Two of the major reinterpretation that Jesus gives of the Old Law are
highlighted in contrasting, and yet harmonious verses. The first
grouping deals with the breaking of the laws of the Ten Commandments,
both those against God and against man. The other set includes
clarifying proper aspects of spiritual living.
To start with (Mt. 5:21-47), the expansion of the covenant to include the internal mind over just the external behavior raises the bar on the difficulty of keeping the law, showing that only by Jesus perfect life can anyone hope to reach God, for God is perfectly beyond the grasp of sinful man, whose very thoughts provide an obstacle to a right relationship with the Creator.
Walking through the verses, one sees the pairing of \"thou shalt not murder\" with be careful of any form of anger that could be harbored in your heart, for one is able to kill with the heart just as much as with the body. Jesus also informs the crowds that one is able to fornicate with someone from the heart and not by just having physical sex with them. Lust is a direct violating connecting emanating from one individual to another. Related to this type of sexual behavior, Moses permitted the Hebrew men to set aside their wives in divorce if the woman was found displeasing. Jesus reemphazises that this was never the way God intended for married people to live, but instead that a man and a woman were to be united for life as one flesh. Jesus does give the out of marriage allowance if one of the partners has sexually betrayed the other one.
A serious problem in the Old Testament was the swearing of oaths. God could continuously keep his promises, but most times when a man tried to promise something towards God, the end result was devastation. One example is that of a man saying he would sacrifice whatever the first being was that came out of his doorway when he arrived home. Instead of being an animal like he hoped, it was his daughter. Jesus advises that oath taking should be left alone, and that our answers to other people only be \"yes, I will do that\" or \"no, I can't help with that.\" Jesus wants humans to tell the whole truth, and not hide behind false pronouncements. Meaning that every time a man disobeys a promise to God, he is breaking his word and becoming a liar.
Jesus also warns against striking back at someone that has caused offense. He rather says to turn the other cheek and not battle against those who do wrong. Finally, Jesus widens his scope and pronounces that man should love both his friends and his enemies, which is quite a difficult lesson to stomach. Jesus asks what good is it to only love those that already love. One must love those in need of love, even if they are hard to love.
Scholar Daniel Harrington points out many fascinating aspects about this first collection, but one of the most intriguing is what he says about loving one's enemies. He says, “The effect of Jesus' teaching is to break through limitations imposed on the objects of one's love”(Harrington 89). Man is to remove the barrier that prevents one from truly caring about someone else.
The next section of text (Mt. 6:1-7:5) revolves around attitudes and rituals, altogether, more of the spiritual acts of humans. Jesus contrasts between receiving rewards from your Father in Heaven when you do good deeds in secret as compared to doing your charity in front of man to be rewarded with earthly recognition. The three facets of this public versus private actions revolves around giving to those in need, praying, and fasting.
If one makes fanfare about donating to the homeless, as opposed to doing it in secret and having your left hand not even knowing what your right hand is doing, one's reward with be only of this world. Similarly, making long, high-sounding prayers on the street corner does not get God's attention, but rather God would prefer a quiet soul in his private room uttering sincere prayers from the heart. Once the Holy Spirit arrives on Earth, men are even said to pray through groanings that can not be expressed in words, but rather are given from the Comforter to the Father.
If one goes around with the apparent signs of hunger to receive praise from man for one's spiritual dedication, God frowns upon this behavior. Jesus would rather a woman go around with a washed face and perfumed garment, showing appearances of health. God knows the fullness or lack thereof of the belly of man.
The second to last spiritual rule of guidance suggests that one trust in God for one's daily needs instead of continually worrying about the turn of events of this life. In closing, Jesus recommends that one does not judge his neighbor, but instead look into one's one heart first. How can one remove a speck from your friends eye if there is a 2X4 in one's own line of vision?
Harrington aptly comments on the use of praying over and over again in public. He says, “The Pagan idea of a God who can be manipulated by a flood of words stands in contrast to Israel's heavenly Father who says, “Before they call, I will answer...(Isaiah 65:24)”(Harrington 95).
Both of these groupings of verses demonstrate the major theme of God seeing the heart as the true sign of faith and not being tricked by external performances. Matthew writes about this theme because the Christians are realizing they are going to have to live well on this Earth for an unknown, but possibly long time without the direct guidance of Jesus.
