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Today's Reflections

the sermon on the mount 

 http://graceandspace.org

 

Mt 5:17-37

[Jesus said to his disciples:] ¹⁷“Do not think that I have come to abolish the law or the prophets. I have come not to abolish but to fulfill. ¹⁸Amen, I say to you, until heaven and earth pass away, not the smallest letter or the smallest part of a letter will pass from the law, until all things have taken place. ¹⁹Therefore, whoever breaks one of the least of these commandments and teaches others to do so will be called least in the kingdom of heaven. But whoever obeys and teaches these commandments will be called greatest in the kingdom of heaven. ²⁰I tell you, unless your righteousness surpasses that of the scribes and Pharisees, you will not enter into the kingdom of heaven.

²¹“You have heard that it was said to your ancestors, ‘You shall not kill; and whoever kills will be liable to judgment.’ ²²But I say to you, whoever is angry with his brother will be liable to judgment, and whoever says to his brother, ‘Raqa,’ will be answerable to the Sanhedrin, and whoever says, ‘You fool,’ will be liable to fiery Gehenna. ²³Therefore, if you bring your gift to the altar, and there recall that your brother has anything against you, ²⁴leave your gift there at the altar, go first and be reconciled with your brother, and then come and offer your gift. ²⁵Settle with your opponent quickly while on the way to court with him. Otherwise your opponent will hand you over to the judge, and the judge will hand you over to the guard, and you will be thrown into prison. ²⁶Amen, I say to you, you will not be released until you have paid the last penny.

²⁷“You have heard that it was said, ‘You shall not commit adultery.’ ²⁸But I say to you, everyone who looks at a woman with lust has already committed adultery with her in his heart. ²⁹If your right eye causes you to sin, tear it out and throw it away. It is better for you to lose one of your members than to have your whole body thrown into Gehenna. ³⁰And if your right hand causes you to sin, cut it off and throw it away. It is better for you to lose one of your members than to have your whole body go into Gehenna.

³¹“It was also said, ‘Whoever divorces his wife must give her a bill of divorce.’ ³²But I say to you, whoever divorces his wife (unless the marriage is unlawful) causes her to commit adultery, and whoever marries a divorced woman commits adultery.

³³“Again you have heard that it was said to your ancestors, ‘Do not take a false oath, but make good to the Lord all that you vow.’ ³⁴But I say to you, do not swear at all; not by heaven, for it is God’s throne; ³⁵nor by the earth, for it is his footstool; nor by Jerusalem, for it is the city of the great King. ³⁶Do not swear by your head, for you cannot make a single hair white or black. ³⁷Let your ‘Yes’ mean ‘Yes,’ and your ‘No’ mean ‘No.’ Anything more is from the evil one.”

THE HEART OF THE LAW. The Torah is fulfilled not by the interpretations of the Jewish rabbis but only through Jesus and his community. To the Law, Matthew adds the prophets to show the continuity of the revelation of God’s will running through history up to Jesus.

Jesus “fulfills” the Law and the prophets not by the literal following of minute regulations. In fact, Jesus at times violates the Sabbath rest or dispenses with ritual cleanliness. In Jesus there has dawned what the Law and the prophets only announced. In him has come the fullness that is intended in them but not attained.

In this fulfillment, there is continuity and further deepening. But there is also break and replacement. At the core of Matthew’s teaching is the Law that is the expression of God’s will, now centered on Jesus Christ who is the heart of the Law.