Matthew 5:20-26 Laws part 2

Matthew 5:20-26
“Laws Written on Flesh Instead of Stone”

The Laws
part 2
It Begins In The Heart

The connection between the principles of the kingdom and the law

I broke the Sermon on the Mount  down into 5 sections

1. Beatitudes     Matthew 5:3-16

2. Laws   Matthew 5:17-48

3. The Lord's Prayer  Matthew 6:1-18

4. Money   Matthew 6:19-34

5. Warnings   Matthew 7:1-29

The Laws

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.

Murder Begins in the Heart

“You have heard that it was said to those of old, ‘You shall not murder, and whoever murders will be in danger of the judgment.’ But I say to you that whoever is angry with his brother without a cause shall be in danger of the judgment. And whoever says to his brother,‘Raca!’ shall be in danger of the council. But whoever says, ‘You fool!’ shall be in danger of hell fire Therefore if you bring your gift to the altar, and there remember that your brother has something against you, leave your gift there before the altar, and go your way. First be reconciled to your brother, and then come and offer your gift. Agree with your adversary quickly, while you are on the way with him, lest your adversary deliver you to the judge, the judge hand you over to the officer, and you be thrown into prison. Assuredly, I say to you, you will by no means get out of there till you have paid the last penny.

Review From Last Week

1. Rules For Interpretation

1. Sermon on the mount is not new law given to us by Jesus

1. It is the Spirit of the law Jesus is emphasizing

1. While Paul considered himself blameless where the law was concerned, he knew the law was spiritual but he was carnal, so he realized that he had never really kept the law

2. Jesus is not laying down a code of ethics for us. He is going to show to us how vain it is to try to please God through the works of the law

3. The whole thought is to bring us to grace so we will realize we need Him

2. If our interpretation makes the scriptures ridiculous and impossible then our interpretation is wrong

3. If our interpretation makes the passage contradictory to the whole body of scripture, our interpretation is wrong

2. In verse 20 the Lord told us that our righteousness had to exceed that of the Pharisees and the Teachers of the law if we are to enter the Kingdom of Heaven

1. He now shows us what this righteousness entails

2. The next five statements by Jesus are similar to the last five of the Ten commandments 

1. Each one deals with our relationships with other humans

1. The sixth command protects our neighbor's life (Exodus 20:13)

1. You shall not murder

2. The seventh command protects our neighbor's family (Exodus 20:14)

1. 1.) You shall not commit adultery

3. The eighth command protects our neighbor's estate (Exodus 20:15)

1. 1.) You shall not steal

4. The ninth command protects our neighbor's reputation (Exodus 20:16)

1. 1.) You shall not bear false witness against your neighbor

5. The tenth command forbids the very attitude of heart that is at the root of so much of man's mistreatment of each other (Exodus 20:17)

1. 1.) You shall not covet your neighbor's house; you shall not covet your neighbor's wife, nor his male servant, nor his female servant, nor his ox, nor his donkey, nor anything that is your neighbor's

2. The Lord elaborates and correctly explains the true heart of the law of God

3. The truly righteous are those belonging to the Kingdom of Heaven

4. They belong because of the righteousness given to them by Christ through their faith (2 Corinthians 5:21)

5. Last time we covered the fact that murder begins in the heart

6. This week we will cover the second that ties in with the 7thcommandment “Adultery”

3. Matthew 5:21-22 Jesus is specifically speaking to the way the Jews thought that if did not physically murder someone then you are fulfilling the 6thcommandment, “Thou shall not murder”

1. Jesus wanted His disciples to know the true intent God wanted from the law

1. Murder begins in the heart

2. Look at (Exodus 22:2-3)

1. Verse 2 seems to contradict the idea that Christians should not kill in self-defense

2. At first glance, this seems to support the “self-defense in one’s home” argument

3. However, like (Numbers 35:16-28), the distinction is accidental verses intentional

4. Verse 3 explains this: “If the sun has risen on him [the killer], there shall be guilt for his bloodshed

3. God differentiates between a killing committed when it is dark and one done when it is light

1. The meaning is not that light gives us a license to break God's law

2. Darkness makes it difficult to determine the level of force needed to restrain an unknown intruder

3. The law gives the homeowner the benefit of the doubt in assuming he would not deliberately use lethal force since that falls under intentional or premeditated murder (Exodus 20:13)

4. Jesus Christ came to fulfill the law, and James also exhorts us to “fulfill the royal law” (James 2:8)

1. By loving our neighbors as ourselves, Jesus teaches that murder begins in the heart

2. Everything has to do with the intention of the heart

3. Even if the act of killing is not followed through (Matthew 5:21-22)

5. This instruction reiterates that murder is either accidental or intentional, based upon what is in ones heart

1. When applied to (Exodus 22:2-3), Christ’s words show that when a thief is killed in the dark

1. There is reason to believe that the homeowner acted without animosity or premeditation

2. However, if the homeowner kills a thief when nothing in the circumstances hinders his judgement

1. There is a chance he could have restrained him without killing him

2. If he could have restrained without killing but killed instead, his heart is probably evil

3. Vigilante justice is wrong because its aim to inflict revenge not justice usually at extreme cost

4. The sixth commandment does not mean that no one can take a life

1. God commanded the Israelites to kill the enemy and their enemies women and children in the OT

2. God also gives government the authority to take human life for punishment of crimes (Genesis 9:6)

3. The Bible therefore does not support pacifism, but rather condones capital punishment

5. The Lord is teaching here that murder begins in the heart of man

1. To hate a fellow human is to murder in God’s eyes

1. 1. This is because man is made in God’s image, to hate man is to hate his maker

2. To insult man is to insult his maker

1. The word fool or “Raca” (Aramaic for fool) denoted someone who rejected God and was evil

2. Anyone calling someone these words was condemning that individual to hell

3. It is important to note that to call someone foolish is not the same as condemning them

1. The Lord called people foolish, Proverbs is full of quotes about a fool

2. Paul calls the Galatians foolish (Galatians 3:1)

3. Both used the word in a sense of doing foolish things, not in hatred as an insult to their character

4. So, to use the word foolish in a derogatory tone is to be equal to a murder(1 John 3:15)

5. The fulfillment of this commandment, is to love our neighbor as ourselves (Leviticus 19:18 and Matt 5:43-44)

6. The Lord uses two examples to prevent hatred or anger towards a fellow human being

1. With a believer, if at Church you realize you have offended him/her, then immediately stop what you are doing and sort out the problem(Matthew 5:23-24)

2. With your enemy, if he is taking you to court, then make amends before end up suffering extremely harsh punishment for what you owe(Matthew 5:25-26)

1. Verse 26 is in response to the fact that they had debtor prisons

1. You would not get out of jail until every cent was paid back

2. While in prison you could make no money

3. Often they would add interest onto what you owed

4. In time you could owe a lot more than you initially owed

5. Unless you had a relative or friend to pay your debt, you could spend the rest of your life in prison