Day 4
The phrase "but I say" is not to suggest that
the Law was merely external, but was always
intended to be kept, from the heart. And so we
see this sentiment in the first and great
commandment in Deuteronomy where God
commands Israel:
“And you shall love the LORD your God
with all your heart and with all your soul
and with all your might. And these
words, which I am commanding you
today, shall be on your heart “
(Deut 6:5, 6)
Deut 6:7 goes on to command us to impress this
Great Command upon the hearts of our children.
How are you impacting the next generation with
‘your’ righteousness. Does the next generation
see a difference in your attitudes as you reflect the
attitudes of Christ?
Harsh words such as Jesus speaks of in
verse 22, come too easily to us at times. We
don’t often see that we cannot ourselves live by
the standards we hold others to. That is why
Jesus points out that in the judgment, we will be
judged, in some ways, by the standards to which
we held others (Matthew 7:1-2). Consider this
today before you belittle someone, or talk about
them when they disappoint you.
Jesus is making a strong case that shows
that each person is important, and that anyone
who looks down on someone else, is guilty. Are
there ways that our families can change the way
that we look at each other? Could it be that the
words we use might make us guilty before God?
Day 5 Volume 2 Number 10
When Jesus makes this statement, He is in no way
diminishing the Law. He is showing that the keeping of
Engaged
God's Law has always been an issue of a heart out of which March 6-12
flows that person's loving obedience for God and his fellow
man. "But I say" uses both the first person singular of the verb
for say (lego) and the first person singular pronoun (ego) "I"
for emphasis. One might paraphrase as "I myself say." The
point is that He emphasized His authority on the Law. After
all, John 1:1 says, “He is the Word.” The result was that
when Jesus had finished these words, the multitudes were
amazed at His teaching, for He was teaching them as one
having authority, and not as their Scribes. (Mt 7:28, 29)
Jesus did not rely on the words of other men, as did the
Scribes and Pharisees. Jesus is not speaking words that
contradict or conflict with the Law and the Prophets, but
fulfilling those words, giving them the true meaning God had
intended. Jesus is correcting the perversion of the Law by the
Scribes and Pharisees who had devised 613 manmade rules
that only tied heavy burdens on the people who were told
that "Keep all 613 prohibitions and commandments and you Matthew 5:21
will be pleasing to Him and satisfy His demands for You have heard that it was said to those of
righteousness." The problem of course was that their external old, ‘You shall not murder, and whoever
rules left the heart unchanged, still more deceitful than all
murders will be in danger of the
else and desperately sick. This is a real problem for the
church today. Can keeping external rules ever make a man judgment.’
righteous? Do you trust anything other than Jesus? Does
your life reflect His love?
through
Consider again the directive from this week’s “day
one” assignment. Have you practiced awareness this week
in your relationships? It takes a heart that is redeemed and
appreciative to really begin to get beyond the harsh,
judgmental, self-exalting words or thoughts we often
practice. Even if it comes in baby steps, take a step today
toward living and speaking with love.
Flipped focus: That is what we are talking about.
The ways of God seem to be the opposite of what we expect.
Although, truth be told, instead of being Flipped upside
down, He is actually trying to make the world right side up.
Our selfish/self-loving lifestyles are what is upside down!
What are some things in our lives that should be opposite to
the norms of this world?
Day 1
Jesus has just said in Matthew 5:16, “Let
your light shine before men in such a way
that they may see your good works, and
glorify your Father who is in heaven.”
From this verse and Mt 5:20, it follows that
the 6 segments in Mt 5:21-48 serve at least
two purposes: (1) To teach us what
righteousness looks like when it surpasses the
Scribes and Pharisees and (2) To describe to
us that righteousness, when lived out in the
power of the Spirit, gives a proper view of our
heavenly Father. Keep this command in Mt
5:16 in mind as you meditate these segments.
Ask yourself in each case "Do my attitudes
and actions in this area of my life give others
a proper view of God?" We are called to be
perfect as our heavenly Father is perfect in
order that the world might see His glory in
and through us.
This week’s concept sends us to the
heart…not just our actions toward others, but
where those actions come from, and why we
choose to treat people the way we do. As we
begin this search into our motives, today
would be a good day to begin practicing
conscious choices in each interaction with
other people. Become AWARE today!
What if you got it wrong? What if
nothing is what it seems? The really religious
people around Jesus were thinking as long as
they didn’t actually kill someone, they were
ok. But what did Jesus say? How obedient
are we as families to do what Scripture
teaches families to do?
Day 2
The first issue Jesus addresses is murder
(maliciously taking the life of another, unjustly).
Jesus then equates murder with anger. We
definitely see the difference between the two;
murder and anger. However, Jesus is more
concerned about the heart than the outer
behavior. Scripture is clear, if we experience
heart change we will experience behavior
change. The Pharisees were only concerned
about the exterior actions. Jesus was concerned
with internal attitudes. Actions flow from
attitudes. Which would you say most clearly
represents your decisions? the heart or the head?
Do your attitudes reflect who you say you follow?
What could you do to develop internal obedience
so that it flows from you without thinking?
Do you practice the lowest form of
obedience to God’s commands (the letter of the
law), or do you look for ways to go beyond just
meeting the “bottom line”? The heart of the
Sermon on the Mount is getting beyond the least
of our obligations, to living and loving from the
heart. Look over the last twenty-four hours of
relating to people, and answer the question, “am I
living on the bottom line, or am I going beyond,
to living and loving from the heart?”
Is it possible to kill someone by talking
about him or her negatively? We rob them of
future opportunities when we speak negatively
about anyone. Have you ever felt like someone
has attacked you in this way? How did it feel?
Remember that when you are tempted to do unto
others…
Day 3
’You have heard’ suggests that the
multitudes listening had, for the most part not,
studied the Law of Moses for themselves but
had only heard the teaching on the Law, most
likely from the Scribes and Pharisees. Jesus
said, unless our righteousness is better than
the Pharisees… Wow, these men where
renowned for their righteousness! The hearers
of this statement must have felt sunk.
However, the righteousness of the Pharisees
was based on the outside. The only way to
please God with righteousness is to have it on
the inside? How do we become inwardly
righteous?
You have never murdered anyone…or
have you? Apply Matthew 5:21-22 to your
life, and assess your anger toward others.
Have your ever “killed” someone’s
reputation? Are you guilty of character
assassination?
Motive seemed to go a long way with
Jesus. He says that the motive of anger is
dangerous and leads to murder. Why should
families try to settle things without being
angry?