Text: Matthew 5:21-32 “You have heard that it was said to those of
old, ‘You shall not murder, and whoever murders will be in danger of the
judgment.’ But I say to you that whoever is angry with his brother without a
cause shall be in danger of the judgment. And whoever says to his brother, ‘Raca!’
shall be in danger of the council. But whoever says, ‘You fool!’ shall be in
danger of hell fire. Therefore if you bring your gift to the altar, and there
remember that your brother has something against you, leave
your gift there before the altar, and go your way. First be reconciled to your
brother, and then come and offer your gift. Agree with your adversary quickly, while
you are on the way with him, lest your adversary deliver you to the judge, the
judge hand you over to the officer, and you be thrown into prison. Assuredly, I
say to you, you will by no means get out of there till you have paid the last
penny.
“You have heard that it was said [i]to those of old, ‘You shall not commit adultery.’ But I say to you that whoever looks at a woman to lust for her has already committed adultery with her in his heart. If your right eye causes you to sin, pluck it out and cast it from you; for it is more profitable for you that one of your members perish, than for your whole body to be cast into hell. And if your right hand causes you to sin, cut it off and cast it from you; for it is more profitable for you that one of your members perish, than for your whole body to be cast into hell. “Furthermore it has been said, ‘Whoever divorces his wife, let him give her a certificate of divorce.’ But I say to you that whoever divorces his wife for any reason except [l]sexual immorality causes her to commit adultery; and whoever marries a woman who is divorced commits adultery.
We spoke about our Kingdom Actions in being Salt and Light. We moved forward as Jesus speaks about the Kingdom in relation to the Law. Now we will see what the King has to say about the Kingdom and the Old Testament.
We will see six examples that Jesus gives to stress the point that we are incapable of being right with God on our own. We saw that Jesus did not come to destroy the Law, but to complete and fulfill the Law for us. Speaking to Jews, who felt that they were superior to other people, He is stressing that it is not the outward but the inward that God is judging on. We will look at the first three today, and conclude with the last three tomorrow.
First, consider His example in regard to the Old Testament and murder (verses 21-26). He starts with the basic concept (5:21) – The law says, “Do not murder.” (Exodus 20:13). He then broadens the concept (5:22 – 26) – Jesus says that hating someone is the same as murder. Because they both come from the heart – they come from the same root. He wants us to see that our relationship with God is demonstrated by our relationship with others.
He then gives the example in regard to the Old Testament and adultery (verses 27-30). Again, He starts with the basic concept (5: 27) – The law says, “Do not commit adultery.” (Exodus 20:14). He then broadens the concept in verse 28-30. Jesus says that looking lustfully at someone is the same as adultery. Again, they are both based on the sin of lust. Remember that our relationship with God is demonstrated by our relationship with others.
The final concept today is in regard to the Old Testament and divorce (verse 31-32). He gives the basic concept (5: 31) – The law says, “A man can divorce his wife by merely giving her a letter of divorce.” (Deuteronomy 24:1) Moses allowed this because of the hardness of the people's hearts against following God. But, once again He shows the heart of the law – Jesus says that unlawful divorce and remarriage is the same as adultery. Our relationship with God is demonstrated by our relationship with others.
Tomorrow we will consider the last three examples.
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