The Laws
part 1
When we started on Jesus most famous sermon I told you I broke the sermon down into 5 sections
Beatitudes --------------------- Matthew 5:3-16
Laws ---------------------------- Matthew 5:17-48
The Lord’s Prayer ------------- Matthew 6:1-18
Money ------------------------- Matthew 6:19-34
Warnings ----------------------- Matthew 7:1-29
In the following 6 lessons we learn that the Law given to Moses was like the material it was written on. In that I mean, the people saw it written on stone, but they never truly accepted it in their hearts. Thus, while they understood the law was to be followed, they never allowed it to become a part of them personally, and thus it was nothing for them to break the laws. They figured as long as they said they were sorry to GOD with an animal sacrifice, they felt justified. Jesus, opened the eyes of men by pointing out the law must be in their hearts, and as such, it is their heart that GOD see's. So regardless of their sacrifices through the years, they never truly changed inside. The heart of all problems is the heart, and Jesus is ready to expound upon this.
First a reminder from last week’s study where we learned that each of the beatitudes carry a strong promise of ”ultimate good”for those who develop the blessed life
It is this idea of “Ultimate Good” that sets us up to be the “Salt & Light”
As “Salt” we preserve the word so it can help bring light to a dark world
Like salt we will irritate those wanting to live in darkness, this alludes to the 4thand 8th beatitude
The light we bring is the “Light of The Lord” that brightens men’s dark hearts
A Christian who lives and acts like non-Christians is hiding the light of God in them, how can you influence the secular world in a positive way when you live like the secularists
(17)“Do not think that I came to destroy the Law or the Prophets. I did not come to destroy but to fulfill. (18) For assuredly, I say to you, till heaven and earth pass away, one jot or one tittle will by no means pass from the law till all is fulfilled. (19) Whoever therefore breaks one of the least of these commandments, and teaches men so, shall be called least in the kingdom of heaven; but whoever does and teaches them, he shall be called great in the kingdom of heaven. (20) For I say to you, that unless your righteousness exceeds the righteousness of the scribes and Pharisees, you will by no means enter the kingdom of heaven."
Matthew 5:17-20
Today we begin on Matthew 5:17-20, “Laws written on Flesh Instead of Stone”
In verse (17) Christ tells us that He did not come to destroy the law or the prophets, “But to fulfill the law” Let’s first look at this portion of the verse
Over 300 prophecies of the prophets completely fulfilled by Christ
From His birth on through His life, and ultimately His death on the cross and His resurrection
“I have come as it is written of me in the volume of the book
“Search the Scriptures”
The law was ultimately fulfilled by Christ, the moral, judicial, and the ceremonial laws
Moral laws, the ten commandments, He lived up to them completely
Judicial laws, the laws particular to the state of Israel as set up my Moses (Mosaic Law)
Ceremonial laws, sacrificial and 0offerings for sin
In Israel’s ceremonial laws lies the understanding of the cross
Christ, as the perfect offering was sacrificed for our sins. He made complete atonement
At His death the veil separating the Holy of Holies was rent from top to bottom, and altar destroyed
What was the purpose of the Mosaic Law?
Paul said the law was to make us aware of our sins
Romans 7:7 “For I would not have known covetousness unless the law said, “You shall not covet”
In Romans 7:7-25 Paul goes on to say that, because the law taught him what is right and what is wrong, he now knows that what he does naturally is sin, because the flesh desires the sin. He goes on to state that while his mind serves the Lord, he realizes that his flesh still desires to serve the law of sin.
Romans 8:3-4 Ultimately Paul states that through Christ all things are possible and that Christ will give us the spiritual strength to fight the desires of the flesh
The law was given to reveal our helplessness so that we would see the we need a redeemer
Because the law can never make one righteous or forgive one’s sins
The law lead us to Christ, the one who could lead us from the death of sin as the ultimate redeemer
“Think not that I am come to destroy the law, or the prophets”
This will be a assertion that some will make, that He tried to destroy the law of Moses
Jesus will be accused of breaking the Law of Moses, especially the Sabbath day law
It should be noted that He did not break the law, only their traditional interpretation of the law
Jesus healed on the Sabbath day, according to their tradition that constituted a violation of the law
Jesus will say many things about the keeping of the Sabbath day
In Luke we read Jesus asking the Pharisees after healing a man from dropsy, “Is it lawful to heal on the Sabbath?” (accumulation of water in the body; distressing, and commonly incurable)
In essence Christ was telling the Pharisees, “My Father works on the Sabbath and so do I”
The Sabbath was made for man, not man for the Sabbath
Christ is our Sabbath rest, in Him we receive the ultimate rest
"Come to Me, all who are weary and heavy-laden, and I will give you rest.”
Matthew 11:28
They sought to put the teaching of Jesus in opposition to the law of Moses
The question of divorce. Matthew 19
The woman taken in the act of adultery, they wanted two results. John 8:4-11
If He condemned her, He was not a friend of the sinners who looked to Him for forgiveness
If He let her go, He then despised and disallowed the law, thus they could condemn Him
“I did not come to destroy, but to fulfill."
