Jesus The Law & Prophets (Kingdom Righteousness)
Notes
Transcript
Review:
Review:
Thank you so much for coming this Good Lord’s Day. I have been enjoying camp the fellowship, the food, the feeling the presence of the Lord. The sermons so far have challenged and encouraged me and I’m looking forward to greater things yet to come.
I am excited about our first official live stream from Independence Camp - now don’t let that disturb you but I do want to welcome any brave soul who has joined us online.
Jesus not far into his earthly ministry climbed a mountain and his disciples gathered around him and he taught them some very important truths about what He wanted people in The Kingdom of Heaven to be like -
We have been covering this teaching called The Sermon on the Mount which covers Matthew 5-7
While I want to emphatically remind you that this teaching was not intended to be an evangelistic call - it can work that way.
Many years ago in a Moscow theater, an actor by the name of Alexander Rostovzev was playing the part of Jesus in a very sacrilegious play called Christ in Tuxedo. He was supposed to read two verses from the Sermon on the Mount, remove his gown, and cry out, “Give me my tuxedo and top hat!” But as he read the words, “Blessed are the poor in spirit for theirs is the kingdom of heaven. Blessed are thy that mourn, for they shall be comforted,” he began to tremble. Instead of following the script, he kept reading form Matthew 5, ignoring the coughs, calls, and foot-stamping of his fellow actos. Finally, recalling a verse he had learned in his childhood in a Russian Orthodox church, he creid, “Lord, remember me when Thou comest into Thy kindom (Luke 23:42). Before the curtain could be lowered, Rostoczev had gotten saved.
So as we study this together I hope you are already in the Kingdom - if not I hope you will cry out to God in faith and join us -
I hope if you are in the Kingdom you will be challenged to continue the process of maturity - or spiritual formation - to Christlikness.
You know often I hear and I have even said, and I agree with it to a point - “Heaven is my goal” but in reality that is not the goal that Jesus gave us -
19 My little children, of whom I travail in birth again until Christ be formed in you,
Or later Ephesians 4:13
13 Till we all come in the unity of the faith, and of the knowledge of the Son of God, unto a perfect man, unto the measure of the stature of the fulness of Christ:
This sermon on the Mount is the basis of that “Christ being formed in you” that “Till we come…unto the measure of the stature of the fulness of Chirst”
We finished the first unit I titled - “Tudes” covered Matthew 5:1-16
A Disciples Character Matthew 5:3-12 (The Beatitudes)
A Disciples Influence - Matthew 5:13-16 (The Similitudes)
Today we will be looking at the rest of Matthew 5 (Although I doubt we will finish the chapter)
Kingdom Righteousness (Jesus the Law & Prophets) - Matthew 5:17-48
Introduction:
Introduction:
The Beatitudes if you remember are given to us in the third person. “Blessed are the poor in spirit”
The Similitudes Jesus changes to the second person, “You are the salt of the earth”
Today we are going to see Him change again to the authoritative first person - “[He] uses for the first time his distinctive and dogmatic formula, ‘I say to you’” (John Stott, The Message of the Sermon on the Mount).
John Stott (The Message of the Sermon on the Mount) points out that this section on Jesus The Law & The Prophets is divided into two parts:
Christ and the Law Matthew 5:17-18 = Which I will call: A Commitment to Uphold
The Christian (or disciple) and the law Matthew 5:19-20 (Kingdom Righteousness) Or I will label it- A Righteousness to Behold
A Commitment to Uphold Matthew 5:17-18
A Commitment to Uphold Matthew 5:17-18
Jesus, who is God, and was involved in “inspiring the scriptures” seems to be circumventing the argument that he is throwing away the Law. It’s as though he is anticipating some objections to what He’s getting ready to teach.
Listen to this Matthew 5:17-18
17 Think not that I am come to destroy the law, or the prophets: I am not come to destroy, but to fulfil. 18 For verily I say unto you, Till heaven and earth pass, one jot or one tittle shall in no wise pass from the law, till all be fulfilled.
He actually says the opposite of what is even often taught today. The God of the Old Testament and Jesus Christ are not at odds with each other. The Old Testament and the New Testament don’t contradict or argue with one another. The Bible is one continuous narrative to reveal God to us.
