Jesus in Context: The Casuistry of the Son of God

In the Gospel reading for the 23rd Sunday of ordinary time (Mt 18:15-20), we are given a glimpse of how Jesus functioned as a Jewish interpreter of Torah much like the Pharisees of Matthew’s Gospel who are, ironically, portrayed as vigorous opponents of Jesus throughout.
            After offering his disciples guidance on how to handle a sinful and recalcitrant brother or sister in the context of the Church (“ekklesia” Mt 18:15-17), Jesus tells them
“Amen, I say to you, whatever you bind on earth shall be bound in heaven, and whatever you loose on earth shall be loosed in heaven” (Mt 18:18; NAB).

Earlier, at Mt. 16:19 (reading for 22nd Sunday in Ordinary Time; Mt. 16:21-27), Jesus gave the same authority to Peter – the foundational “rock” on which the Church would be built.  This authority to “bind” and to “loose” – now extended to the disciples as well – is characteristically Pharisaic in nature, and thus may come as a surprise to some.
            “Binding” and “loosing” are descriptive words reflecting Pharisaic casuistry*, that is, the study and resolution of moral/ethical questions in specific circumstances in light of Torah.  In short, by relaying to his disciples – and earlier to Peter – the authority to “bind” and to “loose,” Jesus was extending his function as THE authoritative interpreter of Torah, to Peter and to the other disciples.
            Throughout Matthew’s Gospel, Jesus is portrayed as actively interpreting Torah, that is, as actively “binding” and “loosing” Torah in response to particular circumstances.  For example, at Mt. 5:28, Jesus “binds” the “commandment” (“mitzvoth” in Hebrew) forbidding adultery to include simply having a lustful thought.  Likewise, at Mt. 12:12 Jesus “looses” the mitzvoth forbidding work on the Sabbath, declaring that healing a sick person on the Sabbath does not constitute working.  Thus, in Jesus’ work of “binding” and “loosing” Torah, he was practicing his religion much like his Pharisaic counterparts.  At Mt. 18:18 (16:19!), Jesus is authorizing his disciples to do the same.
            Finally, a most peculiar and equally astounding aspect of the text is often overlooked.  According to Jesus, what Peter or the other disciples “bind” or “loose” on earth, will likewise be “bound” or “loosed” in heaven!  In other words, God grants human reasoning considerable independence – at least, according to Jesus, the reasoning of Peter and the other disciples.  In fact, in Rabbinic tradition, since God is the one who appoints individuals into positions of authority, not only does God allow their decisions to stand (cf. Mishnah Rosh Hashanah, 2.9), but in some cases, God allows their decisions to stand even if it is contrary to God’s reasoning.
            A story in the Babylonian Talmud* relates how during a debate among a great council of sages, one particular Rabbi Eliezer appeals to God to take his side – since everyone else on the council disagrees with Eliezer.  Subsequently, a voice thunders from the heavens “Why do you dispute with Rabbi Eliezer, seeing that in all matters the halachah* agrees with him!”  Nevertheless, the rest of the council decides that God’s testimony is out of order, and so Rabbi Eliezer’s appeal is for naught (Babylonian Talmud Bava Metzi’a, 59b).  The sequel to this story relates how God laughed with joy at this outcome, delighting in how God’s creatures asserted their reasoning even against God’s.  Such adjudicative “give-and-take” between human and divine is quite characteristic of Judaism as is clear in Genesis 18:22-32, Lamentations, the lament Psalms (cf. Ps 22!), and principally the poetry of Job – who is anything but “patient”!
            In any case, Jesus is likely to have been very familiar with this characteristically Judaic quality of the intricate relationship between God and God’s people.  By authorizing his disciples to “bind” and to “loose,” Jesus was welcoming them into a lively and, at least in God’s eyes, delightfully disputatious relationship with the divine. Thus, in this way, Jesus sanctions their present and future practice of not only interpreting Torah, but also pronouncing doctrinal judgments, absolving sins (cf. John 20:21-23!), and making disciplinary decisions in the Church under the discursive guidance of the Holy Spirit (CCC 553, 1444).

*Key Terms:
Casuistry:  Unfortunately, most Christians today understand the practice of casuistry to be by definition dishonest, hypocritical, and with an eye toward trivialities rather than matters of greater importance.  Indeed, Jesus accuses Pharisees of this very sort of casuistry (Mt. 23:23).  However, the practice of casuistry could have been either benign or malignant, as is the case in many similar situations in life.  That said, examples of benign casuistry are plentiful in the Mishnah (for example, Nedarim, 4.2; 9.8).

Babylonian Talmud:  Further commentary and development of the contents of the Mishnah compiled by Rabbis in Babylonia from the 3rd to the 5th centuries AD.

Halachah:  Refers to the “path one walks” in following God’s law.  Specifically, it is the entirety of the customs, commandments, and divine ordinances (the 613 Mitzvoth!) that a Jew is obliged to follow within the context of the covenant.

Bibliography:
Catechism of the Catholic Church, Urbi et orbi Communications, 1994.

The Babylonian Talmud, Soncino Press, 1990.

Hyman Maccoby, Jesus the Pharisee, SCM Press, 2003.

Jacob Neusner, The Mishnah: A New Translation, Yale University Press, 1988.

E P Sanders, Jewish Law from Jesus to the Mishnah, SCM Press, 1990. 

E P Sanders, Judaism: Practice & Belief, 63 BCE-66CE, SCM Press, 1994.

Yaacov David Herzog, The Mishnah: Berakoth – Peah – Demai, Soncino Press, 1980.