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Religious
Jesus Teaches About Fulfilling The Law MATTHEW 5:13-20 (KJV)
Matthew 5:13 Ye are the salt of the earth: but if the salt have lost his savour, wherewith shall it be salted? it is thence- forth good for nothing, but to be cast out, and to be trodden under foot of men.
14 Ye are the light of the world. A city that is set on an hill cannot be hid.
15 Neither do men light a candle, and put it under a bushel, but on a candlestick; and it giveth light unto all that are in the house.
16 Let your light so shine before men, that they may see your good works, and glorify your Father which is in heaven.
17 Think not that I am come to destroy the law, or the prophets: I am not come to destroy, but to fulfil.
18 For verily I say unto you, Till heaven and earth pass, one jot or one tittle shall in no wise pass from the law, till all be fulfilled.
19 Whosoever there- fore shall break one of these least command- ments, and shall teach men so, he shall be called the least in the kingdom of heaven: but whosoever shall do and teach them, the same shall be called great in the kingdom of heaven.
20 For I say unto you, That except your right- eousness shall exceed the righteousness of the scribes and Pharisees, ye shall in no case enter
into the kingdom of heaven.
Christians Are Salt And Light (Matthew 5:13–16)
After addressing the per- sonal blessings given to fol- lowers of God, Christ then tells them how they are to impact the world around them. He uses two familiar examples, salt and light. There has been some debate about Jesus’ intention in using salt because of its vari- ous uses during Christ’s time. It was a preservative, an agent added to fertilizer, a disinfectant, and a season- ing. At any rate, salt was ac- cessible, valuable, and useful.
Christ seems to point to- ward its use as seasoning. Real salt does not lose its saltiness. And if it does, it no longer serves any of its pur- poses, be it flavoring, disin- fecting, or preserving. It is useless.
Jerusalem was consid- ered by Jews to be the light of the world (they also called God and the Law this). Therefore, the city Jesus ref- erenced may be Jerusalem, or simply any elevated city whose light is visible to the surrounding valley. People could know where they were by simply locating the city on the hill.
Ancient Jewish homes had few windows and their oil lamps provided little light. In order to get the best coverage, lamps had to be el- evated. Going through the ef- fort of positioning the light properly, then covering it
with a basket, would have been futile. Light needs to be seen in order to dispel dark- ness.
In both illustrations, Jesus exhorts His followers to be useful, visible and im- pactful. They should do good works and serve the purpose for which they are on earth — to bring glory to God.
Christ Fulfilling The Law (vv. 17–20)
The Pharisees accused Jesus of seeking to nullify the Law. He was not opposing the Law, but rejecting their misinterpretation and ex- pression of it, through man- made traditions. Jesus came to fulfill the Law — to com- plete it. His moral demands were not less than Moses.’ He was the only one who could perfectly obey the Law. He fulfills the predictions. He is the Messiah that the prophets were looking for.
He is perfect. As such, He is the only one who would com- pletely satisfy the sacrificial system so that all could meet the requirements of the Law and be righteous in God’s eyes (as opposed to people’s eyes) by faith in Him.
Jewish teachers taught that disobeying one law was equivalent to disobeying them all. The smallest infrac- tion was problematic. Jesus reminds them this is true of the Law. The smallest letter in the Greek alphabet is the iota, in Hebrew it is yod (about the size of an apostro- phe). Changing the smallest of these letters could change a meaning. God is a stickler for details, and not one thing would “pass away” until everything that He wants to accomplish is fulfilled.
To further emphasize God’s requirements, Jesus points to the Pharisees. Even their righteousness wasn’t enough to enter the kingdom of God. This would have
been unsettling to hear, be- cause to common Jews the Pharisees were the epitome of righteousness. But Jesus wanted His followers to real- ize that God was far more concerned about their hearts and true righteousness than their ability to follow rules.
Conclusion
The Lord uses His people to point the lost to Him and to stand for what is right and good in His eyes. God’s peo- ple help preserve society by taking a stand against evil.
Salvation from sin and being righteous before God always has and always will be by grace through faith.
God’s laws tell us just how far short we fall from God’s perfect standards and why we do desperately need the Savior. However, no part of the law will pass away until this current heaven and earth disappear.
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