Remember that humanity sometimes misunderstands what God has said, or misinterprets or misapplies - this is what Jesus is going to deal with.
We have His promise - I did not come to destroy the law and the prophets- I won’t destroy the law and the prophets - In fact the Law and the prophets are still effective today - Because heaven and earth has not passed away and all has not been fulfilled yet.
Notice that twice the word “fulfil” is used once in Matthew 5:17 and again in Matthew 5:18
This word “fulfill” is an interesting word”
Matthew uses this word several times almost twenty by my quick count this morning - “its the key word in Matthew 1-2. Every story as far as I can tell in the first two chapters of Matthew are said to fulfill something from the Prophets I saw two at least Isaiah and Jeremiah. The word continues up till by the time we get to Matthew 5:17 we are fairly familiar with the word - but not necessarily with all of its meaning.
Now I always assumed that this “fulfil” had to do with His dying on the cross - which it certainly includes - but this doesn’t fulfil all the Law, and certainly doesn’t fulfill all the prophets - so what does it mean.
A deeper study into this word gives a clue into what Jesus meant.
To “fulfil” means “to satisfy or fill up” I think Louw-Nida has it best, “to give the true meaning to, to provide the real significance of.”
So what Jesus is saying is he is going to “give the true meaning” or the correct interpretation of the Law to us. Remember that by the time Jesus came in his earthly ministry the religious leaders had become distorted and disoriented in their thinking and interpreting of the Law - Jesus is going to correct this in his “Fulfillment”
Jesus says I am not going to destory - that word means to tear up or annul the Law or the Prophets (this is what we would call the Old Testament)
Rather he says I come to fill the up or to explain them better to us
In Matthew 5:18 we have that little word “for” or because and then the word “verily”
Jesus likes that word “verily” it means truly or in the Greek is “amen”
I love Paul’s writings on this:
20 For all the promises of God in him are yea, and in him Amen, unto the glory of God by us.
Geisler says what Jesus is doing is making himself the theme of the entire Bible - which in reality is what the Bible is supposed to reveal or convey. He points out
[That} Jesus said five times that he was the theme of the entire Bible. Once is enough to draw our attention to the fact, and five times makes it an important teaching of our Lord. Matthew 5:17—“Do not think that I came to destroy the Law or the Prophets. I did not come to destroy but to fulfill.” Luke 24:27—“And beginning at Moses and all the Prophets, He the Law of Moses and the Prophets and the Psalms concerning me.” John 5:39—“You search the Scriptures, for in them you think you have eternal life; and these are they which testify of me.” Hebrews 10:7—“Behold, I have come—in the volume of the book it is written of Me—to do Your will, O God.”
Geisler, D. N., Geisler, N. L. (2007). Popular Survey of the Old Testament, A. United States: Baker Publishing Group.
NOT ONE JOT OR TITTLE =
The New Manners and Customs of the Bible 5:18 Jot and Tittle
Jot and Tittle
“For verily I say unto you, Till heaven and earth pass, one jot or one tittle shall in no wise pass from the law, till all be fulfilled” (KJV).
There may be allusion here to the great care taken by the copyists of the law to secure accuracy even to the smallest letters, or curves, or points of letters. Jot refers to the “yodh,” the smallest letter in the Hebrew alphabet. Tittle is an “apex” or “little horn,” and refers to the horn-like points that are seen on Hebrew letters.
We are being told in Matthew 5:17-18 that The Law and the Prophets reamin in effect until heaven and earth disappear - from a Jewish perspective - that would never be.
This is why we then have this stern warning in the next verse:
19 Whosoever therefore shall break one of these least commandments, and shall teach men so, he shall be called the least in the kingdom of heaven: but whosoever shall do and teach them, the same shall be called great in the kingdom of heaven.
Now a good hermenutics professor will tell you that there is only ONE INTERPRETATION of a passage of scripture - there can be only one
You may have several ways to apply it but there is only one interpretation -
Here is a passage where I struggled to make that rule work - Because how do you interpret “one of these …commandments?”
So far as best I can tell Jesus has only given one commandment up till now in his entire sermon on the Mount. What seems to be more likely Jesus is talking about the commandments in the Law and the Prophets.
