Matthew 5:19 – 20 “Whoever then breaks or does away with or relaxes one of the least [important]of these commandments and teaches men so shall be called least [important] in the kingdom of heaven, but he who practices them and teaches others to do so shall be called great in the kingdom of heaven.”
Romans 6:14 “For sin shall not be your master, because you are not under law but under grace.”
1 John 3:4 “Everyone who commits (practices ) sin is guilty of lawlessness; for [that is what] sin is, lawlessness (the breaking, violating of God’s law by transgression or neglect – being unrestrained and unregulated by his commands and His will).”
RULES! So many rules! By the time of Jesus, there may have been as many as 613 commandments. These commandments were not included in the Torah but were the result of centuries of religious debate as to how to properly observe the commands embodied in the Torah. There were positive rules for things that should be done and negative rules for things from which one should abstain. Needless to say, keeping all of these rules was nothing less than a full – time occupation and an impossibility for the average Jew. Even someone who really loved God must have felt like a continual failure. What was Jesus trying to do when he made this statement? Remember, this is the same Jesus who later criticized the Pharisees for tithing their spices but refusing to care for their aged parents.
Jesus was always consistent. He honored the commands of His heavenly Father. And so, Jesus commends those who were following God’s commandments and teaching others to honor them also. But there is nothing to indicate that Jesus was referring to this huge body of commentary that had grown up around God’s basic commands. Instead, Jesus was encouraging His listeners to follow God’s basic commandments and the spirit in which they were given. At the same time, Jesus was also illustrating our fundamental problem as humans: we have a sin nature. Even the best and most loving people we know can become irritable or resentful or get offended at times. We are caught in an impossible situation, one that Paul described in Romans 7:15-25. We want to do the right thing, but even when we are trying our best, our sinful natures make it impossible. Left on our own, none of us would be able to earn our way into heaven!
In the verses from Matthew, Jesus is laying the foundation of His ministry. Jesus is warning His hearers that He has not come to abolish the Law. But Jesus has come as the perfect blood sacrifice to satisfy the demands of the law. Those of us who accept what Jesus has done for us are no longer under the penalty of the law but we are under grace, that is, we have received the grace of God because of Jesus’ sacrifice. When someone you love very much does something wonderful for you, you want to please that person. If that person asks you to do something, you will gladly do it out of gratitude for the great thing they have done for you. So now if we have accepted the sacrifice Jesus has made for us and if we are following Jesus, we will gladly follow God’s commandments out of love.
PRAYER: Father, thank you! Thank you! Thank you! You sent Jesus to live and die for our sins. We are now under grace and not under law because of the Blood of Jesus. Help us to follow your commands and to delight in your ways in gratitude for this great Salvation. In Jesus’ Name. Amen.
Burunche's Blog 
Leave a comment