As followers of Jesus, we trust that what Jesus teaches us is what we should follow. Jesus helps us make sense of the laws God had introduced in the Old Testament under what is called the Old Covenant. Jesus ushers in the New Covenant promises that God made for those who follow Jesus.
As we seek to know how God wants us to live, listening to what Jesus has to say is helpful. Jesus never condemns the law but gives us a new way to understand it. It’s also helpful to remember God gave the law in the first place to help and protect his people.
This passage comes to us from Jesus’ Sermon on the Mount, where he tells people he came to accomplish the purpose of the laws and writings of the prophets. Jesus doesn’t say he fulfilled “all” laws and warns people to continue to be mindful so as not to lose a place in the kingdom of heaven. Some people today would like to think that Jesus fulfilled all the laws; Jesus declares to the contrary in this passage.
Jesus’ words would have been radical in his day, too. For the laws that Jesus reframed, amplified, or “accomplished,” we can be grateful. I was surprised how he called out the teachers of religious law and the Pharisees. It seems their righteousness, or being right with God, was in question. We can do better by not losing sight of our relationship, letting our devotion guide us clearly in God’s will for our lives.
Jesus covers a lot of ground, opening the discussion about many of the laws the people had been following. Jesus teaches them new ways of understanding these laws and how to be obedient in God’s eyes. That informative yet loving way of teaching must have been helpful. Yet there were probably still many in the crowd who would have questioned the changes. That’s what happened to those teachers of the law. They weren’t ready to trust Jesus’ new ways or recognize His authority.
Do any of Jesus’ clarifications convict you to do better or change something in your life? I know for years I struggled with the verses about divorce. For fifteen years, I stayed in a marriage with a man who had broken my trust on many occasions, harmed me and my children, and was lost on a sinful path I was not able to help him turn away from. I didn’t want to let Jesus down. The Bible speaks of divorce in other places as well, and after many conversations with counselors, pastors, and other Christians, not to mention prayers to God for forgiveness, I felt God’s redemptive love take that hurt away.
Jesus cleanses our sins. 1 John 1:7 says, “But if we are living in the light, as God is in the light, then we have fellowship with each other, and the blood of Jesus, his Son, cleanses us from all sin.” I want to live in that light and boldly proclaim my faith while shining my own light for Jesus. Our new lives in Christ can be a testimony to those who don’t yet know Jesus.
Let’s pray. Thank you, Jesus, for how you have fulfilled the law and made it clearer for us. Help me to be more loving toward my enemies and even those people who are not in my circle of faith. Give me the boldness to share about you and your important message. The world needs to hear from you. In Jesus’ name. Amen.
