Don’t think that I came to abolish the Law or the Prophets; I didn't come to abolish but to fulfill. For truly I say to you, until heaven and earth pass away, not the smallest letter or stroke shall pass from the Law until all is accomplished. Whoever then annuls one of the least of these commandments, and teaches others to do the same, shall be called least in the kingdom of heaven; but whoever keeps and teaches them, he shall be called great in the kingdom of heaven. For I say to you that unless your righteousness surpasses that of the scribes and Pharisees, you won’t enter the kingdom of heaven. Matthew 5.17-20
This is our next section of the SOM for
our study. Before we dig into this one,
we’ll need to explain some terms, so get ready for a little vocabulary
lesson. Quit whining … I can hear you
from here … just suck it up and be a grown-up!
Law and Prophets =
This was the way they referred to the bible in Jesus’ day, what we call the
“Old Testament,” and what I call “The Jewish Testament.”
Kingdom of Heaven =
The Kingdom of God, or just plain: the kingdom.
From the days of Moses until Jesus, Israel was a physical kingdom, with
physical kings like King David & Solomon.
Although Jesus’ audience didn't yet understand it, Jesus was talking
about the Kingdom version 2.0 – the spiritual, eternal kingdom. We become subjects in this kingdom when we
are baptized/born again, and remain in the kingdom forever. If you have been immersed in water to have
your sins washed away and to receive the gift of the Holy Spirit (John 3.5
& Acts 2.38), you are now a part of God’s Kingdom, and Jesus is your
king.
Scribes = Bible scholars of
Jesus’ day were called “Scribes” or sometimes “experts in the law” or
“Lawyers,” but in each case it refers to the same guys … bible scholars, like
people today who have a PhD in Old Testament studies.
Pharisees = these were the
religious elite of their day. Think of
your personal religious leaders, preachers and people you respect. Francis Chan, Rick Warren, Steve Smith, Kit
Rae, Mark Driscoll … these are the guys that would be Pharisees. They get a bad rap today because Jesus picked
on them a bit, but it’s misleading because really the Pharisees were the only
ones worth criticizing … the other fringe groups were a waste of Jesus’
time.
OK, so now what does all this mean for
us?
First, let’s see what it meant for
them.
Jesus was telling his disciples
something about their bible, and comparing themselves to the religious elite. He was saying that they not only needed to
follow their bible, but they needed to surpass its ‘requirements’! Can you imagine? You have to be a better disciple than Francis
Chan or you aren't even saved????
And now let me explain what Jesus meant
by saying they needed to “surpass” the righteousness of the good guys. He meant to learn to have a change of heart,
not merely follow rules, or have stricter rules. Jesus has (in the beatitudes) already taught
them about things that please God. Note
they weren't “rules” one must obey … rather, they were qualities or
characteristics of a person that flow from the heart. Jesus didn't say “Thou shalt be meek,” he
said that meek disciples are blessed. In
the coming section you’ll read the rules (laws) of the Old Testament and see
that Jesus uses these laws to teach God’s true intent. The rule or law, for instance, was: Thou
shalt not murder, but God really didn't even want them to hate.
This is important, so please remember
this: Jesus isn't giving ‘new’ rules, instead he’s giving guidance for people
who truly want to obey God and live in His service! Also … Jesus isn't giving “stricter” rules or
advocating we live even more closely to the law than the Pharisees, but again,
it goes to a person’s motives.
If your motives are truly pure, you
will grow from a state of ignorance, weakness and naivete into a condition
where you have increasingly more knowledge and faith and love. When you first start out as a disciple you
need some basic rules to live by, but as you grow and mature, you’ll discover
the kingdom is about serving the King, not just blindly following rules. If your heart isn't pure, you’ll bend the
rules to justify bad behavior. If your
heart is pure, you’ll bend them when it’s necessary to further the
kingdom.
Please post questions or comments here
if you have them, for I know this is a bit strange. There will be more posts on this topic coming
up shortly, and especially as we get into the next section of the SOM we will
be revisiting this again.
For now, do this: reconsider your own
heart, the beatitudes, and God. Many
people see God as nothing more than a judge, but God is more than that – He has
a personality, and He loves you and He loves the people you will see today so
much that He sent His Son to die for them.
The way you treat God and your neighbor is everything, and
rule-following is nothing. In fact, for
those who truly desire to please God … rules are nothing more to us than guidelines
for ‘how’ to love. They help us answer
the question: what do we do in this situation to show love?
If you love your neighbor, help him
grow, be merciful to him when he repents, and remain patient with him when he
needs it … then you can make God smile.
If making God smile is your top priority in life, then these lessons
will come alive for you. If you can only
think of God as a cop or a school principle and you have to ‘obey’ the rules,
you’ll never understand.
Are you ready to try to focus all your
attention on God and others, and none on yourself?
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