The Law and the Prophets

Through the end of chapter 5, Matthew addresses the Law of God as practiced with a guarantee and a new perspective. He’s going to reveal to His disciples that Kingdom life means a change in the heart that causes us to behave differently rather than external constraints on our actions to prevent us from committing sins we otherwise would. But first, He needs to address His relationship to the Law. Jesus did not come to abolish the Law or the Prophets.[1] The Law and Prophets were major sections of the Scriptures given to mankind up to that point in history. Jesus was not bringing a new law, a new set of rules. He was not bringing new prophecy about God’s plan for His people. No, Jesus came to fulfill the Law and the Prophets.

Remember, the Kingdom of God is near in the person of Jesus. He will move Kingdom history forward in two ways. His life will fulfill the prophecies made of the Messiah throughout the Hebrew Scriptures. The Old Testament authors made nearly 300 statements about the Messiah in their writings over a span of 1,000 years. Jesus fulfilled each of these statements. Consider Psalm 22 penned by David which describes the crucifixion of Jesus, a method of execution not yet devised by men. The Psalm begins with the desperate cry “My God, my God, why have you forsaken me?” – Jesus’ very words as He hung on the cross. It continues to describe the onlookers at the crucifixion, “All who see me mock me; they hurl insults, shaking their heads.” A few verses later “a band of evil men has encircled me, they have pierced [c] my hands and my feet.” And then “They divide my garments among them and cast lots for my clothing.” This particular prophecy stands out because it contains facts that many of us can recite from memory. A careful review the other hundreds of references to the Messiah in the Old Testament will reveal that Jesus satisfied each to the fullest.

Jesus also came to fulfill the Law which dealt in a multitude of ways with man’s relationship to God and how man ought to live life in that relationship. Jesus confirmed that the Law would not go away until each until everything was accomplished and that not following the law would have consequences in the Kingdom just as not following the law. Then He says something interesting. “For I tell you that unless your righteousness surpasses that of the Pharisees and the teachers of the law, you will certainly not enter the kingdom of heaven.” The law wasn’t going anywhere, but the keeping of the law had to be different than the present practice. What a teaser for the next section of the Sermon.

Jesus now makes six bold statements about the law and how living the law in the Kingdom is different than what the disciples were used to. In most cases, He follows the same pattern – “you have heard,” and the replies with “but I say.” He then goes on to describe in more detail what kingdom obedience to the law looks like in each example. Several things become very clear from this section. First, the Kingdom of God is more than skin deep. It’s a heart change starting on the inside and flowing out into how we live our lives in every arena. Second, relationships, not rules, make up the central concern of the Law. At other times, Jesus said this more plainly, summing the law up in two commands: love God with everything we have and love our neighbors, anyone whose life we touch, as ourselves. Finally, Jesus has not brought a new law, a new set of rules for us to follow. No, He has brought examples for us so that we understand what this new way of living looks like. Some examples have more universal application than others. Anger coupled with contempt has no place in the community of believers. However, we might not always walk the extra mile or give away our coats because there may be competing demands on us of equal moral strength. Let's examine the first two examples.

"You have heard that the ancients were told, YOU SHALL NOT COMMIT MURDER' and 'Whoever commits murder shall be liable to the court. "But I say to you that everyone who is angry with his brother shall be guilty before the court; and whoever says to his brother, You good-for-nothing,' shall be guilty before the supreme court; and whoever says, 'You fool,' shall be guilty enough to go into the fiery hell.”

Jesus expands the prohibition on murder far beyond the outline of a corpse on the pavement. Harboring anger and contempt, allowing them to color our thoughts and relationship actions as long as we avoid the act of murder will have a similar impact our hearts and our relationships with others as if we actually carried through with the act. In Jesus’ words, the one who is angry with his brother stands in the same place as one who has murdered, he is guilty before the court. The one who says to his brother you good-for-nothing or you fool has taken the offense even further, beyond the courts to condemnation. Why? Anger responds to encroachments on our self-determination, when someone or something prevents us from doing what we want or believe we have the right to do. It’s not a plan, but a response.

Contempt, on the other hand, takes some time, some careful thought. It strikes at the heart of its object’s personhood, considering them unworthy of any good thing. Personhood is the prime evidence of the image of God in humans. So by aiming at personhood, contempt casts aside the image of God that He carefully placed during the act of creating. The God-image of someone in the sights of a contemptuous person becomes no better than a scrap of trash, something to disregard or even discard. That is the real evil of contempt. It not only comes after God’s image in a person, but in doing so, it acts doubly to devalue God, whose image is at stake.

In both cases, anger or contempt, relationships become disrupted and sometimes destroyed. Out of concern for avoiding that result, Jesus provides another example. If my brother has something against me, I need to put my duties aside and make it right. He might have something against me because of anger or contempt in me or in himself. Either way, life in the new kingdom comes from the inside out and will express itself in restored relationships. On the other hand, when we respond in anger and fail to let go of it and instead embrace it, care for it, feed it, it will eventually grow up into contempt.

"You have heard that it was said, 'YOU SHALL NOT COMMIT ADULTERY'; but I say to you that everyone who looks at a woman with lust for her has already committed adultery with her in his heart."

In the same way merely avoiding murder does not guaranty healthy relationships with others, avoiding the act of adultery does not guarantee that my relationship with another in the realm of sexuality is as it should be. Here, we can trace the lines of anger and contempt to see why looking at another for the purpose of lust can harm us in ways similar to adultery. While the anger-contempt combo treat a person as good for nothing, lust treats a person as good for a single, limited purpose. Lust also attacks personhood because its interest stops with the physical form and the watcher’s fantasy. For the married, the lustful thoughts breach the marriage covenant and for the single, crosses over in fornication. For both, these thoughts objectify and separate. They make good relationship with the object impossible. All but the hardest or bound hearts cannot at the same contemplate God’s image planted in another and lust at the same time. Since these two thoughts mutually exclude one another, lust will always drive out our ability to perceive personhood, value, and God’s image in another.

[1] Matthew 5:17a.