Getting To The Heart Of The Matter

I use to dread having substitute teachers. Some got walked all over and we never accomplished anything, and the one who did accomplish thing, always seemed mean. It wasn’t until later that I understood why some substitute teachers were “mean”. It is easier to relax once you have established your authority than it is to gain it, once it is lost.

Our scripture today reminds me of that. The only difference is that instead of Jesus being a substitute teacher, he is more like the principle taking over a classroom. Once Jesus started healing and forgiving sins, all signs of his authority, the Jewish leaders thought that he also came to change the law. He explains, in our scripture today, that he has not come to abolish the law but fulfill it.

If you read further you can see how the law may even seem stricter now. He makes statements like. “You have heard that it was said to the people long ago, ‘You shall not murder, and anyone who murders will be subject to judgment.’ But I tell you that anyone who is angry with a brother or sister will be subject to judgment.”

Now that Jesus is here it’s more than just about our actions, it’s about our heart. The law is going to seem even more restricting unless we accept God’s free gift of grace, through Jesus. The cool thing is, once we get our heart in the right place, the rules won’t seem so restricting.

Click to Read the entire passage on Biblegateway Matthew 5:17-32