16 All scripture is given by inspiration of God, and is profitable for doctrine, for reproof, for correction, for instruction in righteousness:
Jesus says if we are commanded by God - that command lasts forever.
This is the main reasons I strongly reject the dispensationalism that says “The Old Testament doesn’t matter anymore” or that claims that Jesus abolished the Old Testament”
Now those who may have attended GBS may be familar with an Old Testament mnemonic device called UP/SA (Spell it)
UP/SA is a way to help us bring the Old Testament into the New Testament era and apply it appropriately.
You have UP = A UNIVERSAL PRINCIPLE - this is a principle that stands for all time and for all eterninty. They are TRUTH derived from God’s unchanging character. They transcend all cultures and time limitations.
Then there is the SP = Specific Applications - these are derived from Universal Principles - But are refering to applications that were specific to that time and place and culture.
Here is an example - Exodous 22:18
18 Thou shalt not suffer a witch to live.
Do we go around killing those who are associated with the occult? No they would lock you up for murder as they should. Our current civil laws (Which we are as Christians bound to as long as they do not interfere with God’s commandments) prohibits that. But Jewish civil law allowed this and God even commanded this of them.
So this must be a specific application - but before we can be sure we have to test it - what is the Universal Principle of this verse - It would be that God’s unchanging attitutde toward the occult - he hates antying thing associated with the occult. (This would be even today) We can’t however go around killing anyone who owns a Ouijia board - but When God was in control of Israels civil law His attitude made this command.
So we are still bound by the Universal Principle of the passage
That was a quick and very condensed lesson on this process - but the same applies to all the commands of God in the Old Testament. Even when they don’t apply in the same way there is an underlying principle that we are expected to both practice and teach others to practices according to what Jesus is saying here.
Now if I may teach something a little controversial here - and please don’t misunderstand me - Jesus does not say if we break the least of these commandments or teach others to do so that we lose our place in the kingdom -
This would infer that this isn’t deliberate or willful known breaking of the commandments but would imply rather a ignorant negigence a breaking them because you don’t know.
Now this is only a stretch because Jesus doesn’t elaborate he just says they will be the least inthe Kingdom of heaven.
He goes on and declares - and we do need to remember that He is making GOD DECLARATIONS “I SAY unto you”
If we do and teach them - the same shall be called GREAT in the Kingdom of Heaven
Obviously there are degrees in the Kingdom of Heaven and why not there are degrees of Holiness
You had your Holy Place and your Most Holy Place
So we had a Commitment to Uphold now we have...
So we had a Commitment to Uphold now we have...
A righteousness to behold Matthew 5:19-48
A righteousness to behold Matthew 5:19-48
I’m not going to read this entire passage at this time because I don’t believe we will get that far today - but I do want to point out:
The key verse of this passage - the righteousness to aspire to is Matthew 5:48
48 Be ye therefore perfect, even as your Father which is in heaven is perfect.
The second track that runs through the sermon on the mount “perfect”
Jesus has already stated previously
20 For I say unto you, That except your righteousness shall exceed the righteousness of the scribes and Pharisees, ye shall in no case enter into the kingdom of heaven.
The presentation of the perfect life by Jesus divides itself into five major portions :
1. What believers are in themselves the Beatitudes (Matthew 5:3-12).
2. What they are to the world salt, light (verses 13-16).
3. What they are to the past they fulfill rather than destroy (verses 17-20).
4. What they are in intimate relationships with others (verses 2147).
5. What they shall be perfect as the Father is perfect (verse 48).
E Stanley Jones, Christ of the Mount p.51
What does this exceeding the scribes and Pharisees in righteousness mean?
It would seem that if Matthew 5:19 is a warning about the danger of lawlessness then Matthew 5:20 warns us about the deadly danger of legalism.
Here is where Jesus really begins to expose the differences between the righteousness of the scribes and pharisees to that of Kingdom dwellers.
Dr Wingrove Taylor called it moral nobility - this rigteousness of the scribes and Pharisees was only skin deep - we will attempt to go into greater depth tomorrow on these but Matthew 5:21-48 Jesus covers a wide range of things that contrasts and compares the two kinds of righteousness.
