Discussion Jumpstarter
Study leader reference - not a definitive answer
Question 5
Erasmus’s Greek New Testament helped people see they were “called to do something beyond… the Old Testament” by “lay[ing] our lives down”; what picture of God is assumed when Christians believe the New Testament raises the bar beyond permitted Old Testament actions, and what parts of Jesus’ teaching do we most resist reading that way?
Another way to ask: If the New Testament calls Christians to go beyond what the Old Testament allowed, what does that assume about what God is like? Which parts of Jesus’ teaching do we most resist reading as a higher standard?
Discussion Jumpstarter
Direct Answer
The transcript assumes a picture of God who calls New Testament disciples into deeper self-giving love—especially enemy-love—even beyond what was permitted under the Old Testament. The parts most resisted are Jesus’ calls to “love your enemies” and to “lay our lives down” instead of defending ourselves.
- The speaker says medieval Christianity largely held “just war theory,” allowing self-defense.
- Erasmus’s Greek New Testament let people see “what Jesus said, what the apostles said.”
- They concluded they were “called to do something beyond what we were allowed to do in the Old Testament.”
- Specifically: “We were actually supposed to lay our lives down, and we were supposed to love our enemies that way.”
- The speaker ties Anabaptist nonresistance to Jesus’ teaching: “their interpretation of Jesus’ teaching of love your enemies.”
- He quotes the thrust of Jesus’ teaching: “You heard… but I say unto you.”