The Law (Matthew 5:17-20)
Sermon on the Mount • Sermon • Submitted • Presented
0 ratings
· 5 viewsNotes
Transcript
Sermon
Sermon
Key passage
Key passage
“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 tell you, 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.
Therefore anyone who sets aside one of the least of these commands and teaches others accordingly 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.
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.
Introduction
Introduction
Recap series to this point
Sermon on the Mount- Jesus’ sermon that introduces the Kingdom of God
This was a sermon given to normal, everyday people.
It was a people that didn’t go to seminary, it was a people that had regular jobs and lived regular lives.
They wanted to live good lives and be Godly, but the Jewish people had God’s law that was given to them.
God’s law was good, but it was a heavy burden
God’s law was holiness
Humanity is unholy
Unholy, sinful people will never hold up to God’s law.
It isn’t that their actions were bad, although sometimes they were.
The issue was their hearts.
But the things that come out of a person’s mouth come from the heart, and these defile them.
For out of the heart come evil thoughts—murder, adultery, sexual immorality, theft, false testimony, slander.
These are what defile a person; but eating with unwashed hands does not defile them.”
As we navigated the Beatitudes, we discovered that the issue was not our actions, it was our hearts
The evil, sinful, lawlessness in our lives come from the heart within us.
The issue was not, “How does God change our actions enough that they can achieve righteousness.”
The issue was “How does God give us new lives and new hearts that generate righteousness.”
The issue is the heart
The actions are the fruit
These people had lived under and understood the law (behaviors) that needed to be done
But, the heart had never been dealt with.
Jesus introduced the Kingdom and they quickly saw that this was an issue of the heart
Beatitudes (Matthew 5:3-12):
What heart change looks like to us
Salt and Light (Matthew 5:13-16)
What heart change looks like to the world around us
This idea of the Kingdom of Heaven represented a massive change in things.
Story of Victor Belenko
He knew life was better in the United States
He didn’t know what that meant.
He still carried with him the customs and culture of the Russian world.
But he was granted American citizenship.
The Jewish people at this time had to be thinking similar things as Victor
The Kingdom of God is good. I want to be a part of the Kingdom of Heaven.
But what does that mean?
Freedom doesn’t mean that there is no law.
But freedom changes who we are under our law.
Now Jesus addresses the law.
Does a heart change meant that we are no longer held to a standard of righteousness?
Does it mean that we can do whatever we want?
What is the meaning and value of our actions, if the heart is God’s target?
I think these are questions the people had at that time.
They are also questions we have in our day as well.
If I am saved by grace, what does that mean?
Does grace give me a license to sin?
Or does grace just add to the law and to the rules?
In our passage today, Jesus answers this critical question, “What is the law in the Kingdom?”
Sermon
Sermon
“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.
I want to process through these questions, “What was the law?” “Who were the prophets?” “Why did they matter?”
The people of Israel were descendants of a man named Abraham thousands of years before
God had made a promise to Abraham that the whole world would be blessed through his seed
As God directed and guided this family, they grew into a large population.
Eventually they found themselves in slavery in Egypt. God led them out of Egypt and began building these people into a nation.
A part of that national identity was God’s revelation of Himself to them through His law.
We know this as the 10 commandments.
From this and other direction from God, the nation of Israel was God’s nation.
God was their identity and He was the one who gave them His law.
So the law was what God had given these people about what right and wrong are in His sight.
The prophets were people who gave a message on behalf of God
When we say the “Law and the Prophets”, this was the collection of OT books that consolidated the revelation of God, His nature and His direction to the people of Israel.
How Jesus spoke about the Law and the Prophets would be very important.
If he disregarded the Law and the Prophets, He would be a heretic, and speaking contrary to God.
However, if He affirmed them, He would likely be seen only as a teacher like all of the other rabbis.
Jesus is God.
Jesus could not and would not contradict Himself.
Jesus also could not and would not confine Himself.
Let’s see how Jesus navigates this topic.
Jesus says, “I have not come to abolish the law and the prophets.
Jesus came for good reason, but one of those reasons was not to abolish the law, or the prophets
Jesus didn’t kill the law
The law is good.
What shall we say, then? Is the law sinful? Certainly not! Nevertheless, I would not have known what sin was had it not been for the law.
Paul goes on to say,
So then, the law is holy, and the commandment is holy, righteous and good.
There is nothing wrong with the law. The law is a description of holiness and righteousness before God.
In fact, the law is holy. The law is righteous. The law is good.
Jesus didn’t come to abolish the law because the law is good.
The Law is Present
The Law is Present
This point continues. The past law is not abolished, and Jesus continues talking about the enduring quality of the law.
