THE LAW AND THE PROPHETS

Last week we kicked off the series, Sermon on the Mount talking about the Beattitudes and how when we get it, others get it.

I asked you all to go home and talk through things with your kids. Our kids are all learning about trusting God in some way, whether it’s with our friendships, or the big things in life, or when we just don’t get it or feel like it.

Some of you may have struggled with how to talk through these things with your kids, so we’ve decided to help. We searched far and wide and came across a resource to help you present the Beattitudes to your kids in a way they can understand.

check this out...

Video

special thanks to our student department for that translation...

Just having fun in church.

We really do want you to have talks at home around the dinner table…even if your dinner table is your minivan, with chick-fil-a or ham sandwiches, on your way home from practice. We as parents are called to be the greatest spiritual influence in our kid’s lives and we, as your church, want to help you with that.

we are partners in guiding your kids to life in Christ.

Well, we are in week two of our message series, Sermon on the Mount, and today we are only covering 4 verses…last week 16, this week 4. But there is so much in these 4 verses that we’ll miss it if we are not careful.

Have you ever found yourself asking if the OT is necessary or important. Maybe you’ve heard people talk about the OT doesn’t apply to us because that’s the Law but we’re under grace...

Well, it is true, we are under a covenant of grace, thankfully, but I think Jesus would disagree with the thought of the OT not applying to us.

You may be wondering if I am saying that all of those OT laws apply to you and me…us course not…otherwise all you tattooed people would be in trouble, I would have to give up bacon and shrimp, and a myriad of other things.

What I am saying, what I believe Jesus is going to say to us in the text today, is that the OT very much applies to us…not in the same way it applied to the children of Israel, but it definitely applies.

Today, we are going to break down the lesson Jesus is teaching us, and I am going to give you 3 thoughts to takeaway.

Let me start by saying this. Whenever we read the Bible, we have to ask the question, “What was the meaning of what the author/speaker was saying to the audience they were speaking to, and how does that meaning apply to us?”

Let’s look at what Jesus has to say in Matthew 5:17-20 ““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. For truly, I say to you, until heaven and earth pass away, not an iota, not a dot, will pass from the Law until all is accomplished. Therefore whoever relaxes 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 does them and teaches them will be called great in the kingdom of heaven. For I tell you, unless your righteousness exceeds that of the scribes and Pharisees, you will never enter the kingdom of heaven.”

Do not think that I (Jesus, the Messiah) - the one who had come to set them free. Free from what? Roman occupation? All the religious laws and stuff? They did not have a clear understanding of what the Messiah was actually coming to do.

He goes on to say - have come to abolish the Law or the Prophets. Abolish = to do away with.

The Law and the Prophets = what we call the Old Testament. For them the Law was found in the Torah or Pentateuch in Greek…the first 5 books of our Bible. Genesis - beginning

Exodus - the exit from Egypt

Leviticus - the Laws that taught the people how to live in the presence of a Holy God. We are bored by it and think all the sacrifices were weird and stuff…but all of that was required because God was living in their midst. Hold on to that thought.

Numbers - a numbering of the people by tribes - and stories of God’s continued deliverance.

Deuteronomy - the 2nd law. Not 2nd as in different 2nd as in the 2nd time it was given. 1st was in Exodus with the 10 commandments and such. Deuteronomy was towards the end of the time in the wilderness…a reminder before you go into the Promised Land if you will.

The Prophets - all the other books that tell the story of the nation of Israel, God’s continued deliverance and provision, of God’s judgment of disobedience and His reward for obedience, and His fore-telling of the Messiah and the ultimate deliverance that would come through Christ.

BUT TO FULFILL THEM.

1st thought- Jesus confirms that the OT is for us.

look at what He says next

Matthew 5:18 “For truly, I say to you, until heaven and earth pass away, not an iota, not a dot, will pass from the Law until all is accomplished.”

To understand how the OT is for us, we have to understand what Jesus means by all is accomplished.

We have to look at the Law in three categories

Ceremonial

Judicial

Moral

Ceremonial law is all the feasts, etc.

Judicial law is all of the sacrifices, etc.

Moral Law is all about how to live, how to treat others, etc.

Jesus was born under the Law, lived a perfect life under the Law

Died as the perfect sacrifice under the Law

And rose victoriously from the grave.

In His death and resurrection, Jesus fulfilled the judicial Law (no more sacrifices needed) - we have been justified (a legal term) by the blood of Jesus. And His resurrection ushered in the new covenant of grace (which is why people think the OT no longer applies to us). The new covenant of Grace removes us from the Ceremonial Law - there’s no more temple…in fact, at Jesus death the veil in the temple was torn in two and the temple itself was later destroyed. You and I are the temple of God now…the question for us is how do we care for the temple of God (a different message for a different day). I wrote a book years ago (it’s not very good)…but one chapter in it is Does Your Temple Match God’s Blueprint. I am going to rewrite it and rebrand it when I get older and have some free time…I’ll keep you posted.

