Matthew 5:21-48

You have heard…But I tell you...

Where do you get your information? What news sources do you listen to? How do you rate the truthfulness of the information you receive?

“You have heard it said… but I tell you….” Jesus starts with a statement that all his listeners knew came from the OT, the only Bible that generation had.

Vs 21; vs 27; vs 31; vs 33; vs 38; vs 43.

Then He concludes this overview with doozy of a statement:

“Be perfect, therefore, as your heavenly Father is perfect.” (Matthew 5:48, HCSB)

1. “Jesus told him, “I am the way, the truth, and the life. No one comes to the Father except through Me.” (John 14:6, HCSB)

““You are a king then?” Pilate asked. “You say that I’m a king,” Jesus replied. “I was born for this, and I have come into the world for this: to testify to the truth. Everyone who is of the truth listens to My voice.”” (John 18:37, HCSB)

When Jesus calls men and women to follow He promises to ‘make’ them into something they are not.

: He is the author and content of truth. If there are questions to be asked, interpretations to be made, He is the final and authoritative truth.

2. ““Follow Me,” He told them, “and I will make you fish for people!”” (Matthew 4:19, HCSB)

You and I cannot meet the standards Jesus lays out on our own.

Do you remember The Karate Kid ? Every time Daniel walked into Mr. Miyagi’s garage, he found the old man tending to his hobby—trimming bonsai trees. Most people assume that bonsai trees are naturally dwarfs, but that is not the case. These little trees possess the same DNA as a full-size tree, and they are capable of reaching towering heights. However, due to the tiny pots in which they are raised, bonsai trees grow only twelve to twenty-four inches tall. Their environment restricts their growth.[1]

[1] Gallaty, Robby. Growing Up: How to Be a Disciple Who Makes Disciples (p. 59). B&H Publishing Group. Kindle Edition.

3. “Be perfect, therefore, as your heavenly Father is perfect.” (Matthew 5:48, HCSB)

let’s define our terms. The Amplified Bible (long a favorite compilation of interpretations of mine) reads like this:

“You, therefore, must be perfect [growing into complete maturity of godliness in mind and character, having reached the proper height of virtue and integrity], as your heavenly Father is perfect.” (Matthew 5:48, AMP)

The Gospel of Matthew 6. On Love (5:43–48)

The call is to go all the way with the will of God, now seen with fresh clarity. The completeness here answers to the fulfilling promised in Mt. 5:17 and to the sense in vv. 18–19 that nothing should be missing from obedience to the whole claim of the Law. One must go all the way in obeying the will of God; one cannot be content with some circumscribed version of obeying God’s will, as witnessed to in the Law and the Prophets.

Stephen J. Nichols writes,

We are far too easily consumed with contemporary agendas that are culturally conditioned and culturally situated. In Christ’s day, his fellow Jews fully expected him to overthrow Rome. Even his closest disciples revealed their own susceptibility to being consumed with what was in front of them.[1]

[1] Stephen J. Nichols, The Kingdoms of God: The Kingdom in Historical and Contemporary Persepctives, in The Kingdom of God, ed. Christopher W. Morgan and Robert A. Peterson (Wheaton, ILL.: Crossway, 2012), 48.

- what is our ultimate and final authority for truth?

Only Jesus, as we come to know and experience Him in His Word, stands the test of authenticity.

- will we go all the way in obedience?

You can do all the right things outwardly and yet be filled with sin, darkness, and death.

- will we yield to the goal God has in store for us?

To be perfect is simply to be and to live as God intended you to live!