A Morning Cup of Tea: Jesus Speaks of the Law

Good morning. I am so thankful for rain and cooler weather these days and evenings. I slept very well last night and hope you did too.

We are continuing slowly through Matthew 5, and today we are focusing on verses 17-26.

Here Jesus states that he is not here to destroy the law, but to fulfill it (v17). We know that the law was completely fulfilled when he died on the cross, which means that we are no longer under Old Testament law, but under New Testament Grace. We no longer have to sacrifice a lamb for our sins --Jesus was a willing lamb-- but we are given life ever lasting if we accept it. The steps of salvation are a post I would like to tackle on another day. At this point in Jesus' speech, he is going over laws that his his listeners know well. But he is refining them  a bit.
  21. Ye have heard it said by them of old time, Thou shalt not kill' and whosoever 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 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 the to the officer, and though be cast into prison.
26. Verily I say  unto thee, Thou shalt  by  no means come out thence, till thou has paid the uttermost farthing.
 Jesus told us here, it's not just murder that is wrong. It is being angry with someone. We all have moments when we get angry at another. But most of the time we get over it and move on. When we let things fester, that is where our problem lies. Look at Cain and Abel (Genesis 4:1-15). Cain was angry. He let his anger boil to the point that he killed his own brother.
  Does that mean we will kill simply because we are angry? Maybe, maybe not. Sadly, we've seen in the news where husbands, wives, children, and significant others /exes have been killed. All because of anger. Or we get to the point where we are estranged from family members. In our hearts we are saying you are dead to me, I want nothing more to do with you. Isn't that the same as murder?
  Jesus tells us in the passage that if we have a problem that needs mending, we should go to that person we are angry with or who is angry with us and make amends. 

Likewise with our other adversaries. Take care of the problem before the courts get involved. It was almost like he was talking to this generation, eh?   

Again, I'd love to hear your thoughts and comments. Have a wonderful day. 

Good morning. I am so thankful for rain and cooler weather these days and evenings. I slept very well last night and hope you did too.

We are continuing slowly through Matthew 5, and today we are focusing on verses 17-26.

Here Jesus states that he is not here to destroy the law, but to fulfill it (v17). We know that the law was completely fulfilled when he died on the cross, which means that we are no longer under Old Testament law, but under New Testament Grace. We no longer have to sacrifice a lamb for our sins --Jesus was a willing lamb-- but we are given life ever lasting if we accept it. The steps of salvation are a post I would like to tackle on another day. At this point in Jesus' speech, he is going over laws that his his listeners know well. But he is refining them  a bit.
  21. Ye have heard it said by them of old time, Thou shalt not kill' and whosoever 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 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 the to the officer, and though be cast into prison.
26. Verily I say  unto thee, Thou shalt  by  no means come out thence, till thou has paid the uttermost farthing.
 Jesus told us here, it's not just murder that is wrong. It is being angry with someone. We all have moments when we get angry at another. But most of the time we get over it and move on. When we let things fester, that is where our problem lies. Look at Cain and Abel (Genesis 4:1-15). Cain was angry. He let his anger boil to the point that he killed his own brother.
  Does that mean we will kill simply because we are angry? Maybe, maybe not. Sadly, we've seen in the news where husbands, wives, children, and significant others /exes have been killed. All because of anger. Or we get to the point where we are estranged from family members. In our hearts we are saying you are dead to me, I want nothing more to do with you. Isn't that the same as murder?
  Jesus tells us in the passage that if we have a problem that needs mending, we should go to that person we are angry with or who is angry with us and make amends. 

Likewise with our other adversaries. Take care of the problem before the courts get involved. It was almost like he was talking to this generation, eh?   

Again, I'd love to hear your thoughts and comments. Have a wonderful day.