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TO FULFILL THE LAW–WITH LOVE
TO FULFILL THE LAW–WITH LOVE Matthew 5:17-48 Key Verse: 5:17 “Do not think that I have come to abolish the Law or the Prophets; I have not come to abolish them but to fulfill them.” As we studied last week, Jesus began the Sermon on the Mount talking about eight types of people who are blessed by God. The things that made these people blessed all had to do with their inner lives not their outward appearance. This was a great contrast to the teaching of the Pharisees, who emphasized outward actions, claiming self-righteousness. To some, Jesus’ words may have sounded revolutionary because they were so different than the religious leaders. They may have begun to wonder whether Jesus was trying to abolish the Law and the Prophets. However, in today’s passage Jesus declares that he didn’t come to abolish the Law but to fulfill the Law and the Prophets. Moreover, Jesus also said that anyone who wanted to enter the kingdom of God would have to attain a righteousness surpassing the Pharisees. Then Jesus goes on to teach us the true meaning of the Law and the Prophets – the Law and the Prophets are more about our inner person rather than our outward appearance. First, Jesus fulfills the Law and the Prophets (17-18). Look at verse 17. “Do not think that I have come to abolish the Law or the Prophets; I have not come to abolish them but to fulfill them.” Some people who call themselves Christians claim that Jesus teaching frees them from the Old Testament law altogether. They even want to discard the Ten Commandments. They claim they are Christians, but their lives don’t reflect this. Their lives don’t look any different than ungodly people. Such people do not understand Jesus. Jesus does not abolish the Law or the Prophets. Rather, Jesus fulfills the Law and the Prophets. How does Jesus do so? In the first place, Jesus respected the Law as the very word of God. Look at verse 18. “I tell you the truth, until heaven and earth disappear, not the smallest letter, not the least stroke of a pen, will by any means disappear from the Law until everything is accomplished.” If we look around at God’s creation it is easy to become amazed at its size, its beauty, its power, it intricacy and its seeming permanence, but someday the Bible says that the heavens and earth will all disappear. 2 Peter 3:10 says, “But the day of the Lord will come like a thief. The heavens will disappear with a roar, the elements will be destroyed by fire, and the earth and everything in it will be laid bare.” Jesus says that until that moment comes, not the smallest letter, not the least stroke of a pen will by any means disappear from the Law. In other words, we can trust the Law of God. The Law of God is just as majestic and solid as the universe that we can see. To Jesus the law of God was infallible, perfect and full of power to defeat our enemy Satan. In chapter 4, we saw how Jesus defeated the devil by quoting from this Law written in the Psalms. Jesus didn’t add anything to these words or take anything away he simply used them as they were to defeat Satan. Jesus knew that the Bible is God’s word and it will accomplish what God intends for it to accomplish. This is more certain than the ground we walk on. In the second place, Jesus fulfills the Law through his perfect obedience. One theme of Matthew’s gospel is the repetition of the word “fulfill.” Jesus’ virgin birth, Jesus’ escape to Egypt, Jesus’ return from Egypt, Jesus’ life in Nazareth, and Jesus’ ministry in Galilee all fulfilled the words of the prophets. Further, Jesus’ healing ministry (8:17), Jesus’ ministry as the Servant of Israel (Mt 12:17), Jesus’ teaching in parables (Mt 13:14,35), Jesus’ triumphal entry as King of the Jews (Mt 21:4), Jesus’ arrest and betrayal (Mt 26:54,56;27:9) all fulfilled specific prophecies from the Old Testament. John’s gospel explains this well. On the cross, Jesus knew that everything had been completed. But there was one more word of Scripture to fulfill. So Jesus said, “I am thirsty.” They gave him a taste of wine vinegar, fulfilling Psalm 69:21. Then Jesus said, “It is finished,” and breathed his last. Jesus had lived in conscious obedience to God’s written word from the beginning of his life to the end without a hint of rebellion, and without making even one mistake. Jesus offered himself to God as a perfect sacrifice. Among all people who have ever lived in history, only Jesus did this. In the third place, Jesus fulfills the Law with his sacrifice for our sins on the cross. When God gave the law to Moses, He gave an elaborate system for worshiping. At the center of this system was the sacrifice of animals to make atonement for man’s sin. When men sin we break our relationship with the holy God, and the only way God gave us to make atonement for this was through blood sacrifice. Leviticus 17:11 says, “For the life of a creature is in the blood, and I have given it to you to make atonement for yourselves on the altar; it is the blood that makes atonement for one’s life.” Yet, the blood of an animal is not equivalent to the blood of a man who is made in God’s image. These animal sacrifices anticipated the coming of Jesus. Hebrews 9:14 says, “How much more, then, will the blood of Christ, who through the eternal Spirit offered himself unblemished to God, cleanse our consciences from acts that lead to death, so that we may serve the living God.” Jesus is