For truly I tell you, 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.
I want to ask you, have the heavens disappeared? We walked in this morning and there was blue sky with clouds.
Has the earth disappeared? I hope not!
So since the heavens and the earth are still here, Jesus tells us that the law is still present and active.
How much of the law? All of the law.
Not the smallest letter, nor the least stroke of a pen will disappear from God’s law.
Why?
Because the law is good.
The law is holy. The law is righteous. The law is good.
Will there be a finish line to our existence here in this heaven and earth?
Yes there will be.
When we get to that finish line, the law won’t really matter anymore, will it.
This is what Jesus is saying here.
Therefore anyone who sets aside one of the least of these commands and teaches others accordingly 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.
Therefore, lets pause here.
What is the “therefore” there for?
The law hasn’t gone away. So the law is still here and the law must be taught and fulfilled.
Jesus then gives a picture of the Kingdom of Heaven in regard to how the law is presented.
First, there are those who set aside some of the commands of the law and teaches others that it is ok to set aside some of these commands of the law.
Let’s follow the logic
If the law is good, righteous and holy, then setting aside a part of the law wouldn’t be a good idea.
Right is right and wrong is wrong.
These people will be called the “least in the Kingdom of Heaven.”
We will discuss the “least” and the “greatest” parts of this in a minute.
However, there are those who PRACTICE and TEACH others all of the commands of the law.
This is a person who sees the law, understands the law, obeys the law and shares the law with others.
They are not just an empty windbag of opinions.
There is integrity in their message.
The Law must be Practiced
The Law must be Practiced
They will be called great in the Kingdom of Heaven.
Let’s talk about the “Least” and the “Greatest” in the Kingdom of Heaven.
There are quite a few verses that talk about this concept.
At that time the disciples came to Jesus and asked, “Who, then, is the greatest in the kingdom of heaven?”
He called a little child to him, and placed the child among them.
And he said: “Truly I tell you, unless you change and become like little children, you will never enter the kingdom of heaven.
Therefore, whoever takes the lowly position of this child is the greatest in the kingdom of heaven.
Truly I tell you, among those born of women there has not risen anyone greater than John the Baptist; yet whoever is least in the kingdom of heaven is greater than he.
As we look at these passages, we can see that Jesus talks about being great in the Kingdom of Heaven.
Here is the thing, He never explains what that means. So do we know exactly what that means? No.
I will give you the most basic understanding of that in my mind.
The greater you are in the Kingdom of God, the closer you are to the King.
We are called to be Jesus disciples. We are called to follow Him. To love Him. To know Him.
By doing these things, we are changed by Him.
Changed in ways that conform us to His nature.
We don’t change here with selfish motivation to be great in the Kingdom.
We live our lives so He will be great.
Humble yourselves before the Lord, and he will lift you up.
Our greatness in the Kingdom is in direct relation to our humility in this life.
We don’t build our Kingdom. He builds us up in His Kingdom.
We must humble ourselves and live how He calls us to live.
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.
Here we find the third point that Jesus makes about the law.
The Law is the Principle
The Law is the Principle
Jesus then gives the most profound, confusing and encouraging point that pulls this entire passage together.
Unless your righteousness surpasses that of the Pharisees and teachers of the law.
Righteousness in this context is rightly defined as obedience to the law
Jesus says, “You have to follow the law better than the Pharisees and teachers of the law.
Who are the Pharisees and teachers of the law?
Pharisees- Police of the law
They followed all of the rules and made sure everyone else did too.
Is this a bad thing? I think the Pharisees get a bit of a bad rap.
I mean, they did bring the charges that led to Jesus’ crucifixion and they did kill Christians in the early church, but other than that, their purpose wasn’t entirely bad.
They were tasked with making sure everyone lived good, righteous lives.
The problem was when Jesus brought a new understanding of the law, they held to their old ways and rejected God.
Teachers of the Law- Lawyers
The teachers of the law were like the lawyers of that day. They knew the law and ensured that every aspect of the law was defined to every detail.
The Pharisees and Teachers of the Law worked pretty closely together at times.
They held themselves to be the examples to daily society of what the law should look like.
They sanctimoniously walked around, knowing the law and observing the law better than everyone else.
No one could argue with them, because no one knew the law better than them.
Jesus said, “Unless you act better than these guys, you’ll never see the Kingdom of Heaven.
What? Who could do that? Maybe the priests, but no one out there on the mountain, who was listening to Jesus preach could follow the law, let alone know the law better than these guys.