Two of the major reinterpretation that Jesus gives of the Old Law are highlighted in contrasting, and yet harmonious verses. The first grouping deals with the breaking of the laws of the Ten Commandments, both those against God and against man. The other set includes clarifying proper aspects of spiritual living.
To start with (Mt. 5:21-47), the expansion of the covenant to include the internal mind over just the external behavior raises the bar on the difficulty of keeping the law, showing that only by Jesus perfect life can anyone hope to reach God, for God is perfectly beyond the grasp of sinful man, whose very thoughts provide an obstacle to a right relationship with the Creator.
Walking through the verses, one sees the pairing of \"thou shalt not murder\" with be careful of any form of anger that could be harbored in your heart, for one is able to kill with the heart just as much as with the body. Jesus also informs the crowds that one is able to fornicate with someone from the heart and not by just having physical sex with them. Lust is a direct violating connecting emanating from one individual to another. Related to this type of sexual behavior, Moses permitted the Hebrew men to set aside their wives in divorce if the woman was found displeasing. Jesus reemphazises that this was never the way God intended for married people to live, but instead that a man and a woman were to be united for life as one flesh. Jesus does give the out of marriage allowance if one of the partners has sexually betrayed the other one.
A serious problem in the Old Testament was the swearing of oaths. God could continuously keep his promises, but most times when a man tried to promise something towards God, the end result was devastation. One example is that of a man saying he would sacrifice whatever the first being was that came out of his doorway when he arrived home. Instead of being an animal like he hoped, it was his daughter. Jesus advises that oath taking should be left alone, and that our answers to other people only be \"yes, I will do that\" or \"no, I can't help with that.\" Jesus wants humans to tell the whole truth, and not hide behind false pronouncements. Meaning that every time a man disobeys a promise to God, he is breaking his word and becoming a liar.
Jesus also warns against striking back at someone that has caused offense. He rather says to turn the other cheek and not battle against those who do wrong. Finally, Jesus widens his scope and pronounces that man should love both his friends and his enemies, which is quite a difficult lesson to stomach. Jesus asks what good is it to only love those that already love. One must love those in need of love, even if they are hard to love.
Scholar Daniel Harrington points out many fascinating aspects about this first collection, but one of the most intriguing is what he says about loving one's enemies. He says, “The effect of Jesus' teaching is to break through limitations imposed on the objects of one's love”(Harrington 89). Man is to remove the barrier that prevents one from truly caring about someone else.
The next section of text (Mt. 6:1-7:5) revolves around attitudes and rituals, altogether, more of the spiritual acts of humans. Jesus contrasts between receiving rewards from your Father in Heaven when you do good deeds in secret as compared to doing your charity in front of man to be rewarded with earthly recognition. The three facets of this public versus private actions revolves around giving to those in need, praying, and fasting.
If one makes fanfare about donating to the homeless, as opposed to doing it in secret and having your left hand not even knowing what your right hand is doing, one's reward with be only of this world. Similarly, making long, high-sounding prayers on the street corner does not get God's attention, but rather God would prefer a quiet soul in his private room uttering sincere prayers from the heart. Once the Holy Spirit arrives on Earth, men are even said to pray through groanings that can not be expressed in words, but rather are given from the Comforter to the Father.
If one goes around with the apparent signs of hunger to receive praise from man for one's spiritual dedication, God frowns upon this behavior. Jesus would rather a woman go around with a washed face and perfumed garment, showing appearances of health. God knows the fullness or lack thereof of the belly of man.
The second to last spiritual rule of guidance suggests that one trust in God for one's daily needs instead of continually worrying about the turn of events of this life. In closing, Jesus recommends that one does not judge his neighbor, but instead look into one's one heart first. How can one remove a speck from your friends eye if there is a 2X4 in one's own line of vision?
Harrington aptly comments on the use of praying over and over again in public. He says, “The Pagan idea of a God who can be manipulated by a flood of words stands in contrast to Israel's heavenly Father who says, “Before they call, I will answer...(Isaiah 65:24)”(Harrington 95).
Both of these groupings of verses demonstrate the major theme of God seeing the heart as the true sign of faith and not being tricked by external performances. Matthew writes about this theme because the Christians are realizing they are going to have to live well on this Earth for an unknown, but possibly long time without the direct guidance of Jesus.
Two of the major reinterpretation that Jesus gives of the Old Law are highlighted in contrasting, and yet harmonious verses. The first grouping deals with the breaking of the laws of the Ten Commandments, both those against God and against man. The other set includes clarifying proper aspects of spiritual living.
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