“God will make a new covenant with the Messiah, and the old will be annulled.”
“’The days are coming,’ declares the Lord, ‘when I will make a new covenant with the people of Israel and with the people of Judah.'” (Jeremiah 31:31)
“The old things will be forgotten.”
“Forget the former things; do not dwell on the past. See, I am doing a new thing! Now it springs up; do you not perceive It? I am making a way in the wilderness and streams in the wasteland.” (Isaiah 43:18-19)
The Ark of the Covenant will no longer be remembered.
“When your words came, I ate them; they were my joy and my heart’s delight, for I bear your name, Lord God Almighty.” (Jeremiah 15:16)
“The temple should be rejected.”
“Go now to the place in Shiloh where I first made a dwelling for my Name, and see what I did to it because of the wickedness of my people Israel. While you were doing all these things, declares the Lord, I spoke to you again and again, but you did not listen; I called you, but you did not answer. Therefore, what I did to Shiloh I will now do to the house that bears my Name, the temple you trust in, the place I gave to you and your ancestors.” (Jeremiah 7:12-14)
“The sacrifices should be rejected and other pure sacrifices be established.”
“That the order of Aaron’s priesthood should be rejected, and the order of Melchizedek shall be introduced by the Messiah.”
“The Lord has sworn and will not change his mind: ‘You are a priest forever, in the order of Melchizedek.‘” (Psalm 110:4)
‘The name of the Jews should be rejected and new name be given.”
“You will leave your name for my chosen ones to use in their curses; the Sovereign Lord will put you to death, but to his servants he will give another name.” (Isaiah 65:15
“This last name should be more excellent than that of the Jews and eternal.”
“to them I will give within my temple and its walls a memorial and a name better than sons and daughters; I will give them an everlasting name that will endure forever.” (Isaiah 56:5)
“That the Jews should be without prophets (Amos), without a king, without princes, without sacrifice, without an idol, that the Jews should nevertheless always remain a people.”
“’Only if these decrees vanish from my sight,’ declares the Lord, ‘will Israel ever cease being a nation before me.’” (Jeremiah 31:36)
Blaise Pascal speaks in ways that seem unfamiliar and strange to us, but he understands the arc and sweep of the Bible. The Bible is the history of God’s dealings with man and his unfolding revelation. People throughout history have misunderstood what is important – even God’s very own people who God guided and resided with.
That was true then, and it is true today among people who call themselves followers of Jesus Christ, the Son of God. The human heart has not changed. We want rules to follow so we can call ourselves righteous. We want good things given to us to satisfy our longings.
“True Jews” and true “Christians” (to quote Pascal) know that God alone is righteous and God alone is what we long for. “Seek first the kingdom of God….”
In my own studies and meditations, I am seeing the the significance of God’s promise to Abraham – that he would bless Abraham’s descendants AND bless all the nations through them. It was never just about Abraham and his lineal descendants. It was always about the world – God’s plans and purposes are for His whole creation.
All of Scripture points to Jesus – the Messiah. Jesus carries the thrust of all of Scripture forward in dying – because God so loved the world – so that all who believe in him may live. And Jesus passed on the torch to his followers to take the message of the kingdom of God to Judea, to Samaria, and to the whole world – to bless all the nations by making disciples everywhere we go.
A true believer is one in whom God dwells inwardly, who has internalized God’s righteousness, who has yielded to God in the inward person. Not that a true believer always does the right things or thinks the right tings.
A true believer is a work in progress, and the work being done is the work of the Father, through the Holy Spirit, by and through whom we call, “Abba! Father!” A true believer has relationship with God, the Father, who works within to will and to act according to His good purpose. A true believer is not one who is outwardly Christian, but in whose heart Christ has taken residence.
Navigating by Faith 