the Lamb of God who takes away the sin of the world (Jn 1:29). Hebrews 9:28 says in part, “...Christ was sacrificed once to take away the sins of many people....” In this way, Jesus’ sacrifice fulfilled the Law. Second, your righteousness must surpass that of the Pharisees (19-20). Jesus obeyed the Law and the Prophets absolutely because they were the very words of God and Jesus taught his disciples to do the same. Look at verse 19. “Anyone who breaks one of the least of these commandments and teaches others to do the same will be called least in the kingdom of heaven, but whoever practices and teaches these commands will be called great in the kingdom of heaven.” Jesus’ disciples should practice and teach the Law just as it is written to the last letter. Look at verse 20. “For I tell you that unless your righteousness surpasses that of the Pharisees and the teachers of the law, you will certainly not enter the kingdom of heaven.” The Pharisees and teachers of the law lived very disciplined lives, observing all kinds of rituals and ceremonies. They were very proud of what they did how their lives looked outwardly, but they missed the point of God’s Law. God’s Law is not about outward appearances it is about our inner person and our inner attitude toward God and our neighbors. Romans 3:20 says, “...no one will be declared righteous in (God’s) sight by observing the law; rather, through the law we become conscious of sin.” The Pharisees’ self-righteousness was unacceptable to God. This begs the question, how can we have righteousness that surpasses that of the Pharisees? Outwardly, we can’t outdo the Pharisees ceremonial righteousness. It must be done through the transforming of our inner lives through God’s grace. Romans 3:21-22 say, “But now a righteousness from God, apart from law, has been made known, to which the Law and the Prophets testify. This righteousness from God comes through faith in Jesus Christ to all who believe.” When we accept Jesus righteousness our inner lives are transformed and we can truly love God and love our neighbors. Third, Jesus teaches how to practice the law with love (21-48). In verses 21-48, Jesus teaches his us how to understand the law spiritually, not legalistically. Jesus teaches us what God’s intentions for us are through His Law. Jesus is really teaching us the heart of God in these verses. Look at verses 21-22. “You have heard that it was said to the people long ago, ‘Do not murder, and anyone who murders will be subject to judgment.’ But I tell you that anyone who is angry with his brother will be subject to judgment. Again, anyone who says to his brother, “Raca,” is answerable to the Sanhedrin. But anyone who says, “You fool!” will be in danger of the fire of hell.’” What Jesus is really saying here is that anger is the same as murder, but why would he say this? Throughout history there have been many people who thought they kept the sixth commandment because they never actually killed anyone. However, Jesus taught that anyone who is angry with his neighbor breaks this commandment and deserves the same punishment as that of a murderer. Why? It is because the root of murder is anger. People don’t murder others because they are full of joy, they do it because they are full of anger. We all get angry at others sometimes so no one is blameless from Jesus’ interpretation of the law. Then what should we do? Look at verses 23-24. “Therefore, if you are offering your gift at the altar and there remember that your brother has something against you, leave your gift there in front of the altar. First go and be reconciled to your brother; then come and offer your gift.” When we approach God to make an offering in an effort to have a right relationship with Him, he first looks at our relationships with others. Every human being is made in the image of God, so in order to have a right relationship with God, we have to have right relationships with our neighbors. To God, it is more important that we be reconciled to our neighbor than to bring Him an offering, because if we can’t have a right relationship with our neighbor who we can see and who is created in the image of God, how can we have a right relationship with him? Jesus also teaches us the importance of reconciling as quickly as possible. Look at verses 25-26. “Settle matters quickly with your adversary who is taking you to court. Do it while you are still with him on the way, or he may hand you over to the judge, and the judge may hand you over to the officer, and you may be thrown into prison. I tell you the truth, you will not get out until you have paid the last penny.” Look at verses 27-28. “You have heard that it was said, ‘Do not commit adultery.’ But I tell you that anyone who looks at a woman lustfully has already committed adultery with her in his heart.” Here Jesus is saying that lust is just as serious as open act of adultery. Many people claim that they are free to think whatever they like, including lustful fantasies, and as long as they don’t hurt anyone, it is okay. Jesus says it is not okay. A man who indulges in pornography has committed adultery in his heart. Likewise, a woman who dresses so as to entice physical attraction can cause a man to lust after her and is equally guilty. Even exchanging hot text messages, provocative e-mails, or passionate phone conversations are all equivalent to adultery. Yet in our society, lust is often regarded as normal. Marketers use lust to sell products by attaching glamorous actors or actresses to just about anything from cell phones to hedge trimmers. Many recent movies are more like pornography. Yet so often in our society, we think of this as normal. To Jesus this is not normal it is deadly serious. Look at verses 29-30. “If your right eye causes you to sin, gouge it out and throw it away. It is better for you to lose one part of your body than for your whole body to be thrown into hell. And if your right hand causes you to sin, cut it off and throw it away. It is better for you to lose one part of your body than for your whole body to go into hell.” Of course, it is not the eye or the hand that causes us to sin. Even if we gouged and cut off all of our body parts we would still be sick with sin. Sin resides in the heart and it is only the blood of Jesus which can cleanse us and make us pure. So we must depend absolutely on Jesus. Still, we must realize the seriousness of lust and take every preventive measure possible to avoid falling into the sin of lust. Look at verses 31-32. “It has been said, ‘Anyone who divorces his wife must give her a certificate of divorce.’ But I tell you that anyone who divorces his wife, except for marital unfaithfulness, causes her to become an adulteress, and anyone who marries the divorced woman commits adultery.” Here Jesus is saying that divorce causes adultery and therefore it is deserves the same punishment. The teaching Jesus quotes is rooted Deuteronomy 24:1-4. Moses said that if a man found something indecent in a woman he could give her a certificate of divorce and send her away, and she could remarry. God gave this part of the Law to Moses as a concession to a hardhearted people and it was intended to protect the woman and make divorce difficult because it required a formal written certificate that would have been done publically, However, the Pharisees used this Law to say that divorce was permitted for any reason the man saw fit to use. Liberal Pharisees interpreted the words “something indecent” to be anything from speaking critically of her husband in the presence of his parents to poor cooking. They thought it was okay, but Jesus says that divorce, for any reason except marital unfaithfulness, causes adultery. God does not see things in mere legal terms. God looks at the heart. One who breaks a marriage vow taken in the presence of God has broken faith with God and man. A certificate of divorce does not make it right. Jesus said plainly that divorce causes adultery. The punishment is eternal condemnation in the fire of hell. In verses 33-37 Jesus deals with a problem common in his day. This problem has to do with commandment number three, do not misuse the name of the LORD your God. People were taking all kinds of oaths to ensure their credibility, when in fact, they could not keep their oaths. These oaths, which they didn’t keep, just showed that they were liars. Jesus is truth and Jesus hates lies, so He said, “Simply let your ‘Yes’ be ‘Yes,’ and your ‘No,’ No’; anything beyond this comes from the evil one.” Look at verse 38. “You have heard that it was said, ‘Eye for eye, and tooth for tooth.’” These words or their equivalent are found three times in the Pentateuch (Ex 21:24; Lev 24:20; Dt 19:21). These words were given as a deterrent to crime against other people, but also to protect the perpetrators of such crimes from overly harsh punishments. Really, this law was given to teach people to honor God and to honor other people as God’s creatures. However Jesus’ disciples must go beyond legal justice to the heart of God. Look at verses 39-42. “But I tell you, do not resist an evil person. If someone strikes you on the right cheek, turn to him the other also. And if someone wants to sue you and take your tunic, let him have your cloak as well. If someone forces you to go one mile, go with him two miles. Give to the one who asks you, and do not turn away from the one who wants to borrow from you.” Jesus is the ultimate judge. If you trust in him he will bring you justice in the end, you do not need to fight for it humanly. “You have heard that it was said, ‘Love your neighbor and hate your enemy.’ But I tell you: Love your enemies and pray for those who persecute you, that you may be sons of your Father in heaven. He causes his sun to rise on the evil and the good, and sends rain on the righteous and the unrighteous. If you love those who love you, what reward will you get? Are not even the tax collectors doing that? And if you greet only your brothers, what are you doing more than others? Do not even pagans do that?” Jesus said that the second greatest commandment was to love your neighbor as yourself, but the Pharisees had added hate your enemies to this. God never said that. Jesus didn’t hate his enemies. In fact He loved them to the end, asking God to forgive them after they had nailed Him to the cross. Our lives should grow to conform to the life of Jesus. This means that we must love our enemies as well as our neighbors. Chapter five concludes with these words from Jesus, “Be perfect, therefore, as your heavenly Father is perfect.” The only way that we can do this is to let Jesus completely rule in our hearts. Only by the grace of Jesus can we keep the two greatest commands that all the Law and the Prophets hang on: “Love the LORD your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind” and “Love your neighbor as yourself.” |
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