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Jesus teaches about God’s Laws…       *Check all the answers you agree with.*            (Pg.1)

Right after Jesus calls all His followers to be salt and light, He moves on to stress the purposes and expectations of God, in giving us His laws, written in the Old Testament.

Q1. Why do you think that God would find it necessary to write Laws for us to follow?

☐ God wants to keep us as his lowly servants.  –  ☐ God wants us to have a blessed life.

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— Jesus stressed that our Creator God sees our hearts, and cannot be deceived with outward appearances. This is a crucial in understanding what these Laws are about.

Jesus  then begins to explain God’s Laws that the religious leaders were teaching them.
(The Good News Bible version used for help in understanding the English translated Word)

We find this in Matthew 5:17-26… (GNB) “Do not think that I have come to do away with the Law of Moses and the teachings of the prophets. I have not come to do away with them, but to make their teachings come true. (18) Remember that as long as heaven and earth last, not the least point nor the smallest detail of the Law will be done away with—not until the end of all things. (19) So then, whoever disobeys even the least important of the commandments and teaches others to do the same, will be least in the Kingdom of heaven. On the other hand, whoever obeys the Law and teaches others to do the same, will be great in the Kingdom of heaven. (20) I tell you, then, that you will be able to enter the Kingdom of heaven only if you are more faithful than the teachers of the Law and the Pharisees in doing what God requires. (21) “You have heard that people were told in the past, ‘Do not commit murder; anyone who does will be brought to trial.’ (22) But now I tell you: if you are angry with your brother you will be brought to trial, if you call your brother ‘You good-for-nothing!’ you will be brought before the Council, and if you call your brother a worthless fool you will be in danger of going to the fire of hell. (23) So if you are about to offer your gift to God at the altar and there you remember that your brother has something against you, (24) leave your gift there in front of the altar, go at once and make peace with your brother, and then come back and offer your gift to God. (25) “If someone brings a lawsuit against you and takes you to court, settle the dispute while there is time, before you get to court. Once you are there, you will be turned over to the judge, who will hand you over to the police, and you will be put in jail. (26) There you will stay, I tell you, until you pay the last penny of your fine.

Q1. Jesus says, in (Vs.17), “I have not come to do away with them, (The O.T. Laws),  but to make their teachings come true.” – How can anyone make a teaching “come true”?

☐ By memorizing the teaching.  –  ☐ By doing what has been taught.

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Jesus teaches about God’s Laws… *Check all the answers you agree with.*    (Pg.2)

— To live out any teaching, we must understand what is being taught…

So Jesus moves on to speak against how God’s Law is being mis-understood in (Vs.18-20)…  “Remember that as long as heaven and earth last, not the least point nor the smallest detail of the Law will be done away with, not until the end of all things.” “So then, whoever disobeys even the least important of the commandments and teaches others to do the same, will be least in the Kingdom of heaven. On the other hand, whoever obeys the Law and teaches others to do the same, will be great in the Kingdom of heaven. (20) I tell you, then, that you will be able to enter the Kingdom of heaven only if you are more faithful than the teachers of the Law and the Pharisees in doing what God requires.”

Q3. A crucial question needs to be answered to understand what Jesus is saying:
How do we gain entrance into Heaven?____________________________________________

Q4. Then why does Jesus insist on being “more faithful than the teachers of the Law” to get into Heaven?
– (Hint: Who continually opposed the idea that Jesus was the Messiah.)

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Jesus continues (Vs.21-22) “You have heard that people were told in the past, ‘Do not commit murder; anyone who does will be brought to trial.’ (22) But now I tell you: if you are angry with your brother you will be brought to trial, if you call your brother ‘You good-for-nothing!’ you will be brought before the Council, and if you call your brother a worthless fool you will be in danger of going to the fire of hell.”
– KJV “whosoever shall say to his brother, Raca, shall be in danger of the council”…
— Raca means “You worthless person”… So in this the GNB is a reasonable translation.
Q5. Why is it wrong to call anyone a fool or worthless?  (Fool = one who can’t understand.)

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(Vs.23-26) So if you are about to offer your gift to God at the altar and there you remember that your brother has something against you, (24) leave your gift there in front of the altar, go at once and make peace with your brother, and then come back and offer your gift to God. (25) “If someone brings a lawsuit against you and takes you to court, settle the dispute while there is time, before you get to court. Once you are there, you will be turned over to the judge, who will hand you over to the police, and you will be put in jail. (26) There you will stay, I tell you, until you pay the last penny of your fine.

— Let’s talk about ‘friction’ in the body of Christ, the church… (What about Communion?)

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— So we’ll close with further discussion, fellowship, prayer.  …And may God bless you and lead you in His Wisdom. (KRK)