Jesus had set the most intimidating elements of the religious world in front of this audience of common people
The law, the prophets, the Pharisees, the teachers of the law.
The people had to be thinking, “There is no hope!”
Paul highlighted this same sentiment when he wrote the letter to the Romans:
for all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God,
the law had tripped up every one of the people listening.
The law has still tripped up every person who listens to the Sermon on the Mount today.
We are in the same place as the people during Jesus’ time.
We aren’t better than the Pharisees. Even the Pharisees weren’t better than the Pharisees, because they were equal to the Pharisees.
When I say that the Law is the Principle, what I mean is that the law defines holiness and holiness is what is required to be in the Kingdom of God.
I want to go back to Romans 7, what we read a little while ago:
Romans 7:7 (NIV)
What shall we say, then? Is the law sinful? Certainly not! Nevertheless, I would not have known what sin was had it not been for the law. For I would not have known what coveting really was if the law had not said, “You shall not covet.”
Paul says, “Here is the purpose of the law. The law shows us where we fall short. If we didn’t know what holiness was, then we wouldn’t know we were unholy.”
For this, the law is good.
Imagine being handed a blank piece of paper in school and being asked to write the answers to 10 questions or you will fail the class.
You say, “What are the 10 questions?”
I tell you, “I’m not telling you.”
You say, “What is the class?”
I say, “I’m not telling you.”
This would be overwhelmingly frustrating and there would be no way of knowing how to answer those questions.
In the same way, we would have no way of knowing what holiness was and the nature and requirements of God’s expectations if it wasn’t for the law.
And as we said before, we have all fallen short of the glory of God.
so at least now, we know the class and why we failed.
That is the purpose of the law.
The Law is Fulfilled in Jesus
The Law is Fulfilled in Jesus
How are we to fulfill the requirements of the law?
I am so happy you asked!
Let’s move back to the first verse of our passage:
“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.
Jesus came to fulfill the law and the prophets.
He knew none of us could do it
If you want to understand what that means, let me ask you this question: “What does it mean to fulfill the law, ‘Do not murder’?”
The fulfilment of that law would be that you did not go around killing people.
Not murdering is the fulfilment of the law, “Do not murder.”
Jesus says, “The law is there and it is good. But the law will not nor can it make you righteous.”
There is only one fulfillment of the law, and that is Jesus.
Either I do it myself, but I am a sinner, so I cannot fulfill the law.
Or Jesus is the fulfillment of the law on my behalf.
Which is why in the following verses for the next few weeks, we will hear Jesus say, “You have heard it said...”(law), “But I say...” (fulfilment).
Jesus becomes our law because He is the King.
Therefore, there is now no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus,
because through Christ Jesus the law of the Spirit who gives life has set you free from the law of sin and death.
For what the law was powerless to do because it was weakened by the flesh, God did by sending his own Son in the likeness of sinful flesh to be a sin offering. And so he condemned sin in the flesh,
in order that the righteous requirement of the law might be fully met in us, who do not live according to the flesh but according to the Spirit.
Those who live according to the flesh have their minds set on what the flesh desires; but those who live in accordance with the Spirit have their minds set on what the Spirit desires.
Story of the chalkboard
He is our righteousness
Conclusion
Conclusion
We must teach the law. We must teach holiness.
This is what makes us aware of our need for Jesus
If we don’t teach the law, we don’t embrace holiness.
Right is right and wrong is wrong, regardless of what our world wants to say.
Sin is still sin and the law is there to make people aware of their sin.
If we withhold teaching the law, then the world remains in darkness with no contrast to the light.
If we are in Christ, there is no condemnation
But we are in Christ, therefore we have the righteousness of God.
We are justified by the law because of the perfection of Christ
If Jesus is the fulfillment of the law, and He invites us to follow Him, be changed by Him and be on mission with Him to make more disciples
APART FROM JESUS, THERE IS NO HOPE.
PREACH TO THE BROKENHEARTED
Declarative Gospel (Gospel proper)
The Kingdom of God is here!
Jesus is the Christ, the Son of God and the King of Kings
He died on the cross paying the penalty for our sin
He resurrected from the dead giving us an eternal hope
Imperative Gospel (Our response to the declaration)
Believe
Follow Me (Matthew 4:19)
Repent & be baptized (sanctification)
Real Life in Action:
HEAD: What have I learned about the role of the law?
HEART: What changes in my life knowing that the law is fulfilled?
HANDS: Give thanks to Jesus for His work on the cross.
Head— Law is present, Law must be practiced, Law is the principle, Jesus fulfils the law
Heart— Freedom in Christ, not obligated to expectations. Slave to Christ, not a slave to sin.
