1/9/2016 Matthew Chapter 5 Part II

Matthew Chapter 5 Part II 

1-9-2016

#5: Verse 14 " You are the light of the world - like a city on a hilltop that cannot be hidden. No one lights a lamp and puts it under a basket. Instead, a lamp is placed don a stand, where it can give light to everyone in the house. The message here is pretty simple we are called to be a light to this dark and sinful world. Jesus wants us to be a city on a hill that draws people to His love and to heaven. We cannot be silent Christians that go to church on Sunday and Wednesday but never talk about Jesus any other time. Don't take your light and put it under the basket, share the message of Jesus everywhere you go and show His love to everyone so that they may come to know Him and join in the city on the hill shining brightly for the Lord! 

#4: (V17) Jesus came to accomplish the Law. The Laws of Moses were created in the OT and many people know them, in fact, the Pharisees knew them very well. The problem is that no one was able to fulfill every single Law. We as humans are sinful and we could never complete the Laws without some help and that help is Jesus. Jesus was sinless and perfect. He came and completed the Laws and because of that, the OT and the Laws need to be seen in light of Him (Luke 24:26, 44). 

#3: In verse 18 Jesus starts to talk about the OT and how long it will last and be relevant. He say's "For Truely I say to you until heaven and earth pass away not the smallest letter or stroke shall pass from the Law until al is accomplished." Jesus is telling us that the OT is still the Word of God down to the smallest letter. The NT should not be seen as a replacement for the OT. Both are important and both are the Word of God and should be used to strengthen our faith. 

#2: "You have heard that our ancestors were told, "You must not murder". If you commit murder, you are subject to judgment.  But I say to you if you are even angry with someone, you are subject to judgment! If you call someone a fool, your are in danger of being brought before the court. And if you curse someone, you are in danger of the fires of hell." These are Jesus' words on the subject of anger. This is one of those subjects I can struggle with in many occasions, when I am driving, when I am working and its busy, when I am dealing with friends and family. It's easy to get angry and frustrated and it happens all the time. Anger and frustration are normal and it's ok to feel them but Jesus is telling us not to let our anger build to the point where we are devaluing other people. Devaluation of people is a sin that manifests itself in many different ways. Cursing someone, talking bad about someone behind their back, making fun of someone these are all ways we can devalue a person. As previously stated in chapter five we are called to be lights of the world. How can we shine brightly for Jesus when we are devaluing the people around us. That will not bring people to Christ and it can in some cases leave a lasting mark on people and their views about Christians. When I use to share the Gospel on campus people would tell me all kinds of bad stories about mean Christians that put them down or about how they saw Christians doing bad things and it made them never want to become a Christain. We need to watch out for this and realize that our actions have power and meaning for the people around us. 

#1: (V33-37) Here Jesus cover a number of different topics starting with vows. He tells us not to make vows to the Lord because once you make a vow you cannot break it! Jesus tells us we need to steer clear of saying things like " Lord I promise I will do this if you do this for me." because we are humans and we may not always live up to that promise. In verse 37 Jesus does his best Yoda impression " Do Or DO Not".. Okay He really says "Just say a simple 'Yes I will" or 'No I won't' anything beyond that is from the evil one."  The point is still the same say you will or you won't but don't make promises to the Lord that you can not keep.   

Bonus!!!! In verse 43 Jesus talks about how to deal with your enemies. He tells us  "You have heard the law say 'Love your neighbor' and hate your enemy. But I say, love your enemies! Pray for those who persecute your!" This is a very famous verse and I know there are dozens of Grandmaws around the country with this Cross Stiched on a pillow but this is a very important verse. We all have people we don't like but we can not let that pull us away from our responsibilities in Christ. We should pray for those who persecute us because that is what Christ did. You should be loving and kind to them and show them the love and light of Christ. Hopefully, that person will realize that and will follow you to a relationship with Chris or strengthen the relationship with Christ they already have.