“How should followers of Jesus view In today’s Sermon on the Mount passage, Jesus speaks about one of the important questions that Christians face: “How should followers of Jesus view and respond to the Old Testament?”

------------------------- Matthew 5:17 ------------------------- Marcion The Heretic (2nd Century) Antinomianism “against law”

There were 4 uses of the term “Law” in the New Testament, referring to the O.T. 1.) The 10 Commandments (Exodus 20) - The Moral Law 2.) The Torah (Genesis - Deuteronomy) - The Elongated Law 3.) “The Law and The Prophets” (Matt. 5:17) - The Entire Old Testament 4.) The Oral and Scribal Law - Interpretations of the Old Testament

as well as to make sure that all of the people followed them. The Pharisees and Scribes felt that it was their sacred duty to “flesh out” the commands of God in The Law, as well as to make sure that all of the people followed them. --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Matthew 15:3 “Why do you break the command of God for the sake of your tradition?”

When speaking about the Old Testament, Jesus didn’t come to “take it down, stone by stone”, but He says that He “fulfilled” it (“to fill up full” or “make perfect”); which would have certainly sent the religious leaders into a rage! “This man is claiming to have fulfilled ALL the requirements of the law, yet we ROUTINELY find him breaking our traditions!”

“Jesus’ Emmaus Road Lesson on Fulfillment” Luke 24: 25-27, 32 “Jesus’ Emmaus Road Lesson on Fulfillment”

Jesus perfectly kept God’s Laws while on Earth and fulfilled hundreds of prophecies scattered throughout the Old Testament about the life of the “Messiah/Christ”. But this only addresses half of the fulfillment of the Law that Jesus came to bring for us. The rest come in His teachings, many of which are found in the Sermon on the Mount, and deals with practical, righteous living.

Matthew 5:18 “For truly I tell you, until Heaven and Earth disappear, not the smallest [jot], not the least [tittle], will by any means disappear from the Law until everything is accomplished.”

and release us from the “curse of The Law”. The Law’s purpose was to show mankind that we are sinners…lawbreakers in the hands of a Holy God. Without any true solution for the penalty of death that our sins carry, The perfect, sinless Son of God gave His life to rescue us from sin and death and release us from the “curse of The Law”.

Pick & choose the Laws that are easy to follow? After someone has embraced the gifts of forgiveness of theirs sins and salvation in Jesus’ Name… what now becomes their relation to The Law? Still rigidly keep it? Ignore it entirely? Pick & choose the Laws that are easy to follow?

Jesus clearly affirms that His followers should obey the Old Testament Scriptures, both for our own good, but also for the blessing of others that may follow our example.

------------------------------- All these positives and more lie at Loving God & Others Being Just Being Honest Safe Communities ------------------------------- All these positives and more lie at “the heart of The Law”. That is what Jesus wants us to re-discover.

When Jesus makes the startling statement about our “righteousness” needing to surpass the religious leaders of His time, He was really saying: “Don’t invent loopholes that will let you off the hook in doing justice, showing love, being merciful, and walking humbly with your God.”

despite always struggling to do so in the past. In Old Testament, God spoke about the future when The Law would still exist… but be written on human hearts, not on tablets or scrolls. His Spirit would dwell inside humans and “move them” to follow His Laws, despite always struggling to do so in the past. * Jeremiah 31: 31-34

As we’ll see in a variety of specific ways in the weeks ahead… Jesus commands His followers to obey “the heart of The Law” and often to go beyond what is written in order to demonstrate godly motives to the Lord and to join God’s Mission of loving redemption.