"The Good Life" - Week 18

Week 18 - Matthew 5:17-20

The Law...Torah...the Pentateuch.

What comes to mind when you hear those words.

For most of my life, I thought of...
-613 commandments
-A wrath-filled Old Testament God
-Holiness
-Perfection
-Clean/Unclean
-Outdated laws

But as I've spent more time in the Old Testament, I began to realize that God never dropped down a book of laws. In fact, the majority of the first five books consist of many more pages of narrative rather the commandments I assumed filled those pages.

As Protestants, many of us have a negative view of the law. But most observant Jews don't see it as a burden at all.

So, when Jesus says, "Do not think that I have come to abolish the Law...not the least stroke of a pen will disappear from the Law...", we're a bit surprised. Didn't Jesus come to fulfill the law so we could get rid of that ancient, outdated, primitive code? Not exactly.

Before Jesus was a Christian...he never celebrated Christmas or ate a ham sandwich. He was a Jewish Messiah.

Jesus never calls his disciples to a new story, but to the best parts of the Jewish story.

Remember, he didn't come to abolish the law. He came to fulfill it.

As you dwell in Matthew 5:17-20, here are a few questions to consider and comment on:

1) How does the Old Testament inform the life of Christians? What is its role?

2) What does Jesus mean when he said, "I have not come to abolish the Law and the Prophets...but to fulfill them?

3) Jesus says that we must surpass the righteousness of the Pharisees and the teachers of the law in order to inherit the kingdom of heaven. How is that possible? What kind of righteousness would surpass the righteousness of the religious leaders in Jesus' day?

4) What are some ways that Christians (those committed to putting the kingdom on display) might seek to implement this passage in order to proclaim the good news in 2012?