Ep. 222. Matthew 5 | Sermon on the Mount Part 2

EPISODE 222

SERMON ON THE MOUNT PART 2: MATTHEW 5:21-48

"Be perfect as your heavenly Father is perfect." That's a scary verse if the point of the gospels is moralistic behavior. Thankfully, that isn't the point of this text. Instead, these verses are meant to show that no one can be righteous through the works of the Law. Why? Because the Law requires perfection.

Oh, great, you didn't commit adultery? But if you ever looked at someone with lust, then you are guilty. Excellent, you haven't ever murdered someone, but if you hated someone in your heart, you are just as guilty. So then we see the futility and shortcomings of the Law. According to the Law, no one is righteous; no one is good.

Thankfully, Jesus isn't done with his sermon. He has something better to offer those buried under the Law's weight. Eventually, he will tell them that all they need to do to receive the gift of the Father is to "ask, seek, and knock."

It also bears repeating that calling God "Father" isn't exclusively Christian. The Jews thought of God as the Father first. We are so used to the terms "Father" and "Brother" being Christian terms that we forget it began with the Jews. We find that language all over the Old Testament, which once again proves that we need to understand the Old Testament to understand the New rightly.

ADDITIONAL READING: Exodus 20:13-14; Mark 9:43-48; Deuteronomy 24:1; Leviticus 19:12; Exodus 21:24; Leviticus 19: 18