So, Jesus death and resurrection fulfilled the ceremonial and judicial Law, so what’s left…the Moral Law. How are we to live and treat others. The 10 Commandments. How to Love God and How to Love others…the Great Commandment - Love the Lord your God with all your heart, soul, mind, and strength…and love your neighbor as yourself.

Here’s the 2nd thought - The OT teaches us about the character and nature of God.

There is no better way to get a glimpse of God’s holiness, His justice, His disdain for sin, His wrath towards disobedience, His judgment, His forgiveness, His goodness, His ability to provide and deliver - even in the worst of circumstances, than by reading the OT.

You see His power on display in creation. You see His compassion in the Garden after Adam sinned - God made a way fro redemption and took the time to clothe them. You see His judgment but also His provision and deliverance in the Flood. You see His sovereignty as He chose Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob and brought about His plan of redemption through the seed of Abraham. You see His deliverance as He heard the cries of His people in slavery and brought them to a land flowing with milk and honey. You see His holiness on display as not even Moses was allowed to see His face - and Scripture says that Moses talked with God as a man speaks with His friend. You see His holiness as the Prophet Isaiah in Isaiah 6 said I saw the Lord, high and lifted up…and said woe is me for I am undone for my eyes have seen the Lord.

You see His continued love and deliverance, and provision throughout the rest of the OT as He speaks through His prophets to offer hope and salvation to those who don’t deserve it. you see His judgment of disobedience in those same books - as the Children of Israel are carried away in captivity but only after God warned them through the Prophets.

God’s character is on full display in the OT and many of us don’t know how to relate to God because we don’t see Him for who He is. Scripture says that God is the same yesterday, today, and forever. He does not change…which means the same things that upset Him in the OT upset Him in the NT.

He still wants you to not have any God’s before Him and to love your neighbor, and to care for foreigners and the oppressed and hurting, and to be obedient to His word, and to live righteously. The grace for us is that we don’t have to make sacrifices and cleanse ourself to do it. Jesus was the perfect sacrifice and we are washed in His blood so when the Father looks at you all He sees is the blood of Jesus poured out over you…so instead of receiving His wrath from righteous judgment, you receive His peace, love, comfort, blessing because you are now a joint heir with Christ.

3rd thought - we have a responsibility to teach others.

Matthew 5:19-20 “Therefore whoever relaxes 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 does them and teaches them will be called great in the kingdom of heaven. For I tell you, unless your righteousness exceeds that of the scribes and Pharisees, you will never enter the kingdom of heaven.”

We have a responsibility to learn and know the character and nature of God and to teach others to know Him and obey Him.

What does Jesus say in the Great Commission - Matthew 28:19-20 “Go therefore and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, teaching them to observe all that I have commanded you. And behold, I am with you always, to the end of the age.””

One of my favorite verses and one I use as a guide for me as a pastor, teacher, husband, and father - Ezra 7:10 “For Ezra had set his heart to study the Law of the Lord, and to do it and to teach his statutes and rules in Israel.”

We have a responsibility.

So what has Jesus done in these first 20 verses of Matthew 5. The first 16 taught us how we are to live as Christ followers - they laid out the defining characteristics of our life and taught us that when we get it others will get it. Thes next four verses provide the foundation for everything else Jesus discusses in relation to the Law. You will see that it is all related to the “Moral” category of the Law as we talk about things like anger, lust, divorce, finances, prayer, loving your neighbor, and so on.

I want to challenge you today. Look at the OT and allow it to show you the holiness and righteousness and judgment of God. Ultimately, that will reveal to you your need for a Savior. The Law was never meant to save us because we are incapable of living up to it. We could never keep all of it - and if you break one part, you’ve broken all of it. But Jesus, our Savior King, came to fulfill the part we couldn’t live up to by living up to it for us and dying in our place.

Have you received what Christ has done for you?

As Jesus was talking to the crowd that day, I imagine there were some who thought to themselves, I have struggled to keep the Law. i’ve never been good enough. and you may be feeling the same way today. Guess what, you’re not good enough, but Jesus is more than enough and He offers you all that He is so you can be made the righteousness of God in Him. And He gives you His Holy Spirit to live in you, give you power to be His witness, and conform you to His image. All you have to do is receive His free gift of salvation and submit to His will and His word.

Reflection:

How do I view the OT?

Does my temple match God’s blueprint for my life? Am I living according to His will and word or am I living according to my own will.

Family time:

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