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HOUSMAIL HM043
30
October 1999 DID JESUS
CHANGE THE LAW OF MOSES? There
are many who think that Jesus used The Sermon on the Mount to change the law
of Moses. However, a careful analysis of His words will reveal that Jesus
said plainly that it was NOT His intention to abolish either the law, or the
prophets. Rather, He claimed that His purpose was to fulfil what they said. "Think not that I have come to abolish the
law and the prophets; I have come not to abolish them but to fulfil them. For
truly, I say to you, till heaven and earth pass away, not an iota, not a dot,
will pass from the law until all is accomplished. Whoever then relaxes one of
the least of these commandments and teaches men so, shall be called
least in the kingdom of heaven: but he who does them and teaches them shall
be called great in the kingdom of heaven. For I tell you, unless your
righteousness exceeds that of the scribes and Pharisees, you will never enter
the kingdom of heaven." (Matthew 5:17-20) Immediately
following that He gave a series of interpretations of the Law which begin -
"You have heard that it was said ..... " and lead on to - "But
I say ..... " Since
He has already said that He is NOT changing the Law, it seems obvious that
His real intention is to INTERPRET the Law. And He is also warning that His
interpretation of the Law is DIFFERENT to what they had previously been
taught by their religious leaders. The Scribes and Pharisees had got it
wrong. In
doing this, Jesus speaks with a unique authority. He is the SON of the ONE
TRUE GOD who gave the Law to Moses. He claims complete and absolute delegated
authority to speak for his Father. We understand therefore that what Jesus
says in The Sermon on the Mount, is THE
LAW AS GOD INTENDED IT TO BE UNDERSTOOD. This
is the Eternal standard of holiness to which we commit ourselves, when we
aspire to become children of the God who NEVER changes! (Malachi 3:6, James 1:17) For Jesus it has
always been so from the beginning. (Matthew 19:8) To
become His disciples, and to qualify for entry to the Kingdom of Heaven, we
are being called to live to a far higher moral code than most men ever
imagine possible. We are called to surrender every last legal
"right" to revenge, reputation, justice, possessions, redress at
law, and self-defence. And along with that we are required to change not only
what we do, but also the thoughts that we allow to dwell in our hearts. All
of that stands in stark contrast to what hard hearted men had made of the Law
in the first century. And it stands in the same stark contrast to what men
still do with the teaching of Jesus, in our own time. If
we will listen to Him, the words of Jesus call US to the same radical
re-evaluation of the religious traditions we have received from our own
teachers. He calls us to the same high and holy standard that He taught to
that first century Jewish audience. Dare
we refuse Him when he challenges us to measure our own response to His words,
against the PERFECTION of our heavenly FATHER? (Matthew 5:48) In
the Sermon on the Mount, Jesus has set the standard for the Gospel call to
REPENTANCE. It is designed to "convince us of sin and righteousness and
judgement". (John 16:8) It
defines for ever, the contrast between what God calls sin, and regards as
righteous. It sets the standard by which Jesus will judge the world at the
last day. Allon "He who
rejects me and does not receive my sayings has a judge; |