03.24.08
The Relation of the King to the Law (Matt. 5:17-7:6; Luke 6:27-42)
The Relation of the King to the Law (Matt. 5:17-7:6; Luke 6:27-42)
As an introduction to the ‘Sermon on the Mount’ portion, the groundwork of everyone who had heard the Lord speak was aware that He demanded a perfection beyond reach of all people. Over the years the Pharisees had sought to assist those who sought righteousness through the law by codifying it into 365 prohibitions and 248 commandments. Then, the Pharisees imposed their code as a yoke on their followers.
What did Christ do? He needed to show that the Pharisees righteousness didn’t conform to the demands of the Law. So keeping their tradition did not make one righteous. He would also show why observing these Pharisaic rules didn’t fulfill the law of God.
1 – The Fulfiller (Matt. 5:17-20)
Right from the start, Jesus states He is not against the Law of God. He didn’t stand in opposition to the prophets that were sent by God either. In fact, Jesus didn’t come to even ease the burdens put on folks who followed the Law! God set down His Laws and those demands were unalterable because they are a revelation of God’s Own holiness. God didn’t demand anything more of any man than He Himself could fulfill. If man wanted to be in a right standing before a holy God, man needed to walk upright and holy!
The Pharisees were concerned about righteousness, and that is a good thing. However, they had a misconception of what the law actually intended and demanded. Because of that it was impossible for them to receive the righteousness that was acceptable to God.
Us? Well – we judge a lot by externals. Then we’re good at making decisions based on sound bites. Is that all? Jesus lays it on the line here – He knew what questions they were thinking of, then tells it like it is. If we had the opportunity to ask someone of importance (say, the president…) of the issues/reason behind the actual decision, the thought process that went into what eventually the decision was – would we be surprised at the response? Are we quick with knee-jerk reactions?
