Matthew 5:17-20 – Jesus' fulfillment of the Law
Jesus continues teaching on the mountain (Sermon of the Mount). He told His purpose was to fulfill the Law. He promised that all will be fulfilled. Then He cautioned to not teach law breaking and to be more righteous than the Pharisees. (The Law includes the first 5 books and the Prophets in the Old Testament. It includes the 10 Commandments found in Exodus 20.)
The OT Law was all about moral laws which regulated behaviors. Jesus set the example of how to live and behave because He was without sin. The OT Law called for an unblemished sacrificial lamb for the forgiveness of sins. Jesus became the sacrificial lamb who sacrificed His life for our sins. He was the perfect sacrifice because He was sinless.
Obedience to God is not about the rules, but transformation of the human heart. The Pharisees and the teachers of the law were obedient to the law, but that was not what Jesus wanted. They were considered righteous in the public eye, but righteousness is not what you do when in public, but how you are in private.
Are you known as a
religious person or a righteous person?
How
do you act in secret?
Matthew 5:21-48 – Living to a Higher Standard
Jesus used illustrations that refer to the Law of the Old Testament.
Murder
The OT Law says, "Do not murder." - Ex. 20:13, but Jesus raised a new standard by which we should live. The people probably thought they were behaving and living okay. After all they didn’t kill anyone. Jesus gave a higher standard for anger by teaching that if anyone is angry with his brother without cause, he will be subject to judgment like murderer. – Matt. 5:21-22. “Anyone who hates his brother is a murderer, and you know that no murderer has eternal life in him.” – 1 John 3:15. In Matt. 5:23-26 we are told if we have openly sinned against someone, we must confess to God and then apologize to the person against whom we have sinned before we can offer our gifts to God. We are to settle matters quickly with adversaries even if taken to court.
We all murder, because we get angry with others. Take it to the Lord in prayer and pray for them and for your feeling toward them to change. To resolve anger ask God for help, confront the anger, examine why you are angry, and change your expectations. Go to that person or write them a note. Take some action and settle it quickly. “In your anger do not sin. Do not let the sun go down while you are still angry, and do not give the devil a foothold.” – Eph. 4:26.
Are you holding on to anger?
Pray for the person you are angry with. It's hard to hold a grudge when you are praying for someone. Anger does not lead to murder. According to Jesus anger is murder. Anger and hate blinds, but forgiveness heals.
Adultery
The OT Law says, "Do not commit adultery." - Ex. 20:14. Marriage is sacred and adultery is wrong. Jesus said, - "But I tell you that anyone looks at a woman lustfully has already committed adultery with her in his heart." - Matt.5:28. Adultery is a sin. When playing with it in your mind, cut it off. Stop and do what you have to do to flee from such thinking. It's OK to look and admire someone, but it's that constant stare in wanting them with deep desire that is sinful. Sometimes we are indifferent to it until we are affected.
With whom other than your spouse do you have a desire for?
Divorce
The OT says, "Anyone who divorces his wife must give her a certificate of divorce." - Deut. 24:1. Now days it is common to divorce instead of working out problems and letting God have a chance to heal the marriage. God instituted marriage as a lifelong commitment between a man and a woman. God does not approve of sin and He never commands divorce. Divorce is never desirable, but Jesus permits it only for marital unfaithfulness. – Matt 5:32. 1 Cor. 7:15 says if an unbeliever walks out of the marriage, let him go and don’t feel guilty. God said, "I hate divorce", but He never said "I hate divorced people." Anyone who has sinned in matters of divorce and remarried, there is comfort. Jesus forgives this sin like He does all other sins.
Oaths
Words are sacred to God, so say and do what you say. Always speak the truth. To lie is a sin. There are some phrases that make us think the person is untruthful – “to be honest with you”, “I swear”, “I’m not lying” of if they say the same thing over and over trying to convince you what they are saying is true. Jesus said to just say what you mean and mean what you say.
An Eye for an Eye
People usually want to hurt people who have hurt them. In the OT this law was made because often when someone was hurt it led to fights between families. The law wanted to limit this. Jesus said now we should turn the other cheek and show true humility and real love. Christians are not to take matters into their own hands, but surrender their rights. God is the one to take revenge. It belongs to Him. He also said we should not hold tight to your possession, but be generous.
Is there someone you need to forgive and pray for?
Love Your Enemies
We are to love our enemies and be perfect as our heavenly father is perfect. “Love your neighbor as yourself.” – Lev. 19:18. Who is your neighbor? Your neighbor is every human being. The best way to love your enemy is to pray for them.
Jesus also tells us to be perfect. We know we will never truly be perfect in this life, but we are to try by living a godly life. If we lived the way Jesus has told us in this chapter, we would be perfect. To be truly perfect we would never hate, never slander, never lust, never cheat, never covet, never lie but always be truthful. We would always love our neighbors even our enemies. We would live by the Spirit (Gal. 5:16), obey God (Phil. 2:2-13), put off old self and put on the new self (Eph. 4:22-24). We would think about things that are noble, right, pure, lovely, admirable, excellent, and praise worthy (Phil 4:8).
Relationships would change if we obeyed Jesus’ words. It would be a much more peaceful world if we loved our enemies. Our relation with God would be better, because we are obeying His commands. When offended, we should look at it as an opportunity to witness.
We see the attributes of God and Jesus in these passages. We see love, faithfulness, mercy, perfection, all-wise, and goodness.
Do others see these attributes in you?
Principle: Christians are meant to be different inwardly and outwardly.
Does this chapter in Matthew speak to the Pharisee in you?
Join me here next week as we continue our study of Matthew -- I encourage you to trust in Jesus.
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