The law looked forward to the coming Messiah
All of the sacrifices were but types and shadows of things to things to comeColossians 2:16-17
Jesus told the Jews go search the Scriptures for Him John 5:39
Two disciple had their eyes opened to the truth in Scripture by Jesus Luke 24:27
Later that same evening back in Jerusalem Luke tells us that Luke 24:44
Paul would expound upon the way Christ made us free from the Law by fulfilling it Romans 8:2-4
The statement is made that the law was fulfilled in us. He did not say that it is fulfilled by us
Jesus is the only one who ever fulfilled all of the law
Jesus always did as His Father commanded Him John 14:31
He asked the Jews one day, which of them could convict Him of sin John 8:46
John tells us that Jesus never sinned 1John 3:5
Yet He took upon Himself the guilt of our sin.
Paul tells us that all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God Romans 3:23
He became sin for us 2Corinthians 5:21
Thus the law and the prophets were fulfilled in Jesus.
In Jeremiah 31:31-34 We learn that God says He will write a new Covenant in the flesh of men’s hearts instead of cold stone tablets
“Till heaven and earth shall pass, not one jot or tittle shall in no wise pass from the law, until all be fulfilled.”
The word, translated jot was the Hebrew yod, it was like an apostrophe. The tittle was the serif, the little foot at the bottom of the letter.
These words of Jesus concerning the law are remarkable indeed
What a strong affirmation of the law, stronger than any Rabbi had ever dared to make
The Pharisee's spent their lives trying to fulfill the law, but they missed the fulfillment by a mile
Truth is that in just a moment Jesus will shock His disciples in the declaration, "Except your righteousness exceeds that of the scribes and the Pharisee's, you will in no wise enter the kingdom of heaven."
The reason they missed more than just the mark, but the whole target, we will discuss in a subsequent study.
How important it is to know that Jesus was not talking of our fulfilling the law, but His fulfilling the law.
”Whosoever shall break one of the least of the commandments and teach men so, shall be called the least in the kingdom of heaven.”
The law of God has not been abrogated, What has not been fulfilled by Christ we still follow
It still sets the standard by which God wants us to live
John tells us that sinners transgress the law 1John 3:4
The prophet Micah said, "He has shown thee O man what is good and what the Lord requires of thee."
Paul said, "I consent to the Law, that it is good." It is in Christ we finds the strength to obey it
David said, "The Law of the Lord is perfect."
Like a schoolmaster, the teaches us right from wrong Galatians 3:24
What is the result of my coming to Jesus Christ?
As I yield my life to Him, He gives me the power to keep the law.
It is not that as Christians that we are lawless, or that we are free to live any old way, and indulge in our fleshly appetites
As Christians we are free from the bondage of sin, freed by Christ to not live the old way
“For I say unto you, That except your righteousness shall exceed the righteousness of the scribes and Pharisees, ye shall in no case enter into the kingdom of heaven”
Who were the Scribes and Pharisees?
Scribes copied the many Mosaic and traditional oral laws on parchments for the teachers
The scribes acted as secretaries of state, whose business it was to record in writing decrees in the name of the king
After the deportation to Babylon they were out of a job as the Kingdome ceased to exist. Their reputation for being meticulous in transcribing parchments made them invaluable to the religious leaders. Soon it was their duty to make copies of the law and teaching others what the law said
Ezra and Nehemiah were a scribes
Scribes had a saying, “Take the Law and turn it over and over again to find out what God wants of us.” What they meant was that they could come up with more and more regulations as to what God requires, and thus they would have more rules of how a righteous Jew should live.
They followed these many rules only for men to see them.
Pharisees read and interpreted scripture to the people, They attempted to strictly observe the law
a.) Paul was a Pharisee before his conversion
The righteousness of many of the men in these groups were very suspect
There observance of the law was external
Christ called them white washed tombs, clean on the outside but inside they were dead
They observed the law only partially
They paid tithes of their spice gardens, yet omitted weightier matters of judgment, mercy and faith.
The had the wrong motives
Only wanted men to see that they were righteous, but in fact they were posers
In this same sermon Jesus would later speak upon this kind of behavior
“And when you pray, you shall not be like the hypocrites. For they love to pray standing in the synagogues and on the corners of the streets, that they may be seen by men. Assuredly, I say to you, they have their reward. But you, when you pray, go into your room, and when you have shut your door, pray to your Father who is in the secret place; and your Father who sees in secret will reward you openly."
Matthew 6:5-6
It is not good enough to do what is right, it must be for the right reason
Is it the fear of prison that keeps one lawful, or the love of God’s precepts?
Is it the fear of losing one’s spouse that keeps us from committing adultery, or the love of God
Later Christ will say it is the heart that we must watch above all Matthew 5:28
We need true righteousness to enter into the kingdom of God
We need to do things from the heart
Christ is the standard of righteousness
Not the righteousness of works, but the righteousness of the spirit
Righteousness that God sees, not works that men see
We obtain righteousness by trusting in Jesus
Paul teaches us to that trusting in Christ is where we will get our righteousness Romans 4:5
When we trust in Jesus, He blesses us with the fruits of the spirit Galatians 5:22 and Ephesians 5:9
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