You’ve Heard It Said But I Say to You

We now move to a section in the Sermon on the Mount which contains some very hard sayings. In Matthew 5:21-48, Jesus Christ The King of Kings and Lord of Lords definitely goes counter culture. In essence, He takes the law and puts it on steroids. He contrasts the outward fulfillment of the law with the inner motivation of the heart. He makes it very clear that although the Scribes and Pharisees and people in general simply look at the outward. God looks at the heart or the inward part of man.

In the verse that comes right before this section, Jesus states, “for I say to you that unless your righteousness surpasses that of the scribes and Pharisees, you will not enter the Kingdom of heaven.” You can imagine the questions that were beginning to form in the crowd’s minds after Jesus made this bold statement. I am sure on everybody’s mind would be, if the scribes and Pharisees won’t make it, what hope do I have? After all, the scribes and Pharisees keep the law outwardly better than anyone else.

Specifically, He addresses murder, adultery, divorce, oath taking, retaliation, and hating your enemy. Let’s take the next few minutes and address what the law said about these topics, and more importantly, address what Jesus said about them. Turn in your Bibles to Matthew 5:21-48.

Pastor Jeff nyberg, ph.D.