Think not that I am come to destroy the law, or the prophets: I am not come to destroy, but to fulfil. For verily I say unto you, Till heaven and earth pass, one jot or one tittle shall in no wise pass from the law, till all be fulfilled. Whosoever therefore shall break one of these least commandments, and shall teach men so, he shall be called the least in the kingdom of heaven: but whosoever shall do and teach them, the same shall be called great in the kingdom of heaven. (Matthew 5:17-19)
Whatever some Christians may think Christ said in the verses following Matthew 5:17-19, one thing is for certain: Christ did not abolish Yahweh’s1 righteousness as reflected in His moral law. (See Part 1.) Otherwise, you and I would be without a Savior, with no means for forgiveness of sins and no hope of eternal life. We would also have no immutable standard by which to conduct ourselves as His ambassadors here on earth.2
As demonstrated in Part 2, Christ upheld Yahweh’s law pertaining to the woman caught in adultery in John 8. Not only did He not change the divine law regarding adultery, He upheld it and all related judicial requisites perfectly. He did the same in every incident in the Gospels associated with Yahweh’s law. To have done otherwise eliminates Him as our sinless sacrifice (1 John 3:43) and our hope of salvation.
Parable of the Talents
The Parable of the Talents presents another instance often interpreted in such a way as to theoretically make Christ a violator of Yahweh’s law and thus a sinner unable to even save Himself:
For the kingdom of heaven is as a man travelling into a far country, who called his own servants, and delivered unto them his goods. And unto one he gave five talents, to another two, and to another one…. Then he that had received the five talents went and traded with the same, and made them other five talents. And likewise he that had received two, he also gained other two. But he that had received one went and digged in the earth, and hid his lord’s money. After a long time the lord of those servants cometh, and reckoneth with them. And so he that had received five talents came and brought other five talents, saying, Lord, … behold, I have gained beside them five talents more. His lord said unto him, Well done, thou good and faithful servant: thou hast been faithful over a few things, I will make thee ruler over many things: enter thou into the joy of thy lord. He also that had received two talents…. Then he which had received the one talent came and said, Lord, I knew thee that thou art an hard man, reaping where thou hast not sown, and gathering where thou hast not strawed: And I was afraid, and went and hid thy talent in the earth…. His lord answered and said unto him, Thou wicked and slothful servant, thou knewest that I reap where I sowed not, and gather where I have not strawed: Thou oughtest therefore to have put my money to the exchangers, and then at my coming I should have received mine own with usury. Take therefore the talent from him, and give it unto him which hath ten talents. For unto every one that hath shall be given … but from him that hath not shall be taken away even that which he hath. And cast ye the unprofitable servant into outer darkness: there shall be weeping and gnashing of teeth. (Matthew 25:14-30)
If, in chiding the wicked servant, Christ was informing him he should have augmented his talent by putting it into what amounted to a bank that paid interest on such deposits, we’ve lost our Savior. Such a recommendation would have been a violation of what the law teaches regarding usury:
If thou lend money to any of my people that is poor by thee, thou shalt not be to him as an usurer, neither shalt thou lay upon him usury. (Exodus 22:25)
And if thy brother be waxen poor…. Take thou no usury of him, or increase: but fear thy God; that thy brother may live with thee. Thou shalt not give him thy money upon usury…. (Leviticus 25:35-37)
Thou shalt not lend upon usury to thy brother; usury of money, usury of victuals, usury of any thing that is lent upon usury: Unto a stranger thou mayest lend upon usury; but unto thy brother thou shalt not lend upon usury…. (Deuteronomy 23:19-20)
Accordingly, Nehemiah was incensed with the Judahites4 charging usury of their brethren:
And I was very angry…. Then I … rebuked the nobles, and the rulers, and said unto them, Ye exact usury, every one of his brother. And I set a great assembly against them…. Also I said, It is not good that ye do: ought ye not to walk in the fear of our God…? I … pray you, let us leave off this usury. (Nehemiah 5:6-10)
King Solomon also warned against usury:
He that by usury and unjust gain increaseth his substance [such as by putting it into a bank that pays interest on such deposits, making the depositor a partner with the bank], he shall gather for him that will pity the poor. (Proverbs 28:8)
The New American Standard Bible renders Ezekiel 18:5-8 in part as “…if a man is righteous … he does not [among other crimes such as idolatry, murder, and adultery] lend money on interest.” Why is it that a righteous man doesn’t lend money on interest? We don’t need to ask this question regarding murder, adultery, and idolatry. But we do regarding usury because interest banking has become culturally acceptable.
A righteous man doesn’t commit idolatry because it’s a violation of the Second Commandment. He doesn’t commit murder because it’s a violation of the Sixth Commandment. He doesn’t commit adultery because it’s a violation of the Seventh Commandment. And a righteous man doesn’t lend money on interest because it’s a violation of the Eighth Commandment.
‘Thou shalt not commit usury” is a statute that helps to explain the Commandment “Thou shalt not steal.” In other words, usury is theft. With a stroke of a pen or a keyboard entry, it creates the illusion of money by which people are exploited and economically enslaved:
The rich ruleth over the poor, and the borrower is servant [slave, NASB] to the lender. (Proverbs 22:7)
In cowboy terms, “debt doubles the weight on your horse and puts another in control of the reins.” This is true regardless the financial status of the borrower. Granted, the poor generally suffer more from usurious loans than do the rich, but both the rich and the poor alike are slaves to the banker until their debt is paid. All debt enslaves, but when usury is involved, the weight of slavery is compounded many times over. The banker “owns” the borrower (regardless his financial standing) until the loan has been satisfied, which is protracted whenever usury is involved.
