And . . . We're Off!

“And seeing the multitudes, He went up on a mountain, and when He was seated, His disciples came to Him. Then He opened His mouth and taught them, saying:” Matthew 5:1-2

These two verses are like waving the green flag at the Daytona 500. In my mind, I think, “and they’re off!”. Here, at the beginning of Jesus’ ministry, He begins the first of five discourses in the Gospel according to Matthew. In this discourse, Jesus expounds on the law, teaching about the spirit of the law. This serves, not only to demonstrate His authority (as you’ll see at the end), but also to wage an assault against legalism. Remember that Matthew writes this Gospel to target the Jews. In this case, he is attacking the legalistic teaching of the Pharisee’s by teaching about the spirit, rather than the letter of the law. Before you go any further, read Matthew 5:1-7:29.

Okay, now that you’ve done that, you get a basic overview of the teachings of this sermon. Notice how Jesus starts addressing the law, by saying that he didn’t come to destroy, but to fulfill the law, and that it will not pass away till all is fulfilled (v.17-18). Notice too that we should do and teach them in verse 19. Why? Because it is the law that shows us our sin (Romans 7:7). This again is pointing to the need of the Messiah, Himself. Jesus then begins his exposition which is most convicting for this Christian (me). I don’t want to jump into specific parts, since that the whole point of the study, so I’ll do this verse by verse. At that rate, I should finish the sermon in a couple years.

“for He taught them as one having authority, not as the scribes.” (Matthew 7:29) By what authority did He teach? . . . His own. When the scribes would teach, they would teach with the authority given them through the writings of others. They relied on quoting the writings of others as their authority. They did not speak on their own. Here, Jesus explained the law on His own authority. This is a powerful message sent to the Jews. For how could a “man” do such a thing?