You have heard, but

January 6

Daily Bible Reading: Matthew 5:27 – 48

Verse of the Day: Matthew 5:43 – “Ye have heard that it was said, Thou shalt love thy neighbor, and hate thine enemy: but I say unto you, love your enemies, and pray for them that persecute you;”

You have heard, but I say – a series of statements that Jesus gives in the Sermon on the Mount. The One who wrote the Scriptures now makes some serious points about them.

“You have heard” refers to the various teachings of the Rabbis rather than Moses. Jewish is questioning the scholars, not the Old Testament text. He is getting to the heart of the Scriptures – the spirit of the Laws, while many previous Rabbis had worked on what they thought the letter of the Laws had taught.

The Law will help us to live right and provide and protect us, but, we find too quickly that we cannot live by it. We need Jesus to live it through us.

Prayer: Jesus, I submit my life to You. Control my life, live the perfect life through me, I can’t do it. My life is in You. Amen.