A Word from Matthew 5

What are some of the religious rules and commands that you’ve been told to keep over the years? Maybe you were told not to take the Lord’s name in vain, or not to do certain activities on Sunday. Maybe you were told to “do unto others as you would have them do unto you.” Or perhaps, you were told about the clothes you shouldn’t wear, the people you shouldn’t hang out with, or the music you shouldn’t listen to.

Well, as these examples show, some of the rules we come up with are very important, while others seem kind of silly. But either way, today’s word from Matthew 5 reminds us that the rules matter! “Do not think that I have come to abolish the Law or the Prophets,” Jesus said. “I have not come to abolish them but to fulfill them.” (5:17)

Of course, the irony in that statement is that it comes near the beginning of the Sermon on the Mount—the very sermon in which Jesus “reinterprets” the rules, calling his followers not to focus so much on external obedience but on the internal attitudes of our hearts. Because, as Jesus goes on to say, we can avoid killing others, but still hate. We can avoid adultery, but still harbor inappropriate desire. And that, I think, is why Jesus went on to say, “that unless your righteousness surpasses that of the Pharisees and the teachers of the law, you will certainly not enter the kingdom of heaven.” (5:20)

So today, I wonder what it would look like for us to “keep the rules” in the best possible way. “And what is that way?” you might wonder. Well, to paraphrase Jesus: “Love God and love others. Everything else is just commentary.”

May our lives be guided by that rule—both outside and inside. Amen.