The Hebrew word translated “usury” provides insight into Yahweh’s reason for condemning usury. Neshek is defined as to “strike with a sting (as a serpent), figuratively, to oppress with interest on a loan.”5 This definition also does not make a distinction regarding the financial status of the borrower. Poor and rich alike are “stung” by usury.
The righteous man
According to Ezekiel 18:5-8, a righteous man does not lend money on interest, or by extension partner with those who do. Consequently, if Christ recommended increase by usury, He was not righteous but a violator of the Eighth Commandment, and thus a sinner no different than you and me.
If this is what your theology reflects, I suggest you look for another interpretation to this parable. Praise God, there is another interpretation that not only averts making a sinner of Christ but one that demonstrates His perfect concord with Yahweh’s law on usury.
John 6:38 informs us that Christ came to do His father’s will, not abrogate it. So let’s consider this Parable from the paradigm that Christ did not change Yahweh’s law on usury but instead upheld it. For this, we’ll have to look to Luke’s account of this same parable:
…a certain nobleman went into a far country to receive for himself a kingdom, and to return. And he called his ten servants, and delivered them ten pounds, and said unto them, Occupy till I come…. And it came to pass, that when he was returned, having received the kingdom, then he commanded these servants to be called unto him, to whom he had given the money, that he might know how much every man had gained by trading…. And another came, saying, Lord, behold, here is thy pound, which I have kept laid up in a napkin: For I feared thee, because thou art an austere man: thou takest up that thou layedst not down, and reapest that thou didst not sow. And he saith unto him, Out of thine own mouth will I judge thee, thou wicked servant. Thou knewest that I was an austere man, taking up that I laid not down, and reaping that I did not sow: Wherefore then gavest not thou my money into the bank, that at my coming I might have required mine own with usury? And he said unto them that stood by, Take from him the pound, and give it to him that hath ten pounds. (Luke 19:12-24)
In addition to accusing the nobleman (who represented Christ) of being a harsh man, the wicked servant accused him of taking up what he had not laid down and reaping what he had not sown. In other words, this servant accused his master of being a thief.
Immediately following these false accusations, the master, in turn, responds by declaring “Out of thine own mouth will I judge thee, thou wicked servant.” In other words, the master would judge his servant by his own standard:
For with what judgment ye judge, ye shall be judged: and with what measure ye mete, it shall be measured to you again. (Matthew 7:2)
Because the wicked servant considered his master a thief, the very least he could have done was to then have stolen for him in the easiest possible way—by depositing his master’s money in a bank that paid interest.
In this parable, Christ was not condoning theft by usury. Quite the contrary, He was judging the wicked servant with his own words and thereby upholding Yahweh’s law by identifying usury for the theft it is.
This interpretation is essentially the same as found in the 1599 Geneva Bible notes:
To the bankers and money changers. Usury or loaning money at interest is strictly forbidden by the Bible, (Exo 22:25-27; Deu 23:19-20). Even a rate as low as one per cent interest was disallowed, (Neh 5:11). This servant had already told two lies. First he said that the master was an austere or harsh man. This is a lie for the Lord is merciful and gracious. Next he called his master a thief because he reaped where he did not sow. Finally the master said to him that why did you not add insult to injury and loan the money out at interest so you could call your master a “usurer” too! If the servant had done this, his master would have been responsible for his servant’s actions and guilty of usury.
Christ did not alter the law on usury. He validated it. He identified usury as theft, a violation of the Eighth Commandment.6
Despite how antinomians and even some pronomians interpret this parable, we still have a sinless Savior who upheld His father’s law perfectly. This is true, not only in this instance, but in every single case found in the Gospels. He, thus, remains our sinless propitiation, preserving His rightful claim as our Savior, and protecting the integrity of Yahweh’s Word.
Related posts:
“Redeeming” Christ From Those Who Would Make Him a Sinner, Pt. 1
“Redeeming” Christ From Those Who Would Make Him a Sinner, Pt. 2
Law and Kingdom: Their Relevance Under the New Covenant
- YHWH, the English transliteration of the Tetragrammaton, is most often pronounced Yahweh. It is the principal Hebrew name of the God of the Bible and was inspired to appear nearly 7,000 times in the Old Testament. Regrettably, it was deleted by the English translators. In obedience to the Third Commandment and the many Scriptures that charge us to proclaim, swear by, praise, extol, call upon, bless, glorify, and hold fast to His name, we have chosen to memorialize His name here in this document and in our lives. For a more thorough explanation concerning important reasons for using the sacred name of God, see “The Third Commandment.”
- “Whosoever committeth sin transgresseth also the law: for sin is the transgression of the law.” (1 John 3:4)
- Israelites from the southern house of Judah. The house of Judah consisted of the tribes of Judah and Benjamin. Only Israelites descended from these two tribes are ever identified as Jews (better rendered Judahites) in the Bible. The ten northern tribes were known as merely Israelites. For more regarding this important distinction, see The Mystery of the Gentiles: Who Are They and Where Are They Now?
- James Strong, “Hebrew and Chaldee Dictionary,” The New Strong’s Exhaustive Concordance of the Bible, s.v. neshek (Nashville, TN: Thomas Nelson Publishers, 1990) p. 81.
Thank you. A new perspective, and correct one, on verses that I’ve never really grasped until now.