The Scribes and Pharisees were quic to point out “Thou Shatl not steal” but they had to wrestle when they were around places that had silver and gold laying around with not reaching out to take some
The Kingdom Righteousness says “I wouldn’t take even a penny from someone even if I could get away with it.”
THats the disctinction between the two - one would not dare disobey because they might get caugth and destroy their family or ministry which is noble and moral -
But Jesus says - for kingdom dwellers that is not enough - the fulfilment of the Law says Paul is LOVE we say I love Christ so much I wouldn’t do it even if I could get away with it.
This is why I keep saying don’t use the Sermon on the Mount as a Legalistic check list of do’s and don’ts because the being a Sermon on the Mount Liver comes by being Christlike not sermon on the mount like.
Without a transformed heart a changed heart The Sermon on the MOunt is either a disappointing impossibility or becomes a legalistic trap
Now I want to go back and look a little more and the word “exceed” in Matthew 5:20
that word means “to abound”
Legalism says - They went this far in keeping the law I have to go farther I’m not here to teach or preach against standards - but if your standards are the only thing keeping you saved your righteousness is as the scribes and pharisees
What Jesus is saying is that Kingdom Dwellers see the Law and the Prophets and they run to Christ and He in mercy and grace fills them with His Righteousness and in our growing relationship with Jesus Christ we walk in a righteousness that those in the first group know nothing about and have no hope of knowing until they come under the authority of the King of the Kingdom
I hope that is where you are today enjoying the wonders of the Kingdom.
Jesus then expounds for the rest of the chapter this difference of righteousness. I’m going to highlight them for now and may come back and delve into them deeper another lesson we will have to see.
He begins with our personal relationships
21 Ye have heard that it was said by them of old time, Thou shalt not kill; and whosoever shall kill shall be in danger of the judgment: 22 But I say unto you, That whosoever is angry with his brother without a cause shall be in danger of the judgment: and whosoever shall say to his brother, Raca, shall be in danger of the council: but whosoever shall say, Thou fool, shall be in danger of hell fire. 23 Therefore if thou bring thy gift to the altar, and there rememberest that thy brother hath ought against thee; 24 Leave there thy gift before the altar, and go thy way; first be reconciled to thy brother, and then come and offer thy gift. 25 Agree with thine adversary quickly, whiles thou art in the way with him; lest at any time the adversary deliver thee to the judge, and the judge deliver thee to the officer, and thou be cast into prison. 26 Verily I say unto thee, Thou shalt by no means come out thence, till thou hast paid the uttermost farthing.
Pharisaical righteousness says “Thou shalt not murder- but I’m going to hold a grudge against you forever”
Jesus says hold on a minute - those in my Kingdom live a different way - they don’t get angry without a cause because that is a precusor or what murder stems from.
He goes on and says reconciliation is more important that elaborate worship
He says to not stir up strife with your advesary - if you konw someone’s buttons you avoid pushing them.
He gets even closer Matthew 5:27-32
27 Ye have heard that it was said by them of old time, Thou shalt not commit adultery: 28 But I say unto you, That whosoever looketh on a woman to lust after her hath committed adultery with her already in his heart. 29 And if thy right eye offend thee, pluck it out, and cast it from thee: for it is profitable for thee that one of thy members should perish, and not that thy whole body should be cast into hell. 30 And if thy right hand offend thee, cut it off, and cast it from thee: for it is profitable for thee that one of thy members should perish, and not that thy whole body should be cast into hell. 31 It hath been said, Whosoever shall put away his wife, let him give her a writing of divorcement: 32 But I say unto you, That whosoever shall put away his wife, saving for the cause of fornication, causeth her to commit adultery: and whosoever shall marry her that is divorced committeth adultery.
Obsering is one thing - looking with intent is another and this was so important that he says if this is a stumbling block to you remove whatever hindrance there is
Brother Steven Height in the EFM paper several years ago wrote an article titled “As for me and my Mouse we will serve the Lord” He’s saying His computer wasn’t going to take him splaces he shouldn’t go
This is Kingdom rightousness -
I think that is as far as we will get today - to moroow we will come back and look at some more. Thanks you so much for your kind attention.